Both warmly funny and surprisingly touching, the one-off 90-minute BBC comedy Cruise of the Gods (2002) unites the twin comic talents of Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan for the first time. Brydon, whose Marion & Geoff brought him instant cult status and critical acclaim, plays Andy Van Allen, a washed-up actor who once enjoyed celebrity as the star of a TV science-fiction series but who is now down on his luck as a hotel porter. Desperate to rescue his self-esteem, but equally desperate to conceal his failure, he reluctantly embarks on a Mediterranean cruise for die-hard fans of the old show organised by uber-nerd Jeff Monks (David Walliams). To compound his humiliation, Van Allan's one-time costar, Nick Lee (Coogan), now a Hollywood big shot thanks to his starring role in Sherlock Holmes in Miami, gatecrashes the trip. Elements of both Marion & Geoff's agonising pathos and the squirm-inducing embarrassment of I'm Alan Partridge feature prominently here as the merciless portrayal of geeky fandom slowly gives way to a more gentle, affectionate portrait of people whose lives were inexplicably touched by the fantastically awful Children of Castor (imagine a camp cross between Blake's 7 and The Tomorrow People). Unlike the sympathetically pathetic ex-husband of Marion, here Brydon plays a cruelly cynical and embittered character, whose self-loathing contrasts painfully with the annoying ebullience of Coogan's superstar. The supporting cast are all a delight, too: witness lugubrious Philip Jackson, as alcoholic writer Hugh Bispham, clashing hilariously with Walliams' deadly earnest super-fan over the interpretation of names in the show, which turn out to be nothing more cryptic than anagrams of Bispham's favourite curries. James Corden and Helen Coker are emotionally fragile followers whose lives intertwine unexpectedly with their heroes, while Brian Conley and Jack Jones gamely provide cameos. --Mark Walker
Enemy Mine is, in essence, a sci-fi remake of John Boormans Hell in the Pacific (1969), only instead of a US pilot and a Japanese naval officer stranded on a Pacific island during WWII, here we have a lizard-like Draconian (Louis Gossett Jr.) and his mortal enemy, Earthling Dennis Quaid, both having crash-landed on a hostile planet during a brutal space battle. Forced to rely on one another for survival, they overcome their differences and become fast friends. (You can almost hear them break into an off-key version of "It's a Small World".) German director Wolfgang Petersen, so brutally honest with his film Das Boot, turns warm and cuddly on us with this intergalactic buddy movie. Although the script sets us up for an intriguing encounter, it ultimately settles for a simple and sentimental resolution. Noteworthy set design and strong performances, especially by Gossett, push this beyond mere mediocrity. His performance is fascinating, as he must speak in an alien tongue, which he maintains with artistry and consistency.--Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com On the DVD: Enemy Mine on disc is presented anamorphically in its original 2.35:1 theatrical ratio with a vivid Dolby 4.0 soundtrack. Thankfully picture and sound are excellent, since the extra features are lamentably poor, consisting merely of the theatrical trailer and three (yes, three) "behind the scenes" still pictures. The disc is also equipped with multiple language and subtitle options.--Mark Walker
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp team up to bring Roald Dahl's classic childrens book to the big screen.
In a time when it seems that every other movie makes some claim to being a film noir, LA Confidential is the real thing--a gritty, sordid tale of sex, scandal, betrayal and corruption of all sorts (police, political, press--and, of course, very personal) in 1940s Hollywood. The Oscar-winning screenplay is actually based on several titles in James Ellroy's series of chronological thriller novels (including the title volume, The Big Nowhere and White Jazz)--a compelling blend of LA history and pulp fiction that has earned it comparisons to the greatest of all Technicolour noir films, Chinatown. Kim Basinger richly deserved her Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a conflicted femme fatale; unfortunately, her male costars are so uniformly fine that they may have canceled each other out with the Academy voters: Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey and James Cromwell play LAPD officers of varying stripes. Pearce's character is a particularly intriguing study in Hollywood amorality and ambition, a strait-laced "hero" (and son of a departmental legend) whose career goals outweigh all other moral, ethical and legal considerations. If he's a good guy, it's only because he sees it as the quickest route to a promotion. --Jim Emerson
India Special:In their most politically perilous overseas adventure to date, the boys defy the Prime Minister by embarking on a trade mission to India armed only with three old British cars, a trouser press and a badly behaved lawnmower. Along the way they attempt a disastrous train-based advertising campaign, host a rather unusual garden party and invent a brand new sport called straight six cricket. Plus, Jeremy has a small accident, Richard gets an unfortunate insect bite and James makes coronation chicken in the most colourful and comical special Top Gear has ever made.Supercars Across Italy:Closer to home, the presenters set off on a glorious road trip across Italy in three incredible supercars - the Lamborghini Aventador, the Noble M600 and the McLaren MP4-12C. Their adventure starts with an eye widening max speed run at the vast Nard proving ground which tests not only performance but also sheer bravery. After that the boys head towards Rome, encountering relaxed policemen and work-shy mechanics along the way, before continuing north for a date with one of the toughest and most dangerous challenges they've ever faced - hot laps of the uncompromising Imola Grand Prix track. Great cars, wonderful scenery, hilarious banter and the Stig's Italian cousin - this is Top Gear at its very best.
Set on Death Row in a Southern prison in 1935, The Green Mile is the remarkable story of the cell block's head guard, who develops a poignant, unusual relationship with one inmate who possesses a magical gift that is both mysterious and miraculous.
The entire 5-disc set! From the writer of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral Richard Curtis. The sleepy village of Dibley has a new vicar but it's not your standard order bloke with beard bible and bad breath - it's Dawn French of the hilarious comedy duo French and Saunders. Armed with a sharp wit a double dose of double entendre and healthy supply of chocolate she brings the town's lovable - through rather eccentric - inhabitants a hyst
Blind pianist Sofia (Natalie Dormer, Game of Thrones) overhears a struggle in the apartment above hers that leads to the death of her neighbour, Veronique (Emily Ratajkowski, Gone Girl). It is the start of a journey that pushes Sofia out of her depth and into contact with Veronique's father, Zoran Radic (Jan Bijvoet, Peaky Blinders), a Serbian businessman and alleged war criminal accused of committing acts of genocide during the Bosnian war. Blind to the truth, Sofia risks her life in search of answers, and is plunged into a shady underworld of corruption, violence and blackmail. As secrets from her own past become intertwined with Radic's inner circle of deceit, Sofia's own agenda is revealed, as she hunts for revenge. Written and directed by Anthony Byrne (Peaky Blinders) and written by Natalie Dormer, In Darkness also features Ed Skrein (Deadpool) and Joely Richardson (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and makes for a suspenseful thriller that will leave audiences gripped from beginning to end. Bonus Features: Interviews with Director and Cast
Set in a dying mill town in the heart of Pennsylvania Stef (Cruise) dreams of winning a football scholarship to escape from a hopeless future...
LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH! Combining the bio-horror elements of his earlier films whilst anticipating the technological themes of his later work, Videodrome exemplifies Cronenberg's extraordinary talent for making both visceral and cerebral cinema. Max Renn (James Woods) is looking for fresh new content for his TV channel when he happens across some illegal S&M-style broadcasts called Videodrome'. Embroiling his girlfriend Nicki (Debbie Harry) in his search for the source, his journey begins to blur the lines between reality and fantasy as he works his way through sadomasochistic games, shady organisations and body transformations stunningly realised by the Oscar-winning makeup effects artist Rick Baker. Hailed by his contemporaries John Carpenter (he's better than all of us combined) and Martin Scorsese (no one makes films like he does) as a genius, Videodrome, was Cronenberg's most mature work to date and still stands as one of his greatest.
Snow Buddies is a puppy adventure!
Finding a girl when you're a nerdy science geek can be hard. But what happens if that special someone dies in a bizarre gardening accident and it's all your fault?Meet Jeffrey Franken. He's just killed the love of his life and now he's going to rebuild her... From the body parts of the dead streetwalkers who exploded when he introduced them to a lethal new drug - Supercrack! Little does he know that a good recipe requires the correct ingredients. Jeffrey isn't putting his life back together; he's building... a FRANKENHOOKER!From the twisted imagination of Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) and starring James Lorinz (Street Trash), comes a movie that pays a loving tribute to the worst excesses of the American Grindhouse.
Smart. Scientific. Psychic? The decidedly distinctive team of Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and Burton Guster (Dul Hill) from Psych P.I. are back for more laughs more mystery and more highly unusual cases in every wildly entertaining episode of Season Four. They might disagree but they can always depend on each other. In this captivating season of whimsical and wonderful whodunits their friendship and their business will be put to the test by a slew of potential culprits that include werewolves ghosts a shark and those they trust the most. Guest-starring Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes) James Brolin (Catch Me If You Can) Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That) and Ally Sheedy (The Breakfast Club) Psych continues to captivate viewers with the quirkiest detective duo to ever take on a case.
Efficiently directed by Kathryn Bigelow and featuring some diverting action scenes, 1991's Point Break can be credited with anticipating the extreme-sports fad. A rash of daring bank robberies erupt in which the bad guys all wear the masks of worse guys--former presidents (nice touch). Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), an impossibly named former football star who blew out his knee and became a crime-busting federal agent instead, figures out that none of the heists occur during surfing season and all of them occur when, so to speak, surf's down. So obviously, he reasons, we're dealing with some surfer-dude bank robbers. He goes undercover with just such a group, led by a very spiritual guru-type Patrick Swayze, who has some muddled philosophies when it comes to materialism. Reeves' intelligent-sounding lines don't make him seem remotely intelligent, but the plot makes him look positively brilliant. --David Kronke
Here Comes The Boom [Irish Version]
The eighth series of the MTV-aired reality TV show following a group of pleasure-seeking young housemates in Newcastle upon Tyne. An adaptation of the American series 'Jersey Shore', the show puts eight socially-driven men and women in close proximity and records the fireworks that follow.
In Season 4 of The X-Files, Scully is a bit upset by her on-off terminal cancer and Mulder is supposed to shoot himself in the season finale (did anyone believe that?), but in episode after episode the characters still plod dutifully around atrocity sites tossing off wry witticisms in that bland investigative demeanour out of fashion among TV cops since Dragnet. Perhaps the best achievement of this season is "Home", the most unpleasant horror story ever presented on prime-time US TV. It's not a comfortable show--confronted with this ghastly parade of incest, inbreeding, infanticide and mutilation, you'd think M & S would drop the jokes for once--but shows a willingness to expand the envelope. By contrast, ventures into golem, reincarnation, witchcraft and Invisible Man territory throw up run-of-the-mill body counts, spotlighting another recurrent problem. For heroes, M & S rarely do anything positive: they work out what is happening after all the killer's intended victims have been snuffed ("Kaddish"), let the monster get away ("Sanguinarium") and cause tragedies ("The Field Where I Died"). No wonder they're stuck in the FBI basement where they can do the least damage. The series has settled enough to play variations on earlier hits: following the liver vampire, we have a melanin vampire ("Teliko") and a cancer vampire ("Leonard Betts"), and return engagements for the oily contact lens aliens and the weasely ex-Agent Krycek ("Tunguska"/"Terma"). Occasional detours into send-up or post-modernism are indulged, yielding both the season's best episode ("Small Potatoes") and its most disappointing ("Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man"). "Small Potatoes", with the mimic mutant who tries out Mulder's life and realises what a loser he is (how many other pin-up series heroes get answerphone messages from their favourite phone-sex lines?), works as a genuine sci-fi mystery--for once featuring a mutant who doesn't have to kill people to live--and as character insight. --Kim Newman
From Stephen King (Pet Sematary) Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice) George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes) comes Tales From The Darkside: The Movie an all-star horror anthology packed with fun and fright. The Wraparound Story concerns a little boy who spins all the tales... to distract a modern-day witch who wants to pop him in the oven! In Lot 249 a malevolent mummy gives new meaning to final exams when he awakens to wreak revenge on unsuspecting student bodies. A furry black kitty is really the Cat From Hell and a Lover's Vow brings a stone gargoyle to murderous life.
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