Kevin Costner's lousy English accent is a small obstacle in this often exciting version of the Robin Hood fable. That aside, it's refreshing to have a preface to the old story in which we meet the robber hero of Sherwood Forest as a soldier in King Richard's Crusades, coming home to find his people under siege from the cruelties of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). After Robin and his community of outcasts and fighters take to the trees, director Kevin Reynolds (Fandango, 187) is on more familiar narrative ground, and he goes for the gusto with lots of original action (Robin shoots two arrows simultaneously from his bow in two directions). Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as Marion, makes a convincing damsel in distress and Morgan Freeman brings dignity to his role as Robin's Moor friend. Alan Rickman, however, gets the most attention for his scene-chewing role as the rotten sheriff, an almost campy performance that is highly entertaining but perhaps a little out of sorts with the rest of the film. --Tom Keogh
Before SIN CITY and THE DARK KNIGHT rose, there was THE CROW - the dark, lurid revenge fantasy (The New York Times) from director Alex Proyas (DARK CITY) that entranced audiences and critics alike. Featuring Brandon Lee in his final performance, THE CROW is the tale of young musician Eric Draven (Lee) who, along with his fiancee, is murdered on the eve of their Halloween wedding. Exactly one year after their deaths, Eric is risen from the grave by a mysterious crow to seek out his killers and force them to answer for their crimes.
The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies but it will forever be remembered as the film during which Brandon Lee was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. Devil's Night is for rock star Eric Draven and his girlfriend Shelley the night they meet their brutal demise at the hands of the inner city's most notorious characters. Exactly a year later Eric is brought back to life and granted the powers of superhuman strength and vision in order that he may seek vengeance on those who killed him - all under the watchful eye of a mysterious crow. One by one Eric seeks out the gang who are out for another evening of mayhem and violence unaware of the fate that awaits them.
The Civil War has ended, but Colonel Morsman Carver is on one final mission: to kill Gideon no matter what it takes.
The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies (like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance and piece together enough footage to make the film releasable. Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and occult menace from every dank, concrete crack, but it really adds up to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him and his fiancée the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. --Jim Emerson
In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, and her life was not saved. Instead, it was stolen. Click Images to Enlarge
In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, and her life was not saved. Instead, it was stolen. Click Images to Enlarge
The Crow set the standard for dark and violent comic-book movies (like Spawn or director Alex Proyas's superior follow-up, Dark City), but it will forever be remembered as the film during which star Brandon Lee (son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee) was accidentally killed on the set by a loaded gun. The filmmakers were able to digitally sample what they'd captured of Lee's performance and piece together enough footage to make the film releasable. Indeed, it is probably more fascinating for that post-production story than for the tale on the screen. The Crow is appropriately cloaked in ominous expressionistic shadows, oozing urban dread and occult menace from every dank, concrete crack, but it really adds up to a simple and perfunctory tale of ritual revenge. Guided by a portentous crow (standing in for Poe's raven), Lee plays a deceased rock musician who returns from the grave to systematically torture and kill the outlandishly violent gang of hoodlums who murdered him and his fiancée the year before. The film is worth watching for its compelling visuals and genuinely nightmarish, otherworldly ambience. --Jim Emerson
Alien: Resurrection, the fourth entry in the franchise, is directed by French stylist Jean-Pierre Jeunet in a much more straightforward action-adventure manner than its predecessor, the dark and confusing Alien 3. This chapter is set even further in the future, where scientists on a space colony have cloned both the alien and Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who died in Alien 3; in doing so, however, they've mixed alien DNA with Ripley's human chromosomes, which gives Ripley surprising power (and a bad attitude). A band of smugglers comes aboard only to discover the new race of aliens--and when the multi-mouthed melon heads get loose, no place is safe. But, on the plus side, they have Ripley as a guide to help them get out. Winona Ryder is on hand as the smugglers' most unlikely crew member (with a secret of her own), but this one is Sigourney's all the way. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com On the DVD: Unlike the first Alien movie which has an excellent documentary and director's commentary, this DVD is light on extras (although digital picture and sound quality are excellent) with only a perfunctory "making of" featurette.
In this new version of the classic tale A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend," escapes from a terrible prison years later and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
The modern-gothic original that entranced audiences and critics alike comes to 4K Ultra HD⢠for its 30th Anniversary. THE CROW tells the tale of a young musician brutally murdered alongside his beloved fiancée, only to be risen from the grave by a mysterious crow. Seeking revenge, he battles a criminal underground that must answer for its crimes. This supernatural superhero movie from director Alex Proyas (DARK CITY) was based on the comic book series and stars Brandon Lee in his tragic final performance.
In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, and her life was not saved. Instead, it was stolen. Click Images to Enlarge
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves reinvented the legend for contemporary cinema audiences, and in doing so far outstripped at the box office even Kevin Costner's own infinitely superior Dances with Wolves to become the biggest hit of 1991. It's an entertaining enough family adventure film, but plays like a big-budget TV movie with no distinctive flair for action or romance. (Director Kevin Reynolds would reunite with Costner four years later for the equally stodgy Waterworld). If the accents are all over the place, at least Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio makes a Maid Marion of ravishing Pre-Raphaelite beauty. Morgan Freeman is fine as Robin's Moorish sidekick, though, other than to expand the demographic, his character has no business being in the story. Realising that the whole enterprise has the credibility of a pantomime, Alan Rickman outrageously camps up his Sheriff of Nottingham, stealing the film in the process. Costner makes an acceptable hero, though he will never replace Errol Flynn in the definitive The Adventures of Robin Hood. If you can accept explosives in 13th-century England, that the approach to Sherwood Forest is a modern conifer plantation and that the 170 miles from Dover to Nottingham is a matter of a few hours ride via Northumberland, then you may find much to enjoy here. Otherwise an already overlong film has been extended to an excessive 148 minutes in this special edition, making far too much of a not very good thing. On the DVD: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is presented as a two-disc set, with a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer that is generally good looking but with an occasionally soft picture and some evidence of dirt and minor print damage. The Dolby Digital 5.1 remix of the original stereo soundtrack is atmospheric and powerful and shows off Michael Kamen's score to its best. Though presented with 12 minutes of footage not seen in the cinema version, the film still suffers most of the cuts (amounting to 28 seconds) imposed by the BBFC over the years. The main extras are a pair of commentaries: Costner and Reynolds discuss the film in frank and enthusiastic detail, while on a second track Freeman, Slater, writer/producer Pen Densham and cowriter/producer John Watson offer a great deal of insight plus a fair bit of stating the obvious, backslapping and critic bashing. Robin Hood: The Myth, the Man, the Movie (31 mins) is a cut version of a 45-minute TV special originally broadcast in America the night before the premiere, and offers an interesting if brief look at the Robin Hood story plus some routine making-of material. Finally, there is a video of Bryan Adams performing "Everything I Do, I Do It for You" live at Slane Castle and 18 minutes worth of bland electronic presskit-style archive interviews with Costner, Freeman, Mastrantonio, Slater and Alan Rickman, plus the original American trailer, a stills gallery and cast and crew list. --Gary S Dalkin
It's all for one and one for all as the daring trio (Kiefer Sutherland Oliver Platt and Charlie Sheen) attempt to stop the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) from overthrowing the King of France. Enter young D'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell) whose dream of becoming a Musketeer is put in jeopardy when he falls in love with Richelieu's beautiful but treacherous spy Milady de Winter (Rebecca De Mornay). If D'Artagnan is to escape her clutches and become a Musketeer he'll have to prove hi
James Cameron wrote the script for this not-so-futuristic science fiction tale about a former vice cop (Ralph Fiennes) who now sells addicting, virtual reality clips that allow a user to experience the recorded sensations of others. He becomes embroiled in a murder conspiracy, tries to save a former girlfriend (Juliette Lewis), and has a romance with his chauffeur and bodyguard (Angela Bassett). Cameron's ex-wife, director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break), brought the whole, busy, violent enterprise to the screen, and while the film's socially relevant heart is in the right place, its excesses wear one out. Some of the casting doesn't quite click either: Fiennes isn't really right for his nervous role, and Lewis is annoying (and unbelievable as the hero's much-yearned-for former squeeze). Expect some ugly if daring moments with the virtual reality stuff. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
The Civil War has ended, but Colonel Morsman Carver is on one final mission: to kill Gideon no matter what it takes.
With Dead Man, his first period piece, JIM JARMUSCH (Down by Law) imagined the nineteenth-century American West as an existential wasteland, delivering a surreal reckoning with the ravages of industrialization, the country's legacy of violence and prejudice, and the natural cycle of life and death. Accountant William Blake (Edward Scissorhands's JOHNNY DEPP) has hardly arrived in the godforsaken outpost of Machine before he's caught in the middle of a fatal lovers' quarrel.Wounded and on the lam, Blake falls under the watch of the outcast Nobody (Powwow Highway's GARY FARMER), a Native American without a tribe, who guides his companion on a spiritual journey, teaching him to dispense poetic justice along the way. Featuring austerely beautiful black-and-white photography by ROBBY MÃLLER and a live-wire score by NEIL YOUNG, Dead Man is a profound and unique revision of the western genre.Special FeaturesNew 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Jim Jarmusch, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrackNew Q&A in which Jarmusch responds to questions sent in by fansRarely seen footage of Neil Young composing and performing the film's scoreNew interview with actor Gary FarmerNew readings of William Blake poems by members of the cast, including Mili Avital, Alfred Molina, and Iggy Pop, accompanied by Jarmusch's location-scouting photosNew selected-scene audio commentary by production designer Bob Ziembicki and sound mixer Drew KuninDeleted scenesTrailerColor photos from the film's productionPlus: Essays by film critic Amy Taubin and music journalist Ben Ratliff
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) died fighting the perfect predator. Two hundred years and eight horrific experiments later she's back. A group of scientists have cloned her along with the alien queen inside her hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the resurrected Ripley is full of surprises for her creators as are the aliens. And soon a lot more than all hell breaks loose! To combat the creatures Ripley must team up with a band of smugglers including a mechanic named Call (Winona Ryder) who holds more than a few surprises of her own.
The modern-gothic original that entranced audiences and critics alike comes to 4K Ultra HD for its 30th Anniversary. THE CROW tells the tale of a young musician brutally murdered alongside his beloved fiancee, only to be risen from the grave by a mysterious crow. Seeking revenge, he battles a criminal underground that must answer for its crimes. This supernatural superhero movie from director Alex Proyas (DARK CITY) was based on the comic book series and stars Brandon Lee in his tragic final performance.
In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: a human who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world's most dangerous criminals. When terrorism reaches a new level that includes the ability to hack into people's minds and control them, Major is uniquely qualified to stop it. As she prepares to face a new enemy, Major discovers that she has been lied to, and her life was not saved. Instead, it was stolen. Click Images to Enlarge
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