Friday, November 18, 2011

Mister Lonely

  • When a Michael Jackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris falls for a Marilyn Monroe impersonator (Samantha Morton) during a performance at a retirement home, the lovestruck pair retreats to a seaside castle in the Scottish highlands populated by a commune of reclusive impersonators. Earning a living can be a difficult endeavor in the City of Lights, and in order to make ends meet, one man
From Harmony Korine, screenwriter of Kids, comes a haunting portrait of life in small-town America. Through a collection of dreamlike and devastating images, Korine offers a glimpse of Xenia, Ohio, a world existing in the aftermath of a tornado.JULIEN DONKEY-BOY - DVD MovieFrom Harmony Korine, screenwriter of Kids, comes a haunting portrait of life in small-town America. Through a collection of dreamlike and devastating images, Korine offers a glimpse of Xenia, Ohio, a world existing in the aftermath! of a tornado.Filmmaker Larry Clark reunites with Kids screenwriter Harmony Korine, with some additional directorial assistance from cinematographer Ed Lachman, for this look at a group of troubled teens and their guardians living in Southern California. Ken Park takes its name from the skate park where an ancillary character takes his own life in the film's opening moments, and then proceeds to chronicle the somewhat-interrelated lives of his classmates.

The audience is introduced to Tate (James Ransome), a young man living in relative misery with his board-game-playing grandparents. Also tormented by his living situation is Claude (Stephen Jasso), a quiet, shy teen constantly henpecked by his brutish father (Wade Andrew Williams). Meanwhile, the vapid Shawn (James Bullard) occasionally trades verbal spars with his mother, in between leaving the house for erotic sessions with his girlfriend's mom. Finally there is Peaches (Tiffany Limos), living alone with her devoutly religious father as she covertly experiments with her boyfriend (Mike Apaletegui).

Though Ken Park played at such festivals as Toronto and Telluride in the fall of 2002, it would languish on the shelf for months and months afterward, as its non-commercial content made finding a U.S. distributor near-impossible.

Uncut & Uncensored Anamorphic (16:9) Widescreen Version
English 5.1 & Russian 5.1 Audio Options
Optional Russian SubtitlesMISTER LONELY - DVD MovieFollowing an eight-year hiatus, Harmony Korine returns triumphantly with Mister Lonely, a more traditionally structured drama than his previous experiments, Gummo and Julien Donkey Boy. First recognized for writing the Larry Clark film, Kids, Korine ruled the 1990s for expressing disenchanted youth. As his previous films focused on self-destructive characters, Mister Lonely is a departure though it still points to Korine's interest in the carnivalesque. In this far-fetched fairy tale, a Michael Jackson impersonator (Diego Luna) living in Paris is invited by a Marilyn Monroe look-alike (Samantha Morton) to join her commune of misfits in a remote Scottish castle. Upon arrival, Michael meets the likes of Charlie Chaplin (Denis Lavant), Abe Lincoln, Madonna, the Queen of England (Anita Pallenberg), and the Pope (James Fox), who is usually drunk. As a dark romance unfolds between Maril! yn and Michael, a second narrative involving missionary nuns in Panama unfolds, revealing stunning footage of them jumping out of planes sans parachutes to test faith. Their airplane is piloted by Father Umbrillo, played by Werner Herzog, who at this point could be called Korine's patron saint. The absurdist, comitragic plot challenges the viewer's suspension of disbelief, and is much less reality-based than Korine's previous movies. His filmic experiments work best when the nuns' story intertwine with the impersonators', presenting deep commentary on faith, embodying another person, and escapism. Throughout, rich color and costuming provide a visually provocative experience. As each film of Korine's is unique in structure and approach, Mister Lonely has been long anticipated and will prod fans to guess what Korine has up his sleeve next. --Trinie Dalton

Friday the 13th (Extended Killer Cut)

