As with the great John Ford (Young Mr. Lincoln) before him, it would be out of character for Steven Spielberg to construct a conventional, cradle-to-grave portrait of a historical figure. In drawing from Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals, the director instead depicts a career-defining moment in the career of Abraham Lincoln (an uncharacteristically restrained Daniel Day-Lewis). With the Civil War raging, and the death toll rising, the president focuses his energies on passage of the 13th Amendment. Even those sympathetic to the cause question his timing, but Lincoln doesn't see the two issues as separate, and the situation turns personal when his son, Robert (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), chooses to enlist rather than to study law. While still mourning the loss of one son, Mary (Sally Field) can't bear to lose another. Playwright Tony Kushner, who adapted the screenplay, takes a page from the procedural handbook in tracing Lincoln's steps to win over enough representatives to abolish slavery, while simultaneously bringing a larger-than-life leader down to a more manageable size. In his stooped-shoulder slouch and Columbo-like speech, Day-Lewis succeeds so admirably that the more outspoken characters, like congressman Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) and lobbyist W.N. Bilbo (James Spader), threaten to steal the spotlight whenever they enter the scene, but the levity of their performances provides respite from the complicated strategising and carnage-strewn battlefields. If Lincoln doesn't thrill like the Kushner-penned Munich, there's never a dull moment--though it would take a second viewing to catch all the political nuances. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Henry James' classic tale of terror 'Turn of the Screw' receives its most stunning screen adaptation to date in this 19th Century period thriller.... Upon the death of her incestuous father a young woman is called on to serve as a Governess for two children Miles and Flora. Their Uncle the master became the guardian of the youngsters after the loss of their parents. Seduced by the charm of their Uncle she accepts his one condition: to take sole responsibility for them and neve
Narcos tells the true-life story of the growth and spread of cocaine drug cartels across the globe and attendant efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict. It centers around the notorious Colombian cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) and Steve Murphy (Holbrook), a DEA agent sent to Colombia on a U.S. mission to capture and ultimately kill him.
The Salem witch hunts are given a new and nasty perspective when a vengeful teenage girl uses superstition and repression to her advantage, creating a killing machine that becomes a force unto itself. Pulsating with seductive energy, this provocative drama is as visually arresting as it is intellectually engrossing. Arthur Miller based his classic 1953 play on the actual Salem witch trials of 1692, creating what has since become a durable fixture of school drama courses. It may look like a historical drama but Miller also meant the work as a parable for the misery created by the McCarthy anti-Communist hearings of the 1950s. This searing version of his drama delves into matters of conscience with concise accuracy and emotional honesty. Three passionate cheers for Miller, director Nicholas Hytner and costars Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder. --Rochelle O'Gorman
Cy Endfield cowrote the epic prequel Zulu Dawn 15 years after his enormously popular Zulu. Set in 1879, this film depicts the catastrophic Battle of Isandhlwana, which remains the worst defeat of the British army by natives--the British contingent was outnumbered 16-to-1 by the Zulu tribesmen. The film's opinion of events is made immediately clear in its title sequence: ebullient African village life presided over by King Cetshwayo is contrasted with aristocratic artifice under the arrogant eye of General Lord Chelmsford (Peter O'Toole). Chelmsford is at the heart of all that goes wrong, initiating the catastrophic battle with an ultimatum made seemingly for the sake of giving his troops something to do. His detached manner leads to one mistake after another and this is wryly illustrated in a moment when neither he nor his officers can be bothered to pronounce the name of the land they're in. That it's a beautiful land none the less is made clear by the superb cinematography, which drinks in the massive open spaces that shrink the British army to a line of red ants. Splendidly stiff-upper-lipped support comes from a heroic Burt Lancaster and a fluffy, yet gruff, Bob Hoskins. Although the story is less focused and inevitably more diffuse than the concentrated events of Rorke's Drift that followed soon after, Zulu Dawn is an unflinchingly honest depiction of British Imperial diplomacy. --Paul Tonks
A montage of stories about U.S. soldiers fighting in the Iraq conflict, focusing on the modern forms of media covering the war.
