The film also stars Oscar nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, the Captain America films), Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond, Gladiator), with Oscar winner Jim Broadbent (Iris), and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained). It has been years since the man once known as Tarzan (Skarsgård) left the jungles of Africa behind for a gentrified life as John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, with his beloved wife, Jane (Robbie) at his side. Now, he has been invited back to the Congo to serve as a trade emissary of Parliament, unaware that he is a pawn in a deadly convergence of greed and revenge, masterminded by the Belgian, Leon Rom (Waltz). But those behind the murderous plot have no idea what they are about to unleash.
Equal parts JAG and C.S.I., NCIS does a formidable job of blending relevant military headlines with quirky characters who are tenaciously determined to solve a crime--even if it means having to sleep in the morgue to get a few minutes of shut eye. Created by Donald P. Bellisario (JAG, Quantum Leap), NCIS actually began as a two-part episode of JAG in 2003. Later that year, the drama made its full-season debut on CBS. On this six-disc set, which includes all 23 non-JAG episodes plus optional commentary by Bellisario on the first episode, viewers are introduced to an elite squad of special agents, led by Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon). Gibbs is a hard-nosed investigator who doesn't say much. But when he does, an insult usually comes out of his mouth. He's brilliant when it comes to ferreting out the truth, but he's not savvy enough to figure out how to block his ex-wife's nagging phone calls. Instead, he makes do by destroying his cell phone. Gibbs' team is fleshed out by an eclectic and somewhat eccentric set of colleagues, including medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum from The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), wannabe playboy and former homicide detective Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly), forensics expert and resident Goth chick Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette), and former Secret Service agent Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander). The murder of a peripheral NCIS agent halfway through the season is a taste of what's to come in future seasons when core characters leave the show (voluntarily or not). But in its first year, the show sets up a strong premise that (while not wholly original) is well executed. One of the more stickling aspects of the show is its reluctance to allow Tony to show signs of maturity. At times, he behaves more like a rambunctious puppy than an ace investigator. --Jae-Ha Kim Product Description> An elite team of agents investigates crime within the Navy community outside the military chain of command.
With its high-intensity plot about an attempt to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, the bestselling novel by Frederick Forsyth was a prime candidate for screen adaptation. Director Fred Zinnemann brought his veteran skills to bear on what has become a timeless classic of screen suspense. Not to be confused with the later remake The Jackal starring Bruce Willis (which shamelessly embraced all the bombast that Zinnemann so wisely avoided), this 1973 thriller opts for lethal elegance and low-key tenacity in the form of the Jackal, the suave assassin played with consummate British coolness by Edward Fox. He's a killer of the highest order, a master of disguise and international elusiveness, and this riveting film follows his path to de Gaulle with an intense, straightforward documentary style. Perhaps one of the last great films from a bygone age of pure, down-to-basics suspense (and a kind of debonair European alternative to the American grittiness of The French Connection), The Day of the Jackal is a cat-and-mouse thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until its brilliantly executed final scene (pardon the pun), by which time Fox has achieved cinematic immortality as one of the screen's most memorable killers. --Jeff Shannon
On the front lines of America's drug war, one family is living in the crossfire in The Wire creator David Simon's THE CORNER.
