Cinderella Man (2005): James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) dubbed 'Cinderella Man' was a once-promising light heavyweight for whom a string of losses in the ring and a broken right hand became synonymous with the Great Crash. With one good hand Braddock was forced to labour on the docks of Hoboken while only his manager (Paul Giamatti) still believed in him finding fights for Braddock to help support his wife (Renee Zellweger)and children. One of the sport's oddest couples
Clockers (Dir. Spike Lee 1995): When there's murder on the streets everyone is a suspect. A gritty realistic adaptation of Richard Price's best-selling novel director Spike Lee examines the violent world of urban drug dealing through the eyes of Strike (Mekhi Phifer) a 19-year-old ""clocker "" short for round-the-clock pusher. Strike agrees to kill a fellow employee of his boss Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo) an influential popular drug lord. But when the hit goes down it is Strike's moral law-abiding brother Victor (Isaiah Washington) who confesses shocking everyone. The detective assigned to the case Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel) doesn't believe Victor - the more that Klein along with others in Strike's life start putting the heat on the more the clocker finds himself up against the wall. The question is: Who is the real killer? Shot on location in New York City and Mexico. 'Clockers' was originally supposed to be directed by Martin Scorsese with Robert DeNiro in the role of Rocco Klein. The pair decided to film 'Casino' instead and Lee stepped in - Scorsese remained a producer. Inside Man (Dir. Spike Lee 2006): It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can't judge a crime by its cover. Acclaimed actors Denzel Washington Clive Owen and Jodie Foster come together to explore the lure of power the ugliness of greed and the mystery of a perfect robbery in a combustible new crime drama from Spike Lee. The hardbitten but unorthodox Detective Fraiser (Washington) pits his wits against a high-class bank robber Dalton Russell (Owen) following the robbery of a Manhattan bank. As the chase unfolds political corruption and hidden agendas threaten to destabilise an already volatile situation.
Charles Fuller adapted his Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play for the big screen in 1984. The film version, A Soldier's Story is essentially a murder mystery, played out against a background of inter and intra-racial conflict at a Second World War training camp. To the consternation of his white opposite number at the camp, a black captain (Howard W Rollins) arrives to investigate the death of a black sergeant (Adolph Caesar). Suspicion immediately falls on a pair of bigoted white officers but as the tale unfolds in a series of flashbacks, it soon becomes clear that a different kind of prejudice is also at work. Assisted by some excellent performances, director Norman Jewison opens the story out from its stage roots. There's a wonderful baseball scene (filmed on location at Little Rock) in which the double standards of Dennis Lipscomb's fidgety white captain are exposed with neat irony; he'll cheer his successful black team all the way home in the name of sport. His gradual, forced liberalisation provides the film with an important comic element. A Soldier's Story wears its heart on its sleeve without being superficial in any way. It's a compelling tale, well told and often highly entertaining, in which nobody gets off lightly, least of all the good guy. On the DVD: The widescreen presentation helps give an epic feel to what could, in other hands, have been a claustrophobic production. The picture quality is fine. But the monaural sound track is often rather muffled, leaving you straining to catch some of the dialogue. This is also a shame because the blues music--an inspired job by Herbie Hancock, assisted by Patti Labelle singing her lungs out as bar owner Big Mary--is an important element of the film's underlying theme and deserves to be better heard. The extras are valuable. Norman Jewison's commentary is detailed and sensitive. As he says, the film deals with "ideas in racism never seen on screen before", and he acknowledges the strength of his actors in getting those ideas across. "March to Freedom" is an excellent short documentary which features the moving testimonies of black servicemen on the insufferable prejudices they encountered while attempting to defend their country during the Second World War; A Soldier's Story is thus put sharply into context. --Piers Ford
American Gangster:Ridley Scott's American Gangster is a brutal, slick, and stylish portrayal of real life cult figure and international drug smuggler Frank Lucas. With tangled webs, deceit, strong aggression, shady characters and sinister plans, American Gangster has the gritty and pleasurable nostalgia of classic gangster films such as The Godfather and Scarface. Drug-kingpin Frank Lucas smuggles heroin into the US by hiding it with the bodies of soldiers killed during battle in Vietnam. By delivering a product that is far superior to his competitors, Lucas has rapidly established his status as Harlem's most innovative drug dealer. While Lucas delicately constructs his own criminal empire, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), one of the few honest detectives in a corrupt system, senses a sizeable shift within the hierarchy of the drug underworld and sets out to investigate this hitherto unknown power