Based on Caroline Graham's novels and featuring the stolid crime-solving skills of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Midsomer Murders made their television debut in 1997 and continue to keep viewers happy with that potent whodunnit ingredient: spectacularly bloody murders in the most tranquil rural settings the Shires have to offer. Midsomer is a vaguely defined area of villages and hamlets with charming names like Badger's Drift and Goodman's Land. It also has the highest number of violent deaths per capita outside the average war zone. Serial killings abound to test the nerve of Barnaby (John Nettles) and his sidekick Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey), a dullard easily perplexed by a world which refuses to stick to his black and white view of things. Nettles is excellent; there's a hint of Bergerac still, now heavier of jowl and broader of beam, though the chasing is necessarily limited and the DCI enjoys the home comforts of an understanding wife and a spirited daughter. "Every time I go into any Midsomer village, it's always the same thing", he huffs. "Blackmail, sexual deviancy, suicide and murder." Ain't it the truth? The murders are astonishing. Family feuds, jealousy, incest, industrial espionage, all erupt at regular intervals leaving a trail of bodies with throats slashed, limbs dismembered and blood absolutely everywhere. Rivers of sheer nastiness run deep beneath the superficially pastoral perfection of Midsomer. Thank goodness there are still men like dependable Barnaby to get to the bottom of things. Eventually. Sure of Barnabys eventual success, Midsomer Murders make for a cosy, even comforting, couple of hours curled up in front of the television. And they make a great showcase for star turns from the great stable of British character actors, too, from Celia Imrie and Elizabeth Spriggs to Imelda Staunton and Duncan Preston, who invariably turn this whimsical stuff into the tastiest possible ham.--Piers Ford
This faithful adaptation of Anna Sewell's children's classics tells the adventures of a young boy and a spirited horse. Beginning life on a country estate the young colt Beauty is given away to cruel squire Sam Greene when he takes possession of the farm on which he lived. The horse then starts on a adventurous journey where he experiences the best and worst in human nature before finally being reunited with the boy who was his first friend. This is a classic and beautiful adaptation which the whole family will enjoy.
In the cold and dark waters off North Korea a U.S. Navy submarine meets with mysterious disaster..... Hable the Commander in Chief is dismissed from service when he tells a skeptical Navy of how he was attacked by an enemy submarine - one which failed to show up on sonar. Just rescued from a court-martial he is sent to lead a desperate top secret mission in the same waters. Hable must fight his by-the-book Executive Officer Barker as he violates orders and steers his small ship
He rules the night as Gotham City's shadowy protector - a crusading Dark Knight defending the innocent and striking fear into the hearts of evildoers. The legend of Batman continues in this thrilling collection of the second volume of the Emmy award-winning 'Batman: The Animated Series'. Episodes comprise: The Underdwellers P.O.V. The Forgotten Be A Clown.
An outstanding drama, Gallipoli resonates with sadness long after you have seen it. Set during World War I, this brutally honest antiwar movie was cowritten by director Peter Weir. Mark Lee and a sinfully handsome Mel Gibson are young, idealistic best friends who put aside their hopes and dreams when they join the war effort. This character study follows them as they enlist and are sent to Gallipoli to fight the Turks. The first half of the film is devoted to their lives and their strong friendship. The second half details the doomed war efforts of the Aussies, who are no match for the powerful and aggressive Turkish army. Because the script pulls us into their lives and forces us to care for these young men, we are devastated by their fate. --Rochelle O'Gorman.
Mark Dolan (The Richard Taylor Interviews) puts a team of comedians and performers to the ultimate challenge: he and his studio audience want to know just one thing - who has the biggest Balls of Steel? His special guests are keen to prove themselves by performing death-defying stunts holding their nerve during hidden camera set-ups or by being juvenile and stupid in the presence of celebrities. But have they really got what it takes? Guest presenters include Alex Zane Olivia Lee and New Zealand's number one stuntman Randy Campbell.
