Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Dumb and Dumber (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]

  • Condition: New
  • Format: Blu-ray
  • Color; Dolby; Subtitled; Widescreen
This never-before-seen unrated version of the comedy classic includes all-new scenes and extended scenes that take the laughs further than ever!

DVD Features:
3D Animated Menus
Alternate endings
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Documentaries
TV Spot
Theatrical Trailer

Delivering exactly what its title promises, this celebration of stupidity was Jim Carrey's 1994 follow-up to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. The film pairs the rubber- faced wacky man with Jeff Daniels as the not-so-dynamic duo of Lloyd and Harry, dunderheads who come into the possession of a briefcase containing ransom money that is intended for Mob-connected kidnappers. Lauren Holly costars as the woman who lost the briefcase, and with wh! om Carrey falls in love (both in real life and as his moronic on-screen character). As Lloyd and Harry make a mad dash to return the briefcase (never aware of its contents), the bumbling buddies attract Mobsters, cops, and trouble galore. This lowbrow laugh-a-thon scores some solid hits for hilarity, but with gags involving ill-fated parakeets, buxom bimbos, and an overdose of laxatives, be prepared to put your brain--and good taste--on hold. --Jeff ShannonDUMB AND DUMBER - Blu-Ray MovieDelivering exactly what its title promises, this celebration of stupidity was Jim Carrey's 1994 follow-up to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask. The film pairs the rubber- faced wacky man with Jeff Daniels as the not-so-dynamic duo of Lloyd and Harry, dunderheads who come into the possession of a briefcase containing ransom money that is intended for Mob-connected kidnappers. Lauren Holly costars as the woman who lost the briefcase, and with whom Carrey falls in l! ove (both in real life and as his moronic on-screen character)! . As Llo yd and Harry make a mad dash to return the briefcase (never aware of its contents), the bumbling buddies attract Mobsters, cops, and trouble galore. This lowbrow laugh-a-thon scores some solid hits for hilarity, but with gags involving ill-fated parakeets, buxom bimbos, and an overdose of laxatives, be prepared to put your brain--and good taste--on hold. --Jeff Shannon

The Marx Brothers Collection (A Night at The Opera/A Day at The Races/A Night in Casablanca/Room Service/At the Circus/Go West/The Big Store)

  • Condition: New
  • Format: DVD
  • Box set; Black & White; DVD; NTSC
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (summit) Release Date: 01/12/2010 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: RThe remarkable documentary Brothers at War begins with a simple premise: Jake Rademacher wants to understand the experience of his younger brothers Isaac and Joe, both serving in the American military in Iraq. What unfolds proves amazingly complex, fusing a troubled family history (another Rademacher brother died at home), wrenching interviews with wives and girlfriends left behind, and a startlingly unfiltered portrait of on-the-ground soldiers in the middle of a combat zone. Because the filmmaker is already part of these people's lives, he's able to capture a kind of emotional nakedness you don't often see; when Joe's girlfriend talks about how Joe's military service has changed him, a window opens into her life that's! almost uncomfortably intimate. Because of his relationship to one of their comrades, the soldiers in Iraq accept Jake in a completely different way than they'd respond to a typical journalist. They don't present a manicured image; Jake films them talking about why they're there, how they treat girls, shooting people (one soldier describes nearly shooting a child who was carrying a toy gun), and watching The O.C. Driven by sibling rivalry, Jake even puts himself in harm's way by going out on combat missions. Brothers at War doesn't have an ideology. Soldiers in the field defend each other out of personal solidarity, not abstract ideas; the same impulse drives this movie forward. It's unlike any other war documentary and can't be recommended strongly enough. --Bret FetzerBROTHERS AT WAR is Jerold S. Auerbach's probing and poignant exploration of the tragedy of the Altalena, the doomed ship whose arrival in Israel ignited Jewish fratricidal conflict only ! weeks after its declaration of statehood in 1948. The destruct! ion of t he Altalena, with sixteen of its fighters killed by Israeli soldiers in a bitter two-day battle, threatened the new nation with civil war. This is the first history of the Altalena by a historian and the first to locate it within the context of ancient Jewish and contemporary Israeli history. The Altalena remains embedded in Israeli memory, Auerbach suggests, still framing unresolved issues of political legitimacy and will in the Jewish state. This new book tells the story, and the present profound implications, of a moment in the birth of modern Israel that has angles and repercussions relevant to many issues today, in Israel and beyond.BROTHERS AT WAR, a new book [May 2011] from Quid Pro Books, is Jerold S. Auerbach's probing and poignant exploration of the tragedy of the Altalena, the doomed ship whose arrival in Israel ignited Jewish fratricidal conflict only weeks after its declaration of statehood in 1948. The destruction of the Altalena, with sixteen of its fi! ghters killed by Israeli soldiers in a bitter two-day battle, threatened the new nation with civil war.

This is the first history of the Altalena by a historian and the first to locate it within the context of ancient Jewish and contemporary Israeli history. The Altalena remains embedded in Israeli memory, Auerbach suggests, still framing unresolved issues of political legitimacy in the Jewish state.

Identified as "America's foremost intellectual exponent of right-wing Zionism," Jerold Auerbach is the author of nine books including HEBRON JEWS: MEMORY AND CONFLICT IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL (2009), a history of the world's oldest continuing Jewish community. His essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The New York Times, The Jewish Press, Jerusalem Post, Midstream, and American Thinker.

Auerbach has been a Guggenheim Fellow, Fulbright Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Law School, and recipient ! of two College Teachers Fellowships from the National Endowmen! t for th e Humanities. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Wellesley College.

Also available by Quid Pro Books are republications of two of Jerold Auerbach's previous acclaimed books: RABBIS AND LAWYERS and JACOB'S VOICES. As with these previous books, the digital edition of BROTHERS AT WAR contains true ebook formatting, active Table of Contents, all photographs from the print edition, bibliographical notes, and a full subject-matter Index. The cover photo to BROTHERS AT WAR, recording the actual event, is by the famed war photographer Robert Capa and is licensed from Magnum Photos. The book features eight other fascinating photographs.BROTHERS AT WAR, a new book [May 2011] from Quid Pro Books, is Jerold S. Auerbach's probing and poignant exploration of the tragedy of the Altalena, the doomed ship whose arrival in Israel ignited Jewish fratricidal conflict only weeks after its declaration of statehood in 1948. The destruction of the Altalena, with sixteen of its fighte! rs killed by Israeli soldiers in a bitter two-day battle, threatened the new nation with civil war.

This is the first history of the Altalena by a historian and the first to locate it within the context of ancient Jewish and contemporary Israeli history. The Altalena remains embedded in Israeli memory, Auerbach suggests, still framing unresolved issues of political legitimacy in the Jewish state.

Identified as "America's foremost intellectual exponent of right-wing Zionism," Jerold Auerbach is the author of nine books including HEBRON JEWS: MEMORY AND CONFLICT IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL (2009), a history of the world's oldest continuing Jewish community. His essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Commentary, The New York Times, The Jewish Press, Jerusalem Post, Midstream, and American Thinker.

Auerbach has been a Guggenheim Fellow, Fulbright Lecturer at Tel Aviv University, Visiting Scholar at the Harvard Law School, and recipient of two College T! eachers Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humani! ties. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Wellesley College.

Also available by Quid Pro Books are republications of two of Jerold Auerbach's previous acclaimed books: RABBIS AND LAWYERS and JACOB'S VOICES. As with these previous books, the digital edition of BROTHERS AT WAR contains true ebook formatting, active Table of Contents, all photographs from the print edition, bibliographical notes, and a full subject-matter Index. The cover photo to BROTHERS AT WAR, recording the actual event, is by the famed war photographer Robert Capa and is licensed from Magnum Photos. The book features eight other fascinating photographs.This set includes seven of only thirteen Marx Brothers films ever made! Collection includes: "A Night at the Opera" (1935) - The Marx Brothers turn Mrs. Claypool's opera into chaos in their efforts to help two young hopefuls get a break. It contains the famous scene where Groucho, Chico and Harpo cram a ship's stateroom with wall-to-wall people, gags, one-l! iners, musical riffs and two hard-boiled eggs. "A Day at the Races" (1937) - Groucho stars as Hugo Z. Hackenbush, a horse veterinarian dispensing horse pills and quips with equal glee. Chico selling racing tips, Harpo destroying a piano to turn it into a harp and favorite foil actress Margaret Dumont make this thoroughbred comedy wall-to-wall hilarity. "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) - This parody of the Bogart/Bergman 1943 classic features the Nazis vs. the "nutsies" as the Marx Brothers foil Axis criminals when they find stolen jewels and paintings Nazis have hidden in a hotel. "Room Service"/"At the Circus" - These two films are combined on one disc to provide double doses of laughter. In "Room Service" (1938), Lucille Ball and Ann Miller provide comic co-star support while the Marx Brothers play producers trying to keep their show above water and a hotel room over their head. In "At the Circus" (1939) Groucho stars as professional shyster lawyer J. Cheever Loophole in th! e middle of big-top bedlam as the boys try to save the circus ! and look to Margaret Dumont for the money to do so. Groucho sings one of his famous songs, "Lydia the Tattooed Lady." "Go West"/"The Big Store" - Another Marx Brothers twin bill makes this a hilarious comedy "two-fer." In the first, the Marxmen "Go West" (1940) to the land of outlaws and Indians where the fun never stops and where they outwit a land grabber. In "The Big Store" (1941), Groucho plays Attorney Wolf J. Flywheel who with sidekick Wacky (Harpo) and bodyguard Ravelli (Chico) are investigating the shady dealings of a crooked department store owner. Bonus extras include commentary by Leonard Maltin.When it comes to long-awaited treats like The Marx Brothers Collection, you can never get too much of a good thing. These seven comedies can't compare to the sheer lunacy of the five classics (The Cocoanuts, Animal Crackers, Monkey Business, Horse Feathers, and Duck Soup) that the Marx Bros. made for Paramount between 1929 and 1933 (availa! ble in The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection), but when uber-producer Irving Thalberg signed Groucho, Harpo, and Chico to an MGM contract in 1935 (by which time sibling costar Zeppo had become the team's off-screen manager), he knew just how to cure their box-office blues. As a result, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races were critical and commercial hits, lavishly produced according to the "Tiffany" studio's golden-age formula of glamorous set pieces and musical numbers combined with sensible plots that smoothly integrated snappy, well-written Marxian antics. Opera is the jewel of this set, with timeless scenes (the Stateroom, the Groucho-Chico contract negotiation, etc.) that rank among the greatest bits of silver-screen comedy... not to mention Groucho's flirtatious insults at Margaret Dumont's upper-crust expense.

A Day at the Races deserves near-equal acclaim ("Get-a your tootsie-fruitsie ice cream!"), but Thalberg's de! ath in 1937 dealt a devastating blow, and the Marxes suffered ! from stu dio indifference, resulting in a succession of comedies that are timelessly enjoyable even as they fall prey to diminishing returns. By the time they made Go West and The Big Store, the Marxes were out of their element, and a few of the musical interludes indulge racial stereotypes that were common in the studio era. Despite this, these movies remain fresh and frantic, and Warner Bros. (holder of the RKO and MGM libraries) has done a marvelous job of packaging The Marx Brothers Collection to nostalgically approximate the filmgoing experience of the 1930s and '40s, with vintage shorts (Our Gang, Robert Benchley comedies, MGM cartoons, etc.) from the time of each feature's original release. Archival materials are slim but worthwhile (especially Groucho's 1961 interview with TV talk-show host Hy Gardner), and while Glenn Mitchell's commentary on Races is sparse and superficial, Leonard Maltin brings his usual superfan's enthusiasm and encyclopedic kn! owledge to bear on a full-length Opera commentary track. The new documentaries are somewhat redundant, but essential viewing for Marx Bros. neophytes. With all seven films presented in pristine condition, this is definitely a Marx Brothers Collection worth having. --Jeff Shannon

Ordinary People

  • ISBN13: 9780140065176
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Money Shot chronicles the African American porn industry's steady rise to the mainstream. Lawrence Ross, a prominent journalist and lecturer, details a year in the life of porn star Lexington Steele, whose eleven-inch penis and $75,000 per-movie-fee made him one of the most famous figures in the porn industry. Beginning and ending with Lexington Steele as the book's narrative thread, Ross conducts hundreds of interviews with college professors, industry insiders, and porn stars themselves, providing an insider's view of the often dangerous and disheartening reality of the black porn industry. His research uncovers a world fraught with sexual and racial politics. He describes an AIDS crisis that ! threatens the lives and careers of several black porn stars, the racism that implicitly prohibits interracial sex scenes in porn films, the moral implications of black female porn stars working as escorts to wealthy African Americans, and much more. Money Shot humanizes those who participate in a largely inhumane occupationâ€"it is a cautionary tale for those who thought that what they are seeing on the screen is simply sex.
The classic depiction of the harsh realities of American life, the dark side of the American Dream, and one man's doomed pursuit of love and success...

"Mr. Dreiser is not imitative and belongs to no school. He is at heart a mysticist and a fatalist, though using the realistic method. He is, on the evidence of this novel alone, a power."-The New York Times Book ReviewIn this acclaimed biographical novel, Irving Stone brings to life the tender and poignant love story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. "Beyond any doubt one of the great rom! ances of all time." -- The Saturday Review of LiteratureDaniell e Steel celebrates families of every stripe in her compelling new novelâ€"a tale of three very different couples who struggle and survive, love, laugh, and learn to take life…

Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega-bestselling author who writes under the name of Florence Flowersâ€"and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood’s top producers. They’re not your typical family by any means.…Jane has lived with her partner, Liz, for ten years, in a solid, loving relationship. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco, a law school dropout and the family black sheep, works as a dog walker, having fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.

But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane’s luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a m! atter of days.…It turns out Jane’s house comes complete with an unexpected houseguest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who’s fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn’t be more different. The attraction couldn’t be more immediate.

Suddenly Coco is seeing things differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he’s a single dad to an adorable six-year-old girl. Her mother is not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she’s a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of allâ€"into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their lives, old wounds are healed and new familes are formedâ€"some traditional, some not so traditional, but all bonded by love.

With wit and intelligence, Danielle Steel’s new novel explores love in all its guises, taking! us into the lives of three unusual but wonderfully real couple s. Funny, sexy, and wise, One Day at a Time is at once moving, thought provoking, and utterly impossible to put down.Describes a youth's breakdown and recovery and how it affects his family.

Analyze That (Widescreen)

  • They locked up mob boss Paul Vitti in Sing Sing and that's where he sang sang - bellowing West Side Story tunes and convincing officials he's more suited for a nut house than the Big House. Better yet, the Feds say, let's release Vitti into the custody of his therapist Ben Sobel.ROBERT DE NIRO (Vitti) and BILLY CRYSTAL (Sobel) reprise their Analyze This roles and reteam with filmmaker HAROLD RAMIS
They locked up mob boss Paul Vitti in Sing Sing and that's where he sang sang - bellowing West Side Story tunes and convincing officials he's more suited for a nut house than the Big House. Better yet, the Feds say, let's release Vitti into the custody of his therapist Ben Sobel. ROBERT DE NIRO (Vitti) and BILLY CRYSTAL (Sobel) reprise their Analyze This roles and reteam with filmmaker HAROLD RAMIS (Caddyshack) and co-star LISA KUDROW.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Document! ary
Other
Theatrical Trailer

Analyze That has more bada bing than its lukewarm reception would lead you to expect. Analyze This (1999) had the advantage of a then-fresh idea--Robert De Niro as a neurotic mob boss seeking therapy with reluctant shrink Billy Crystal--but that idea's stale (and has been handled more authentically in The Sopranos), so this sequel relies on established chemistry and zesty dialogue that matches the original. There's nothing wrong with a retread when it's this funny, and De Niro's latter-day penchant for comedy suits him well when, as kingpin Paul Vitti, he lures Dr. Sobel (Crystal) into a prison breakout scheme involving faked catatonia and West Side Story show tunes. The contrived plot involves Vitti's criminal comeback. Unfortunately, there's little room for Lisa Kudrow as Sobel's sarcastic wife, but De Niro's Raging Bull costar Cathy Moriarty-Gentile is welcomed as a riv! al mob queen. You want a comedy masterpiece? Fuhgeddaboudit. ! You want 95 minutes of easy fun? It's right here... and don't miss those obligatory outtakes. --Jeff Shannon

Paris

  • PARIS (DVD MOVIE)
AVENUE MONTAIGNE centers around Jessica (Cecile de France) a beautiful young woman from the provinces who comes to Paris and lands a job waiting tables at a chic bistro on fabled Avenue Montaigne, the city's nexus for art, music, theater and fashion. Jessica's customers include a popular TV actress (Valerie Lemercier) who is courting a major Hollywood director (Sydney Pollack) for her first serious film role; a wealthy art collector (Claude Brasseur) who is about to liquidate a lifetime's worth of treasures at auction; and an illustrious classical pianist (Albert Dupontel) who is at odds with his manager/wife (Laura Morante) as to where his career is headed. Precisely because Jessica doesn't know how celebrated these people are, her guileless and completely unintimidated engagement in their lives has a transforming effect on them - and ultimately her.

This product is m! anufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

French for "Orchestra Seats," Avenue Montaigne offers an outsider's perspective on an insular world (the original title is Fauteuils d'Orchestre). After bidding adieu to her grandmother (Suzanne Flon in her final performance), sunny Jessica (Cécile De France, L'Auberge Espagnole) moves from Mâcon to Paris. Upon securing a job as a waitress in a popular café, she meets high-strung soap star Catherine (Valérie Lemercier), burnt-out pianist Jean-François (Albert Dupontel), and secretive art collector Jacques (Claude Brasseur), who comes equipped with a pretty girlfriend and a handsome son (Christopher Thompson). Though the tousled Jessica has little in common with these posh Parisians, she affects each of their lives in ways both big and small. Directed by Danièle Thompson (La Bûche) and co-written with her son, Christopher, Avenue Mo! ntaigne serves as the flipside to French phenomenon Whe! n the Ca t's Away, in which a young woman meets the people in her neighborhood while searching for an errant feline. In this case, the surroundings are more upscale, but the residents are just as susceptible to fear and insecurity. Though the idea of a sympathetic look at the upper class will surely strike some as off-putting, Thompson makes it work. The genuine affection she feels for her characters--privileged and underprivileged alike--and the grace with which she keeps several plot strands going at once proves that the spirit of Robert Altman lives on in the most unlikely of places. --Kathleen C. FennessyFrance released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Making Of, Scene Access! , SYNOPSIS: A film about love and art, about passing time and time passing, "Avenue Montaigne" is a humble pleasure. The modesty feels intentional and misleading: the story is a nominally light affair abuzz with minor incidents, comic faces, choreographed nonsense, melodramatic blips and swells. But there are serious complications too, including a handful of characters facing life-altering decisions. On the face of it the film recalls the light comedies of what the French call boulevard theater, which were meant to entertain well-heeled patrons but at times, as with "Avenue Montaigne," also offered more. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Ceasar Awards, ...Avenue Montaigne ( Fauteuils D'orchestre ) ( Orchestra Seats )In Paris, a city of a thousand faces, everyone has a story.

From Cédric Klapisch the award-winning writer/director of L AUBERGE ESPANGOLE comes a deliciously intimate new valentine to The City Of Lights featuring an all-star cast that includes Oscar®-winner Juliette! Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT), Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY! HEART S KIPPED), Mélanie Laurent (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS) and François Cluzet (TELL NO ONE). It s the story of a young Moulin Rouge dancer (Duris) awaiting a heart transplant, his single-mother/social worker sister (Binoche), and their rediscovery of the life, laughter and love that hides within every balcony, apartment window, street corner and market stall. These are the stories of the middle class and bourgeois, immigrants and students, fashion models and homeless, and all the lovers and strangers whose paths could only cross and whose worlds are about to change forever in PARIS.In Paris, a superb cast led by by Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped) and Juliette Binoche (The English Patient,Caché) give emotional heft to a delicate web of social relationships. Previous films of French director Cedric Klapisch have made a microcosm of a neighborhood (When the Cat’s Away) and a shared apartment (L’auberge espagnole). Paris! encompasses the City of Lights in an Altman-esque merry-go-round: When a dancer (Duris) discovers he has heart trouble, he’s reluctant to tell his sister (Binoche), a social worker raising three children by herself. Meanwhile, a middle-aged historian (Fabrice Luchini, Claire’s Knee) finds sudden fortune as the host of a television series, but can’t keep himself from sending Baudelaire poems via text message to a lovely young student (Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds). In between these two primary storylines, a multitude of other characters overlap in significant and trivial ways. Minor disappointments and casual pleasures brush against life-changing troubles and, every once in a while, the tantalizing possibility of a lasting happiness. Klapisch has broad ideas about the importance of community, spontaneity, and human contact, but the movie’s success lies in the grit and vividness of simple social interactions--awkward, combative, misunderstood, ! and joyous. There are missteps (a flimsy dream sequence jars a! gainst t he movie’s deft naturalism), but they’re small and forgivable. Paris is a lovely and moving film, full of offhand gestures and accidents that will linger in your memory, charged with unexpected resonance. --Bret Fetzer

Monday, November 28, 2011

Gracie

  • Meet Gracie Bowen, she's your average, ordinary 15-year-old girl, except for one thing: she's determined to play varsity soccer. on the boys' team! But when her school forbids her to play and even her family questions her ability, Gracie sets out on extraordinary quest to prove them all wrong. Fighting to change the school's policy and facing off against some of the toughest competitors on the so
Sometimes, to follow your dreams…you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhilarating…terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young girl who is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This ! glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret FetzerSometimes, to follow your dreams?you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhi! larating?terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young! girl wh o is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, a! nd written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret FetzerHave you ever dreamed of scoring a goal from the half-way line? Could you bend the ball past a wall of defenders? Have you ever wondered what it takes to become one of the best football players in the world? David Beckham, one of the greatest football heroes of all time, felt it was time to give something back to his fans. Filmed on High-Definition, featuring multi-camera angles, super slow motion, and time slice footage, David shares his knowledge, skills and experiences in this unique and official soccer skills DVD. Never before has a player's technique been dissected so thoroughly. Broken down into easy to use sections - control, space making skills, passing and working for space, turning skills and forward play, crossing, closing down and defending, finishing and free kicks - this is the def! initive soccer skills program. Includes Spanish and French lan! guage ve rsions. Now you can learn to Really Bend It Like Beckham!Sometimes, to follow your dreams?you've go to bend the rules! Audiences and critics alike are cheering wildly for this "exhilarating?terrific comedy" (Entertainment Weekly) about a young girl who is torn between adhering to family traditions and attaining super-stardom on the soccer field. Hailed as the year's must-see crowd pleaser that "makes you feel good and laugh out loud" (Chicago Sun-Times), "Bend It Like Beckham" scores! (Time Magazine)Bend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As ! the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept forever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine and detailed that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret FetzerBend It Like Beckham is true girl power. This glorious comedy centers on Jess (Parminder Nagra), an Indian girl born in England whose only desire is to become a football--or, as we say on this side of the Atlantic, soccer--star like her idol, David Beckham; but her traditional family refuses to even consider it. With the help of her new friend Juliet (Keira Knightley), Jess secretly joins a girls' team under the guidance of a male coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the team starts to gain some attention, Jess's secret can't be kept for! ever. The story of Bend It Like Beckham is so genuine a! nd detai led that it transcends all the sports-movie formulas that it also fulfills with cheeky exuberance. Wonderfully acted, and written and directed with loving care by Gurinder Chadha (Bhaji on the Beach, What's Cooking?), this movie is pure delight from start to finish. --Bret FetzerDisc 1: AQUAMARINE Disc 2: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM Disc 3: JUST MY LUCKMeet Gracie Bowen, she's your average, ordinary 15-year-old girl, except for one thing: she's determined to play varsity soccer... on the boys' team! But when her school forbids her to play and even her family questions her ability, Gracie sets out on extraordinary quest to prove them all wrong. Fighting to change the school's policy and facing off against some of the toughest competitors on the soccer field, Gracie must summon all of her strength and courage, to finally show the world that a girl with a dream can do absolutely anything!

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Both on-screen and off, Gracie is an inspiring family affair that turns real-life tragedy into a spirited tale of fortitude. With former Melrose Place star Andrew Shue serving as producer and playing a supporting role, and his actress sister Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) in a supporting role, this modest, $10 million independent production was directed by Elisabeth Shue's husband, TV veteran Davis Guggenheim (director of Al Gore's global-warming documentary An Inconvenient Truth), and loosely inspired by the death of the Shues' brother, Will. Elisabeth Shue's successful late-1970s campaign to replace her late brother on his high school soccer team serves as the basis for this appealing, no-frills drama about Gracie Bowen (Carly Schroeder), an athletic New Jersey teenager whose soccer-star brother is killed in a car accident. Against the wishes of her initially unsupportive parents (Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth S! hue), she pays tribute to her brother by pursuing his place on! her hig h school's boy's soccer team. The year is 1978 (with Boston's "Don't Look Back" and other '70s hits on the soundtrack), and girls' soccer doesn't yet exist in American high schools, but Gracie's determination pays off, and without attempting to reinvent the wheel, Gracie emerges as a satisfying, emotionally authentic story of personal perseverance. In a role that all teenage girls will relate to, Schroeder (a seasoned child-star veteran of soap operas and sitcoms) gives a quietly forceful performance that's sure to boost her Hollywood profile, and the fine supporting cast and a sensibly-written screenplay keep Gracie from becoming the maudlin tear-jerker it might have been. Gracie isn't a great film by any means, but for all its familial heart and soul, it deserves to be called a winner. --Jeff Shannon