  • A man in search of his missing sister stumbles across a deadly secret in the woods surrounding Crystal Lake as Texas Chainsaw Massacre redux duo Michael Bay and Marcus Nispel resurrect one of the silver screen's most feared slashers -- machete-wielding, hockey mask-wearing madman Jason Voorhees. The last time Clay heard from his sister, she was headed toward Crystal Lake. There, amidst the creaky
Camp Crystal Lake has been shuttered for over 20 years due to several vicious and unsolved murders. The camp's new owner and seven young counselors are readying the property for re-opening despite warnings of a "death curse" by local residents. The curse proves true on Friday the 13th as one by one each of the counselors is stalked by a violent killer.If you thought a bigger budget and an A-list producer (Michael Bay) would go to Jason's head, well, forget it. The indestructible villain of so many bo! ttom-of-the-barrel shockers isn't about to change his shtick, and the 2009 Friday the 13th proves it. This, the umpteenth sequel (nope, it's not a remake of the origin story) to the original 1980 movie, gives us a clever prologue that manages to fit an entire Jason Voorhees killing spree in a brisk and bloody 20 minutes. Jumping ahead six weeks, the film introduces a carload of clueless teens headed for a weekend at a lakeside cabin, plus a lone motorcyclist (Jared Padalecki) in search of his missing sister (Amanda Righetti). When the "lakeside" happens to refer to Crystal Lake, of course, there can be only one outcome. Cue the hockey mask, and pass the machete. Bay and director Marcus Nispel, who collaborated on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, are surprisingly indifferent to changing up the formula this time, although there's more care taken in building up a few characters, and for once the comic relief (mostly supplied by Aaron Yoo and Arlen Escarpet! a) is pretty funny. You might even regret the slaughter of a c! ouple of these young folk, which is an unusual feeling in Friday-watching. The film's Jason is quite the athletic fellow, and he's assembled an elaborate underground corpse-hiding lair in the vicinity of Crystal Lake. How he's been able to live down there for 30 years (if the film's own timeline is to be believed) and had enough unwitting campers pass by to keep himself entertained is anybody's guess. But if they keep coming, he'll keep slashing. --Robert Horton

Also on the disc
The extended Killer Cut is 106 minutes compared to 97 for the theatrical cut, and it's hard to imagine choosing to watch the theatrical cut if you have a choice. In addition to some more of Amanda Righetti and of Jason, the extra nine minutes is mostly more gore in the gory scenes and more sex in the sexy scenes. If you're squeamish you might not want those things, but if you're that squeamish you probably don't want to watch Friday the 13th in the first place, right? Th! e longer cut will give you more of the stuff that you probably watch this movie for. There's also an 11-minute featurette on the new movie and three deleted scenes (a different version of Jason getting his mask, the police response to the phone call, and a revised climax). --David Horiuchi

Brooklyn's Finest

  • BROOKLYN'S FINEST (DVD MOVIE)
Something of a genre homecoming, Antoine Fuqua's latest film once again finds him delving into the gritty, brutal realm of cops and crooksâ€"as he did in Training Day. Tango is an undercover officer on a narcotics detail that forces him to choose between duty and friendship. Having been to hell and back, he wants out, but the powers that be won't let him quit. Family-man Sal is a detective tempted by greed and corruption. He can barely make ends meet, and now his wife has an illness that threatens the life of their unborn twins. Eddie is nearing retirement age and has long since lost his dedication to his job as a cop. He wakes up every morning trying to come up with a reason to go on living...and he can't think of one. Fate brings the three men to the same Brooklyn housing project as each takes the law into his own hands. Crosscutting between multiple s! ubplots, Brooklyn's Finest unfolds violently and passionately as coiled, constantly roving cinematography contributes a measure of unease to the underworld action.Fans of the grit of HBO's The Wire, as well as of the mean-streets story intersection plot of Crash, will find a lot to like in the intense crime drama Brooklyn's Finest. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) with a sure hand, Brooklyn's Finest follows three NYPD cops who come from very different places (geographically and personally) as their lives, and the compromises they have made daily to coexist with the mean streets of Brooklyn, dovetail to a climax that will have viewers on the edge of their seats. Fuqua has assembled a stellar cast here, including Richard Gere, a veteran cop just a week from retirement; the always amazing Don Cheadle, an undercover officer whose loyalties to the force may be compromised by his growing loyalties to the groups he's in! filtrating; and the film's true revelation, Ethan Hawke, a you! ng corru pt cop whose morals make the stomach turn, though Hawke's performance is nuanced and riveting. Supporting cast members include Wesley Snipes as a badass gangster whom even the police have second thoughts about messing with. Other great performances are turned in by Vincent D'Onofrio, whose wooden delivery works here to make his character all the more menacing; Lili Taylor; and a ravishing, world-weary Ellen Barkin. The action is propelled along by the great performances, the excellent cinematography, Fuqua's deft direction, and the moody score by Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos. If the plot is a little far-fetched, even for a crime drama, the stellar performances more than make up for it, making Brooklyn's Finest one of Fuqua's, and certainly Hawke's, finest.

