Nothing's Impossible. The story of an advanced Jewish girl named Yentl who used to study the Torah (the Jewish bible) when no woman could do it. After losing her father she decides to go to a Yeshiva the Jewish school for priests. The big problem is that only boys are allowed to study there. Therefore Yentl decides to undercover herself as as a boy. Everything is fine until she falls in love with a study friend. Babra's magnum opus was nominated for a plethora of Academy
French director Luc Besson broke the commercial taboo against female-driven action movies with Nikita, his seminal, seductively slick film about a violent street punk (Anne Parillaud) trained to become a smooth, stylish assassin. Though it amounts, in the end, to little more than disposable pop, the film has a cohesiveness in style and tone--akin to the early James Bond films--that gives it a sense of integrity. Parillaud is compelling both as a wild child and chic-but-lethal pro (trained in good manners by none other than Jeanne Moreau). Tchéky Karyo is also good as the cop mentor who develops feelings for her. --Tom Keogh
In 1998, a concert celebrated Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday at the Royal Albert Hall. It featured more than two hours of hits from a body of work spanning almost three decades. In this record of a memorable night, star after star steps onto a massive, Eurovision-style set to revisit golden moments in their long association with Britain's most successful composer of musicals. Elaine Paige in big frocks and even bigger voice delivers "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" and "Memory" with her usual power; Michael Ball and Donny Osmond stretch the last vestiges of boyish charm to the very limits but still sound great; and Boyzone get the youth vote. Then there are Kiri te Kanawa, Bonnie Tyler, Tina Arena and of course, another encore for Julian Lloyd Webber and those Variations on the cello. But the stars are Sir Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Brightman in an outstanding selection from The Phantom of the Opera (probably his best work), Antonio Banderos who really can sing, and Glenn Close, a stupendous, moving Norma Desmond in songs from Sunset Boulevard. All in all, a deserved celebration for someone who has given so many people a great deal of pleasure, and a treat for musicals fans of all ages. --Piers Ford
1950. William Lee, an American expat in Mexico City, spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton, an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody.
K-19 The Widowmaker (Dir. Kathryn Bigelow 2002): Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson star in a thrilling action-drama inspired by the true story of a Soviet submarine crew trying to save its vessel from a nuclear meltdown - and avert global war. Witness (Dir. Peter Weir 1985): When a young Amish woman (McGillis) and her son (Haas) are caught up in the murder of an undercover narcotics agent their unlikely savior proves to be the worldly and cynical Philadelphia detective J
A military drama starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding Jr that tells the true story of Carl Bashear who combated racism to become the US Navy's first African-American deep-sea diver.
Wag the Dog (1997) is a rarity: an intelligent, sophisticated and very funny film about American politics. Just before an election the President--in an uncanny anticipation of real life--gets sexually involved with a young woman, leaving spin-doctor Robert De Niro to think of something quick. He enlists Hollywood producer Dustin Hoffman to help him concoct a war against Albania to take the public's mind off the President's peccadilloes. Both stars are in top form, with Hoffman particularly funny as the larger than life producer. Scripted by David Mamet (House of Games, Glengarry Glen Ross) and directed by Barry Levinson, (whose previous comedies include Good Morning, Vietnam with Robin Williams and Tin Men with Danny De Vito) Wag the Dog manages to make you laugh even while you're thinking about how true the insights are, and how politics is getting more like the media every day. On the DVD: The so-called platinum DVD is packed with features. There is a series of production shots, assembled in no particular order, some showing the director watching filming on his monitor. There are interview clips with Hoffman, De Niro, Anne Heche, William H Macy and Barry Levinson talking about the film, plus scrolled filmographies. There's an audio commentary on the whole film by Levinson and Hoffman, occasionally rambling but with some interesting insights. In another feature, Macy talks at some length about David Mamet. There are extensive scroll-down production notes giving useful information (such as the film's budget), and finally a 50-minute documentary in which producer Jane Rosenthal talks about the relationship between the film and real-life politics. Her comments are supplemented by such luminaries as writer Budd Schulberg, director John Frankenheimer, newscaster Tom Brokaw and Dee Dee Myers, former White House press secretary. The Dolby Digital soundtrack is good quality, as is the image in 16:9 ratio. --Ed Buscombe
Directed by William Friedkin this cult classic stars William Petersen as Chance the risk-seeking maverick Secret Service agent and Willem Dafoe as the slick and stylish yet truly psychopathic Rick Masters. Chance's partner Jack who is near to retirement is close to completing a case against Rick Masters a ruthless ex-con and expert counterfeiter who has been selling millions worth of almost undetectable fake currency to support his weird fetishes. Unfortunately Jack gets a l
In order to save an orphanage from closure, a cook dons a masks and moonlights as a luchador.
While director Norman Jewisons Moonstruck is a romantic cornerstone, this 1994 film is often overlooked. Its a sweet valentine about a young woman, aptly named Faith (Marisa Tomei, never cuter), who chases an unknown man to Europe because the name "Damon Bradley" was once spelled on a Ouija board as her true love. With her sister-in-law (Bonnie Hunt, whose own marriage seems to be falling apart), she travels the streets of Rome looking for Damon Bradley. And lo and behold, she literally runs into a man claiming to be Damon. Is this meant to be? Faith certainly thinks so. Robert Downey Jr. (also never cuter) plays Damon in a role that showcases his charms. He shows his quick wit in handing Faiths advances and his absolute devotion to her when the winds change. Despite the cuteness factor, this is a movie to fall in love with. Jewison and Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergmans cameraman) present a sun-kissed Italy so beautiful, you might be tempted to hop on a plane immediately after viewing the movie. --Doug Thomas
Gear up for explosive action and mind-blowing adventure when Hydra's ancient origins and ultimate agenda are revealed in the epic, game-changing third season of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The survival of mankind hangs in the balance as Director Phil Coulson and his Agents battle an otherworldly evil. Devastated by the apparent loss of Jemma Simmons, Leo Fitz risks everything to rescue her. Agent May rejoins the teamonly to discover a terrible truth about her ex-husband, Dr. Andrew Garner. Meanwhile, after the release of Terrigen, the U.S. government creates the ATCU (Advanced Threat Containment Unit) to monitor emerging Inhumans. But the program is actually a smoke screen for the sinister machinations of Hydra's leader Gideon Malick, who joins forces with treacherous ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Grant Ward. The resulting carnage spurs Coulson to exact a revenge that will ultimately backfire, unleashing apocalyptic consequences in the form of a terrifying alien entity known as Hive. To help combat this threat, Agent Daisy Johnson organizes a small band of Inhuman Secret Warriors, not knowing that she will soon meet her match and once again be forced to make a heartbreaking sacrifice. Experience all 22 thrilling episodes plus captivating bonus features with this must-own boxed set: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Complete Third Season.
British intelligence officer Richard Burton poses as a high-ranking Nazi who leads a ragtag group of POWs on an impossible mission in this exciting World War II desert adventure. Based on the real life battle of Tobruk this action-crammed drama has Burton and his 'army' battling Nazi Panzer Divisions destroying fuel dumps and making a suicidal assault on Rommel's infamous gun emplacement that has the potential to destroy the British fleet...
The Deer Hunter is an astonishing powerful and vivid epic about three men steelworkers from Pennsylvania whose lives are changed irrevocably in the tragic devastation of the Vietnam war. When Michael Steven and Nick are captured by the Vietcong they are forced to play Russian Roulette by their brutal captors who make bets on their survival. The experience of capture leaves them with terrible physical and spiritual wounds and when Michael returns to Saigon to fulfil an old vow to one of his friends he makes an unexpected horrific discovery. Director Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter won no less than 5 Oscars in 1978 for Best Picture Best Director Best Supporting Actor Best Editing and Best Sound.
Hammer's To the Devil a Daughter was the last film made by the once great studio. Clearly ailing, Hammer again adapted a novel by Dennis Wheatley, the author behind one of their greatest successes, The Devil Rides Out (1967). Unfortunately for the studio, films such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973) had, in the intervening decade, radically changed horror cinema. With American star Richard Widmark echoing Gregory Peck's role in the far more polished The Omen (1976), the film seemed, rather than setting the pace as Hammer once had, to be very much jumping on the 1970's occult band-wagon. Christopher Lee is the satanic ex-communicated priest whose coven plan to incarnate the ancient demon Ashteroth, while a supernaturally beautiful Nastassja Kinski demonstrates the same willingness to disrobe as in Cat People (1982). Even so, this lacklustre, misogynistic film couldn't compete with Carrie and Suspiria (both also 1976) and Hammer thereafter concentrated on TV productions. Surprisingly, director Peter Sykes' next film, Jesus (1979), as well as being the most seen and internationally distributed film ever (with an audience of over two billion by 2000), is also the most faithful portrayal of Christ yet committed to celluloid. --Gary S. Dalkin
Mid-August Lunch
Comedy horror co-written and directed by Jim Hosking. Middle-aged Brayden (Sky Elobar) lives with his grumpy father Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels) and together they run a small tour business in L.A. When the alluring Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo) takes a tour, it sparks a bitter competition for her affections between father and son. Things then take a sinister turn when a number of tour-goers end up murdered by a mysterious figure covered in grease and oil, leaving Brayden to suspect his junk food-loving father might have something to do with it.
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Tomas, the happily irresponsible Czech lover of Milan Kundera's novel, which is set in Prague just before and during the Soviet invasion in 1968. Lena Olin and Juliette Binoche are the two vastly different women who occupy his attention and to some extent represent different sides of his values and personality. In any case, the character's decision to flee Russian tanks with one of them--and then return--has profound consequences on his life. Directed by Philip Kaufman, this rich, erotic, fascinating character study with allegorical overtones is a touchstone for many filmgoers. Several key sequences--such as Olin wearing a bowler hat and writhing most attractively--linger in the memory, while Kaufman's assured sense of the story inspires superb performances all around. --Tom Keogh
'Stigmata': Bodily marks or pains resembling the wounds of the crucified Christ.
The Deer Hunter is an astonishing powerful and vivid epic about three men steelworkers from Pennsylvania whose lives are changed irrevocably in the tragic devastation of the Vietnam war. When Michael Steven and Nick are captured by the Vietcong they are forced to play Russian Roulette by their brutal captors who make bets on their survival. The experience of capture leaves them with terrible physical and spiritual wounds and when Michael returns to Saigon to fulfil an old vow to one of his friends he makes an unexpected horrific discovery. Director Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter won no less than 5 Oscars in 1978 for Best Picture Best Director Best Supporting Actor Best Editing and Best Sound.
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