The first of what would be a series, 1985's American Ninja is a martial-arts thriller. Michael Dudikoff plays Joe, a sullen young GI who turns up at American airbase Fort Sonora and immediately makes himself unpopular. Even when he single-handedly saves the Commanding Officer's daughter (Judie Aronson, whose function is to scream a lot and get her clothes very wet), from a ninja ambush, he's still ostracised. It turns out that Joe is actually a highly skilled ninja warrior, but he's an amnesiac with no idea how he acquired his abilities. Eventually, having bonded with fellow GI Steve James, he helps foil criminal arms-dealer Ortega, whose morals are as dubious as his accent, which veers from French to Hispanic. American Ninja is essentially an excuse for a series of martial arts set pieces, though these seem a little lumbering by the standards later set by Jackie Chan and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The soundtrack and overall feel is clearly influenced by the classic A-Team. The plot is well signposted at every turn and the dialogue makes you think of an American film that has been badly dubbed. However, the film will work as kitsch, for idle comfort-viewing or for small boys. On the DVD: The cheapness of the original has been immaculately preserved--however, the only extra is the original trailer.--David Stubbs
Despicable Me is a compelling animated comedy about an aging supervillain's falling popularity at the hands of a younger supervillain and three young orphan girls. Gru is a true, bad-to-the-core evildoer who's earned the title of the world's No. 1 supervillain. But when young upstart Vector steals the Pyramid of Giza, Gru's status suddenly sinks to No. 2. Gru counters his fall by speeding up his plan to shrink and steal the moon, enlisting the help of his army of minions and the elderly Dr. Nefario, but a lack of funding and the difficulties involved in stealing the needed shrink-ray gun threaten to derail everything. Adopting three young orphan girls is an unlikely, but seemingly effective means to further Gru's evil mission, but Gru quickly discovers that caring for three young girls is more work, and distraction, than he could ever have anticipated. What unfolds is an unexpected shift in attitude that will forever change the lives of Gru, Vector, and all three young girls. A visually appealing film produced by Chris Meledandri (Ice Age, Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, and Horton Hears a Who), Despicable Me is full of weirdly shaped characters and settings that are somehow a perfect fit for Sergio Pablos's story. What's especially refreshing is that in this film, 3-D effects are used skillfully and effectively: even when the effects are exploited for comic reasons, they don't become a distraction, as is all too common in many recent movies. The film is full of corny banter and silly antics that inspire plenty of spontaneous laughter, and the minions, while not the best-developed characters, sure are comical. Ultimately, there's also a wholesome message about following one's heart. Steve Carell is the perfect villain-gone-soft in his role as Gru, Jason Segal is quite funny as Vector, and Julie Andrews makes a surprising appearance as Gru's very un-motherly mom. The story isn't new, the humour is relatively juvenile and somewhat forgettable, and it's no Toy Story 3, but Despicable Me celebrates silliness in a way that's satisfying and highly entertaining. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Face: At thirty five Ray's learned the tricks and done the time. Now he's a face - a villain to be reckoned with and definitely not to be crossed - ready for the blag the big score that'll really set him and his team up. Although the job goes smooth and sweet the take doesn't scratch the three million the gang had it figured for. And when somebody starts thieving from the thieves and people start getting blown away Ray's got some serious thinking to do before the traitor -
Titles Comprise: Rescue Dawn: Christian Bale and Steve Zahn star in Rescue Dawn an action drama by Werner Herzog based on the director's acclaimed 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. The film recounts the true story of German-born Dieter Dengler who dreams of being a pilot and eventually makes his way to the United States where he joins the military during the Vietnam War era. Shot down and captured in Vietnam Dieter along with a handfull of other captives decide to hatch an escape plan before it's too late... Behind Enemy Lines: On a reconnaissance flight over eastern Europe disillusioned naval pilot Chris Burnett (Owen Wilson) and his partner Stackhouse (Gabriel Macht) photograph a scene they were not meant to see. When their plane is shot down and Stackhouse is quickly captured and executed Burnett must struggle to survive in unfamiliar hostile territory with a cold-blooded assassin and hundreds of enemy troops on his heels. Meanwhile on an American battleship in the Adriatic Sea Burnett's commanding officer Admiral Reigart (Gene Hackman) attempts to negotiate his soldier's return amidst tense political and military maneuvers. Soon Burnett discovers exactly why he's being hunted making his situation and Reigert's actions even more perilous... Tigerland: Roland Bozz after being conscripted into the US army joins a platoon of other young soldiers preparing to fight in Vietnam. He has no interest in fighting for his country and tries to get sent home as a trouble maker but his superiors mistake his defiance as intelligence and he soon gets a chance to try his hand at leadership... Windtalkers: In 1942 several hundred Navajo Americans were recruited as Marines and trained to use their language as code. Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to protect Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) - a Navajo code talker the Marines' new secret weapon. Enders' orders are to protect his code talker but if Yahzee should fall into enemy hands he's to protect the code at all costs. Against the backdrop of the horrific Battle of Saipan when capture is imminent Enders is forced to make a decision: if he can't protect his fellow Marine can he bring himself to kill him to protect the code?
