Movie Review: พฤศจิกายน 2011

วันจันทร์ที่ 28 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2554

The Love Guru (DVD)

The Love Guru from Paramount

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A hilarious comedy starring Mike Myers as guru Pitka in his first original character since the blockbuster hit Austin Powers. Myers plays an American raised in India by gurus (Tugginmypudha & Satchabigknoba) and returns to the U.S. in order to break into the self-help business. His unorthodox methods are put to the test when he must settle the romantic troubles and subsequent professional skid of a star hockey player (Romany Malco), whose wife left him for a rival athlete Jacques Grande (Justin Timberlake). Mini Me is back from Austin Powers and plays the hockey coach for more classic comedic moments that will have audiences laughing from opening to closing credits.Mike Myers, creator of Wayne's World and Austin Powers, adds another character to his arsenal of comic personae. With his thick beard, curly mustachios, and easy-to-remember aphorisms, Guru Pitka (Myers) has built a reputation as love advisor par excellence--but he's still just America's #2 guru, after Deepak Chopra. Finally an opportunity comes his way: If he can heal the rift between a star hockey player (Romany Marco, Weeds) and his wife (Meagan Good, Stomp the Yard), he can appear on Oprah. But when he meets the hockey team's comely owner (Jessica Alba), Pitka realizes he must solve his own love problems as well. Myers can't resist a good bodily functions joke--unfortunately, he can't resist a bad one either, so The Love Guru is crammed top to bottom with jokes about urine, feces, sex, genitalia--lots and lots about male genitalia--along with many, many gags about Canada, drugs, elephants, inspirational catchphrases, and little people (Vern "Mini-Me" Troyer takes the brunt of these). But the Austin Powers movies were pretty much the same sort of lowbrow comedy grab-bag; though the ratio of good to bad might be weaker here, a good handful of bits offer solid laughs, including some mock-Bollywood musical numbers. Also featuring pop star Justin Timberlake (as a preposterously well-endowed French-Canadian), Ben Kingsley (as Pitka's cross-eyed mentor), Stephen Colbert (as a drug-addled sports announcer), as well as numerous celebrity cameos. --Bret Fetzer more...

Love & Distrust (DVD)

Love & Distrust from Trinity

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Love & Distrust follows a day in the life of eight strangers as they search for happiness. A waitress - Adams - a business man - Franco - and a lusting teenager - Pattinson - from different backgrounds share similar experiences as they search for love, trust and the meaning of life. Love & Distrust is a film about how events shape our perspective and help us form connections with each other in the most unlikely of places. Features: LOVE & DISTRUST (DVD MOVIE) more...

The Illusionist (Full Screen Edition) (DVD)

The Illusionist (full Screen Edition) from Fox

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Unlock the mysteries of the year's most spellbinding film from the producers of Crash and Sideways! Oscar(r) nominees Paul Giamatti and Edward Norton lead an all-star cast in this "stunning" film (USA Today) that conjures an exhilarating blend of suspense, romance and mind-bending twists. The acclaimed illusionist Eisenheim (Norton) has not only captured the imaginations of all of Vienna, but also the interest of the ambitious Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). But when Leopold's new fiancée (Jessica Biel) rekindles a childhood fascination with Eisenheim, the Prince's interest evolves into obsession...and suddenly the city's Chief Inspector (Giamatti) finds himself investigating a shocking crime. But even as the Inspector engages him in a dramatic challenge of wills, Eisenheim prepares for his most impressive illusion yet in this "mesmerizing" (Entertainment Weekly) and "beautifully acted" (Good Morning America) film that "teases you until the very end!" (The New York Times).First screened in Europe and scheduled for limited release in the U.S., The Illusionist offers welcome proof that "arthouse" quality needn't be limited to the arthouses. Set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, this stately, elegant period film benefited from a crossover release in mainstream cinemas, and showed considerable box-office staying power--granted, teenage mallrats and lusty males may have been drawn to the allure of Seventh Heaven alumna Jessica Biel, who rises to the occasion with a fine performance. But there's equal appeal in the casting of Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti, who bring their formidable talents to bear on the intriguing tale of a celebrated magician named Eisenheim (Norton) whose stage performance offends the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), a vindictive lout who aims to marry Duchess Sophie (Biel), Eisenheim's childhood friend and now, 15 years later, his would-be lover. This romantic rivalry and Eisenheim's increasingly enigmatic craft of illusion are investigated by Chief Inspector Uhl (Giamatti), who's under Leopold's command and is therefore not to be trusted as Eisenheim and Sophie draw closer to their inevitable reunion. Cleverly adapted by director Neil Burger from Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist," and boasting exquisite production values and a fine score by Philip Glass, The Illusionist is the kind of class act that fully deserved its unusually wide and appreciative audience. -- Jeff Shannon

Beyond The Illusionist

"Eisenheim the Illusionist" and Other Stories

Paul Giamatti in a More Loveable Role

Magic Kits & Accessories

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วันเสาร์ที่ 19 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2554

Ali G Indahouse - The Movie (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

Ali G Indahouse - The Movie (widescreen Edition) from Uni Dist Corp. (mca)

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Ali g unwittingly becomes a pawn in a plot to overthrow the prime minister of great britain. However instead of bringing the prime minister down ali is embraced by the nation as the voice of youth & realness making the prime minister & his government more popular than ever. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/23/2005 Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen Michael Gambon Run time: 88 minutes Rating: RAli G addicts have been fretting over the British comedian's spiraling popularity. As word of his outrageous celebrity interviews spreads--the deer-in-the-headlights gaze of his victims as they wrestle with incredulity over his audacious stupidity is itself always worth the price of admission--his pool of potential victims naturally diminishes. Not to worry: Ali G as a character has enough flexibility to make the leap to full-length film. The transition is far from perfect: few moments in Ali G Indahouse can match the unforced hilarity of Da Ali G Show. The film's biggest drawback, in fact, is the absence of the real-life personalities we know from the interview format; it's the friction between them and comic actor Sacha Baron Cohen's imposter shtick that generates so many howlers. Ali G Indahouse, in contrast, hangs on a silly plot. The setup of fictional characters interacting with Ali G simply can't have the same payoff.

Said plot is nothing more than a vehicle to subject the hip-hop poseur to a variety of ridiculous situations. He finds himself the unexpected champion in a parliamentary election and has to deal with the devious plotting of the Machiavellian Chancellor of the Exchequer (played by Charles Dance, who undergoes all manner of extreme humiliation). The result is a mix of Dumb and Dumber and Leslie Nielsen-esque pratfalls, with a hint of the Peter Sellers character in Being There. A good deal of the intended irony falls flat, and the litany of dated jokes calculated to offend all over the spectrum gets tiresome: from raunchy malapropisms to Ali G's recurrent obsession with being perceived as gay. But Baron Cohen's genius for getting under the skin of his creation remains undiluted. One aspect of special interest to Ali G fans is the light Ali G Indahouse throws on topics that are always behind the scenes in the Ali G Show context. We actually see Ali's Nana and his crib in suburban Staines, and "me Julie" (Kellie Bright) becomes a focal point as the story unwinds. Genial Borat makes an appearance (and gets dissed by Ali); we even learn the secret origin of Ali G's name (an abbreviation of Alistair Graham). It all might add up to a guilty pleasure, but hey--check yaself before ya wreck yaself. --Tom May Features: Actors: Sacha Baron Cohen, Emilio Rivera, Gina La Piana, Dana de Celis, Dominic Delesilva., Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC., Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1). Subtitles: Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean., Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)., Rated R. Run Time: 85 minutes. more...

Simply Irresistible (DVD)

Simply Irresistible from Fox

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Beautiful restaurant owner Amanda Shelton (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is falling head over heels for handsome, hard-driving executive Tom Bartlett (Sean Patrick Flanery). Unfortunately, Tom is too busy to recognize that she's truly the girl of his dreams until Amanda puts him under her tantalizing spell!Call it Buffy the Culinary Slayer. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who usually runs around staking vampires and fighting demons, turns cute and cuddly as an aspiring chef in this magical-realist comedy that borrows a page--heck, whole chapters--from Like Water for Chocolate. Out at the market one day, Gellar stumbles on both a magical crab and the babelicious Sean Patrick Flanery who, wouldn't you know it, is opening up a posh restaurant at Bendel's department store (actually, the two have been brought together by fairy godfather Christopher Durang). Odd and implausible circumstances give these two cuties more opportunities to moon at each other, and suddenly Gellar's cooking takes off--turns out all her nicey-nice feelings towards Flanery are going into her cooking, with the help of that quiet but powerful little crab. Gellar's almost-closed restaurant starts to thrive, and her desserts begin making everyone horny. A cute premise that never really takes off, Simply Irresistible glides along on Gellar's charisma alone; in her off hours, Buffy certainly can be the lighthearted girl next door, and Gellar works to give some depth to her one-dimensional character. Flanery, though, while appealing at times, plays up his character's commitment-phobia to irritating degrees. Chock full of fairy-tale elements that never really come together (is that crab really necessary?), Irresistible does boast charming performances by Patricia Clarkson and Dylan Baker as Flanery's secretary and boss, respectively. However, it's a little odd to see these two, who scored raves for two serious and harrowing art-house flicks (Clarkson in High Art, Baker in Happiness) doing the light-and-fluffy romantic comedy thing. They're two of the very few ingredients that occasionally make this soufflé of a movie rise; at the end, however, it's flat as a pancake. --Mark Englehart more...

Hitman (Unrated Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) (DVD)

Hitman (unrated Two-disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) from Tcfhe

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No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: UN
Release Date: 11-MAR-2008
Media Type: DVDIt’s hard not to feel like one has entered a certain dimension of video-game logic while watching Hitman, a lightly enjoyable action-suspense movie indeed based on a popular and bloody game about a mysterious hired gun with a bar-code tattoo on his bald head and a number (47) in lieu of a name. Living like a chaste monk while slipping past borders to kill his targets, 47 (Timothy Olyphant of Deadwood) moves like a determined shark and speaks softly to his contact at the enigmatic "the Organization," which raises cast-off children to become well-paid assassins. Fruitlessly pursued by an Interpol cop (Dougray Scott) who can never get sovereign governments to cooperate, 47 has no trouble slipping in and out of countries to ply his trade. Until, that is, he’s set up to take a fall in Russia by shooting a national leader who is promptly replaced by a lookalike double. Suddenly on the run, 47 has to retrace his steps and formulate a lethal plan for extricating himself from a trap. Caught in the chaos is the lovely Nika (Olga Kurylenko), forced into sex slavery by 47’s new enemies and the one person who seems uniquely qualified to break through 47’s many personal barriers. Directed by France’s Xavier Gens, Hitman features loads of bloody mayhem and unabashed moments of pulp absurdity, such as a scene in which 47 and three other Organization killers agree to fight one another respectfully, then proceed to pulverize each other with swords and fists. As fodder for gamers, however, Hitman is packed with visuals and dramatic moments that seem so odd on the big screen until one realizes they are basically placemarkers for the video-game edition. --Tom Keogh

Beyond Hitman

Hitman Video Games

Hitman Books and Game Guides

วันศุกร์ที่ 18 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2554

Fool's Gold (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

Fool's Gold (widescreen Edition) from Warner Brothers

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Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson go for the gold (and the diamonds, emeralds and rubies) as a just-divorced couple who bicker and banter their way through an adventure- and laugh-packed undersea treasure hunt. McConaughey is Finn, in love with his ex (Hudson) and in deep with gangster Bigg Bunny. After eight years of searching, Finn gets a clue to the whereabouts of the Queen’s Dowry, a fabulous fortune that mysteriously disappeared in the Caribbean in 1715. Now all he has to do is get the gold, get the girl and get going before Bigg Bunny gets him. Directed by Andy Tennant (Hitch), Fool’s Gold glitters with danger, action, romance, comedy, great one-liners – and a great time to be had by all!The "gold" of the title refers to an elusive pirate's booty, but it just as easily could mean the sun-washed glistening shores of Florida, or the sumptuously tanned bodies of its appealing stars, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey. The whole film is awash in golden highlights, and the scenery and cinematography make the experience akin to taking a tropical holiday. Hudson and McConaughey reprise the chemistry they first exhibited in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, sparking and tangling and kvetching, while all the while the audience knows, of course, they adore each other and are perfect for each other. McConaughey is a dreamer, on the trail of a sunken pirate's treasure, and Hudson his now-ex-wife, a historian who prefers life to be a little more sedate. McConaughey, as Finn, delivers impassioned speeches to Hudson, as Tess, saying, "You want history? It's in the ocean, lady!" Before you can say Romancing the Stone, Tess and Finn are grudgingly reunited in search of the booty. If the plot doesn't contain many surprises, the froth of the stars' chemistry is amiable and makes for a perfect date movie. Scuba divers may find McConaughey's antics below the surface to be wildly unbelievable and usually fatal, but in the end viewers will root for him to surface, and recapture the heart of his lady love. --A.T. Hurley Features: Condition: New, Format: DVD, Widescreen; Color; NTSC more...

