Saturday, November 12, 2011

Beyond the Sea

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Based on true events during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, an exhausted Catholic priest (John Hurt) and a young idealistic English teacher (Hugh Dancy) find themselves caught in a literal and spiritual crisis. They have to choose whether to stay with the thousands of Tutsis about to be massacred or to flee for safety.A powerfully moving rendering of the horrific genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, Beyond the Gates is the story of the Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO), a school run by Europeans and protected by the forces of the United Nations. Overseen by a spiritual, world-weary Catholic priest Father Christopher (John Hurt) and taught by an idealistic, naive young teacher Joe (Hugh Dancy), students and refugees alike perceive the ETO to be a safe haven of learning and love, where backgrounds and circumstances matter little and where humanitarian efforts are positively aff! ecting the lives of the Rwandan people. When tensions between the Hutu and Tsutsi people of Rwanda escalate, father Christopher, teacher Joe, and Capitaine Delon (Dominique Horwitz), commander of the United Nation forces based at the ETO, find themselves thrust into the role of protecting a huge mass of Tsutsi refugees from certain massacre at the hands of the incensed Hutu population. Constrained by orders from the U.N. to "monitor" rather than "enforce" the peace in Rwanda, U.N. military forces are powerless to act against the mounting violence outside the school's gates and it quickly becomes evident to Father Christopher and Joe that they and the Rwandans depending on their protection are in extreme danger. In the end, both men are forced to choose between their humanitarian resolve and the preservation of their very lives. A microcosm of the extensive genocide that was carried out throughout Rwanda from April through June in 1994, the story of the ETO highlights to! the larger world the ineffective and arguably destructive rol! e that t he Western World played in the Rwandan genocide. The film's immense power stems from stellar performances by John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, and Claire-Hope Ashitey (Marie) as well as exceptional writing by David Wolstencroft and impassioned story telling by director Michael Caton-Jones. Filming on location in Rwanda adds an added layer of authenticity to the film as does the inclusion of Rwandan survivors in various on- and off-screen roles. Bonus features include a 38-minute "making of" feature that's rich with perspective and history thanks to extensive interview footage of producers, actors, and crew members personally affected by the genocide in Rwanda and two separate full-length film commentaries; one by director Michael Caton-Jones and another featuring writer David Wolstencroft and producer David Belton. Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images, and language. This film is also available in an unrated version that's edited for clean language. --Tami Horiuchi! Based on true events during the Rwandan genocide in 1994, an exhausted Catholic priest (John Hurt) and a young idealistic English teacher (Hugh Dancy) find themselves caught in a literal and spiritual crisis. They have to choose whether to stay with the thousands of Tutsis about to be massacred or to flee for safety.This is an unrated version of the original film edited for clean language. A powerfully moving rendering of the horrific genocide that occurred in Rwanda in 1994, Beyond the Gates is the story of the Ecole Technique Officielle (ETO), a school run by Europeans and protected by the forces of the United Nations. Overseen by a spiritual, world-weary Catholic priest Father Christopher (John Hurt) and taught by an idealistic, naive young teacher Joe (Hugh Dancy), students and refugees alike perceive the ETO to be a safe haven of learning and love, where backgrounds and circumstances matter little and where humanitarian efforts are positively affecting the liv! es of the Rwandan people. When tensions between the Hutu and ! Tsutsi p eople of Rwanda escalate, father Christopher, teacher Joe, and Capitaine Delon (Dominique Horwitz), commander of the United Nation forces based at the ETO, find themselves thrust into the role of protecting a huge mass of Tsutsi refugees from certain massacre at the hands of the incensed Hutu population. Constrained by orders from the U.N. to "monitor" rather than "enforce" the peace in Rwanda, U.N. military forces are powerless to act against the mounting violence outside the school's gates and it quickly becomes evident to Father Christopher and Joe that they and the Rwandans depending on their protection are in extreme danger. In the end, both men are forced to choose between their humanitarian resolve and the preservation of their very lives. A microcosm of the extensive genocide that was carried out throughout Rwanda from April through June in 1994, the story of the ETO highlights to the larger world the ineffective and arguably destructive role that the Western Worl! d played in the Rwandan genocide. The film's immense power stems from stellar performances by John Hurt, Hugh Dancy, and Claire-Hope Ashitey (Marie) as well as exceptional writing by David Wolstencroft and impassioned story telling by director Michael Caton-Jones. Filming on location in Rwanda adds an added layer of authenticity to the film as does the inclusion of Rwandan survivors in various on- and off-screen roles. Bonus features include a 38-minute "making of" feature that's rich with perspective and history thanks to extensive interview footage of producers, actors, and crew members personally affected by the genocide in Rwanda and two separate full-length film commentaries; one by director Michael Caton-Jones and another featuring writer David Wolstencroft and producer David Belton. Contains strong violence and disturbing images. --Tami Horiuchi"Beyond the Gates" is a feature length