Inspired by the ever-popular boardgame Cluedo, Clue is a delightful spoof on the old mystery genre cliché of a group of strangers trapped together in a spooky house overnight and the murders that seem to necessarily follow. A bunch of eccentric folk, each with a secret to hide, are invited to dinner at the house of the mysterious Mr Boddy (with that name he may as well have been a crewman wearing a red shirt on the Starship Enterprise). After dinner, Mr Boddy gives each of his guests a deadly weapon as a gift and reveals that he has been blackmailing each of them. Very soon the lights go out and the murders begin. As the body count continues to rise, the guests split off into pairs and begin, via the discovery of various secret passages and even more secret motives, an increasingly hilarious investigation to find the killer. Given the high camp nature of the script, the actors are given free rein to indulge their most outrageous comic turns. Cult film staple Tim Curry shines as the butler, Wadsworth, who is given the task of explaining the increasingly convoluted plot during the final twenty minutes of the film. Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum and Eileen Brennan as Mrs Peacock are also exceptionally amusing and manage to deliver some quite absurd lines with great conviction. This DVD release provides the viewer with the opportunity to watch all three of the endings filmed for the theatrical release and discover who the culprit really was.
This is a superbly dark,moody and haunting masterpiece which is now released in an uncut form and with restored footage,and is based on the bestseller"Bridge of Evil" by Whit Masterson.
The brilliant Orson Welles not only wrote the clever and intricate screenplay,but also directed tne movie with a keen verve and professionalism and completed his threeway hat trick with a menacing and masterful performance as Hank Quinlan, the devious and crooked police chief.
More than ably supported by Charlton Heston as a charismatic Mexican narcotics investigator who probes into Quinlan's infamous past.
Janet Leigh gives a memorable perfomance as Charlton's curious wife and confirms her place as an actress of distinction,which she so unforgettably confirmed in Hitchcock's "Psycho"
Two icons of Hollywood glamour,Marlene Dietrich and Zsa Zsa Gabor, are also featured in telling cameo roles,and unbilled appearances from Joseph Cotten,Ray Collins and Mercedes McCambridge.
As an undesirable underworld leader Akim Tamiroff also makes a wowhty contribution to the high standard of acting talent on display here
Add to this some haunting black and white widescreen cinematography by Russell Metty and a first rate jazz score from Henry Mancini and the resulting movie becomes a classic cult masterpiece which any serious collector should have in his or her collection!
I definitely rate "Touch of Evil" as a must have thriller and one which the viewer can enjoy again and again!
Jason Lee has done himself brillantly in this wonderful US Sitcom about a man who is trying to change his ways from a past of robbery and theiving. Earl J. Hickey (Jason Lee) — The protagonist and narrator of the show. In flashbacks, we see Earl before he began reforming himself: a jobless ne'er-do-well with no respect for authority or just about anyone. Earl has done a list of all the bad doings, so then he could go back to these people he had upset in the past and make them feel good.
Earl is also helped by his brother Randy played by Ethan Suplee who has some mental problems, dumb but very loved by Earl as at times he actually helps out Earl at the most critical times with Earl's problems. Randy is very innocentand sometimes wonders if Earl is doing right by doing these deeds but is willing to help him on the way.
An Example in the second episode is that Five years prior, Earl robbed a donut shop while wearing Donny's football jersey and let him spend two years in prison for the crime he committed. Earl goes to his house expecting the worst, but instead receives forgiveness from Donny (Silas Weir Mitchell). It turns out Donny found Jesus in jail, and that helped him see the error of his ways, and to be kind and forgiving to others. However, Donny's mom doesn't feel the same way, as Earl took Donny away from her for two years, and she'll never get that time back. Earl figures out a way to give Donny's mom two more years to spend with Donny: help her quit smoking. So Earl kidnaps her, and together they work to quit smoking. Which was one of the finest episodes in the first series.
The Bonus features are brillant as well with as it features a 13-and-a-half minute long "mini-episode" called "Bad Karma" made specially for the set. The mini-episode is actually an alternate version of the events of the Pilot in which, instead of watching Carlson Daly on TV in the hospital, Earl watches Family Guy. Inspired by the megalomaniacal tendencies of Stewie Griffin, Earl comes up with a very different list and outlook on life. This is really he decides to take on the world with some funny results. There are also some brillant outtakes and there are some good audio commentaries.
I would give the first season of My Name Is Earl top marks.
Being a Japanese exploitation movie set during WWII I would recommend most people approach this with caution: It does contain a fair amount of seedy sex, violence, and sexual violence. As well as surgery. However, if you are the kind of person who might like to see a young female nurse give manual relief to a man who has had both of his arms amputated by the doctor she is in love with, then I recommend you order this DVD immediately. After all, you don't come across such opportunites every day.
Daniel Craig is in it. What you mean you need more. Well ok. This latest offering of James Bond is a return to his roots, and an explanation of why James Bond is well, James Bond. Its got its usual assortment of thrills, violence and special effects and because most of the stunts were done by the actors themselves there is a much more realistic feel to them - watch out in particular for the one at the beginning with the bloke who invented jumping off buildings and called it street gymnastics!! And if you are a bloke there is one of the nastiest torture scenes around, yes even more hardcore than the beginning of 'Die another day', you'll want to cross your legs whilst watching that one. Overall Danel Craig portrays this James Bond as a much harder, grittier character than previous incarnations and the film itself adds a freshness to an old story. It seems like Bond has managed to re-invent himself after the fears of the character becomming stale and dated and lets hope there will be many more Bond movies to come.
Though many, myself included would assume that a show like this, featuring oldies such as Dennis Waterman would be a poor excuse for entertainment, i was pleasantly surprised. It's a great DVD to watch if you enjoy a bit of comedy, as Alun Armstrong as Brian is highly amusing, as are the other actors. The banter between Amanda Redman and Dennis Waterman is also great to watch! Some episodes are a little disappointing, but overall i would recommend this series and DVD to other viewers!
Arguably one of the best films to come out of the nineties, the Shawshank Redemption is a compelling watch. Based on a Stephen King story, the film centres on the unfortunate Andy Dufresne, a successful banker, wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. Sent to Shawshank prison for life, Andy's future looks bleak, until he is befriended by "red", a convicted murderer. The friendship they share, grounds Andy, enabling him to cope with the horrors assosiated with a maximum security prison. Both Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman give the performances of their lives, and with excellent supporting performances by Clancy Brown and Bob Gunton, this film is an absolute must see.
What is it like to be just inches from an ticking unexploded bomb?
This series shows - in as much reality as is ever likely possible.Seven weeks was the normal length of life expectancy of a bomb disposer in 1940. The Trainee Bomb Disposers were told not to Fear and Worry because the human nervous system could not react quickly enough to experience a detonating bomb. I.E. they would know nothing about it.... is that true? Watch the series and find out. From the golden age of TV Drama.Very well acted and convincingly realistic.
Yet another example of great british films! the divide between england and america makes the comedy in this film even greater! fantastic acting (as always) from Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Carlyle. this film paints a very funny, but mainly true picture of what really goes on under the surface. I'll never be able to look at a man in a kilt the same way again!!! Good old Elmo... Getting his kit off at the end for the appreciative ladies in the world!!!
Braindead and Evil Dead 2 are the gold standard by which all horror-comedy is judged. Braindead features a higher body count and perhaps a few extra drops of blood. I never thought New Zealand was this exciting till I found current mega-director Peter Jackson's masterpiece from 1990. The film concerns the infestation of a small town in New Zealand with the zombie plague brought by a cursed Sumatran Rat Monkey. Oh, by the way, it is also a love story. Peter Jackson mixes amazingly fantastic practical effects with Three Stooges-styled physical comedy to wonderful effect. One of the the most oft quoted films by horror fanboys ("I Kick Arse For The Lord!") and a touchstone for the horror community, Braindead is released here in its intended version, after having been chopped around the world. This edition restores Jackson's original grue filled vision, if in a less than stellar presentation. Now, if someone can get moving on a special edition, I'll be very very happy!
Sometimes you just want to watch stuff get blown up. If you are in that kind of mood, you could do a lot worse than Crank. Jason Statham has made a name for himself as the new action go to guy for the over the top nonstop gonzo action that Hollywood craves. He follows up his two successful Transporter films with Crank, about a man who is racing to avenge his own body to avenge the death he hasn't yet suffered. The film's action reads like a laundry list of what not to do if you want to stay alive. This is what makes the film fun, Chev Chelios (Statham) discovers that in order to stay alive long enough to avenge his own impending death, he must keep his adrenaline pumping. The mind boggling action that follows ranges from lots of drugs to public sex with lots of goodies and gunfights in between. Jason Statham stakes his claim as the 21st century's heir to Bruce Willis, the late 30's balding white super action hero. You can hear the audience cheer as he picks up the mantle. While believability may not be its strong suit, once in a while, it is fun to just watch someone go absolutely mental in the interest of entertaining you.
One of the great classics of the black and white era. Certainly the best adaptation of the bestseller. Brilliant acting and a great interpretation of the characters, especially Maxime de Winter!
Picture yourself in a West End theatre waiting for the curtain to go up on the musical dubbed 'The Madness Musical'. Imagine your excitement as the medley of Madness songs begins. Now imagine how that experience translates to DVD. Does a musical lend itself to a home viewing experience? Well, yes it does.
Our House - A Musical Love Story won the 2003 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and featured Madness frontman Suggs in a supporting role for a limited time. Although no members of Madness appear in this DVD, it's got everything a Madness or musical fan would want: love, lies, truth, betrayal, denial, humour and possibly the most fantastic pop songs ever written. It includes the songs House Of Fun, Our House, Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, Driving In My Car, My Girl, It Must Be Love and Night Boat To Cairo, plus a brilliant set and cast to do them justice.
Our House cleverly adopts what I like to call the Madness sensibility. It's full of cheeky chappies, humour, grit and realism. Madness's songs were often narratives of ordinary life and Our House is a musical about ordinary people. It's an ordinary love story about an ordinary boy and an ordinary girl.
The musical sits well on the small screen, with its lively dancing and singing performances and dramatic tension, and draws you into the lives of Joe Casey and his girlfriend as their teenage affair is almost cut short when Joe commits a crime to impress her. All is not lost because of the imaginative plot that entwines two different outcomes for the situation. Which path does Joe eventually take? Does the romance survive?
In a nutshell, this is a great romantic comedy with the best soundtrack you're ever likely to hear. Charming, witty and real; you'll be as fond of this as you probably are of the band whose songs inspired it.
"Twisted" is nothing but a preposterous and inane serial killer thriller. But this film takes absurdity and mindless writing to its most pathetic if not bathetic depths.
A female Inspector on the San Francisco P.D. who drinks excessively with no real reason, and who picks up guys in bars for one night stands, suddenly realises that the men she is indiscriminately sleeping with are turning up dead.
Not only are we expected to suspend our disbelief at the fact that these circumstances befall newly promoted Inspector Shepard (Ashley Judd), but we are expected to sit and watch as she is partnered up with Inspector Del Marco (Andy Garcia) to solve the case (with whom there is a facile sexual chemistry); and not only that, this is her first case as a homicide detective - in which she herself soon becomes a suspect because she cannot account for her whereabouts due to the most hilariously acted blackouts after drinking too much red wine - and that"s not all: Shepard"s father was a notorious "serial killer" and cop many years before in the same precinct.
I have seen some ridiculous films in my time - especially of this jaded genre - "Serial Cops" starring Michael Madsen and Chris Penn, "Postmortem" starring Charlie Sheen, that was set in Scotland to name just two; but "Twisted" is infinitely worse. And the ending - without revealing it, is simply not worth waiting for and can be guessed at within the first fifteen minutes of the film anyway. This is simply appalling film-making; with a ludicrous script and mindless direction. I am almost ashamed at having written so much at length about it.
Based on Dennis Potter's award-winning television series, The Singing Detective chronicles the life and delusions of Dan Dark (Robert Downey Jr.) during his time in hospital with a severe bout of psoriasis. Dark was a moderately successful writer of detective fiction before his illness and his deteriorating mental state leads him to take fantasy trips into his stories, and into his paranoia fuelled visions of his wife's life, in an effort to avoid his helpless present and traumatic past.
Dark regularly imagines himself to be the eponymous 'Singing Detective' and attempts to solve a murder he encounters while in this fantasy world, the true significance of which is not discovered until some unusual therapy sessions with Mel Gibson's Dr Gibbon. As the detective, Dark sings in a rock and roll band and this musical influence begins to invade the rest of his life, with Dark himself and the supporting cast regularly breaking into lip-synching numbers which, with the exception of the doctor's ensemble and the Downey/Gibson duet, pass without much notice.
As the human salami, Downey Jr. manages to make the paranoid and aggressive Dark strangely appealing, switching effortlessly between the angry and vulnerable Dark, who is unable to function without help, and the cool and sophisticated Dark of the detective stories. Mel Gibson dons his bald wig with relish to play the unconventional therapist while Katie Holmes is a suitably sweet foil for the unpleasant aspects of Dark. However, despite the good quality cast, the most attention grabbing moments of the film are provided by the makeup and concept of 'greasing'.
The film flicks around at breakneck speed from Dark's days in the hospital to the film noir world of his detective stories, from his childhood memories to his paranoid fantasies. In fact, so much is packed in that it is hard to follow all the action or even care too much about what is going on.
The screenplay was written by Dennis Potter himself and he clearly wanted to remain true to the ideals of the series but instead created far too many jumbled aspects to work fluidly in a two hour film. Things get even more complicated when two hoods (watch out for Adrien Brody in a rare comic turn) escape from the detective story and track Dark down to the hospital. Despite some promising twists and turns, the film feels flat and outdated with an oddly rushed ending. All in all, the Singing Detective would be an entertaining film for fans of Robert Downey Jr. but those with fond memories of the television series will be disappointed.
Master misogynist Lars von Trier continues his Dogme revolution with Dogville, a tale of the darker aspects of the American dream. "The time to make up your mind about someone is never" remarks Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story, a statement taken to heart by von Trier and his Dogme partner Peter Jenson. Dogme films concentrate on script and acting rather than relying on big budget sets and special effects like most of the films produced in recent years. To this end, the town of Dogville is nothing more than a chalk outline on a dark sound stage with as few buildings and props as can be managed. The sparse scenery and chalk outlines of buildings, plants and animals are at first distractingly amusing but once the comedy value of such a highly regarded group of actors putting so much effort into the use of invisible door knobs has passed, the setting actually serves to enhance the bleak lives of the characters.
The story takes place during the Great Depression and is about Grace (played by Nicole Kidman), who takes refuge from a group of gangsters in the small Godforsaken town of about 25 people, including children, named Dogville. Grace is met by the towns highly irritating intellectual Tomas Edison (Paul Bettany) who hides her in an abandoned mine shaft when the mobsters come looking for her and, seeing her predicament, agrees to convince the townspeople that Grace should be allowed to remain hidden in Dogville. An agreement is reached whereby Grace is given two weeks in which the townspeople will decide whether she should stay or seek sanctuary elsewhere. During this time, Grace is to do chores of one hour per each household per day which Tomas describes as "physical labours" (great big neon sign indicating things to come). The people initially appear friendly and accept Grace, soon realising that they can"t live without her help. Needless to say, the citizens vote for her to stay and live in their town while doing all their dirty work. Things seem to be ideal but this soon deteriorates as Grace is increasingly used as a scapegoat for all the wrongdoings of the town.
Von Trier is famed for his unconventional and demanding methods of working with actors (he allegedly drove Bjork to the stage where she was eating her costume while filming The Dancer In The Dark) but, however he did it, the performances in Dogville prove to be some of the finest acting on film in recent years. Nicole Kidman continues her mission to be taken seriously as a performer with her fabulous portrayal of the enigmatic Grace (and she needs no prosthetic appendages to do so). She captures wonderfully Grace"s decent from hopeful outsider to accepted and useful member of the community to someone so damaged by the actions of others that she seemingly has no fight left. Paul Bettany is equally good as Tomas, a pretentious man more deserving of physical violence than any of the other hypocritical characters in the film. The entire cast excel with their complex roles as the detestable townsfolk, with special mention being deserved for Miles Purinton as Jason, the ten year old boy with the fondness for sadomasochism. John Hurt is the narrator who guides the action and provides some of the more subtle comic moments.
"Stigmata" is not an unintelligent film, but its intelligence is deeply flawed. While ostensibly dealing with the warring opposites of faith in revelation versus rational or scientific objectivity in one of the Vatican"s investigative priests, Father Kiernan (Gabriel Byrne); the film seems overtly determined to criticize the Catholic Church at the expense of storytelling.
The corruption which is rife in Catholicism is no secret and the abominable crimes committed by them since the death of the last Apostles is common knowledge, but here this film seems all too determined to depict the Church as a covert agency in the manner of the CIA harbouring conspiracies to cover up the truth of Jesus" life, alleged truth that will bring on the collapse of the Church after almost two thousand years of lies: and it all hangs on a supposed Gospel containing the very sayings of Christ himself: the famous Gnostic Gospel of Thomas, who supposedly is the incredulous "doubting Thomas" of the canonical Gospels.
This film is not so much about the phenomenon of stigmata but turns into a mediocre supernatural thriller involving spiritistic possession which negates all seriousness that the film might have. "Stigmata" has a confused and trite theology which quickly falls into sensationalism, treating the viewer to exceptionally violent scenes of so-called stigmatic attack, which are not stigmatic attacks at all, but violent possession of a young atheistic woman (Patricia Arquette) by the indignant spirit of a priest. "Stigmata" concludes unfortunately with a ludicrous scene involving a failed exorcism and a Cardinal trying to strangle the said atheist. Inevitably one feels by the end of the film that one is watching a farce - we are no longer in the realm of religion or serious narrative but the Hollywood circus.
Compelling 1950s set film noir/ true story, based on an independent investigation into the tragic / mysterious death of 'Superman' actor George Reeves (played with humour, depth & pathos by Ben Affleck). 'Hollywoodland' sees an on form Adrian Brody as archetypal private eye Louis Simo; a hard drinking, media savvy gumshoe who's never short of a witty comeback, Simo initially sees reopening the George Reeves case (officially ruled a suicide) as a way to make a quick buck. But soon gets drawn into a labyrinthine conspiracy, which implicates Reeve's fiancée (Robin Tunney) older ex-lover (Diane Lane's best performance since 'A Perfect Storm') her crook husband / movie magnate (Bob Hoskins), an irredeemably corrupt LAPD along with a whole host of industry goons & plutocrats: Was it murder or suicide? 'Hollywoodland' isn't prepared to confirm or deny anything, for whilst writer/ editor Paul Brenbaum's well researched script does drop some heavy hints, novice director Allen Coulter simply lays out all the pieces and leaves it up to us to put the puzzle together.
'Hollywoodland' is essentially a character study of Reeves & Simo, worlds apart at first glance, but caught up in the same miasma of consumerism, show biz sniping and soul-destroying charades of Hollywood corporatism. Ben Affleck portrays Reeves as an amiable everyman, frustrated at being typecast yet haunted by the notion that Superman may be as good as gets for him. My faith in Affleck's acting ability is fully restored by a tour-de-force performance which depicts a flawed, but decent, actor who may've been better than the sum of his parts, though the heartbreaking 8mm show-reel suggests otherwise, and is as moving a scene as Martin Landau's last hurrah in 'Ed Wood'. A subplot that deals with Louis Simo's divorce and how he's trying to make time to see his kid (who, like many others, is traumatised by the death of his onscreen idol) seems somewhat out of place in 1959; an era when an ordinary suburban couple would've probably stuck it out in keeping with societal norms. In fact, it would've made for better picture if Simo's home life was constantly grating against his mission to uncover the truth (i.e. like Kevin Costner's Jim Garrison in 'JFK'). 'Hollywoodland' is a serious and entertaining film with classical narrative sensibilities, good performances (Affleck in particular) and shot with a confidence & style that successfully recreates the (not so) good old days in Tinsel Town.
Twelve years ago , a demon fox with nine tails appeared. In an effort to save the village from the raging nine tail fox, the Shinobis of the hidden leaf village fought against this almighty demon of destruction, many died in doing so. One Shinobi the 4th Hokage sacrificed his life and seals the nintail fox inside a newborn child. This child is Naruto, a lonesome boy without parents or loved ones who is hated, feared and blamed for the lives the demon inside of him destroyed. Naruto having been treated in this way he decides he want"s to become something that everyone will respect, he dreams of becoming a Hokage the highest rank of ninja. Along with his rival, Sasuke and Sakura they must train hard to become ninja"s and face there fears.
Naruto is a amazing anime it"s packed full of action, comedy has a very solid story line. As the story progresses you continue to meet new characters and villains, the next more interesting than the one before. The characters, are all so well developed and fun. With many characters with many different personalities, It can be possible to relate to one of them. The characters are so well developed that there actions and there memories (which are shown in flashbacks) can make you cry.
The art style is different from most anime (I like how during "flashback" scenes you can see the texture of the paper and the paint strokes) and the fight sequences are amazing.
The music is very enjoyable. My favourite piece of music from the series is "Sadness and Sorrow" and it is played during the flashback scenes, it captures the emotion of the characters beautifully. The soundtrack is a definite recommendation if you enjoy the series.
This DVD is a great buy for someone new to Naruto, it contains the first 13 episodes, the original Japanese uncut episodes and the uncut cartoon network English dub episodes. At long last Naruto comes to DVD in the uk.
Carnivale was originally intended to be 3 stories/books, each spanning 2 seasons. Although the show was cancelled after only 2 seasons, the events do draw to a satisfying conclusion.
The series successfully creates a mood that stays with you long after the final episode. There is a slowness, a sense of a different time, a different way of life.
The acting, plot and character development is superb. The theme is quite adult in nature, without ever becoming vulgar or coarse. Although the series addresses the 'age old' battle between good and evil, it does so in a new way. There is nothing corny or sentimental about Carnivale. The characters are not easy to like and the plot leaves you desperate for more.
There are enough loose ends and possibilities to warrant further seasons, but at present HBO have shown no interest in continuing the show.
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