Celebrity

  • A reporter (Kenneth Branagh) assigned to the celebrity beat finds himself on a collision course with four of the most outrageous people he"s ever met: a sensuous starlet (Melanie Griffith), an-out-of-control movie star (Leonardo DiCaprio), an aspiring actress (Winona Ryder) and a sexy supermodel (Charlize Theron). Together they"re going to take him for an unforgettable walk on the wild side of fam
Woody Allen roared back at his detractors with Deconstructing Harry, a bitterly funny treatise about the creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for his movies, the embattled writer-director-star didn't bother to make his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry Block (Allen) pops pills, frequents prostitutes, and cheats on the women in his life, then writes about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to h! is alma mater with a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel, juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated" fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but well worth it; Deconstructing Harry is a near-brilliant mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator, and critic. --Diane GarrettWoody Allen roared back at his detractors with Deconstructing Harry, a bitterly funny treatise about the creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for his movies, the embattled writer-director-star didn't bother to make his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry Block (Allen) pops pills, frequents prostitutes, and cheats on the women in his life, then writ! es about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder ! they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to his alma mater with a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel, juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated" fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but well worth it; Deconstructing Harry is a near-brilliant mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator, and critic. --Diane GarrettWoody Allen roared back at his detractors with Deconstructing Harry, a bitterly funny treatise about the creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for his movies, the embattled writer-director-star didn't bother to make his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry Block (Allen) pops pills, frequents prostitutes, and! cheats on the women in his life, then writes about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to his alma mater with a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel, juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated" fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but well worth it; Deconstructing Harry is a near-brilliant mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator, and critic. --Diane GarrettWoody Allen roared back at his detractors with Deconstructing Harry, a bitterly funny treatise about the creative process. Known to mine his often tumultuous personal life for his movies, the embattled writer-director-star did! n't bother to make his alter ego likable in this movie: Harry ! Block (A llen) pops pills, frequents prostitutes, and cheats on the women in his life, then writes about their foibles in thinly disguised fiction. No wonder they're all furious with him. As Harry journeys to his alma mater with a hooker, ill pal, and kidnapped son, a series of flashbacks unravel, juxtaposing Harry's relationships with their "slightly exaggerated" fictional counterparts. There are amusing cameos throughout, including a humorous turn by Demi Moore as a fictitious ex-wife who "became Jewish with a vengeance," and Billy Crystal as the devil who found Hollywood too nasty for his liking. The humor is dark and caustic, but well worth it; Deconstructing Harry is a near-brilliant mediation on the sometimes queasy relationship between art, creator, and critic. --Diane GarrettHUSBANDS AND WIVES - DVD MovieIn 1992, Woody Allen and Mia Farrow--heretofore the Lunt and Fontanne of Hollywood on the Hudson--went public with a media-saturated battle over Allen's affair ! with Farrow's adopted daughter. Only a few months later, Allen released this film, starring himself and Farrow acting out a virtually identical plot line: an unhappy marriage begins to crumble when the husband strays with a much younger woman (in this case, one of his students, played by Juliette Lewis). It turned out to be one of Allen's most lacerating comedies, a story about the fragility of relationships and the foolishness of older men seeking to recapture their youth with younger women. It features strong performances by Judy Davis, Liam Neeson, and director Sydney Pollack, as a friend of Allen's who chucks his longtime wife for an aerobics instructor, thus planting seeds of marital dissolution in all of his friends' heads. Husbands and Wives provided an uncanny peek into Allen's image of himself and his personal life, despite all of his protestations to the contrary. --Marshall FineWith an incredible all-star cast, this critically acclaimed comedy takes! a hysterical look at the pleasures and pitfalls of fortune an! d fame! Following their divorce, the lives of a restless writer and his inhibited ex-wife take off in outrageously unpredictable directions! While Lee (Kenneth Branagh -- HAMLET, OTHELLO) explores the wilder side of his newfound freedom, Robin (Judy Davis -- DECONSTRUCTING HARRY) begins an improbable transformaiton from neurotic schoolteacher to high-profile T.V. talk show host! Whether it's partying with supermodels, sexy encounters with movie stars, or interviews with the cream of high society, CELEBRITY offers you a riotous excuse to rub shoulders with the kind of people we all love to celebrate!Woody Allen's portrait of the celebrity life--as seen through the eyes of a newly divorced couple--is a black-and-white, New York-style La Dolce Vita that's a chillier flip side to Allen's earlier New York valentine, Manhattan. Despite a few missteps, though, it's an admirable (if dark) and worthy addition to the Allen pantheon. Kenneth Branagh and Judy Davis (both boasting! American accents) star as the once-marrieds, each struggling to build new, separate lives in a media-saturated, celebrity-driven world. He tries his hands at celebrity profiles (while peddling a screenplay to any star that will listen) and falls into the lap of a bosomy starlet (Melanie Griffith), the first in a long line of briefly attainable women. She runs into a producer (Joe Mantegna) who offers her a job as a TV personality as well as a loving relationship. This seemingly simple double plot is punctuated with twists and turns in the form of flashbacks and innumerable side trips, all ravishingly photographed in black and white by the legendary Sven Nykvist, and populated by one of Allen's largest casts ever; if you blink you'll miss countless cameos by Isaac Mizrahi, Donald Trump, Hank Azaria, and a host of others.

While Davis is splendid as usual (aside from the requisite nervous breakdown scene she's done one too many times), somebody should have told Branagh t! o put a kibosh on his Woody Allen imitation, which is so impec! cable as to become irritating. His failure in the role, however, isn't entirely his fault, as it's also another in a long line of unlikable male protagonists that Allen has created, as if daring audiences to hate his main characters after loving them in such movies as Manhattan and Annie Hall. He's never more unlikable than in a painful sequence in which he tags along with a spoiled, temperamental teen idol (a shrewd and clever Leonardo DiCaprio) and proves himself the quintessential noodge. Far more enjoyable misadventures with Branagh include Charlize Theron in the film's best performance as a libidinous supermodel with a penchant for echinacea; a stunning Famke Janssen as a successful book editor Branagh almost moves in with; and Winona Ryder, acting like an adult for the first time, as an aspiring actress who catches Branagh's eye more than once. All manage to slip through Branagh's fingers by the end of the film.