documentary film experience about the Waodani Indians and the missionary ! men and women who have given their lives to reach them. This p! owerful emotional journey begins with the Waodani describing their way of life before the missionaries visited them in 1956. Narrated by the son of one of the missionaries and each of the wives of the men who died, the audience takes a nostalgic trip back in time to see how the men and women came to meet up with each other in Ecuador. An inspiring story of forgiveness and love. While the primary lesson of Beyond the Gates of Splendor is about the power of Christian love, this extraordinary documentary transcends its missionary message with a universal tale of cultural exchange, murder, and the ultimate act of forgiveness. After establishing that the Waodani Indians in the Amazon basin of Ecuador had endured several generations of violent homicide among tribal neighbors, the film's central story begins to unfold: As American missionaries discover the Waodani in the mid-1950s, their Christian outreach goes smoothly until 1956, when lies and misunderstandings lead to the spear-k! illing of five of the missionary men whose wives and children--including narrator Steve Saint (whose father was among those killed)--responded to tragedy by living peacefully among the Waodani over the decades that followed. Through home-movie footage, photographs, and eyewitness accounts by American and Waodani alike, this incredible-but-true story of love and understanding unfolds with considerable power, urging the viewer to consider the meaning of this remarkable example of unified humanity. Is the missionary impulse a pure and beneficial one? Are the Waodani best left alone and ignorant of the wide world beyond their village? With deep tragedy, rich humor, and an overwhelming sense of compassion, writer/director Jim Hanon ponders these and other questions, hampered only by an overbearing score (by Ronald Owen) that's lushly beautiful at best, but too often maudlin, manipulative, and shamelessly heavy-handed. It's likely that Christian viewers will be most deeply affect! ed by the film's thematic parallels to the lessons of Christ, ! but anyo ne with an ounce of compassion will be similarly moved and astonished. Not surprisingly, Hanon later dramatized the factual events of Beyond the Gates of Splendor in his 2006 feature film The End of the Spear. --Jeff ShannonThis limited European digi book version includes a cd-rom video of the making of "Red Light". Features drummer Mark Zonder of Fates Warning.Henry Louis Gates Jr. travels the length and breadth of the United States to take the temperature of black America at the start of the new century. Gates visits the East Coast, the deep South, inner-city Chicago and Hollywood to explore the rich and diverse landscape, social as well as geographic.Horror goes to extremes with Wishmaster 3: Beyond the Gates of Hell, the goriest installment of the hit franchise yet. When Diana, a beautiful coed, discovers an ancient gem inside a mystical Persian case, she unwittingly releases the mercilessly evil "Djinn." The gut-slinging demon uses fiendish trick! ery to take the form of a professor in order to slice, dice and burn his way through the university staff and its students. If he can overpower Diana, his "waker," and grant her three sick and twisted wishes, the very gates of Hell will open up and engulf the world in eternal damnation. With help from the man she loves, she must impale the bloodthirsty demon with a sword from Heaven to save herself and the entire world. Once the mighty fortress had stood strong, defended by the mightiest of all Drenai heroes, Druss, the Legend. But now a tyrannical, mad emperor had seized control of the fortress, and his twisted will was carried throughout the land by the Joinings --- abominations that were half-man, half-beast. Tenaka Khan was a half-breed himself, hated by the Drenai for his Nadir blood and despised by the Nadir for his Drenai ancestry. But he alone had a plan to destroy the emperor. The last heroes of the Drenai joined with him in a desperate gamble to bring down the e! mperor -- even at the cost of their own destruction.One of Ame! rica’s greatest performers, Bobby Darin lived a rags-to-riches life. He worked his way from shady nightclubs to his dream destination, The Copacabana, where he wowed crowds with "Splish Splash," "Mack the Knife" and other hits. He was a marvel at singing, songwriting and performing â€" stealing the hearts of fans everywhere despite the suffering in his own hear.The chameleon-like actor Kevin Spacey is best known for playing pyschopaths (in Seven and The Usual Suspects) and capturing a creepy mid-life crisis in American Beauty--but surprisingly, playing crooner Bobby Darin, Spacey does some snappy dancing and top-notch singing. Beyond the Sea puts Darin's life through a bit of a kaleidoscope: While singing Darin's most memorable hit, "Mack the Knife," Darin suddenly stops the show, revealing that he's not at a nightclub, but in the middle of a shooting a scene about his life as a nightclub performer. Why has he stopped? Because he's just seen himself a! s a young boy, peering from behind a curtain. Such self-conscious narrative twists recur throughout the movie, turning Darin's fight for fame and respect into a love story between his adult and childhood selves. Sandra Dee (Kate Bosworth, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!), a hugely popular movie star in her own right, was supposedly the love of Darin's life, but she never holds his attention as does his childhood self (played by newcomer William Ullrich). It's a striking metaphor for the narcissism that drives such success-hungry entertainers. But despite (or perhaps because of) the complexity of the telling, the events never grip your emotions; though Darin's life featured hits galore and a few soap opera twists, his story lacks the seductive charm of his nighclub show. Also featuring Bob Hoskins, John Goodman, Brenda Blethyn, and Greta Scacchi. --Bret Fetzer

