A sleeper hit when released in 1986, Stand by Me is based on Stephen King's novella "The Body" (from the book Different Seasons); but it's more about the joys and pains of boyhood friendship than a morbid fascination with corpses. It's about four boys ages 12 and 13 (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell) who take an overnight hike through the woods near their Oregon town to find the body of a boy who's been missing for days. Their journey includes a variety of scary adventures (including a ferocious junkyard dog, a swamp full of leeches and a treacherous leap from a train trestle), but it's also a time for personal revelations, quiet interludes and the raucous comradeship of best friends. Set in the 1950s, the movie indulges an overabundance of anachronistic profanity and a kind of idealistic, golden-toned nostalgia (it's told in flashback as a story written by Wheaton's character as an adult, played by Richard Dreyfuss). But it's delightfully entertaining from start to finish, thanks to the rapport among its young cast members and the timeless, universal themes of friendship, family and the building of character and self-esteem. Kiefer Sutherland makes a memorable teenage villain and look closely for John Cusack in a flashback scene as Wheaton's now-deceased and dearly missed brother. A genuine crowd-pleaser, this heartfelt movie led director Rob Reiner to even greater success with his next film, The Princess Bride. --Jeff Shannon
Series 7 of the Runcorn-based comedy series.
Writer-director Kevin Smith (Clerks) makes a huge leap in sophistication with this strong story about a comic-book artist (Ben Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian (Joey Lauren Adams) and actually gets his wish that she love him, too. Their relationship is attacked, however, by his business partner (Jason Lee), who pulls a very unsubtle Iago act to cast doubt over the whole affair. The film has the same sense of insiderness as Clerks--this time, Smith takes us within the arcane, funny world of comic-book cultism--but the themes of jealousy, deceit and the high price of growing up enough to truly care for someone make this a very satisfying movie. --Tom Keogh
Robin Williams won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck nabbed one for Best Original Screenplay, but the feel-good hit Good Will Hunting triumphs because of its gifted director, Gus Van Sant. The unconventional director (My Own Private Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy) saves a script marred by vanity and clunky character development by yanking soulful, touching performances out of his entire cast (amazingly, even one by Williams that's relatively schtick-free). Van Sant pulls off the equivalent of what George Cukor accomplished for women's melodrama in the 1930s and 40s: He's crafted an intelligent, unabashedly emotional male weepie about men trying to find inner-wisdom. Matt Damon stars as Will Hunting, a closet maths genius who ignores his gift in favour of nightly boozing and fighting with South Boston buddies (co-writer Ben Affleck among them). While working as a university janitor, he solves an impossible calculus problem scribbled on a hallway blackboard and reluctantly becomes the prodigy of an arrogant MIT professor (Stellan Skarsgård). Damon only avoids prison by agreeing to see psychiatrists, all of whom he mocks or psychologically destroys until he meets his match in the professor's former childhood friend, played by Williams. Both doctor and patient are haunted by the past and, as mutual respect develops, the healing process begins. The film's beauty lies not with grand climaxes, but with small, quiet moments. Scenes such as Affleck's clumsy pep talk to Damon while they drink beer after work, or any number of therapy session between Williams and Damon offer poignant looks at the awkward ways men show affection and feeling for one another. --Dave McCoy
The complete six series of the hilarious BBC comedy drama Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps brought together in this fantastic 10 disc boxed set. Features every episode ever made.
The very first episode of Midsomer Murders is based on the award winning Inspector Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham. An old lady witnesses a shocking event but before she can tell anyone what she has seen she dies from what seems to be natural causes. Her dearest friend drags the unwilling Inspector Barnaby into the case. He soon begins to see that certain things just don't add up then a second gruesome killing confirms his suspicions.
Based on Caroline Graham's novels and featuring the stolid crime-solving skills of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Midsomer Murders made their television debut in 1997 and continue to keep viewers happy with that potent whodunnit ingredient: spectacularly bloody murders in the most tranquil rural settings the Shires have to offer. Midsomer is a vaguely defined area of villages and hamlets with charming names like Badger's Drift and Goodman's Land. It also has the highest number of violent deaths per capita outside the average war zone. Serial killings abound to test the nerve of Barnaby (John Nettles) and his sidekick Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey), a dullard easily perplexed by a world which refuses to stick to his black and white view of things. Nettles is excellent; there's a hint of Bergerac still, now heavier of jowl and broader of beam, though the chasing is necessarily limited and the DCI enjoys the home comforts of an understanding wife and a spirited daughter. "Every time I go into any Midsomer village, it's always the same thing", he huffs. "Blackmail, sexual deviancy, suicide and murder." Ain't it the truth? The murders are astonishing. Family feuds, jealousy, incest, industrial espionage, all erupt at regular intervals leaving a trail of bodies with throats slashed, limbs dismembered and blood absolutely everywhere. Rivers of sheer nastiness run deep beneath the superficially pastoral perfection of Midsomer. Thank goodness there are still men like dependable Barnaby to get to the bottom of things. Eventually. Sure of Barnabys eventual success, Midsomer Murders make for a cosy, even comforting, couple of hours curled up in front of the television. And they make a great showcase for star turns from the great stable of British character actors, too, from Celia Imrie and Elizabeth Spriggs to Imelda Staunton and Duncan Preston, who invariably turn this whimsical stuff into the tastiest possible ham.--Piers Ford
Powerful and erotic --Chicago Free PressGraceful --LA TIMES Watercolors is everything that Beautiful Thing should have been and everything that Brokeback Mountain was supposed to be --Chicgopride.com
John Nettles and Daniel Casey star in another installment of this rural detective series based on the novels by Caroline Graham. When Gregory Chambers the manager of the Easterly Grange Hotel fails to turn up to the owner's funeral the local villagers are concerned. When Gregory then doesn't appear to perform his rather unconventional Punch and Judy show the villagers know that something is seriously wrong. It isn't long before Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy
Two Pints of Lager And a Packet of Crisps is a sitcom set in Runcorn centering around the lives of five nineteen/twenty year-olds. This 5 Disc Box Set features all the episodes from series 1-4. Series 1 - Episodes: 1. Fags Shags and Kebabs 2. Spunk 3. Bone with the Wind 4. Angry Wangry 5. Lard 6. Ugly Babies Series 2 - Episodes: 1. On the Blob 2. Bungle 3. Dirty Girls 4. Vomit 5. Crusty Curtains 6. Mo Mo And Pigsy Series 3 - Episodes:
Dead Poets Society (1989): Academy Award winner Robin Williams delivers a brilliant performance in one of Hollywood's most compelling and thought-provoking motion pictures. Williams portrays passionate English professor John Keating who in an age of crew cuts sport coats and cheerless conformity inspires his students to live life to the fullest exclaiming... ""Carpe diem lads! Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary!"" The charismatic teacher's emotionally charged challenge is met by his students with irrepressible enthusiasm - changing their lives forever. Magnificently directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show) Dead Poets Society earned unparalleled praise among audiences and critics alike. Discover for yourself what all the cheering's about. (Dir. Peter Weir Cert. PG) Good Will Hunting (1997): Will Hunting (Damon) is a headstrong working-class genius. After one too many run-ins with the law Will's last chance is a psychology professor (Williams). Experience this powerful and unforgettable movie. From highly acclaimed director Gus Van Sant this triumphant story was nominated for 9 Academy Awards - winning Oscars for Robin Williams and hot newcomers Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and also features nominee Minnie Driver. (Dir. Gus Van Sant Cert. 15)
Based on Caroline Graham's novels and featuring the stolid crime-solving skills of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Midsomer Murders made their television debut in 1997 and continue to keep viewers happy with that potent whodunnit ingredient: spectacularly bloody murders in the most tranquil rural settings the Shires have to offer. Midsomer is a vaguely defined area of villages and hamlets with charming names like Badger's Drift and Goodman's Land. It also has the highest number of violent deaths per capita outside the average war zone. Serial killings abound to test the nerve of Barnaby (John Nettles) and his sidekick Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey), a dullard easily perplexed by a world which refuses to stick to his black and white view of things. Nettles is excellent; there's a hint of Bergerac still, now heavier of jowl and broader of beam, though the chasing is necessarily limited and the DCI enjoys the home comforts of an understanding wife and a spirited daughter. "Every time I go into any Midsomer village, it's always the same thing", he huffs. "Blackmail, sexual deviancy, suicide and murder." Ain't it the truth? The murders are astonishing. Family feuds, jealousy, incest, industrial espionage, all erupt at regular intervals leaving a trail of bodies with throats slashed, limbs dismembered and blood absolutely everywhere. Rivers of sheer nastiness run deep beneath the superficially pastoral perfection of Midsomer. Thank goodness there are still men like dependable Barnaby to get to the bottom of things. Eventually. Sure of Barnabys eventual success, Midsomer Murders make for a cosy, even comforting, couple of hours curled up in front of the television. And they make a great showcase for star turns from the great stable of British character actors, too, from Celia Imrie and Elizabeth Spriggs to Imelda Staunton and Duncan Preston, who invariably turn this whimsical stuff into the tastiest possible ham.--Piers Ford
Back together at last with Jonny Janet has just arrived at The Castle in time to see him shot by the police. Luckily he survives and spurred on by his near-death experience the couple find new depth in their relationship. For Donna and Gaz things are not so encouraging. Donna finds out that Gaz has slept with Janet - will she ever forgive him? Meanwhile Louise at last meets the man of her dreams - or does she? Episodes comprise: 1. Dead 2. Nobbly Bobbly 3. Shrink 4. Ec
The five young gifted and skint 19-somethings return with the rudest and least helpful Mum in the universe. Series 3 starts exactly where the second series ended - with Jonny's half-baked proposal of marriage to Janet. Will she succumb to his dirty charms and tie the knot? Meanwhile Gaz and Donna are in for a shock when their latest attempt to break new sexual boundaries goes spectacularly wrong with the arrival of Gaz's relative Munch. And Louise finally gets a boyfriend for mor
Strangler's Wood is a gruesomely enjoyable entry in the darkly witty Midsomer Murders series. Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby is on the case again, this time in pursuit of a serial murderer who has apparently resurfaced after nearly a decade of quiet. The story is a thoroughly absorbing one, full of nasty crawling secrets that come out when Barnaby begins poking below the village's surface, and the solution is genuinely satisfying. As in other programmes in the series, Strangler's Wood also pays realistic attention to the way Barnaby's job affects his home life, making his tenacity at pursuing a case exasperating without getting melodramatic. Fans of Daniel Casey's Sergeant Troy will be pleased to see him prominently featured in the episode as well. This is a terrific, stand-alone chapter in an excellent series. --Ali Davis
John Nettles stars as Chief Inspector Barnaby in this feature-length episode of the acclaimed crime series. The wife of a wealthy landowner is discovered bludgeoned to death with a cricket bat. Whilst the victim had no apparent enemies her husband Robert Cavendish was hated by all and sundry. Barnaby and his team find themselves enmeshed in a succession of cruel and calculated murders. Once again blackmail deceit greed and revenge threaten to destroy Midsomer's tranquillity.
Another Midsomer murder investigation for Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby...Preparations are well under way in Midsomer Mallow for the Perfect Village Competition. However when the body of local rouge Peter Drinkwater is found with a pitchfork protruding from his chest the village people are determined to keep it quiet. After all he was hardly popular in the village. Angry parents jealous husbands victims of crimes believed to have been perpetrated by the deceased and disgrun
More murderous goings on in Midsomer for Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby to solve...The Inkpen-Thomas family owners of Inkpen Manor in Midsomer Deverett announce that their memorial garden will no longer be open to the public. The villagers are furious however are any of them angry enough to kill? When members of the Inkpen family are found murdered closure of the garden looks like a positive motive. However Barnaby and Troy uncover many family secrets during the course of t
Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby and Sergeant Troy investigate a murder. DCI Barnaby returns from a winter holiday to discover an unidentified tramp has been beaten to death in the woods near the village of Marshwood. While he was away Supt Ronald Pringle just before his retirement quickly arrested a local young man. But Barnaby suspects that he is innocent which is only reinforced when there is an apparent suicide at the same spot.
Barnaby and Troy are sent to investigate the death of William Carter found dead at the bottom of the stairs at his commune.
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