West Cornwall in 1895: a once-glorious tin mine is now in its final death throes. A weather-beaten opera company arrives in town and finds itself tangled up in a scam to offload the mine's worthless shares. But when the mine unexpectedly yields up new treasures, upstanding, Victorian reputations begin to crumble and any notion of fair play is abandoned! The fate of the whole community rests on the courage of one feisty young maid Stars Jenny Agutter.
The army is known for churning out lean mean fighting machines intent on protecting our great nation. But at Fort Baxter, there s one unit that can t even form a straight line... Steve Martin stars with Dan Aykroyd and Phil Hartman in an outrageous comedy from Imagine Entertainment. Martin is the inexplicable, the incorrigible, the invincible Sgt. Bilko, leader of a ragtag group of the sorriest soldiers ever to enlist in the armed forces. Instead of training his troops for battle, he passes on his legacy of gambling and shunning responsibility. Times get tough however, when the base is threatened with a shutdown, and a by-the-book adversary, Major Thorn (Hartman), is intent on taking Bilko s reputation down with it. Now, all bets are on Bilko to drum up his biggest scheme yet to save Fort Baxter...and clear his name!
Naruto: The Lost Story
More ambitious in scope than any of its other animated films (before or to come), Disney's 1940 Fantasia was a dizzying, magical and highly enjoyable marriage of classical music and animated images. Fantasia 2000, originally made for the IMAX large-screen format, features some breathtaking animation and storytelling, and in a few spots soars to wonderful high points, but it still more often than not has the feel of walking in its predecessor's footsteps as opposed to creating its own path. A family of whales swimming and soaring to Respighi's The Pines of Rome is magical to watch, but ends all too soon; a forest sprite's dance of life, death and rebirth to Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring too clearly echoes the original Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain/Ave Maria sequence. But when it's on target, Fantasia 2000 is glorious enough to make you giddy. Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a perfect narrative set to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2, and Donald Duck's guest appearance as the assistant to Noah (of the Ark fame) set to Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance marches is a welcome companion piece (though not an equal) to The Sorcerer's Apprentice, the one original Fantasia piece included here. The high point of Fantasia 2000, though, is a fantastic day-in-the-life sequence of 1930s New York City set to Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and animated in the style of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld; it's a perfect melding of music, story and animation style. Let's hope future Fantasias (reportedly in the works) take a cue from the best of this compilation. The music is provided by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine, interspersed with negligible intros by Steve Martin, Bette Midler, Itzhak Perlman, James Earl Jones and others. --Mark EnglehartFantasia and Fantasia 2000 are also available together in the three-disc DVD Fantasia Collection.
The lunatics are running the asylum in The Ninth Configuration--but are they really lunatics? Is Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach) really a noted psychiatrist assigned to supervise patients in an experimental government clinic or is he really "Killer" Kane, a decorated US Marine who committed atrocities in Vietnam before going insane? These are just some of the puzzles that will eventually be solved in this giddy and often brilliant drama created by William Peter Blatty, who wrote The Exorcist before going on to direct this adaptation of his own novel, Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane. A satirical study of war's traumatic aftermath, the film uses battle psychosis as the springboard for a delirious and scathingly intelligent human tragedy, laced with some of the wittiest dialogue you're ever likely to hear. The film boasts a veritable menagerie of crazy characters, all brought vividly to life by a stellar supporting cast. One patient is preparing a production of Shakespeare with an all-dog cast. Another is convinced he's Superman and the resident doctor can't seem to find his trousers. But there's a method to this madness and it takes a barroom brawl--one of the most memorable in film history--to provide the harsh slap of reality to Blatty's elaborate group therapy scheme. When the true purpose of The Ninth Configuration is revealed, the film (and particularly the fine performances of Keach and Wilson) offers a depth of compassionate sanity that may well take you completely by surprise. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
From the creators of MTV's Jackass comes Wildboyz the groundbreaking adventure show spearheaded by its two stars of low moral calibre Chris Pontius and Steve-O. In each episode the boys explore the most exotic lands on the planet to encounter native cultures and a variety of dangerous wildlife in an absurd fashion. Whether they're fertilizing salmon eggs in Alaska jumping into the waters of South Africa with great white sharks or levitating alligators in the swamps of
Benidorm is a six-part comedy series from Derren Litten (co-writer of The Catherine Tate Show) which features a strong ensemble cast of some of the finest comedy talent in the UK. Set in the Solana all-inclusive Resort Benidorm follows regulars and first-time holiday makers on their journeys abroad. Benidorm regulars for twenty years Jacqueline and Donald are enthusiastic middle-ages swingers who rarely leave the hotel. Known as 'The Oracle' because of his computer-like knowledge of trivial facts and figures Geoff Maltby is on holiday with his mother or PA as he calls her but keen to hide the fact. Gavin and Troy are on their first break away together after setting up a successful hair salon. Kate and Martin's marriage is at braking point after only one night in the resort. Then there are The Garveys; a Lancashire family who are on their first holiday abroad. Janice and Mick plus Janice's mother - the sun-worshipping chain-smoking Madge who can always be guaranteed to have a bad word for everyone.
