Saturday, December 31, 2011

Harsh Times

  • (Action) Bale stars as an ex-Army Ranger who finds himself slipping back into his old life of petty crime and booze after a job offer from the LAPD evaporates. Honorable discharged, Homeland Security wants to recruit him for some special ops in Central America, but first he has to pass a urine test.which proves difficult. Film directorial debut for Ayer who has written such box office hits as TRA
(Action) Bale stars as an ex-Army Ranger who finds himself slipping back into his old life of petty crime and booze after a job offer from the LAPD evaporates. Honorable discharged, Homeland Security wants to recruit him for some special ops in Central America, but first he has to pass a urine test...which proves difficult. Film directorial debut for Ayer who has written such box office hits as TRAINING DAY, U-571 and THE FAST AND THE FURIOUSBleak as its South Central Los Angeles setting, Harsh T! imes is like a suicidal vortex swallowing men who ought to know better but can't stop their self-destruction. Christian Bale stars as Jim Davis, a stressed-out, former Army Ranger who becomes a very bad influence on his weak-willed buddy, Mike Alvarez (Freddy Rodriguez of Six Feet Under). Together the two meander through streets at night, getting drunk and stoned, finding trouble for its own sake and inviting danger as a ritual of machismo bonding. Mike's wife, Sylvia (Eva Longoria), a lawyer whom Mike, working as a telemarketer, put through school, is repelled by Jim and watches in pain as her spouse chooses a downward spiral over renewal and redemption with her. When Jim's application to join the L.A. police is turned down, he leads Mike into pure anarchy. An impractical change of fortune doesn't help any, and first-time director David Ayer, who wrote the screenplay for Harsh Times years before his script for Training Day, goes to some lengths, dr! amatically and visually, to convey Jim's unhinged condition. T! he drear iness of it all, and a sense that Bale has constructed--but not exactly lived in--another in his gallery of lost, misfit souls, makes it hard to connect with this film. Still, it is hard to turn away from these desperate and dangerous characters. --Tom Keogh

Catfish in Black Bean Sauce

  • PG-13
  • 119 mins.
  • 2001
In late 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost sensed a story unfolding as they began to film the life of Ariel's brother, Nev. They had no idea that their project would lead to the most exhilarating and unsettling months of their lives. A reality thriller that is a shocking product of our times, Catfish is a riveting story of love, deception and grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.The slipperiness of truth and lies on the Internet gets played out in unexpected ways in the documentary Catfish. When Nev Schulman receives a painting based on a photograph of his from an 8-year-old girl named Abby in Michigan, he doesn't realize this is going to lead to a long-distance romance with Abby's older sister Megan… and that this romance, conducted over the phone and the Internet, will lead to something far more troubling. It woul! d be unfair to reveal more details of Catfish, as the process of discovery is one of its pleasures--but even if you do know the sequence of events, the movie's ultimate reward is not the revelation of secrets but the surprising and very human interactions of the movie's last third. While there is a thriller aspect to the movie--and the suspense at points is indeed nail biting--the revelation isn't the bang that Hollywood movies lead you to expect. Instead, Catfish turns sad, unsettling, and sure to inspire arguments about motivations and human nature. --Bret FetzerStudio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/04/2011 Run time: 88 minutes Rating: Pg13The slipperiness of truth and lies on the Internet gets played out in unexpected ways in the documentary Catfish. When Nev Schulman receives a painting based on a photograph of his from an 8-year-old girl named Abby in Michigan, he doesn't realize this is going to lead to a long-distance romance wi! th Abby's older sister Megan… and that this romance, conduct! ed over the phone and the Internet, will lead to something far more troubling. It would be unfair to reveal more details of Catfish, as the process of discovery is one of its pleasures--but even if you do know the sequence of events, the movie's ultimate reward is not the revelation of secrets but the surprising and very human interactions of the movie's last third. While there is a thriller aspect to the movie--and the suspense at points is indeed nail biting--the revelation isn't the bang that Hollywood movies lead you to expect. Instead, Catfish turns sad, unsettling, and sure to inspire arguments about motivations and human nature. --Bret Fetzer
For years, catfish have taken a backseat to more glamorous species like largemouth bass and walleyes. But times have changed. Today, nearly 10 million anglers wet a line hoping to do battle with a monster cat. Learn how to catch bigger catfish than ever before.

This book is a comprehensive look at the world of ! catfish. Beginning with the biology of catfish, Author Keith Sutton then follows with the where-to and how-to information that will lead to successful fishing. Beyond locating fish and rig & tackle techniques, there's even a section on cleaning and cooking your catfish.

Dwayne and his sister are Vietnamese siblings who were adopted by an African-American couple. Now in their mid-20s, they both have chosen different paths, but when they learn that their biological mother is coming to Los Angeles, they eagerly await the reunion. This drama is both funny and moving in an emotionally rewarding journey through the tapestry of one group of immigrants searching for what it means to call themselves a family.

Cowboys & Angels

The Sword in the Stone (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

  • SWORD IN THE STONE, THE GOLD COLLECTION (DVD MOVIE)
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story is an intimate journey through the lives of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, the astoundingly prolific, Academy Award®-winning songwriting team that defined family musical entertainment for five decades with unforgettable songs like “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocous” from Mary Poppins, “I Wanna Be Like You” from The Jungle Book and the most translated song ever written "It’s a Small World (After All)" from the Disneyland attraction.  The feature-length documentary, conceived, produced and directed by two of the songwriters’ sons, take audiences behind the scenes of the Hollywood magic factory and offers a rate glimpse of a unique creative process at work.  It also explores a deep and longstanding rift that has kept the brothers personally estranged throughout much of their unpa! ralleled professional partnershipWhat songwriters' tunes have been covered by John Coltrane, Annette Funicello, Ringo Starr, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Louis Prima, and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, among others? Consider yourself an expert if your answer is Robert and Richard Sherman, whose long, fruitful, and often contentious partnership is chronicled in The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story. The fact that this documentary by directors Jeff and Gregory Sherman (sons of Robert and Richard, respectively) was released under the imprimatur of the Walt Disney Company, for whom "the Boys" did their most renowned work, is an indication that this isn't exactly a hard-hitting exposé; although the estrangement between Bob and Dick, as they were known, isn't ignored ("We perpetrated a façade for 50 years," says one), far more attention is given to the music. That's precisely as it should be. Talking heads like Van Dyke, Andrews, Randy Newman, Ben Stiller, and Hayley Mills! help tell the tale of lyricist Bob and composer Dick, who wer! e themse lves the sons of a successful songwriter, Al Sherman. They began writing together in the early '50s, scored a hit with Funicello's "Tall Paul" late in that decade (Annette is also seen here singing "Monkey's Uncle," backed by none other than the Beach Boys), and soon became staff writers for Walt Disney. Major successes followed, including an Oscar-winning score for Mary Poppins and songs for The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and others; they also wrote pop hits like "You're Sixteen" (a hit for Ringo in the '70s), and can take credit (or blame, depending on one's point of view) for "It's a Small World," one of the planet's most ubiquitous songs. The documentary has its flaws--it's overlong at 102 minutes, and the brothers' eventual estrangement, which continues to this day, is attributed to their opposite personalities (Bob, who served in World War II, is quieter and more dour than his volatile younger brother) but not really expla! ined. Still, the music, and there's lots of it, is very well handled, especially in a terrific bonus feature called "Sherman Brothers Jukebox," which details the creation of several Sherman classics. --Sam GrahamRICHARD M. SHERMAN and ROBERT B. SHERMAN - They were hired by Walt Disney himself as his first and only staff songwriters. Their music has been an important part of motion pictures, theme park attractions, television productions, records, compact discs and Broadway shows - entertaining millions of people all over the world. Presented here are 59 songs highlighting The Sherman Brothers' incredibly prolific Disney years - from Annette's 1959 hit "Tall Paul" to their work from The Tigger Movie in 2000. Newly restored with the latest digital technology, this collection features not only their landmark hits from Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh, The Jungle Book, and "it's a small world", but a number of their other classics - many available for the first time! on CD. Their voluminous repertoire is only matched by their ! musical versatility - composing in styles from Rock 'n Roll and English Music Hall to Samba and March. These genres and more are represented as we travel through the Sherman Brothers' Disney career from the very beginning. The extensive Liner Notes reveal the stories behind the songs; illustrated with candid photos of the Shermans at work, and with the star-studded gallery of artists who performed their classic songs. Artists such as - Annette Funicello Fred MacMurray Tommy Sands Maureen O'Hara Hayley Mills Maurice Chevalier Burl Ives Rex Allen Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Annette and The Beach Boys Louis Prima Tommy Steele Lesley Ann Warren John Davidson Ann Shelton Louis Armstrong The Mike Sammes Singers Angela Lansbury Kenny Loggins Walt Disney

Also included are three Bonus Tracks from the 1969 Disneyland Records recordings of "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", "Hushabye Mountain", and "Me Ol' Bamboo" performed by by The Mike Sammes Singers. The Sherman Brothers ! wrote the soundtrack to our lives - more than you may even know. It is certain, that as you listen, you will inevitably find yourself saying, "They wrote that too?" Yes, they did. * 2 CD set * 59 tracks total * 26 rare tracks * 6 tracks - first time on CD * 3 Bonus Tracks from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - first time on CD * Newly restored with the latest digital technology * Artists - Annette Funicello Fred MacMurray Tommy Sands Maureen O'Hara Hayley Mills Maurice Chevalier Burl Ives Rex Allen Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Annette and The Beach Boys Louis Prima Tommy Steele Lesley Ann Warren John Davidson Ann Shelton Louis Armstrong The Mike Sammes Singers Angela Lansbury Kenny Loggins Walt Disney * Extensive Liner Notes chronicling the Sherman Brothers' Disney Career * Behind-the-scenes photos * Songs from - Annette The Absent-minded Professor The Parent Trap The Wonderful World of Color The Horsemasters In Search of the Castaways Summer Ma! gic Disneyland The 1954 World's Fair Mary Poppins The Monk! ey's Unc le That Darn Cat Winnie the Pooh The Jungle Book The Happiest Millionaire The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band Chitty Chtty Bang Bang The Aristocats Bedknobs and Broomsticks EPCOT Tokyo Disneyland The Tigger Movie * Over 2 and a half hours of total playing timeAt the height of Beatlemania, the Disney folks were teaching kids how to really swing with this soundtrack to their adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Of course, it's Phil Harris (the voice of everyone's favorite hipster bear Baloo) who steals the show with the original slacker anthem, "The Bare Necessities," but his scat match with an inspired Louis Prima on "I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" is also not to be missed. Songwriters Richard and Robert Sherman--who clearly enjoyed playing the irony card on songs like "Trust in Me (The Python's Song)" and "That's What Friends Are For" (The Vulture Song)"--offer entertaining reminiscences about the project in a 12-minute bon! us track. George Bruns's wonderful underscore, a couple early song demos, and two post-soundtrack Baloo numbers round out a collection that suggests, in the most charming way imaginable, that it really is a jungle out there. --Bill FormanThey built their home on the timeless mountain that bears their name. They built their lives on even stronger stuff: the bedrock of family. This 5-disc set features all 24 Year-One episodes of the beloved series that ran 9 years and won 5 Emmy Awards its inaugural year, including Outstanding Drama Series. Richard Thomas plays the key role of John-Boy Walton, a youth on the verge of manhood during the Great Depression and a fledgling writer whose observations are filled with the growing-up lessons and love he receives from father John, mother Olivia, Grandma, Grandpa and all the rest of The Waltons.The Waltons' nearly 10-year run on network television grew out of the popular, 1971 made-for-TV movie The Homecoming, which ! was derived from a Depression-era, rustic setting ("Walton's M! ountain" ), and characters based on Earl Hamner Jr.'s autobiographical novel Spencer's Mountain--itself the source for a very nice 1963 feature film starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara. That's a lot of entertainment sprouting from Hamner's prose. But something about his seminal story of family values, rugged independence, and big dreams amidst a hardscrabble existence captured the hearts of American audiences, many of whom personally recalled severe economic adversity in the 1930s.

The Waltons: The Complete First Season collects those initial episodes from the series building on the strengths of the Homecoming pilot, which introduced the extended Walton clan led by a strong-willed mill owner, John (Andrew Duggan), and his equally resolute wife, Olivia (Patricia Neal). The Waltons recast those key roles (as well as a few others) with Ralph Waite and Michael Learned (yup, a female), but Richard Thomas carried over as oldest child John-Boy Walton, a! n aspiring writer whose cusp-of-manhood view informs the series. Will Geer (Seconds) replaced Edgar Bergen as Grandpa Walton, Ellen Corby remained as Grandma, and John and Olivia's large brood (seven kids in all) were filled out by largely unknown, young actors. The episodes, still delightful and touching, strong on production values and unusually tight and polished for primetime drama, tended to focus on creator Hamner's pet themes of self-sacrifice and heroic effort when the going got tough.

Year 1 highlights include "The Carnival," in which the impoverished Waltons, who can't pay for tickets to see a circus performance, end up sheltering stranded carney folk. "The Typewriter" is a classic about John-Boy "borrowing" a museum's antique typewriter, only to have his sister Mary Ellen (Judy Norton) sell it as junk. "The Sinner" concerns the arrival of a fundamentalist minister on Walton's Mountain, finding comfort in the words of religious iconoclast John Walton a! fter the clergyman makes a fool of himself with moonshine. Tha! t's Hamn er himself providing touches of narration. During the long run of the multiple-award-winning The Waltons, there were many changes in casting and storylines. But this boxed set reveals a fine series in its pristine state. --Tom KeoghDazzling color and brilliant animation bring the medieval legend of King Arthur to life in THE SWORD IN THE STONE. With a forest full of charm, spectacle, and wizardry, Disney's classic tale conjures up delightful entertainment for all ages! England is in the midst of a dark age and without a proper king, Young "Wart," an orphan and squire-in-training, is content with kitchen duties in his foster home -- until he drops in on the extraordinary wizard Merlin and his articulate owl, Archimedes. Through three life lessons, Wart learns to set his "sights on the heights," armed with the most powerful forces on earth -- intellect, wisdom, and love. When it's time to contest who will be king, Wart must use his newfound knowledge to do what n! o mighty knight has done before! Join in all the magical marvels that make THE SWORD IN THE STONE a classic animated film and pure Disney gold!Based upon T.H. White's beloved novel, this Disney-fied version chronicles the tutoring of the Once and Future King, Arthur, as handled by the magician Merlin. Sword was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upbraiding storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. But there's much to enjoy here as Merlin shows Newt, the young Arthur, things that will help him become the ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird, and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with the mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it belies the problem with most of the film--the scenes are only there for the chuckles. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. ! Children will like it, but they won't cherish it. --Keith S! imanton< /i>

Friday, December 30, 2011

The Heartbreak Kid (Widescreen Edition)

  • Rechargeable model, with FREE keychain!
It's the week of Wrestlemania, an event that began the same year as Shawn Michaels' decorated career, an annual spectacular that The Heartbreak Kid seized time after time as his personal stage of excellence. Such a grand setting could not be more appropriate for WWE’s one and only Showstopper to add "Mr. Hall of Fame" to his myriad monikers.

 

From his debut in 1984 to his final WWE match in 2010, the world has seen Michaels allure audiences and perform like no other entertainer in history. But that's inside the ring. What if you could walk beside the incomparable Heartbreak Kid outside the squared circle, beyond the curtain and spend four days with the man living a boyhood dream?

  Diary of a Heartbreak Kid shadows Shawn Michaels for an immensely poignant occasion of reflection, introspection and celebration as The Heartbreak Kid ! is inducted into the esteemed WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 2, 2011.

 In a moment-to-moment narrative, Diary captures the raw emotions and unfiltered candor of The Heartbreak Kid as he's reunited with family, friends and a veritable who's who of squared circle lore â€" Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Ric Flair, The Rock, Vince McMahon â€" all of whom have crossed and shaped Michaels' path to the Hall of Fame.

  With his beautiful wife, two jubilant children, time tested faith and nearly three decades of four-cornered memories, the retired Michaels steps back into the warmth of the limelight during the weekend of WWE's grandest extravaganza to experience the greatest honor in sports-entertainment. And with Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, you're riding shotgun.

It's the week of Wrestlemania, an event that began the same year as Shawn Michaels' decorated career, an annual spectacular that The Heartbreak Kid seized time after time as his per! sonal stage of excellence. Such a grand setting could not be m! ore appr opriate for WWE’s one and only Showstopper to add "Mr. Hall of Fame" to his myriad monikers.

 

From his debut in 1984 to his final WWE match in 2010, the world has seen Michaels allure audiences and perform like no other entertainer in history. But that's inside the ring. What if you could walk beside the incomparable Heartbreak Kid outside the squared circle, beyond the curtain and spend four days with the man living a boyhood dream?

  Diary of a Heartbreak Kid shadows Shawn Michaels for an immensely poignant occasion of reflection, introspection and celebration as The Heartbreak Kid is inducted into the esteemed WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 2, 2011.

 In a moment-to-moment narrative, Diary captures the raw emotions and unfiltered candor of The Heartbreak Kid as he's reunited with family, friends and a veritable who's who of squared circle lore â€" Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Ric Flair, The Rock, Vince McMahon â€" all of wh! om have crossed and shaped Michaels' path to the Hall of Fame.

  With his beautiful wife, two jubilant children, time tested faith and nearly three decades of four-cornered memories, the retired Michaels steps back into the warmth of the limelight during the weekend of WWE's grandest extravaganza to experience the greatest honor in sports-entertainment. And with Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, you're riding shotgun.

More and more American children are emotionally hurt early in life and cannot form the relationships necessary to heal themselves. The cost to America as these children become adults is beyond estimation. This book takes a hard-hitting look at our society's key role in creating uncontrollable, unreachable young people and the no-nonsense steps we absolutely must take toward a genuine solution.Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/06/2008 Run time: 115 minutes Rating: RBen Stiller and the Farrelly brothers bring out the best in each other. ! In The Heartbreak Kid, Stiller plays Eddie Cantrow, who! --persua ded by his father and friends that he's commitment-phobic--marries a gorgeous and seemingly ideal woman named Lila (Malin Akerman, The Brothers Solomon) that he's been dating for several weeks. But after the wedding, things start to go awry... the least of these being that on their honeymoon, Eddie meets a woman who might truly be the girl of his dreams (Michelle Monaghan, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang). As in There's Something About Mary, writers/directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly push Stiller away from his increasingly schticky "tense guy" persona and draw out his sweeter, more multilayered earnest side. On his end, Stiller provides a human core to what could just be a festival of raunch and absurdity (the movie features aroused donkeys, deviated septum jokes, and digitally-enhanced body hair, among other items of questionable taste). It only takes a quick comparison with Jim Carrey in Me, Myself & Irene or Jack Black in Shallow Hal to see what a s! urprisingly delicate balance that is. The Heartbreak Kid may not be quite as wildly sublime as There's Something About Mary, but it comes extremely close, with kudos to Akerman for her unrestrained nuttiness. --Bret Fetzer

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Constantine (Widescreen Edition)

  • Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, Constantine tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons
Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, Constantine tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic! series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:18 minutes of additional scenes
Alternate endings

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the ! plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up! and che er when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! --Jeff Shannon

The Grind

  • Mobsters, Hot Girls, Grifters and Action all in one movie!Luke (C. Thomas Howell), a seedy grifter who owes money to the Mexican Mob cooks up one final scheme to pay off his debt getting local loan shark, Chuck (Tom Sizemore) to advance him cash to start a Hot All-Girl Website! Now saddled with two debts, one idea and no skills, Luke ropes his only two friends, Courtney (Tanya Allen) and Josh (Twi
EXTREME SKATEBOARDING ACTION! THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD AND THE BOARD MEETS THE RAIL IN THIS HIGH-ENERGY COMEDY ABOUT FOUR PALS FROM CHICAGO WHO PUT EVERYDAY LIFE ON HOLD AND SET OUT ON A CROSS COUNTRY TRIP TO BECOME PROFESSIONAL SKATEBOARDER.A hilarious road trip comedy. Four skaters follow the summer tour of a skateboard star, pulling tricks and tearing it up in their wild attempts to get noticed and grab a sponsor.This wild comedy is an intoxicating mix of mountain-high hilarity and radical win! ter sports action! For snowboarders Rick (Jason London -- DAZED AND CONFUSED), Luke (Zach Galifianakis -- BUBBLE BOY), and their buddies, life at the Bull Mountain ski area is about partying hard, looking for girls, and doing anything for a good time! But when the town's founder dies, his son decides to sell the mountain to a sleazy developer (Lee Majors -- TV's SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) who's intent on turning Bull Mountain into a slick yuppie ski resort! Featuring outrageous stunts by real-life snowboarding champions like Todd Richards, Rio Tahara, Tara Dakides, Devun Walsh, and Rob "Sluggo" Boyce -- and a red-hot soundtrack -- it's an avalanche of laughs as the guys do whatever it takes to save their mountain.Out Cold, which looks like it would be nothing more than a spectacular series of snowboarding stunts, is actually a homage to Casablanca set on a rustic Alaskan ski slope called Bull Mountain. Rick (Jason London from Dazed and Confused), who hopes! to run Bull Mountain, can't forget about Anna, the French gir! l he rom anced while vacationing in Mexico. When a ruthless developer (Lee Majors, star of The Six Million Dollar Man) wants to turn the rough-and-tumble site into a sleek, tourist-friendly resort named Snownook, Rick discovers that Anna is the developer's daughter. Will he be seduced to the dark side by love and ambition? Alongside scenes "borrowed" from Casablanca, there's an abundance of high jinks with Rick's slacker snow buddies, cute girls (including Playmate of the Year Victoria Silvstedt), and some pretty amazing snowboarding sequences. Dumb but good-natured fun, and Majors clearly enjoys himself as the bad guy. --Bret Fetzer Recently paroled Eddie (Billy Crudup) shows up on the doorstep of his brother Terry and his wife Janey, irrevocably altering their lives forever. LORDS OF DOGTOWN tells the radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports foreve! r. Stacy Peralta (John Robinson, Elephant), Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas) and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch, The Girl Next Door) are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (thirteen) and written by Stacy Peralta, Lords of Dogtown is "...a dazzling daredevil ride." (Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE)Lords of Dogtown captures the sheer kinetic joy of skateboarding like no other movie (except, perhaps, Dogtown and Z Boys, a documentary about the very skateboarders this movie depicts). Set in the mid-1970s in Venice, CA--a.k.a. Dogtown--the movie starts with three young aspiring surfers turned skateboarders: Stacy (John Robinson, Elephant), Jay (Emile Hirsch, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys), and Tony (Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas). When alpha-! stoner Skip (Heath Ledger, A Knight's Tale) recognizes ! the pote ntial of skateboarding as a new sport, his surf shop becomes the center of the boys' universe. They swiftly rise as skateboarding stars and find their brotherhood threatened by sex, money, fame, and ego--it's a common enough story, but director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) has a gift for capturing the raw messiness of life. Lords of Dogtown seems to unfold haphazardly, yet every scene moves the increasingly dizzy rise (or fall) of each skater forward with headlong momentum. The excellent cast includes Rebecca De Mornay (Risky Business), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass: The Movie), and Nikki Reed (Thirteen). Lords of Dogtown, written by skater Stacy Peralta (and based on his own life), both celebrates the excitement of testosterone-fueled recklessness and quietly reflects on the cost of getting what you want. --Bret FetzerGRIND - DVD Movie

Creation [Blu-Ray]

  • UK Import
  • Region-Free
  • Blu-ray
From director Jon Amiel ("The Singing Detective," ENTRAPMENT) and writer John Collee (MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD) comes CREATION. A psychological, heart-wrenching love story starring Paul Bettany (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD) as Charles Darwin, the film is based on “Annie’s Box,” a biography penned by Darwin’s great-great-grandson Randal Keynes using personal letters and diaries of the Darwin family. We take a unique and inside look at Darwin, his family and his love for his deeply religious wife, played by Jennifer Connelly (A BEAUTIFUL MIND, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), as, torn between faith and science, Darwin struggles to finish his legendary book “On the Origin of Species,” which goes on to become the foundation for evolutionary biology. The film co-stars Toby Jones (FROST/NIX! ON, INFAMOUS) and Jeremy Northam (GOSFORD PARK, AMISTAD), and was produced by Jeremy Thomas (THE LAST EMPEROR, SEXY BEAST) at Recorded Picture Company with BBC Films and Ocean Pictures.More than 150 years after its publication, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species and its theory of natural selection remain the subject of much debate; the divide between those who accept Darwin's ideas as incontrovertible science and those who consider them blasphemous may be wider now than ever. Released in 2009, director Jon Amiel's Creation goes right to the heart of the matter--indeed, right to the heart of Darwin himself. As portrayed by Paul Bettany, the Darwin who has returned to England following his voyage aboard HMS Beagle is a man for whom "deeply conflicted" is a barely adequate description. Well aware his theory is "perhaps the most powerful idea ever to occur to a human mind," he is caught between the scientists who insist that he has "killed God" and t! he religious conservatives, including his wife Emma (Jennifer ! Connelly ), who counter that his very soul will be in peril if he finishes and publishes his book. What's more, he is haunted, sometimes literally, by the death of his favorite child, Annie (seen in frequent flashbacks), and its effect on his marriage--in fact, it is this personal angle that dominates the film. But while the toll his work has taken on his health, his faith, his family, and his very sanity is obvious, he also knows that it is far too important to ignore. Creation is not a documentary; liberties have been taken, and there are multiple sequences, including Darwin's nightmarish fever dreams, that are clearly the invention of the filmmakers. But Bettany and Connelly, who are a real-life couple, are both superb; the cinematography is gorgeous; and various scenes illustrating the notion of "survival of the fittest" in nature are riveting (there won't be a dry eye in the house when Darwin tells his dying daughter about the fate of an orangutan captured in Borneo). And! while the tone of the film would seem to favor science over religion, the DVD includes numerous bonus features in which both sides have their say. This one is not to be missed. --Sam Graham

Stills from Creation (Click for larger image)



A sweeping novel of politics, war, philosophy, and adventureâ€"in a restored edition, featuring never-before-published material from Gore Vidal’s original manuscriptâ€"Creation offers a captivating grand tour of the ancient world.
Cyrus Spitama, grandson of the prophet Zoroaster and lifelong friend of Xerxes, spent most of his life as Persian ambassador for the great king Darius. He traveled to India, where he discussed nirvana with Buddha, and to the warring states of Cathay, where he learned of Tao from Master Li and fished on the riverbank with Confucius. Now blind and aged in Athensâ€"the Athens of Pericles, Sophocles, Thucydides, Herodotus, and Socratesâ€"Cyrus recounts his days as he strives to resolve the fundamental questions that have guided his life’s journeys: how the universe was created, and why evil was created with good. In revisiting the fifth century b! .c.â€"one of the most spectacular periods in historyâ€"Gore Vidal illuminates the ideas that have shaped civilizations for millennia.
In 445 B.C., Cyrus Spitama, the grandson of the prophet Zoroaster, is the Persian ambassador to the city of Athens. He has a rather caustic appreciation of his situation: "I am blind. But I am not deaf. Because of the incompleteness of my misfortune, I was obliged yesterday to listen for nearly six hours to a self-styled historian whose account of what the Athenians like to call 'the Persian Wars' was nonsense of a sort that were I less old and more privileged, I would have risen to my seat at the Odeon and scandalized all Athens by answering him." Having thus dismissed Herodotus, Cyrus then dictates his life story to his nephew, Democritus, with similar disdain for the Greeks--whom we in the modern world have come to view as the progenitors of civilization, but whom Cyrus considers to be bad-smelling rabble.

Of co! urse, Cyrus Spitama speaks with a very modern, ironic voice s! upplied to him by Gore Vidal--and the political intrigues in which Cyrus finds himself immersed are likewise familiar territory for fans of Vidal's historical fiction. But the narrator's delightfully wicked observations are the icing on a narrative of truly epic scope--out of his desire to understand the origins of the world, Cyrus undertakes journeys to India, where he encounters disciples of the Buddha, and China, where he engages Confucius in philosophical conversation while the great sage fishes by the riverside. Creation offers insights into classical history laced with scintillating wit and narrative brio. This book explores the powerful new evidence discovered in the last few decades by scientific research in astronomy, the nature of the atom and DNA. These discoveries have caused a revolution in the world view of thousands of scientists as they were confronted with compelling new evidence that our universe must have been created by a Supernatural Mind. Grant! Jeffrey’s latest book, Creation, will challenge readers with fascinating new information that confirms the Bible’s claim that “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”.

Content Includes:
·Deep space reveals mysteries of the first moments of creation
·Wonders of the universe point to a Supernatural Creator
·A revolution in our understanding of the universe’s beginning
·Astonishing evidence of the universe’s intelligent design
·Remarkable discoveries about the nature of the atom
·The collapse of the Theory of Evolution
·DNA- The language of God
·Modern science discovers GodReal-life couple Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly star as Charles Darwin and his wife in this biographical drama. Set before the publication of "On The Origin Of Species", 'Creation' finds Darwin grieving over the death of his daughter and feeling far away from his wife.More than 150 years after its publication, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species
and its theory of natural selec! tion rem ain the subject of much debate; the divide between those who accept Darwin's ideas as incontrovertible science and those who consider them blasphemous may be wider now than ever. Released in 2009, director Jon Amiel's Creation goes right to the heart of the matter--indeed, right to the heart of Darwin himself. As portrayed by Paul Bettany, the Darwin who has returned to England following his voyage aboard HMS Beagle is a man for whom "deeply conflicted" is a barely adequate description. Well aware his theory is "perhaps the most powerful idea ever to occur to a human mind," he is caught between the scientists who insist that he has "killed God" and the religious conservatives, including his wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly), who counter that his very soul will be in peril if he finishes and publishes his book. What's more, he is haunted, sometimes literally, by the death of his favorite child, Annie (seen in frequent flashbacks), and its effect on his marriage--in ! fact, it is this personal angle that dominates the film. But while the toll his work has taken on his health, his faith, his family, and his very sanity is obvious, he also knows that it is far too important to ignore. Creation is not a documentary; liberties have been taken, and there are multiple sequences, including Darwin's nightmarish fever dreams, that are clearly the invention of the filmmakers. But Bettany and Connelly, who are a real-life couple, are both superb; the cinematography is gorgeous; and various scenes illustrating the notion of "survival of the fittest" in nature are riveting (there won't be a dry eye in the house when Darwin tells his dying daughter about the fate of an orangutan captured in Borneo). And while the tone of the film would seem to favor science over religion, the DVD includes numerous bonus features in which both sides have their say. This one is not to be missed. --Sam Graham

Stills from ! Creation (Click for larger image)




Sunday, December 25, 2011

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God

Friday, December 16, 2011

High Fidelity

  • Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is the owner of a semi-failing record store in Chicago where he sells music the old fashioned way - on vinyl. He s a music junkie who spends his days at his store, Championship Vinyl, with his two employees Dick (Todd Louiso) and Barry (Jack Black) creating their all-time favorite top-five lists of songs. Although they have an encyclopedia knowledge of pop music and are co
HIGH ART - DVD MovieSyd (Radha Mitchell) is an editor at a painfully pretentious art magazine; by chance, she becomes acquainted with lesbian photographer Lucy (Ally Sheedy) and her weirdo German girlfriend (Patricia Clarkson, in a strange Dietrich-like role). Syd becomes captivated with Lucy and her work and, smelling a career move, offers to feature her in the next issue of the magazine. The two become attracted, but their relationship is fraught with perils--Syd loses her rather square boyfrie! nd, Lucy's girlfriend takes a hike, the avaricious management at the magazine pressures Syd, and, most importantly, the pair begins to travel down the road of heroin addiction. Besides the lesbian theme, High Art addresses such subtexts as what an artist will (or won't) be willing to do for recognition, and what price that recognition carries. High Art is a remarkably honest work, painful at times but understated and thoughtful. It does an excellent job of portraying the heroin-induced torpor of Lucy and her bohemian friends as they lie around and become consumed with the stuff. It's a cautionary tale, a sincere love story, a reflection on the nature of art, and a "lesbian film" for which the lesbianism is integral but not part of an overriding agenda. Sheedy is excellent, as is Mitchell in a very expressive role. It's far from being a feel-good movie, but High Art undeniably has some power behind it that will stick with you past the closing credi! ts. --Jerry RenshawSyd (Radha Mitchell) is an editor a! t a pain fully pretentious art magazine; by chance, she becomes acquainted with lesbian photographer Lucy (Ally Sheedy) and her weirdo German girlfriend (Patricia Clarkson, in a strange Dietrich-like role). Syd becomes captivated with Lucy and her work and, smelling a career move, offers to feature her in the next issue of the magazine. The two become attracted, but their relationship is fraught with perils--Syd loses her rather square boyfriend, Lucy's girlfriend takes a hike, the avaricious management at the magazine pressures Syd, and, most importantly, the pair begins to travel down the road of heroin addiction. Besides the lesbian theme, High Art addresses such subtexts as what an artist will (or won't) be willing to do for recognition, and what price that recognition carries. High Art is a remarkably honest work, painful at times but understated and thoughtful. It does an excellent job of portraying the heroin-induced torpor of Lucy and her bohemian friends ! as they lie around and become consumed with the stuff. It's a cautionary tale, a sincere love story, a reflection on the nature of art, and a "lesbian film" for which the lesbianism is integral but not part of an overriding agenda. Sheedy is excellent, as is Mitchell in a very expressive role. It's far from being a feel-good movie, but High Art undeniably has some power behind it that will stick with you past the closing credits. --Jerry RenshawBETTER THAN CHOCOLATE - DVD MovieMany lesbian movies are long on charm and short on production values; Better Than Chocolate has a solid dose of both and steamy sex scenes to boot. Our heroine Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), a clerk at a lesbian bookstore, meets footloose butch Kim (Christina Cox) and, after Kim's van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila's impending divorce. But w! hat really complicates matters is that Maggie can't bring hers! elf to c ome out to her mother; even when she tries, Lila steamrolls through the conversation, like she knows what's coming and doesn't want to hear it. Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a male-to-female transsexual who's in love with the bookstore's owner, Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), who's freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene. The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren't going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-colored lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give the movie some heat, but it's the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savor. --Bret FetzerSixties psychedelic poster art has stretched beyond the ephemeral and functional nature of it! s design to become highly collectable and internationally recognized. High Art explores both the creation of psychedelia and the imagery born of this movement. It covers the Avalon and Fillmore ballrooms who commissioned the art, the UFO Club in London and features leading American artists, profiles of British artists and it describes the collectors' experience.Syd (Radha Mitchell) is an editor at a painfully pretentious art magazine; by chance, she becomes acquainted with lesbian photographer Lucy (Ally Sheedy) and her weirdo German girlfriend (Patricia Clarkson, in a strange Dietrich-like role). Syd becomes captivated with Lucy and her work and, smelling a career move, offers to feature her in the next issue of the magazine. The two become attracted, but their relationship is fraught with perils--Syd loses her rather square boyfriend, Lucy's girlfriend takes a hike, the avaricious management at the magazine pressures Syd, and, most importantly, the pair begins to tra! vel down the road of heroin addiction. Besides the lesbian th! eme, High Art addresses such subtexts as what an artist will (or won't) be willing to do for recognition, and what price that recognition carries. High Art is a remarkably honest work, painful at times but understated and thoughtful. It does an excellent job of portraying the heroin-induced torpor of Lucy and her bohemian friends as they lie around and become consumed with the stuff. It's a cautionary tale, a sincere love story, a reflection on the nature of art, and a "lesbian film" for which the lesbianism is integral but not part of an overriding agenda. Sheedy is excellent, as is Mitchell in a very expressive role. It's far from being a feel-good movie, but High Art undeniably has some power behind it that will stick with you past the closing credits. --Jerry RenshawJoin master kicker Hwang Jang Lee as he demonstrates over 200 kicks that you can learn!From the guys who brought you GROSSE POINTE BLANK comes the absolutely hilarious HIGH FIDELITY.! John Cusack (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) stars as Rob Gordon, the owner of a semi-failing record store located on one of the back streets of Chicago. He sells music the old-fashioned way -- on vinyl, with two wacky clerks, the hysterically funny rock snob Barry (Jack Black) and the more quietly opinionated underachiever Dick (Todd Luiso). But Rob's business isn't the only thing in his life that's floundering -- his needle skips the love groove when his longtime girlfriend Laura (newcomer Iben Hjejle) walks out on him. And this forces him to examine his past failed attempts at romance the only way he knows how! For a rocking fun time, give HIGH FIDELITY a spin. It's sure to make your all-time top five list for comedies -- with a bullet.Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel High Fidelity emerges unscathed from its Americanization, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable ch! arm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (cowritten by Cusack). Earl! y-thirty something Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups--which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.

Low on plot and high on self-discovery, High Fidelity takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in Say Anything (who was told "Don't be a guy--be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's b! rand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost-nonstop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons), High Fidelity features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer-songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. --Mark Englehart

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Poster Movie German D 11x17 Philip Seymour Hoffman Ethan Hawke

  • Approx. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm
  • Size is provided by the manufacturer and may not be exact
  • The Amazon image in this listing is a digital scan of the poster that you will receive
  • Before the Devil Knows You're Dead 11 x 17 Inches German Style D Mini Poster
  • Packaged with care and shipped in sturdy reinforced packing material
Master filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all itself. Oscar®-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke) into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank s actual mom and pop and, when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep! . Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei plays Andy s trophy wife, who is having a clandestine affair with Hank. The stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patriarch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that the culprits he is hunting are his own sons. A classy, classic heist-gone-wrong drama in the tradition of The Killing and Lumet s own The Anderson Tapes, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOW YOU RE DEAD is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear.Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an exceptionally dark story about a crime gone wrong and the complicated reasons behind it. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are outstanding as brothers whose mutual love-hate relationship subtly colors their agreement to rob their own parents’ jewelry store, and more explicitly affects the anxious aftermath of their villainy when their mother (Rosemary Harris) ends up shot. Hoffman’s steely, emotionall! y locked-up Andy, despite pulling down six figures as a corpor! ate exec utive, is supporting an expensive drug habit while trying to leave the country with his depressed wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei). Hank (Hawke), a whipped dog of low intelligence, owes back alimony and child support to his ex-spouse. Both men need money and agree to rip off their parents' business, a decision that goes awry and puts both men in various kinds of jeopardy while their mother remains comatose and their father (Albert Finney) lurches along trying to make sense of anything. Writer Kelly Masterson's screenplay employs a perhaps now-overly-familiar time-shifting tactic, jumping around the chronology of the story's events and replaying scenes from different vantage points. The effect is a little tedious but successfully deconstructs the film's drama in a way that shows how such terrible events are directly linked to family dysfunction, old wounds between parent and child, between siblings, that fester into full-blown tragedy. Eighty-three-year-old director Lumet (Serpic! o) employs bleached colors and scenes of blunt sexuality and violence, adding to the moral rudderlessness and banality of this airless world. If Devil feels a little reductive and insistently grim, it is also a generally persuasive work by an old master. --Tom KeoghMaster filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all itself. Oscar®-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke) into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank s actual mom and pop and, when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei plays Andy s trophy wife, who is having a clandestine affair with Hank. The stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patria! rch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that ! the culp rits he is hunting are his own sons. A classy, classic heist-gone-wrong drama in the tradition of The Killing and Lumet s own The Anderson Tapes, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOW YOU RE DEAD is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear.Sidney Lumet’s Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an exceptionally dark story about a crime gone wrong and the complicated reasons behind it. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke are outstanding as brothers whose mutual love-hate relationship subtly colors their agreement to rob their own parents’ jewelry store, and more explicitly affects the anxious aftermath of their villainy when their mother (Rosemary Harris) ends up shot. Hoffman’s steely, emotionally locked-up Andy, despite pulling down six figures as a corporate executive, is supporting an expensive drug habit while trying to leave the country with his depressed wife, Gina (Marisa Tomei). Hank (Hawke), a whipped dog of low intell! igence, owes back alimony and child support to his ex-spouse. Both men need money and agree to rip off their parents' business, a decision that goes awry and puts both men in various kinds of jeopardy while their mother remains comatose and their father (Albert Finney) lurches along trying to make sense of anything. Writer Kelly Masterson's screenplay employs a perhaps now-overly-familiar time-shifting tactic, jumping around the chronology of the story's events and replaying scenes from different vantage points. The effect is a little tedious but successfully deconstructs the film's drama in a way that shows how such terrible events are directly linked to family dysfunction, old wounds between parent and child, between siblings, that fester into full-blown tragedy. Eighty-three-year-old director Lumet (Serpico) employs bleached colors and scenes of blunt sexuality and violence, adding to the moral rudderlessness and banality of this airless world. If Devil fee! ls a little reductive and insistently grim, it is also a gener! ally per suasive work by an old master. --Tom KeoghHearing news of a death or marriage, consoling neighbours in sorrow or sharing their joy, looking for a husband or wife, saving turf or going fishing - Irish people have blessings and curses for every occasion, as highlighted in this book.In the full-throttle, noir-soaked tradition of Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly, the acclaimed young author of Bad Connection unleashes an ambitious and edgy new thriller pulsating with raw, urban energy.

Decorated NYPD Officer John Coglin always thought his picture on the front page of the newspaper would be one for the scrapbook.

That was before he had the bad luck to be forced into a witness-free, kill-or-be-killed confrontation with a drug-dealing thug. It's of no help to him that the incident took place during the run-up to a bitter mayoral election campaign, and that his adversary was sixteen years old and black.

Now, instead of another commendation, Coglin is stari! ng down the barrel of a media- and politics-stoked murder rap.

But on the eve of his sure conviction arrives a fateful telephone call.

It's not the governor, but his long-lost uncle, Aidan O'Connell.

A veteran of the IRA and a recently released guest of San Quentin Penitentiary for armed-to-the-teeth robbery, Aidan offers his nephew a pardon that has nothing to do with lawyers.

