Tokyo is the city where the final battle between the Dragon of Earth and the Dragon of Heaven will take place in the Japanese anime film X, directed by Taro Rin and written by the all-woman writing team Clamp. The Dragon of Earth wants to wipe out humankind because of the damage people have inflicted on the Earth, while the Dragon of Heaven is fighting to protect civilisation. At the centre of all this is Kamui, the chosen one, who must pick a dragon to fight for.Full of dreams and flashbacks that pop up out of nowhere, the structure of X could be considered confusing and needlessly complex if the story weren't so simple. Obviously, we are supposed to root for the Dragon of Heaven to win and save mankind, but the funny thing is, the Dragon of Earth has the better argument. If it were a debate, humanity would lose. But it's not a debate, it's an action film, and many of Tokyo's most famous buildings get destroyed in the battles. As with most anime, the women are either girlishly cute or slutty, but luckily in X, there are no graphic rapes; the love interest is merely crucified three or four times. It may not be the greatest anime film out there, but at least it's never boring. --Andy Spletzer
By day the beautiful and sexy Samantha has a job as a Pr executive. Yet by night she indulges herself in erotic novels that spark lustful feelings beyond her wildest imagination...
When novelist Joe (Alan Cumming) and his actress wife Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh) throw themselves a party to celebrate the sixth anniversary of their turbulent marriage both the hosts and the guests start telling each other the one thing they never hear in Hollywood - the truth! This scathingly funny drama takes an unflinching look at new friends old lovers annoying neighbours marriage and the movie business...
Yanks Go Home takes a hilarious (and, at the time, controversial) look at relations between a group of American servicemen and the inhabitants of the Lancashire town in which they are billeted during World War Two. Both parties experience a series of culture shocks, with the GIs encountering resentment and romance in equal measure. Starring Peter Sallis, Stuart Damon, Bruce Boa and Lionel Murton, this set comprises all thirteen episodes from both series.It's 1942, and a detachment of GIs is about to descend on Warrington. The town clerk, a motley crowd and a band wait anxiously at the station, while local landlady Phoebe Sankey and her daughter, Doreen, speculate as to what the Americans' arrival will bring. Some of the older residents are none too keen on the prospect of USAF troops making themselves at home in their town; but when they see the money flowing in the local pub as a shindig gets going, even they grudgingly admit that the 'invasion' has its advantages!
Alan Dobie stars as Victorian Detective Sergeant Cribb in this classic series written by award-winning crime writer Peter Lovesey. Known for his wry sense of humour Cribb is the backbone of Scotland Yard's newly formed Criminal Investigation Department aided and sometimes hindered by the faithful Constable Thackeray. Featuring the episodes: 1. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle 2. The Choir That Wouldn't Sing 3. Murder Old Boy 4. Invitation To A Dynamite Party
An evil gang takes over an amusement park only to be foiled by three Ninja-trained brothers and a TV action star in 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, a smartly-paced, if by-the-numbers, kiddie action flick. Medusa (Loni Anderson) and Lothar (Jim Varney) head up the gang with ransom money and mayhem on their minds. But they don't count on the young trio, taught by their Asian grandfather, and Dave Dragon (Hulk Hogan), making a live appearance at the park. What follows is campy humour, lots of Karate-style action and plenty of Home Alone-type boy vs foolish bad-guy high jinks. And girls aren't left out: the brothers' neighbour, a brainy techno girl, is on hand to hack into the computer and override the gang's murderous plans, while also providing 007-style gadgets for hand-to-hand combat. While there is plenty of gunplay in the 90-minute film, no one is killed or even significantly hurt, making it appropriate for ages five and up. --Kimberly Heinrichs, Amazon.com
Franco Zeffirelli's stripped-down, two-hour version of Shakespeare's play stars Mel Gibson as a rather robust version of the ambivalent Danish prince. Gibson is much better in the part than many critics have admitted, his powers of clarity doing much to make this particular Hamlet more accessible than several other filmed versions. The supporting cast is outstanding, including Glenn Close as Gertrude, Alan Bates as Claudius, Ian Holm as Polonius, and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. Zeffirelli's vigorous direction employs a lively camera style that nicely alters the viewer's preconceptions about the way Hamlet should look. --Tom Keogh
Shown in the Director's Fortnight strand of the Cannes Film Festival 2010 Jorge Michel Grau's independently produced envelope-pushing shocker was acclaimed as the Mexican Let The Right One In. A middle-aged man dies in the middle of a shopping mall leaving his widow two sons and daughter destitute. The devastated family is confronted not only by their terrible loss but also a massive challenge. For they are cannibals driven to eat human flesh because of poverty rife in the Latin American urban jungle. To justify their diet they surround their mealtimes in ritual blood ceremonies. But who will provide the victims now their father has gone? Who will trawl the city looking for life's flotsam losers prostitutes and junkies? The task falls to the eldest son Alfredo to slake the family's hunger. Yet he's far from ready to accept the challenge especially as he carries another secret all his own.
