There are only 35 Vemeers existing in the world today. What if somewhere in the world there existed a 36th? For more than three centuries it has been purchased in passion sold in desperation and stolen during Nazi occupation. It has won hearts bought freedom and cost lives. What is the real mystery of Vermeer's 'lost' painting Girl In Hyacinth Blue? It is a mysterious fabled and priceless work of art painted by Johannes Vemeer in the 17th century. Today it is in the possession of a
Screwedwas another nail in the coffin of former Saturday Night Livewisecracker Norm MacDonald, following his dismal previous film, Dirty Work. However, while Screwedisn't particularly funny (the jokes about dentures, dog poop and dead bodies are pretty much as old as the hills), the plot exerts a perverse interest; for most of the film, it's genuinely unpredictable. MacDonald plays Willard, the butler-chauffer, all-purpose flunky of Mrs. Crock, the wealthy, penny-pinching owner of a pastry company. Fed up with her abuse, Willard and his friend Rusty (David Chappelle from Blue Streak and 200 Cigarettes) conspire to kidnap her dog Muffin. But Muffin escapes and returns home; the ransom note is assumed to be for Willard himself. Rusty and Willard run with the idea, sending in a videotape of himself being held prisoner. When a detective starts getting a little too close, they panic and decide to fake Willard's death. Okay, none of it makes much sense, but in a world of ridiculously formulaic films which slavishly follow every screenwriting cliché Screwed seems like a brief oasis of narrative invention. Of course, it still isn't funny. And by the end, it's lost whatever spark of imagination that got it started. Too bad. It's written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, the screenwriters responsible for Problem Child, but also for Ed Wood and The People vs Larry Flynt--they should stick to biographies. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
The shocking true story of Lila and William Young owners of the Ideal Maternity home for unwed mothers. The home falls under public scrutiny when a routine delivery results in two mysterious deaths. As a result the Youngs find themselves burying dead babies in butterboxes and selling healthy babies to childless couples.
Chauffeur Willard Fillmore (Norm MacDonald) is over-abused and under-appreciated by his boss from hell Miss Crock (Elaine Stritch). Desperate for a payback he enlists the help of his hotheaded best friend Rusty (Dave Chappell) and they decide to dognap Miss Crock's precious pooch and hold it for ransom. But when the dog escapes and Miss Crock thinks Willard's the one being held for a price they must get help from the creepy and crazy mortician Grover Cleaver (Danny DeVito) to cash in on the payoff. Now the three have triple the trouble and triple the fun as they try to get even without getting screwed!
Nanny McPhee (Dir. Kirk Jones 2005): Emma Thompson whose first screenplay won the 1995 Oscar for Sense and Sensibility returns to screenwriting with Nanny McPhee a motion picture adaptation of the ""Nurse Matilda"" books by Christianna Brand. Thompson the only person to have won Oscars for both acting and writing also plays the title role in Nanny McPhee opposite Colin Firth Kelly Macdonald and - in her first role for the big screen in two decades - Angela Lansbury. In this dark and witty fable Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children led by the oldest boy Simon (Love Actually's Thomas Sangster) have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies and are certain that they will have no trouble with this one. But as Nanny McPhee takes control they begin to notice that their vile behavior now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences. Her influence also extends to the family's deeper problems including Mr. Brown's sudden and seemingly inexplicable attempts to find a new wife; an announcement by the domineering Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) that she intends to take one of the children away; and the sad and secret longings of their scullery maid Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald). As the children's behavior begins to change Nanny McPhee's arresting face and frame appear to change as well creating even more questions about this mysterious stranger whom the children and their father have come to love. Peter Pan (Dir. P.J. Hogan 2003): Re-discover the timeless story of Peter Pan as you've never seen it before and be swept off your feet to a Neverland you'd never dreamt possible. Join the boy who wouldn't grow up and Wendy the girl who is told she has to in their adventure against Captain Hook and his pirate crew. Follow Tinker Bell the Lost Boys giant crocodiles and other fantastic creatures to a world where anything is possible and where dreams and imagination have a power all of their own. The Grinch (Dir. Ron Howard 2000): A foul-tempered green and hairy creature who lives on Mount Crumpit the Grinch hates Christmas almost as much as the residents of Whoville the town at the bottom of his mountain. One night he decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos by taking all their decorations presents and Christmassy things. However he soon learns a valuable lesson about the true spirit of the festive season!
