Billed as a "re-imagining" of the original film, Tim Burton's extraordinary Planet of the Apes constantly borders on greatness, adhering to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel while exploring fresh and inventive ideas and paying honourable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic. Burton's gifts for eccentric inspiration and visual ingenuity make this a movie that's as entertaining as it is provocative, beginning with Rick Baker's best-ever ape make-up (hand that man an Oscar®!), and continuing through the surprisingly nuanced performances and breathtaking production design. Add to all this an intelligent screenplay that turns Boulle's speculative reversal--the dominance of apes over humans--into a provocative study of civil rights and civil war. The film finally goes too far with a woefully misguided ending that pays weak homage to the original, but everything preceding that misfire is astonishingly right. While attempting the space-pod retrieval of a chimpanzee test pilot, Major Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) enters a magnetic storm that propels him into the distant future, where he crash-lands on the ape-ruled planet. Among the primitively civilized apes, treatment of enslaved humans is a divisive issue: senator's daughter Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) advocates equality while the ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) promotes extermination. While Davidson ignites a human rebellion, this conflict is explored with admirable depth and emotion, and sharp dialogue allows Burton's exceptional cast to bring remarkable expressiveness to their embattled ape characters, most notably in the comic relief of orangutan slave trader Limbo (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti). Classic lines from the original film are cleverly reversed (including an unbilled cameo for Charlton Heston, in ape regalia as Thade's dying father), and while this tale of interspecies warfare leads to an ironic conclusion that's not altogether satisfying, it still bears the ripe fruit of a timeless what-if idea. --Jeff Shannon
Billed as a "re-imagining" of the original film, Tim Burton's extraordinary Planet of the Apes constantly borders on greatness, adhering to the spirit of Pierre Boulle's original novel while exploring fresh and inventive ideas and paying honourable tribute to the '68 sci-fi classic. Burton's gifts for eccentric inspiration and visual ingenuity make this a movie that's as entertaining as it is provocative, beginning with Rick Baker's best-ever ape make-up (hand that man an Oscar®!), and continuing through the surprisingly nuanced performances and breathtaking production design. Add to all this an intelligent screenplay that turns Boulle's speculative reversal--the dominance of apes over humans--into a provocative study of civil rights and civil war. The film finally goes too far with a woefully misguided ending that pays weak homage to the original, but everything preceding that misfire is astonishingly right. While attempting the space-pod retrieval of a chimpanzee test pilot, Major Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) enters a magnetic storm that propels him into the distant future, where he crash-lands on the ape-ruled planet. Among the primitively civilized apes, treatment of enslaved humans is a divisive issue: senator's daughter Ari (Helena Bonham Carter) advocates equality while the ruthless General Thade (Tim Roth) promotes extermination. While Davidson ignites a human rebellion, this conflict is explored with admirable depth and emotion, and sharp dialogue allows Burton's exceptional cast to bring remarkable expressiveness to their embattled ape characters, most notably in the comic relief of orangutan slave trader Limbo (played to perfection by Paul Giamatti). Classic lines from the original film are cleverly reversed (including an unbilled cameo for Charlton Heston, in ape regalia as Thade's dying father), and while this tale of interspecies warfare leads to an ironic conclusion that's not altogether satisfying, it still bears the ripe fruit of a timeless what-if idea. --Jeff Shannon
Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in THE WIZARD OF OZ, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. And yet Judy is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood; gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids. Will she have the strength to go on? Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of the world's greatest entertainer.
Peter Jackson revisits the classic creature feature for this spectacular remake.
