No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimoumovies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. Bret Fetzer
Four planes had been hijacked. One would crash into the Pentagon one would be brought down in a field in Pennsylvania. Two would crash into the World Trade Center where thousands would lose their lives. No one could believe the devastation over which a single flag would rise in a place called Ground Zero. Now In Memoriam: New York City 9/11/01 draws on an incredible gathering of still and video material from more than 100 people in and around New York City who witnessed the day's events. The program presents a panoramic and unique historical record of the day supported by a moving score performed by the New York Philharmonic composed entirely of music by American composers.Running Time: 62 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC: 026359197024
Marvel Iron Man (2-Disc) (Blu-ray) Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you've been waiting for, "Iron Man"! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he's on a mission to savethe world as a hero who's built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, it's a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).
Lincoln six-echo is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid-21st century. Lincoln soon discovers that his existence is a lie. He makes a daring escape with fellow resident jordan two-delta & they engage in a race for their lives. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/21/2007 Starring: Ewan Mcgregor Sean Bean Run time: 136 minutes Rating: Pg13
All the jackasses you love from the mtv series are back performing stunts no one would let them pull off on television. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 08/21/2007 Rating: Ur
It's impossible to walk away from John Q. without thinking about the film that could have been. The pathetic state of health care in the U.S. and the desperate behavior it engenders is not only worthy but edgy material; no doubt director Nick Cassavetes (She's So Lovely) and Denzel Washington (as well as Robert Duvall, Ray Liotta, James Woods, and Anne Heche) were drawn to the provocative pitch. The only snag is that John Q. has about as much edge as an after-school special. Washington plays John Quincy Archibald, a hard-working factory worker whose house stands to be repossessed and whose lovely wife (Kimberly Elise) is at her wits' end. When his extremely cute son collapses while rounding the bases in a Little League game, things go from bad to worse. John Q. takes a downtown Chicago emergency room hostage when he learns that the heart transplant his son needs won't be performed because his health care doesn't cover it. The action-drama that ensuesreplete with one-liners, stilted debate, inept snipers, and multiple references to O.J. Simpson's white Broncois so littered with clichés that the issues, timely ones, get lost in a crescendo of melodrama. Fionn Meade |
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/27/2007 Rating: Pg13
Arguably the most interesting and compelling feature in the Left Behind trilogy, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force finds the series' major characterstelevision journalist Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron), passenger jet captain Rayford Steele (Brad Johnson), his daughter Chloe (Janaya Stephens), and Pastor Bruce Barnes (Clarence Gilyard)forming the core of a group dedicated to infiltrating and disrupting operations of the Anti-Christ, i.e., Nicolae Carpathia (a scary Gordon Currie), who has become leader of a world government. Meanwhile, humankind looks increasingly desolate and bleak, as the reality sinks in that hundreds of millions of people who suddenly vanishedincluding all the world's childrenin the last film are not coming back. Veteran television director Bill Corcoran makes much of his scant resources to paint an apocalyptic vision, and when the film gets to indulge in some nifty effects (a pair of fire-breathing prophetsliterally), the result is powerful. Drama, relationships, character development, and performances are quite smooth and should appeal to Christian and non-Christian viewers alike. Tom Keogh
The explosive and edgy Lethal Weapon introduced America to its favorite modern buddy team: Mel Gibson's suicidal firecracker Martin Riggs, a Vietnam vet whose reckless stunts earn him a reputation as the Los Angeles Police Department's least desirable partner, and Danny Glover's aging family man Roger Murtaugh, a veteran detective who wants nothing more than to gracefully live to see his pension. Richard Donner's smash movie is sleek, stylish, and practically nonstop action, but it's the chemistry between the combustible energy of Gibson and the paternal reserve of Glover that makes this combination so lethal. A sequel was inevitable, so Lethal Weapon 2 sent Riggs and Murtaugh after a South African drug syndicate, tossed funnyman Joe Pesci into the mix as a comic foil, and upped the ante of explosions, car chases, and apocalyptic property damage. Kung fu-kicking Rene Russo signed on for Lethal Weapon 3, a "mad genius run amok" adventure rushed into production without a finished script (and it shows in sloppy ad-libbed scenes) and crammed with wild high-speed chases and spectacular explosions. When Lethal Weapon 4 hit screens in 1998, the starring cast had ballooned: hot comic Chris Rock joined Gibson, Glover, Russo, and Pesci to take on a Chinese counterfeiting and slavery ring led by Hong Kong martial arts superstar Jet Li. Director Richard Donner helms every installment of his series, topping the frenzy of action and pyrotechnics with each new feature; watching the arc of the Lethal Weapon franchise is like a crash course in American action cinema of the '90s: bigger, faster, louder. Yet at the heart of every film is Riggs and Murtaugh, mismatched partners who become unlikely buddies, ready to lay their lives down for one another. By the climax of Lethal Weapon 4, as they team up against the fighting fury of Jet Li, their friendship has become the defining drive of the series. Sean Axmaker
When your mother is an angel and your father is the devil life can be really confusing. For little nicky it just got a whole lot worse. His two evil brothers have just escaped from hell and are wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting earth. His dad is disintegrating and its up to nicky to save him and humanity. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 12/09/2008 Starring: Adam Sandler Patricia Arquette Run time: 84 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Steven Brill
Neo and the rebel leaders estimate that they have 72 hours until 250000 probes discover zion and destroy it and its inhabitants. During this neo must decide how he can save trinity from a dark fate in his dreams. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/15/2007 Starring: Keanu Reeves Laurence Fishburne Run time: 138 minutes Rating: R Director: Andy & Larry Wachowski
It is a dark time for the world. Neo is trapped in the train station between the matrix & the source. Zion is doomed to be crushed under an unstoppable army of countless sentinels. But it is not only the human race that is in peril. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/15/2007 Starring: Keanu Reeves Laurence Fishburne Run time: 129 minutes Rating: R
In the near future a computer hacker named neo discovers that all life on earth may be nothing more than an elaborate facade created by a malevolent cyber-intelligence for the purpose of placating us while our life essence is farmed to fuel the matrixs campaign of domination in the real world. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 05/15/2007 Starring: Keanu Reeves Laurence Fishburne Run time: 136 minutes Rating: R Director: Andy Wachowski/larry Wachowski |
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