Although Lewis Milestone had been American cinema's premier maker of war films for three decades, 1951's The Halls of Montezuma is one of his more marginal pictures. Milestone had already won an Academy Award for the single most honoured film about WWI, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), and made one of the most distinctive contemporaneous films of WWII, A Walk in the Sun (1945)--a notable influence on Saving Private Ryan, by the way--but by the time of Montezuma the hallmarks of his directorial style--such as his syncopated tracking shots--were becoming mannerisms, and the screenplay's rhythms of personal crises set against the bigger picture of the military campaign are pretty mechanical. That still leaves room to accord the picture a marginal recommendation: it's well-cast, competently made, and free of "Hollywood heroics". Richard Widmark stars as a Marine platoon leader who, having brought only seven of his men through Guadalcanal, is determined to see them safely through the next island conquest. The lieutenant was a schoolteacher in civilian life--as we see in flashbacks--and one member of his command is a former student (Richard Hylton) he helped overcome fear. Other platoon members include ex-boxer Jack Palance, trigger-happy bad boy Skip Homeier, hardcase veterans Neville Brand and Bert Freed, and Karl Malden as a philosophical corpsman. However, the most arresting performance is given by Milestone discovery Richard Boone, making his screen debut as a sympathetic colonel stuck with fighting the Japanese and fighting off a miserable cold at the same time. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Once again returning to the genre to which he was perhaps best-suited director Lewis Milestone traces the fate of a Marine platoon in the Pacific theater during WWII. The film stars Richard Widmark as the no-nonsense Lt. Carl Anderson an officer charged with the responibility of leading his unit on a scouting mission to capture prisoners from an experimental rocket-launching facility and bring them back for interrogation. Among his platoon are veterans Pidgeon Lane (Jack Palance) D
Winter Solstice is a tale of small steps taken in the aftermath of family loss. Landscape gardener Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) is a quiet craftsman a softly-spoken man who prefers an orderly life. His family however is anything but orderly. Older son Gabe (Aaron Stanford) is planning his escape to Florida leaving behind any shot at a stable future with his girlfriend. Younger son Pete (Mark Webber) has retreated into a private world of anger drift and disappointm
"Dear Wendy" is a story about a young loner who finds a small handgun.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the WorldScott Pilgrim vs. the World is a finger-blistering time capsule of right now, yet in a hundred years it will still be so crammed with charm, wit, brio, and exuberance it will still be irresistible. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera, Superbad) is an accidental heartbreaker, a Canadian slacker who obsesses over the girls who've dumped him but hardly realizes how he's dumped other girls. But everything else in his life (including playing bass in a band) fades to insignificance when he lays eyes on Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Live Free or Die Hard), his deadpan pixie dream girl. Unfortunately, Ramona has some serious baggage: seven deadly exes, and Scott must battle them all if he wants to date Ramona. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is saturated in pop culture, particularly video games. Many events make almost no sense, but it doesn't matter--sheer narrative ferocity and glee of invention sweep the viewer along. Cera pushes his geek/dork dreamboat persona to new heights of sweet twee-ness; if this movie doesn't shoot him into the stratosphere, we live in a cold, unfeeling universe, bereft of justice. The whole supporting cast (including Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Anna Kendrick, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and a host of less familiar but excellent young actors) plays every moment for all it's worth. This movie is supremely uncool and passionate, which makes it essential viewing. --Bret FetzerHot FuzzA major British hit, a lorryload of laughs and some sparkling action? Well have some of that. Its fair to say that Hot Fuzz proves that Simon Pegg and Edgar Wrights brilliant Shaun Of The Dead was no one-off, serving up a superbly crafted British homage to the Hollywood action movie. Deliberately set in the midst of a sleepy, quaint English village of Sandford, Peggs Nicholas Angel is sent there because, bluntly, hes too good at his job, and hes making his city colleagues look bad. The proverbial fish out of water, Angel soon discovers that not everything in Sandford is quite as it seems, and joins forces with Nick Frosts lumbering Danny Butterman to find out whats what. Hot Fuzz then proceeds to have a rollicking good time in both tipping its hat to the genre films that are clearly its loving inspiration, and coming up with a few tricks of its own. It does comedy better than action, with plenty of genuine laugh-out-loud moments, but its no slouch either when the tempo needs raising. One of the many strong cards it plays is its terrific cast, which includes former 007 Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Bill Bailey, Paddy Considine, Edward Woodward and Jim Broadbent. Hot Fuzz, ultimately, just falls short of Shaun Of The Dead, but more than does enough to warrant many, many repeat viewings. Its terrific fun, and in the true hit action movie style, all-but-demands some form of sequel. That said, with Pegg and Wright now with two excellent, and suitably different, genres ticked off, itll be interesting to see what they do next. A period drama, perhaps ? --Simon Brew Shaun of the DeadIt's no disparagement to describe Simon Pegg and Edgar Wrights zombie-rom-com Shaun of the Dead as playing like an extended episode of Spaced. Not only does the movie have the rather modest scope of a TV production, it also boasts the snappy editing, smart camera moves, and deliciously post-modern dialogue familiar from the sitcom, as well as using many of the same cast: Peggs Shaun and Nick Frosts Ed are doppelgangers of their Spaced characters, while Jessica Stevenson and Peter Serafinowicz appear in smaller roles. Unlike the TV series, its less important for the audience to be in on the movie in-jokes, though it wont hurt if you know George Romeros famous Dawn of the Dead trilogy, which is liberally