Movies don't come any bigger than Peter Jackson's King Kong, a three-hour remake of the 1933 classic that marries breathtaking visual prowess with a surprising emotional depth. Expanding on the original story of the blonde beauty and the beast who falls for her, Jackson creates a movie spectacle that matches his Lord of the Rings films and even at times evokes their fantasy world while celebrating the glory of '30s Hollywood. Naomi Watts stars as Ann Darrow, a vaudeville actress down on her luck in Depression-era New York until manic filmmaker Carl Denham (a game but miscast Jack Black) entices her with a lead role. Dazzled by the genius of screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Ann boards the tramp steamer S.S. Venture, which she--and most of the wary crew--believes is headed for Singapore. Denham, however, is in search of the mythic Skull Island, hoping to capture its wonders on film and make a fortune. What he didn't count on were some scary natives who find that the comely Darrow looks like prime sacrifice material for a mysterious giant creature.... There's no point in rehashing the entire plot, as every movie aficionado is more than familiar with the trajectory of King Kong; the challenge facing Jackson, his screenwriters, and the phenomenal visual-effects team was to breathe new life into an old, familiar story. To that degree, they achieve what could be best called a qualified success. Though they've assembled a crackerjack supporting cast, including Thomas Kretschmann as the Venture's hard-bitten captain and young Jamie Bell as a plucky crewman, the first third of the movie is rather labored, with too much minute detail given over to sumptuous re-creations of '30s New York and the unexciting initial leg of the Venture's sea voyage. However, once the film finds its way to Skull Island (which bears more than a passing resemblance to LOTR's Mordor), Kong turns into a dazzling movie triumph, by turns terrifying and awe-inspiring. The choreography and execution of the action set pieces--including one involving Kong and a trio of Tyrannosaurus Rexes, as well as another that could be charitably described as a bug-phobic's nightmare--is nothing short of landmark filmmaking, and a certain Mr. Spielberg should watch his back, as Kong trumps most anything that has come before it. Despite the visual challenges of King Kong, the movie's most difficult hurdle is the budding romance between Ann and her simian soulmate. Happily, this is where Jackson unqualifiedly triumphs, as this unorthodox love story is tenderly and humorously drawn, by turns sympathetic and wondrous. Watts, whose accessibility balances out her almost otherworldly loveliness, works wonders with mere glances, and Andy Serkis, who digitally embodies Kong here much as he did Gollum in the LOTR films, breathes vibrant life into the giant star of the film without ever overplaying any emotions. The final, tragic act of the film, set mostly atop the Empire State Building, is where Kong earns its place in movie history as a work that celebrates both the technical and emotional heights that film can reach. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com
Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform in a sell-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in THE WIZARD OF OZ, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of romance seem undimmed as she embarks on a courtship with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. And yet Judy is fragile. After working for 45 of her 47 years, she is exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood; gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids. Will she have the strength to go on? Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love and the sheer pizzazz of the world's greatest entertainer.
Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to battle a war against the A.I.s and free more minds from the Matrix.
A 10 DVD box set that houses the complete Matrix story stuffed full of everything you could ever want to know & see! Disc 1 - The Matrix: The film in a new digital transfer supervised by the Wachowski brothers and director of photography Bill Pope. Two all-new audio commentaries with written introduction by the Wachowski Brothers - The Critics: Todd McCarthy John Powers & David Thomson / The Scholars: Dr. Cornel West and Ken Wilber Disc 2 - The Matrix Revisited:
Recorded at their 2000 Wembley dates, Familiar To Millions celebrates not just nearly a decade of dominance by the Oasis lads but also the fact that it is still actually possible to get them on the same stage at the same time. Moreover, while the band certainly had their troubles prior to arriving at the Twin Towers (not least Noel Gallagher's decision to stay at home for many European dates), this finds all concerned on blistering form with even the newer band members sounding like they were born to play with the monobrowed ones. The chosen set list also wisely skimps on selections from their recent work preferring instead to concentrate on the likes of "Cigarettes And Alcohol", "Wonderwall", "Supersonic", "Shakermaker", "Don't Look Back In Anger", "Champagne Supernova" and a superb Noel-sung version of Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My". The actual concert footage itself, though, is the only the tip of the iceberg, with special features including a discography, graphics that were specially filmed for the dates, multicamera angles on Cigarettes & Alcohol and a documentary by Grant Gee, previously responsible for Radiohead's Meeting People Is Easy documentary. The most entertaining aspect of this DVD by far, however, is a Gary Crowley-conducted pre-gig interview with the siblings in which ex-cokehead Noel gleefully admits that he can remember absolutely nothing whatsoever about recording (What's The Story) Morning Glory?. --Warren Wayans
Eddie Murphy returns as the modern day Doctor Dolittle, a man who can truly talk to the animals. This time round its up to him to save a forest, and an endangered bear.