Despite the film's lack of focus, Allen aficio! nados will want this film for at least two wonderful moments, one in which Davis seeks solace from a streetwise fortune teller after she's fleeing her own wedding, and a beautiful nighttime scene in which Branagh romances a captivated Ryder at a subway kiosk. Both episodes prove that Allen, despite the fitful period he's moved into, still has that movie magic. --Mark Englehart

Follow My Voice - With the Music of Hedwig

  • One record producer, the creators of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and top indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School-the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth. Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial sc
This is the story of hedwig an ambitious glam-rocker who comes to america determined to find fame fortune and his other half. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 06/03/2003 Run time: 91 minutes Rating: RSometimes grace and hope come in surprising packages. The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a would-be glam-rock star from East Germany, undergoes a botched gender-change operation in order to escape from the Soviet bloc, only to watch the Berlin Wall come down on TV after b! eing abandoned in a trailer park in middle America. Hedwig gets involved with Tommy, an adolescent boy who steals her songs and becomes a stadium-filling musical act. Suffering from a broken heart and a lust for revenge, Hedwig follows Tommy's tour, playing with her band (the Angry Inch) at tacky theme restaurants. Into this simple storyline, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell packs an astonishing mix of sadness, yearning, humor, and kick-ass songs with a little Platonic philosophy tucked inside for good measure. A visually dazzling gem of a movie. --Bret FetzerSometimes grace and hope come in surprising packages. The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a would-be glam-rock star from East Germany, undergoes a botched gender-change operation in order to escape from the Soviet bloc, only to watch the Berlin Wall come down on TV after being abandoned in a trailer park in middle America. Hedwig gets involved with Tommy, an adolescent boy who stea! ls her songs and becomes a stadium-filling musical act. Suffer! ing from a broken heart and a lust for revenge, Hedwig follows Tommy's tour, playing with her band (the Angry Inch) at tacky theme restaurants. Into this simple storyline, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell packs an astonishing mix of sadness, yearning, humor, and kick-ass songs with a little Platonic philosophy tucked inside for good measure. A visually dazzling gem of a movie. --Bret FetzerSometimes grace and hope come in surprising packages. The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a would-be glam-rock star from East Germany, undergoes a botched gender-change operation in order to escape from the Soviet bloc, only to watch the Berlin Wall come down on TV after being abandoned in a trailer park in middle America. Hedwig gets involved with Tommy, an adolescent boy who steals her songs and becomes a stadium-filling musical act. Suffering from a broken heart and a lust for revenge, Hedwig follows Tommy's tour, playing with her band (the Angry Inch) at t! acky theme restaurants. Into this simple storyline, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell packs an astonishing mix of sadness, yearning, humor, and kick-ass songs with a little Platonic philosophy tucked inside for good measure. A visually dazzling gem of a movie. --Bret FetzerHedwig (John Cameron Mitchell) is a Berlin singer whose sex-change operation left her with an "angry inch" and a taste for eyeliner. Closer to the New York Dolls than to New York's post-Sondheimian composers, Mitchell and composer-lyricist Stephen Trask rehabilitate the decadent bombast of early-'70s glam rock in a succession of catchy numbers. Hedwig makes a great transition from stage to record because the book is wafer-thin and lets the band focus on individual songs instead of trying to integrate a narrative: this is indeed the most radio-friendly cast album in a long time. So what if Trask has never met a power chord he didn't like? It may not revolutionize the musical theater,! but the grand finale, "Midnight Radio," will have you reachin! g for a lighter. --Elisabeth VincentelliSometimes grace and hope come in surprising packages. The title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a would-be glam-rock star from East Germany, undergoes a botched gender-change operation in order to escape from the Soviet bloc, only to watch the Berlin Wall come down on TV after being abandoned in a trailer park in middle America. Hedwig gets involved with Tommy, an adolescent boy who steals her songs and becomes a stadium-filling musical act. Suffering from a broken heart and a lust for revenge, Hedwig follows Tommy's tour, playing with her band (the Angry Inch) at tacky theme restaurants. Into this simple storyline, writer-director-star John Cameron Mitchell packs an astonishing mix of sadness, yearning, humor, and kick-ass songs with a little Platonic philosophy tucked inside for good measure. A visually dazzling gem of a movie. --Bret FetzerOne record producer, the creators of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and top ! indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk High School-the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth.

Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial school with a unique chronicle of the yearlong creation of Wig in a Box, the album whose songs poignantly echo these teens struggles and aspirations. Audiences around the world became instant Hed Heads as Hedwig, like everyone who was ever young, questions TheOrigin of Love, dreams of a Sugar Daddy, feels like a Freak and curses a Wicked Little Town.

Meanwhile, the little known Harvey Milk School for at-risk youth, operating for 20 years in New York City s East Village quickly became the subject of international news when it received accreditation and financial support from NYC. A furious controversy over public funding ignit! e passionate self-determination from the kids and a deeper com! mitment from the artists who them-selves know what it s like to be outside the mainstream.

Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verité documentation, student video diaries, and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, Follow My Voice offers a powerful look at this unlikely intersection of youth, gender and rock. Includes Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, Ben Folds, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, John Cameron Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and more.
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