A dazzling, high-tech thriller that infuses Ray Bradbury's classic novel of the same name with a decidedly 21st Century sensibility, the HBO Films presentation of Fahrenheit 451 depicts an American future where the media is an opiate, internet bots control everyday routines, history is truncated or rewritten, and brigades of celebrity firemen engage in televised search-and-destroy missions to burn books and bring their shamed owners to justice. Within this paranoid world, a zealous fireman (Michael B. Jordan) who's being groomed to replace his longtime captain (Michael Shannon) begins to question long-held assumptions about the practice of torching books and other graffiti that leaders say caused widespread dissent and, as a result, a Second Civil War where millions perished. After meeting a young informant (Sofia Boutella) who's on probation for supporting those who value literature and history, the fireman makes a dangerous decision to assist a group of underground Eels who have a bold plan for preserving the contents of thousands of classic books, arts and culture if they can outwit the all-seeing forces intent on destroying them.
Frasier's fourth season was mostly about relationships. Niles (David Hyde Pierce), now separated from Maris, is back on the market like his bachelor brother, Frasier (Kelsey Grammer). That's great when the pair goes to a cabin with a pair of fetching women (Megan Mullaly, later of Will and Grace, and Lisa Darr), but Niles is never able to completely dispel his attachment to his suffocating wife... or to Daphne (Jane Leeves). His obsession with the latter gets an immediate burst in the season's first episode, in which he has to masquerade as Daphne's husband, then later comes to a head when she appears at his apartment door asking to stay the night. The boys have the usual disputes with their father (John Mahoney), including their disdain for the former cop's new girlfriend, Sherry (Marsha Mason), the boisterous, banjo-twangin', "gotcha"-playing bartender who would remain a regular cast member through the end of the series. Ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth) makes her annual appearance, this time when she and Frasier try to get Frederick into an exclusive prep school. And the title character? As much as Frasier teases his producer Roz (Peri Gilpin) about her dating habits, he himself is lonely, leading him to a memorable airport encounter with guest star Linda Hamilton and a season finale that proves a kind of a harbinger to the series' final episode. This season made Frasier a perfect four-for-four at the Emmys, winning its fourth consecutive award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Unlike previous seasons, this DVD set has no bonus features. --David Horiuchi
Nothing is as it seems behind the well-trimmed hedges of the picturesque cottages in the idyllic English county of Midsomer. Beneath the tranquil surface of sleepy village life exist dark secrets scandals and downright evil. John Nettles stars as the humorous thoughtful and methodical Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby.
The bellringers of Midsomer Wellow are preparing for the local Striking Competition which is due to be hosted at their church. Not everybody sees this as a great honour for the community - some of the villagers find the noise made by the ringers is the bane of their lives. When the bellringer and womaniser Greg Tutt is shot dead Barnaby and Troy are called in to investigate. But what is the motive for the murder; a jealous husband a disgruntled villager or a rival team from the com
Savage Garden have become an international phenomenon following the success of songs like 'I Want You' 'To The Moon & Back' and the worldwide smash 'Truly Madly Deeply'. The musical and visual appeal of Savage Garden is undeniable as millions of fans the world over have discovered. Collected here are the stunning videos of Savage Garden's hits from the first self-titled album. Tracklisting 'I Want You' 'To The Moon & Back' 'Truly Madly Deeply' 'Break Me Shake Me' 'Tears Of Pearls
One of the most famous tearjerkers ever LOVE STORY tells the tale of Jenny (Ali McGraw) a poor college student from Rhode Island and Oliver (Ryan O''Neal) a rich law student from Boston who fall in love while attending college. Despite opposition to their relationship from Oliver's wealthy father the two get married. After graduation Oliver takes a job at a prestigious legal firm in New York as everything seems to be going well for the couple tragedy strikes Jenny who
Roman and Maru, two troubled teenagers, attempt an impossible rebellion against the adult world.