plundered for zombie behaviour and mythology. Shaun is a loser, stuck in a dead-end job and held back by his slacker pal Ed. Girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) is exasperated by his lack of ambition and unceremoniously dumps him. As a result, Shaun misses out on what is apparently the end of the world. In a series of beautifully choreographed and edited scenes, including hilarious tracking shots to and from the local shop, he spectacularly fails to notice the death toll and subsequent zombie plague. Only when one appears in their back garden do Shaun and Ed take notice, hurling sundry kitchen appliances at the undead before breaking out the cricket bat. The catastrophe proves to be the catalyst for Shaun to take charge of his life, sort out his relations with his dotty mum (Penelope Wilton) and distant stepdad (Bill Nighy), and fight to win back his ex-girlfriend. Lucy Davis from The Office and Dylan Moran of Black Books fame head the excellent supporting cast. --Mark Walker
Dennis Potter has long been acknowledged as one of the most significant writers of the twentieth century. Though he had considerable successes with the series format (such as The Singing Detective and Casanova) it is generally accepted that his strongest work is the single play of which he did many for both the BBC and ITV. In celebration of both Potter's body of work and the fiftieth anniversary of ITV this collection celebrates three of his most signif
Days before his 21st birthday William (Mark Webber) an actor meets and quickly falls madly in love with Sara (Catalina Sandino Moreno) a seductive yet elusive singer/songwriter. The film follows William from a Lower East Side tenement to a Mexican hotel room to a snowbound weekend in Connecticut to a sweltering homecoming in the hottest state of all - Texas - in the pursuit of Sara. His stubborn and sweetly innocent quest to find someone who loves him as much as he loves her may not lead to happiness but surely leads to newfound maturity.
Sword Of HonourAward-winning novelist and screenwriter William Boyd brings Evelyn Waugh's classic trilogy of the Second World War vividly to life in this epic two-part drama starring Daniel Craig Megan Dodds Leslie Phillips Julian Rhind-Tutt Robert Pugh and Katrina Cartlidge. ShackletonDirected by Charles Sturridge (Brideshead Revisited Gulliver's Travels Longitude) this biopic of explorer Ernest Shackleton (Kenneth Branagh) is at once a fascinating character study of a driven man and a thrilling true life adventure. Concentrating on Shackleton's 1914 Endurance expedition to the the South Pole it details the incredible struggle he undertook to lead his 28 man crew to safety after his ship was trapped and then crushed in the pack ice. LongitudeLongitude is the fascinating story of John Harrison (Gambon) who in the 18th century believed he could make a clock that would work on board a ship - and so solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. Harrison has to struggle against a bigoted establishment in order to win recognition for his achievements. This story is intertwined with that of Rupert Gold (Irons) the former naval officer who in the 1920s discovered Harrison's clocks and - at the cost of his health his reputation and his marriage began the mammoth task of restoring them.
Follow psychic Mia Dolan as she investigates mysterious phenomena in ordinary houses around the UK. Assited by paranormal investigator Mark Webb and sceptic Dr Chris French she attempts to find the reasons for the disturbances beginning with a Nottinghamshire family who are kept awake at night by the sound of children crying!
Examples (BMX)
Told with equal parts eloquence and passion the story follows 20-year-old Daniel Carter (Mark Webber Shrink and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) a petty thief performing community service at a Greenwich Village elementary school. There he befriends eight-year-old Boone (the adorable Antonio 'A.J.' Ortiz). When Boone's mother is taken ill and the youth is sent away to a foster school Daniel 'rescues' him and together they set out on a road trip - funded partly by shoplifting and burglary - in which friendship redemption and adventure are all within one''s grasp. Co-starring the dynamic Rosie Perez (Fearless Pineapple Express) as the school principal Just Like the Son's story of two outcasts searching for identity resonates with heart warmth humour and hope as its touching tale of fraternity and sacrifice unfolds in poetic and unsentimental fashion. If you liked Wendy and Lucy or Half Nelson you will love this wondrous gem.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a finger-blistering time capsule of right now, yet in a hundred years it will still be so crammed with charm, wit, brio, and exuberance it will still be irresistible. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera, Superbad) is an accidental heartbreaker, a Canadian slacker who obsesses over the girls who've dumped him but hardly realizes how he's dumped other girls. But everything else in his life (including playing bass in a band) fades to insignificance when he lays eyes on Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Live Free or Die Hard), his deadpan pixie dream girl. Unfortunately, Ramona has some serious baggage: seven deadly exes, and Scott must battle them all if he wants to date Ramona. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is saturated in pop culture, particularly video games. Many events make almost no sense, but it doesn't matter--sheer narrative ferocity and glee of invention sweep the viewer along. Cera pushes his geek/dork dreamboat persona to new heights of sweet twee-ness; if this movie doesn't shoot him into the stratosphere, we live in a cold, unfeeling universe, bereft of justice. The whole supporting cast (including Kieran Culkin, Jason Schwartzman, Anna Kendrick, Chris Evans, Brandon Routh, and a host of less familiar but excellent young actors) plays every moment for all it's worth. This movie is supremely uncool and passionate, which makes it essential viewing. --Bret Fetzer
Grass marks a welcome return for The Fast Show's overzealous know-it-all Billy Bleach. Written by (along with Andrew Collins) and starring Simon Day he actually created the character of Billy almost ten years ago for use in his stand up routines. After witnessing a gangland murder self-made loser Billy Bleach is forced to grass on villain Harry Taylor and is given a new identity. How will he cope in the village of Little Mockwell in deepest rural Norfo
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