Marvel comics' most famous superhero in the bggest movie of 2002!
There have been many film and TV adaptations of Oliver Twist but this 1948 production from director David Lean remains the definitive screen interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic. From the ominous symbolism of its opening storm sequence (in which Oliver's pregnant, ill-fated mother struggles to reach shelter before childbirth) to the mob-scene climax that provokes Bill Sikes's dreadful comeuppance, this breathtaking black-and-white film remains loyal to Dickens while distilling the story into its purest cinematic essence.Every detail is perfect--Lean even includes a coffin-shaped snuffbox for the cruel Mr. Sowerberry--and as young Oliver, eight-year-old John Howard Davies (who would later produce Monty Python's Flying Circus for the BBC) perfectly expresses the orphan's boyish wonderment, stern determination and waifish vulnerability. Best of all is Alec Guinness as Fagin, so devious and yet so delightfully appealing under his beak-nosed (and, at the time, highly controversial) make-up. (Many complained that Fagin's huge nose and greedy demeanour presented an anti-Semitic stereotype, even though Lean never identifies Fagin as Jewish; for this reason, the film wasn't shown in the US until three years after its British release.) Likewise, young Anthony Newley is artfully dodgy as Fagin's loyal accomplice, the Artful Dodger. Guinness's performance would later provide strong inspiration for Ron Moody's equally splendid portrayal of Fagin in the Oscar-winning Oliver! and while that 1968 musical remains wonderfully entertaining, it is Lean's film that hews closest to Dickens' vision. The authentic recreation of 19th-century London is marvellous to behold; Guy Green's cinematography is so shadowy and stylised that it almost qualifies as Dickensian film noir. Lean is surprisingly blunt in conveying Dickens's theme of cruelty but his film never loses sight of the warmth and humanity that Oliver embodies. --Jeff Shannon
Spider-Man (1 Disc Edition): Peter Parker (Maguire) was a shy quite nerdy teenager...until he was bitten by a genetically altered spider. Now with the heightened senses and incredible strengths and abilities of a spider Parker has become the amazing Spider-Man. Charlie's Angels: Cameron Diaz Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are Charlie''s Angels - a trio of elite private investigators who with the latest in high-tech gadgets martial arts techniques and a vast array of disguises unleash their state of the art skills on land sea and air. Their goal to track down a kidnapped billionaire-to-be and keep his top-secret voice identification software out of his lethal hands. Aided by their faithful lieutenant Bosley (Bill Murray) and under the sure hand of their suave playboy boss notorious for his clever ways of avoiding face-to-face meetings the girls must foil an elaborate murder-revenge plot that could destroy individual privacy and corporate security worldwide. Adventure has never been more beautiful! Vertical Limit: An emotionally-charged action-adventure tale of a retired climber (Chris O''Donnell) who must launch a treacherous and extraordinary rescue effort up K2 the world''s second highest peak to save his estranged sister and her summit team in a race against time....
Jess is a happily married woman with a heart of gold whose husband Jacob the town's local handyman is Mr Dependable. They live in an idyllic house on the riverbank with Jacob's elderly mother May her sister Brenda as well as Nathan Jacob's elderly widowed cousin. Jess is kind and caring and enjoys taking care of them all. Into this content although unexciting life something is about to happen that will blow Jess's world apart. She is forced to question the entire meaning of her
Spider-Man returns to battle a host of new baddies in the third adventure based on the popular comic book hero.