Billy Madison: He's heir to the Madison Hotel millions but the only subjects Billy has studied lately are babes and booze. For him life has been a ten-year party since he left high school: drinking bottomless daiquiris catching rays by the pool pulling moronic pranks and chasing anything in (or out of!) a skirt. (Dir. Tamra Davis 1995): But when Brian Madison informs his goofball son that he plans to turn over his Fortune 500 company to vice president and corporate weasel Eric Gordon Billy makes the bet of his life. He's going back to school - grades 1 through 12 in 24 weeks! - with hilarious results. And this time Mr Madison's cheque book won't be the source of Billy's academic advancement. Can bona fide blockhead Billy clean up his act to win his father's respect the family fortune and the love of his beautiful teacher Veronica? Hey it's worth a shot! Happy Gilmore: Adam Sandler stars in this hilarious comedy that scores a hole in one for gut-busting wit and outrageous slapstick. Happy a raucous hockey player turned golfer sends the sedate sport into overdrive after he becomes a media sensation with his outlandish antics on the links. It's par for the course entertainment co-starring Christopher McDonald Carl Weathers and Kevin Nealon. (Dir. Dennis Dugan 1996) Anger Management: Dave Buznik (Adam Sandler) is usually a mild-mannered non-confrontational guy. But after an altercation aboard an airplane he is remanded to the care of anger management therapist Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson) who could probably use some anger management himself. Now Dave is really mad! (Dir. Peter Segal 2003)
All 24 episodes from the first and second seasons of the Golden Globe-winning HBO period drama set during the 1920s Prohibition era. Atlantic County Treasurer Enoch 'Nucky' Thompson (Steve Buscemi) sets up a bootlegging business, hoping to get rich. As he progresses in his venture he crosses paths with politicians and mobsters alike but his lavish lifestyle soon leads the federal government to grow suspicious of his activities. Among the show's executive producers are its creator, 'The Sopranos' writer Terence Winter, and Martin Scorsese, who also directed the pilot. The episodes comprise: 'Boardwalk Empire', 'The Ivory Tower', 'Broadway Limited', 'Anastasia', 'Nights in Ballygran', 'Family Limitation', 'Home', 'Hold Me in Paradise', 'Belle Femme', 'The Emerald City', 'Paris Green', 'A Return to Normalcy', '21', 'Ourselves Alone', 'A Dangerous Mind', 'What Does the Bee Do?', 'Gimcrack and Bunkum', 'The Age of Reason', 'Peg of Old', 'Two Boats and a Lifeguard', 'Battle of the Century', 'Georgia Peaches', 'Under God's Power She Flourishes' and 'To the Lost'.
One of the areas of human knowledge which has expanded fastest over the last few decades is our awareness of the complexities of human evolution. Ape·Man is a useful summary of the current state of play dealing with such important questions as the divergence of early hominids from the other apes and the final confrontation of modern humans and their Neanderthal cousins. It is a fair-minded handling of some of the crucial debates--at what point, say, is it legitimate to talk of humans and human ancestors starting to decorate their possessions, say, and when did language and the complex innovations in hunting it makes possible start to be a factor? Inventive portrayals of the life of early humans as they wander out of the mists of time alternate with coherent and accessible accounts of fossil evidence, DNA studies and archaeology; this is both an intellectually satisfying series and an emotionally charged one. --Roz Kaveney
Jarhead: Welcome To The Suck. Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this critically acclaimed brilliantly unconventional war story from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff (Gyllenhaal) from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty where he sports a sniper rifle through Middle East deserts that provide no cover from the heat or Iraqi soldiers. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully grasp. (Dir. Sam Mendes 2005) Black Hawk Down: Ridley Scott directs this fast moving action adventure about the disastrous mission in Somalia on October 3 1993 where nearly 100 U.S. Army Rangers commanded by Capt. Mike Steele were dropped by helicopter deep into the capital city of Mogadishu to capture two top lieutenants of a Somali warlord which leads to a large and chaotic firefight between the Rangers and hundreds of Somali gunmen which destroys two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters in Mogadishu. (Dir. Ridley Scott 2002) Tears Of The Sun: Loyal veteran Navy S.E.A.L. Lt. A.K. Waters is sent into the heart of war-torn Africa on a hazardous mission to rescue Dr. Lena Hendricks a U.S. citizen who runs a mission. When the beautiful doctor refuses to abandon the refugees in her care Lt. Waters finds himself having to choose between following orders and the dictates of his own conscience. Together they begin a dangerous trek through the deadly jungle all the while being pursued by a rebel militia group with only one goal in mind: to assassinate Lt. Waters' unit and the refugees in his care... (Dir. Antoine Fuqua 2003)
This Box Set contains the following films: Nanny McPhee: In this dark and witty fable Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children led by the oldest boy Simon have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies and are certain that they will have no trouble with this one. But as Nanny McPhee takes control they begin to notice that their vile behavior now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences. The Grinch: A foul-tempered green and hairy creature who lives on Mount Crumpit the Grinch hates Christmas almost as much as the residents of Whoville the town at the bottom of his mountain. One night he decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos by taking all their decorations presents and Christmassy things. However he soon learns a valuable lesson about the true spirit of the festive season! Labyrinth: Frustrated with baby-sitting on yet another weekend night Sarah - a teenager with a active imagination - summons the Goblins from her favourite book Labyrinth to take her baby step-brother away. When little Toby actually disappears Sarah must follow him into the world of the fairy tale to rescue him in hope that their loyalty isn't just another illusion in a place where nothing is as it seems! Peter Pan: Re-discover the timeless story of Peter Pan as you've never seen it before and be swept off your feet to a Neverland you'd never dreamt possible. Join the boy who wouldn't grow up and Wendy the girl who is told she has to in their adventure against Captain Hook and his pirate crew. Follow Tinker Bell the Lost Boys giant crocodiles and other fantastic creatures to a world where anything is possible and where dreams and imagination have a power all of their own. Jumanji: When young Alan Parrish and his friend Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) begin to play a mysterious board game they don't realise its unimaginable powers until Alan is magically transported into the untamed jungles of Jumanji. Twenty-six years later Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Bradley Pierce) discover the dusty board and reawaken the game as they begin to play. Instantly the forces of Jumanji release a fully-grown bewildered Alan Parrish (Robin Williams) into their world.
Cinderella: This version of Cinderella is the original 1950 Walt Disney animated classic. Based upon Charles Perrault's 17th-century fable about a poor stepdaughter transformed into a vision of beauty sent to the royal ball by her Fairy Godmother to meet her Prince Charming and live happily ever after. The kind and beautiful Cinderella dreams of romance and a better life while serving the selfish needs of her wicked stepmother and two jealous stepsisters. With the help of her mischievous mice friends Gus and Jaq and a little ""Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"" from the magical wand of her Fairy Godmother Cinderella meets the handsome Prince Charming at the Royal Ball. But as she flees the castle before the stroke of midnight breaks the spell Cinderella leaves behind a single glass slipper... leading to the ultimate fairy tale ending! Cinderella 3 - A Twist In Time: Disney's classic fairytale continues in this all-new animated movie. A stepmother's revenge reveals the glass slipper did not fit Cinderella after all in this spell-binding story about magic falling into the wrong hands. Prince Charming along with best friends Jaq and Gus join Cinderella in this all-new feature with enchanting songs spectacular animation and more wonder and suspense than ever before!
The Iron Horse was John Ford's 50th film and remains his most celebrated of the silent era. Its theme of enterprise and achievement its open-air locations and setting in a vigorous and pioneering past proved just the subject to stimulate the young director's talent. The sheer scale of the film surpassed all other Westerns of the silent era and established Ford as one of the leading directors in the industry. The film combines a conventional tale of double-dealing vengeance and romance with a poetic sense of history and an epic theme - uniting a nation by building a transcontinental railroad and a great man's dream realised by the courage skill and labour of ordinary folk. This restored version features a new score composed and conducted by John Lanchbery performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic.
Welcome To The Suck. Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this critically acclaimed brilliantly unconventional war story from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff (Gyllenhaal) from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty where he sports a sniper rifle through Middle East deserts that provide no cover from the heat or Iraqi soldiers. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully grasp.
Filmed at the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona The Painted Desert follows the lives of two feuding cowboys J. Farrell MacDonald and William Farnum who clash over who will raise an orphaned boy they find at a deserted waterhole. Farnum takes the boy whom he names Bill but several years later the feud continues this time over water their adjacent ranches share. Tension escalates until the grown Bill played by William Boyd must choose between his adoptive father Farnum
Kurt Weill's complex score reigns supreme in Peter Zadek's 1998 Salzburg Festival staging of The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, the collaboration with Brecht which became a target for Nazi insurrection on its 1930 premiere. The city itself is suggested by the attitudes and personalities of the singers rather than by Richard Peduzzi's Spartan sets. It's bleak stuff in many ways, not least in its vision of the human state: squaring up to corruption is a lonely and fatal business. But thanks to Weill's musical eclecticism, which ranges from barbershop to lieder, there are moments of intense beauty, not least in the duets between lumberjack Jimmy Mahoney and prostitute Jenny. There are, too, flashes which anticipate Weill's American future on Broadway. The lilting "Alabama Song", that gift to every would-be cabaret artist in search of a Lotte Lenya moment, works wonderfully as an ensemble piece. Despite occasional inaudibility, the singing is often breathtaking. Gwyneth Jones is a majestic Begbick, Catherine Maltifano's voluptuous and earthy Jenny also has a rarely seen sweetness and Jerry Hadley's Jimmy Mahoney is ultimately almost unbearably moving. Food for thought, indeed. On the DVD: The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is presented in 16:9 picture format, but would have benefited from the scale of a widescreen treatment. It can be difficult to keep track of everything that's going on. The cavernous stage is probably responsible for the acoustics which sometimes allow the orchestra to overwhelm the singing, otherwise well served by the PCM stereo sound. There are no DVD extras but the excellent booklet and production notes are welcome.--Piers Ford
Thirteenth Guest
8 Mile: The people of Detroit know 8 Mile as the city limit a border a boundary. It is also a psychological dividing line that separates Jimmy Smith Jr. (Eminem) from where and who he wants to be... Trainspotting: 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?
In the 21st Century cybernetic research has developed advanced robots with human traits whioch are widely used in the service industry. They have also been turned into cyber cops with a licence to kill....
Now stunningly repackaged 50p from the sale of this DVD will be paid to Royal British Legion Trading Limited which gives its taxable profits to The Royal British Legion (Charity no. 219279) and Poppy Scotland (Scottish Charity No. SC014096). Academy Award -winner Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this critically acclaimed brilliantly unconventional war story from Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows Swoff (Gyllenhaal) from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty where he sports a sniper rifle through Middle East deserts that provide no cover from the heat or Iraqui soldiers. Special Features: Feature Commentaries: With Director Sam Mendes With Screenwriter William Broyles Jr. and Author Anthony Swofford Swoff's Fantasies Swoff's Fantasies - With optional Commentary by Director Sam Mendes and Editor Walter Murch D.I in a Dress Fantasy Interview Exploding Major Swoffs Kill News Interviews in full (with Option Commentary) Deleted Scenes (with Optional Commentary)
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