Coglin is about to find out that the type of amnesty Uncle Aidan is proposing is the kind that involves a beautiful but dangerous Mafia widow, a car trunk full of M-16s, and thirty million dollars in jewels smack dab in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a highly entertaining, deliciously gritty, super-fast thriller that takes us on a cutthroat ride into an urban realm where criminal intent collides head-on with the vagaries of fate and the inscrutabilities of the human heart.In the full-throttle, noir-soaked tradition of Dennis Lehane a! nd Michael Connelly, the acclaimed young author of Bad Conn! ection unleashes an ambitious and edgy new thriller pulsating with raw, urban energy.

Decorated NYPD Officer John Coglin always thought his picture on the front page of the newspaper would be one for the scrapbook.

That was before he had the bad luck to be forced into a witness-free, kill-or-be-killed confrontation with a drug-dealing thug. It's of no help to him that the incident took place during the run-up to a bitter mayoral election campaign, and that his adversary was sixteen years old and black.

Now, instead of another commendation, Coglin is staring down the barrel of a media- and politics-stoked murder rap.

But on the eve of his sure conviction arrives a fateful telephone call.

It's not the governor, but his long-lost uncle, Aidan O'Connell.

A veteran of the IRA and a recently released guest of San Quentin Penitentiary for armed-to-the-teeth robbery, Aidan offers his nephew a pardon that has nothing to do with lawyers.

Coglin is about to find! out that the type of amnesty Uncle Aidan is proposing is the kind that involves a beautiful but dangerous Mafia widow, a car trunk full of M-16s, and thirty million dollars in jewels smack dab in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a highly entertaining, deliciously gritty, super-fast thriller that takes us on a cutthroat ride into an urban realm where criminal intent collides head-on with the vagaries of fate and the inscrutabilities of the human heart.2009 release, the most powerful and ambitious album in Primal Fear's history. All the trademarks of the Primal Fear sound are featured and the total dedication to pure Heavy Metal is easily found in songs like 'Six Times Dead (16.6)', 'Soar', 'Smith & Wesson' as well as the epic stories, consummate musicianship and fantastic melodies in songs like 'Black Rain', 'No Smoke Without Fire', 'Torn' and the stylistically new ballad 'Hands Of Time' with the four guys all sharing the le! ad vocals. Frontiers.Before the Devil Knows You're Dead reprod! uction A pprox. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm German Style D mini poster print

Pop Culture Graphics, Inc is Amazon's largest source for movie and TV show memorabilia, posters and more: Offering tens of thousands of items to choose from. We also offer a full selection of framed posters..

Customer satisfaction is always guaranteed when you buy from Pop Culture Graphics,Inc

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

A Christmas Story Nightlight

  • Leg lamp night light is approximately 9 inch tall.
  • Made of plastic with nylon fringe around lamp shade.
  • Plugs into standard outlet comes with light bulb.
  • This is an officially licensed, "A Christmas Story" product.
  • Warning: small parts not for children under 3 years of age.
Rachel McDaniel loves being a single, 29-year-old co-owner of a chocolate shop. But when Rachel's aging mentor, Mama Bird unexpectedly decides the workaholic youngster needs a boyfriend before Christmas, Rachel must decide what she really wants in life: a man or her thriving career.

The quest for love will send her into hilarious situations. In the end, Rachel will find out if it is her time to love or if she will have to wait.

Told with humor and compassion, this book will make you laugh and cry.

This is a novelette of 60 pages.

The second book ! in the "Finding Love" series, now available, is titled, "Life, Love and the Pursuit of Chocolate."
Rachel McDaniel loves being a single, 29-year-old co-owner of a chocolate shop. But when Rachel's aging mentor, Mama Bird unexpectedly decides the workaholic youngster needs a boyfriend before Christmas, Rachel must decide what she really wants in life: a man or her thriving career.

The quest for love will send her into hilarious situations. In the end, Rachel will find out if it is her time to love or if she will have to wait.

Told with humor and compassion, this book will make you laugh and cry.

This is a novelette of 60 pages.

The second book in the "Finding Love" series, now available, is titled, "Life, Love and the Pursuit of Chocolate."
Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. There's church, of course. But who can she bake for these days? And who would care whether or ! not she pulled out the Christmas decorations?



Her new neighbor just adds to the problem. He's doing home improvements that don't appear to be improving much of anything. These days when Betty looks out the window, she sees a beat-up truck, a pile of junk, lots of blue tarps, and--horror of horrors--an old pink toilet.



But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn a very important lesson about what Christmas is all about. This contemporary Christmas story is a timely yet gentle reminder that God can work miracles through something as seemingly insignificant as a little brown dog.Betty Kowalski isn't looking forward to the holidays. She just can't seem to find Christmas in her heart. There's church, of course. But who can she bake for these days? And who would care whether or not she pulled out the Christmas decorations?



Her new neighbor just adds to the problem. He's doing home improvements that don't appear to be improving much of anything. These! days when Betty looks out the window, she sees a beat-up truck, a pile of junk, lots of blue tarps, and--horror of horrors--an old pink toilet.



But when a mangy dog appears at her doorstep, the stage is set for Betty to learn a very important lesson about what Christmas is all about. This contemporary Christmas story is a timely yet gentle reminder that God can work miracles through something as seemingly insignificant as a little brown dog.This Christmas Story Nightlight lights the way to the bathroom on cold winter nights with a whimsical leg lamp! Everybody loves watching Ralphie's misadventures each year in the film A Christmas Story, so the leg lamp night light makes a fun gift as well. Or you can brighten your sleeping home with a little spark of movie magic!

Blue Angels Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge 4 Canvas Print / Canvas Art - Artist Wingsdomain Art ...

House of Numbers DVD

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters

  • The testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific Ocean triggers the awakening of a dreadful, 400-foot-tall, fire-breathing prehistoric lizard who commences to wreak havoc on the city of Tokyo. The original Japanese version of GODZILLA, without the Americanized addition of Raymond Burr. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: NR Age: 828768455999 UPC: 82876845599
Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels and spinoffs. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original,! 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr (Rear Window).Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla is the roaring granddaddy of all monster movies. It’s also a remarkably humane and melancholy drama made in Japan at a time when the country was still reeling from nuclear attack and H-bomb testing. Its rampaging radioactive beast, the poignant embodiment of an entire population’s fears, became a beloved international icon of destruction, spawning more than twenty sequels and spinoffs. This first thrilling, tactile spectacle continues to be a cult phenomenon; here, we present the original, 1954 Japanese version, along with Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, the 1956 American reworking starring Raymond Burr (Rear Window).This package contains:

* Godzilla (1954 Japanese Edition-english subtitles)
* King of the Monsters (1956 U.S. Release Edtion-english v/o dub)

Featuring: * Audio commentaries
* Original trailers
*"Making ! of the S uite" Featurette
*"Godzilla: Story Development" featurette
The first of the Godzilla movies, and the most somber and serious in tone, Gojiro was originally a 98-minute Japanese horror film, until a U.S. company bought the rights and reissued the film at 79 minutes, replacing sequences involving a Japanese reporter with new inserts of a dour, pipe-smoking Raymond Burr. Both versions appear together for the first time in this release from Sony Wonder.

Stills from Gojiro (click for larger image)

!