Though it was pre-produced by Martin Scorsese, who left the project after arguments with the producers, The Honeymoon Killers wound up being written and directed by Leonard Kastle, one of cinema's great one-hit wonders. The Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer of 1969, The Honeymoon Killers follows hefty nurse Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler, who looks like a humourlessly malevolent Roseanne) and her low-rent gigolo lover Raymond Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco) as they take up serial murder for profit and passion, luring middle-aged women into marriage through lonely-hearts ads, then killing them and raiding their savings. Based on a genuine crime case history, it is filmed in the candid-camera style of a Frederick Wiseman documentary. The intense scenes (such as the couple's frightening love-play: escalating arguments that end in awkward killings) unfold with a fly-on-the-wall dryness, showcasing the extraordinary acting of the leads and their cameo victims. A rare film in which genuine romantic love does not excuse the central couple's amoral behaviour, this still manages to generate some sympathy for the truly monstrous Martha. The washed-out black and white photography and sometimes scratchy soundtrack (the score is sampled from Mahler) have a deliberately amateurish feel which adds to the film's chilling power, lodging it into the memory. On the DVD: Along with a lurid trailer and gallery of images are filmographies for Stoler, Lo Bianco and (redundantly) Kastle. The widescreen transfer is excellent, representing perfectly the film's rough-hewn look but also bringing out a lot of detail--like Stoler's freckles, which have looked like grain on video releases. --Kim Newman
Spider-Man (Dir. Sam Raimi 2002): Peter Parker (Maguire) was a shy quite nerdy teenager...until he was bitten by a genetically altered spider. Now with the heightened senses and incredible strengths and abilities of a spider Parker has become the amazing Spider-Man! Hellboy (Dir. Guillermo del Toro 2004): In the final days of World War II the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where an occult ceremony is taking place but not before a demon Hellboy has already been conjured. Joining the Allied forces Hellboy (Perlman) eventually grows to adulthood under the supervision of his adopted 'father' Trevor Bruttenholm (Hurt) serving the cause of good rather than evil. When the powerful and evil Nazi figure who unleashed Hellboy suddenly reappears in modern times he discovers that Hellboy is now working as a paranormal investigator at a secret U.S. government agency dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. Now Hellboy must fight to prevent the destruction of mankind... Dark Horse Comic's popular cult superhero Hellboy makes the leap from the comic book pages to the big screen with Ron Perlman the only actor considered charismatic enough to carry the role of the blood-red demon cutting a cigar-chomping dash aided by the prosthetic work of 6-time Oscar winning make-up artist Rick Baker. The Hulk (Dir. Ang Lee 2003): Scientist Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) has to put it mildly anger management issues. His quiet life as a brilliant researcher working with cutting edge genetic technology conceals a nearly forgotten and painful past. His ex-girlfriend and equally brilliant fellow researcher Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) has tired of Bruce's cordoned off emotional terrain and resigns herself to remaining an interested onlooker to his quiet life. Which is exactly where Betty finds herself during one of the early trials in Banner's groundbreaking research. A simple oversight leads to an explosive situation and Bruce makes a split-second decision; his heroic impulse saves a life and leaves him apparently unscathed-his body absorbing a normally deadly dose of gamma radiation. Acclaimed Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee turns his masterful eye to adapting the classic Marvel Comics character for the big screen. Setting out to faithfully transfer the Hulk comic book character from four-color paneled page to motion picture screen Lee combines all the elements of a blockbuster visual effects-intensive superhero movie with the brooding romance and tragedy of Universal's classic horror films. Staying true to the early subversive spirit of the Hulk as envisioned by its creators (Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) while also tuning the tale to current dangerous times Lee presents a portrait of a man at war with himself and the world both a superhero and a monster a means of wish fulfillment and a nightmare...
An adaptation of Edna Ferber's play...
When travelling through the woods young David is captured by a members of a witches' coven. Soon he is involved in a bizarre power struggle with a beautiful witch and the coven's evil queen...
George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber collaborated on this 1927 hit comedy about an eminent and slightly eccentric theatrical clan. A Barrymore-like brood, the Cavendishes are as flamboyant offstage as they are on. Their real-life family drama occurs in a Manhattan apartment when the grand matriarch, Fanny Cavendish, learns that her daughter and granddaughter may both be giving up the stage for marriage. Complicating the situation is the arrival of Fanny's son, Tony - a matinee idol on the run ...
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