Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in American History X nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive--at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation. The film's basic message--that hate is learned and can be unlearned--is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and American History X partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities--and a compelling clash of visual styles--to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Director Jamie Babbit's assured first feature But I'm a Cheerleader is subversive, smart and extremely funny, but not entirely original. Megan Williams (Natasha Lyonne) is a good Christian cheerleading girl. She doesn't think it at all strange that she can't get the image of tumbling cheerleaders out of her mind while her football player boy friend is trying to French kiss her. But her parents, played respectively by Bud Cort (Brewster McCloud) and John Water' s regular Mink Stole, have noticed Megan's odd behaviour and arrange an intervention. They send her off to New Directions, a sexual rehabilitation camp run by a straight-laced school madam, Mary (Cathy Moriarty), where she is forced to come to terms with her lesbian tendencies. But while on a strict regime of corrective therapy, Megan falls head over heels f or surly dyke, Graham--played by Clea DuVall (The Astronaut's Wife)--and is forced to reassess whether straight really is great. The zany script and over-the-top characterisations have the feel of a John Waters comedy; The day-glo sets and costumes give the film a surreal Pee Wee's Playhouse feel and Lyonne is charmingly dizzy and bewildered throughout. RuPaul excels as Mike, a former gay exercise trainer, and Moriarty out-camps them all. On the DVD: The main feature is presented in letterboxed widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. Extra features are limited to a theatrical trailer and a 10-minute behind-the-scenes look at the film in which director Jamie Babbit explains the genesis of the film followed by hastily assembled footage of random scenes being shot. --Chris Campion
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call...The Twilight Zone! Episodes comprise: 1. Two 2. The Arrival 3. The Shelter 4. The Passerby 5. A Game of Pool 6.
Three episodes of ""Dusty's Trail"" (1973) coupled together into a feature film. In a similar situation to ""Gilligan's Island"" (1964) and even starring Bob Denver again Dusty is a bumbling assistant to Coachmaster Callahan on a stage and wagon. Thanks to Dusty's bungling they are soon seperated from the wagon train and lost in the wilderness. The characters parallel those of Gilligan's show.
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