The girl's first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall is in just five day's time. With trusty bus driver Dennis (Meatloaf) at the wheel they hurtle from guest appearances to parties photoshoots and even dance camp! But when evil tabloid editor Kevin McMaxford steps up his campaign against them their best friend goes into labour and their manager collapses in hysterics the girls must draw on all their Girl Power to make it to the show on time...
A global byword for cinematic quality of a quintessentially British nature Ealing Studios made more than 150 films over a three decade period. A cherished and significant part of British film history only selected films from both the Ealing and Associated Talking Pictures strands have previously been made available on home video format - with some remaining unseen since their original theatrical release. The Ealing Rarities Collection redresses this imbalance - featuring new transfers from the best available elements in their correct aspect ratio this multi-volume collection showcases a range of scarce films from both Basil Dean's and Michael Balcon's tenure as studio head making them available once more to the general public. LONELY ROAD (1936) On a drunken drive to the coast an ex-naval officer interrupts what he believes to be a smuggling operation and informs Scotland Yard... Black and White / 70 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English THE WATER GIPSIES (1932) A.P. Herbert's famous tale about a girl living on a Thames barge and her love for a local artist. Black and White / 74 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English THE SIGN OF FOUR (1932) Arthur Wontner stars in the classic Sherlock Holmes mystery in which an ex-convict seeks revenge on a man who failed to honour his word. Black and White / 74 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English FEATHER YOUR NEST (1937) Unseen since its original theatrical release this George Formby vehicle stars George as a gramophone record factory worker who creates a hit song. Black and White / 78 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English
Dallas: The Complete First and Second Seasons is an American equivalent to those British mini-series about historical chapters in that country's royal monarchy. Full of family in-fighting, political intrigue crossed with personal triumph or disappointment, and plenty of sensational infidelities and betrayals, Dallas is a captivating story of a wealthy oil family's power and travails. It is also uniquely fun and daringly absurd, albeit with a straight face; this hugely successful, primetime soap opera began in the late 1970s and ran 14 seasons in all, built on a handful of primary relationships that stretch credulity but never descend into self-parody. Not unexpectedly, Dallas begins with a Romeo and Juliet tale that instantly exposes an old feud between two families and strips the civilized veneer from several major characters. Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy), youngest of three sons of independent oilman Jock Ewing (Jim Davis), arrives at the Ewing clan's Southfork ranch just outside Dallas, Texas, with a new wife, Pam Barnes Ewing (Victoria Principal). Pam is the daughter of Digger Barnes (David Wayne), an old business rival of Jock's and one-time suitor of the Ewing matriarch, Eleanor (or "Miss Ellie", played by Barbara Bel Geddes). Pam's also the sister of a state senator, Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval), whose vendetta against the Ewings is played out in the legislature, imposing costly regulations on their business and holding committee investigations into questionable practices of company president J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman). Pam's status as the newest Ewing causes an uproar in the family (besides being a Barnes, she also dated the Ewings' genial but lonely foreman, Ray Krebbs, played by Steve Kanaly) and prompts Dallas' charming villain, J.R., to make many Iago-like attempts, over the first two seasons, to drive her from Bobby's arms. Pam has a different set of problems with the other, jealous Ewing women, including J.R.'s possibly barren and alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Linda Gray), and teenage Lucy (Charlene Tilton), daughter of exiled Ewing son Gary (Ted Shackleford). With new and old resentments flying and everyone deeply suspicious of everyone else's motives (even the ailing Jock doesn't trust J.R.), there's plenty of drama to chew on. Still, storylines are often larger than the sum of these parts, with lots of kidnappings, marital affairs, plane crashes, and shootings ratcheting up suspense. Dallas is pure pleasure, a little guilty, perhaps, but not a sin. --Tom Keogh
John Flynn has directed some good, tough, pacy thrillers and Best Seller, along with the 1973 The Outfit, can claim to be the best of them. It kicks off with not one but two slam-bang action sequences and then, having grabbed our attention, pitches us straight into its twisty plot premise. Brian Dennehy, reliably watchable as ever, plays an ageing cop-turned-novelist who has hit a writer's block since his wife died. James Woods at his most suavely sinister is a hitman with dirt to dish on the head of a big corporation. Woods proposes a Faustian pact. He provides Dennehy with the full crooked story on the mobster-turned-corporate boss and the cop writes it up. Dennehy gets a best seller; Woods gets his revenge and comes out looking like a hero. The dialogue, courtesy of screenwriter and horror-movie director Larry Cohen (It's Alive; Q--The Winged Serpent), is satisfyingly hard-boiled and slips in plenty of subversive sideswipes at rampant capitalism. ("It's the American Way, Dennis," says Woods, detailing how he helped his boss rise via robbery and murder. "I'm a businessman, an executive.") This certainly isn't the only movie to get mileage out of the symbiotic relationship between cop and crook (see Michael Mann's Heat), but it works several neat variations on the theme, with Dennehy and Woods both at the top of their respective forms. If the film never quite lives up to its potential--the required final confrontation between the two principals doesn't materialise and Victoria Tennant is thrown away as Dennehy's love-interest--it remains a way better than average thriller with its roots deep in the best B-movie traditions. On the DVD: Best Seller on disc has no extras apart from the theatrical trailer. The transfer is good and clean, and preserves the original's full-width framing. --Philip Kemp
Toxic. Carnivorous. Subterranean.When an American oil company sets up an experimental drilling plant out in the vast deserts of Mongolia, they are completely oblivious to what actually lies beneath them. Pumping hot water deep into the ground, the company is hoping to expose untapped oil, but what they end up uncovering is something no one ever expected. As the superheated water plummets its way into the earth, it strikes a nest of deadly creatures that have been dormant for centuries. Thought to be purely mythological, these monsters are in fact real...and now they have been awakened! They are angry and they are bloodthirsty
Mutant X takes the useful SF trope of the mutant minority persecuted by the state and adds potentially interesting spins on which it rarely delivers. The charismatic villain Mason Eckhart of the Genetic Security Agency (Tom McCamus) professes an ideology of service and sacrifice for which many mutants fall, unaware of his genocidal and exploitative real intentions--though his habit of dumping failed minions into glass tubes for subsequent vivisection might give them a clue. A quest for redemption underlies the apparent smugness of Adam (Michael Shea), the good guys' mentor who used to work for the GSA's front, research company Genomex. The shiny, pretty central quartet themselves--fierce acrobatic Shalimar, reliable density-shifter Jesse, laddish electro-boy Brennan and sensible mind-twister Emma--alternately rescue new mutants from Eckhart and neutralise those who are threats. After a couple of pilot episodes that pushed into OTT visual stylishness, the show has settled into mildly repetitive though watchable blandness: for the most part it avoids story arcs and a large cast of regulars in favour of plugging its characters into the stock plots of television SF, such as doubles, vengeance crusades and untrustworthy lovers. On the DVD: Mutant X Series 1, Volume 1 contains the following episodes: "The Shock of the New". Shopgirl Emma discovers her powers of persuasion have made her the target of murderous Mason Eckhart and his henchman Thorne. Rescued by Shalimar and Jesse, she refuses their offer of passage into the mutant underground and is attacked a second time. "I Scream the Body Electric". Captured while rescuing Emma, electricity-shooting Brennan is forcibly recruited into Eckhart's kidnap squads--can he be rescued or avoid corruption? "Russian Roulette". A gun that targets and destroys the DNA of mutants is being tested by Russian mercenaries. Mutant X needs it to cure Brennan and to stop Eckhart obtaining it. "Fool for Love". Shalimar falls for a GSA scientist whose cure for mutancy is more dangerous than either of them know. "Kiloherz". A fiery radical young mutant, Kiloherz, can travel in radio waves and inhabit electronic equipment. Mutant X need to save him from Eckhart and stop him doing too much damage. The DVDs also has trailers, Web links and interviews with Victoria Pratt (Shalimar) and producer Karen Wookey. --Roz Kaveney
Mutant X takes the useful SF trope of the mutant minority persecuted by the state and adds potentially interesting spins on which it rarely delivers. After a couple of pilot episodes that pushed into OTT visual stylishness, the show has settled into mildly repetitive though watchable blandness: for the most part it avoids story arcs and a large cast of regulars in favour of plugging its characters into the stock plots of television SF, such as doubles, vengeance crusades and untrustworthy lovers. On the DVD: Mutant X Series 1, Volume 2 contains the following episodes: "The Meaning of Death". A plague that kills mutants forces Adam to work with Mason Eckhart and the invulnerable mercenary Marlowe in the knowledge that any cure he comes up with will lead to a double-cross. "Lit Fuse". Brennan is attracted to energy-absorbing Ashley, who is being set up for betrayal by bounty-hunter Cross. When she absorbs Brennan, things get really complicated. "In the Presence of Mine Enemies". Jesse's hacker girlfriend Toni is forced by Eckhart to betray Adam's hideout Sanctuary and the computerised journalist Proxy Blue. Can the tables be turned? "Crime of the New Century". Youthful mutant firestarter Joshua is kidnapped, rescued and then turned over to the GSA by a renegade FBI agent. "Dark Star Rising". The survivors of a commando team have been altered into mutancy by scientists and want vengeance for their dead squad members. Mutant X helps them stop Eckhart getting the secret serum. The DVDs also contain trailers, a feature on the elaborate stunts and interviews with stunt coordinator Paul Rapovski, show runner Howard Chaykin and Victor Webster (Brennan). --Roz Kaveney
Mutant X takes the useful SF trope of the mutant minority persecuted by the state and adds potentially interesting spins on which it rarely delivers. After a couple of pilot episodes that pushed into OTT visual stylishness, the show has settled into mildly repetitive though watchable blandness: for the most part it avoids story arcs and a large cast of regulars in favour of plugging its characters into the stock plots of television SF, such as doubles, vengeance crusades and untrustworthy lovers. On the DVD: Mutant X Series 1, Volume 3 contains the following episodes: "A Whiter Shade of Pale". Adam's invisible ex-lover Danielle needs stabilising by a gene resequencer which has been stolen from him by Eckhart's agents. "Double Vision". New mutant Maddie splits Emma into two--one Emma is completely ruthless and prepared to destroy Eckhart and the GSA at huge cost in life. "Blood Ties". Jesse meets his father again and is recruited by him to a vengeance crusade that may be a cover for industrial espionage. "Altered Ego". A mutant's power changes Adam into a ruthless villain determined to destroy his friends. The DVDs also contain trailers, a file on Genomex, interviews with the makeup artists and with Lauren Lee Smith (Emma). --Roz Kaveney
Mutant X takes the useful SF trope of the mutant minority persecuted by the state and adds potentially interesting spins on which it rarely delivers. After a couple of pilot episodes that pushed into OTT visual stylishness, the show has settled into mildly repetitive though watchable blandness: for the most part it avoids story arcs and a large cast of regulars in favour of plugging its characters into the stock plots of television SF, such as doubles, vengeance crusades and untrustworthy lovers. On the DVD: Mutant X Series 1, Volume 4 contains the following episodes: "The Lazarus Syndrome". Both Emma and GSA agent Pamela are targeted by Caleb, a vampiric mutant whose kiss drains life force from mutants and who rises again each time he is killed. "Interface". Emma tries to convert her school friend Michelle, a GSA agent and super-hacker; their escape from GSA is easy, perhaps too easy. "Presumed Guilty". A memory-stealing mutant frames Adam for a murder and Eckhart exploits the situation to find out Mutant X's whereabouts. "Ex Marks the Spot". Shalimar's unreliable former lover Zack involves Mutant X in the heist of a Faberge egg in which important genetic code has been hidden. The DVDs also contain trailers and interviews with Michael Shea (Adam) and show runner Howard Chaykin. --Roz Kaveney
Volume 5 of the first season of the number 1 U.S. sci-fi series in which a fugitive geneticist and four of his 'creations' search for others of their kind while attempting to stay a step ahead of a morally ambiguous government agent...
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