It might have started out as a small, rather arty divorce drama but Kramer vs Kramer was the biggest cinema hit of 1979. It confirmed Dustin Hoffman's status as a major star in a performance that combined his trademark twitchy intensity with deep sensitivity. And it provided Meryl Streep with a pivotal role in her rise to big-screen greatness. Both won Oscars, as did director Robert Benton and the film itself scooped the Best Picture award. Kramer vs Kramer has worn well into the 21st century. Although clearly of its time--by the late 1970s, microscopic relationship analysis had become the theme of commercial cinema--it stands on the strength of its central performances. Hoffman's Ted Kramer is a vision of the Graduate grown up: serious, focused and thrown by anything that threatens his upwardly mobile professional trajectory. The news that his wife, who he has failed to notice teetering on the edge of a breakdown, is leaving him and their son sends him into a tailspin. The film is as much about his resilience and fulfilment as it is the story of a divorce and custody battle. Justin Henry is extraordinary as Billy, the boy caught in the middle, and turns in a remarkably complex, thoughtful performance, which is light years from the archetypal all-American kid you might anticipate. And in just a handful of scenes, Streep is mesmerising as Joanna, the deserting wife and mother who you just can't bring yourself to hate. Yes, this is soap opera. But it belongs up there with all the finest cinematic human dramas. On the DVD: The widescreen presentation ensures a theatrically authentic experience, with some fantastic shots of New York city coming into their own. The mono sound is adequate for the relative intimacy of most of the dialogue. But the real bonus is the retrospective documentary in which director and writer Benton, producer Stanley Jaffe and the cast look back with touching satisfaction at a piece which clearly meant a great deal to them all. Hoffman's initial reluctance (he was going through a real-life divorce) to get involved, the process of working with a gifted child actor and Streep's desire to make Joanna understood are all recalled in fascinating detail. --Piers Ford
Exceptionally well-directed by John McTiernan, Die Hard made Bruce Willis a star back in 1988 and established a new template for action stories. Here the bad guys, led by the velvet-voiced Alan Rickman, assume control of a Los Angeles high-rise with Willis's visiting New York cop inside. The attraction of the film has as much to do with the sight of a barefoot mortal running around the guts of a modern office tower as it has with the plentiful fight sequences and the bond the hero establishes with an LA beat cop. Bonnie Bedelia plays Willis's wife, Hart Bochner is good as a brash hostage who tries negotiating his way to freedom, Alexander Godunov makes for a believable killer with lethal feet and William Atherton is slimy as a busybody reporter. Director Renny Harlin took the reins for the 1990 sequel, Die Harder, which places Willis's New York City cop in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle --Tom Keogh The second sequel, Die Hard with a Vengeance brings Detective John McClane to New York City to face a better villain than in Die Hard 2. Jeremy Irons is the brother of Alan Rickman's Germanic terrorist-thief from the original film. But this bad guy has his sights set higher: on the Federal Reserve's cache of gold. As a distraction, he sets McClane running fool's errands all over New York--and eventually, McClane attracts an unintentional partner, a Harlem dry cleaner (Samuel L Jackson) with a chip on his shoulder. Some great action sequences can't obscure the rather large plot holes in the film's final 45 minutes. --Marshall Fine
Two corrupt cops in New Mexico set out to blackmail and frame every criminal unfortunate enough to cross their path. Things take a sinister turn, however, when they try to intimidate someone who is more dangerous than they are. Or is he?
Angie Harmon (Law & Order) and Sasha Alexander (NCIS) co-star in this chart-busting, suspenseful series -- which has ranked as one of basic cable's Top 3 series for the past three years -- as Jane Rizzoli, a tough-as-nails Boston police detective, and Maura Isles, a smart, impeccably dressed medical examiner from a privileged background. Despite being complete opposites, the two women share an offbeat chemistry, an authentic friendship and a unique working relationship that helps them solve Boston's most complex murders. Based on a book series by internationally best-selling crime writer Tess Gerritsen, RIZZOLI & ISLES also stars Bruce McGill as the seasoned and lovable Detective Vince Korsak; Jordan Bridges as Frankie Rizzoli Jr., Jane's younger brother who now follows in her detective footsteps; Idara Victor as crime scene analyst Nina Holiday; and Lorraine Bracco as their nosy but well-meaning mother, Angela Rizzoli, who works at the Boston Police Department cafeÌ Episodes: THE PLATFORM BASSHOLE DEADLY HARVEST IMITATION GAME MISCONDUCT FACE VALUE A BAD SEED GROWS NICE TO MEET YOU DR. ISLES LOVE TAPS SISTER SISTER FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT 5:26
