Danny DeVito's adaptation of the Roald Dahl book for children is mostly just fine, helped along quite a bit by the charming performance of Mara Wilson (Mrs Doubtfire) as the eponymous young Matilda, a brilliant girl neglected by her stupid, self-involved parents (DeVito and Rhea Perlman). Ignored at home, Matilda escapes into a world of reading, exercising her mind so much she develops telekinetic powers. Good thing, too: sent off to a school headed by a cruel principal, Matilda needs all the help she can get. DeVito takes a highly stylized approach that is sometimes reminiscent of Barry Sonnenfeld (director of Get Shorty, a DeVito production), and his judgement is not the best in some matters, such as letting the comic-scary sequences involving the principal go on too long. But much of the film is delightful and funny.--Tom Keogh
Ice Age Seemingly anti-social Manny a woolly mammoth (voiced by Ray Romano) acts as if he just wants to be left alone. When he meets Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo) a sloth the two become unlikely traveling companions. The plot thickens when the duo finds a human infant and decides to try to return the child to its herd. Manny slowly but surely reveals his heart of gold while Sid continues to provide comic relief. Diego (voiced by Denis Leary) a saber-tooth tiger with ulterior motives soon joins them in their search for the humans. Ultimately this group of misfits becomes its own herd learning about friendship and loyalty as they brave snow ice freezing temperatures predators hail and even boiling lava pits. All the while a saber-tooth squirrel Scrat provides comic relief as he valiantly struggles with an acorn. Chicken Run Trouble is brewing down on Mrs Tweedy's poultry farm: the chickens are revolting (yes that old chestnut) and clucky hen Ginger (voiced by Julia Sawalha) is planning her latest coop um coup. Getting one or two birds out of the farm is no problem whatsoever. Unfortunately Ginger plans to get everyone out at the same time and when one of the would-be escapees happens to be kind-hearted but bird-brained Babs (Jane Horrocks) Ginger is fighting a losing battle. Home Alone Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) has become the man of the house overnight! Accidentally left behind when his family rushes off on a Christmas vacation Kevin gets busy decorating the house for the holidays. But he's not decking the halls with tinsel and holly. Two bumbling burglars are trying to break in and Kevin's rigging a bewildering battery of booby traps to welcome them! Mrs Doubtfire How far would an ordinary father go to spend more time with his children? Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams) is no ordinary father so when he learns his ex-wife (Sally Field) needs a housekeeper he applies for the job. With the perfect wig a little makeup and a dress for all occasions he becomes Mrs Doubtfire a devoted British housekeeper who is hired on the spot. James And The Giant Peach James Henry Trotter a lonely orphan is sent to live with horribly wicked Aunts Spiker and Sponge. He escapes his aunts by climbing inside a giant peach from were he embarks on a series of wildly imaginative adventures.
Peter PanThe magic begins when the boy who never grows up flies through the Darling's nursery window in search of his lost shadow. Accompanied by his feisty sidekick Tinker Bell Peter teaches Wendy John and Michael to fly and they're off for the second star to the right and straight ahead to Never Land. There the notorious Captain Hook and his swashbuckling band of pirates await preparing to sabotage Peter Pan and the mischievous Lost Boys. But waiting too is a certain tickling crocodile for just the right time to surprise the villainous pirate! From the starlit London skies to the glorious first sight of Never Land Peter Pan defines Disney Magic reminding us all that the childhood dreams never die.Return To NeverlandYour favourite characters including Tinker Bell the comical Lost Boys Captain Hook and the bumbling Smee are back - and you'll meet Jane Wendy's sceptical daughter who has outgrown her mother's childhood tales of flying with Peter Pan.. Jane no longer believes in fairies...let alone flying...but when Captain Hook's pirate ship swoops down upon London and carries Jane off to Never Land Jane discovers revenge on Peter Pan is still his number one plan. The crafty pirate sets a trap for Peter Pan and Tinker Bell and only Jane can help. It is up to her to call upon faith trust and pixie dust to take flight and save Peter and all of Never Land.
The Morecambe & Wise Collection brings together the total cinematic oeuvre of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise: The Intelligence Men (1965), That Riviera Touch (1966) and The Magnificent Two (1967). Though intermittently amusing, they serve mostly to confirm that Morecambe & Wise did the smart thing in devoting the majority of their career to television sketch show. Their comedy was most potent in small doses. The Intelligence Men is an obvious but likeable parody of the early Bond films and sets the pattern for all three films: Eric and Ernie as two well-meaning blunderers cast into an unfamiliar milieu (in this case, international espionage) and forced to survive armed with little more than a repertoire of wince-inducing puns. That Riviera Touch is an obvious but likeable parody of the heist genre. Again, Eric and Ernie are cast as hapless ingénues, in this case a pair of traffic wardens whose holiday in France intersects with the plottings of a gang of jewel thieves. If anything, its even more contrived than that sounds, but the scenes in which Eric cleans out the casino by accident are wonderfully understated, and a reminder of a peerless comic actor. The Magnificent Two, the final and by some distance the least funny of the three, is an updated though rather laboured subversion of the Spaghetti Western, relying rather too much on the notion that anything and everything to do with foreigners is inherently hilarious. On the DVD: The Morecambe & Wise Collection has English subtitles for all three discs and all include the original cinematic trailer. That Riviera Touch is presented in 4:3 format, the remaining two in 16:9. As special features go, these are annoyingly desultory for a release that will certainly only be purchased by die-hard fans. It wouldnt have killed the producers to commission some liner notes at the very least.--Andrew Mueller
Go into lockdown with all five exhilarating seasons of this acclaimed series filled with explosive action and white-knuckle plot twists! After Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) breaks out of a maximum-security prison with his wrongly accused death row inmate brother (Dominic Purcell), the two flee the U.S. with a band of dangerous fugitives. But tragically, Michael then lands inside a hellish Panamanian prison, from which the only escape seems to be death. Meanwhile, the brothers must outwit an assassin and uncover the secrets of a sinister organisation known as The Company. Lives are shattered and shocking truths learned as the intriguing, adrenaline-fueled series careens toward its stunning conclusion!
Mad Max - Beyond Thunderdome
Bruce Willis plays a Special-Ops commander who leads his team into the jungle of Nigeria to rescue a doctor (Monica Belluci) who will only go with them if they also agree to rescue 70 refugees.
Paul Robeson, Leslie Banks and Nina Mae McKinney star in this classic adaptation of Edgar Wallace's celebrated adventure story set in British Colonial Nigeria. A box-office triumph that earned director Zoltan Korda the first of his four nominations for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival, Sanders of the River is featured in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.Determined to maintain peace in the river district of West Africa, British Commissioner Sanders works closely with Bosambo a probationary chief who, under Sanders' orders, frees a slave convoy sent by another chief, King Mofolaba. Bosambo marries Lilongo, the most beautiful slave, but when Sanders goes on leave King Mofolaba attacks and captures Bosambo's wife. When his attempts to rescue her end in capture as well, all seems lost...SPECIAL FEATURES: Image Gallery Promotional Material PDF
Party At The Palace starts with Queen Guitarist Brian May--who looks more than ever like a haircut with a person growing from beneath it--playing "God Save The Queen" on the roof of Buckingham Palace; seemingly missing the point of his obvious inspiration, Jimi Hendrix's apocalyptic subversion of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Woodstock. Unbelievably, and theoretically impossibly, it goes downhill from there. It can only be assumed that the bill for the Queen's Jubilee was assembled by an ardent republican. The concert is a motley assortment of has-beens and time-wasters, a curious number of whom felt it proper to celebrate the monarch's 50 years by singing old Motown songs badly. The concert also features an extended plug for Queen's (that's the Band) risible musical We Will Rock You and Lenny Henry shouting. Bewilderingly Party At The Palace is not only redeemed, but made worth owning, by the four-song set by Brian Wilson with his version of "God Only Knows"--accompanied by Andrea Corr-offering a heartbreakingly earnest performance. The concert ends with a pantomime version of "All You Need Is Love". Party At The Palace is the night rock & roll gave up. On the DVD: Party at the Palace is presented in 16:9 format. Songs can be selected by title or by artist. There are subtitles in French, German and Spanish. Proceeds from the sale of the DVD, "after the deduction of costs and expenses in relation to its production and distribution", will be donated to the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Trust. --Andrew Muller
A down-and-out charter boat captain feels his luck has changed when a beautiful treasure hunter hires him to find the sunken ship El Diablo. Legend has it that the ship met its end while loaded with evil satanic artefacts. Meanwhile two divers accidentally discover the sunken tomb releasing a most terrifying force...
A young horror film-maker inherits some relics from his grandfather the owner of a Hollywood film studio. The relics include a mysterious old clock. When it strikes midnight strange things start to happen. A special effects figure is taken over by the ghost of the grandfather's butler who helps the young film-maker in his struggle with a powerful movie boss to establish the ownership of his grandfather's studio.
Ryan Reynolds stars in the first-ever live-action Pokemon adventure as Pikachu, the iconic face of the global Pokemon phenomenon-one of the world's most popular, multi-generation entertainment properties and the most successful media franchise of all time. The story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim (Justice Smith) to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokemon partner, Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds): a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City-a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokemon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world-they encounter a diverse cast of Pokemon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokemon universe.
Government surveillance has reached unprecedented levels with the creation of Eyeborgs mobile robotic cameras that can follow anyone anywhere. But what few realise is the Eyeborgs do more than just watch. If they see a crime in progress and no other law enforcement is present it can take whatever action is necessary to stop it. An investigation into a series of suspicious deaths leads Gunner Reynolds (Adrian Paul - Highlander: The Source) to believe that terrorists have taken over the system and are using the Eyeborgs in a plot to assassinate the President of the United States. Also featuring Danny Trejo (Machete Grindhouse From Dusk Till Dawn).
Juggling some angry Russians the British Mi5 his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumoured to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.
Lyndon Brook plays a man on the run from his own past in this taut British drama from the late '50s. Featuring the directorial debut of cult director Sidney Hayers and a screenplay by Oscar nominee Peter Barnes Violent Moment is featured here in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. The film elements were physically edited in the 1960s to replace the original titles with ones for the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series and it is from these film elements that this brand-new transfer has been made. The original titles are included as a separate special feature. Douglas Baines a wartime army deserter is lying low in a shabby flat with his girlfriend Daisy and the couple's small son Jiffy. Returning home with a toy for Jiffy's second birthday he learns that Daisy has had the boy adopted. When she refuses to tell him where the boy is he strangles Daisy and goes on the run... Special Features: Original Opening Titles Original Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery
After a hugely successful first series the compelling gangster crime drama returns for a second series. Set in the lawless streets of post-war Birmingham Thomas Shelby and his family run the most feared and powerful local gang the Peaky Blinders. Boasting a distinguished cast that includes Cillian Murphy Sam Neill Helen McCrory and new cast members will include Tom Hardy (The Dark Night Rises) Charlotte Riley (Edge of Tomorrow) and Noah Taylor (Game of Thrones).
Charlotte Gray Cate Blanchett stars as a young Scottish woman recruited by the Secret Service who ends up risking her life to find the man she loves. Based on Sebastian Faulks' best selling novel. The Land Girls The comical and heart-warming tale of three young women who encounter tragedy passion and love during wartime.
The videos of Basildon synth-pop pioneers Depeche Mode are justly celebrated not only for charting the band's musical evolution but also their penchant for stylish visual imagery. This collection features all of the band's videos from 1986 to 1998. Of the 20 videos here, director Anton Corbijn was responsible for 18, including classics such as "Enjoy the Silence", "Strangelove" and "Personal Jesus", which means this is as much a profile of his work as Depeche Mode's. Much of Corbijn's material was shot in black and white, lending it an artful edge which captures some of the majesty of Mode's music. The non-Corbijn videos are Peter Care's for "Stripped", notable for its bleak imagery, and Clive Richardson's assured "A Question of Lust". The videos are presented chronologically and bookended by interviews with the band discussing the videos and the singles, making this a fantastic retrospective not only of Depeche Mode's visual side, but of their enduring musical legacy too. On the DVD: Depeche Mode: The Videos has a bonus disc featuring an extra hour-and-a-half of rare and exclusive material, including three insightful documentaries that centre around the albums Violator, Songs of Faith and Devotion and Ultra, and the US videos for "One Caress", "Strangelove 88", "Condemnation" and "But Not Tonight". All of this is good stuff and a valuable addition to the package. Both discs are pleasantly presented in a sturdy fold-out cardboard case, and recorded in Dolby stereo with a screen ratio of 4:3. The menus and screens are slickly presented and easy to use. --Paul Sullivan
Sometimes surprising, often baffling and occasionally entertaining, Masked and Anonymous is another in the long but not necessarily distinguished line of rock-star movie vehicles. Bob Dylan stars in this BBC Films coproduction as an alter ego of himself, ageing rocker Jack Fate, released from jail to play a benefit concert in an alternative America that is run down and ruled by a military dictator. When not singing he makes little impression, so it's fortunate that director Larry Charles surrounds him with a galaxy of excellent supporting players, including John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Dern, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and Val Kilmer--all of whom gave their services for free. The screenplay, cowritten by Dylan, is full of the kind of cryptic aphorisms familiar from his song lyrics: "What's bugging me?", remarks Jeff Bridges' character, "The absurdity of a lifetime of human labour, that's what's bugging me." "They have no ideology. They push both Jesus and Judas aside," says an anonymous bus driver, and there are plenty more didactic, speechy comments that even these veteran actors can't make sound natural or spontaneous. Better to focus on the music--both the songs Dylan performs on screen and those on the soundtrack, which consists mostly of foreign-language covers of Dylan classics. On the DVD: Masked and Anonymous on disc comes with a commentary track from director Larry Charles, who is good on the details of the shooting schedule, but vague about the movie's aspirations. There are some deleted scenes (none of which shed any more light on the plot), another Dylan performance, and a 20-minute "making of" featurette, with the many supporting stars waxing lyrical about the freewheeling shooting style and semi-theatrical staging. The anamorphic widescreen picture is unexceptional, as is the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, which naturally enough works best with the music. --Mark Walker
Roland Culver plays a psychiatrist with deadly intentions in this crime thriller of 1957 – a classic British noir also starring William Hartnell Gainsborough heroine Patricia Roc and veteran character actress Ellen Pollock. Also known as Scotland Yard Dragnet The Hypnotist is scripted and directed by crime/suspense specialist Montgomery Tully director of numerous instalments in the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series. It is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Recovering in hospital after a plane crash Val Neal a young test pilot begins to suffer psychosomatic attacks of pains in the chest choking and mental blackouts. Mary his fiancée calls in psychiatrist Dr Pelham but while under treatment Val becomes violent and escapes Pelham's care. When he returns Pelham tells him that during a mental blackout he has committed a murder... Special Features Original Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery Original Promotional Materials PDF
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