player that has come out of the shadows to dominate the drug trade. But with Detective Trupo (Josh Brolin), Roberts' crooked and jealous colleague, wanting to obstruct and ruin the integrity of his idealistic counterpart, Roberts is left with little option other than to take desperate measures to end Lucas' rule in Harlem.Academy Award winning lead actors Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe both turn in exhilarating and exceptional performances. With an engrossing story, powerful dialogue, realistic violence, and sharp stylish scenes, American Gangster delivers a complete, memorable, finely made, and richly satisfying crime epic that can be savoured again and again.Carlito's Way : The year is 1975 and former gangster Carlito Brigante has just been released from jail after serving the first five years of a long sentence. Carlito's lawyer David Kleinfeld has discovered a loop hole in the law and this time, Carlito is determined to go straight. He wants to retire to the Bahamas and set up a small business with his girlfriend Gail. All he needs is a stake. Suddenly Kleinfeld comes forward with the perfect proposition. Just a small debt of friendship. Consider it a favour. But if Carlito's learned anything from the streets, it's that a favour will kill you faster than a bullet...Casino: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci star in Director Martin Scorsese's riveting look at how blind ambition, white-hot passion and 24-carat greed toppled an empire. Las Vegas in 1973 is the setting for this fact-based story about the Mob's multi-million dollar casino operation - where fortunes and lives were made and lost with a roll of the dice...
When a crowded city bus blows up in Brooklyn and a campaign of terror begins to make its bloody mark on the streets of New York it's up to FBI special agent Anthony ""Hub"" Hubbard (Washington) and U.S. Army General William Devereaux (Willis) to find out who's responsible and put an end to the destruction. Together they face explosive danger at every turn when they team up to a wage an all-out war against a ruthless band of terrorists.
A trio of thrilling feature films from high-octane producer Jerry Bruckheimer including Pearl Harbor Crimson Tide and Con Air. Pearl Harbor features the life and times of a group of people who find themselves caught up in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and in the aftermath of the bombing America's involvement in the Second World War. Crimson Tide is a tense story set aboard an American nuclear submarine caught up in a global crisis. Con Air finds a recently paroled man on an aircraft with some of the most notorious criminals of all time during a hijacking.
Die Hard: New York cop John McClane facing Christmas alone flies to Los Angeles to see his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) and their kids in an attempt to patch things up. He arrives at his wife's high tech office building in the middle of their Christmas party just as it is gatecrashed by the ruthless master criminal Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and a dozen fellow activists intent on relieving the Nakatomi Corporation of six hundred million dollars in negotiable bonds... McClane's a maverick smartass with a distinct disdain for being given orders. He's alone tired hurting and the only chance anyone has got. Twelve bad guys one cop. The odds are against John McClane; just the way he likes it! Bandits: Strap yourself in for one hilarious action-comedy with great chemistry great one-liners and expert direction. Bruce Willis makes all the right moves as the man with the perfect bank-robbing plan - and two imperfect partners. Busting out of prison Joe (Willis) and Terry (Billy Bob Thornton) are on the run and out of money. That changes when they devise a scheme to place bank managers under house arrest the night before they rob their banks. But success as the infamous sleepover bandits isn't the only change in store for them. As they cross state lines and federal laws they meet Kate (Cate Blanchett) a sexy eccentric housewife whose indecision as to which of the two bandits she wants could spoil their partnership for good! The Siege: When a crowded city bus blows up in Brooklyn and a campaign of terror begins to make its bloody mark on the streets of New York it's up to FBI special agent Anthony ""Hub"" Hubbard (Washington) and U.S. Army General William Devereaux (Willis) to find out who's responsible and put an end to the destruction. Together they face explosive danger at every turn when they team up to a wage an all-out war against a ruthless band of terrorists. Hart's War: Fourth generation war hero Col. William McNamara is imprisoned in a brutal German POW camp. Still as the camp's highest-ranking American officer he commands his fellow inmates keeping a sense of honour alive in a place where honour is easy to destroy all under the dangerous ever-watchful eye of SS Major Wilhelm Visser. Never giving up the fight to win the war McNamara is silently planning waiting for his moment to strike back at the enemy. A murder in the camp gives him the chance to set a risky plan in motion. With a court martial to keep Visser and the Germans distracted McNamara orchestrates a cunning scheme to escape and destroy a nearby munitions plant enlisting the unwitting help of young Lt. Tommy Hart. Together with his men McNamara uses a hero's resolve to carry out his mission ultimately forced to weigh the value of his life against the good of his country.
A slow burning, yet entirely gripping, mobster film, American Gangster pits Denzel Washingtons Frank Lucas against Russell Crowes law enforcer Richie Roberts. Spread over a necessarily prolonged running time, their story is then brutally, expertly, told. And while American Gangster isnt in the league of prime Scorsese and Coppolla classics (such as Goodfellas and The Godfather), its the nearest weve come in quite some time to something of that ilk. Its all based on a true story, which does mean you need to forgive it some of its obvious narrative conventions, yet this also lends it a gravitas that the film eagerly makes the most of. Its great too to see British director Ridley Scott tackling meatier material again. This is the man, after all, who gave us Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, and he duly delivers with American Gangster. His finest work it isnt, but an engrossing, explosive and hard-as-nails drama it absolutely is. Whats more, American Gangster is powered by two of the finest leading men working in Hollywood right now, and its terrific to see Washington and Crowe on top form here. And while in cinematic terms its hardly a film that treads new ground, its nonetheless a proper, grown-up and engrossing movie, and a very good one at that. --Jon Foster
Denzel Washington stars as a government operative/soldier of fortune who has pretty much given up on life. In Mexico City, he reluctantly agrees to take a job to protect a child whose parents are threatened by a wave of kidnappings. He eventually becomes close to the child and their relationship reawakens and rekindles his spirit. When she is abducted, his fiery rage is unleashed on those he feels responsible, and he stops at nothing to save her.
Broken Arrow: When a Stealth Bomber crashes in the Utah desert during a top-secret test run the military quickly moves in to retrieve its two broken arrows. But the situation spins wildly out of control after one of the pilots reveals the crash to be part of an incredible nuclear extortion plot! Speed: Hold on tight for a rush of pulse-pounding thrills breathtaking stunts and unexpected romance in a film you'll want to see again and again. Keanu Reeves stars as Jack Traven an LAPD Swat team specialist who is sent to defuse a bomb that a revenge-driven extortionist (Dennis Hopper) has planted on a bus. But until he does Jack and passenger Sandra Bullock must keep the bus speeding through the streets of Los Angeles at more than 50 miles an hour - or the bomb will explode! The Siege: When a crowded city bus blows up in Brooklyn and a campaign of terror begins to make its bloody mark on the streets of New York it's up to FBI special agent Anthony Hub Hubbard (Washington) and U.S. Army General William Devereaux (Willis) to find out who's responsible and put an end to the destruction. Together they face explosive danger at every turn when they team up to a wage an all-out war against a ruthless band of terrorists.
The Notebook (Dir. Nick Cassavetes) (2004): A sweeping love story told by a man reading from his faded notebook (James Garner) to a woman in a nursing home (Gena Rowlands - real-life mother of Nick Cassavetes). 'The Notebook' follows the lives of two North Carolina teens from very different worlds (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams). Though her upbringing takes place in an antebellum mansion and he grew up in the kind of house where musicians strum on the porch that doesn't stop Noah and Allie from spending one incredible summer together before they are separated first by her parents and then by WWII. After the war is over everything is different. Allie is engaged to a successful businessman and Noah lives alone with his 200-year-old house that he lovingly restores. But when Allie reads a newspaper article about Noah's handiwork. She knows that she's got to find him and make a decision once and for all about the path her life - and her love - must take... Peter's Friends (Dir. Kenneth Branagh) (1992): Ten years after leaving university Peter and his best friends reunite for a New Year's party to end all parties. Having weathered most of life's triumphs and disasters there doesn't seem to be much left to shock them - but Peter has a special surprise that will test their friendship to the utmost. A wonderfully wicked comedy about life love and other natural disasters. Much Ado About Nothing (Dir. Kenneth Branagh) (1993): Much Ado About Nothing is a fast moving yet intricate tale of love and romantic combat a 'Merry War' of trust and treachery social graces and sheer physical attraction chastity under suspicion and marriage in jeopardy'.
Denzel Washington is a disillisioned soldier of fortune who grows close to a child he is paid to protect. When she is abducted, his fiery rage is unleashed on those he feels responsible, and he stops at nothing to save her.
Anzio: Robert Mitchum Peter Falk and Arthur Kennedy star in the rivetting war drama Anzio a vivid portrait of one of the bloodiest WWII battles ever fought. After landing with Allied troops at Anzio Italy in 1944 war correspondent Dick Ennis (Mitchum) and buddy Corporal Rabinoff (Falk) tell Anzio commander General Lesley (Kennedy) that the road to Rome is wide open. But instead of heading to Rome Lesley attempts to build a coastal stronghold only to discover that the Germans have outflanked them by enclosing the Anzio beachhead. Four months and over 30 000 casualties later the Allied forces smash through the German lines and victoriously march to Rome. Directed by Edward Dmytryk (The Caine Mutiny Back To Bataan) Anzio is a powerful film and a symbol of heroic tenacity. The Beast: War brings out the beast in every man. Afghanistan 1981 and the Soviet Union is locked in a futile and bloody battle with the Mujahedeen guerillas. Separated from their patrol the crew of a Russian T-62 tank engages in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the local insurgents led by Taj (Steven Bauer). The tyrannical tank commander Daskal (George Dzundza) wreaks havoc on a peaceful Afghani village pushing the moral boundaries of the tank driver Koverchenko (Jason Patric) to the limits. Sensing mutiny the psychotic Daskal abandons the disenchanted tanker to die in the desert at the hand of rebels only to find he's sealed his own fate. A Soldiers Story: Tensions flare in this gripping film about a murder on a black army base near the end of World War II. Captain Davenport (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) a proud black army attorney is sent to Fort Neal Louisiana to investigate the ruthless shooting death of Sergeant Waters (Adolph Caesar). Through interviews with Waters' men Davenport learns that he was a vicious man who served the white world and despised his own roots. Was the killer a bigoted white officer? Or could he have been a black soldier embittered by Waters' constant race baiting? Directed by Norman Jewison from Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Soldier's Story is both a spellbinding mystery and a superb drama that transcends race.
Released in late 1999, The Bone Collector was originally promoted as a thriller in the tradition of The Silence of the Lambs and Seven, suggesting that it would earn a place among those earlier, better films. Nice try, but no cigar. The Bone Collector settles instead for mere competence and the modest rewards of a well-handled formula. With a terrific cast at his service, director Phillip Noyce (Dead Calm, Patriot Games) turns the pulpy indulgence of Jeffery Deaver's novel into a slick potboiler that is grisly fun only if you don't pick it apart. Noyce expertly builds palpable tension around a series of gruesome murders that lead us into the darkest nooks of New York City. Now a bedridden quadriplegic prone to life-threatening seizures and suicidal depression, forensics detective Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) gets a new lease on life with a sharp young beat cop (Angelina Jolie) who's a wizard at analyzing crime scenes. She does field work while he deciphers clues from his high-tech Manhattan loft, and as they narrow the search their lives are increasingly endangered. As this formulaic plot grows mouldy, Noyce resorts to narrative shortcuts, using perfunctory scenes to manipulate the viewer and taking morbid pleasure in his revelation of the murder scenes. And yet it all works, to a point, and the cast (including Queen Latifah and Luiz Guzmán) is much better than the material. If you're looking for a few good thrills, The Bone Collector is a pretty safe bet. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Something To Talk AboutIn one of her best-ever roles Julia Roberts is Grace whose reaction to the infidelities of Eddie (Dennis Quaid) turns the lives and loves of the people around her into something like falling dominoes. Robert Duvall Gena Rowlands Kyra Sedgwick and others in the year's best ensemble of characters (Jack Matthews Newsday) co-star in this juicy truthful story written by Callie Khouri (Thelma And Louise) and directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Pelican BriefTwo Supreme Court Justices have been murdered and a lone law student (Julia Roberts) turns her suspicions about the deaths into a speculative brief that sends shock waves into the highest levels of government. She and a determined investigative reporter (Denzel Washington) want to tell the world what they have uncovered - if they live to tell it. The race in on and these two are more than runners they're moving targets. Conspiracy TheoryNew York cab driver and conspiracy buff Jerry Fletcher (Mel Gibson) knows about the secret movers shakers and assassins who really control things. Trying to put Justice Department attorney Alice Sutton (Julia Roberts) in the know he's run out of her office. Soon both will run for their lives.
Three animated adventures featuring the classic tales: The Little Mermaid Mother Goose King Midas
Safe House (212)American GangsterAcademy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) in this powerful epic story. Armed with ruthless streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honour crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion-dollar empire it plunges both men an into a legendary confrontation.
Zavvi Exclusive Limited Edition Steelbook. Ultra Limited With Embossed Title and Matt Varnish. In a powerful departure from his frequent good-guy roles Denzel Washington captured his second Academy Award playing Alonzo Harris a twisted but charismatic L.A. undercover narcotics detective who both attracts and repels as he becomes the kind of thug he's supposed to collar. Ethan Hawke plays unseasoned recruit Jake Hoyt Harris' new partner.
The Bone Collector: He takes his victims' lives and leaves behind mysterious pieces of a bizarre puzzle. And the only person who may be able to make sense of the serial killer's deranged plan is Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) a one-time top homicide investigator. After a tragic accident changes his life forever Rhyme can only watch as other cops bungle the case...until he teams up with a young rookie Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) who bravely becomes his eyes and ears and searches out the clues that help them solve the case. But as the killer senses the cops closing in Rhyme realizes that he and his partner are on the trail of a vicious sadistic murderer who will stop at nothing on his deadly mission. At any moment Rhyme and Amelia could become his next targets - and their first case could become their last. (Dir. Phillip Noyce 1999) Philadelphia: Up-and-coming young lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) has just been fired by his prestigious law firm. They say he hasn't got what it takes. Andrew knows it's because he's got AIDS. Determined to defend his professional reputation Andrew hires fierce brilliant personal-injury attorney Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) to sue his former employers for wrongful dismissal. Joe is initially reluctant to take on the case. Although he as grown up knowing the pain of prejudice he's never had to confront his own prejudices against homosexuality and AIDS...until now. One man is fighting for his reputation his life and for justice. The other is battling to overcome his own and society's ignorance and fear. Philadelphia is one of the most powerful and critically acclaimed movies of our time. (Dir. Jonathan Demme 1993) Inside Man: It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can't judge a crime by its cover. Acclaimed actors Denzel Washington Clive Owen and Jodie Foster come together to explore the lure of power the ugliness of greed and the mystery of a perfect robbery in a combustible new crime drama from Spike Lee. The hardbitten but unorthodox Detective Fraiser (Washington) pits his wits against a high-class bank robber Dalton Russell (Owen) following the robbery of a Manhattan bank. As the chase unfolds political corruption and hidden agendas threaten to destabilise an already volatile situation. (Dir. Spike Lee 2006)
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