Gandhi (BD Live) [Blu-ray]

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Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.

In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of tesing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances,"in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities.

All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.Gandhi's nonviolent struggles in South Africa and India had already! brought him to such a level of notoriety, adulation, and controversy that when asked to write an autobiography midway through his career, he took it as an opportunity to explain himself. Although accepting of his status as a great innovator in the struggle against racism, violence, and, just then, colonialism, Gandhi feared that enthusiasm for his ideas tended to exceed a deeper understanding. He says that he was after truth rooted in devotion to God and attributed the turning points, successes, and challenges in his life to the will of God. His attempts to get closer to this divine power led him to seek purity through simple living, dietary practices (he called himself a fruitarian), celibacy, and ahimsa, a life without violence. It is in this sense that he calls his book The Story of My Experiments with Truth, offering it also as a reference for those who would follow in his footsteps. A reader expecting a complete accounting of his actions, h! owever, will be sorely disappointed.

Although Gandhi pres! ents his episodes chronologically, he happily leaves wide gaps, such as the entire satyagraha struggle in South Africa, for which he refers the reader to another of his books. And writing for his contemporaries, he takes it for granted that the reader is familiar with the major events of his life and of the political milieu of early 20th-century India. For the objective story, try Yogesh Chadha's Gandhi: A Life. For the inner world of a man held as a criminal by the British, a hero by Muslims, and a holy man by Hindus, look no further than these experiments. --Brian Bruya A critical masterpiece, GANDHI is an intriguing story about activism, politics, religious tolerance and freedom. But at the center of it all is an extraor- dinary man who fought for a nonviolent, peaceful existence, and set an entire nation free. Winner of 8 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, Best Director (Lord Richard Attenborough) and Best Actor (Sir Ben Kingsley), GAND! HI’s highly acclaimed cast also includes Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, Sir John Gielgud, Roshan Seth and Martin Sheen.

The extras include more than 90 minutes of new material, including interviews with director Lord Richard Attenborough; actors Geraldine James, Saeed Jaffrey, and Edward Fox; Diana Hawkins (Director of Publicity), Terry Clegg (Executive in charge of production), Billy Williams (Cinematographer) and Stuart Craig (Production Designer). The DVD includes a Director’s commentary with Attenborough, who also filmed a personal introduction to the film. The featurettes include In Search of Gandhi, Reflections on Ben, Madeleine Slade: An Englishwoman Abroad, The Funeral, Shooting an Epic In India, Looking Back, Designing Gandhi (3 mini featurettes) and From the Director’s Chair (2 mini featurettes). Sir Richard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look a! t the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine ! of nonvi olent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film. --Tom Keogh

Stills from Gandhi (click for larger image)







Beyond Gandhi on Amazon.com


Other Oscar Winners a! t Oscar Central

More Biographies on DVD

The Films of Ben Kingsley
Mohandas K. Gandhi, called Mahatma (“great soul”), was the father of modern India, but his influence has spread well beyond the subcontinent and is as important today as it was in the first part of the twentieth century and during this nation’s own civil rights movement. Taken from Gandhi’s writings throughout his life, The Essential Gandhi introduces us to his thoughts on politics, spirituality, poverty, suffering, love, non-violence, civil disobedience, and his own life. The pieces collected here, with explanatory head notes by Gandhi biographer Louis Fischer, offer the clearest, most thorou! gh portrait of one of the greatest spiritual leaders the world has known.
“Gandhi was inevitable. If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. . . . We may ignore him at our own risk.” â€"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

With a new Preface drawn from the writings of Eknath Easwaran

In the annals of spirituality certain books stand out both for their historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight, encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of mankind's relation to the divine.Translated by Mahadev Desai and with a New Preface
The only authorized American edition
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. ! In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life! and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.

In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of tesing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances," in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities. All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.Gandhi's nonviolent struggles in South Africa and India had already brought him to such a level of notoriety, adulation, and controversy that when asked to write an autobiography midway through his career, he took it as an opportunity to explain himself. Although accepting of his status as a great innovator in the struggle against racism, violence, and, just then, colonialism, Gandhi! feared that enthusiasm for his ideas tended to exceed a deeper understanding. He says that he was after truth rooted in devotion to God and attributed the turning points, successes, and challenges in his life to the will of God. His attempts to get closer to this divine power led him to seek purity through simple living, dietary practices (he called himself a fruitarian), celibacy, and ahimsa, a life without violence. It is in this sense that he calls his book The Story of My Experiments with Truth, offering it also as a reference for those who would follow in his footsteps. A reader expecting a complete accounting of his actions, however, will be sorely disappointed.

Although Gandhi presents his episodes chronologically, he happily leaves wide gaps, such as the entire satyagraha struggle in South Africa, for which he refers the reader to another of his books. And writing for his contemporaries, he takes it for granted that the reade! r is familiar with the major events of his life and of the po! litical milieu of early 20th-century India. For the objective story, try Yogesh Chadha's Gandhi: A Life. For the inner world of a man held as a criminal by the British, a hero by Muslims, and a holy man by Hindus, look no further than these experiments. --Brian BruyaTranslated by Mahadev Desai and with a New Preface
The only authorized American edition
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.

In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of tesing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances," in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities. All! royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.His triumph changed the world forever. Sir Richard Attenborough's sweeping biography of Mohandas Gandhi, who rose from simple lawyer to worldwide symbol of peace and understanding. Gandhi earned eight Academy Awards(r) including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.Sir Rich! ard Attenborough's 1982 multiple-Oscar winner (including Best ! Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Ben Kingsley) is an engrossing, reverential look at the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, who introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the nation its independence. Kingsley is magnificent as Gandhi as he changes over the course of the three-hour film from an insignificant lawyer to an international leader and symbol. Strong on history (the historic division between India and Pakistan, still a huge problem today, can be seen in its formative stages here) as well as character and ideas, this is a fine film. --Tom Keogh

Duets

  • Academy Award® winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress, Shakespeare In Love, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Scott Speedman (TV's Felicity) are part of the stellar ensemble cast in a hilariously offbeat comedy! The lives of six strangers become outrageously intertwined when a riotous road trip culminates at the site of the national Karaoke championships. As they compete for the $5,000 grand pri
2011 release from the legendary crooner. Duets II is the follow-up to Tony Bennett's multi-platinum CD, Duets, which was released in conjunction with Tony's 80th birthday in 2006. Duets won three Grammy Awards and was the singer's best selling album to date. Now the legendary performer celebrates a milestone 85th birthday with the release of Duets II. The singer has completed recording with Lady Gaga and Aretha Franklin, adding to a celebrated list of artists previously announced including Amy Winehouse, Mi! chael Buble, Norah Jones, John Mayer, Queen Latifah, Carrie Underwood and many others.In celebration of his 80th birthday, Tony Bennett performs 18 of his hits and favorite numbers with famous duet partners including Sting, Bono, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and Tim McGraw -- all live in the studio with the master. At this point, who else but Tony Bennett would have the clout to round up stars on the scale of Elton John, Paul McCartney, Bono, Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand for some duets? (Note also that unlike some similar projects, all the parties involved on this CD were alive when it was recorded!) The material consists of relatively obvious classics in standard big-band arrangements, and Bennett himself is in top form at age 80, so much so that he doesn't need anybody else to handle "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." But the fun comes from checking out how his collaborators fare. The Dixie Chicks provide wonderful Andrews Sistersâ€"type harmonies on the percola! ting version of "Lullaby of Broadway" that opens the festiviti! es. The best songs tend to be the ones where Bennett's slightly craggy voice is juxtaposed to smooth female ones, like Diana Krall on "The Best Is Yet to Come," familiar accomplice k.d. lang on the sultry "Because of You" and Streisandâ€"-perhaps Bennett's only equal in stature at this pointâ€"on "Smile." Among the less expected guests, soulman John Legend is a revelation on the hard-swinging "Sing, You Sinners," while George Michael confirms he’s quite the crooner on "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Elvis Costello, Celine Dion or Juanes don't sound as comfortable, and sometimes it feels as if they overdo it to compensate, but overall this collection is among the best of its kind, with most guests rising to the occasion. --Elisabeth VincentelliAcademy Award(R)-winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY) and Scott Speedman (TV's FELICITY) are part of the stellar ensemble cast in a hilariously offbeat comedy! The lives of six strang! es become outrageously intertwined when a riotous road trip culminates at the site of the national Karaoke championships. As they compete for the $5,000 grand prize, this unlikely group will eventually learn all about each other ... while discovering answers to the questions about themselves! Also featuring great performances from Maria Bello (COYOTE UGLY), Andre Braugher (FREQUENCY), Paul Giamatti (BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE), and Huey Lewis (SHADOW OF DOUBT) -- you'll agree with audiences everywhere who fell in love with this uncommonly entertaining comedy!Karaoke is a way for average people to get on stage and sing cover songs. In Duets, it's also a money sport. No, really. As with other bar sports (pool, darts), the karaoke-for-money game is rife with hustlers. One such hustler is Ricky Dean (Huey Lewis), who takes time off the karaoke circuit to attend the funeral of his ex-wife, where he meets his estranged daughter (Gwyneth Paltrow) and can't shake her desire to go on! the road with him. The other hustler is Suzi Loomis (Maria Be! llo), a woman who literally prostitutes herself to get from gig to gig, until she meets up with a kind-hearted cabby (Scott Speedman). Then there's Todd Woods (Paul Giamatti), who gets so fed up with his sales job and being ignored at home that he hits the road, moving from karaoke bar to karaoke bar in a voyage of self-discovery. Along the way he picks up Reggie Kane (Andre Braugher), an escaped felon with a voice like an angel. All three couples end up in Omaha for the $5,000 karaoke finals. Chock full of bad writing and bad direction, the movie inspires a perverse fascination. Braugher and Giamatti chew up the scenery at every opportunity, but most interesting is the father-daughter incest subtext (compounded by the fact that the movie is directed by Gwyneth's dad, Bruce Paltrow). Eeeeesh. --Andy Spletzer

How to Train Your Dragon Book 1

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A winner with audiences and critics alike, DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon rolls fire-breathing action, epic adventure and laughs into a captivating and original story. Hiccup is a young Viking who defies tradition when he befriends one of his deadliest foes â€" a ferocious dragon he calls Toothless. Together, the unlikely heroes must fight against all odds to save both their worlds in this “wonderful good-time hit!” (Gene Shalit, Today).A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy, and friendship, How to Train Your Dragon rivals Kung Fu Panda as the most engaging and satisfying film DreamWorks Animation has produced. Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel) is a ! failure as a Viking: skinny, inquisitive, and inventive, he asks questions and tries out unsuccessful contraptions when he's supposed to be fighting the dragons that attack his village. His father, chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), has pretty much given up on his teenage son and apprenticed him to blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson). Worse, Hiccup knows the village loser hasn't a chance of impressing Astrid (America Ferrera), the girl of his dreams and a formidable dragon fighter in her own right. When one of Hiccup's inventions actually works, he hasn't the heart to kill the young dragon he's brought down. He names it Toothless and befriends it, although he's been taught to fear and loathe dragons. Codirectors and cowriters Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who made Disney's delightful Lilo and Stitch, provide plenty of action, including vertiginous flying sequences, but they balance the pyrotechnics with moments of genuine warmth that make the viewer root for Hic! cup's success. Many DreamWorks films get laughs from sitcom on! e-liners and topical pop culture references; as the humor in Dragon comes from the characters' personalities, it feels less timely and more timeless. Toothless chases the spot of sunlight reflected off Hiccup's hammer like a giant cat with a laser pointer; Hiccup uses his newly found knowledge (and an icky smoked eel) to defeat two small dragons--and impress the other kids. How to Train Your Dragon will be just as enjoyable 10 or 20 years from now as it is today. (Rated PG: suitable for ages 8 and older, violence, some intense action and scary dragons) --Charles SolomonHow To Train Your Dragon
A winner with audiences and critics alike, DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon rolls fire-breathing action, epic adventure and laughs into a captivating and original story. Hiccup is a young Viking who defies tradition when he befriends one of his deadliest foes â€" a ferocious dragon he calls Toothless. Together, the unlikely heroes mu! st fight against all odds to save both their worlds in this “wonderful good-time hit!” (Gene Shalit, Today).

Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
Hiccup and the Viking gang are back to battle Gobber’s archenemy â€" the legendary BoneKnapper dragon â€" in this full-“scale” action-adventure. Shipwrecked on a mysterious island, the courageous kids devise a plan to capture the cagey creatures…if he even exists!A winning mixture of adventure, slapstick comedy, and friendship, How to Train Your Dragon rivals Kung Fu Panda as the most engaging and satisfying film DreamWorks Animation has produced. Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel) is a failure as a Viking: skinny, inquisitive, and inventive, he asks questions and tries out unsuccessful contraptions when he's supposed to be fighting the dragons that attack his village. His father, chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), has pretty much given up on his teenage son and apprenticed him to ! blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson). Worse, Hiccup knows the vi! llage lo ser hasn't a chance of impressing Astrid (America Ferrera), the girl of his dreams and a formidable dragon fighter in her own right. When one of Hiccup's inventions actually works, he hasn't the heart to kill the young dragon he's brought down. He names it Toothless and befriends it, although he's been taught to fear and loathe dragons. Codirectors and cowriters Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who made Disney's delightful Lilo and Stitch, provide plenty of action, including vertiginous flying sequences, but they balance the pyrotechnics with moments of genuine warmth that make the viewer root for Hiccup's success. Many DreamWorks films get laughs from sitcom one-liners and topical pop culture references; as the humor in Dragon comes from the characters' personalities, it feels less timely and more timeless. Toothless chases the spot of sunlight reflected off Hiccup's hammer like a giant cat with a laser pointer; Hiccup uses his newly found knowledge (and an icky smoked eel) ! to defeat two small dragons--and impress the other kids. How to Train Your Dragon will be just as enjoyable 10 or 20 years from now as it is today. (Rated PG: suitable for ages 8 and older, violence, some intense action and scary dragons) --Charles SolomonChronicles the adventures and misadventures of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III as he tries to pass the important initiation test of his Viking clan, the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, by catching and training a dragon. Now available in paperback!

Gojira / Godzilla, King of the Monsters

The Family That Preys - Tyler Perry - New Movie Poster

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FAMILY THAT PREYS - DVD MovieAcademy Award®-winner Kathy Bates (Lead Actress, Misery, 1990) and Academy Award®-nominee Alfre Woodard (Supporting Actress, Cross Creek, 1983) star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal in the contemporary drama Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys. The sixth feature film by Perry chronicles the inner workings of two familiesâ€"one upper-crust and the other working classâ€"that become inextricably linked by scandal. Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarit! al affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all involved. Alice’s self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in a torrid affair with her boss and mother’s best friend’s son William (Cole Hauser). While cheating on his wife Jillian (KaDee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William’s true focus is to replace the COO of his mother’s lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice’s other daughter Pam (Taraji P. Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction. While paternity secrets, marital infidelity, greed and unsavory business dealings threaten to derail both families, Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-co! untry road trip in which they rediscover themselves and possib! ly find a way to save their families from ruin in Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys.

Beyond Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys on DVD


Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns on DVD

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FAMILY THAT PREYS - DVD MovieAcademy Award®-winner Kathy Bates (Lead Actress, Misery, 1990) and Academy Award®-nominee Alfre Woodard (Supporting Actress, Cross Creek, 1983) star as the matriarchs of two very different families being torn apart by greed and scandal in the contemporary drama Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys. The sixth feature film by Perry chronicles the inner workings of two familiesâ€"one upper-crust and the other working classâ€"that become inextricably linked by scandal. Wealthy socialite Charlotte Cartwright (Kathy Bates) and her dear friend Alice Pratt (Alfre Woodard), a working class woman of high ideals, have enjoyed a lasting friendship throughout many years. Suddenly, their lives become mired in turmoil as their adult children’s extramarital affairs, unethical business practices and a dark paternity secret threaten to derail family fortunes and unravel the lives of all invo! lved. Alice’s self-centered newlywed daughter Andrea (Sanaa Lathan) is betraying her trusting husband Chris (Rockmond Dunbar) by engaging in a torrid affair with her boss and mother’s best friend’s son William (Cole Hauser). While cheating on his wife Jillian (KaDee Strickland) with a string of ongoing dalliances with his mistress Andrea, William’s true focus is to replace the COO of his mother’s lucrative construction corporation. Meanwhile, Alice’s other daughter Pam (Taraji P. Henson), a kind but no nonsense woman married to a hard working construction worker (Tyler Perry), tries to steer the family in a more positive direction. While paternity secrets, marital infidelity, greed and unsavory business dealings threaten to derail both families, Charlotte and Alice decide to take a breather from it all by making a cross-country road trip in which they rediscover themselves and possibly find a way to save their families from ruin in Tyler Perry's The Fami! ly That Preys.

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Journey to the End of the Night

  • ISBN13: 9780811216548
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Ask the Dust is a virtuoso performance by an influential master of the twentieth-century American novel. It is the story of Arturo Bandini, a young writer in 1930s Los Angeles who falls hard for the elusive, mocking, unstable Camilla Lopez, a Mexican waitress. Struggling to survive, he perseveres until, at last, his first novel is published. But the bright light of success is extinguished when Camilla has a nervous breakdown and disappears . . . and Bandini forever rejects the writer's life he fought so hard to attain.

This book is another sterling recommendation from the Saltzman workshop. The under-appreciated Fante's second outing details the adventures of his alterego, Arturo Bandini! , as the struggling young writer tackles Los Angeles in the late 1930s. And take it from personal experience, tackling L.A. as a destitute young scribe some decades later isn't much different. In other words: Fante gets it right and sets it down in his Chianti-steak-and-potatoes style, with prose both simple and rich. This Black Sparrow edition has a bonus: Charles Bukowski's great preface on how Fante stacks up against writers that were at once more famous--and far more anemic.Colin Farrell is Arturo Bandini, a young would-be writer who comes to Depression-era Los Angeles to make a name for himself. While there, he meets beautiful barmaid Camilla (Salma Hayek), a Mexican immigrant who hopes for a better life by marrying a wealthy American. Both are trying to escape the stigma of their ethnicity in blue-blood California. The passion that arises between them is palpable â€" if they could only set aside their ambitions and submit to it. Oscar-winning screenwriter Ro! bert Towne (Chinatown) directs this outcasts’ tale of desire! in the desert, co-starring Donald Sutherland (Pride and Prejudice).Adapted from the acclaimed 1939 novel by John Fante, Ask the Dust represents a 30-year labor of love for Robert Towne, the Oscar®-winning screenwriter of Chinatown. It's easy to see why Towne was drawn to Fante's classic tale of ill-fated romance in Depression-era Los Angeles: It's a tenacious, hard-scrabble valentine to Towne's beloved city, to the lonely craft of writing, and to the elusive whims of love. Towne must have been inspired by the challenge of capturing the inner life and outer environs of Fante's literary hero, struggling writer Aturo Bandini (played by Colin Farrell), as he arrives in L.A. circa 1932, sells occasional stories to legendary American Mercury editor H.L. Mencken (heard only in voice-overs provided by film critic Richard Schickel), lives in the seedy Alta Loma hotel in the dusty neighborhood of Bunker Hill (where a fellow resident is played by Donald Sutherland), and falls i! nto a stormy relationship with Camilla (Salma Hayek), a Mexican waitress who shares Bandini's immigrant dreams for a better life in sunny California. There are good times and bad in this passionately combative romance (and Hayek has never been more sensuously appealing onscreen), and Towne has done a perfect job of capturing an arid combination of hope, depression, and artistic ambition, working in fruitful collaboration with celebrated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion) on meticulously authentic Depression-era sets built on location (of all places) in South Africa. Ask the Dust never fully succeeds as an emotionally involving drama (the lives of writers are notoriously difficult to translate to film), but there's something undeniably seductive about this curious and great-looking film... and we're not just talking about Farrell and Hayek cavorting naked in the ocean. Even that memorable scene is infused with the threat of broken dreams, as i! f Towne were reminding us (and himself) that nothing good come! s withou t sacrifice.--Jeff Shannon

I had a lot of jobs in Los Angeles Harbor because our family was poor and my father was dead. My first job was ditchdigging a short time after I graduated from high school. Every night I couldn’t sleep from the pain in my back. We were digging an excavation in an empty lot, there wasn’t any shade, the sun came straight from a cloudless sky, and I was down in that hole digging with two huskies who dug with a love for it, always laughing and telling jokes, laughing and smoking bitter tobacco.

The dark side of On the Road: instead of seeking kicks, the French narrator travels the globe to find an ever deeper disgust for life.

Louis-Ferdinand Celine's revulsion and anger at what he considered the idiocy and hypocrisy of society explodes from nearly every page of this novel. Filled with slang and obscenities and written in raw, colloquial langu! age, Journey to the End of the Night is a literary symphony of violence, cruelty and obscene nihilism. This book shocked most critics when it was first published in France in 1932, but quickly became a success with the reading public in Europe, and later in America where it was first published by New Directions in 1952. The story of the improbable yet convincingly described travels of the petit-bourgeois (and largely autobiographical) antihero, Bardamu, from the trenches of World War I, to the African jungle, to New York and Detroit, and finally to life as a failed doctor in Paris, takes the readers by the scruff and hurtles them toward the novel's inevitable, sad conclusion.When it was published in 1932, this then-shocking and revolutionary first fiction redefined the art of the novel with its b! lack humor, its nihilism, and its irreverent, explosive writin! g style , and made Louis-Ferdinand Celine one of France's--and literature's--most important 20th-Century writers. The picaresque adventures of Bardamu, the sarcastic and brilliant antihero of Journey to the End of the Night move from the battlefields of World War I (complete with buffoonish officers and cowardly soldiers), to French West Africa, the United States, and back to France in a style of prose that's lyrical, hallucinatory, and hilariously scathing toward nearly everybody and everything. Yet, beneath it all one can detect a gentle core of idealism.
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