This wry comedy from writer/director Jim Jarmusch won the prestigious Grand Prix award at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Bill Murray stars as Don Johnston a one time ladies man who on the day his girlfriend leaves him receives an anonymous letter from one of his ex-girlfriends revealing that he has a son. Initially dis-interested Don is persuaded to visit his old flames by his friend Winston(Jeffrey Wright) who relishes the chance to play detective and discover the identity of the boys mother.
Don half heartedly embarks on a road trip looking for answers he isn't sure he really wants. This gives rise to a series of poignant episodes between Murray and some of Hollywood's top actresses. Romance is briefly rekindled between Don and Laura(Sharon Stone) despite the attentions of her aptly named daughter Lolita. As he visits later girlfriends Don receives a frostier welcome from Dora(Frances Conroy) a hostile reception from Carmen(Jessica Lange) and a violent reaction from Penny(Tilda Swinton).
Murray has perfected a minimalist style of acting in films such as "Lost in Translation" and "The Life Aquatic" and takes it to a new level here in a film in which he is rarely off screen. Some critics questioned the films resolution but perhaps missed the point of a film detailing one mans journey of self discovery.
In the immortal words of Chris Morris: "YES...its war!" Hong Kong legend John Woo lays down his trademark two handguns, and picks up two Howitzers for this visually impressive, distinctly old school, WWII movie. Its 1942, and a mere century after European colonialists deliberately doled out blankets laced with smallpox to their kids, the Native Americans have found it in their hearts to forgive the white man and join up for battle against imperial Japan. The allies use Navajo language as code in the Pacific theatre (which proved to be an excellent strategy as no one ever cracked it), U.S. marine Joe Enders (Nic Cage) is paired up with Native American wind-talker Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach) his orders are to protect the code at all costs (which includes killing his buddy if need be) as everyone gears up for the big push on Saipan.
'Windtalkers', despite some fine cinematography and spectacular action sequences, operates with sledgehammer subtlety, and I was often having flashbacks to better war films like 'Platoon' or 'Born On The Forth Of July', nonetheless, Woo displays the gratuitous folly of war with an unflinching panache of post 'Saving Private Ryan'-esque realism. And much like David Cronenberg did in 'A History Of Violence', makes us a party to the mind-numbing, sensationalistic brutality of it all, and its only once the credits have rolled, that we begin to question our motives for going along with such madness.
This director"s cut edition is even more violent, features some impressive behind the scenes documentaries (the boot camp training and recreating war extras are particularly good) audio commentaries from John Woo, Nicholas Cage and Christian Slater (whose rapidly becoming one of my favourite commentators after this, and his track on 'True Romance') Navajo consultants and a gimmicky, though fun, multi-angle option during the battle sequences (similar to the multi-angle duel on "The Count Of Monte Cristo" DVD). 'Windtalkers' is quite a powerful film that, despite the obligatory bouts of iron-jawed propaganda, is a well-directed re-enactment of one of WWII"s bloodiest campaigns.
At long last, one of the 80's most underated bands "Cutting Crew's Live At Full House Rock Show" has finally arrived on DVD.
The band will always be associated with the classic hit "(I Just) Died In Your Arms" which reached number 1 in 19 different countries (Excluding the UK where it reached a disapointing number 4!) but this DVD shows that the "then" line-up which consisted of Martin Beedle on Drums, Colin Farley on Bass, Kevin MacMichael on Guitar and of course the multi-talented singer/songwriter who wrote nearly all of the bands songs (including Died In Your Arms) Nick Van Eede were extremely tight musically & this particular concert (despite it being really short) really shows how good the band were live.
The songs included on the original show included:
Any Colour
Fear Of Falling
Sahara
One For The Mockingbird
I've Been In Love Before
&
(I Just) Died In Your Arms.
All of which are performed very well & sound even better than the studio versions found on their excellent debut album "Broadcast".
Despite the band releasing other hit singles including One For The Mockingbird, I've Been In Love Before, Any Colour & (Between A) Rock & A Hard Place, there was really no chance for the band to follow up the mega success of their first single (despite I've Been In Love Before which should be heard by everyone who loves Died In Your Arms).
After the band split in 1992, Kevin MacMichael toured with Robert Plant on his Fate Of Nations Tour alongside another gifted gutarist, Francis Dunnery of It Bites while Nick Van Eede was asked to be the next lead singer of Genesis (which he declined).
