A by-the-numbers action flick featuring a stern Arnold Schwarzenegger, Raw Deal has all the traditional traits of the genre. Schwarzenegger is a disgraced former FBI agent who winds up as sheriff of a backwater Southern town. He is given a chance to reclaim his job when the head of the Bureau offers him reinstatement if he'll go undercover to capture the mob boss responsible for killing his son. Schwarzenegger must get close enough to gain the trust of the gangster without being discovered as a mole, while gathering enough evidence to take him down. One of Schwarzenegger's early films, in which he honed his persona, Raw Deal offers up the usual quotient of gun battles and tough talk, with a trace of self-deprecating humour from its star, making it reasonably worthwhile entertainment. --Robert Lane
Available on DVD for the first time in one stunning box set three excellent adaptations of the work of Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell). Featuring: A Dark Eye Adapted (1994): Based on the true story of Vera Hillyard one of the last women in Britain to hang for murder. A Dark Eye Adapted is a dark and brooding tale of a seemingly close-knit suburban family whose facade of normalcy hides the murderous sibling rivalry. Gallowglass (1993): A European aristocra
As a producer, Roger Corman has always loved to make low-budget rip-offs of hit movies, and Piranha is his typically cheeky take on Jaws--and, as so often with Corman, in many ways it's funnier and more entertaining than the original. Directed with gusto by schlock-horror specialist Joe Dante and sharply scripted by John Sayles, it replaces one huge underwater toothy monster with dozens of little ones and ups the body count by a factor of 10 or so. Two hapless teenagers, hiking in a remote mountain region, stumble on a secret US military research lab. They don't last long, but their intrusion leads to the release into the local river system of a huge shoal of super-intelligent piranha, originally specially bred for use in Vietnam. Downstream from the virulent little munchers lie a kiddies' holiday camp and a tacky new waterfront theme park. Lunch time, fellas! Sayles, with his staunch left-wing credentials, slips in some mordant political satire at the expense of the military-industrial complex, and authority figures of any kind come off pretty badly, but the satire never gets in the way of the gleeful black humour. The two leads, Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies, are fairly pallid, but there are ripe cameos from such cult horror-movie icons as Kevin McCarthy, Dick Miller and Barbara Steele. Pino Donaggio's score impudently borrows aspects of John Williams' famous Jaws theme while never quite infringing copyright. The movie was successful enough to spawn a much-inferior sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), which marked the inauspicious directing debut of one James Cameron. On the DVD: Piranha on disc comes with just the theatrical trailer as an extra. The transfer is a respectable job, reproducing the original's full-screen ratio. --Philip Kemp
First officer Hogan (Roberts) is a last minute substitute in the cockpit of flight 534 where disaster strikes without warning. With the plane veering out of control and the captain unconscious Hogan must overcome his personal demons to regain control of the aircraft and save the terrified passengers as a violent storm loom ahead...
The first ever episode for the hit series of Due South.
There are two sides to every story. Helen is about to live both of them... at the same time. Romance was never this much fun. The split-second moments that can take a life down one path instead of another form the tantalising 'what if?' in this delightful romantic comedy starring Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow plays London publicist Helen effortlessly sliding between parallel storylines that show what happens if she does or does not catch a morning train back to her apartment. Lo
1. Jobs For The BoysChrissie assembles an unofficial building gang but their moonlighting is being watched by the Department of Employment's investigators. A raid by the fraud squad leads to tragedy2. MoonlighterDixie father of four and once the proud foreman is working illicitly on the docks when he discovers happenings that he'd rather not see. Meanwhile after threats from the Department of Employment his wife Freda is too scared to open the door.3. Shop Thy NeighbourChrissie's dole money has been stopped pending the enquiry into the 'moonlighting' affair. With no food in the cupboard the scene is set for a showdown with his wife Angie - this after all was going to be her time4. Yosser's StoryOnce Yosser dreamt of making it big. Now his manic search for work alternates with fruitless efforts to avoid eviction and keep his three children from being taken into care.5. George's Last RideA lifetime of adversity has left George's beliefs unbroken. When the end comes Chrissie discovers a legacy and finds that something must be said.
Comedy duo Eric and Ernie become involved in the plots and counter-plots of international jewel thieves whilst trying to enjoy a quiet holiday on the Cote d'Azur...
Robert Bolt's successful play, A Man for All Seasons, was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures--a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make the film as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint". Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worth savouring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
What a trip! An entertainingly psychedelic adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's splendidly trashy novel telling the story of three remarkable women whose lives are affected by show-business celebrity. Revered composer John Williams (Star Wars) won his very first Oscar - and nomination - for Best Music.
Bring home this essential collection of 8 Paramount Pictures classics starring the one and only King Of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. Including Blue Hawaii; King Creole; Roustabout; G.i. Blues; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Paradise, Hawaiian Style; Fun In Acapulco; Easy Come, Easy Go. Blue Hawaii The year was 1961. Fallout shelters dot suburban backyards. Ken joins Barbie. Roger Maris slugs 61 home runs. And Elvis Presley is in paradise, playing an ex-G.I. who comes home to Blue Hawaii. His mother (Angela Lansbury) expects him to climb the corporate ladder. But Elvis would rather wear an aloha shirt than a white collar, so he goes to work as a tour guide. Lucky Elvis: his first customers are a careful of cuties. Elvis, lovely scenery, lovelier girls and rock-a-hula songs - now that's paradise! Fun in Acapulco The year was 1963. The hot line links the White House and the Kremlin. The first major pop art exhibition stirs up a major buzz. The Whisky-A-Go-Go opens. And in Fun In Acapulco, Elvis heads south of the border, where he's fired as a boat hand, hired as a lifeguard and singer, admired by local beauties (including Ursula Andress) and inspired to jump off a 136-foot cliff. Put another way: he overcomes a fear of heights in spectacular fashion. Spectacular, too, are the scenic vistas and Latin-beat tunes. Dive in! King Creole The year was 1958. Everybody's datin' at the drive-in. America launches its first satellite. The novel Lolita stirs up controversy. And Elvis Presley gives Bourbon Street a new beat in King Creole. He plays a troubled youth whose singing sets the French Quarter rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it looks like Elvis will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster (Walter Matthau) and his man-trap moll (Carolyn Jones) snare him in a life of crime? Roustabout The year was 1964. The miniskirt is in. If you can't Watusi, you can't dance. Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) claims the heavyweight crown. And Elvis is a karatechopping biker who's hired as a carnival Roustabout. At first he just provides muscle and a diversion for the beautiful carny girls. Then he picks up a guitar and gets the midway rockin'. Looks like this talented tough guy may be what the good-hearted owner (Barbara Stanwyck) needs to save her travelling show from bankruptcy. Easy Come, Easy Go The year was 1967. It's Packers vs. Chiefs in the first Super Bowl. Twiggy is a supermodel sensation. America's 100,000,000th telephone is installed. And Elvis dives for dollars in Easy Come, Easy Go. On his last day in the Navy, frogman Elvis discovers a sunken treasure ship. On his first day as a civilian, Elvis starts his new job-self-employed treasure hunter! Fans will dig these treasures, too: Rockin' tunes, romance with a go-go dancer, underwater action, and The King twisted like a human pretzel at a groovy 60's yogafest Costarring Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein). GI Blues The year was 1960. A payola scandal shocks the music world. Movie fans are introduced to glorious Smell-O-Vision. The 50-star flag is adopted. And in G.I. Blues, Elvis adopts an on-screen persona he knows well in real life-a singin' G.I. in West Germany. Eager to open a stateside nightclub after his hitch in khakis, he takes part in a wager to raise the dough he needs. The bet: he can melt the iceberg heart of a willowy dancer (Juliet Prowse). But all bets may be off when real love intervenes Girls! Girls! Girls! The year was 1962. Teens twist at the Peppermint Lounge. John Glenn orbits Earth. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single game. And Elvis digs the possibilities of Girls! Girls! Girls! This time he's a charter-boat skipper who helps tourists land the big ones. Of course, plenty of beautiful girls (including Stella Stevens) want to land Elvis. But there's something Elvis likes almost as much as romance-a boat! He yearns for a sleek sailboat with a $10,000 price tag. Let's see, that makes him about $9,999 short. Paradise, Hawaiian Style The year was 1966. A little-known series called Star Trek⢠beams up. Valley of the Dolls is the hot book. Half of all TVs sold are color sets. And in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Elvis takes to the skies over the island paradise of Kauai. He's a partner in a helicopter charter service. Romance, naturally, is in the air for the King but his business may be grounded. A threatened suspension of his pilot's license means he may have to kiss his assets goodbye.
From award-winning director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty comes a bitter sweet comedy caper which proves that sometimes all you need in life is a little spirit. Escaping a prison sentence by the skin of his teeth, the wayward and disillusioned Robbie is given one last chance to turn his life around. Together the four friends he embarks on an adventure and discovers that turning to drink might just change their lives - not cheap fortified wine, but the best malt whiskies in the world.
Available for the first time on DVD! Errant brain-dead millionaire twins Stew and Phil Deedle are sent by their father from the paradise of the North Shore to the woebegone wilderness of Camp Broken Spirit where their tender malleable selves will be transformed from ""surf bums"" into corporate-friendly high achievers. Heinous! They bail but a case of mistaken identity soon finds our heroes saving Old Faithful from a disgruntled Ranger's plan to re-route the geyser's flow onto his
Fin, a handsome dwarf, just wants to be left alone. But when he takes up residence in a broken-down train depot in rural New Jersey, instead of total isolation he discovers something entirely unexpected...
A magical animated world based on the story by Rae Lambert which follows the antics of Abigail the Woodmouse Edgar the Mole and Russell the Hedgehog.
Nixon takes a riveting look at a complex man whose chance at greatness was ultimately destroyed by his passion for power - when his involvement in conspiracy jeopardized the nation's security and the presidency of the United States! With a phenomenal all-star cast.
Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine; Shutter Island; Wendy and Lucy) stars alongside Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek; I'm Not There; Capote) in a tense subtle drama set during the earliest days of the Oregon Trail. The year is 1845 and a wagon team of three families is setting off across the sparse terrain of the Oregon desert. They become lost and have to put their faith in a Native American not knowing if he will lead them into an ambush or water.
Rock music's most celebrated musicians pay tribute to the legendary George Harrison with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.
The years have endowed Saturday Night Fever with a powerful, elegiac quality since its explosive release in 1977. It was the must-see movie for a whole generation of adolescents, sparking controversy for rough language and clumsily realistic sex scenes which took teen cinema irrevocably into a new age. And of course, it revived the career of the Bee Gees to stratospheric heights, thanks to a justifiably legendary soundtrack which now embodies the disco age. But Saturday Night Fever was always more than a disco movie. Tony Manero is an Italian youth from Brooklyn straining at the leash to escape a life defined by his family, blue collar job and his gang. Disco provides the medium for him to break free. It was the snake-hipped dance routines which made John Travolta an immediate sex symbol. But seen today, his performance as Tony is compelling: rough-hewn, certainly, but complex and true, anticipating the fine screen actor he would be recognised as 20 years later. Scenes of the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge, representing Tony's route to a bigger world, now have an added poignancy, adding to Saturday Night Fever's evocative power. It's a bittersweet classic. On the DVD: Saturday Night Fever is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, both of which help to recapture the unique atmosphere of the late 1970s. The main extra is a director's commentary from John Badham, with detailed descriptions of casting and the improvisation behind many of the scenes, plus the unsavoury reality behind Travolta's iconic white disco suit. --Piers Ford
No one tries very hard in Big Momma's House, so your enjoyment of this Martin Lawrence vehicle pretty much depends on how much amusement you're able to derive from a guy dressed up as a very ample woman. The setup is of the eye-rolling, only-in-Hollywood nature: Lawrence, as detective Malcolm Turner, is after a killer, and apparently the only way to capture him is to pose as the bad guy's ex-girlfriend's grandmother, who--the film cannot stress this point too much--is quite large. Apparently, Sherry (Nia Long), the young woman in question--she's as attractive as Big Momma is, well, you know--is none too bright, for she falls for Malcolm's ruse, which of course ostensibly amuses mainly because it's so transparent. She at least has an excuse--she hasn't seen Big Momma in two years--but Big Momma's oblivious friends must be functional morons. Screenwriters Darryl Quarles and Don Rhymer didn't tax themselves very much, as they have Malcolm-as-Big-Momma going through fairly predictable motions--botching a meal and delivering a baby unconventionally (Big Momma's a midwife), but ruling at basketball and self-defence and protecting Sherry while trying vainly not to flirt with her. Paul Giamatti is wasted as Malcolm's partner; director Raja Gosnell's clunky sense of comic rhythm is bewildering, because he used to be an editor (he brought a similar lack of magic to Home Alone 3). Lawrence won't have anyone forgetting Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, or Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire anytime soon. Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor 2: The Klumps is far more accomplished, versatile, and funny. --David Kronke, Amazon.com
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