Contains all 3 volumes from this classic family program. Disc One: 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit & Benjamin Bunny' 'The Tale of Flopsy Bunnies & Mrs. Tittlemouse' and 'The Tale of Tom Kitten and Jemima Puddleduck'. Disc Two: 'Tale of Pigling Bland' 'Tale of Samuel Whiskers' and 'The Tailor of Gloucester'. Disc Three: 'The Tale of Mrs Tiggywinkle & Jeremy Fisher' 'The Tale of Mr Tod & The Further Adventures of Peter Rabbit' and 'The Tale of 2 Bad Mice & Johnny Town Mouse'.
A journey through some of the finest and most inspiring of the National Trust's huge collection of gardens. Each of them with a different story to tell and each of them reflecting the flair and determination of gardeners past and present who make Britain's gardens the best in the world.Featured gardens include: Stowe Landscape Garden Buckinghamshire Blickling Hall Norfolk Hinton Ampner Garden HampshireRowallane County Down Powis Castle Wales Stourhead Wiltshire.
The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is the film all Harry Potter fans have waited 10 years to see, and the good news is that it's worth the hype--visually stunning, action packed, faithful to the book, and mature not just in its themes and emotion but in the acting by its cast, some of whom had spent half their lives making Harry Potter movies. Part 2 cuts right to the chase: Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) has stolen the Elder Wand, one of the three objects required to give someone power over death (a.k.a. the Deathly Hallows), with the intent to hunt and kill Harry. Meanwhile, Harry's quest to destroy the rest of the Horcruxes (each containing a bit of Voldemort's soul) leads him first to a thrilling (and hilarious--love that Polyjuice Potion!) trip to Gringotts Bank, then back to Hogwarts, where a spectacular battle pitting the young students and professors (a showcase of the British thesps who have stolen every scene of the series: Maggie Smith's McGonagall, Jim Broadbent's Slughorn, David Thewlis's Lupin) against a dark army of Dementors, ogres, and Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter, with far less crazy eyes to make this round). As predicted all throughout the saga, Harry also has his final showdown with Voldemort--neither can live while the other survives--though the physics of that predicament might need a set of crib notes to explain. But while each installment has become progressively grimmer, this finale is the most balanced between light and dark (the dark is quite dark--several familiar characters die, with one significant death particularly grisly); the humor is sprinkled in at the most welcome times, thanks to the deft adaptation by Steve Kloves (who scribed all but one of the films from J.K. Rowling's books) and direction by four-time Potter director David Yates. The climactic kiss between Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), capping off a decade of romantic tension, is perfectly tuned to their idiosyncratic relationship, and Daniel Radcliffe has, over the last decade, certainly proven he was the right kid for the job all along. As Prof. Snape, the most perfect of casting choices in the best-cast franchise of all time, Alan Rickman breaks your heart. Only the epilogue (and the lack of chemistry between Harry and love Ginny Weasley, barely present here) stand a little shaky, but no matter: the most lucrative franchise in movie history to date has just reached its conclusion, and it's done so without losing its soul. --Ellen A. Kim
Mad City is an earnest effort at media criticism that's never convincing enough to stir a viewer's outrage in the way filmmaker Costa-Gavras (Music Box) might have intended. John Travolta plays a barely educated museum guard who is laid off from his job and ends up holding his former boss (Blythe Danner) and a bunch of schoolchildren hostage. Dustin Hoffman is a former television-network journalist making a grab at the limelight again by pushing and controlling press coverage of the story. What follows is by the numbers and not nearly as enlightening or enthralling as other films (such as Dog Day Afternoon or Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole) about simple events manipulated into a media circus. Despite Travolta's tragic performance and Hoffman's impassioned one, the film breaks up over efforts to blame electronic voyeurism for social chaos. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
British pop icon Tommy Steele stars in a wonderfully exuberant musical comedy as a Cockney who wins the heart of a princess when he poses as an aristocrat! Featuring songs written by Lionel Bart, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) star Mike Pratt and Steele himself, The Duke Wore Jeans' soundtrack album scored a number one hit in 1958. The film is presented here as a High Definition transfer from the original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. When the son of an impoverished aristocrat is manoeuvred into a potential arranged marriage under guise of selling access to their famous prize bull, he finds salvation in a chance meeting with a chirpy Cockney lad who happens to be his exact likeness... Special Features: Theatrical trailer Image gallery PDF material
Terrorist Soong Chow's son Todd sustains a serious head injury but wakes from his coma to find he's been given a new life... Produced by action movie legend Jackie Chan this is one of the most acclaimed films in Hong Kong movie making history and winner of 10 awards at the year 2000 Hong Kong Critics Awards & Golden Horse Film Festival!