The giant waves along the Hawaiian coast offer the world's most extreme surfing challenge. Daniel Kereopa a 23-year-old Maori from New Zealand has enjoyed several years on the professional surfing circuit and was the 1999 Indigenous World Champion. Now with the support of Australian surfing legends Ross Clark-Jones and Tony Ray Daniel is determined to take on the monster Hawaiian waves. We follow Daniel's intensive preparations in New Zealand with all the trials and tribulatio
Mixing a superb cast with a serious salting of dark humour "gun culture" comedy It's The Rage is that rare thing, a genuinely outstanding film which went straight-to-video. Like Magnolia (1999) it makes coincidence a virtue in telling the stories of a group of disparate characters, and how their lives are entwined and sometimes ended because of America's obsession with firearms. When Jeff Daniels shoots his business partner, his wife, Joan Allen, leaves for a job with a software billionaire, Gary Sinise, and the film expands to encompass brother and sister punks (Giovanni Ribisi and Anna Paquin), a video store assistant, a pair of detectives and a gay couple. Adapted from his own play, Keith Reddin ensures the script remains pointed, while Sinise delivers a wonderful performance of supreme eccentricity recalling Peter Seller's Dr Strangelove. Indeed, there is much akin to Kubrick's tense, pitch-black humour in this anti-gun parable, while in various ways, from the central Daniels/Allen couple to the sardonic detachment of the music to Paquin's "almost-relationship" with an older man It's the Rage parallels the contemporaneous American Beauty (1999). It's actually the more powerful film, and though made for cable deserved all the praise it received on its festival screenings. On the DVD: The trailer doesn't capture the spirit of the film at all, while the 13-minute making-of documentary is routine promotional material. The commentary by first time film director (but veteran stage director) James D. Stern is exceptionally good, both enthusiastic and packed with information; the fact that It's The Rage really bites can almost certainly be attributed to Stern's college roommate being shot dead. The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and while this isn't the sort of film to show-off a sound system,it's atmospheric and the diverse music score becomes almost a character in itself. The anamorphically enhanced 1.77-1 image is good but a little grainy and shows occasional compression artifacting. --Gary S Dalkin
An entry in the recent rash of crooks-falling-out cynical crime-comedy noirs, Four Dogs Playing Poker opens with a robbery at a wedding in Buenos Aires. Five friends pose as staff and guests to penetrate the secret collector's vault of lecherous father-of-the-bride George Lazenby and walk away with a valuable dancing-girl statue. Back in Los Angeles, the team are visited by their sponsor, hefty guest-star crook Forrest Whitaker, who tells them there's a question as to whether the statue is on the ship that's supposed to be smuggling it into the country. If it doesn't show up they'll have to cough up a million dollars between them or get killed. To underline the point and in the first of many "it-just-doesn't-make-sense" plot turns, Whitaker has his men shoot Tim Curry, organiser of the gang, in the leg and then, to show that trying to leave town is a bad idea, has him hung up dead in a meat locker with his feet chain sawed off (offscreen) by the comedy British double-act thugs. An unbelievably complicated scheme is hatched between the surviving four, two couples, whereby they each take out insurance policies that benefit the rest and pick cards and safety-deposit box-keys that identify one of them as the designated murderer and another as a victim. Naturally, suspicions simmer (one character, when asked if she distrusts her friends, replies "all my friends are thieves") and triple-crosses are hatched. The prolific Olivia Williams, in Lulu wig and American accent, emerges as the star, walking a knife-edge between imperilled heroine and cynical manipulator but she is ably supported by druggie, computer savvy Daniel London, hunky bartender Balthazar Getty and jittery insurance functionary Stacy Edwards. Familiar, if watchable. --Kim Newman
Beethoven: A St. Bernard puppy 'adopts' a new home after escaping from dog thieves. The Newton family just haven't realised the trouble that 185lbs of dog can get into... (Dir. Brian Levant 1992) Beethoven's 2nd: Beethoven has fallen in love with the fetching Missy and is ready to settle down with a family of his own. Like it or not George Newton his hapless owner is about to discover the meaning of chaos - times four! Tchaikovsky Chubby Dolly and Mo a quartet of irresistible puppies that have definitely inherited their father's talent for getting into mischief. Trouble ensues when Missy's evil owner Regina heartlessly severs Beethoven from his lady love and plots to steal the pups too. Will Beethoven and the puppies be reunited with Missy? Will Regina get her comeuppance? Will George Newton ever know peace and quiet again? (Dir. Rod Daniel 1993) Beethoven's 3rd: Everyone's favorite St. Bernard is back in an all-new adventure-filled comedy that will leave you begging for more! The story begins as Richard Newton his wife Beth daughter Sara and son Brennan prepare for a cross-country drive to a family reunion. For Richard it's a dream vacation. For his family it's boredom on wheels - until the appearance of a surprise passenger: the huge rollicking slobbering lovable dog Beethoven. Richard has promised to take Beethoven to the reunion and deliver him to his owner Richard's brother. Beth and Brennan are less than thrilled with this news especially when the excitable Beethoven unleashes a string of canine calamities! But when two bumbling thieves threaten the safety of the Newtons it's Beethoven who sets out to put the bite on the bad guys and forever win a place in his new family's hearts. (Dir. David M. Evans 1999)
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy