Based on the memoirs of party-girl-turned-conservationist Kuki Gallman, I Dreamed of Africa never comes close to living up to its title; the mood is more prosaic travelogue than oneiric wonderment. After a car accident warns Kuki of her mortality, she resolves to grow up, a process that mysteriously involves marrying a man she barely knows and moving with him and her young son to the wilds of South Africa. There she learns new beau Paolo is less reliable than she thought, but also that the sun-baked plains and roaming beasts of Africa speak to her in a way the nightlife of Italy did not. (We learn of her blossoming humanity because she introduces herself to the servants; a probing study of interpersonal relationships this isn't.) Kim Basinger obviously feels connected to the role--she can stride across a room with a majestic self-righteousness that the film should have drawn upon more--but she's defeated by a script composed of repetitive vignettes that have no cumulative effect and a director (Hugh Hudson) who keeps the film's emotional impact curiously flat and diffuse except for the crass, manipulative moments every 20 minutes or so. Sure the photography's lovely, but really, how hard is it to get a nice shot of flamingoes at dawn? --Bruce Reid, Amazon.com
The exceptionally fine cast--Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, J T Walsh, Mary-Louise Parker, Anthony Edwards, William H. Macy, Anthony LaPaglia, Ossie Davis and Brad Renfro--goes a long way toward making The Client one of the more solidly enjoyable screen adaptations of a John Grisham southern gothic legal thriller. Teen-hearthrob Renfro is a natural, playing a kid whose life is in jeopardy after he witnesses the death of a Mob lawyer. Susan Sarandon is the attorney who decides to look after the boy; nobody can match her when it comes to playing strong and protective maternal figures (Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil, Dead Man Walking). Sarandon won her fourth Oscar nomination as best actress for this role, before finally winning the following year for Dead Man Walking. Author Grisham was so impressed with former window dresser/fashion designer/screenwriter-turned-director Joel Schumacher's work on this movie that he later asked him to direct A Time to Kill. --Jim Emerson
The first two episodes of this BBC miniseries only hint at the delights to come. A lawsuit aimed at church reform in the town of Barchester forces a decent middle-aged clergyman (Donald Pleasence) into a moral crisis and a conflict with his son-in-law, a pompous archdeacon (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George). The gracefully written and acted narrative shows glimpses of dry wit--but in episode 3, the arrival of a new bishop (Clive Swift, Keeping Up Appearances), his imperious wife (Geraldine McEwan, The Magdalene Sisters), and his devious chaplain (Alan Rickman, Truly Madly Deeply, the Harry Potter movies) launches The Barchester Chronicles into a satirical power struggle all the more mesmerizing because of the smallness of the territory. The scheming of the citizens and clergy of this British town is both Byzantine and wonderfully comic as the tempestuous personalities claw and dig at each other. Rickman, in one of his first film or television roles, turns in a tour de force of oily ambition. McEwan's ferocious machinations are downright terrifying, while the sputtering Hawthorne seems constantly in danger of bursting a vein. At the center of it all is Pleasence. Making goodness compelling has always been difficult, since wickedness is always more dramatic; but Pleasence brings a deep and stirring passion to his role that proves as engaging as all the back-biting that surrounds him. And these are just the more familiar faces; a host of lesser-known actors give equally superb performances. The final episode (of seven) will have you on pins and needles. The Barchester Chronicles, adapted from two novels by Anthony Trollope, is one of those marvels of British television, a skillful production that proves intelligent fare can be hugely entertaining. --Bret Fetzer
Thelma & Louise is a feminist manifesto writ large on the big screen, a smart and funny gender reversal of the standard Hollywood buddy formula, a road movie extraordinaire, with characters who became instant cultural icons. No matter how you define it, Ridley Scott's 1991 box-office hit pinched a nerve and made the cover of national news magazines for tweaking gender politics like no movie before or since. Callie Khouri's screenplay overhauls the buddy formula with its story about two best friends (Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis) who embark on a liberating adventure that turns into an interstate police chase after a traumatic incident makes both women into fugitives; they are en route to a destiny they could never have imagined. The perfect casting of Sarandon and Davis makes Thelma & Louise a movie for the ages and Brad Pitt became an overnight star after his appearance as the con-artist cowboy who gives Davis a memorable (but costly) night in a roadside motel. --Jeff Shannon
The story of a famous children's author suffering from writers block who has a msyterious woman suffering from amnesia turn up on his doorstep. Little do they both know she is in fact a real live fairy!