Humpday

  • It s been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard) were the bad boys of their college campus. Ben has settled down and found a job, wife, and home. Andrew took the alternate route as a vagabond artist, skipping the globe from Chiapas to Cambodia. When Andrew shows up unannounced on Ben s doorstep, they easily fall back into their old dynamic of macho one-upmanship. Late into the night at
It's been a decade since Ben (Duplass) and Andrew (Leonard)
were college bad boys. Ben is living contently with a good job and a great wife, until his old buddy Andrew shows up on his doorstep late one night. Andrew, who lives as a vagabond artist, invites Ben out to a wild party. Excessive drinking
combined with the irrational need to oneup each other, leads to a mutual dare that locks them into entering an
amateur porn contest together.A bromantic comedy par excellence, Humpday push! es the concept of male bonding and male competition (so often intertwined) to its end point. Two old buddies, Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), reunite after a few years' time. Mark is living the bourgeois life in Seattle, with a home, a wife (Alycia Delmore), and a responsible job. Andrew's just blown in from vagabonding around Mexico, and his bohemian cred is as thick as his beard. When the buds drunkenly vow to participate in a local amateur porn-movie contest with themselves as stars, the stage is set for a game of staredown: neither guy wants to be the first to blink and admit he isn't quite open-minded or free-swinging enough for the stunt. (One large roadblock: Ben needs to actually convey the information about the film project to his wife, a dilemma that leads to some of the movie's funniest scenes.) Director Lynn Shelton works in an improvisatory style, figuring out the dialogue with the actors and creating a loose, frowzy atmosphere within scenes. Th! at sense of verisimilitude helps sell the whopper of a premise! , but wh at's even more impressive is Shelton's laser-like sense of male insecurity and rivalry (also on view in her previous picture, My Effortless Brilliance). Duplass (from The Puffy Chair) and Leonard (a Blair Witch trekker) play this to the hilt, particularly in the gloriously uncomfortable climatic scene, when push, shall we say, is going to have to come to shove. Humpday was a Sundance breakout in 2009, coming out of nowhere (i.e., Seattle, Shelton's home base) and snagging a summer release. And why not? If the specific plot isn't exactly a universal experience, the movie's underlying anxieties certainly are. --Robert Horton

Alone in the Dark

  • A New Inventory System ¿ Players utilize the pockets of protagonist Edward Carnby to hold items which they can view, switch and combine without leaving the game.
  • Narrative intensity ¿ Taking its cues from blockbuster TV dramas, the story is told in a TV season style narrative structure based around episodes that deliver maximum intensity throughout and keep the player hooked.
  • A Captivating Story ¿ Centered in iconic Central Park long-time series protagonist and paranormal specialist Edward Carnby returns to delve into the frightening events occurring in the Big Apple.
  • Real World Rules ¿ In-Game movement has been designed to allow players to do almost anything that is physically possible in the real world.
  • Photographic Rendering ¿ Game developer Eden¿s Propriety ¿Twilight¿ technology creates a lavishly detailed game world with highly realistic and advanced cinema! tographic effects.
Alone in the Dark X360There?s something strange and frightening happening in the middle of New York City?s Central Park; something whispered to have been intentionally kept secret; something that players are compelled to explore in Alone in the Dark.

Known today as a safe haven for New Yorkers yearning for relief from the stresses of their chaotic metropolis, history records that Central Park was built on a useless swamp, yet as the New York City skyline hurtled towards the sky over the last 150 years, making the city the most expensive real estate in the world, the park has remained untouched. Why? Civic pride? Perhaps, but the recent strange happenings in and around the park are casting doubt on that, doubts that require investigating.



The return of! an icon ic series
Edward Carnby
Paranormal PI Edward Carnby.
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Stunningly spooky views of NYC
Stunningly spooky views of NYC.
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The odd wildlife of Central Park
The odd wildlife of Central Park.
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A whole new inventory system
A whole new inventory system.
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Enter Edward Carnby, Paranormal Investigator
Despite the title, Alone in the Dark is actually the fifth game in a series that dates back to 1992 and centers around the experiences of Edward "the reptile" Carnby. A paranormal investigator by trade, Carnby is looking for answers to the strange events and horrific creatures reported in and around the park, but gets more than he bargained for when all the mysteries and terrors of the park spill out over the course of one apocalyptic night. It?s the player?s task to avoid the new frightening dangers of the park as you search for the answers to what these supernatural occurrences mean and why they are happening.

Gameplay Based on Full Player Immersion
Packed full of action and vivid in its realism Alone in t! he Dark goes to the extreme to keep players engaged and im! mersed b y plunging them into the heart of the action in real-time at every turn and challenging them to survive using full movement control. The goal here is to allow players to do or at least feel that they can do more or less whatever is possible in real life, within the game.

Need to avoid a blast of steam or an eruption of fire that has shot up in your path? You can simply side-step it or you can handle the obstacle with a little more panache by using the environment around you, for example by swinging around it using reachable pipes or wires. In another situation you may be challenged by attacking monsters. No problem. You can take the path of least resistance, again by side-stepping them or placing an obstacle between yourself and them, but if you are feeling like taking out a little aggression you can pick up a board, chair, box, etc. and have at it. Nearly anything that you come across that would be usable in real life is usable in game and can be wielded in several diffe! rent ways.

In addition, game developer Eden Studios has done away with a few in-game conventions in favor of real life upgrades. Instead of old-fashioned health bars Alone in the Dark uses realistic body damage and physiological effects to show players how much damage has been done to Carnby by the new dangerous nightlife of Central Park. Basically this means if Carnby has been taking a licking he?s going to be a little bloody. Monsters use sensory perception of all kinds to find their victims, so players need to keep aware of Carnby?s physical state, as well as the impact he has on his surroundings. Also gone are traditional inventory systems that take players out of the game while you switch or check items in your possession, replaced by an in-game inventory system where items are carried in the folds of Carnby?s trench coat. This allows you to stay in the action the whole time. Sticking with the realism theme, the number of items that Carnby can carry is limite! d, but since ingenuity is built into the system, items can be ! combined or their uses altered, mostly with tape, so players can adjust as challenges arise.

TV Style Intensity That Keeps You Hooked
Built around a unique television style episodic narrative game structure, the storyline of Alone in the Dark is split into a number of distinct 30-40 minute episodes, doled out one at a time as you play. This new way to progress through the storyline ensures that players can enjoy the game regardless of the amount of time they have available without ever feeling lost. Each time a saved game is launched, the episode will begin with a video summary of the previous episode to quickly re-immerse the player in the story, removing the need to remember where you were or what you were doing at the end of your last play session. In addition, every episode will also close with a nail-biting, cliff-hanger ending to rattle players? nerves. And when you choose to leave the game, a video teaser of the next episode will play to leave players alw! ays wanting more.

Vivid Photographic Rendering
Even on a bad day, and this will be a bad one, Central Park and New York City are something to see. With Game developer Eden?s proprietary Twilight technology and rendering engine, players can expect to see everything from the City?s famous landmarks to the manifestations of the evil that have been festering in Central Park come to life as if you were there. This lavishly detailed game world takes advantage of highly realistic and advanced cinematographic effects including depth of field, camera focus, numerous light sources, moisture, reflections and High Dynamic Range effects.

Whether it?s the innovative game play, the unique episodic game structure, the advanced physics or the return of a ground-breaking protagonist recast in the modern era, Alone in the Dark holds something for players willing to take on the mysteries and dangers at the heart of Central Park.