Set in Brixton, SW9, land of yuppies, clubbers, anarchists, guns and riots, this new Britsh drama follows five very different characters through a single extraordinary day.
Nick Chen (Chow Yun-Fat) is not your average New York cop. Working in Chinatown has its multifarious cultural nuances and its fair share of ubiquitous enticement, both of which are reflected in detective Chen's weary face. He had to get into bed with the highest echelons of the Chinese Mafia as a way of augmenting his own career, while maintaining a semblance of control over the dime-a-dozen hoods who proliferate on this turf. To make matters worse, he now has to break in rookie detective Danny Wallace (Mark Wahlberg), who has asked to be assigned to the Chinatown division. Apparently Wallace is infatuated with all things Chinese, or is suffering from "Yellow Fever," as his fellow colleagues would have us believe. Chen, not one to suffer fools gladly, takes young Wallace under his protective wing, oft-warning the shady powers of the neighbourhood not to sink Danny into their sordid pool of corruption. But before he knows it, both he and Wallace are caught in a deadly ring of double-crosses, shady-dealings, murders, and car chases. And all of this under the suspicious eye of Internal Affairs. Part Serpico and part Hard Boiled, this film seems at first to be a major departure from director James Foley's previous work. However, Foley has frequently revealed a keen eye and understanding for emotionally complex relationships, especially between teacher and pupil (Glengarry Glen Ross) or father and son (At Close Range). This movie is no different. In fact, Foley's meticulous attention to the relationship between the wise, morally burdened Chen, and the naove, innocent Wallace morphs this otherwise tedious plot into a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Hats off to Chow Yun-Fat and Mark Wahlberg, whose sympathetic chemistry creates an authentic and deeply personal connection, a factor that proves crucial to the film's poignant, disturbing finale. --Jeremy Storey
October 1944 and a US Army regiment is surrounded by Nazis high in the Vosges Forest of France. They are labelled lost another casualty of war. The 100th/442nd Regimental Combat Team are ordered to reach them no matter the cost. Made up entirely of 2nd generation Japanese-American volunteers this brave band of brothers have already fought immense prejudice to be recognised as a fighting unit. Fiercely courageous they break through the German lines but at a tremendous price. The unit suffers over 800 casualties to save 211 soldiers of the 275 strong Lost Battalion in what is regarded today as one of the most significant battles of World War II. This is their true story. A story of true patriotism.
Anzio (1968): Robert Mitchum Peter Falk and Arthur Kennedy star in the rivetting war drama Anzio a vivid portrait of one of the bloodiest WWII battles ever fought. After landing with Allied troops at Anzio Italy in 1944 war correspondent Dick Ennis (Mitchum) and buddy Corporal Rabinoff (Falk) tell Anzio commander General Lesley (Kennedy) that the road to Rome is wide open. But instead of heading to Rome Lesley attempts to build a coastal stronghold only to discover that the Germans have outflanked them by enclosing the Anzio beachhead. Four months and over 30 000 casualties later the Allied forces smash through the German lines and victoriously march to Rome. Directed by Edward Dmytryk Anzio is a powerful film and a symbol of heroic tenacity. Cockleshell Heroes (1955): In World War II Royal Marine Major Stringer (Jose Ferrer) and Captain Thompson (Trevor Howard) chose volunteers for an unknown job. They trained the volunteers intensively in top secrecy for more than a year and then embarked with them on the most dangerous mission of the war - the canoe invasion of an enemy-held French port for the purpose of blowing up the giant battleships. The ten ""canoe commandoes"" were carried to their jump-off point by submarine despite a depth-charge attack. Facing fantastic hazards they paddled 70 miles through enemy waters to complete their mission. But only two survivors would return... Night Of The Generals (1967): Five years after their triumphant teaming in Lawrence of Arabia Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif reunited for this powerful World War II thriller about a Nazi General who becomes a serial killer. When a Polish prostitute is brutally murdered in Nazi-occupied Warsaw her killer is identified as a German General. The investigator Major Grau (Sharif) narrows the suspects to three Generals in the German high command: the heroic Tanz (O'Toole) the cynical Kahlenberge (Donald Pleasence) and the weak Von Seidlitz-Gabler (Charles Gray). For years the crime remains unsolved until the killer strikes again bringing this mesmerising mystery to its unforgettable finish. Also starring Christopher Plummer Tom Courtney Philippe Noiret and Joanna Pettet The Night Of The Generals is an all-star thriller from a master of the form.