From the legendary master of gore: Pete Walker (Frightmare, The Flesh and Blood Show) comes this pulse-pounding, nail-biting thriller where trickery, betrayal and death are around every corner. Susan George (Straw Dogs) stars as Marianne, a nightclub dancer desperately running for her life. Marianne is about to turn 21 and inherit the contents of a sizeable Swiss bank account, which also includes certain sensitive documents that would incriminate her estranged and corrupt father, The Judge (Leo Genn). Her only chance may be her new love, Eli (Barry Evans Doctor in the House) but with both of them targeted for assassination, can their love survive? Susan George lights up the screen with a charisma and appeal that's simply breath-takingĀ
A taut crime melodrama, Chain of Events features noted actor and film-maker Kenneth Griffith as a bank clerk whose attempt to dodge a fare has devastating consequences; a powerful cast includes Rank Charm School starlet Susan Shaw and future Richard the Lionheart lead Dermot Walsh. Adapted from a radio play written by inimitable character actor Leo McKern and directed by Carry On legend Gerald Thomas, Chain of Events is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. John Clarke, an uninspiring sort of fellow, one day boards a bus on his way home from work and foolishly forgetsĀ to pay his fare. He is caught by an inspector, but instead of owning up to it, gives the name and address of one of the bank's clients, setting in motion a violent chain of events involving blackmail, robbery and death... SPECIAL FEATURES: Image Gallery Original Pressbook PDF
In this turbulent swashbuckler Cecil B. DeMille presents a tale of daring piracy and hot-blooded love! 1840s Key West is filled with salvage businesses thriving on the cargo of wrecked ships. Ship owner Loxi Claiborne suspects salvager King Cutler of foul play since he's always first on the scene at a wreck. Meanwhile Loxi's suitor Captain Jack Stuart is another suspect - at least to jealous lawyer Steve Tolliver. Who will be found guilty - and how - hinges on some amazing developments. Along with the star-studded cast (including Robert Preston and Susan Hayward) this glorious sea spectacle has stars of another kind. There are huge clipper ships gliding in the mist storms splintering them on the rocks and a giant squid in a memorable underwater battle. With Given DeMille's robust direction it all adds up to an Oscar for Special Effects
A beautiful young woman is charmed into a loveless marriage by a dashing aristocrat. But life at the old mansion is not all that it seems and this is not a Mills & Boon style romantic tale. The barred and gated crypt below the ancient house contains a deadly secret. Mysterious events lead to head rolling revelations about a secret cult known as The Red Monks. But who's past is more deadly?
You can't kill the boogeyman", explained John Carpenter in the original Halloween, and to prove it Michael Myers returns in the handsome but grisly sequel Halloween 2. Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode but spends most of her time cowering in a hospital gown, and Donald Pleasance runs around like a maniac as the panicky doctor desperate to hunt down Myers before he kills again. Carpenter writes and produces with partner Debra Hill and together they replace the mystery and uncertainty of the original with an exponentially bigger body count, some strange tales about the Druids and Pagan ceremonies, and the now-familiar family ties between Michael and Laurie. First-time director Rick Rosenthal (Bad Boys) paces the film at a brisk jog and directs it with a clean, crisp style, taking the murders out of the dark to display them in all their nasty detail. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
From the legendary master of gore: Pete Walker (Frightmare, The Flesh and Blood Show) comes this pulse-pounding, nail-biting thriller where trickery, betrayal and death are around every corner. Susan George (Straw Dogs) stars as Marianne, a nightclub dancer desperately running for her life. Marianne is about to turn 21 and inherit the contents of a sizeable Swiss bank account, which also includes certain sensitive documents that would incriminate her estranged and corrupt father, The Judge (Leo Genn). Her only chance may be her new love, Eli (Barry Evans Doctor in the House) but with both of them targeted for assassination, can their love survive?
What private eye Harry Moseby doesn't know about the girl he's looking for... just might get him killed. Gene Hackman stars as Harry Moseby a second-rate gumshoe working on low-end cases while trying to straighten out his own muddled life. When he is contacted by a mother looking for her young movie-actress daughter Harry supposes it is just another dull case. He finds the girl and brings her home with little trouble. But soon Harry learns of the girl's death shortly after her return. He discovers the death of one of her boyfriends as well and connecting the two 'accidents' tries to unravel an ever-growing mystery.
Denholm Elliott Susan Stephen and Michael Hordern star in this highly engaging feature from renowned writer producer and director Wolf Rilla. Filmed in Samoa and based on the true experiences of Sir Arthur Grimble – commissioner of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony in the western Pacific during the 1920s – Pacific Destiny is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Life is strange and worrying for Arthur Grimble when with his bride Olivia he arrives on an island in the Pacific as a cadet in the Colonial Service. The testy resident commissioner who had been expecting an experienced man soon shows his disapproval; but will Arthur and his young wife succeed in winning the hearts and minds of the island's people? SPECIAL FEATURES: Original Theatrical Trailer Unused Scene [mute] Image Gallery Promotional Material PDFs
Ace Lightning follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old Mark Hollander and his superhero friend Ace Lightning! Newly arrived in North America from England Mark is playing his favourite 'Ace Lightning' video game when he discovers a level that shouldn't exist. While exploring the secret level lightning strikes Mark's house and electricity courses through the console bringing the game's characters to life. Believing the real world is another level of the video game the game's hero
Susan Clarkson sets off on an adventure she hadn't bargained for when she joins a yacht to cruise from San Diego bound for Vancouver. When a storm hits the engine cuts out so the crew abandon the vessel. Hurt hungry and adrift matters worsen....
Young co-eds Lynette and Barbara will do anything to get into the most popular sorority on campus. Their final pledge is to spend the night at an abandoned Halloween Spooky House. The sorority sisters have all kinds of scary plans for the girls. Unfortunately what they all don't know is that there is psychotic killer squatting in the building. One by one they try to escape the labyrinth of death!
A successful American banker faces all sorts of opposition after revealing his penchant for dressing in women's clothing...
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy