As a tale of self-discovery, Silkwood, Mike Nichols' 1982 biopic of the plutonium factory worker who uncovered negligence and dangerous practices at the heart of her employer's company, works well enough. Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) is no saint. She drinks, cheerfully gets 'em out for the boys, has left her husband and kids and lives in a curious ménage à trois with her lover, (Kurt Russell) and their lesbian friend (Cher). But, through her own dawning suspicions, she is drawn into union activism and embarks on a crusade to expose the rottenness of her paymasters, only to die in a mysterious car crash. And here is the flaw. The film can't decide whether it's quirky soap opera, a campaigning blow for the anti-nuclear lobby or an allegory for the conflict between the rights of the individual and the demands of the corporate giant. It stops short of providing some important conclusions about what really happened to its central character, and why. Streep is fine though, injecting her character with a studied mixture of innate intelligence and trailer park trash. Russell offers solid support and Cher is outstanding as housemate Dolly Pelliker. Their performances give Silkwood its heart as a powerful human drama. On the DVD: Silkwood is well-served on this DVD release by sharp picture and sound quality (Georges Delerue's poignantly jaunty country and western soundtrack benefits in particular), but the extras are static and add little to the package apart from a strictly "budget" feel: standard biographies of the stars and director with some pretty pointless trivia facts, and a brief history of the production. There's nothing here that even the most generalist of film fans won't already know. A director's commentary explaining why the film loses its bottle in the final reel would be more interesting. --Piers Ford
The death of her loving father shatters 16-year-old Crystal's (Jennie Garth) happy life on a remote ranch. Abused by her bitter mother she's first raped then blamed for the tragic shooting of her younger brother and finally banished from the family home. Alone and penniless she flees to San Francisco and takes a job as a waitress in a night club. Her unique singing talents are soon noticed however and before long she's carving out a sparkling recording career. By chance Crystal meets up with her one true childhood love Spencer Hill (Craig Bierko) who's now engaged to a powerful society beauty. Though infatuated with each other they realise they must go their separate ways - both eventually reaching the pinnacle of their careers. But fame and fortune can never eclipse true love. So when fate finally brings them together again will more than a decade of triumphs and tragedies once more stand in the way of happiness and love?
This classic poignant BBC comedy starring Wendy Craig as the bored suburban housewife Ria looking for more from life. Ria is seemingly happy with two teenage sons but after 19 years of marriage she feels that everyone is taking her for granted and that life is passing her by.
The eighth wonder of the world! Thirteen additional minutes of epic adventure exotic creatures and awesome special effects make the King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition the definitive version of Peter Jackson's must-see must-have action adventure epic. Exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses of Jackson and his crew give fans an unprecedented window into the sweeping cinematic vision that makes the King Kong: Deluxe Extended Edition a spectacular film experience that movie lovers will not want to miss! It is 1933 and vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (Oscar nominee Naomi Watts) has found herself - like so many other New Yorkers during the Great Depression - without the means to earn a living. Unwilling to compromise and allow herself to sink into a career in burlesque she considers her limited options while aimlessly wandering the streets of Manhattan. When her hunger drives her to unsuccessfully try to steal an apple from a fruit vendor's stall she is rescued - literally - by filmmaker and multiple hyphenate Carl Denham (Jack Black). It seems that the entrepreneur-raconteur-adventurer is no stranger to theft having that day lifted the only existing print of his most recent and unfinished film from under his studio executives' noses when they threatened to pull his completion funds. Carl has until the end of the day to get his crew onboard the Singapore-bound tramp steamer the S.S. Venture in hopes of completing his travelogue/action film. With that the showman is certain he will finally achieve the personal greatness he knows awaits him around the corner - and although the crew believe that corner to be Singapore Denham actually hopes to find and capture on film the mysterious place of legend: Skull Island. Unfortunately for Carl his headlining actress has pulled out of his project but his search for a size-four leading lady (the costumes have all been made) has fatefully led him to Ann. The struggling actress is reluctant to sign on with Denham until she learns that the up-and-coming socially relevant playwright Jack Driscoll (Oscar winner Adrien Brody) is penning the screenplay - the fees his friend Carl pays for potboiling adventure are a welcome supplement to Driscoll's nominal income from his stage plays. With his newly discovered star and coerced screenwriter reluctantly onboard Denham's 'moving picture ship' heads out of New York Harbor... and toward a destiny that none aboard could possibly foresee...
Gunslinger Quirt Evans is injured and found by Penelope Wirth and her father Thomas a Quaker family with values and a way of living in contrast to Quirt Evans'. Quirt and Penelope are drawn to each other although Quirt has no intention of embracing the Quaker lifestyle. He does however intervene to conivince a rancher to restore their water supply even if the family would not have approved of his methods... Evans' rival Laredo Stevens is unimpressed with the new peaceful Qu
A woman tormented by a recent attack moves to the desert to get her life back together. There she befriends two men one of whom is playing maniacal tricks on her forcing her to decide which one to trust.
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