Tuesday, August 9, 2011

My Sister's Keeper

  • What keeps a family together? Nick Cassavetes, the director of The Notebook and John Q, again demonstrates his sure hand with tales of deep human emotion in this inspiring film about a loving family challenged and united by a child s illness. Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin and others in an exceptional cast bring sensitivity to the story of 11-year-old Anna Fitzgerald, conceived to be
HOLIDAY - DVD MovieAs a pleasant dose of holiday cheer, The Holiday is a lovable love story with all the Christmas trimmings. In the capable hands of writer-director Nancy Meyers (making her first romantic comedy since Something's Gotta Give), it all begins when two successful yet unhappy women connect through a home-swapping website, and decide to trade houses for the Christmas holiday in a mutual effort to forget their man troubles. Iris (Kate Winslet) is a London-based journalist who! lives in a picture-postcard cottage in Surrey, and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) owns a movie-trailer production company (leading her to cutely imagine most of her life as a "coming attraction") and lives in a posh mansion in Beverly Hills. Iris is heartbroken from unrequited love with a cad of a colleague (Rufus Sewell), and Amanda has just broken up with her cheating boyfriend (Edward Burns), so their home-swapping offers mutual downtime to reassess their love lives. This being a Nancy Meyers movie (where everything is fabulously decorated and romantic wish-fulfillment is virtually guaranteed), Amanda hooks up with Iris's charming brother Graham (Jude Law), and Iris is unexpectedly smitten with Miles (Jack Black), a super-nice film composer on the downside of a failing relationship. --Jeff Shannon


Extras from The Holiday



First Look Featurette
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Film Clip: "Sushi for Two"
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Film Clip: "Oh Brother"
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Stills from The Holiday (click for larger image)







Beyond The Holiday on Amazon.com


On Blu-ray

CD Soundtrack

The Films of ! Nancy Meyers

SWEETEST THING - DVD MoviePrudes, beware! Despite its tendency to take the comedic low road, The Sweetest Thing is a near-perfect product of the new-millennial Hollywood. That's a backhanded compliment, but as a fun-loving Yankee girl's answer to Bridget Jones's Diary, the mainstream pandering of Nancy Pimental's lucrative screenplay is undeniably effective. On the opening soundtrack, Macy Gray's "Sexual Revolution" is a perfect accompaniment to gyrating guy-dumper Christina (Cameron Diaz), whose fear of commitment is tested when she meets Peter (Thomas Jane) and knows he's Mr. Right. With supportive gal-pals Courtney (Christina Applegate) and Jane (Selma Blair), she plots to snag the guy, and the movie's road-trip detour mines gut-busting gold from gags involving incriminating dress stains, oral sex, rotting food, garish clothing, and the simple joys of old-fashioned romance. Perfectly cast, raucously ribald, a! nd conventionally charming, The Sweetest Thing is a sch! izophren ic comedy, but its dual personalities are irresistibly in synch. --Jeff ShannonAfter the wildest party night of their lives, two mismatched strangers, Jack (Ashton Kutcher) and Joy (Cameron Diaz), wake up in Vegas to discover they not only got lucky â?" they got married! The road to annulment takes a hilarious turn after Jack wins a three-million-dollar jackpot while playing Joyâ??s quarter and a no-nonsense judge (Dennis Miller) sentences them to six months â??hard marriage.â? What follows is an all-out war of the sexes as Jack and Joy go to outrageous lengths to try and cheat each other out of the money. But in the end, they may learn that when you gamble on love, you just might win, against all odds!What Happens in Vegas is a comedy waiting to happen. It takes an old premise (drunk strangers regretting their decision to get married in Las Vegas) and adds in a dilemma (a $3 million slot machine win) that could've been easily resolved. But then again, th! ere would've been no movie if the unhappily wedded couple figured out that splitting the money in half and getting their marriage annulled would've been quick and effective. Cameron Diaz plays uptight clean-freak Joy, who has just been dumped by her fiance. Ashton Kutcher is Jack, a slacker furniture maker who has been fired--by his own dad. Each goes to Vegas to let off some steam. And while they have nothing in common (except being exceptionally good looking) they make out, get married, and fight over the money Jack wins with Joy's quarter. Instead of letting the couple get divorced, a judge sentences the odd couple to half a year of marriage. What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas, but extends into New York where Jack and Joy live. Both actors have fared well in comedies, especially Diaz in My Best Friend's Wedding. And while Kutcher still has to live down Dude, Where's My Car?, he showed a lot of comedic flair and charm in A Lot Like Love. But ! the two face an uphill battle here with inane dialogue and a p! remise t hat not only is unbelievable, but unlikeable. The two are so incompatible (and immature) they can't even control bathroom time and, in Jack's case, his bladder. --Jae-Ha Kim


Beyond What Happens in Vegas on DVD


27 Dresses on DVD

Juno on DVD

Dodgeball â€" A True Underdog Story on DVD



Stills from What Happens in Vegas (Click for larger image)








Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette! and Shirley MacLaine "all deserve Oscars®"(WCBC-TV) for thei! r hilari ous and moving performances in "the most rewarding family comedy since Terms of Endearment." (New York Magazine) Flirty, flaky party girl Maggie (Diaz) and plain, dependable lawyer Rose (Collette) are sisters, best friends and bitter rivals who seem to have only two things in common: DNA and size 8 1/2 feet. Only when their love-hate relationship veers towards the hate end of the spectrum do they accidentally discover they also share a long-lost grandmother (MacLaine) who enriches their lives and helps them make peace with each otherâ€"and themselves!In Her Shoes just gets better and better as it goes along. As adapted by Erin Brockovich screenwriter Susannah Grant, this is one of those rare movies that actually improves on its source material (Jennifer Weiner's "chick lit" bestseller), with thoughtful direction by Curtis Hanson, the L.A. Confidential Oscar®-winner who approaches any chosen genre with Hawksian versatility. At first it seems like ! Weiner's novel might yield a standard melodrama of sibling rivalry, but the polar opposition of smart, plain-looking Philadelphia lawyer Rose (the always-excellent Toni Collette) and her sexy, illiterate, irresponsible sister Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is just the starting point. In Her Shoes becomes a moving, richly developed character study that deals with painful loss, long-term guilt, negative self-image, and the discovery of a heretofore unknown grandmother named Ella (played with delicate nuance by Shirley MacLaine), whose re-entry into the sisters' lives sets the stage for the well-earned emotions of a satisfying reconciliation. As Maggie takes stock of her dismal life while staying with Ella at a Florida "retirement home for active seniors," Hanson never condescends to these likable characters, and never goes for the easy laughs in a setting that could have devolved into Cocoon-like comedy. The movie's all the more endearing for treating its male characters! (played by Mark Feuerstein, Ken Howard, and Richard Burgi) wi! th equal depth and sympathy, further enhancing a classy tearjerker that viewers of both genders can thoroughly enjoy. --Jeff ShannonBig screen superstars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz come together in this fun, action-packed thrill-ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat. When a small-town girl named June (Diaz) meets a mysterious stranger, she thinks she's found the man of her dreams. But she soon discovers he's a fugitive super-spy, who thrusts her into a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase that spans the globe. As the bullets and sparks fly, June must decide if her "Knight" in shining armor is a dangerous traitor or the love of her life. Knight and Day has action by the boatload, cheeky wit, unexpected double-crossing, sexual tension, and the blinding smile of its star, Tom Cruise. In short, what more could you ask of a rollicking good-time movie? Knight and Day, which also stars the irresistible Cameron Diaz as Cruise's superspy's ultimate foil, channels th! e best elements of earlier films like Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mission: Impossible, the Bourne films, and even a little of Duplicity's sophistication. Mostly, though, Knight and Day is about moving things along merrily, if not completely coherently, as the two stars tangle, and tussle with trust issues, in a completely believable, compulsively watchable way. Cruise plays Roy, an on-the-lam spy (who may have had some kind of psychotic break--or who may in fact be the only person telling the truth); he runs into the winsome June (Diaz), who gets caught up in Roy's mad dash to escape the cabal of federal agents on his tail. "No one follows us," Roy announces to a terrified diner crowd as he moves to make his escape with June, "or I kill myself--and then her." While Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold, has more than its share of high-speed chases, hails of bullets, and explosions, it works far better as a romantic comedy--for the chemi! stry between Diaz and Cruise is delicious, palpable, and belie! vable. S o grab a date and an extra-large popcorn, and get ready for a sweet and fun Knight and Day. --A.T. HurleyCameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor are star-crossed lovebirds on the lam in this twisted romantic comedy from the creators of "Trainspotting." Celine (Diaz) is a spoiled, rich young woman whose worst nightmare is having her credit card rejected. Robert (McGregor) is a hapless janitor whose greatest dream is to write the Great American Trash Novel. They have nothing in common - except the burning desire to live "a life less ordinary." When Celine is kidnapped by the inept Robert, a pair of celestial cops are dispatched to earth to make sure they live that "life less ordinary" together. Co-starring Oscar® -winner Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo.A Life Less Ordinary is a surprising disappointment, considering it is the third film from director Danny Boyle, writer John Hodge, and actor Ewan McGregor. This disjointed and strained romantic comedy is not eve! n near the same league as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. Cameron Diaz is a spoiled heiress and McGregor an aimless janitor brought together by two angels (Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo) hoping to hang onto their wings. McGregor kidnaps Diaz, the boss's daughter, after being fired from his crummy job. She is not all that averse to being snatched. Most of the laughs are lost to a scattershot story that feels preposterous instead of magical. --Rochelle O'GormanMY SISTER'S KEEPER - DVD MovieGrab a box of tissues and settle in for a heart-wrenching exploration of illness, morality, and familial bonds in this excellent screen adaptation of bestselling author Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. When parents Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian Fitzgerald (Jason Patric) find out that their daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) has leukemia, they make the difficult choice to utilize the advancements of modern medicine and impregnate Sara with a child genetically ens! ured to be a donor match for Kate. Throughout the many years o! f dealin g with Kate's illness, the needs of individual family members--including Kate's parents, her brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson), and her sister Anna (Abigail Breslin)--are largely ignored in light of Kate's more serious needs. Still, Kate's sister Anna rarely complains about helping Kate, even when it involves undergoing painful bone marrow aspirations. Recently, however, Anna has had a change of heart and has decided to stand up for her right to have a say in medical procedures involving herself: she's enlisted a lawyer, Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), to help her sue her parents for medical emancipation. The issue is highly emotional and the familial strife is further compounded by the fact that Kate is quickly failing and needs an immediate kidney transplant for even a chance of continued survival. The emotional struggle of dealing with serious illness while trying to meet one's own needs permeates the film, as do the staggering moral dilemmas inherent in the advances of m! odern medicine. While Picoult's readers may be disappointed that the film doesn't delve as deeply into Anna's and Jesse's characters as the book does, My Sister's Keeper is nonetheless an intensely powerful film bursting with emotion and moral quandary that leaves viewers pondering what lengths they might go to in a similar situation. --Tami Horiuchi

Samaritan Girl

  • SAMARITAN GIRL (DVD MOVIE)

In 1959 South Korea was mired in poverty. By 1979 it had a powerful industrial economy and a vibrant civil society in the making, which would lead to a democratic breakthrough eight years later. The transformation took place during the years of Park Chung Hee’s presidency. Park seized power in a coup in 1961 and ruled as a virtual dictator until his assassination in October 1979. He is credited with modernizing South Korea, but at a huge political and social cost.

South Korea’s political landscape under Park defies easy categorization. The state was predatory yet technocratic, reform-minded yet quick to crack down on dissidents in the name of political order. The nation was balanced uneasily between opposition forces calling for democratic reforms and the Park government’s obsession with economic growth. The chaebol (a powerful conglomerate of multin! ationals based in South Korea) received massive government support to pioneer new growth industries, even as a nationwide campaign of economic shock therapyâ€"interest hikes, devaluation, and wage cutsâ€"met strong public resistance and caused considerable hardship.

This landmark volume examines South Korea’s era of development as a study in the complex politics of modernization. Drawing on an extraordinary range of sources in both English and Korean, these essays recover and contextualize many of the ambiguities in South Korea’s trajectory from poverty to a sustainable high rate of economic growth.

Since World War II, the United States has played a crucial role in shaping Northeast Asian politics and economics. However, as this authoritative book shows, the Cold War's demise, September 11, and America's major strategic realignments have unleashed seismic changes in the region. China's rise, Japan's quest for a normal state, and the North Korean nuclear quagmir! e are also potential flashpoints. Collective memories of past ! aggressi on as well as resurgent nationalism further complicate regional dynamics. But hopeful signs abound, as deepening economic interdependence, expanding social and cultural exchanges, and the proliferation of informal economic, social, and cultural networks have improved the chances for a peaceful evolution to a liberal and stable region.This digital document is an article from Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, published by Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc. on May 1, 2011. The length of the article is 8559 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

From the author: Objective: Harm-minimization policies suggest that alcohol use is a part of normal adolescent development and that parents should supervise their children's use to encourage responsible drinking. Zero-tolerance policies suggest that all underage alco! hol use should be discouraged. This article compared hypotheses derived from harm-minimization and zero-tolerance policies regarding the influence of family context and supervised drinking on adolescent alcohol use and related harms among adolescents in Washington State, USA, and Victoria, Australia. two states that have respectively adopted zero-tolerance and harm-minimization policies. Method: Representative samples of seventh-grade students (N = 1,945:989 females) were recruited from schools in each state. Students completed comprehensive questionnaires on alcohol use, related problem behaviors, and risk and protective factors annually from 2002 to 2004 when they were in ninth grade. Results: Relationships between family context and alcohol use and harmful use were very similar in both states. Adult-supervised settings for alcohol use were associated with higher levels of harmful alcohol consequences. Adult-supervised alcohol use mediated the links between favorable pare! ntal attitudes to alcohol use and ninth-grade alcohol use for ! students in both states. Conclusions: Despite policy differences in the two states, relationships between family context variables and alcohol use and harmful use are remarkably similar. Adult-supervised settings for alcohol use resulted in higher levels of harmful alcohol consequences, contrary to predictions derived from harm-minimization policy. Findings challenge the harm-minimization position that supervised alcohol use or early-age alcohol use will reduce the development of adolescent alcohol problems. (J. Stud Alcohol Drugs, 72. 418-428, 2011)

Citation Details
Title: Influence of family factors and supervised alcohol use on adolescent alcohol use and harms: similarities between youth in different alcohol policy contexts.(Report)
Author: Barbara J. McMorris
Publication: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2011
Publisher! : Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc.
Volume: 72 Issue: 3 Page: 418(11)

Article Type: Report

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage LearningThis digital document is a journal article from Bioresource Technology, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The mass production of tropane alkaloids from adventitious root cultures of Scopolia parviflora, in small-scale bubble column bioreactor (BCB) was attempted. Adventitious roots of S. parviflora produced relatively enhanced levels of scopolamine and hyoscyamine in bioreactor compared to flask type cultures, and rapidly produced root clumps, with continuously increasing biomass throughout the culture period. The production of scopolamine and hyoscyamine in the top a! nd bottom regions of root clumps were higher than in the core ! region. The adventitious root cultures of S. parviflora in the BCB required a relatively high level of aeration. The optimized conditions for the bioreactor culture growth and alkaloid production were found to be 3g of inoculum, on a fresh weight basis, a 15-day culture period and 0.4vvm of airflow. The elicitation by Staphylococus aureus increased the specific compound of scopolamine, while the production of hyoscyamine was slightly inhibited in BCB cultures. To fulfill their dreams of traveling to Europe, two teenage girls Yeo-jin (Ji-min Kwak) and Jae-young (Min-jeog Seo) start a prostitution business. Yeo-jin handles the business side, while Jae-young "entertains" the customers. When Jae-young is accidentally killed during a police raid, Yeo-jin locates their clients in an act of penance, sleeping with them to return their money. Yeo-jin's father (Eol Lee) stumbles onto her secret and takes revenge on her lovers. At a crossroads, father and daughter embark on a desperate trip in! the hope of gaining absolution and redemption.

The Bourne Supremacy Poster Movie C 11x17 Matt Damon Franka Potente Joan Allen Tomas Arana

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YES - DVD MovieIt's unsurprising that a movie written in rhyming verse would have stilted or self-conscious moments--but the sumptuous beauty, sinuous rhythms, and cinematic intricacies of Yes may astonish viewers who expect something stuffy or antiquarian. The plot is little more than an affair between an unnamed Irish-American biologist (Joan Allen, once the queen of repression in The Ice Storm, now becoming an art-house sexpot in this and Off the Map) and an unnamed Middle-Eastern chef (Simon Abkarian, Ararat), yet the movi! e explores just about everything: Marriage, religion, international politics, motherhood, and the nature of zero, while travelling from London to Belfast to Beirut to Havana. Writer/director Sally Potter (Orlando, The Tango Lesson) has enormous ambitions; Yes abounds with complex ideas and daring flourishes, both verbal and visual, juxtaposing the austere and the erotic, intellect and grief. If not everything succeeds, what doesn't is more than made up for by what does. Also featuring Sam Neill (The Piano, Jurassic Park) as Allen's aloof husband and Shirley Henderson (Topsy-Turvy) as a housecleaner with a philosophical perspective on dirt. --Bret FetzerWhen the truth becomes a weapon, power comes at a stunning price. Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Christian Slater deliver electrifying performances in this controversial, suspenseful and critically-acclaimed thriller that Ebert & Roeper and the Movies call "exciting! and unusually intelligent, two very enthusiastic thumbs up!" ! Sometime s you can assassinate a leader without firing a shot.Depending on your perspective, The Contender can be praised and damned for the same reasons. A political thriller with an insider's view, it's deadly earnest in its defense of truth, justice, and the American way, but writer-director (and former film critic) Rod Lurie resorts to the same manipulation that his film purports to condemn. But with political savvy, a timely idea (a female vice president), and a cast of first-rate actors, this high-office chess game is unabashedly entertaining. You can argue with Lurie's tactics, but you can't fault his patriotic passion.

In a role written especially for her, Joan Allen is outstanding (if a bit too saintly) as the Republican-turned-Democrat senator who is chosen by the president (Jeff Bridges) to fill a vice presidential vacancy. Bridges is a cagey chief executive, seemingly aloof as he gleefully challenges the White House's 24-hour kitchen staff but more than a match f! or the embittered and unscrupulous congressman (Gary Oldman) who plots to destroy Allen's character with seemingly dark secrets from her past.

As a gender-switching response to the Lewinsky scandal, The Contender asks potent questions with its impassioned plea for integrity in public service. That makes this a film well worth defending, and the stellar cast (which includes Christian Slater and William Petersen) triumphs over most of the plot's hokey machinations. The ideas are more compelling than their execution, however, and although Lurie's climactic revelation is a vast improvement over the reckless cheat of his previous film Deterrence, it still threatens to tarnish the gloss of an otherwise fascinating film. --Jeff ShannonThe re-release of Jerry Aronson's biopic, The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg, timed to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of "Howl," suits this wonderful documentary and proves Ginsberg central to all radical artistic! and political movements of the past 60 years. The feature-len! gth film , segmented by decade, provides ample footage of Ginsberg's life; but extras added into this package, including footage of his memorial and 35 interviews with artists inspired by the visionary poet--from Beck to Lawrence Ferlinghetti--solidify Ginsberg as an American cultural icon. The film unravels Ginsberg's obsession for life and death around his mother's nervous breakdown and his father's affinity for poetry. Interviews with Ginsberg from each decade, both amongst his Beat friends like Burroughs and Huncke, and later with talk show hosts William Buckley and Dick Cavett, show the author's progression from sexual politics in the '40s and '50s to the "politics of ecstasy" in the '60s and '70s, when he founded the Flower Power movement with Tim Leary, and later, Naropa Institute. Ample footage of Ginsberg's stepmother provides a sensitive outsider's opinion on how he blossomed into one of the most spontaneous minds of the century. The film transcends simple Ginsberg descript! ions by framing his life with historical happenings to contextualize the author's words and actions. The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg reminds the viewer that there is no better example of an artist devoted to a life of letters, activism, and idealism than the original beatnik. --Trinie DaltonThe Bourne Supremacy reproduction Approx. Size: 11 x 17 Inches - 28cm x 44cm Style C mini poster print

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