Nearly everyone has thought about it. Imagine if you"re trapped on an island, unable to escape, with a threat hovering out of reach. This idea is played around with this atmospheric, though slightly soulless romantic thriller, starring Rachael Blake and Sam Neill. Given an almost non-existent cinema run in the UK, "Perfect Strangers" sees board New Zeeland fish-shop worker Melanine go on a one night stand with a gruff but attractive stranger. However, the stranger turns out to live up to noun, taking Melanine to an unknown island while she is asleep. Madness, love and obsession are woven into a patchwork of bizzar happenings, producing well-judged performances from the two leads, even if the script seems a little out of sync.
Ben Wishaw sufficed as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the extraordinarily scent-aware star of "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer". Now, with a new hair cut and a life-style and setting closer to home, he plays Ben Coulter, a generally friendly, well thought of 21 year-old. Following a series of decisions and events (borrowing his Dad's taxi, picking up a young woman) he opts for a night of drug fuelled sex. When he wakes up the girl is dead with a knife wound to the heart, and he is slowly being taken down the degrading road of police procedure and criminal conviction.
The police procedural element is gritty, at times gruesome, but never boring enough to drive you to play "spot the famous actor" (though there are plenty to spot, Lindsay Duncan, Pete Postlewaite, Bill Paterson to name but a few). Scenes of bodily abuse in prison are occasionally hard to watch, as Ben realises good behaviour is the last thing that will keep him in the inmate"s good books.
Wishaw excels spectacularly as Ben, managing to portray his understandable fury and anxiety without shoving it down your throat. The whole five part drama succeeds in doing this, artfully showing characters in unjust situations, but by never patronising the audience. Brutal prison life is not dumbed down, nor glamorised. The same can be said for the courtroom scenes, which treat you as witness to the event, not someone looking through from behind a window.
Overall this series is a magnificent example of superbly made drama from the BBC, taking care not to overlook story, motivation and characterisation for needless action.
Excellent series with action, complex stories. Excellent value if you get it from HMV, works out at tenner per series with a free TV movie (Ark of Truth!)
All 10 series of Stargate plus the movie Ark of Truth finishing the Ori arc
I never got to see the original series of Battlestar Galactica, I was born eight years after it ended, so I approached the new series knowing only the basics; humanity created the robotic cylons, they rebelled against us and war was declared, fought and ended. Forty years later, the cylons are back, with human faces and murderous intentions. I thought I knew what to expect.
This is not however the run-of-the-mill story of "humanity fights evil robots, heroics and explosions ensue until we kick their shiny metal behinds". In this world the war is over as soon as it is begun. And humanity lost. We are not the heroic victors toasting our new found respect for life and love. All that is left by the end of the mini series totals less than fifty-thousand souls, and these aren"t necessarily those we would wish to have survived. All but one military ship, the Galactica under the command of Bill Adama, have been destroyed and the highest ranking survivor of the government is Laura Roslin, the secretary of education now flung into the seat of presidency. There are criminals, self-serving traitors, terrorists and murderers alongside the heroic pilots and hardworking people of the fleet. Instead of coming together, unified under a common horrific experience as in the popcorn movies, we descend into a world of black markets, corruption and tough decisions. Tensions and tempers are running high and it is only a matter of time before blood is spilled. And that"s before you even get to the cylons hidden within the fleet and the constant fighting and running endured as they are repeatedly followed and attacked.
The main part of the show takes place with the people of the military; Kara Thrace (Starbuck) the best shot in or out of the cockpit, commander Adama"s son Lee (Apollo), the XO Saul Tigh, always with a drink on hand and many others but it is not just about the fights between the two races although this is certainly a large element and is done well; the military fighter Vipers are sleek but dirtied from the many battles with the cylon raders, themselves eerily alive with their moving red lights; the camera shots in space are almost documentary in feel, space is as it should be, silent, and there is definitely a hint of Joss Whedon"s Firefly about it. But it is the politics, religion, philosophy and very humanity of the show that makes it more than just popcorn tv. The main obstacles of the show aren"t how can we find and destroy the cylons but how to find water, how to prevent riots from the starving, thirsty people and how to keep the exhausted pilots flying in a straight line.
