Nice concept, shaky execution--that about sums up the mixed blessings of British actor Peter Howitt's intelligent but forgivably flawed debut as a writer-director. It's got more emotional depth than most frothy romantic comedies and its central idea--the parallel tracking of two possible destinies for a young London professional played by Gwyneth Paltrow--is full of involving possibilities. It's essentially a what-if scenario with Helen (Paltrow) at the centre of two slightly but significantly different romantic trajectories, one involving her two-timing boyfriend (John Lynch)and the other with an amiable chap (John Hannah) who represents a happier outcome. That's the film's basic problem, however: the two scenarios are so romantically unbalanced (one guy's a total cad, the other charmingly sincere) that Helen inadvertently comes off looking foolish and needlessly confused. Still, this remains a pleasant experiment and Howitt's dialogue is witty enough to keep things entertaining. It's also a treat for Paltrow fans; not only does the svelte actress handle a British accent without embarrassing herself but she gets to play two subtle variations of the same character, sporting different wardrobes and hairstyles in a role that plays into her glamorous off-screen persona. --Jeff Shannon
Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family... This is the story of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his so-called friends - a bunch of losers liars psychos thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing the film charts the disintegration of their friendship as they proceed seemingly towards self-destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate - but then again does he really want to ""choose life""?
By any rational measure, Alan Parker's cinematic interpretation of Pink Floyd's The Wall is a glorious failure. Glorious because its imagery is hypnotically striking, frequently resonant and superbly photographed by the gifted cinematographer Peter Biziou. And a failure because the entire exercise is hopelessly dour, loyal to the bleak themes and psychological torment of Roger Waters' great musical opus, and yet utterly devoid of the humour that Waters certainly found in his own material. Any attempt to visualise The Wall would be fraught with artistic danger, and Parker succumbs to his own self-importance, creating a film that's as fascinating as it is flawed. The film is, for better and worse, the fruit of three artists in conflict--Parker indulging himself, and Waters in league with designer Gerald Scarfe, whose brilliant animated sequences suggest that he should have directed and animated this film in its entirety. Fortunately, this clash of talent and ego does not prevent The Wall from being a mesmerising film. Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof (in his screen debut) is a fine choice to play Waters's alter ego--an alienated, "comfortably numb" rock star whose psychosis manifests itself as an emotional (and symbolically physical) wall between himself and the cold, cruel world. Weaving Waters's autobiographical details into his own jumbled vision, Parker ultimately fails to combine a narrative thread with experimental structure. It's a rich, bizarre, and often astonishing film that will continue to draw a following, but the real source of genius remains the music of Roger Waters. --Jeff Shannon
Jack Putter feels funny today, nothing new to this 25-hour-a-day hypochondriac. What's new is that Jack hears something. I'm possessed! he cries. And you're about to be possessed by laughter. Gremlins executive producer Steven Spielberg and director Joe Dante again rev their imaginations into overdrive for this comic adventure that won a 1987 Best Visual Effects Academy Award. The voice Jack (Martin Short) hears is that of hotshot Navy pilot Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid), subject of a secret miniaturization project gone awry and accidentally injected into Jack. And before frazzled Jack can say I've got you under my skin, his unlikely partner propels him into the craziest escapade of his life.
The year is 52 B.C. Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic Rome is the wealthiest city in the world a cosmopolitan metropolis of one million people; epicenter of a sprawling empire. The Republic was founded on principles of shared power and fierce personal competition never allowing one man to seize absolute control. But now those foundations are crumbling eaten away by corruption and excess. A serialized drama of love and betrayal masters and slaves husbands and wives Rome chronicles a turbulent era that saw the death of a republic and the birth of an empire.
A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
Kevin Costner's lousy English accent is a small obstacle in this often exciting version of the Robin Hood fable. That aside, it's refreshing to have a preface to the old story in which we meet the robber hero of Sherwood Forest as a soldier in King Richard's Crusades, coming home to find his people under siege from the cruelties of the Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman). After Robin and his community of outcasts and fighters take to the trees, director Kevin Reynolds (Fandango, 187) is on more familiar narrative ground, and he goes for the gusto with lots of original action (Robin shoots two arrows simultaneously from his bow in two directions). Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, as Marion, makes a convincing damsel in distress and Morgan Freeman brings dignity to his role as Robin's Moor friend. Alan Rickman, however, gets the most attention for his scene-chewing role as the rotten sheriff, an almost campy performance that is highly entertaining but perhaps a little out of sorts with the rest of the film. --Tom Keogh
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world's most dangerous game.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play. In the exhilarating, heart-rending final season of Glee, club favorites reunite and a new group of young performers takes centre stage. Following her disastrously short sitcom career, Rachel returns to McKinley High to find Principal Sue Sylvester trampling the arts including the glee club. Without missing a beat, Rachel and a newly single Kurt set out to revitalise New Directions, hoping for a shot at the national title. It wont be easy since Will and Blaine now coach rival groups Vocal Adrenaline and The Warblers. With thrilling musical numbers and compelling plot lines featuring much of the beloved original cast, the final season of Glee culminates in a celebration of life, music, friendship and love.
First there was an opportunity......then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by. Much has changed but just as much remains the same. Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home. They are waiting for him: Spud (Ewen Bremner), Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), and Begbie (Robert Carlyle). Other old friends are waiting too: sorrow, loss, joy, vengeance, hatred, friendship, love, longing, fear, regret, diamorphine, self-destruction and mortal danger, they are all lined up to welcome him, ready to join the dance. Click Images to Enlarge
Dances with Wolves is the film that sent director-producer-actor Kevin Costner on his hubristic way; yet it is such a resonant and powerful film that we can almost forgive him for inflicting upon us his later "epic" The Postman. Here Costner plays a Union solder stationed at the far edges of the West, and left there to rot at his post. He finally sees the wisdom of the Lakota Sioux and finds peace within their community. But his decision to "go native" is greatly frowned upon by his military commanders, and the subsequent culture clash forms the backbone of the narrative. The story is told simply, and wastes not one word of dialogue, while the South Dakota locations provide a magnificent backdrop. Costner is sympathetic and accessible as an American Everyman who awakens to himself and the world around him... --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com
She's back. The Thirteenth Doctor is returning for the thirteenth series, a six-part Event Serial. Since their last epic battle in Revolution of the Daleks, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) have been exploring the universe together but with the Doctor now questioning everything about her past she will undoubtedly be searching for answers. This adrenalin fuelled, universe-spanning series will also see an addition to the TARDIS with actor and comedian John Bishop (Accused) joining the cast as Dan Lewis. Dan will quickly learn there's more to the Universe than he could ever believe. Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones, Broadchurch) is also set to make his debut on Doctor Who as recurring character, Vinder. Jacob's new role will see him join forces with the Doctor, Yaz and Dan as the Doctor faces her biggest ever adventure. Series 13 will introduce some terrifying new adversaries and the return of truly iconic old enemies. Expect action, fun, scares and extraordinary new worlds as the Doctor and her friends confront a deadly evil.
Based on Robert Harling's play and directed by Herbert Ross, Steel Magnolias is a comedy-drama that follows several years in the lives of women who regularly see one another at a beauty shop in their small Louisiana hometown. The story deepens as Julia Roberts, playing a serious diabetic and the daughter of Sally Field, goes downhill healthwise. But as an ensemble piece, this is one of those enjoyably lumpy tearjerkers with many years' worth of stored truths suddenly being shared between the characters, lots of grievances aired, that sort of thing. Daryl Hannah and Shirley MacLaine assume the most eccentric roles, Dolly Parton the most fun and Olympia Dukakis the most dignified, while Sally Field essentially provides the moral and emotional centre of the movie. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Imagine you're leading a six man squad on a routine army exercise. You're cut off on foot in a hostile wilderness. And there's every chance that you're about to be eaten alive by a pack of vicious, snarling, blood-lusting, seven-foot tall werewolves...
She's back. The Thirteenth Doctor is returning for the thirteenth series, a six-part Event Serial. Since their last epic battle in Revolution of the Daleks, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and Yaz (Mandip Gill) have been exploring the universe together but with the Doctor now questioning everything about her past she will undoubtedly be searching for answers. This adrenalin fuelled, universe-spanning series will also see an addition to the TARDIS with actor and comedian John Bishop (Accused) joining the cast as Dan Lewis. Dan will quickly learn there's more to the Universe than he could ever believe. Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones, Broadchurch) is also set to make his debut on Doctor Who as recurring character, Vinder. Jacob's new role will see him join forces with the Doctor, Yaz and Dan as the Doctor faces her biggest ever adventure. Series 13 will introduce some terrifying new adversaries and the return of truly iconic old enemies. Expect action, fun, scares and extraordinary new worlds as the Doctor and her friends confront a deadly evil.
You wouldn't know it by watching the Batman movies they collaborated on, but this smart adaptation of John Grisham's novel proves that director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have some talent when the right project comes along. Schumacher had previously directed Grisham's The Client, and brought equal craft and intelligence to this story about a young Southern attorney (Matthew McConaughey, in his breakthrough role) who defends a black father (Samuel L Jackson) after he kills two men who raped his young daughter. Sandra Bullock plays the passionate law student who serves as McConaughey's legal aide and voice of conscience in the racially charged drama. Added to the star power of the lead roles is a fine supporting cast, including Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd and Oliver Platt. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to Jumanji to rescue one of their own, they discover that nothing is as they expect. The players will have to brave parts unknown and unexplored, from the arid deserts to the snowy mountains, in order to escape the world's most dangerous game.
Kevin Costner's former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Share the love, heartbreak and secrets of ABC Studios' Grey's Anatomy: Complete Fifteenth Season. Romance is brewing in ways you did not see coming as doctor Teddy Altman is back in an explosive love triangle. And the drama continues as a windstorm blows through Seattle, causing the power to go out at Grey Sloan, leaving the doctors scrambling to save their patients' lives, including Meredith, who desparately needs to get a patient for her heart transplant. Expect the unexpected, in 25 epsiodes, with new relationships, lost loves, hot new doctors and the kind of jaw-dropping twists only Grey's Anatomy can deliver.
First released in 1984, Footloose now enjoys the same sort of semi-ironic nostalgic cachet as John Hughes' contemporary schlock-fests about angst-ridden teens with silly hair. This is partly due to the fact that, as breathtakingly predictable kids-against-the-squares romps go, it's really pretty tolerable, but it's mostly because of the soundtrack. The songs that appear in the film--notably Kenny Loggins' infectiously vapid title track, and gale-force screecher Bonnie Tyler's excruciating "Holding Out for a Hero"--are possessed of an awfulness so monolithic that they have transcended their era and become reliable floor-fillers at 80s nostalgia discos all over the western world. The plot, such as it is, sees the eerily androidal Kevin Bacon playing a hip rock & roll youth from the big city rebelling against the strictures of the conservative small town in which he finds himself living. Inevitably, he falls for the daughter of his nemesis, the local preacher (the latter, it has to be said, is played with some aplomb by John Lithgow, who very nearly wrings depth from a character otherwise straight out of the colour-by-numbers guide to movie-making). Inevitably, there are some dance sequences. Inevitably, the kids win out, and the grown-ups realise that maybe they aren't so bad after all. On the DVD: Footloose can be watched on disc, should you so desire, dubbed in German, Spanish, French or Italian. There also subtitles available in pretty well every European language, as well as Arabic, Hebrew, Russian and Turkish. Other than that there are no extras. --Andrew Mueller
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