Noir thriller directed by Jim Mickle and starring Michael C. Hall and Sam Shepard. Texan small-business owner Richard Dane (Hall) has been hailed as the town hero since he protected his wife (Vinessa Shaw) and child by fatally shooting a would-be burglar inside their home. Residual guilt from the encounter is quickly dissipated by the police who assure Richard that he was acting in self-defence and therefore cannot be held accountable for the murder. However, when the burglar's recently-paroled father, Ben (Shepard), arrives in town and begins making explicit threats towards Richard and his family, Richard is forced to step up once again to protect them from harm...
Like a fine gourmet meal, the BBC's 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield has something to suit every taste: a well-paced screenplay that keeps the tale bowling along without losing the delights of some of Dickens' most sparkling dialogue; a rich gallery of characters; and a cast which features many of Britain's favourite actors. There is, of course, plenty of high comedy but some very tight direction checks any tendencies to over-ripe performance. The whole production is tightly integrated: from David's idyllic if cloistered childhood with his beloved mother and their devoted servant Peggotty, through the shattering arrival of a sadistic stepfather, rescue by his eccentric Aunt Betsey Trotwood and a journey into maturity where his very innocence makes him the unwitting agent of tragedy before all is resolved. Ciaran McMenamin is the mature David, his youthful face increasingly clouded by the gathering of experience. Trevor Eve oozes evil as his stepfather Mr Murdstone, ultimately neutralised by Maggie Smith's Aunt Betsey, a comic performance of true genius that gives frequent flashes of the vulnerable human being beneath. In other inspired pieces of casting, Nicholas Lyndhurst's incubus-like Uriah Heep haunts every scene he's in, and Pauline Quirke's Peggotty exudes the motherly warmth that sustains David during his darkest moments. Three hours of classic drama heaven. --Piers Ford
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager. Special Features: Includes a Hilarious Gag Reel and Behind-The-Scenes Vignettes!
Cult favourite actor Herbert Lom takes on his first British television role as the gifted and compassionate psychiatrist Dr. Roger Corder in this classic series from ABC Television. A widower in his mid-forties, Corder spends his life analysing others; tearing them apart to put them back together again in better shape. Primarily he is a detective, probing secrets and searching for causes dispassionately laying the facts before those seeking his help in the human jungle ...This complete series set contains all 26 episodes of this hard-hitting and well-remembered series. John Barry's rousing theme tune sets the scene for each story (based on a real-life case history) and the cast includes Joan Collins, Francesca Annis, Rita Tushingham, Alfred Burke and Annette Andr, among many others.
A two-part US TV miniseries here edited into a 122-minute feature, Asteroid was originally rushed onto (television) screens in 1996, well before the one-two big screen punch of Deep Impact and Armageddon. Single mum-cum-astronomy boffin Dr Lily McKee (Annabella Sciorra) works out that a comet is about to divert a meteor shower towards Earth ("at its present rate, Helios would hit with the force of a thousand Hiroshimas and the heat of the Sun") and spends the first half of the film alerting the authorities to the danger, and the second half helping rugged rescue guy Jack Wallach (Michael Biehn) haul survivors out from under the rubble caused when a bunch of minor asteroids collide with the planet (well, America); all while as the usual shenanigans go on to cope with the big, preventable chunk. The script explains everything in children's science lecture terms ("Mom, are we going to die like the dinosaurs?" "I don't think so, honey, we're much smarter than the dinosaurs") and is written in pure comforting cliché-speak ("I'm sure she's serious, but is she for real?"). With its hymn to the quick-thinking authorities and intently cooperating heroes, this may be the most pro-Establishment disaster film ever made: only a few panicky civilians cause any trouble, and we need plot contrivances to get made-for-TV he-man Biehn into danger as he outruns a flood in Kansas City or searches for the heroine's missing kid (Zachary B Charles) in the burning wreckage of Dallas. A large supporting cast of no-name labcoats, uniforms and victims clutter up the screen between the effects. Of course, this can't compete with its big-screen counterparts, but it did get there first, coopting the CGI and modelwork techniques of Independence Day to the rock-from-space sub-genre (cf: Meteor) as cities are smashed, crowds submerged, the planet battered and multitudes saved to order. --Kim Newman
Teeming with gang-bangers, perverts, rapists and killers, The Shield is unabashedly adult TV drama; and even liberal viewers may flinch at plots involving child pornography and serial murder. The first series of this uncompromising police drama focuses on pugnacious detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), whose amoral Strike Team employs dubious tactics in the crime-ridden (and fictional) Farmington district of Los Angeles. Mackey and his maverick partners are at odds with seasoned detectives and beat cops, escalating tensions with precinct Captain Aceveda (Benito Martinez), a Latino with flexible scruples and a political agenda. The series invites viewers to form their own judgments regarding Mackey's volatile behaviour, which includes killing an undercover cop in the electrifying pilot episode. While each episode stands alone, the arc of the series incorporates Aceveda's campaign to end Mackey's career, the self-loathing of a homosexual rookie (Michael Jace) whose partner (Catherine Dent) is Mackey's occasional mistress, a straight-laced detective (Jay Karnes) yearning for respect, Mackey's compassionate attempt to rehabilitate a crack whore (Jamie Brown, giving the season's finest guest performance), the autism of Mackey's young son and the recklessness of his closest partner (Walton Goggins) and the vigilant stoicism of Det. Wyms (CCH Pounder), who's as sensibly upright as Mackey is corrupted. The Shield is excellent TV for those who can grasp its complexities; all others beware. --Jeff Shannon
Through the unholy rites of black magic, the notorious female vampire Carmilla Karnstein is reincarnated as a luscious young debutante (stunning Swedish starlet Yutte Stensgaard). But when the depraved seductress is enrolled at an exclusive girls' school, she begins to inflame the desires of her fellow students as well as her weak-willed teacher (Ralph Bates). Can these perverse hungers be quenched by the mere taste of blood or will an entire village be unwittingly consumed by their LUST FOR A VAMPIRE? Directed by Jimmy Sangster (THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS)
Based on Terry McMillan's best-selling novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back, stars Angela Bassett as a 40-year-old, Manhattan stock trader and single mother whose static life gets a jolt during a vacation with her pal (Whoopi Goldberg) in Jamaica. Sparks fly when Bassett meets a 20-year-old stud (Taye Diggs) who has an ambivalent career path but a great body and lots of sexual energy to burn. After some prodding by Goldberg's warm-funny secondary character, Bassett gets it on with the fellow--and proceeds to worry about what she's doing with a man half her age. The film is most enjoyable in its sunny, exotic early scenes and becomes more formulaic once the unlikely couple transports their will-we-stay-together-or-won't-we tensions back to the Big Apple. But director Kevin Rodney Sullivan goes out of his way to make a movie unabashedly thick with fantasy and wish-fulfilment for female audiences (it's Diggs who reveals a lot more flesh than the regal Bassett). This is a Saturday-night movie all around. --Tom Keogh
The cult classic about two unemployed actors returns ot the big screens some twenty years after it's debut.
Acclaimed writer and director Rian Johnson (Brick, Looper, The Last Jedi) pays tribute to mystery mastermind Agatha Christie in KNIVES OUT, a fun, modern-day murder mystery where everyone is a suspect. When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is mysteriously enlisted to investigate.From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death. With an all-star ensemble cast including Chris Evans, Ana De Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford and Jaeden Martell, KNIVES OUT is a witty and stylish whodunnit guaranteed to keep audiences guessing until the very end.
Noir thriller directed by Jim Mickle and starring Michael C. Hall and Sam Shepard. Texan small-business owner Richard Dane (Hall) has been hailed as the town hero since he protected his wife (Vinessa Shaw) and child by fatally shooting a would-be burglar inside their home. Residual guilt from the encounter is quickly dissipated by the police who assure Richard that he was acting in self-defence and therefore cannot be held accountable for the murder. However, when the burglar's recently-parol.
The hit movie that became a cultural sensation, Flashdance delivers an electrifying mix of music, drama and dance that dazzles the senses as it touches the heart; now remastered from a 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne. Jennifer Beals stars as Alex, a fiercely determined 18-year-old with one all-consuming dream: to study at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Working during the day as a welder and at night as an exotic dancer. Alex bravely pursues her dream, undertaking an unforgettable journey that reveals the power of her convictions. Featuring the Oscar®winning* song Flashdance What a Feeling. Product Features New Feature FILMMAKER FOCUS: Director Adrian Lyne discusses Flashdance Original Special Features The Look of Flashdance Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon Theatrical Trailer
Three features. We're going to tell you not once, but twice. You can't cheat what fate has in store for you, particularly if it involves death. FINAL DESTINATION 1 and FINAL DESTINATION 2 are considered by fans and critics alike as the thinking persons' horror films, showing the usual group of teens put in the peculiar position of - could it be - having to use their smarts to outwit the grim reaper. This package of films is a roller coaster ride of funs and thrills. See individual titles for complete descriptions of this fabulously fun duo. Also includes 'Final Destination 3'.
Upon arriving in exotic Rio long-time friends Matthew (Michael Caine) and Victor (Joseph Bologna) and their teenage daughters (Demi Moore and Michelle Johnson) barely unpack before this infamous pleasure spot begins to cast its torrid spell. Matthew quickly succumbs to Cupid's arrow but when guilt gets the better of this married man he vows to end the affair and keep it a secret... even from Vicor. But as his white lies grow so does his libido and Matthew continues his indiscreti
Get ready for a surprise, with a mind-blowing 4K restoration of the much loved sci-fi action classic, TOTAL RECALL, directed by Paul Verhoeven. In celebration of Total Recall's 30th anniversary, this collection is one you won't forget. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (Douglas Quaid) and Sharon Stone (Lori Quaid), accompanied by an iconic soundtrack by Academy Award-winner Jerry Goldsmith this is the ultimate version of the cult classic. A brand new 4K 30th anniversary restoration, approved by Paul Verhoeven. Extras: Total Excess: How Caralco Changed Hollywood Open Your Mind: Scoring Total Recall Audio Commentary by Paul Verhoeven & Arnold Schwarzenegger Total Excess: How Caralco Changed Hollywood Audio Commentary by Paul Verhoeven & Arnold Schwarzenegger Models and Skeletons: The Special Effects of Total Recall The Making of Total Recall Imagining Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in director Paul Verhoven's sci fi classic about a 2084 construction worker haunted by dreams of Mars.
One of the most compelling and conflicted characters in Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Ja
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. Based on a true story, the film focuses on the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two-time Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks, Best Actor, 1993, Philadelphia; Best Actor, 1994, Forrest Gump), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. The two men are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. Special Features: Commentary with Director Paul Greengrass Capturing Captain Phillips 58 minutes of in-depth behind-the-scenes featurettes on making the acclaimed film
The venerable Superman mythos gets a 21st-century updating in the imaginative and engaging TV series Smallville. The premise of the show--Superman as a teenager--takes up just a few pages in Superman's very first comic-book appearance (in Action Comics back in 1938), but producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar flesh out that period by portraying young Clark Kent (Tom Welling) not as the noble Superman-in-waiting, but as an average teen with some not-so-ordinary supernatural powers, including incredible strength and heat vision (Clark hasn't lifted up, up, and away as of yet). Clark's desire to fit in with his peers and make sense of his extraordinary abilities grounds him in very realistic and identifiable terms for the series' primarily under-25 audience, as does his appealing and tentative romance with Kristen Kreuk as Clark's dreamgirl Lana Lang. But Smallville also strikes gold when it takes a turn towards more comic-book territory, as evidenced by the parade of shape-shifting killers and other outlandish antagonists (many generated, in one of the series' most ingenious notions, by the same devastating meteor shower that brought the infant Clark to Earth) that Clark must harness his powers to face and defeat. Gough and Millar, along with their capable cast (which includes Michael Rosenbaum as a young and already bald-pated Lex Luthor, and Annette O'Toole and John Schneider as the Kents) manage to pull off the precarious high-wire act of combining science fiction with coming-of-age drama to create this highly watchable programme. --Paul Gaita
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