And then there are the religious legends that thousands of years ago the gods, based on the Olympian gods of ancient Greece, lived alongside humans on the planet Kobol, that the twelve tribes of humanity left and came to their current worlds, these having names related to the signs of the zodiac, and that a legendary thirteenth tribe journeyed alone to a planet called Earth. And this is the ultimate goal for the fleet containing the last vestiges of humanity. This is where humanity places it's hope but is also the source of it"s internal conflict; those who believe in the prophecies of Pithia contained in their sacred scrolls, telling of the dying leader who will lead them to Earth, and those who don"t believe and wish to trust to science and reason to find them a new home.
Overall, Battlestar Galactica is a wonderful show and season one is just the start of a epic journey across the galaxy, the fight for humanity and the discovery of what it means to be a person. Highly recommended.
Back for the second season Stan smith is still sortin out terrorism and his family! the funniest thing i have ever seen and well worth a watch! my particular favorites include Rogers acohol problem and talking German fish claus!
Playtime, said to be Tati's favourite of all his films, is often cited in lists of top 100 films. Not having seen it before I bought a copy (from MovieMail, so much more reasonably priced than the exorbitantly priced BFI) and viewed it.
It really is quite an extraordinary film, with minimal dialogue, and the camera flitting from scene to scene in the first part of the film particularly. The second part of the film is mainly set in a restaurant that has only opened that day, and shows every facet of the restaurant, for example, electricians trying to finish the neon lighting over the entrance just as the first customers are arriving, staff ripping away protective covering from the floor surface just as the same couple are entering the restaurant, and so forth. Tati himself is seen in much of the film, often recognised by men who were in the army with his character, Monsieur Hulot. Other characters who appear in many different scenes are a coach load of splendidly behatted American tourists.
The film can be seen as an allegory of modernity. It has touches of Chaplin and Keaton about it and I am sure is one of those films that can be seen many times, the viewer gaining something more on each screening.
This film is fantastic really enjoyed it, def' must have for your dvd collection something you can watch again and again and never get bored of it :)
This brilliant DVD gives you the entire Dads Army series including the lost episodes so you can enjoy the brilliant Dads Army episode in its entirity, I would reccomend buying the Dads Army Movie as well which would complement this product wonderfully.
You can enjoy all the best moments and gags, from Corporal Jones's "dont panic" to Captain Mannerings denonciation of Private Pike as " You stupid boy!" and Private Frasers many witty and often somewhat rude comments that are delivered at exactly the right moment. Watch and laugh at the molllycoddoling Mrs Pike, Captain Mannerings jealously of Sargent Wilsons wealthy upbringing and Warden Hodges many hilarious attempts to get people to "put that light out" and also enjoy the rivarly bewtween him and captain Mannering, be sure not to miss out on all these laughs, these days we really need something to lose ourselves in and laugh at.
This was undooutedly the best but I ever made for some
time if not the best buy I have made in my entire life.
Buy this DVD as a tribute to the Brilliance of the actors, many of whom are now very sadly dead, so it buying this product is in a way a tribute to thier memories and even to the real Home Gaurd of World War 2.
The entire Dads Army Series including the lost episodes and
some special episodes as well.
An absolutely superb film!
Winstone delivers a great performance, as does Sean Pertwee in a surprising role for him. Ray Burdis plays a really good part as Ray's side-kick. A Funny and yet sad film which entertains from start to finish. A "must have" in any DVD collection.
If Seth Gordon"s latest documentary is to be believed, in the cut-throat world of Donkey Kong only one (rather nerdy) man can reign supreme. During the 80s arcade gaming, and particularly classics like Donkey Kong and Mario, were all the range but with more and more people owning home consoles, the popularity of arcades really dipped. Luckily, there are some hardcore arcade stalwarts left and Seth Gordon has tracked them down so that he can chart their progress towards scoreboard immortality. As well as examining gaming culture, King of Kong is a David and Goliath tale of Steve Wiebe as he rises from obscurity to steal former top dog Billy Mitchell"s title of highest scorer on Donkey Kong. Not one to take defeat lying down, Mitchell is soon trying to reclaim his title. A thoroughly compelling documentary, King of Kong follows Wiebe and Mitchell through their victories and their defeats, through contested scores and secret backers, up to a thrilling final challenge that will (however surprisingly) have you on the end of your seat. It"s hard to believe that characters such as Machiavellian mullet wearer Mitchell and mild mannered obsessive Wiebe really exist, it"s even harder to believe they were willing to let themselves be filmed in all their geeky glory. King of Kong really does have everything you could want in a film - good versus evil, epic battles, nerd versus super-nerd - and keeps you engrossed from the very beginning. If you can tear yourself away from your (retro) console for a few hours, this is a wonderful film to pass the time with.
Not so neatly timed to coincide with the DVD release of Juno, the tabloids have been awash lately with stories about American high schools where startling numbers of underage girls are becoming pregnant and there has been much speculation that these pregnancies are inspired by characters seen in films like Juno and Knocked Up. In reality of course films and television can"t be blamed for all of society"s ills and Juno certainly doesn"t glorify the issue of teen pregnancy. In fact, even the most impressionable child would lose their desire to emulate Juno as her pregnant belly swells to the point of her innie turning into an outie. Despite being almost so hip that it hurts, Juno is at heart really a rather charming love story coupled with sublime humour and an uplifting outlook. After discovering that she is pregnant by long-time friend Paulie Bleaker (another brilliantly understated from comic genius Michael Cera), teenager Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page in a superb follow-up to her breakout role in Hard Candy) quickly decides that she doesn"t want to keep the baby. After a laugh out loud with a schoolmate at an abortion clinic, Juno breaks the news of her pregnancy to her father and stepmother (J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney) and starts scouring the newspaper classified adverts for prospective adoptive parents. She decides on perfectly perfect couple Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) as the ideal parents for her baby and, anxious to ensure that the child will have a good life, starts spending time at their house and becomes increasingly close to Mark while struggling to carry on as normal in school once the pregnancy can no longer be hidden. Although Juno has now experienced the backlash that all incredibly popular cult films come up against at some point or another, the transfer to DVD has done nothing to dampen the enjoyment of the film. As well as being one of the funniest films of last year, Juno is also just as emotional, sharp and cool as the hype would have you believe. Diablo Cody"s script is tight and witty, with a stylised dialogue that suits the characters perfectly. The cast are uniformly excellent and the soundtrack is perfect. Juno is a joy to watch.
This is an absolutely wonderful film; a spoof on Bulldog Drummond, the quintessential British hero who existed long before James Bond. The plot is crazy and involves a mad professor and his hopelessly inept daughter; a secret formula; German spies (one being the notorious Red Baron; an air ace who has crossed Bullshot in the past) and so on. Billy Connolly as the blindman who volunteers to be 'lookout' is hilarious and Shearman plays Bullshot Crummond wonderfully. The whole cast overact and ham up the plot so beautifully that, if you're on the right wavelength, you'll laugh till you cry.
The nature of this boxset is irrepressible!!!!!
Very little in the way of extras here, but I think most people who remember this show are here for the nostalgia anyway, so it's not too much of an issue.
For people of a certain age (dare I say 30+?) - this will bring memories flooding back of playground re-enactments, pretending to rip imaginary hair from chests to conjure up monkey armies or producing the monkey staff from behind your ear!
Truly inspired in places, totally off it's head in others - this certainly was the punkiest monkey that ever popped.
Give it a go and see what all the nostalgic fun is about!
Robert Neville is trapped all alone in New York City... but his he??? He spends his days preparing for the nights actions and trying to cure a terrible virus which turns everybody into a vampire! It is a great movie to watch and doesn't disapoint all the way through. It keeps you on the edge of your seat... will he die or will he save man-kind? It might not be a movie which you can watch over and over again but for the first viewing it certainly is one of the best movies for a while... so go ahead and buy it NOW!!!
A fantastic movie which keeps you on the edge of your seat!
I brought this having already owned the first Top Gear Challenges DVD, and seeing as that was very impressive, I thought this would be even better. When I watched it for the first time, I wasn't dissappointed! It is a great DVD including some of the best challenges from the last season of Top Gear, it includes the classics: The Britcar 24hr race where Hammond crashed his car!, The Channel Crossing(lol!) and the great race where the world's fastest car races the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter!
This DVD is a must have for any Top Gear fan and you will not be dissappointed if you spend some of your hard earned cash on the Challenges DVD!!!
Some great highlights of the best Top Gear moments!
It is a excellent educatinol Dvd for all ages.
I wasnt interested at first as I'd seen bits and thought it was silly .Now after watching it a few times I have the box set and absolutely love it. The 3rd series is excellent with the crimping .I would definately recommendit. GO OUT AND BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!
Be Kind Rewind is not your average comedy and that is most obvious at the beginning. The first 30 minutes of the film don't put it in a good light, but if you can get past that and get upto where the spoofs start coming then it only gets better from there. The spoofs are hilarious [as you would expect] and will hopefully have you laughing out of your seat.
It's a film with heart and emotion, the script isn't the best so it's not without it's flaws but it's a good film to just watch one evening and forget about the next.
I'd recommend it - definately if you're a Jack Black fan (even though it's not his best performance!)
Classic 80s cartoon which serves as an allegory for our struggle and inevitable victory over fascism. An ordinary teddy bear on a factory production line: "...when he was made, they found something wrong with him; and threw him away like a piece of rubbish", destined to be another nameless victim of the global elite's deranged plan of eradicating perceived imperfections. Thankfully, and not a moment too soon, teddy's saved by a Spotty Man (voiced by erstwhile 'Dr. Who' Jon Pertwee) from outer space. Spotty, clearly a non-practising homosexual in the Larry Grayson style, brings teddy to life with cosmic dust and whisks him away to a magical cloud where Mother Nature; who appears to be a dealer or chemist of some sort, gives him magical powers (administered orally) and imparts knowledge of a secret magic word (cleverly, we're never told what it is) which turns him into Superted (voiced by the legendary Derek Griffiths). Villains come in the form of George W. Bush-esque, gun totting faux cowboy Texas Pete, Skeleton; comedic gay henchman voiced by British sitcom star Melvyn Hayes and Bulk; thuggish, bumbling badguy with a weight problem. Made in Wales and dubbed into English, 'Superted' was one of my favourites and I rarely missed an episode, though unlike 'Ulysses 31', 'Thundercats' or 'Mysterious Cities of Gold' which stood the test of time in terms of cross generational appeal. 'Superted', though a phenomenal concept, brilliantly realised and bought to life in bright, vibrant colours, is perhaps best suited to a younger audience, that said; those on a retro kick are bound to enjoy reliving this cosmic teddy's far out, sometimes surreal, sometimes downright disturbing adventures. Believe it or not; but they're episodes where Superted is shot down by a harpoon grenade, run over by a cattle truck and almost has a nervous breakdown in the midst of a Kafka-esque identity crisis; cruelly subjected the kind of psycho-physical degeneration that'd give William S. Burroughs the creeps! Top show, top teddy: Its Superted, isn"t it dye!
The boys are back in town. After the highly rated Entourage Season 1 the boys return to L.A and already Ari (Jeremy Piven - probably known for his small reputable perfomance as the homosexual salesman in 'Rush Hour 2' or his part in 'The Kingdom') is pushing for Vinces (Adrian Grenier) next project. The fans of Marvel with love this season as Ari pushes Vince to take the project of 'Aquaman'. After making a movie from the heart Vince needs to make a box office hit and wants a project that will make him the big bucks not to mention even more famous. This season, probably the best out of the 4 created so far (Entourage Season 3 part 2 aka Entourage Season 4) has many laughs to produce and would have you on the floor with laughter several times throughout. Vince has still got close friends Eric, (Kevin Connolly) Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and his half-brother Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) at his side using his reputable superstar status to get all the ladies or simply wreck havoc in the streets of LA. All of the actors capture there parts brilliantly making you automatically feel as though you know the character, where they come from and how they would react in certain situations. Ari, (Piven) however makes the entire season worthy of praise... his performance alone as Vinces agent is played with perfection. He produces lines that could twist the tounges off other actors and produces most of the laughs throughout the Entourage series. This season, similar to Season 1 has an actual Hollywood Actor in each and every episode throughout the season. The only downfall about the Season I can actually think of, is that it only has 12 episodes that last anywhere between 20 and 30 minutes long. Despite the extra 4 Episodes compared to the previous season... I still dont think it lasts long enough with the length of each episode only being no longer than 30minutes which is why I only gave it 4 stars. I do however, think that the season is worth its value in money. The story, the actors, even the intro music itself gives a nice balance to what can only be described as one of the best TV series on the TV to date. If they had added maybe an extra disc with another 4 episodes it I think it would have given the bigger well known series... the likes of 'Prison Break' and 'Lost' a run for there money which only speaks the pure quality and hard work has been put into the Entourage series. Doug Ellis - the creator of Entourage has simply turned a mediocre idea and turned it into a great series that is able to hold its ground against the best. Probably in my top 10 series.... I find myself addicted to the TV from start to end of every episode and would recommend anyone to buy it.
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