In his first effort at directing a feature-length film William (Ted) Kotcheff best-known for movies like The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz does an excellent job in making this drama effective. He is helped in no small part by James Mason as Brett Aimsley a sophisticated at-ease former junior partner in a brokerage firm and John Mills as Lt. Col. Clifford Southey a former clerk in that same company. During the war the lieutenant carries his sense of inferiority from his peacetime job as a clerk with him. So when he has a chance to nail Brett (a junior officer now) for trying to bring some censored goods back into London he takes the chance and Brett is drummed out of service. Brett heads for Tahiti and a pretty good life in the sun until Clifford shows up on the island with big plans to build a hotel -- bringing with him the same defensive attitude.
Laurence Harvey turns in an excellent performance in this sequel to the highly successful Room At The Top which follows the life of a social climber whose self-doubt tarnishes his success. With his marriage to the boss' daughter on the rocks, Harvey finds himself embroiled in an affair with a London anchorwoman.
For over ten years Rhodes has been living a nightmare searching for his son who is listed as ""missing in action"" in Vietnam. After useless appeals to the government for information Rhodes takes matters into his own hands. With the financial backing of a Texas oil tycoon (Robert Stack) and the help of his son's five Marine buddies Rhodes prepares to carry out a daring mission. After weeks of grueling training the courageous veterans leave for Laos. The final battle of the Vietnam c
Weekend at Bernie's starts when two lowly clerks at an insurance agency uncover a $2 million fraud and report it to their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser). Unfortunately for them, Bernie is the one behind the fraud and he invites them to his island beach house for the weekend, where he intends to have them killed by his mob contacts. Unfortunately for Bernie, the mob decides to rub him out instead--that's when the clerks, Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy), arrive and discover Bernie's body. At first they panic and start to call the police but when a party of islanders sweeps in, Richard and Larry also discover that the local residents are so self-absorbed they don't notice that Bernie is dead. So if our heroes can just convince everyone that Bernie is still alive for the weekend, they can have a splendid time. Unfortunately, they also convince the mob hitman, who keeps trying to take Bernie out. Weekend at Bernie's was made at the height of 1980s fashion and features many amusing outfits and hairstyles--often the styles are funnier than the dialogue and the characters are tissue-paper thin. Still, there's no denying that the movie chugs along from bit to bit and never takes itself more seriously than it should, which is a cheerful, disposable piece of fluff. --Bret Fetzer
When small town Washington sheriff Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy) detains a vagrant drifter for resisting arrest, little does he realise that he has set in motion a series of events that bring mayhem and bloody reckoning to his community. The shabby vagrant is in fact former Green Beret John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone Rocky, Creed, The Expendables), a hero of the Vietnam War who has returned home to find America no longer wants him. Responding to brutal treatment from Teasle's Deputies with sudden ferociousness, Rambo makes a daring escape from the town jail, steals a motorcycle and roars off towards the wilderness with the sheriffs not far behind. First Blood is the explosive action-thriller that started it all! A breathtaking portrayal of America at odds with itself.
Sylvester Stallone never courted as much controversy as he did with the screen violence of the Rambo trilogy. From 1982 to 1988, they kept his name above Schwarzenegger's in the muscle hero league, with "Rambo" becoming a descriptive phrase in the language to describe gung-ho aggression (in Japanese, "rambo" means "violence"). The strangest part of the character's success is that originally he had none. Both David Morrell's novel and the original incarnation of First Blood had the Vietnam vet committing suicide after his rampage through small town America. The un-Hollywood ending was changed when Stallone and the producers recognised here was a character with possibilities. First Blood: Part II was co-written by James (Titanic) Cameron, a man who has always recognised box office possibilities. Stallone took a very relevant (to 1985) issue of surviving POWs and created an alternative end to the Vietnam War. This was achieved courtesy of the Cold War animosity that still existed towards the Russians, embodied in a suitably vile cameo from Steven Berkoff. A little love interest helped ground the movie and prevent it from completely turning into a video game, as did the best of Jerry Goldsmith's stirring scores for the trilogy. After saving himself and then his Country, Rambo III was simply about saving his friend Richard Crenna. The code of honour was by this point watered down into a song lyric, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". Nevertheless the final instalment continues to say something about the indomitable American spirit that will not accept defeat lightly. Patriotism may never have been portrayed quite so bloodily before Rambo's arrival, but at least a generation learned to question attitudes to war veterans, as well as the benefits of carrying a compass in your hunting knife. On the DVD: The Rambo trilogy on disc brings together all three movies in crisp 2.35:1 widescreen transfers. Sadly the extras are a little thin considering how much more was on the old Laser Discs. The first film has but a trailer; the third has a few minutes of behind the scenes material; the second has quite a few mini-documentaries that could really have done with being edited together, and having repeated interviews cut out. But there's still fun to be had hearing how deep and meaningful the movies were in conception.--Paul Tonks
Tonight's New: Romance... Scandal... Intrigue... And that's just behind the camera! A television anchorwoman finds herself caught between a handsome tycoon and her lunatic ex-boss / ex-husband. With only a few hours to say 'I Do' the ex-husband still in love with her leaps into action to cancel the tycoon and scoop her back. The fourth remake of the famous stageplay 'The Front Page'.
Hollywood legend Gregory Peck (The Guns Of Navarone) stars with Desi Arnaz Jr. (Automan) and Jack Warden (Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead) in this fast paced energetic and provocative 1970's western. Directed by established film and TV veteran Ted Kotcheff (Fun With Dick And Jane) with a script by Alan Sharp (who also worked on the seminal westerns Ulzana's Raid and The Hired Hand) and produced by celebrated director Norman Jewison (Rollerball In The Heat Of The Night) Billy Two Hats is a multi-layered tale of destiny prejudice and survival. Filmed on location in Israel it neither looks or feels like any other western you've ever experienced. When a gang of outlaws attempt to rob a bank their heist turns into a chaotic bloodbath. One of the gang is shot dead and the other is captured destined for the noose. His name is Billy Two Hats and it looks like his days of running wild are over. His only hope is renegade gunslinger Arch Deans a man with a plan... and plenty of ammo.
Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni star in this remake of the 1977 comedy.
Jon Aldrich an all around nice guy inadvertently becomes the target of an FBI sting. But compared to everything else in his life that doesn't seem so bad.
This special edition grenade box set features all four Rambo films! Rambo: First Blood (Dir. Ted Kotcheff 1982): He never fought a battle he couldn't win - except the conflict raging within his soul. Academy Award-nominee Sylvester Stallone stars as war hero John Rambo. An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam he was once the perfect killing machine. Now he's searching for peace but finds instead an over-zealous small-town sheriff who's spoiling for a fight. All hell breaks loose when an unjustly imprisoned Rambo escapes and becomes the target of a massive manhunt. Now he must use his cunning combat skills and weapons training to stay alive and outwit his pursuers. Co-starring Brian Dennehy and Richard Crenna First Blood is an explosive action-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final powerful frame. This pulse-pounding saga has been digitally remastered and contains an exciting featurette First Blood: A Look Back. Rambo: First Blood Part II (Dir. George P. Cosmatos 1985): He's back! Superstar Sylvester Stallone is John Rambo the ultimate action hero in this explosive Oscar-nominated sequel to First Blood that boasts a riveting screenplay by Stallone and James Cameron (Titanic). Although the Vietnam War is officially over Rambo remains the perfect fighting machine. But his survival skills are tested with a vengeance on a top-secret mission that takes him back to the jungles of Vietnam in search of American POW's. For when Rambo is double-crossed this expendable hero armed with just his bow arrows and knife must defeat savage enemies equipped with deadly firepower. Co-starring Richard Crenna and Charles Napier Rambo: First Blood Part II is a must for every action-adventure fan! This adrenaline-charged tale has been digitally remastered and contains exciting behind-the-scenes footage in the newly produced documentary An American Hero's Journey. Rambo III (Dir. Peter MacDonald 1988): The battle rages on as superstar Sylvester Stallone detonates the third and most explosive blast in the action-packed Rambo trilogy. Combat has taken its toll on John Rambo (Stallone) but he has finally begun to find inner peace inside a monastery - until his friend and mentor Col. Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) shows up to ask for his help on a top-secret mission to Afghanistan. A war-weary Rambo declines but when Trautman is captured Rambo erupts into a one-man firestorm to rescue his former commanding officer and deciminate the enemy. It's an intense pulse-pounding adventure that boasts unrelenting action and suspense from start to finish! Digitally remastered Rambo III contains an exciting featurette Rambo III: Full Circle. Rambo (Dir. Sylvester Stallone 2008: Twenty years after the last film in the series John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) has retreated to northern Thailand where he's running a longboat on the Salween River. On the nearby Thai-Burma (Myanmar) border the world's longest-running civil war the Burmese-Karen conflict rages into its 60th year. A group of human rights missionaries search out the American river guide John Rambo and ask him to guide them up the Salween and drop them off so they can deliver medical supplies and food to the Karen tribe. After initially refusing to cross into Burma Rambo takes them and drops them off close to one of the Karen villages. Less than two weeks later he receives a visit from a pastor tellng him the aid workers did not return and the embassies will not help to locate them.The pastor has hired mercenaries to free the missionaries and needs Rambo's help...
Ingrid Bergman plays a middle-aged woman going through a psychological crisis as a love affair ends. French playwright Jean Cocteau's one-character drama unfolds in the form of an extended monologue -- a one-sided telephone conversation in which the woman tries to win back her lover despite her growing suspicion that he is calling from his young fiance's home.
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The 13thIn every horror movie there is a phone waiting to ring... a victim waiting to scream... a killer waiting to strike. And the only way to survive is to keep one thing in mind: stay one step ahead of the killer... even if the killer is a klutz! Bogus Witch ProjectA spoof on 'The Blair Witch Project': suddenly everyone's getting lost in the woods shopping malls and public parks searching for that Witch! Weekend At BerniesWhat starts as a typical carefree labour day at the beach for two young insurance company employees turns into a few days of murder mayhem romance and hilarious misadventures!
He never fought a battle he couldn't win: except the conflict raging within his own soul. Academy Award winner Sylvester Stallone stars as war hero John Rambo. An ex-Green Beret haunted by memories of Vietnam he was once the perfect killing machine. Now he's searching for peace but finds instead an over-zealous small-town sheriff who's spoiling for a fight. All hell breaks loose when an unjustly imprisoned Rambo escapes and becomes the target of a massive manhunt. Now he must use his cunning combat skills and weapons training to stay alive and outwit his pursuers. Co-starring Brian Dennehy and Richard Crenna First Blood is an explosive action-thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final powerful frame.
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