The most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.
All the Saw films in one brilliant boxset! Saw (Dir. James Wan) (2004): With a dead body 'resting' between them two men (Whannell and Elwes) wake up in the secure lair of a serial killer who's been nicknamed Jigsaw by the police because of his unusual calling card. Given six hours a hacksaw and a bullet the two men try to figure out a way to freedom. Hot on the 'Jigsaw's trail is Detective David Tapp (Glover) an equally insane cop who was once the victim of the Jigsaw's evil scheme Saw II (Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) (2005): Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) the master of mind games returns to toy with a new set of victims once again chosen for their perceived lack of respect for life. His traps are crueller and even more mind bending than before. And this time the policeman (Donnie Wahlberg) on the case has more than his professional integrity at stake... Saw III (Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) (2006): Jigsaw has disappeared. Now aided by his new apprentice Amanda (Shawnee Smith) the puppet-master behind the cruel intricate games that have terrified a community and baffled police has once again eluded capture and vanished. While city detectives scramble to locate him Dr. Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) is unaware that she is about to become the latest pawn on his vicious chessboard. One night after finishing a shift at her hospital Lynn is kidnapped by the deranged Amanda and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she meets Jigsaw aka: John Kramer (Tobin Bell) who's now bedridden and on the verge of death. Lynn is told that she must keep the madman alive for as long as it takes Jeff (Angus Macfayden) another of his victims to complete a game of his own. Racing against the ticking clock of Jigsaw's own heartbeat Lynn and Jeff struggle to make it through each of their vicious tests unaware that Jigsaw and Amanda have a much bigger plan for both of them... Saw IV (Dir. Darren Lynn Bousman) (2007): Now upon the news of Detective Kerry's murder two seasoned FBI profilers Agent Strahm and Agent Perez arrive in the terrified community to assist the veteran Detective Hoffman in sifting through Jigsaw's latest grizzly remains and piecing together the puzzle. However when SWAT Commander Rigg is abducted and thrust into a game the last officer untouched by Jigsaw has but ninety minutes to overcome a series of demented traps and save an old friend or face the deadly consequences... Saw V (Dir. David Hackl) (2008): Agent Perez the last detective to play through Jigsaws grizzly games has been captured. After the events of Saw IV officer Rigg is after Hoffman but doesnt know there is a new piece to the puzzle he must decifier before its too late...
The most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children's book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.