1. Scream Bloody Murder (Dir. Robert J. Emery 1972) 2. A Bucket of Blood (Dir. Roger Corman 1959) 3. Hell Penitentiary (Dir. Sergio Garrone 1985) 4. Hellraiser III (Dir. Anthony Hickox 1992) 5. Carnival of Souls (Dir. Herk Harvey 1962) 6. Don't Look in the Basement (Dir. S.F. Brownrigg 1973) 7. House on the Haunted Hill (Dir. William Castle 1959) 8. Ghoulies IV (Dir. Jim Wynorski 1994) 9. Don't Ring the Doorbell (Dir. Karen Arthur 1978) 10. Eat and Run (Dir. Christopher Hart 1986) 11. The Creature from Black Lake (Dir. Joy N. Houck Jr. 1976) 12. Queen of Blood (Dir. Curtis Harrington 1966) 13. Giant Spider Invasion (Dir. Bill Rebane 1975) 14. Demon Under Glass (Dir. Jon Cunningham 2002) 15. Flesh of the Beast (Dir. Terry West 2003) 16. Home Sweet Home (Dir. Netie Pena 1981) 17. Flesh Eater (Dir. Bill Hinzman 1989) 18. Night of the Living Dead (Dir. George A. Romero 1968) 19. Dead One (Dir. Barry Mahon 1961) 20. Silent Night Bloody Night (Dir. Theodore Gershuny 1974)
Dirty Dancing (Dir. Emile Ardolino 1987): Summer 1963: during her family's annual summer vacation in the Catskills teenage girl Baby (Jennifer Grey) meets dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze) who sweeps her off her feet. Baby becomes Johnny's dance partner despite her parents' disapproval and now she must decide whether to obey them - or her own heart... Love Actually (Dir. Richard Curtis 2003): From the new bachelor Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) instantly falling in love with a refreshingly real member of the staff (Martine McCutcheon) moments after entering 10 Downing Street... To a writer (Colin Firth) escaping to the south of France to nurse his re-broken heart who finds love in a lake... From a comfortably married woman (Emma Thompson) suspecting that her husband (Alan Rickman) is slipping away... To a new bride (Keira Knightly) mistaking the distance of her husband's best friend for something it's not... From a schoolboy seeking to win the attention of the most unattainable girl in school... To a widowed stepfather (Liam Nesson) trying to connect with a son he suddenly barely knows... From a lovelorn junior manager (Laura Linney) seizing a chance with her long-tended unspoken office crush... To an ageing seen it all remember very little of it rock star (Bill Nighy) jonesing for an end-of-career comeback in his own uncompromising way... Love the equal-opportunity mischief-maker is causing chaos for all. These London lives and loves collide mingle and climax on Christmas Eve-again and again and again-with romantic hilarious and bittersweet consequences for anyone lucky (or unlucky) enough to be under love's spell. My Best Friend's Wedding (Dir. P.J. Hogan 1997): Julia Roberts Cameron Diaz Rupert Everett and Dermot Mulroney star in My Best Friend's Wedding a high-spirited romantic comedy that serves up something wild something new sometimes touching and sometimes truly hilarious! Roberts's dazzles as commitment-shy Julianne Potter who suddenly realises she is in love with her best friend Michael (Mulroney). There's just one catch... he's about to marry someone else. Now she has to win him back and with just four days the help of her resourceful boss (Everett) and the benefits of an extremely devious mind Jules will do anything to steal him back - except tell him the honest truth!
This DVD set features the 2 disc special editions of all four Die Hard films! Die Hard (John McTiernan) (1988): New York cop John McClane facing Christmas alone flies to Los Angeles to see his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and their kids in an attempt to patch things up. He arrives at his wife's high tech office building in the middle of their Christmas party just as it is gatecrashed by the ruthless master criminal Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and a dozen fellow activists intent on relieving the Nakatomi Corporation of six hundred million dollars in negotiable bonds... Die Hard 2 - Die Harder (Dir. Renny Harlin) (1990): On a snowy Christmas Eve in the nation's capital a team of terrorists has seized a major International Airport and now holds thousands of holiday travellers hostage. The terrorists a renegade band of crack military commandos led by a murderous rogue officer (William Sadler) have come to rescue a drug lord from justice. They've prepared for every contingency except one: John McClane an off-duty cop seized by a feeling of deadly de-ja-vu. Die Hard With A Vengeance (Dir. John McTiernan) (1995): This time New York cop John McClane (Willis) is the personal target of the mysterious Simon (Jeremy Irons) a terrorist determined to blow up the entire city if he doesn't get what he wants. Accompanied by an unwilling civilian partner (Samuel L. Jackson) McClane careens wildly from one end of New York City to the other as he struggles to keep up with Simon's deadly game. Die Hard 4.0: Live Free Or Die Hard (Dir. Len Wiseman) (2007): A computer genius is systematically shutting down the computer infrastructure of the US. The mysterious figure behind the scheme seems to have figured out every digital angle but he hasn't counted on an old fashioned 'analogue' cop John McClane.
Vanity Fair (Dir. Mira Nair 2004): Based on William Thackeray's 1828 novel Vanity Fair introduces Becky Sharp (Reese Witherspoon) a poor but well educated girl born into a 19th-century society offering little in the way of career advancement for women. She becomes a governess for Sir Pitt Crawley (Bob Hoskins) and aims to find a rich husband. True to the novel's tone everyone in Vanity Fair is deliciously devious throughout. Sense & Sensibility (Dir. Ang Lee 1995): Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters; pragmatic Elinor (Emma Thompson) and passionate wilful Marianne (Kate Winslet). When their father Henry Dashwood dies by law his estate must pass to the eldest son from his first marriage. Suddenly homeless and impoverished his current wife and daughters find themselves living in a simple country cottage. The two sisters are soon accepted into their new society. Marianne becomes swept up in a passionate love affair with the dashing Willoughby (Greg Wise) while Elinor struggles to keep a tight rein on the family purse strings and to keep her feelings for Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) whom she left behind hidden from her family. Despite their different personalities they both experience great sorrow in their affairs but they learn to mix sense with sensibility in a society that is obsessed with both financial and social status. Shakespeare In Love (Dir. John Madden 1998): Triumphant winner of 7 Academy Awards - including Best Picture - this witty sexy smash features Oscar-winning Best Actress Gwyneth Paltrow and an amazing cast that includes Academy Award winners Judi Dench Geoffrey Rush and Ben Affleck! When Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) needs passionate inspiration to break a bad case of writer's block a secret romance with the beautiful Lady Viola (Paltrow) starts the words flowing like never before! There are just two things he'll have to learn about his new love: not only is she promised to marry someone else she's successfully impersonating a man in order to play the lead in Will's latest production! A truly can't-miss motion picture event with outstanding critical acclaim to match its impressive collection of major awards - everyone will love this funny behind-the-scenes look at the writing of the greatest love story ever told!
Director William Wyler's suspense classic marks the only time cinema giants Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March worked together. And the result is everything you'd expect: taut terrifying and terrific. Bogart plays an escaped con who has nothing to lose. March is a suburban Everyman who has everything to lose - his family is held hostage by Bogart. As The Desperate Hours tick by the two men square off in a battle of wills and cunning that tightens into an unforgettable fear-drench
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