Queen of the costume drama Helena Bonham Carter finally got a chance to loosen her corset a bit with this exquisitely mounted (Sandy Powell's costumes were nominated for an Academy Award) romantic drama based on Henry James's classic novel. Set in turn-of-the-century London and Venice, Wings of the Dove is a stately departure--more PBS than MTV--for Iain Softley, director of Hackers and the birth-of-the-Beatles biopic Backbeat. But there's enough romantic intrigue to perhaps fuel a week's worth of daytime TV talk shows: My Lover Seduced a Dying Heiress for Her Money. Bonham Carter, who won several critics association honours for her performance (she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar as well) stars as Kate, who is engaged in a secret affair with Merton (Linus Roache), a journalist whose poor financial standing makes marriage impossible. Kate's manipulative aunt (Charlotte Rampling) threatens to disown her unless she marries the more suitable Lord Mark (Alex Jennings). Opportunity--admittedly sordid--arrives in the form of Millie (Alison Elliott), an American heiress whom Kate befriends. When Kate learns that Millie is dying, she suggests to Merton that he seduce her to make her last days happy, and ensuring that Millie will leave Merton her money when she dies. Merton reluctantly agrees, just as Kate begins to have second thoughts that threaten to sabotage the scheme. One of the most rapturously reviewed films in recent years, Wings of the Dove is a must-own video for the Merchant-Ivory crowd. But guys: don't dismiss this as a "chick flick". Beneath its Masterpiece Theatre exterior beats the wild and untamed heart of Dawson's Creek. --Donald Liebenson
An offbeat comedy set in a hospital The Green Wing throws in a bit of soap opera and a dose of the sketch-show to create something unique and hilarious! Following the sordid revelations and cliffhanging drama of series 1 the staff of Green Wing Hospital have reached unfathomable levels of perversity! Caroline finds herself back to square one with Mac while Sue White prepares to dig her Scottish claws into his mane-like ginger 'do; Joanna Claw has to come to terms with the fact that she accidentally slept with her son; Martin tries his hand at pimping; and Dr Statham enters politics under the proviso that his manifesto will be grammatically correct! Created by the team behind Smack the Pony be prepared for one of the most surreal journeys you're ever likely to take as you dive into the anarchic world of Green Wing Hospital!
It helps to have one of history's greatest scoops as your factual inspiration, but journalism thrillers just don't get any better than All the President's Men. Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford are perfectly matched as (respectively) Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, whose investigation into the Watergate scandal set the stage for President Richard Nixon's eventual resignation. Their bestselling exposé was brilliantly adapted by screenwriter William Goldman, and director Alan Pakula crafted the film into one of the most intelligent and involving of the 1970s paranoid thrillers. Featuring Jason Robards in his Oscar-winning role as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, All the President's Men is the film against which all other journalism movies must be measured. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Lieutenant Goodbody (Crawford) has absolutely no idea how to lead his British regiment in the North African battlefield of WWII. But what he lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm. And when he's ordered to build a cricket playing field 100 miles behind enemy lines he's determined to succeed even if this means most of his men are killed in the process. Abandoned by his superiors betrayed by his inferiors and finally captured by Nazis it's going to take more than his unre
Max is assigned to the White House while Butch, the secret service dog, is on maternity leave. He meets TJ, a 12 year old boy, who is the President's son. Due to his father's high profile, he is trying hard to fit in and lead a normal life. During a state visit by the Russian President and his daughter, Alexandra (Alex), TJ is asked to accompany her, during their stay. TJ befriends Alex, but when they get into trouble, Max comes to the rescue!
Glenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak
Sutherland's Law (3 Disc)
Seinfeld: Season 9 is a four-disc boxed set including all 24 episodes from the ninth and final season of the long-running series including the finale and hours of exclusive never-before-seen bonus footage. The ninth season was nominated for five Emmy Awards including Outstanding Comedy Series and features an astounding array of noteworthy episodes such as the unique backwards episode 'The Betrayal ' and the reemergence of a classic arcade game in 'The Frogger'. The season culminates in the highly rated two-part finale which boasts an illustrious gathering of some of the show's most memorable guest stars including Larry Thomas (Soup Nazi) Wendel Meldrum (Low-Talker) Teri Hatcher TV journalist Geraldo Rivera and others. Episodes Comprise: 1. The Butter Shave 2. The Voice 3. The Serenity Now 4. The Blood 5. The Junk Mail 6. The Merv Griffin Show 7. The Slicer 8. The Betrayal 9. The Apology 10. The Strike 11. The Dealership 12. The Reverse Peephole 13. The Cartoon 14. The Strongbox 15. The Wizard 16. The Burning 17. The Bookstore 18. The Frogger 19. The Maid 20. The Puerto Rican Day 21. The Clip Show (1) (a.k.a. The Chronicle (1)) 22. The Clip Show (2) (a.k.a. The Chronicle (2)) 23. The Finale (1) 24. The Finale (2)
Set in the expanse of the Sudan desert in the midst of holy war, Khartoum (1966) plays like an attempt to work the Lawrence of Arabia magic on the (mostly) true story of eccentric British general Charles "Chinese" Gordon in 1884 North Africa. The magnificent opening desert battle suggests David Lean's epic sweep, at least until the film settles into a more modest story of political games, military standoffs, and a battle of wits and wiles between two fierce leaders. Charlton Heston plays the Christian soldier as cocky, unconventional maverick, and Laurence Olivier (behind heavy make-up and a thick black beard) is almost as good as his cagey nemesis the Mahdi, the Islamic holy warrior on a mission of annihilation. More talk than spectacle, the film falls short of Lawrence but is nonetheless a compelling story of colonial politics, cynical manoeuvring and the unconventional heroics of another colourful British maverick abroad. --Sean Axmaker
Taped during the first-ever performances of Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera in 1982 this production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle features Frederica von Stade Hildegard Behrens Ileana Cotrubas and Luciano Pavarotti making a rare appearance in a Mozart role.
The complete first season of Jerry Bruckheimer's C.S.I. Miami. Chronicling the work of the Miami-Dade crime investigations CSI: Miami is set against the sun fun and tropics of the Florida tourist haven. Leading the team is Horatio Caine played with steely calm by Emmy-award winning film and tv veteran David Caruso. An ex-bomb squad detective Horatio is no stranger to confrontations with criminals and the underworld. Episode Listing: 1.Golden Parachute 2.Wet Foot/Dry Foot 3.Just One Kiss 4.Losing Face 5.Ashes To Ashes 6.Broken 7.Breathless 8.Slaughterhouse 9.Kill Zone 10.A Horrible Mind 11.Camp Fear 12.Entrance Wounds 13.Bunk 14.Forced Entry 15.Dead Woman Walking 16.Evidence of Things Unseen 17.Simple Man 18.Dispo Day 19.Double Cap 20.Grave Young Men 21.Spring Break 22.Tinder Box 23.Freaks and Tweaks 24.Body Count
When Samuel (Lukas Haas), a young Amish boy travelling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis), witnesses the murder of a police officer in a public restroom, he and his mother become the temporary wards of John Book (Harrison Ford), a detective who's been assigned to solve the crime. After suspect line-ups and mug-shot books yield nothing, Samuel, in the most memorable scene of the film, recognizes the murderer as a narcotics agent whose picture he sees in the precinct. Once Book realizes that the police chief is in on it, too, he whisks Samuel and Rachel back home to Amish country, where he himself goes into hiding as a plain Amish man. Witness' juxtaposition of the life of the Amish and the violence of inner-city police corruption work surprisingly well for the story, and Kelly McGillis as the falling in love widow gives an almost perfect performance. Directed by Peter Weir, the film is extremely successful in drawing the viewer into its world and, accordingly, is immensely entertaining. The only thing that mars its polish is the one-dimensional, almost cartoonish handling of the upper-echelon police corruption--a subtler, more realistic treatment of this aspect of the story would have rendered the film near perfect. --James McGrath, Amazon.com
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy