Thursday, May 3, 2012

Food, Inc.

  • Exposes the safety of our food supply
  • Celebrity Public Announcements
  • "You are what you eat."- ABC News Special Feature
  • The dying livihood of the farmer because of Corporations
  • Reveals how the food industry is controlled by a handful of corporations
From the filmmakers of Academy Awardr Winner An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc. lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing how our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. Food, Inc. reveals surprising - and often shocking truths - about what we eat, how it's produced and who we have become as a nation. You'll never look at dinner the same way again.For most Americans, the ideal meal is fast, cheap, and tasty. Food, Inc. examines the costs o! f putting value and convenience over nutrition and environmental impact. Director Robert Kenner explores the subject from all angles, talking to authors, advocates, farmers, and CEOs, like co-producer Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), Gary Hirschberg (Stonyfield Farms), and Barbara Kowalcyk, who's been lobbying for more rigorous standards since E. coli claimed the life of her two-year-old son. The filmmaker takes his camera into slaughterhouses and factory farms where chickens grow too fast to walk properly, cows eat feed pumped with toxic chemicals, and illegal immigrants risk life and limb to bring these products to market at an affordable cost. If eco-docs tends to preach to the converted, Kenner presents his findings in such an engaging fashion that Food, Inc. may well reach the very viewers who could benefit from it the most: harried workers who don't have the time or income to read every book and eat non-g! enetically modified produce every day. Though he covers some o! f the sa me ground as Super-Size Me and King Corn, Food Inc. presents a broader picture of the problem, and if Kenner takes an understandably tough stance on particular politicians and corporations, he's just as quick to praise those who are trying to be responsible--even Wal-Mart, which now carries organic products. That development may have more to do with economics than empathy, but the consumer still benefits, and every little bit counts. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Logitech Revue Companion Box with Google TV and Keyboard Controller

  • Works with your existing HDTV and cable or satellite system to provide seamless access to the Web, your TV, compatible DVRs, and Android apps
  • Surf the web for what you want to watch - right on your big screen - with the powerful Google Chrome browser and full-size keyboard controller
  • Browse your cable, satellite or over-the-air TV, plus over-the-web, for shows and movies with the updated TV & Movies app and program guide (Registration or subscription fee may be required)
  • Access Android Market to bring film, music, gaming, sports, news and education apps to your HDTV (Additional terms, conditions and fees may apply. Apps subject to change without notice.)
The award-winning, critically acclaimed comedy FILM GEEK is about one movie nerd's quest to get a life. When Scotty Pelk (Melik Malkasian) is fired from his video store job for annoying the customers, he hits rock bott! om. But then he meets Niko (Tyler Gannon), a sexy free spirit who just might save Scotty from his hopeless existence. Triumphant and hilarious, FILM GEEK celebrates the geek in all of us.Scotty Pelk, the title character in Film Geek, makes Napoleon Dynamite look like James Bond. Scotty is, um, really into movies, and leads a life of relentless geek-itude in Portland, Ore., in slavish devotion to his obsession. He works, of course, in a video store; mans an untrafficked web site, www.scottysfilmpage.com; and argues with customers about what movies they select. He punctuates his few conversations, or even stone silences, with random comments like "Sam Fuller is so underrated." To no one's surprise, he has no life, and the film's relentless scrutiny of his pretty empty existence borders on the painful. And yet--who among us (especially movie fans) can't relate to being so immersed in a subject that everything else fades away? Happily, though Scotty doesn't know it, life! is full of surprises--even his cringe-worthy life. The dialog! ue and a cting, especially by Melik Malkasian, who plays Scotty with deadpan perfection, is winning and real. "[Terrence] Malick's only made three films in 30 years, you know," he perkily tells one bemused customer. "We're all waiting for his next one. I know I am." --A.T. HurleyPopular Dylan (Sarah Hyland) was royalty at her posh L.A. high school, who'd never give media club nerd Josh (Matt Prokop) the time of day. Until, that is, he rescued her trendy purse from destruction, and in return asked that she star in his documentary about cool kids. Reluctant at first, she comes to learn that he's not so bad for a dweeb, and that she can count on him when her own status comes crashing down. Sasha Pieterse, Jordan Nichols co-star. 97 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; 10 bonus episodes of "Shake It Up." Two-disc set.
Dylan Shoenfield is the princess of L.A.?s posh Castle Heights High. She has the coolest boyfriend, the most popular friends, and a br! and-new ?it? bag that everyone covets. But when she accidentally tosses her bag into a fountain, this princess comes face-to-face with her own personal frog: selfprofessed film geek Josh Rosen. In return for rescuing Dylan?s bag, Josh convinces Dylan to let him film her for his documentary on high school popularity. Reluctantly, Dylan lets F-list Josh into her A-list world, and is shocked to realize that sometimes nerds can be pretty cool. But when Dylan?s so-called prince charming of a boyfriend dumps her flat, her life?and her social status? comes to a crashing halt. Can Dylan?with Josh?s help?pull the pieces together to create her own happily-ever-after?

Logitech Revue with Google TV turns any TV into a smart TV. It brings together TV, the full web, apps, movies and more and puts control of it all at your fingertips.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Bobby (Widescreen Edtion)

  • (Drama) A re-telling of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The film follows 22 individuals who are all at the hotel for different purposes but share the common thread of anticipating Kennedy's arrival at the primary election night party, which would change their lives forever. This historic night is set against the backdrop of the cultural issues gr
(Drama) A re-telling of the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968. The film follows 22 individuals who are all at the hotel for different purposes but share the common thread of anticipating Kennedy's arrival at the primary election night party, which would change their lives forever. This historic night is set against the backdrop of the cultural issues gripping the country at the time, including racism, sexual inequality and class differences.In the final quarter o! r so of Bobby, writer-director-actor Emilio Estevez finally starts tightening his grip on the viewer as we head inexorably toward the film's climax: the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy in a Los Angeles hotel kitchen. In the course of these scenes--among them Kennedy's acceptance speech after winning the California Democratic presidential primary (the senator is seen only in file footage), his death at the hands of gunman Sirhan Sirhan, and the chaos and despair that ensued--Estevez steadily ratchets up the sense of tension and dread. Knowing exactly what's coming, while the characters onscreen don't, is excruciating, as is our grief at hearing RFK's own words, so eloquent, so hopeful and inspiring, as we watch the horrible events unfold and wonder what might have been (sure it's manipulative--but it works). But the rest of Bobby isn't nearly as compelling. Nor is it really about Kennedy, despite its obvious adulation of the man whom many thought would ! defeat Richard Nixon in the '68 general election. In the tradi! tion of, say, an Irwin Allen disaster flick, we're invited into the lives of nearly two dozen folks, most of them at least partly fictional, who were at the Ambassador Hotel that June day, including guests, staff (kitchen workers, switchboard operators, management, etc.), campaign workers, reporters, and more. There are lots of movie stars in the cast, and some of them (Sharon Stone, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy) are very good. But caring about the quotidian minutiae of these people's existences is a chore, and Estevez crams so many issues into his story (the Vietnam war, drugs, alcoholism, voting irregularities, adultery, racism, immigration, communism… even L.A. Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale's streak of consecutive shutouts) and tries so obviously to establish parallels between then and now that too much of the movie feels gratuitous and forced. A warts-and-all film about Robert Kennedy's extraordinary life and career would be welcome. Unfortunately, Bobby isn't it. --Sa! m Graham

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ed Wood (Special Edition)

  • From Tim Burton, acclaimed director of BIG FISH, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and BATMAN, and the producer of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, comes the hilarious, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, Ed Wood! Johnny Depp (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, CHOCOLAT, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) stars as the high-spirited movieman who refuses to let unfinished scenes
From Tim Burton, acclaimed director of BIG FISH, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and BATMAN, and the producer of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, comes the hilarious, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, Ed Wood! Johnny Depp (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, CHOCOLAT, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) stars as the high-spirited movieman who refuses to let unfinished scenes, terrible reviews, and hostile studio executives derail his big-screen dreams. With an oddball collecti! on of showbiz misfits, Ed takes the art of bad moviemaking to an all-time low! The all-star cast features Bill Murray (LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), Sarah Jessica Parker (TV's SEX AND THE CITY), Patricia Arquette (STIGMATA, LITTLE NICKY), and an Academy Award(R)-winning performance by Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor, 1994) as Bela Lugosi. Hailed by critics everywhere, this laugh-packed comedy hit is sure to entertain everyone!Edward D. Wood Jr. was an actor writer-director-producer, occasionally in drag, who combined meager bursts of talent with an undying optimism to create some of the most bizarrely memorable "B" movies to ever come out of Tinseltown. Though Wood died in obscurity as an alcoholic in 1978, his films have been considered cult classics for years. He is consistently voted the worst director who ever lived. You would think this an odd subject, but director Tim Burton harnesses the undying hopefulness that made Wood such a character. Shot in ! black and white, just like Wood's creations, this stylized, wi! tty prod uction captures the poetic absurdity of Wood's films and his unconventional life. Burton's recreation of Wood's wonderfully awful Plan 9 from Outer Space looks much better than the original low-budget quickie. Burton tackled an extremely strange subject matter for a biopic, but Wood is presented as naive almost to the point of delusion, so the story works. The pace sags in the middle, as the weirdness starts to wear thin, but Depp proves himself an adroit actor, even while wearing angora and a blonde wig. Wood's unconventional repertoire company is faithfully reproduced, including an Academy Award-winning Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Landau is pathetic, droll, and charismatic as the elderly junkie who made his last screen appearances in Wood's films. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Monday, February 13, 2012

Exiled: The Story of John Lathrop (4th edition)

  • This 4th edition is about 30 pages longer than previous editions.
  • Adds the names of recently discovered direct descendants.
  • More than 30 other prominent descendants not identified in previous editions.
  • In addition to the attraction of the appendices and the compilation of history and genealogical information, it's the powerful storyline that has won Exiled serious attention and state and national awards.

Exiled: Worlds divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them.

((((This novel is a Whitney Award nominee.))))

Praise for EXILED:
"Michael and Venus have probably been the best pairing/couple that I've read about this year! GO READ THIS BOOK! You will love it. Seriously."
Nancy, reviewer Tumbling Books

"Writing that moves readers ! to ponder their hearts is good writing, and that's what readers will find with Workman. Her protagonist is strong willed, her antagonist is easy to hate, and her mentor is easy to love."
Kathleen Brebes

"What a ride!"
Taffy Lovell

Overview of EXILED:
An alien princess exiled to Earth.
An arrogant boy.
One week to get back to her planet or she'll die.
Her only chance for survival? She must help the boy find his soul mate.
Piece of cake!

More praise for EXILED:
"I... felt like I was literally out of this world for a while."
Melissa Lemon, author of Cinder and Ella

"I love a book where the de! tails fi t together like pieces in a puzzle..."
Rachel Morgan

"It's superb!!! I loved the multiple points of view. I loved Venus. Michael was tough to like at first, but by the end - man, oh man, did I fall hard for him. Zaren is yummy! I want a guardian like him. Heck, I want a man like him! AND THOSE BOOTS. PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE CAN I HAVE A PAIR?"

Jenna Heartsong

Other novels by RaShelle Workman:
    SLEEPING ROSES: a bestselling romantic thriller.
    IN HIS EYES: an anthology which includes ALIGNED: An Immortal Essence Short Story. Available Feb 14th.
    Top 100 Kindle eBook! in >Love and Romance     
    Exiled: Worlds divided them. Chance! brought them together. Only love will save them.
    Praise for EXILED: 
    "Michael and Venus have probably been the best pairing/couple that I've read about this year! GO READ THIS BOOK! You will love it. Seriously."
    Nancy, reviewer Tumbling Books  

    "Writing that moves readers to ponder their hearts is good writing, and that's what readers will find with Workman. Her protagonist is strong willed, her antagonist is easy to hate, and her mentor is easy to love."
    Kathleen Brebes   

    "I loved this book and I hate scifi! Great read, waiting not patiently for book 2." Ann-Goodreads

    Overview of EXILED:
     An alien princess exiled to Earth.
    An arrogant boy.
    One week to get back to her planet or she'll die.
    Her only chance for survival? She must help the boy fin! d his so ul mate.
    Piece of cake! 

    More praise for EXILED: 
     "I... felt like I was literally out of this world for a while."
    Melissa Lemon, author of Cinder and Ella

    "Amidst all the vampire, werewolf and fallen angel novels out there, EXILED is a
    refreshing and unique read." Rachel Morgan


    "It's superb!!! I loved the multiple points of view. I loved Venus. Michael was tough to like at first, but by the end - man, oh man, did I fall hard for him. Zaren is yummy! I want a guardian like him. Heck, I want a man like him! AND THOSE BOOTS. PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE CAN I HAVE A PAIR?"
    Jenna Heartsong
       

    Other novels by RaShelle Workman:
    SLEEPING ROSES: a bestselling romantic thriller.
    IN HIS EYES:  an anthology which includes ALIGNED: An Immortal Essence Short Story. Available Feb 14th.



    Top 100 Kindle eBook! in >Love and Romance     
    Exiled: Worlds divided them. Chance brought them together. Only love will save them.
    Praise for EXILED: 
    "Michael and Venus have probably been the best pairing/couple that I've read about this year! GO READ THIS BOOK! You will love it. Seriously."
    Nancy, reviewer Tumbling Books  

    "Writing that moves readers to ponder their hearts is good writing! , and that's what readers will find with Workman. Her protagon! ist is s trong willed, her antagonist is easy to hate, and her mentor is easy to love."
    Kathleen Brebes   

    "I loved this book and I hate scifi! Great read, waiting not patiently for book 2." Ann-Goodreads

    Overview of EXILED:
     An alien princess exiled to Earth.
    An arrogant boy.
    One week to get back to her planet or she'll die.
    Her only chance for survival? She must help the boy find his soul mate.
    Piece of cake! 

    More praise for EXILED: 
     "I... felt like I was literally out of this world for a while."
    Melissa Lemon, author of Cinder and Ella

    "Amidst all the vampire, ! werewolf and fallen angel novels out there, EXILED is a
    refreshing and unique read." Rachel Morgan


    "It's superb!!! I loved the multiple points of view. I loved Venus. Michael was tough to like at first, but by the end - man, oh man, did I fall hard for him. Zaren is yummy! I want a guardian like him. Heck, I want a man like him! AND THOSE BOOTS. PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE CAN I HAVE A PAIR?"
    Jenna Heartsong
       

    Other novels by RaShelle Workman:
    SLEEPING ROSES: a bestselling romantic thriller.
    IN HIS EYES:  an anthology which includes ALIGNED: An Immortal Essence Short Story. Available Feb 14th.


Chase Williams is a demon ! hunter i n the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or! at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened, and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.
Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or! at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Ch! ase step ped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped.

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened, and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.
It was a hell of a way to end a vacation! One minute Danica was scuba diving, the next she found herself in a specimen tank on ! an outbound alien ship. When they correct their 'error' by dumping her on the alien world of Glaxo, she is immediately captured by Taj, Chieftain of the Glaxons, who swoops from the sky on his giant war bird and claims her as his slave. Barbaric they may be, but the blue eyed, blond haired Indian-like tribe of Glaxons are a fair race, and Taj fairest of all. When he's good, he'sIt was a hell of a way to end a vacation! One minute Danica was scuba diving, the next she found herself in a specimen tank on an outbound alien ship. When they correct their 'error' by dumping her on the alien world of Glaxo, she is immediately captured by Taj, Chieftain of the Glaxons, who swoops from the sky on his giant war bird and claims her as his slave. Barbaric they may be, but the blue eyed, blond haired Indian-like tribe of Glaxons are a fair race, and Taj fairest of all. When he's good, he'sExiled immerses the reader in the dark days of 17th century England, and time when a man could be d! rawn and quartered for nothing more than standing on a corner ! preachin g his views. There is no freedom of speech, of assembly, of the press, or of religion. Non-conforming ministers are hunted down, brought to trial, made to suffer public humiliation, sometimes torture, and oft' times imprisonment.

Reverend John Lathrop's story gives the reader an inside look at what those who believed in freedom of conscience faced and not just them, but their families too. Haunted by realities of cruel laws, unspeakable consequences, and acute moral dilemmas, how does one reconcile duty to family and duty to God when one is at the expense of the other? When tyranny creeps and is emboldened and threatens conscience, what does a Christian disciple do?

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Brideshead Revisited

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas - Movie Poster - 12 X 16

  • Original 2000 Theatrical Release UK Mini Movie Poster
  • New and Unused
  • Single Sided
Spring 2000 marks the release of the new Flintstones film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. Focusing on Dino, everyone's favorite prehistoric pet, this prequel movie storybook takes us back in time to when Fred Flintstone, a young guy from the wrong side of the boulder, was courting the beautiful Wilma Staghoople. Fred, Wilma, Barney Rubble, and his fiance Betty O'Shale head for Rock Vegas, where adventure awaits them! : Spring 2000 marks the release of the new Flintstones film, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. This action-packed prequel novelization takes us back in time to when Fred Flintstone, a young guy from the wrong side of the boulder, was courting the beautiful Wilma Staghoople. Fred, Wilma, Barney Rubble, and his fiance Betty O'Shale head for Rock Vegas, where adventure awaits the! m! You're probably ready to write this one off as a novelty; after all, 13 of the 15 tracks have the word "rock" in their title. While the Flintstones may have been the coolest Stone Age family, they're still not the Rolling Stones when it comes to known "rockers." However, this is a strong collection of rockabilly and early-rock-influenced numbers. Once past the opening Flintstones Cast medley, things take off with serious aggression. Bill Haley and the Comets, Moon Mullican, the Johnny Burnette Trio, and B.B. King are among the established classic rockers included. The young whippersnappers hold up the tradition as well. Well-known rockologist (famous for his uncanny ability to approximate any genre with pathos) Nick Lowe is featured twice, and twisted outlaw country star Robbie Fulks and the Reverend Horton Heat keep things on track. Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi contributes "Rock Me Right." Most important, the producers avoided the temptation of including Paul Simon's v! ery unrocking "Loves Me Like a Rock." Sometimes, it's the litt! le thing s. --Rob O'Connor FLINTSTONES YABBA-DABBA 2 PACK - DVD Movie

Features include:

•MPAA Rating: PG
•Format: DVD
•Runtime: 90 minutes
Kids will enjoy the dinosaurs, gaudy prehistoric decor, and cartoon humor of The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas. The movie begins before Fred (Mark Addy from The Full Monty) and Wilma (Kirsten Johnston from Third Rock from the Sun) Flintstone ever met, back when Wilma was an unhappy rich girl seeking happiness in a less snobby environment. Running away from her smothering mother (Joan Collins!) and an oily suitor, Chip Rockefeller (Thomas Gibson from Dharma and Greg), she winds up at a drive-in restaurant where she meets Betty (Jane Krakowski from Ally McBeal), a waitress who thinks Wilma is actually homeless and invites the runaway to live with her. Our blue-collar heroes, Fred and Barney Rubble (Stephen Baldwin from The Usual Suspects), ask the girls out ! on a double date, and before long Fred and Wilma bond over bowling. But it turns out that Chip is in debt to a ruthless loan shark and needs Wilma's money, so he invites the couples to his new casino in Rock Vegas, where he plots nefariously to ruin their blossoming love. The plot holds no surprises and the dialogue is clumsy, but there's a blithe dimwittedness to the whole affair that makes it curiously inoffensive. Adults will most enjoy the sly performance of Alan Cumming (Eyes Wide Shut) as the Great Gazoo, an alien sent to Earth to observe human mating behavior. Also featuring Harvey Korman as Wilma's doddering father. --Bret FetzerOriginal 2000 Theatrical Release British Mini Movie Poster.
Measures 12" x 16" (inches)
The poster is single sided, rolled, mint and unused and will be shipped to you packed in plastic tubing and then inside strong pvc pipe for maximum protection.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Dracula - Dead and Loving It

  • A comic reinvention of the Bela Lugosiic about a Transylvanian vampire who works his evil spell on a perplexed group of Londoners. Mel Brooks's Count is a pratfalling evil prince of a guy who believes in long relationships. Brooks portrays vampire hunter Van Helsing, who won't give a bloodsucker an even break.Running Time: 90 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 Ag
A comic reinvention of the Bela Lugosi classic about a Transylvanian vampire who works his evil spell on a perplexed group of Londoners. Mel Brooks's Count is a pratfalling evil prince of a guy who believes in long relationships. Brooks portrays vampire hunter Van Helsing, who won't give a bloodsucker an even break.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by director/co-writer Mel Brooks, co-stars Steven Weber and Amy Yasbeck, and co-writers Rudy De Luca and Steve Haberman
Theatrical Trail! er

In 1995, it was promising to hear that Mel Brooks was creating "the companion piece to Young Frankenstein." He had also brought in the heavyweight of deadpan--Leslie Nielsen. As Lt. Frank Drebin in the Police Squad movies, Nielsen has no peer for silly stuff--just the player Brooks would seem to need for a strong movie, as any fan of Brooks perpetually hopes a new film may rekindle his madcap magic. Alas, the end results in Dracula: Dead and Loving It include a sprinkling of amusements and one big belly laugh. Brooks and his writers use a very tight adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, but the spoofs can be spelled out as we go, as if they are paint-by-number. Some are jabs at Coppola's version of Dracula, but most are attached to classic Dracula films. If any real pleasure comes from the movie it's thanks to the efforts of the cast. Peter MacNicol plays the crazed Renfield to the letter, Steven Weber has a good time as the tight Bri! tish Harkin, and Lysette Anthony charms as the doomed Lucy. Br! ooks and Nielsen ham it up just fine. There's even a surprisingly controlled performance by Harvey Korman (a character spoofing Anthony Hopkins's role in the misfire The Road to Wellville). As with Brooks's period comedies, the film looks better than it needs to and includes a few tricky special effects for good measure. This has nothing to do with the audience laughing--we need bigger jokes. And when you double over laughing in one scene--involving a stake through the heart and a bucket of blood--you want the movie to achieve Brooks's days of glory, when hearty laughter was the norm, not an isolated moment. --Doug Thomas

Cradle 2 the Grave (Widescreen Edition)

  • When his daughter is kidnapped and held in exchange for diamonds, the leader of a crew of highly skilled urban thieves (DMX) forges an unlikely alliance with a Taiwanese Intelligence officer (Jet Li) to rescue her. Their race against the clock to find the precious stones ultimately unravels a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.Running Time: 101 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: AC
When his daughter is kidnapped and held in exchange for diamonds, the leader of a crew of highly skilled urban thieves (DMX) forges an unlikely alliance with a Taiwanese Intelligence officer (Jet Li) to rescue her. Their race against the clock to find the precious stones ultimately unravels a plot to distribute a deadly new weapon of war.

DVD Features:
Documentaries:"Ultimate Fighting Champions": Profiles on the martial artists and how they were incorporated in the movie "Choreography of ! the Camera": includes multi-angle car chases
Featurette:"The Descender Rig": Features camera invention that was made for the movie
Music Video:DMX's "X Gon' Give It to Ya"
Other:2 Hidden Bonuses: "Time Lapse Montage" Behind-the-scenes footage and "Rear Projection" featurette on the subway sequence
Theatrical Trailer

The intriguing cross-pollination of rap and kung-fu continues with Cradle 2 the Grave, co-starring high-profile rapper DMX and Hong Kong superstar Jet Li. Master thief Fait (DMX) hits a diamond exhange but comes away with a bag of black gems of mysterious origin. When a crime kingpin steals the gems from Fait, an international arms dealer kidnaps Fait's beloved daughter--and Fait can only get her back with the help of Su (Li), a Taiwanese intelligence agent tracking the gems himself. A summary of the plot doesn't do Cradle 2 the Grave justice; while the basic story elements suggest a dozen gene! ric action flicks, the cast (including Anthony Anderson, Gabr! ielle Un ion, and Kelly Hu) has genuine charisma and the movie layers action on top of action to strong effect. All in all, a much more engaging thrill ride than you'd expect. --Bret Fetzer

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Full Metal Jacket

  • The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 085391163114 UPC: 085391163114 Manufacturer No: 116311
The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines a! nd abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murdero! us half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart ! and savv y performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

Cold Creek Manor

  • Finally putting an end to their days as slaves to the hustle-and-bustle of city life, Gothamites Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid) and his wife, Leah (Sharon Stone), pack up their kids and all their possessions and move into a recently repossessed mansion in the sticks of New York State. Once grand and elegant, the Cold Creek Manor is now a shambles, but Cooper and Leah have plenty of time to renovate.
COLD CREEK MANOR is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat in tension-filled suspense. Wanting to escape city life for the saner, safer countryside, New Yorkers Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid), his wife Leah (1995 Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone, Best Actress, CASINO), and their two children move into a dilapidated old mansion still filled with the possessions of the previous family. Turning it into their dream house soon becomes a living nightmare when the previous owne! r (Stephen Dorff) shows up, and a series of terrifying incidents lead them on a spine-tingling search for clues to the estate's dark and lurid past.Turn off your brain and Cold Creek Manor just might turn into an entertaining thriller. Taking an uncharacteristic detour into nonsensical plot mechanics, director Mike Figgis expertly pushes buttons with this nerve-jangling but ultimately hackneyed story (by Richard Jeffries) about a documentary filmmaker (Dennis Quaid) who moves his wife (Sharon Stone) and two kids into a run-down rural mansion once owned by the family of a simmering ex-convict (Stephen Dorff), who's got secret reasons for wanting Quaid's family to leave. This rote potboiler wants to be as thrilling as Fatal Attraction, but it's more like Pacific Heights--fun to watch as the tension escalates with Dorff's violent behavior, but seriously flawed as plot holes proliferate. With a few good shocks and slinky support from Juliette Lewis, it's pe! rfectly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but maybe they sho! uld've c alled it Cold Creaky Manor instead. --Jeff Shannon

Monday, January 16, 2012

Lost in Translation

  • Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
  • A Conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola
  • "Lost" on Location: Behind the Scenes Documentary
  • "City Girl" Music Video by Kevin Shields
  • Extended and Deleted Scenes and More
Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) stars in the comedic story of an aging Don Juan who hits the road on a revealing and humorous cross-country journey. When a mysterious pink letter informs Don Johnston (Murray) that he may have a 19-year-old son, he visits four former lovers, where he comes face to face with the errors of his past and the possibilities of the future. From acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch and co-starring Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, Tilda Swinton, and Jeffrey Wright, Broken Flowers is the highly original comedy that Peter Travers of Rolling Stone says is "filled with wonderful mischief" and "brings out the best in Bil! l Murray." Starring: Bill Murray, Sharon Stone, Jessica Lange, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Frances Conroy, Julie Delpy, Mark Webber, Chloe Sevigny, Christopher McDonald, Alexis Dziena Directed by: Jim JarmuschBill Murray gives yet another simple, seemingly effortless, yet illuminating performance in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. Don Johnston (Murray, Lost in Translation, Rushmore) receives an anonymous letter telling him that he has a 19 year old son who's looking for him. Don only decides to investigate at the prompting of his neighbor Winston (the indispensable Jeffrey Wright, Shaft, Basquiat), who not only tracks down the current addresses of the possible mothers, he plans Don's entire trip down to the rental cars. Almost against his will, Don finds himself knocking at the doors of four very different women (Sharon Stone, The Quick and the Dead; Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under; Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams; and T! ilda Swinton, The Deep End) who were once his lovers. P! art road movie, part detective story, part existential meditation, Broken Flowers is even more minimalist than most Jarmusch movies (Stranger Than Paradise, Dead Man, Mystery Train)--anyone looking for an easy resolution should look elsewhere. But for anyone willing to let a movie be a poem as much as a story--i.e., let it observe behavior without explaining it--Broken Flowers will offer a wealth of mysteries, gestures, and Bill Murray's soulful eyes. It's a movie that's wonderfully eloquent about what's not being said. --Bret FetzerUniversal, Studios, Region 2 PAL 2005 106 minsBill Murray gives yet another simple, seemingly effortless, yet illuminating performance in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. Don Johnston (Murray, Lost in Translation, Rushmore) receives an anonymous letter telling him that he has a 19 year old son who's looking for him. Don only decides to investigate at the prompting of his neighbor Winston (the i! ndispensable Jeffrey Wright, Shaft, Basquiat), who not only tracks down the current addresses of the possible mothers, he plans Don's entire trip down to the rental cars. Almost against his will, Don finds himself knocking at the doors of four very different women (Sharon Stone, The Quick and the Dead; Frances Conroy, Six Feet Under; Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams; and Tilda Swinton, The Deep End) who were once his lovers. Part road movie, part detective story, part existential meditation, Broken Flowers is even more minimalist than most Jarmusch movies (Stranger Than Paradise, Dead Man, Mystery Train)--anyone looking for an easy resolution should look elsewhere. But for anyone willing to let a movie be a poem as much as a story--i.e., let it observe behavior without explaining it--Broken Flowers will offer a wealth of mysteries, gestures, and Bill Murray's soulful eyes. It's a movie that's wonderfull! y eloquent about what's not being said. --Bret FetzerBi! ll Murra y gives yet another simple, seemingly effortless, yet illuminating performance in Jim Jarmusch's "Broken Flowers". Don Johnston (Murray, "Lost in Translation", "Rushmore") receives an anonymous letter telling him that he has a 19 year old son who's looking for him. Don only decides to investigate at the prompting of his neighbor Winston (the indispensable Jeffrey Wright, "Shaft", "Basquiat"), who not only tracks down the current addresses of the possible mothers, he plans Don's entire trip down to the rental cars. Almost against his will, Don finds himself knocking at the doors of four very different women (Sharon Stone, "The Quick and the Dead"; Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under"; Jessica Lange, "Sweet Dreams"; and Tilda Swinton, "The Deep End") who were once his lovers. Part road movie, part detective story, part existential meditation, "Broken Flowers" is even more minimalist than most Jarmusch movies ("Stranger Than Paradise", "Dead Man", "Mystery Train")--anyone looking f! or an easy resolution should look elsewhere. But for anyone willing to let a movie be a poem as much as a story--i.e., let it observe behavior without explaining it--"Broken Flowers" will offer a wealth of mysteries, gestures, and Bill Murray's soulful eyes. It's a movie that's wonderfully eloquent about what's not being said. "--Bret Fetzer"Bill Murray gives yet another simple, seemingly effortless, yet illuminating performance in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. Don Johnston (Murray, Lost in Translation, Rushmore) receives an anonymous letter telling him that he has a 19 year old son who's looking for him. Don only decides to investigate at the prompting of his neighbor Winston (the indispensable Jeffrey Wright, Shaft, Basquiat), who not only tracks down the current addresses of the possible mothers, he plans Don's entire trip down to the rental cars. Almost against his will, Don finds himself knocking at the doors of four very different w! omen (Sharon Stone, The Quick and the Dead; Frances Con! roy, Six Feet Under; Jessica Lange, Sweet Dreams; and Tilda Swinton, The Deep End) who were once his lovers. Part road movie, part detective story, part existential meditation, Broken Flowers is even more minimalist than most Jarmusch movies (Stranger Than Paradise, Dead Man, Mystery Train)--anyone looking for an easy resolution should look elsewhere. But for anyone willing to let a movie be a poem as much as a story--i.e., let it observe behavior without explaining it--Broken Flowers will offer a wealth of mysteries, gestures, and Bill Murray's soulful eyes. It's a movie that's wonderfully eloquent about what's not being said. --Bret Fetzer

Bill Murray (Actor), Scarlett Johansson (Actor), Sofia Coppola (Director) | Rated: R | Format: DVD

  • # DVD Release Date: May 3, 2009
  • # Run Time: 104 minutes
Like a good dream, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation envelops you with an aura of fantasti! c light, moody sound, head-turning love, and a feeling of déjà vu, even though you've probably never been to this neon-fused version of Tokyo. Certainly Bob Harris has not. The 50-ish actor has signed on for big money shooting whiskey ads instead of doing something good for his career or his long-distance family. Jetlagged, helplessly lost with his Japanese-speaking director, and out of sync with the metropolis, Harris (Bill Murray, never better) befriends the married but lovelorn 25-year-old Charlotte (played with heaps of poise by 18-year-old Scarlett Johansson). Even before her photographer husband all but abandons her, she is adrift like Harris but in a total entrapment of youth. How Charlotte and Bill discover they are soul mates will be cherished for years to come. Written and directed by Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), the film is far more atmospheric than plot-driven: we whiz through Tokyo parties, karaoke bars, and odd nightlife, always ending up in the imp! ossibly posh hotel where the two are staying. The wisps of bit! tersweet loneliness of Bill and Charlotte are handled smartly and romantically, but unlike modern studio films, this isn't a May-November fling film. Surely and steadily, the film ends on a much-talked-about grace note, which may burn some, yet awards film lovers who "always had Paris" with another cinematic destination of the heart. --Doug Thomas

Casshern Sins: Part 1

  • Salvation is the ruin of man and machine.Casshern a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike or what little remains of them seek vengeance against Casshern
After 50 years of bitter warfare in the late 21st century, a new crisis looms. A threat to the future and the overall existence of mankind. But, there is hope a savior will emerge… Casshern. Casshern is an action-packed, sci-fi thriller that blends Japanamation and manga-inspired live action to create a new hybrid form of filmmaking that is both visually stunning and thought provoking.Kiriya Kazuaki’s spectacular Casshern is an impressive marriage of live action drama and animated effe! cts that, taken together, look like something both very old and very new in cinema. A wild, science fiction tale with an echo or two of Bladerunner, Casshern is set in a dystopian future following a 50-year-long war between Europe and Asia. The latter wins, calling the resulting Eurasia the "Eastern Federation," but the high-tech weapons used in the battle have affected the whole of mankind through widespread devastation and illness. A geneticist whose son, Tetsuya (Yusuke Iseya), has gone off to fight terrorists, promises the military his work on "neo cells" will result in the cultivation of spare human parts for the wounded and afflicted. But two unexpected results occur: a small band of superhuman mutants rise up out of the scientist’s chemical muck, and Tetsuya--killed in battle--is brought back to life with his own superpowers. While the mutants rise up against the human race, Tetsuya, now known as "Casshern," takes them on against a fascinating psychol! ogical backdrop with Oedipal overtones. The film’s look of h! yperreal , pop culture pastiche (in which action often evokes the look of 1930s movie serials blended with a whirl of dreamy, free-associating images) is reaching for the same thing as Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. But it is much grander in its effort. --Tom KeoghCasshern â€" a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past â€" awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike â€" or what little remains of them â€" seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying.Based on the classic Manga. Casshern is Anime meets the matrix in style.Casshern â€" a cybernetic assassin with no memory ! of his past â€" awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike â€" or what little remains of them â€" seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Beerfest (Unrated Widescreen Edition)

  • After a humiliating false start in Germany's super-secret underground beer competition, America's unlikely team vows to risk life, limb and liver to dominate the ultimate chug-a-lug championship. The laughs are on the haus!Running Time: 116 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR Age: 085391102076 UPC: 085391102076 Manufacturer No: 110207
Broken Lizard is back?and this time the crazy comedy troupe that brought you Super Troopers is taking you on a trip so outrageously fun?it?s murder. Welcome to Coconut Pete?s Pleasure Island, a tropical, tequila-soaked vacation resort where high-spirited fun soon takes a deadly turn?leaving the island?s hilariously inept staff to battle a machete-wielding maniac as they fight to survive another day in paradise. Filled with sidesplitting humor, scary slasher scenes, and plenty of bikini-clad babes, Broken Lizard?s Club Dread is a comedy to die fo! r!Looking for plenty of sex, violence, and lowbrow comedy? If you are, you could do a lot worse (or is it a lot better?) than to visit Club Dread, a boldly wretched excuse for broad comedy perpetrated by the Broken Lizard troupe--the same guys who brought their potty-mouthed brand of lunacy to bear on 2002's Super Troopers. That alone should serve as ample warning or invitation, depending on your tolerance for way-too-casual sketch comedy, stitched together with an emphasis on big, gross laughs and enough female frontal nudity to give Girls Gone Wild a run for its money. It all takes place on Coconut Pete's Pleasure Island, where Pete (Bill Paxton, slumming it with infectious abandon) holds court while scantily clad vacationers play crazy games (life-size Pac-Man, anyone?) and provide easy prey for a slasher on the loose. Ah, but there's the rub: Is this schizoid movie a comedy or a horror flick? It's both... and neither... and the bloodletting is surpr! isingly extreme amidst all the poop and fart jokes. Of course,! that wo n't stop Club Dread from finding its audience. We know you're out there…and you know who you are. --Jeff ShannonBroken Lizard is back…and this time the crazy comedy troupe that brought you Super Troopers is taking you on a trip so outrageously fun…it’s murder. Welcome to Coconut Pete’s Pleasure Island, a tropical, tequila-soaked vacation resort where high-spiritedLooking for plenty of sex, violence, and lowbrow comedy? If you are, you could do a lot worse (or is it a lot better?) than to visit Club Dread, a boldly wretched excuse for broad comedy perpetrated by the Broken Lizard troupe--the same guys who brought their potty-mouthed brand of lunacy to bear on 2002's Super Troopers. That alone should serve as ample warning or invitation, depending on your tolerance for way-too-casual sketch comedy, stitched together with an emphasis on big, gross laughs and enough female frontal nudity to give Girls Gone Wild a run for its money. It! all takes place on Coconut Pete's Pleasure Island, where Pete (Bill Paxton, slumming it with infectious abandon) holds court while scantily clad vacationers play crazy games (life-size Pac-Man, anyone?) and provide easy prey for a slasher on the loose. Ah, but there's the rub: Is this schizoid movie a comedy or a horror flick? It's both... and neither... and the bloodletting is surprisingly extreme amidst all the poop and fart jokes. Of course, that won't stop Club Dread from finding its audience. We know you're out there…and you know who you are. --Jeff ShannonIncludes the following titles:

Disk 1: CLUB DREAD (UNRATED) Disk 2: SUPER TROOPERS Disk 3: DUDE! WHERE'S MY CARSlammin’ Cleon Salmon, the former Heavyweight Champion of the world, is a mean, crazy, and sometimes infantile bull of a man, who happens to owe $20,000 to the head of the Japanese Yakuza and needs to come up with the money tonight. So he challenges the waiters in the restaurant that h! e owns, The Slammin’ Salmon, a high end, boxing themed seafo! od eater y in Miami, to sell more food than they’ve ever sold in their lives, with the top waiter earning $10,000, the loser getting a broken rib sandwich. As the hours pass, the action becomes more chaotic as Cleon shows up to supervise the contest and changes the rules on a minute to minute basis.The Broken Lizard gang is back with The Slammin' Salmon, a rowdy comedy that spends a night in a restaurant of the same name. Boxer Cleon Salmon (Michael Clarke Duncan, 1999 Academy Award nominee for The Green Mile) owns the swanky eatery and needs to raise fast cash to settle a gambling debt. He challenges his hapless crew to a contest to see who can up-sell the most in order to reach his goal of $20,000 before closing time. Director Kevin Heffernan sets a rapid-fire pace loaded with pratfalls, spit takes, food fights, and bathroom humor. The Slammin' Salmon brings together the usual Broken Lizard (Club Dread, Supertroopers, and Beerfest) regulars: Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, and Heffernan (as the jittery manager). Cobie Smulders and April Bowlby round out the cast as frenzied waiters who'll do anything to avoid a "broken-rib sandwich" from the intimidating Salmon. Saturday Night Live's Will Forte plays a table-hogging, water-sipping lone diner who leaves a surprise tip. Vivica A. Fox and Morgan Fairchild make awkward cameos. The one-liners and sight gags can wear thin after an hour, but die-hard Broken Lizard film fans know what they're in for when they watch a Heffernan romp, and The Slammin' Salmon won't disappoint. --Francine Ruley

Stills from The Slammin' Salmon (Click for larger image)









?Prepare to laugh your ass off? (FILM THREAT)! From the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, who brought you the outrageously funny, rambunctiously sexy Super Troopers and Club Dread, here is the original gut-buster that started it all. The premise is simple: Felix Bean, average college Joe, has the hots for campus beauty Suzanne, only to discover her boyfriend is a muscle! -bound brute on the rugby team. His pain is everyone?s gain in this riotous laugh fest that you?ll want to see again and again.This good-natured college comedy launched the film careers of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe, who have since enjoyed a cult following with their subsequent features (Super Troopers and Club Dread) and even made inroads to Hollywood (director Jay Chandrasekhar helmed the big-screen Dukes of Hazzard movie). Here the five Lizards play a quintet of clueless college guys pursuing women with varying degrees of success; the humor is broad without tipping too heavily into gross territory, and several moments are laugh-out-loud funny, especially the group's riffs on independent theater, and a missing phone number digit. Made for an astronomically small amount (and funded largely with credit cards), Puddle Cruiser was promoted largely through a screening tour of colleges, which is covered in the disc's accompanying featurette, "R! odeo Clowns." All five Broken Lizard members are also featured! on some very amusing commentary tracks. --Paul GaitaAfter a humiliating false start in Germany's super-secret underground beer competition, America's unlikely team vows to risk life, limb and liver to dominate the ultimate chug-a-lug championship. The laughs are on the haus!

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Interviews
Other

While it didn't quite spark a trend in chug-a-lug brew comedies, Beerfest is the kind of zany time-killer that's a lot funnier if you're within reach of a six-pack and Doritos. In other words, this is yet another low-brow laff-a-thon from the Broken Lizard gang (Super Troopers) that's likely to draw a bigger audience on DVD than it did in theaters, especially since there's a lot of duds (and flat suds) to sit through while waiting for the next big beer-belly-laugh. It's the kind of movie that thinks masturbating frogs are funny (OK, you decide), while s! erving up a gang of guzzling Americans (the aforementioned Broken Lizard troupe, who also write this stuff with director Jay Chandrasekhar) who compete in an epic beer-drinking contest against the nefarious German challenger Baron Wolfgang Von Wolfhausen (played by German actor Jurgen Prochnow, whose starring role in Das Boot inspires one of this movie's better jokes). When it's not trying to top itself in terms of sheer stupidity and juvenile humor, Beerfest satisfies its target audience (basically, frat-rats and party animals) with some gratuitously bare-breasted babes, rampant consumption of alcohol, and the welcomed appearance of Cloris Leachman, who sort-of reprises her "Frau Blucher" persona from Young Frankenstein. So basically what you've got here is a dim-witted but energetic comedy called Beerfest that delivers exactly what you'd expect from a movie with that title. Who says truth in advertising is dead? --Jeff Shannon

All About Eve

  • 2-Disc Special Edition
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington (ANN BAXTER) is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing (BETTE DAVIS). Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend (GARY MERRILL), her playwright (HUGH MARLOWE) and his wife (CELESTE HOLM). Only the cynical drama critic (Oscar winner GEORGE SANDERS) sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. THELMA RITTER and MARILYN MONROE co-star in this acclaimed classic, which won six Academy Awards and received the most nominations (14) in film history.Showered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater star (Bette Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-! sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom KeoghFrom the moment she glimpses her idol on Broadway, Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) strives to upstage Margo Channing (Bette Davis). After cunningly stealing Margo’s role, Eve disrupts the lives of anyone close to the actress in this timeless cinematic masterpiece that earned a record 14 Oscar® Nominations*, winning six â€" including Best Picture! Showered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and! directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater s! tar (Bet te Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom KeoghFrom the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington (ANN BAXTER) is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing (BETTE DAVIS). Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend (GARY MERRILL), her playwright (HUGH MARLOWE) and ! his wife (CELESTE HOLM). Only the cynical drama critic (Oscar winner GEORGE SANDERS) sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit. THELMA RITTER and MARILYN MONROE co-star in this acclaimed classic, which won six Academy Awards and received the most nominations (14) in film history.Showered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater star (Bette Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to! Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom KeoghStudio: Tcfhe Release Date: 08/30/2011 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: NrShowered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater star (Bette Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom KeoghShowered with Oscars, this wonderfully bitchy (and witty) comedy written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz concerns an aging theater ! star (Bette Davis) whose life is being supplanted by a wolf-in-sheep's-clothing ingenue (Anne Baxter) whom she helped. This is a film for a viewer to take in like a box of chocolates, packed with scene-for-scene delights that make the entire story even better than it really is. The film also gives deviously talented actors such as George Sanders and Thelma Ritter a chance to speak dazzling lines; Davis bites into her role and never lets go. A classic from Mankiewicz, a legendary screenwriter and the brilliant director of A Letter to Three Wives, The Barefoot Contessa, and Sleuth. --Tom Keogh

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

PBTS-210 - Crimson Red - Gold - Silk Woven College Striped Pre-Tied Bowtie

  • Crimson Red - Gold
  • Silk Bow Tie - Adjustable ( 11 - 21 inch neck size ) - Height of Bow : 2.50 inches
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  • PBTS-210 - Shipping time given on your order is the guaranteed time in which the order will ship and not the time it will be received.
Award-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi's (The White Balloon, The Circle) latest triumph is an intimate and absorbing drama about the ways in which the hypocrisies and slights of daily life can push otherwise reasonable people over the edge. Based on true events and written by acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry), CRIMSON GOLD is the story of Hussein, a humble pizza deliveryman who feels continually humiliated by the injustices he sees all! around him. When his friend Ali finds a receipt for a stranger's necklace purchase, Hussein is stunned by its exceptionally high cost. He knows that his pitiful salary will never be enough to afford such a luxury. Soon after, he and Ali are refused entry to an uptown jewelry store because of their scruffy appearances; his rage over this slight sets off a series of events. But Hussein will taste the luxurious life for one night before his deep feelings of humiliation push him over the edge. DVD extras include: 5.1, trailer, subtitle control, weblinks, Interview with director Jafar PanahiTwo master filmmakers, Abba Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry) and Jafar Panahi (The Circle), team up as writer and director, respectively (as they did on 1996's The White Balloon), on Crimson Gold, a subtle tragedy about class conflict in Iran. Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin) is a lumbering veteran swollen by cortisone (for war-induced pain) and reduced to delivering pi! zzas at night. (He is frequently lost in a mental semi-fog dur! ing the days.) Witness to the rewards and vanities of the wealthy, insulted when a jewelry shop owner won't allow him in his store, and under pressure to get married, Hussein awkwardly aspires for higher ground but is more familiar with a life of marginal importance. When an eccentric socialite gives him a taste of luxury, something desperate is unleashed. Panahi brings his feel for and vision of the expansive ordinary, for the near-invisible forces churning within characters in seemingly throwaway circumstances. A haunting film. --Tom KeoghAward-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi's (The White Balloon, The Circle) latest triumph is an intimate and absorbing drama about the ways in which the hypocrisies and slights of daily life can push otherwise reasonable people over the edge. Based on true events and written by acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry), CRIMSON GOLD is the story of Hussein, a humble pizza deliveryman who feels continually humiliated by the injust! ices he sees all around him. When his friend Ali finds a receipt for a stranger's necklace purchase, Hussein is stunned by its exceptionally high cost. He knows that his pitiful salary will never be enough to afford such a luxury. Soon after, he and Ali are refused entry to an uptown jewelry store because of their scruffy appearances; his rage over this slight sets off a series of events. But Hussein will taste the luxurious life for one night before his deep feelings of humiliation push him over the edge. DVD extras include: 5.1, trailer, subtitle control, weblinks, Interview with director Jafar PanahiTwo master filmmakers, Abba Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry) and Jafar Panahi (The Circle), team up as writer and director, respectively (as they did on 1996's The White Balloon), on Crimson Gold, a subtle tragedy about class conflict in Iran. Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin) is a lumbering veteran swollen by cortisone (for war-induced pain) and reduced ! to delivering pizzas at night. (He is frequently lost in a men! tal semi -fog during the days.) Witness to the rewards and vanities of the wealthy, insulted when a jewelry shop owner won't allow him in his store, and under pressure to get married, Hussein awkwardly aspires for higher ground but is more familiar with a life of marginal importance. When an eccentric socialite gives him a taste of luxury, something desperate is unleashed. Panahi brings his feel for and vision of the expansive ordinary, for the near-invisible forces churning within characters in seemingly throwaway circumstances. A haunting film. --Tom KeoghAward-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi's (The White Balloon, The Circle) latest triumph is an intimate and absorbing drama about the ways in which the hypocrisies and slights of daily life can push otherwise reasonable people over the edge. Based on true events and written by acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry), CRIMSON GOLD is the story of Hussein, a humble pizza deliveryman who feels continually humiliat! ed by the injustices he sees all around him. When his friend Ali finds a receipt for a stranger's necklace purchase, Hussein is stunned by its exceptionally high cost. He knows that his pitiful salary will never be enough to afford such a luxury. Soon after, he and Ali are refused entry to an uptown jewelry store because of their scruffy appearances; his rage over this slight sets off a series of events. But Hussein will taste the luxurious life for one night before his deep feelings of humiliation push him over the edge.Two master filmmakers, Abba Kiarostami (A Taste of Cherry) and Jafar Panahi (The Circle), team up as writer and director, respectively (as they did on 1996's The White Balloon), on Crimson Gold, a subtle tragedy about class conflict in Iran. Hussein (Hossain Emadeddin) is a lumbering veteran swollen by cortisone (for war-induced pain) and reduced to delivering pizzas at night. (He is frequently lost in a mental semi-fog during t! he days.) Witness to the rewards and vanities of the wealthy, ! insulted when a jewelry shop owner won't allow him in his store, and under pressure to get married, Hussein awkwardly aspires for higher ground but is more familiar with a life of marginal importance. When an eccentric socialite gives him a taste of luxury, something desperate is unleashed. Panahi brings his feel for and vision of the expansive ordinary, for the near-invisible forces churning within characters in seemingly throwaway circumstances. A haunting film. --Tom Keogh
She wanted out.

She wanted a new life.

She wanted a trophy worthy of a master thief.

She wanted to find the source of the treasured crimson gold.

She wanted to face an undead emperor on his home ground and live to tell the tale.

Careful what you wish for.

The Crimson Gold is the third title in this ongoing Forgotten Realms series focusing specifically on the shadowed life of the iconic character class of the rogue. Each novel in the series is a ! stand-alone adventure, allowing readers an easy entry point into the Forgotten Realms world.

The '25, '61, '78, '79, and '92 national championships, the first game under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry, the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, and twelve more power-packed memorable moments make up the legend of Alabama Football. Eli Gold brings these memories to life with the same clarity and fervor that fans have come to love as they listen to football on the radio.

Featured are legendary Alabama players and coaches including Joe Namath, Johnny Musso, Kenny Stabler, Gene Stallings, Harry Gilmer, Don Hutson, and other names that are still part of everyday conversation in Alabama, regardless of when they attended the university. So much of what was great at Alabama is because of the leadership and influence of Bear Bryant, and his story is told as well as his part in the story of every one of these important moments.

Set roughly in c! hronological order with photographs throughout, Crimson Nat! ion is a journey back through time that every true Alabama fan must own.

The '25, '61, '78, '79, and '92 national championships, the first game under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, the Alabama-Tennessee rivalry, the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, and twelve more power-packed memorable moments make up the legend of Alabama Football. Eli Gold brings these memories to life with the same clarity and fervor that fans have come to love as they listen to football on the radio.

Featured are legendary Alabama players and coaches including Joe Namath, Johnny Musso, Kenny Stabler, Gene Stallings, Harry Gilmer, Don Hutson, and other names that are still part of everyday conversation in Alabama, regardless of when they attended the university. So much of what was great at Alabama is because of the leadership and influence of Bear Bryant, and his story is told as well as his part in the story of every one of these important moments.

Set roughly in chronological order with photographs th! roughout, Crimson Nation is a journey back through time that every true Alabama fan must own.

Men's - Silk Bow Tie - Adjustable ( 11 - 21 inch neck size ) - Height of Bow : 2.50 inches - Silk Woven College Striped Pre-Tied Bowtie

Ninja Assassin [Blu-ray]

  • NINJA ASSASSIN BLU-RAY (BLU-RAY DISC)
I Want My MTV. Think Small. Just Do It. Got Milk? Where do these phrases come from? ART & COPY introduces the cultural visionaries who revolutionized advertising during the industry s golden age in the 1960s by creating slogans to live by and ads we all remember. You may have never heard of them, but pop pioneers Lee Clow, Hal Riney, George Lois, Mary Wells, Jeff Goodby, Rich Silverstein, Phyllis K. Robinson, Dan Wieden, and David Kennedy have changed the way we eat, work, shop, and communicate often in ways we don t even realize. From the introduction of the Volkswagen to America to the triumph of Apple Computers, ART & COPY explores the most successful and influential advertising campaigns of the 20th century, and the creative minds that launched them.George Clooney (The Perfect Storm) and John Turturro (Cars 2)embark on the adventure of a! lifetime in this hilarious, offbeat road picture. And now, for the first time, this quirky gem shines more brightly than ever in Blu-ray High Definition! Fed up with crushing rocks on a prison farm in Mississippi, the dapper, silver-tongued Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney) busts loose...except he's still shackled to two misfits from his chain gang: bad-tempered Pete (Turturro), and sweet, dimwitted Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson). With nothing to lose and buried loot to regain, the three embark on a riotous odyssey filled with chases, close calls, near misses and betrayal. Experience every unpredictable moment as it plays out in the crystal-clear sound and breathtaking picture quality of Blu-ray. Populated with strange characters, including a blind prophet, sexy sirens, and a one-eyed Bible salesman (John Goodman), O Brother, Where Art Thou? will leave you laughing at every outrageous and surprising twist and turnOnly Joel and Ethan Coen, the fraternal director and produc! er team behind art-house hits such as The Big Lebowski ! and F argo and masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plot line of Homer's Odyssey for a comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing about hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) into lighting out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly, one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, l! eft-field dialogue, and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges's classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American '30s folk styles--blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz, and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humor, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like a cross between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip KempRyan Gosling stars as a Hollywood stunt driver for movies by day and moonlights as a wheelman for criminals by night. Though a loner by nature, “Driver” can’t help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband. After a heist goes wrong, Driver finds himself driving d! efense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of dead! ly serio us criminals (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman). Soon he realizes the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash and is forced to shift gears and go on the offense. Denmark's Nicolas Winding Refn makes an electrifying return to Hollywood filmmaking with this 1980s-style noir, right down to the synth score and neon-pink credits (he released his American debut, Fear X, in 2003). Ryan Gosling puts his implacable quality to good use as an L.A. stunt driver whose world crumbles when he falls for the wrong woman (Carey Mulligan). Irene is hardly a femme fatale, but her incarcerated husband, Standard (Oscar Isaac), is another story. When her car breaks down, Driver recommends the auto shop where he works with Shannon (Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston). The two start spending time together, but then Standard returns from prison. Driver keeps his distance until he discovers that Standard owes protection money. If he doesn't pay up, Irene and their son will suffer, so Drive! r offers to handle the wheel during a heist, a job with which he has more than a little experience, as the riveting opening sequence proves. While they plan their score with Blanche (Mad Men's Christina Hendricks), Shannon makes a deal with a couple of gangsters (Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman), but when the plans collide: all hell breaks loose. In adapting James Sallis's novel, Refn builds to a bittersweet denouement, though the bursts of bloodshed will test even the hardiest of viewers. At its best, though, Drive is every bit as gripping as Reagan-era crime dramas like To Live and Die in L.A. and Thief. --Kathleen C. FennessyONG BAK 3 picks up where ONG BAK 2 concluded. Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers. There, he is taught meditation and how to deal with his Karma, but very soon his arch rival returns challenging Tien for a final duel.If it moves, smash it! The fil! mmakers behind The Matrix and V for Vendetta bring new blood (! lots of it!) to martial arts movies in Ninja Assassin. Korean pop star Rain (Speed Racer) stars as heroic, deadly Raizo. Trained from childhood in the way of the Ozunu Clan ninja, he is stalked by fellow warriors for breaking free of them and their iron-willed dojo patriarch (martial arts legend Sho Kosugi)... and is on the run with a Europol agent (Naomie Harris) who has proof the clan sells assassination services to governments. The action is start-to-finish â€" fast, fierce, filled with weaponry (chains, swords, staffs, shuriken) and awesome athleticism. Fear not the weapon, but the hand that wields it.The entertaining, adrenaline-packed Ninja Assassin wastes no time cutting quite literally to the guts and gore of the mysterious world of ninja warriors--the blood flows as freely as champagne on New Year's Eve. Only 3-D might have made it even better. Taken from the streets as a child, the orphan Raizo (Korean pop artist Rain, in his first leading role) is molded into a dea! dly assassin through methods that might make even the strong of stomach wince. The story flows from present-day Berlin to Raizo's brutal training by the Ozunu, one of the mythical Nine Clans that perform political assassinations around the world. Refusal to follow an order by the clan leader forces Raizo into a life on the run. When Mika (Naomie Harris), a Europol researcher, gets too close to the truth, Raizo risks detection by his former clan-mates to protect her, and to exact his revenge. Fans of ninja films will rejoice in the classic story, while action aficionados will find plenty of heart-pounding thrills in every fight scene. Admittedly, the plot, especially Europol's interest in the mythical clans, exists merely to move the story from one fight scene to the next. But who cares when the action shots--especially the literal firefight at the end--are so exciting. --Jill Corddry

Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion Expansion Pack

  • Defend Roman Empire from invading barbarians; set in 363 A.D.
  • Expansion pack to the award-winning Rome: Total War game
  • Experience brand-new generals, maps, battle conditions, and more
  • 10 new playable factions, each with strategic options and exclusive army units
  • For 1 player

 

This richly detailed chronicle brings to life the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

 

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell dr! aws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to the introduction of gunpowder to Europe. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

The classic study of how the Roman Empire gradually succumbed to barbarian encroachment.

In print for more than thirty years, this book has long served as a standard text on the Germanic penetration of the Roman Empire. Bury's history is indispensable to anyone who seeks to understand the connection between the barbarian migrations of the third to the ninth century and the framework of modern Europe.

 

This richly detailed chronicle brin! gs to li fe the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell draws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to the introduction of gunpowder to Europe. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

 

This richly detailed! chronicle brings to life the personalities of Attila the Hun, Alaric the Goth, Genghis Khan, and many other barbarian kings and chieftains whose rampages across Europe, Asia, and North Africa changed the course of history.

In this highly readable and authoritative book, author Thomas J. Craughwell draws upon the latest historical and archaeological research to reveal the impact of the barbarian invasions on the modern world: from the establishment of the English language, to the foundation of world capitals such as Dublin, to the introduction of gunpowder to Europe. Illustrated with more than 100 archival images gathered from around the world.

 

You arrived you saw you conquered....you're notfinished yet!Product Information[Requires Rome: Total War to play]With this official expansion pack to the award-w! inning Rome: Total War the action takes place 350 years later ! when the Roman Empire is beset by enemies inside and out. The year is 363 A.D. and the Roman Empire has split into two parts ruled from the cities of Rome and Constantinople. Barbarian tribes are massing on the Imperial frontiers and there are many many challenges for a Roman to face - and some may be almost unbeatable!A seemingly unstoppable tide of barbarian invaders is massing on the borders of a fractured Roman Empire. Choose to take control of the barbarian hordes and tear apart the world's mightiest ancient empire or take command of massed Roman legions and change the course of history forever! Barbarian Invasion is the new expansion to the million-selling multi-award-winning PC strategy game Rome: Total War. Set in a time 200 years after the main campaign of Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasion presents an entirely redrawn campaign map reflecting two centuries of change and turmoil across the Roman Empire. Ten new playable factions have entered the fray - all with new buildin! gs units and technologies to exploit. The threats to Rome are as brutal as they are varied - from Sassanid war elephants and lethal Frank axe throwers to ferocious Hun riders.The epic war to decide the fate of the world's grandest empire is now yours to control! Product FeaturesCommand vast armies to decide the fate of the Roman Empire in the massive expansion to worldwide smash hit Rome: Total War.  Redesigned campaign map reflects 200 years of change and turmoil. Updated gameplay features the hordes character loyalty and Roman civil wars. Barbarians can also relocate to a new homeland after losing their last settlement as a mass migration of

The Amateur Marriage: A Novel

  • Anne Tyler has taken the edgy, imperfect, exasperating moments of marriage and woven a tapestry of life and its changes in the course of a fifty-year relationship.
Unexpected car trouble leaves the doctor and the former party boy stranded during their cross-country trip, bringing them closer togetherâ€"â€"in every way possible.

Rachel and Scott were never friends in college; her scholarly pursuits never fit with his party-boy attitude. She was the serious student, spending whatever time she had studying to become a doctor. Scott was just the opposite: a sexy frat boy more interested in booze and girls than books.

When they share a road trip after graduation, the only question is how they will tolerate each other for two days in close quarters. Everything changes when Scott's car breaks down in a small town, leaving them with only one opportunity to raise the money they n! eed. Now Rachel must come out of her scholarly shell and embrace the exhibitionist withinâ€"and maybe show Scott there's more to her than her brain.
Unexpected car trouble leaves the doctor and the former party boy stranded during their cross-country trip, bringing them closer togetherâ€"â€"in every way possible.

Rachel and Scott were never friends in college; her scholarly pursuits never fit with his party-boy attitude. She was the serious student, spending whatever time she had studying to become a doctor. Scott was just the opposite: a sexy frat boy more interested in booze and girls than books.

When they share a road trip after graduation, the only question is how they will tolerate each other for two days in close quarters. Everything changes when Scott's car breaks down in a small town, leaving them with only one opportunity to raise the money they need. Now Rachel must come out of her scholarly shell and embrace the exhibitionist withinâ€"and maybe! show Scott there's more to her than her brain.
This anthol! ogy is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde’s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim’s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must-have addition to any library.This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as par! t of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. This text refers to the Bibliobazaar edition.This book takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength. Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives. These flaws in their mental armour result in stinging defeats and painful reversals. Books can be bought and studied, lessons can be taken -- but in the end, these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate. Seeking a solution to this dilemma, the author wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games, analysed them, and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose. This second edition greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition.From the inimitable Anne Tyler, a rich and compelling no! vel about a mismatched marriageâ€"and its consequences, spanni! ng three generations.

They seemed like the perfect coupleâ€"young, good-looking, made for each other. The moment Pauline, a stranger to the Polish Eastern Avenue neighborhood of Baltimore (though she lived only twenty minutes away), walked into his mother’s grocery store, Michael was smitten. And in the heat of World War II fervor, they are propelled into a hasty wedding. But they never should have married.

Pauline, impulsive, impractical, tumbles hit-or-miss through life; Michael, plodding, cautious, judgmental, proceeds deliberately. While other young marrieds, equally ignorant at the start, seemed to grow more seasoned, Pauline and Michael remain amateurs. In time their foolish quarrels take their toll. Even when they find themselves, almost thirty years later, loving, instant parents to a little grandson named Pagan, whom they rescue from Haight-Ashbury, they still cannot bridge their deep-rooted differences. Flighty Pauline clings to the notion that the rifts ca! n always be patched. To the unyielding Michael, they become unbearable.

From the sound of the cash register in the old grocery to the counterculture jargon of the sixties, from the miniskirts to the multilayered apparel of later years, Anne Tyler captures the evocative nuances of everyday life during these decades with such telling precision that every page brings smiles of recognition. Throughout, as each of the competing voices bears witness, we are drawn ever more fully into the complex entanglements of family life in this wise, embracing, and deeply perceptive novel.


From the Hardcover edition.Anne Tyler's The Amateur Marriage is not so much a novel as a really long argument. Michael is a good boy from a Polish neighborhood in Baltimore; Pauline is a harum-scarum, bright-cheeked girl who blows into Michael's family's grocery store at the outset of World War II. She appears with a bloodied brow, supported by a gaggle of girlfriends.! Michael patches her up, and neither of them are ever the sam! e. Well, not the same as they were before, but pretty much the same as everyone else. After the war, they live over the shop with Michael's mother till they've saved enough to move to the suburbs. There they remain with their three children, until the onset of the sixties, when their eldest daughter runs away to San Francisco. Their marriage survives for a while, finally crumbling in the seventies. If this all sounds a tad generic, Tyler's case isn't helped by the characteristics she's given the two spouses. Him: repressed, censorious, quiet. Her: voluble, emotional, romantic. Mars, meet Venus. What marks this couple, though, and what makes them come alive, is their bitter, unproductive, tooth-and-nail fighting. Tyler is exploring the way that ordinary-seeming, prosperous people can survive in emotional poverty for years on end. She gets just right the tricks Michael and Pauline play on themselves in order to stay together: "How many times," Pauline asks herself, "when! she was weary of dealing with Michael, had she forced herself to recall the way he'd looked that first day? The slant of his fine cheekbones, the firming of his lips as he pressed the adhesive tape in place on her forehead." Only in antogonism do Michael and Pauline find a way to express themselves. --Claire Dederer