Horton the Elephant (Jim Carrey) struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbours who refuse to believe it exists.
The woodland gang return for some more misadventures in this riotous sequel to the animated hit, "Open Season"!
A celebration of the life and career of Steve McQueen with five of his classic movies. Bullitt SE (Dir. Peter Yates 1968): Special Edition (English - Dolby Digital (2.0) Stereo / 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1 hour and 49 minutes) In one of his most memorable roles Steve McQueen stars as Detective Frank Bullitt a hard-driving tough-as-nails San Francisco cop. Bullitt has just received what sounds like a routine assignment: keep a star witness out of sight and out of danger for 48
Cowboy (Emilio Estevez) a lone gunslinger of grey-eyed coldness and very few words rides into town trailing a single wooden coffin behind him. Hotly pursued by The Regulators a band of self appointed lawmen whom are hell bent on revenge and led by the imposing figure of Reager (Howie Long). This mysterious figure is a man with no name and a man with no home whose only role in life appears to be to utilise his incredible gunslinging skills to defend those who are unable to do so against the oppressive bandits and ruthless cowboys in this lawless society. It is on one such occasion when he rescues a crippled civil war veteran he is entrusted with the secret of untold treasures and now has not only Reager and his vengeance riddled posse to deal with but also another band of ruthless outlaws who have made the search for the gold their life's work. It's incredibly stylised action all the way as this cold blooded killer must utilise all of his skills in a battle against overwhelming odds as the mystery behind the single wooden coffin slowly unfolds.
Brakes is a raw, dark and unconventional comedy directed by Mercedes Grower and featuring an all-star cast of British talent. Split into two halves it follows the tumultuous stories of nine couples, plunging straight into the brutal and absurd endings of their relationships first, before travelling back to the moments when the spark of love between them first emerged. Using London as their match-maker, each of their stories is unique yet familiar to us all.
Bowfinger: How does Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin) Hollywood's least successful director get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy) Hollywood's biggest star in his ultra low-budget film? Any way he can. With an ingenious scheme and the help of the eager nerd Jiff an ambitious and sexy wannabe (Heather Graham) and an over-the-hill diva (Christine Baranski) Bowfinger sets out to trick Kit Ramsey into the performance of a lifetime.... (Dir. Frank Oz 1999) The Nutty Professor: Eddie Murphy stars as Dr Sherman Klump a kind ""calorically challenged"" genetics professor who longs to shed his 400-pound frame in order to win the heart of beautiful Jada Pinkett. So with one swig of his experimental fat-reducing serum Sherman becomes ""Buddy Love"" a fast-talking pumped-up plumped-down Don Juan. Can Sherman stop his buff alter ego before it's too late or will Buddy have the last laugh? (Dir. Tom Shadyac 1996) Life: Eddie Murphy is the fast talking con-artist Rayford Gibson and Martin Lawrence is the conservative bank teller Claude Banks. The two are accidentally teamed up to become the funniest ""odd couple"" east of the Mississippi. In an effort to pay off Ray's debt and restore Claude's reputation they travel south on a bootlegging run for some quick cash. There is no limit to their comical misfortune as they are placed at the scene of a crime and their mistaken identity lands them right in front of the judge. This hysterical comedy gives a whole new meaning to friends for life. (Dir. Ted Demme 1999)
Tales From The River Bank
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