Divine Intervention

High Crimes

  • ISBN13: 9780312378820
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Ashley Judd stars as Claire Kubik, a high-powered attorney whose perfect life comes down when her husband is charged with high crimes of murder. Enlisting the aid of a shrewd military lawyer (Morgan Freeman), Claire will risk her career and even her life to find the truth in this "head-snapping thriller" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).A welcomed reunion of Kiss the Girls costars Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman makes High Crimes a worthwhile thriller with vivid, likable characters. Efficiently directed by Carl Franklin, this military mystery doesn't have the unpredictable edginess of Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress, but its twisting plot is sure to hold anyone's attention. Judd plays ! a successful, happily married lawyer whose husband (Jim Caviezel) is accused of killing innocent citizens during his military service in El Salvador some 13 years earlier. A cover-up implicates a powerful Brigadier General (Bruce Davison), but when Judd hires a maverick attorney (Freeman), Judd is caught in a potentially lethal trap of threats and deception. Attentive viewers will stay ahead of the action, and alleged villains are posed as obvious decoys. Still, Judd and Freeman have an appealing rapport (shared with Amanda Peet, playing Judd's vivacious sister), and Freeman's character flaws add worldly spice to yet another rich performance. --Jeff ShannonAshley Judd stars as Claire Kubik, a high-powered attorney whose perfect life comes down when her husband is charged with high crimes of murder. Enlisting the aid of a shrewd military lawyer (Morgan Freeman), Claire will risk her career and even her life to find the truth in this "head-snapping thriller" (Milwaukee! Journal Sentinel).A welcomed reunion of Kiss the Girls! costars Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman makes High Crimes a worthwhile thriller with vivid, likable characters. Efficiently directed by Carl Franklin, this military mystery doesn't have the unpredictable edginess of Franklin's Devil in a Blue Dress, but its twisting plot is sure to hold anyone's attention. Judd plays a successful, happily married lawyer whose husband (Jim Caviezel) is accused of killing innocent citizens during his military service in El Salvador some 13 years earlier. A cover-up implicates a powerful Brigadier General (Bruce Davison), but when Judd hires a maverick attorney (Freeman), Judd is caught in a potentially lethal trap of threats and deception. Attentive viewers will stay ahead of the action, and alleged villains are posed as obvious decoys. Still, Judd and Freeman have an appealing rapport (shared with Amanda Peet, playing Judd's vivacious sister), and Freeman's character flaws add worldly spice to yet another rich performance. --Jeff Sha! nnon

"The perfect follow-up to Krakauer's riveting account of a perfect storm."
--Miami Herald

"Kodas's absorbing description of the narrow moral compass governing human interaction at the top of the world is bound to shock both armchair adventurers and seasoned mountaineers."
--Chicago Tribune

"(Kodas) discovered more deceit, thievery, and double-crossing among his climbers than you find in a Martin Scorsese gangster film. High Crimes is both an adventure story and an exposé of a sport riddled with danger and corruption."
--Washington Post Book World

"Kodas's descriptions of the struggles confronting even the best-prepared climbers leave the reader breathless."
--Dallas Morning News

"[High Crimes] is hair-raising and lays bare the excitement and fear that face great explorers at the top of the world. . . . Well written, and as deftly plotted as the finest mystery! novel, Kodas brings to life a disturbing picture of society a! t high a ltitude."
--Austin Chronicle

"Kodas does an excellent job exposing the ways in which money and ego have corrupted the traditional cultures of both mountaineers and their Sherpa guides. . . . His narrative is as hard to turn away from as a slow-motion train wreck."
--Publishers Weekly

High Crimes is journalist Michael Kodas's gripping account of life on top of the world--where man is every bit as deadly as Mother Nature.

Meet Claire Heller Chapman. A criminal defense attorney who’s made a name for herself by taking onâ€"and winningâ€"the toughest cases, Claire still manages to have a relatively calm life as a Harvard Law School professor, devoted wife, and proud mother to six-year-old Annie. Until one night, when the family is out having dinner, a team of government agents bursts onto the scene…heading straight for Claire’s husband.

Tom Chapman has been arrested for an atrocious crime he swe! ars he did not commit. Claire is desperate to believe himâ€"and prove his innocenceâ€"even when she learns that Tom once had a different name. And a different face. Now, in a top-secret court-martial conducted by the Pentagon, Claire will put everything on the line to defend the man she loves. But as the evidence keeps piling up, the less she knows who her husband really is…and the more he appears to be a cold-blooded murderer.

When (not if---the deal has already been signed) this terrific thriller gets made into a movie, you might see Morgan Freeman as a crusty lawyer who specializes in taking on the military establishment tell the actress playing ace Boston barrister and Harvard Law professor Claire Heller Chapman, "Every civilian who's ever gone into a military general court-martial and tried to attack the foundations of the military has lost his case. No exceptions. The military is a tight, closed fraternity. They take it real ! serious. Military justice is a deadly serious business." Cla! ire has to realize this as she prepares to defend her husband--the man she knows as Tom Chapman, but who the Army says is Ron Kubik-- on charges that he took part in a massacre of 87 civilians in San Salvador 13 years before. Full of doubts about Tom's innocence and her own ability to prove it in an unfamiliar arena, Claire is brought to exciting, moving life by the extravagantly gifted Joseph Finder, whose previous thrillers (Extraordinary Powers, The Zero Hour) are available in paperback.

Battle in Seattle

  • In November of 1999, Seattle broke into a full-scale state of emergency as thousands of peaceful protestors gathered in resistance to the World Trade Organization. The city s mayor, a SWAT cop on the streets and his pregnant wife, and four demonstrators are caught in the crossfire as their lives intersect in the ensuing riots. Stuart Townsend, in his debut writing and directing role, seamlessly me
In November of 1999, Seattle broke into a full-scale state of emergency as thousands of peaceful protestors gathered in resistance to the World Trade Organization. The city?s mayor, a SWAT cop on the streets and his pregnant wife, and four demonstrators are caught in the crossfire as their lives intersect in the ensuing riots. Stuart Townsend, in his debut writing and directing role, seamlessly merges actual footage of the devastating chaos with brilliant performances.
For five days in 1999, all! eyes were on Seattle. Irish actor Stuart Townsend makes his directorial debut with a multi-character recreation of the World Trade Organization’s ill-fated U.S. conference. If the structure recalls Crash and Babel, Townsend intensifies the you-are-there quality through well-integrated archival footage. The docudrama opens with the arrival of a group of anti-globalization activists, led by Jay (The Ring's Martin Henderson), whose compatriots include Lou (Lost's Michelle Rodriguez) and Django (Outkast's André "3000" Benjamin, who provides a welcome dose of humor). As fictional Mayor Jim Tobin (Ray Liotta, wearing a touch too much eyeliner) tries to maintain order, TV reporter Jean (Connie Nielsen) strives for objectivity, police officer Woody Harrelson attempts to carry out the mayor's orders, and Dale's pregnant wife, Ella (Charlize Theron, Townsend's real-life girlfriend), just hopes to make it home in one piece (she gets stuck downtown at th! e height of the skirmish). Townsend admits he was inspired by ! Mediu m Cool, which filmmaker Haskell Wexler shot during 1968's Democratic National Convention. Paul Greengrass's Bloody Sunday also seems like a possible influence, and Greengrass regular Barry Ackroyd serves as cinematographer. If the characters rarely come alive the way they should, the action sequences easily convince, which is particularly impressive considering the bulk of filming took place in nearby Vancouver, B.C. A true labor of love, Battle in Seattle presents a more balanced view than most accounts to date--even if Townsend ultimately (and understandably) sides with the peaceful protesters and passionate Third World representatives. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Air Bud - Golden Receiver

  • The creators of the original Air Bud score once again with this hilarious heartwarming hit! This time out, Buddy, the hoop-shooting, hotshot canine, tackles a new sport-football. When his teenage owner reluctantly becomes the school s new quarterback, Buddy catches the spirit and joins the team. Soon the two find themselves leading the Timberwolves to the state championship. But victory hopes a
The creators of the original AIR BUD score once again with this all-new, hilarious heartwarming hit! This time out, Buddy, the hoop-shooting, hotshot canine, tackles a new sport -- football. When his teenage owner reluctantly becomes the school's new quarterback, Buddy catches the spirit and joins the team. Soon, the two find themselves leading the Timberwolves to the state championship. But victory hopes are sidelined when two sinister Russian circus owners take a bite out of everyone's plans and dogn! ap Buddy for their star attraction. So give three cheers for Disney's AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER. Full of outrageous fun and adventure, it goes the whole nine yards for family fun.If a pig can herd sheep, then the field is wide open for animals with unusual talents, and not just on Letterman's Late Show, either. Buddy, the golden retriever who made an unexpected hit in the initial Air Bud (1997), shows just how far you can stretch one joke over the course of two movies. Which isn't as far as the makers hoped, unfortunately. While the first film--about a performing dog who runs away from an abusive clown, befriends a lonely boy, and becomes a basketball star--had its charms, this one pushes the gag to the limit. This time, Buddy the dog learns to play football, even as he foils a plan by an international group of thieves to steal animals and start their own zoo. This is one that will hold the kids' attention while the adults do something else, at ease in the kno! wledge that their children are watching an innocuously enterta! ining mo vie. --Marshall FineThe creators of the original AIR BUD score once again with this all-new, hilarious heartwarming hit! This time out, Buddy, the hoop-shooting, hotshot canine, tackles a new sport -- football. When his teenage owner reluctantly becomes the school's new quarterback, Buddy catches the spirit and joins the team. Soon, the two find themselves leading the Timberwolves to the state championship. But victory hopes are sidelined when two sinister Russian circus owners take a bite out of everyone's plans and dognap Buddy for their star attraction. So give three cheers for Disney's AIR BUD: GOLDEN RECEIVER. Full of outrageous fun and adventure, it goes the whole nine yards for family fun.If a pig can herd sheep, then the field is wide open for animals with unusual talents, and not just on Letterman's Late Show, either. Buddy, the golden retriever who made an unexpected hit in the initial Air Bud (1997), shows just how far you can stretch one jok! e over the course of two movies. Which isn't as far as the makers hoped, unfortunately. While the first film--about a performing dog who runs away from an abusive clown, befriends a lonely boy, and becomes a basketball star--had its charms, this one pushes the gag to the limit. This time, Buddy the dog learns to play football, even as he foils a plan by an international group of thieves to steal animals and start their own zoo. This is one that will hold the kids' attention while the adults do something else, at ease in the knowledge that their children are watching an innocuously entertaining movie. --Marshall Fine

Cheri

  • Brand new DVD
Stephen Frears… makes thoroughly professional and immensely entertaining stories that pay particular attention to characters, their flaws, emotions and deepest desires. In Cheri, he has another dandy.  The chemistry between Pfeiffer and Friend is positively combustible. One feels the hunger in each, the rising physical passion and emotional vulnerability in two people who, if asked, would scorn love as a human weakness.

Darius Khondji’s mood-catching cinematography, Consolata Boyle’s eye-catching costumes and Alan MacDonald’s gorgeous sets are all entertainment in themselves. But the greatest contribution comes from composer Alexandre Desplat whose nostalgic, romantic, melancholy score evokes the period perfectly.
                                                                  !                                           - Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

Filled with luxurious gowns and lush grounds, Stephen Frears's Colette adaptation depicts an affair too perfect to last. Parisian courtesan Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer) retains her good looks and has invested her earnings wisely, so her colleague, Madame Peloux (Kathy Bates), persuades Lea to celebrate the inception of her retirement by teaching the Madame’s self-centered son, Chéri (Rupert Friend, recalling T.Rex's tousle-haired Marc Bolan), how to treat a lady. Lea, who has known Chéri his entire life, has genuine affection for the unformed lad, although, as she quips, "I can't criticize his character, mainly because he doesn't seem to have one." To her surprise, their weekend in Normandy turns into a six-year-relationship. Then, Madame Peloux announces that she has found an appropriate 18-year-old bride for her now-reformed 25-ye! ar-old boy. Afraid to admit the depth of their feelings for ea! ch other , the duo grudgingly goes along with the plan since Belle Époque society demands that a proper gentleman marry a proper lady, and Lea realizes that matrimony to a man half her age isn't an option. But real love--even the co-dependent kind--can't be banished quite so easily as a bad habit. Frears and Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton, adapting Chéri and The Last of Chéri, previously collaborated with Pfeiffer on Dangerous Liaisons, but their reunion is a comparatively somber affair that comes recommended more for fans of the actress, who gives the role her all, than for fans of the filmmaker, whose direction feels perfunctory, particularly during the blink-and-you'll-miss-it epilogue. --Kathleen C. Fennessy