Nitro Circus
Doctor Dolittle Betty Thomas directs and Eddie Murphy stars in Doctor Dolittle, the 1998 hit film which, while ostensibly aimed at children, has a high quotient of hip and even mildly gross humour. Murphy stars as John Dolittle, whom we see as a child talking to a neighbourhood dog who explains that the reason mutts sniff each others' butts is to assess their characters when first meeting them. Little John promptly tries this out on being introduced to his school principal. Warned off such social eccentricity, Dolittle stops talking to animals and as an adult becomes a respectable doctor running his own medical practice--until a bump on the head revives his capacity to understand animals, whereupon mayhem, mortification and a menagerie of needy and freeloading creatures are heaped upon his ordered existence. Murphy plays it relatively straight. It's the animals, some of them vividly enhanced by Jim Henson's animating team, who provide the real laughs here, and a thoroughly worldly, wisecracking bunch of characters they prove to be. There's a couple of hard-boiled, squabbling rats, a pigeon who complains of impotence, Rocky the guinea pig (voiced by Chris Rock) with a neat line in hip backchat, while Albert Brooks voices the gruff, melancholy tiger whose life Dolittle must try to save. A sweet but by no means saccharine comedy. --David Stubbs Dr Dolittle 2It's only a marginal improvement, but Dr Dolittle 2 defies the odds by rising above its popular 1998 predecessor (and once again, let's not confuse these movies with the earlier Rex Harrison musical). Eddie Murphy plays the title role with ease and with the confident professionalism of a comedian who knows when to share the spotlight--especially when he's being upstaged by a bunch of animals who steal all the punch lines. And once again the film is aimed at a pre-teen audience: so many of those punch lines involve flatulence, bodily functions and frequent use of the word "butt". The difference this time is that Dr Dolittle has settled into his talk-to-the-animals routine; his 16-year-old daughter (Raven-Symone) is getting to be a feisty handful (it turns out she's coping with a hereditary gift); and his lawyer wife (Kristen Wilson) is representing him in a trial against corporate villains who want to clear-cut a local forest. Naturally, the local critter mafia (their Don is a beaver... fuggeddaboudit!) want Dolittle to fight for their cause, and this involves the successful mating of an endangered bear and a domesticated circus bear who's forgotten all the bear necessities of life in the wild. The bears are voiced by Lisa Kudrow and Steve Zahn and they almost steal the show, but the whole menagerie (with digitally animated "talking") is equally amusing. Adults might wish that the filmmakers had tried harder to make a truly memorable sequel, but this is a movie for kids, and they're going to love it without quibbling. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Matt Reeves directs this big budget action sequel to 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' (2011) starring Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Keri Russell. With Ceasar (Serkis), the hyper-intelligent ape produced by human experimentation, now the leader of a growing band of cognisant simians, a fragile truce prevails between the apes and humans. Many consider the outbreak of war to only be a matter of time, however, since the human population has been vastly reduced by a devastating virus and their role as the dominant species on Earth is in question. As the tension ratchets up, it may only take a single spark to trigger an explosive war that will pit the humans against the apes in an all-out battle for survival.
Inspired by the beloved children's book Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is the most delicious film for young eyes to feast on! When Flint Lockwood's (Bill Hader) latest contraption accidentally destroys the town square and rockets up into the clouds he thinks his inventing career is over. Then something amazing happens as delicious cheeseburgers start raining from the sky. His machine actually works! But when people greedily ask for more and more food the machine starts to run amok unleashing spaghetti tornadoes and giant meatballs that threaten the world! Now it's up to Flint with the help of weather girl Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) and Steve his talking monkey assistant to find some way to shut down the machine before the world is covered in super-sized meatballs!
In Kenneth Branagh's stylish suspense film Branagh stars as Mike Church a Los Angeles detective. Mike is drawn into the life of Grace (Emma Thompson) a woman with amnesia who is plagued by disturbing nightmares. Attempts to help her regain her memory lead them to Franklyn Madson (Derek Jacobi) a mysterious hypnotist who runs an antique shop. Under hypnosis Grace claims that in a previous life she was Margaret Strauss a concert pianist who was murdered by her jealous husband Rom
Neo, Trinity and Morpheus continue to battle a war against the A.I.s and free more minds from the Matrix.
Experience the power of Upendi-which means love - as Kiara, Simba's strong-willed daughter, seeks adventure away from her father's watchful gaze. Timon & Pumbaa can only do so much to protect her, especially when she encounters an intriguing rival, Kovu, a cub who is being groomed to lead Scar's pride. As Kiara and Kovu search for their proper places in the great Circle Of Life, they discover that it may be their destiny to reunite their prides and bring peace to the Pride Lands.Featuring the original all-star voice cast, breathtaking animation and enchanting songs, Kiara and Kovu's adventure thrills audiences of all ages as the glorious Circle Of Life continues for a new generation.
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