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Shine a Light (2008)
dir. Martin Scorsese
I must've planned to see this 5 or 6 times while it was in theaters, but somehow I never made it. I'm looking forward to checking it out, although I'm not quite sure if I want to blind-buy....it seems like such an obvious winner, though.
Product Decsription:
Martin Scorsese leaps into the madness of the Rolling Stones’ organization in Shine a Light, barely controlling (in a most entertaining way) a documentary that culminates in the Stones’ best concert on film. The movie’s highly entertaining, pre-performance prologue finds a frazzled Scorsese trying to get a clue about the band’s plans for a very special New York City date in 2006, a benefit hosted by Bill and Hillary Clinton. While Mick Jagger quibbles over concepts for the stage’s set and peruses lists of possible songs to include in the show, Scorsese tries to figure out how to shoot something for which he has few production details. Everything falls into place eventually, and after an extraordinary meet-and-greet scene in which Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, and Charlie Watts catch up with the Clintons and sweetly introduce themselves to Hillary’s mom, the Stones launch into a set that leans less heavily than usual on their greatest hits canon. Longtime fans are sure to appreciate the wealth of generally-untapped material from Let It Bleed ("You Got the Silver," "Live With Me"), Exile On Main Street ("All Down the Line," "Loving Cup"), and Some Girls ("Faraway Eyes," "Just My Imagination"). Jack White, Christina Aguilera, and Buddy Guy are on hand for memorable collaborations, but the Stones all alone are truly on fire in the relatively intimate setting of a small theater. Among the highlights is a sexy and even thrilling call-and-response between Jagger and ace backup singer Lisa Fischer on "She Was Hot," Richards’ gracious and expansive solo on "Connection," and Jagger’s witty take on "Some Girls" (which manages to skip over the controversial verse about "black girls"). Throughout the show, Scorsese and an army of camera operators cover the action from every conceivable angle, which results not so much in another hyperkinetic concert film but rather in the kind of graceful, flattering portrayal of a great band that the director mastered with The Last Waltz.
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Dark City (Director's Cut) (1998)
dir. Alex Proyas
One of the best sci-fi movies of the 90's, or probably ever. Everyone involved is at the top of their game, which, considering the cast, says a ton. This movie makes me wish Rufus Sewell was cast in more leading roles. This is by far Alex Proyas's best movie, and if he really is in talks to direct a Silver Surfer movie, then I can't wait.
Product Decsription:
Upon awakening with a start in an icy bathtub in a strange room--with a woman's dead body inconveniently nearby--John Murdoch can't remember how he got there. With a police detective hot on his trail and a psychiatrist skulking around, Murdoch discovers that the key to his mystery is the presence of strange extraterrestrial creatures, the Strangers, who are experimenting with the memories of the humans in his city--from which there may be no escape. Ambitious sci-fi noir, with rich production design and a dense, Kafkaesque concept, made DARK CITY a cult classic.
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Inglorious Bastards (3-Disc Special Edition) (1977)
dir. Enzo G. Castellari
Now that Quinten Tarantino finally finished his script for the "remake" and is looking for a buyer, this 3-disc set probably couldn't have come out at a better time. My only wish is that it was being released under its alternate title, "G.I. Bro" (ahahahahah)
Product Decsription:
"Whatever THE DIRTY DOZEN did," screamed the ads, "they do it dirtier!" INGLORIOUS BASTARDS is more than just the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's long-rumored next movie; this 1978 international smash remains perhaps the biggest and most badass war movie in EuroCult history! Exploitation legends Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson and Bo (WALKING TALL, KILL BILL) Svenson star as the leaders of a gang of condemned criminals who escape from an Allied prison camp with a plan to blast their way to the Swiss border, only to find themselves 'volunteering' for a suicide mission deep inside Nazi occupied France. Academy Award(r) nominee Ian Bannen (FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, BRAVEHEART) co-stars in this explosive action epic from director Enzo Castellari (STREET LAW, THE BIG RACKET), now fully restored from original vault elements for the first time ever in America!
DVD Features:
Quentin Tarantino and Enzo Castellari in Conversation" - An all-new featurette with the two legendary directors
"Train-Kept-A-Rollin'" - Documentary with Director Enzo Castellari, Stars Fred Williamson, Bo Svenson and Massimo Vanni, Special Effects Artist Gino de Rossi, Producer Roberto Sbarigia, Screenwriter Laura Toscano and Filippo De Masi
"Back to the War Zone" - Locations feturette with Director Enzo Castellari and Special Effects Artist Gino de Rossi
U.S., Italian and German Theatrical Trailers
Audio Commentary with Director Enzo Castellari
Bonus Soundtrack CD containing the previously unreleased score of INGLORIOUS BASTARDS
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Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay (Unrated Two-Disc Special Edition) (2008)
dir. Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg
I didn't expect much from the first Harold & Kumar, but I ended up really liking it. I didn't expect much from this one either, but the results weren't as enjoyable. This movie definitely had it moments, especially emo-Harold and Christopher Meloni's grand wizard.
Product Decsription:
Beginning precisely where Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle left off, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay takes the film franchise in a more boorish and spuriously topical direction. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) take an ill-fated flight to Amsterdam, during which Kumar's suspicious-looking bong is mistaken for a bomb. Their arrest prompts a wild-eyed, racist Homeland Security nut (Rob Corddry) to send the boys to indefinite lockup at Guantanamo Bay, where beefy guards sexually subjugate "enemy combatants." The duo manage to get away and make it back to the U.S., hoping the well-connected fiance (Eric Winter) of Kumar's old girlfriend, Vanessa (Danneel Harris), can get them out of their mess. During a dangerous and grotesque odyssey to Texas (where Vanessa is marrying her rich and vain boyfriend, much to Kumar's dismay), Harold and Kumar have episodic encounters with the Ku Klux Klan, a one-eyed, inbred monster, and old friend Neil Patrick Harris (as himself), who swallows fistfuls of magic mushrooms and drags the boys to a brothel stop that goes terribly wrong.
The desultory comedy strikes a lowbrow tone from its opening scene (Harold takes a shower while Kumar has a diarrhea attack) and doesn't get much more interesting than that. If there's a bodily fluid that doesn't rate a joke in Guantanamo Bay, it doesn't exist. The persistent sight gags about weed (including a smoky visit with President Bush) never reach the kind of giddy pitch that pot humor requires, leaving a lot of the film's comedy just hanging like dead space. The sequel's attempt to say something, albeit in a gross way, about the state of the country during the Bush years is obvious and empty. Really, there isn't a lot of reason for Guantanamo Bay to have been made, except to print money. --Tom Keogh
DVD Features:
2 Audio Commentaries
interactive Dude, Change The Movie! option
trailers
featurettes
deleted scenes
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Doomsday (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (2008)
dir. Neil Marshall
I enjoyed Neil Marshall's last movie (The Descent) and I'll watch anything with Bob Hoskins, so I'll probably check this out soon.
Product Decsription:
Loud, violent, and proudly derivative, the post-apocalyptic action-thriller Doomsday is the latest from UK cult director Neil Marshall, who impressed horror fans with his previous efforts, Dog Soldiers and The Descent. Both pictures established Marshall as a director with a knack for reinventing well-worn genre pictures, but here, he seems more interested in stitching together favorite scenes and elements from established horror and science-fiction films. Escape from New York is the main source for Doomsday, though there are plenty of nods to The Road Warrior and its multitude of Italian-made carbon copies, as well as the zombie/plague subgenre; the lovely but impassive Rhona Mitra is the Snake Plissken-esque loner sent by police (represented by Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland, which has descended into anarchy following a viral outbreak. The disease has surfaced in London (now a walled city), and Mitra is dispatched to find a scientist who may possess a cure. Marshall's vision of Scotland in ruins brings together the punk/modern primitive costume design of George Miller's Mad Max trilogy with some eclectic homegrown elements (knights on horseback defending a gang leader's castle), and while these touches are novel, the picture as a whole should ring overly familiar to any viewer who's spent time in the exploitation trenches during the past 25 years. Younger and less discerning audience members will undoubtedly enjoy the plentiful violence and gore, as well as the unbridled performances of the supporting cast, especially stuntwoman/actress Lee-Ann Liebenberg as the heavily tattooed Viper.
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Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008)
dir. P.J. Pesce
Really? Someone thought this was a good idea? Well, let's try and list some of the positives...umm.....Keifer Sutherland's half-brother Angus is in it, and the 2 Corey's are back (can't decide if this is good or bad. Probably bad.).
Product Decsription:
Risking everything in search of the ultimate rush is fun when you know you can't die. Angus Sutherland, taking up where brother Kiefer left off in the original cult favorite, is the lead vampire in this modern reimagining of The Lost Boys. The seaside village of Luna Bay is rife with outcasts and plagued by an outbreak of missing persons. As the sun sets, the Tribe rises: a group of adrenalin-fueled, thrill-crazed vampires tears up the surf and the streets with nonstop action. But when a champion surfer (Tad Hilgenbrinck) and his sister (Autumn Reeser) move in, dark secrets erupt into hot-blooded passion and full-blooded fear. Helping fight the forces of hell: Corey Feldman in his signature role of vampire hunter Edgar Frog. Once you join the Tribe, there's no turning back.
DVD Features:
3 Yeah Whatever Music Videos: Downfall, Hell Is Full, & It's Over Now
All-New Remix Music Video Of Cry Little Sister By G Tom Mac
Alternate Endings
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Featurettes: Lost Boys - The Tribe - Action Junkies, & Edgar Frog's Guide To Coming Back Alive
Includes Both Widescreen & Full Screen Versions Of The Film!
Interactive Menus
Scene Selection
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
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Tai Chi Master (1993)
dir. Yuen Woo Ping
I know this movie as Twin Warriors, and I also know it as totally kick-ass. You can't fuck with Woo-Ping.
Product Decsription:
A pair of lifelong friends are expelled from their Shaolin temple after being accused of cheating. Tienbao becomes a powerful and oppressive military leader while the other, Junbao, (Li) joins the rebels. Only the discipline of Tai Chi can help Junbao defeat his former friend. Includes some of the most spectacular martial arts fight scenes ever filmed, including a huge finale with a cast of thousands.
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Challenge of The Masters (1978)
dir. Liu Chia-Liang
Product Decsription:
Wong Fei-hung (Gordon Liu THE 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN) tries to gain entry into his father's martial arts school but is deemed too immature to handle it. Eventually a revered master (Chen Kuan Tai HEROES TWO) agrees to train him. After hearing of a friend's murder Fei-hung kicks his training into high gear in order to take on the killer (director Lau Kar Leung DRUNKEN MASTER 2).Along with Director Lau's extraordinary choreography CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS boasts a moral depth rarely seen in kung fu movies of the time. Fei-hung takes both a physical and spiritual journey finding strength maturity and even compassion on his path to vengeance.
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The Band's Visit (2007)
dir. Eran Kolirin
Product Decsription:
Can movies change the world? In a word, no. But Israeli writer and director Eran Kolirin's utterly charming and engaging The Band's Visit suggests that if we could somehow put aside the politics and the religion, stifle the governments and the rhetoric, and mix in a little Gershwin, maybe even people with a history of cross-cultural suspicion and hostility really can get along. Not that the film has such pretensions--far from it. This is a simple tale involving a group of Egyptian musicians, the Alexandria Police Ceremonial Orchestra, who arrive in Israel for a concert. Things don't go well; there's no one to meet them at the airport, and they mistakenly end up in a small, drab desert town called Bet Hatikva, a place whose own residents refer to it as "bloody nowhere." But the people, especially café owner Dina (a marvelous performance by Ronit Elkabetz), are friendly and welcoming, and when they urge the band members to stay overnight before heading to their proper destination the next day, strait-laced leader Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai) finally relents. What follows is a series of plain but lovely scenes, as the Egyptians and Israelis (speaking English, their common language) tentatively search for common ground. Khaled (Saleh Bakri), the ladies man of the group ("Do you like Chet Baker?" is his favorite pick-up line), accompanies two young couples to a roller rink, where he comically helps the painfully timid Papi (Shlomi Avraham) connect with his date; meanwhile, the dignified but taciturn Tewfiq gradually warms to Dina's manifest charms, and the other musicians share a rousing chorus of "Summertime" with their Israeli hosts. The Band's Visit is filled with moments of humor, tenderness, tension, sadness, regret, and, as one character puts it, "tons of loneliness," every one of them delivered without the slightest bit of pretension or manipulation (not to mention political or religious overtones). And when, at the end, we finally hear the Orchestra perform, we only wish we could spend more time with all of these delightful characters. --Sam Graham
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Cocaine Cowboys 2 - Hustlin' With The Godmother (2008)
dir. Billy Corben
Product Decsription:
This sequel to 2006's phenomenal documentary on Miami's cocaine economy takes the action to Oakland in the 1990s. When Charles Cosby writes a letter to the imprisoned Griselda Blanco (the terrifying "Cocaine Godmother" seen in the first film), the street-level dealer is quickly set on the fast track, becoming Griselda's lover and eventually raking in millions of dollars in the drug trade. But can Charles survive a jealous woman who's known for violently dispatching with her men as soon as they lose their usefulness?
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Centennial: The Complete Series (1978)
dir. n/a
Product Decsription:
A remarkably ambitious and engrossing project, this 1978 television miniseries ran 26-and-a-half hours, cost a then-enormous $25 million, and involved 4 directors, 5 cinematographers, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 speaking parts. Based on James Michener's panoramic bestseller about the settling of the American West--as reflected in the history of a fictional town called Centennial, Colorado--the story begins in the late 18th century and ends with a typical 20th century conflict over land usage. Centennial, however, largely concentrates on various memorable frontiersmen, trappers, Indians, ranchers, cowboys, and farmers from long ago. Richard Chamberlain shines as the pioneer Alexander McKeag, Robert Conrad does some of his best work as French-Canadian Pasquinel, and performances by Alex Karras, Chad Everett, Sally Kellerman, Raymond Burr, Richard Crenna, David Janssen, and Dennis Weaver effectively add to a tapestry of adventure, tragedy, violence, and dubious Western progress. Produced at a time when TV networks were in the throes of acknowledging America's history of racial injustice, the program paints a starkly villainous portrait of opportunists exploiting and destroying Indians in the name of manifest destiny. While the project's great length might make one wary of diving in, Centennial is the sort of carefully paced drama that makes one care about the intertwined destinies of unique characters and how they illuminate America's past. --Tom Keogh
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Extasis (1996)
dir. Mariano Barroso
Might signal the start of the Javier Bardem import season.
Product Decsription:
Gripping and intense this unusual tale of seduction stars Oscar(r)Winner JAVIER BARDEM in one of his earliest films. Rober (BARDEM) areckless 25-year-old concocts an outrageous scheme with friend Max(DANIEL GUZMAN) and girlfriend Lola (SILVIA MUNT) - they will robtheir families and flee their hometown. When Max is arrested during oneof the robberies Rober impersonates him and successfully dupesMax's estranged wealthy father (FEDERICO LUPPI) into giving them bailmoney. But the trio's plan goes awry when Rober refuses to give uphis luxurious new life putting all of them at risk...
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Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection
MOVIES INCLUDE:
Cafe Metropole (1937)
Girls' Dormitory (1936)
Johnny Apollo (1940)
Daytime Wife (1939)
Luck of the Irish (1948)
I'll Never Forget You (1951)
That Wonderful Urge (1948)
Love Is News (1937)
This Above All (1942)
Second Honeymoon (1937)
How awesome would it be to be named Tyrone Power? Too bad he died of a heartattack in his mid-forties. He starred in the classics Witness for the Prosecution and Nightmare Alley. This is a collection of some of his lesser known movies, spanning 15 years.
Product Decsription:
A new collection of 10 features new to DVD starring Fox's biggest heart-throb Tyrone Power.This FIVE disc collection of NEW TO DVD double-features and new VAM about Hollywood s most handsome leading man.
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The Cool School (2007)
dir. Morgan Neville
Product Decsription:
This documentary explores the embryonic L.A. art scene in the 1950s and '60s. It focuses on the Ferus Gallery, which helped bring together a group of visionary artists who were soon catapulted into national stars. Interviews and vintage footage fill out this story of competitive artists--such as Ed Kienholz, Wallace Berman, and Ed Moses--and the influence of money and fame. Chiming in to share their thoughts on the period are Dean Stockwell, Dennis Hopper, Frank Gehry, and many others.
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Privilege (1967)
dir. Peter Watkins
Product Decsription:
Steven Shorter (played by Manfred Mann lead singer, PAUL JONES) is a rock music phenomenon. His popularity, carefully engineered by his corporate handlers, has reached dizzying proportions. But, when artist Vanessa Ritchie (played by the original supermodel, JEAN SHRIMPTON) is hired to paint his portrait, she discovers that he is unhappy and unstable. When matters take a devious twist, Steve rebels in a startling manner.
In the wake of the controversy surrounding his Oscar®-winning anti-nuclear drama The War Game, director PETER WATKINS fashioned a darkly comic vision of a totalitarian near-future. So forceful was Privilege in its criticism of the media, corporate culture and the state that it was greeted with a potent mix of praise and abuse on its first release. Its prescience and the questions it asks about manipulation and control make Watkins film even more relevant today.
DVD Features:
New High Definition video transfer
26 minute short film Lonely Boy (1962) featuring Paul Anka in his prime
Optional English and French subtitles
Original PRIVILEGE trailer
Stills and poster gallery
Peter Watkins filmography
Collector's booklet
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Hair Extensions (EXTE): Special Edition (2007)
dir. Sion Sono
Product Decsription:
Customs agents discover a huge amount of human hair along with the bald corpse of a young girl. This arouses the curiosity of Yamazaki a mortuary employee with a hair fetish (Ren Osugi) particularly since the girl's hair continues to grow. Now a mad hair-peddler with an endless stock of locks Yamazaki hocks his wares to salons to be used for hair extensions. Meanwhile Yuko (Chiaki Kuriyama KILL BILL Vol. 1 BATTLE ROYALE) an up-and-coming hair stylist is entrusted with the care of her timid and frightened niece Mami whose body bares the signs of abuse. It's not long before death surrounds them and their extension-wearing clientele. The hair it seems has a life of its own with lethal vengeful intentions. And Yuko and Mami must untangle the mystery before more deaths occur. Directed by Sion Sono (SUICIDE CLUB) HAIR EXTENSIONS will make your hair stand on end!
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