Kevin MacMichael however died at the end of 2002 (This DVD should really be a tribute to the underated guitarist). Now 2006, Nick Van Eede is now back as Cutting Crew and has already released a new album "Grinning Souls" (give it a listen, better than most of the modern music around at the moment) and has recently been on tour across Europe.
So if you loved (I Just) Died In Your Arms and always wondered what their other songs sounded like, then i'd suggest buy this DVD to find out for yourself (especially at this very affordable price).
It's no criticism of the largely-enjoyable Special Editions to welcome the theatrical originals of the STAR WARS trilogy on to DVD with enthusiasm.
Any cinematic classic must stand in its original, warts-and-all form for posterity - and the good news is that STAR WARS absolutely does. For all its hokey humour, wooden acting and derivative elements, this was - and still is - modern myth making at its best.
We of the first STAR WARS generation may now talk of it with the same "you had to be there" smugness with which their own parents revered The Beatles; just humour us. If you only know STAR WARS through DVD, then see for yourself how it all started.
Imaginary Heroes the debut feature from director Dan Harris covers similar territory to both American beauty and The Ice Storm. It tells the story of a family thrown into crisis by the suicide of the eldest son. The remaining family members find their own individual ways of dealing with the tragedy. Mother Sandy(Sigourney Weaver) begins smoking pot, father Ben(Jeff Daniels) isolates himself from the family and younger son Tim(Emile Hirsch) is filled with confusion and self loathing. This film has real depth and despite the subject matter genuine warmth and humour. The acting from Weaver, Daniels and Hirsch is of the highest quality. This is a film that examines the ups and downs of family life with rare insight. The DVD contains an excellent commentary from Sigourney Weaver.
Steven Spielberg was once the people"s director, he was a maverick, an edgy entertainer; but nowadays Steve comes across as such a company man, such an establishment figure, that one almost feels uncomfortable around his work, as if any sudden movements could trigger off another long-winded cinematic lecture about something terribly important and worthy. 'Catch Me If You Can' was a rare moment of levity from the bearded man in the cap; based on a true story and set in 1960 'Catch Me If You Can' dramatises the turbulent teenage years of slicker-than-your-average con artist Frank Abignale Jr. (excellent performance by Leonardo DiCaprio).
In his day, 19-year-old Frank Abignale Jr. (reeling from his parent"s sudden divorce) ran an audacious series of high profile cons that saw him impersonating a PAN-AM pilot, FBI agent, schoolteacher, lawyer and doctor; DiCaprio"s comic timing and blagging skills are second-to-none whilst Tom Hanks is perfect (and commendably understated) as Carl Hanratty; straight-laced leader of the FBI"s fraud squad manhunt. The scenes where Leo pretends to be a teacher and doctor ("I concur") are priceless, and hark back to the vintage light comedies of Dirk Bogarde or the films of Blake Edwards.
'Catch Me If You Can' manages to strike that elusive balance between comedy and drama, the more serious moments convey a real sense of poignancy and loss for Abegnale, and though we sympathise with Hank"s good cop, its Abegnale"s suave anti-hero who carries the film and wins our full support. It was also great to see living legend Christopher Walken play a major character as Frank Abegnale senior, Walken has been playing Walken for so long, that one often forgets how brilliant an actor he actually is. 'Catch Me If You Can' is a film with endless repeat viewing potential, one of the best movies of 2002, and along with 'Gangs Of New York', marked a return to form for Leonardo DiCaprio.
Being a large (not fat mind) fan of the game series, I approached this film with excitement (like a child), but also trepidation (like a film fan who's seem too many crap game adaptations).
All I can tell you about the film is: if you are a fan of the games, then you might feel a bit disappointed (but happy in places). If you are oblivious to the games, then you may well enjoy most of this.
Rhada Mitchel is fine (but not fit enough), Sean Bean sleepwalks through his part (AGAIN), and the scary bits are ok, but not as creepy as they should be. The ending is pants also....
As a (sad?) Silent Hill completist, I'll still buy whatever super-duper version they bring out, but for the uninitiated, probably best to rent and make your decision afterwards.....
A very good film with great music from vangelis. The film graphics are excellent concidering it was made over 20 years ago.
the one thing that disapoints me is that why haven't they put the original version on this as well. the original had a diferent
ending a better ending in my opinion, also it had harrison fords thoughts as a voice over, somthing which they could put as an option on/off on dvd. stil a very good movie.
This DVD is absolutely brilliant. This is a classic comedy which never achieved the fame that it truly deserves. Each episode is full of great one liners that make you laugh aloud. Definitely a DVD to cheer yourself up with.
The OC is based on one family, the Cohens. You have the lawyer/bussiness man/father Sandy. The party organiser/recovering alcoholic mother Kirsten. The strange but amazingly funny son Seth and the adopted rough kid Ryan. Attached to the family are the girlfriends of Ryan and Seth and their family.
If you missed the show on TV, then this boxset is perfect for you. For all fans of the previous two seasons, this third season is full of exciting storylines, romance, and of course comedy... mainly from seth!
The show basically tells the story of the rich, and how even with money families can fall apart, fail and have problems.
The OC deals with serious issues like alcohol and drug abuse but in a real world way. There are romance storylines throughout the season that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time!
I recommend this season to anyone who has enjoyed the previous two, and for those who havent seen any of the OC, START NOW!!!
I loved every moment of this season and cant wait to watch the fourth season
In its fourth season and still possibly the greatest medical show ever. Even though its four years old it just gets better and funnier. You'd think basing a sitcom in hospital it wouldn't work but it has everything, Some of the funniest jokes all round, heart, drama and celebrity cameos. Its good to know more is still to come as series 5 is being screened and series 6 is planned.
This has to be one of the best sci-fi films of the 80s (excluding Star Wars)with a great view of the future of television game shows gone mad!!! Arnie plays an ex soldier framed for the kiling of a crowd of civilians, and selected from a military prison by force, to take part in a warped and sadistic, gladatorial, game show in which the object is to simply, SURVIVE.
Frank Darbont's retro prison drama, The Green Mile is an old fashioned tale about good and evil existing under the same roof. Told through flashback, the film follows a group of guards working on death row, whose views are changed when a prisoner, John Coffey, is brought to their penitentiary accused of killing two little girls. Coffey may look like a dangerous brute, but is in fact he's a sensitive soul with a god like power.
Darbont has provided a story with a huge helping of emotional impact, it impresses, moves and jabs your heart at times, but unfortunately it's no Shawshank Redemption. The original book by Stephen King was made up of six episodes and this adaptation of the movie makes you feel like you're seeing each one of the books all in one long sitting.
Don't get me wrong, despite its length and stereotypes, this film is still a gem, it's imaginatively styled, intense and subtly performed. The relationship between Edgecombe and Coffey is tender and warm and the portrayal of the green mile itself which leads to "Old Sparky" the electric chair is extremely spine-chilling. The film does not gallop ahead or announce its full intention at the beginning, but instead drops little clues and lets the story unfold carefully, ensuring that it shrouds us with its quietly building tension.
Verdict
Fantasy prison drama, The Green Mile does not bear well under close inspection and will always live in the shadow of The Shawshank Redemption, however, the power of the cast's performances stop it from being ordinary and make it highly enjoyable to watch.
The last 15 minutes is the best ending of all time. Original, simple and amazing with a great soundtrack from Sia, Breathe Me (if you are looking for it). This show is a must see.
This is the greatest TV show I have ever seen. It is like watching life: having fears, making mistakes, trying, failing and succeeding, learning... The last 15 minutes is the best ending of all time. Original, simple and amazing with a great soundtrack from Sia, Breathe Me (if you are looking for it). This show is a must see.
An amazing movie which was a great hit in imax cinamas. works amazing with DTS surround sound and projector.
This is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The title left me a little dubious as to what to expect but I was more than pleasently surprized by the actual film.
It is brilliantly scripted story of 4 young friends in a strict Catholic school who still manage to enjoy themselves, and escape to into their fantastic imaginations expressed through their comic book, which echos their life - as they would have it. As the plans grow in complexity the danger looms.
All the actors deliver excellent performances, especially the two young lead actors (Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin) who are well supported by Jodie Foster and Jena Malone.
I would highly recommend this film to anyone who appreciates a good story and doesn't require explosions and car crashes to be entertained, as this film has everything else. Drama, humour and a touch of romance.
Very quirky humour. Based on their live stage performances, with a very similar humour base. The first series where they were based in the Zoo is Excellent. The characters are well rounded and throughout the series grow on you.
The second series doesn't work so well, and pulls down the overall rating, it still has a few excellent characters (the talking moon and demon Grandma to name two of them), but doesn't work so well.
Filmed back to back with Coppola"s other adaptation of an S.E. Hinton novel ('The Outsiders') and set in the late 1950s 'Rumble fish' is, above all, an enigmatic story of time and societal alienation, with subtle allusions to Greek mythology. Cool, but dim, hoodlum Rusty James (another top notch performance by Matt Dillon) leads a gang of Greasers in some one-horse town in Hinton"s backyard of Tulsa, Oklahoma. James is the quintessential rebel without a cause, an amiable outlaw who longs for the days of organised gang warfare and rumbles, as he thinks this will give his life some meaning and he"ll finally have a chance to live up to his elder brother"s reputation, his brother being 'The Motorcycle Boy' (Mickey Rourke in the best performance of his career). A gang legend, whose gone A.W.O.L but returns in a blaze of glory only attract a lot of unwanted attention from cops who won"t let him be.
Rusty James is at a loss to explain why 'The Motorcycle Boy' has turned his back on violence, at first, he puts it down to injuries sustained in all the rumbles of old, colour blind, 'The Motorcycle Boy' describes his condition "Like black & white TV with the sound turned low". And though Rusty James"s gang includes the likes of Nicholas Cage (making his cinematic debut as Nicholas Coppola), the late/great Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne and bookish Vincent Spano, there"s rarely a rumble on screen, for this movie examines relationships: the brother"s alcoholic father (an on form Dennis Hopper), Rusty"s put upon girlfriend (Diane Lane), 'The Motrocycle Boys' junkie moll (Diana Scarwid) and the rumble fish of the title; a pair of Siamese fighting fish who provide an obvious metaphor, trapped as they are in the pet shop fighting their own reflection , these fish dazzle us as they swim into frame in glorious Technicolor, providing sharp and beautiful contrasts to the black and white print of the picture.
Rusty James is Paris and Patroclus to 'The Motorcycle Boy"s' Achilles and Hector, Rourke"s arrival on the scene marks the cut off point where this stops being a teen gang movie, and becomes a surrealist slow burn character study, that whilst always interesting, takes the movie into new, and initially disorientating, territory.
'Rumble Fish' is a mini-masterpiece in monochrome, that"s a must have for any film fan; I"d recommend buying the Special Edition (region 1) as you get a cache of deleted scenes, an insightful making of / cast interviews from the time and an informative director's commentary track by Coppola.
Wow. I'm gonna say that again for the effect. WOW. Capitals that time, see? I really wasn't expecting much from this film, I'll be honest. I heard bad reviews from the critics, and I'm a very fickle being, but it must be said - what do they know, really? They don't know me or you or the people that we know or the things that we know. They know themselves. I don't know these things either, but what I will say for myself is that I loved this film.
I'm going to take this simple analogy of the film critic here, forcing his/her ideas upon us, and translate it into something that marginally represents the future for us Brits according to this film, and truth be told it isn't pretty. Anyone who has read Nineteen Eighty-Four by the immortal George Orwell will certianly note the incredible similarities - totalitarian Britain rears its ugly head once more. However our hero is much more activist than old Geroge's Winston Smith. Known simply as "V" (played immaculately by the ever-impressive Hugo Weaving) and seen only ever wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, the sophisticated, suave and very eloquent gentleman you might see on the cover is seeking revenge, but mostly a future for his people, that is not burdoned by fear and overpowering intimidation. The other individual you might spot on the cover is Evey, who has the foundations of a successful activist, but requires a little help from V to realise herself and her true potential.
So the Wachowski brothers have taken the peg down a bit, don't they deserve to? It's true this film is no Matrix, but it is so successful in inspiring hope, inspiring a longing for freedom, for patriotism, for individuality, for choosing the right path, for fighting for the right casues and the right people, but especially for freeing yourself from fear. The film goes together excellently, and although nothing seems to be happening through the middle, I found myself not caring at all, and still very interested. The music is powerful and moving, and the climax is very well-fitting.
All in all I found the film very pleasurable indeed. I would tell thrill seekers to beware, it isn't action-packed, although there are some very impressive explosions and sword-fights, but generally I would recommend this film to anyone. It's a must-see, a must-have, a must-everything. Do yourself a big favour, and watch this film!
One thing I must comment on is how disgustingly Americans portray Britons. Seriously, one person calls "V" "chummey". Are they being serious? When the hell has anyone used that phrase in the history of mankind? Outrageous. But still...watch this film!
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