Features HDR for brighter, deeper, more lifelike colour Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe and visionary director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) reunite for the untold story of the man behind the legend. In an age of oppression and shameless tyranny, an outlaw becomes the unlikely hero that saves a nation and inspires generations to fight for freedom. In this thrilling action adventure, Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott are at their most entertaining since Gladiator (Dan Jolin, Empire UK ). Also starring Academy Award® winner Cate Blanchett. Disc two- Blu-Ray movie + bonus features Director's notebook The art of Nottingham Disc three- DVD bonus features Deleted scenes with introduction and commentary by editor Pietro Scalia Rise and Rise Again: making Ridley Scott's Robin Hood
A Boeing 747 full of passengers is on its scheduled route from Australia to California but soon events unfold to make this flight far from normal. A sadistic psychopath intent on dreadful revenge has hidden a time bomb armed with deadly nerve gas deep inside the aircraft's cargo hold. Time is running out. Pilot John Prescott (Jack Wagner) commands in the air - on the ground working out the logistics for survival are a crack team of FBI agents assisted by the Australian police force - the tense battle is on to prevent a horrific mid-air catastrophe!
Only one member of a documentary film crew returns with his footage from a trip into the wilds of New Jersey in search of the legendary Jersey Devil
Peter loves his next door neighbour Erica and on the advice of his uncle decides to camp out on her front lawn for the entire summer...
A heretic priest (the legendary Christopher Lee in one of his finest Hammer performances) plots to use a teenage nun (Nastassja Kinski) in a depraved sexual pact with the forces of darkness. But when an American occult novelist uncovers the conspiracy he must battle an international cabal of evil for the body and soul of the Devil's child-bride. Can this black magic marriage be stopped before an innocent girl is defiled as the womb of Satan?
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (Dir. Terry Gilliam 1998): (Widescreen 2.35 Anamorphic / Dolby Digital 5.1) It is 1971: journalist Raoul Duke barrels towards Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race accompanied by a trunkful of contraband and his slightly unhinged Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo. But what is ostensibly a cut-and-dry journalistic endeavor quickly descends into a feverish psychedelic odyssey and an excoriating dissection of the American way of life. Director Terry Gi
A psychology student who experienced ""night terrors"" as a child realizes that her nightmares may be real after all. She finds others who shared similar experiences and most frightenging of all the monsters in their closets marked them as children and are returning to collect them! Their only safety is staying awake and out of the dark!
The story of Virginia Cunningham who finds herself in an insane asylum and has no idea how she got there. Her husband Robert attempts to explain their relationship both before and after marriage and how her symptoms developed. Doctor Mark Kick struggles to get to the root of her problems but a relapse puts her back into 'The Snake Pit'... A touching central performance from Olivia de Havilland in this riveting exploration of mental illness.
Strangler's Wood is a gruesomely enjoyable entry in the darkly witty Midsomer Murders series. Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby is on the case again, this time in pursuit of a serial murderer who has apparently resurfaced after nearly a decade of quiet. The story is a thoroughly absorbing one, full of nasty crawling secrets that come out when Barnaby begins poking below the village's surface, and the solution is genuinely satisfying. As in other programmes in the series, Strangler's Wood also pays realistic attention to the way Barnaby's job affects his home life, making his tenacity at pursuing a case exasperating without getting melodramatic. Fans of Daniel Casey's Sergeant Troy will be pleased to see him prominently featured in the episode as well. This is a terrific, stand-alone chapter in an excellent series. --Ali Davis
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