Casanova (DVD)

Casanova from Buena Vista Home Video

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Heath Ledger, Academy Award(R) nominee (Best Actor, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, 2005), stars in the scandalously funny adventure CASANOVA. After a lifetime of women falling head over heels in love with him, the world's legendary ladies' man (Ledger) meets the love of his life -- the one woman who thinks he's a total heel. Comic chaos ensues in a hilarious whirl of misadventures, disguises, and mistaken identities as the love-struck Casanova tries to win the heart of the fiery feminist who wants nothing to do with the man she thinks he is.A light farce dressed up as a lush 18th century costume drama, Casanova gives a fictional spin to the exploits of history's most rakish seducer of women. As played by Heath Ledger, this Casanova bears no resemblance to Donald Sutherland's unrepentant portrayal in Fellini's Casanova, filmed 30 years earlier. Instead, the great ladies' man of Venice is just biding time by bedding women, waiting for true love (and the return his long-absent mother) to settle down into blissful monogamy. He finds true love in Francesca (Sienna Miller), a feminist who initially resists Casanova's affections while director Lasse Hallström serves up a variety of lightweight subplots including Casanova's flight from the Vatican's inquisitor (Jeremy Irons); a host of mistaken identities involving, among others, the portly "Lard King of Genoa" (played with scene-stealing perfection by Oliver Platt in a blubbery fat suit); and the romantic negotiations of Francesca's mother (played by Hallström’s wife, Lena Olin) and a young bumbler named Giovanni with his own promising future as a lover of women. It all adds up to a good-looking and harmless diversion that barely warrants an R-rating, and it makes a fine double-bill with the more enjoyable Dangerous Beauty, another Venetian lover’s tale that was also blessed by the presence of Platt, who gives this Casanova the majority of its entertainment value. --Jeff Shannon Features: Heath Ledger stars as the legendary Casanova, the world s most notorious seducer, a master of disguise and wit. It was said no woman could resist his amorous charms. But Casanova has finally met his match in the fiery intelligent beauty Francesca portrayed by Sienna Miller. Academy Award® winner Jeremy Irons also stars in this scandalously fun adventure from the director of Chocolat. Set in t more...

Somers Town (DVD)

Somers Town from

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Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek (Piotr Jagiello), a Polish immigrant, lives in the district of Somers Town, between King's Cross and Euston stations, where his dad is working on a new rail link. When Marke agrees to let homeless Tomo move into his room, unbeknownst to his father, the pair forms a strong bond, as they work odd jobs for an eccentric neighbor and compete for the attention of Maria, a beautiful young French waitress whom they are both infatuated with. But it's only a matter of time before Marek's dad discovers what's going on... more...

วันพฤหัสบดีที่ 3 พฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2554

Through a Screen Darkly: Looking Closer at Beauty, Truth and Evil in the Movies (Paperback)

Through A Screen Darkly: Looking Closer At Beauty, Truth And Evil In The Movies from

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In the style of a cinematic travel journal, film columnist and critic Jeffrey Overstreet of Christianity Today and lookingcloser.org leads readers down paths less traveled to explore some of the best films you’ve never seen. Examining a feast of movies, from blockbusters to buried treasure, Overstreet peels back the layers of work by popular entertainers and under-appreciated masters. He shares excerpts from conversations with filmmakers like Peter Jackson, Wim Wenders, Kevin Smith, Scott Derrickson, producer Ralph Winter, and stars like Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Keanu Reeves and the cast of Serenity, drawing “war-stories” from his encounters with movie stars, moviemakers, moviegoers and other critics in both mainstream and religious circles. He argues that what makes some films timeless rather than merely popular has everything to do with the way these artists—whether they know it or not—have captured reflections of God in their work. Through a Screen Darkly also includes a collection of reviews, humorous anecdotes and on-the-scene film festival reports, as well as recommendations for movie discussion groups and meditations on how different films echo the myriad ways in which Christ captured the attention and imagination of culture.
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Made of Honor (DVD)

Made Of Honor from Sony

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MADE OF HONOR - DVD MoviePatrick Dempsey makes his full transition to romantic-comedy stardom in Made of Honor, flashing those winning dimples and twinkly baby blues to full fetching effect. The camera truly loves him, and his considerable affable charm calls to mind early Hugh Grant, winsome even in utter confusion. Dempsey plays Tom, a nice guy but a serial dater with a girlfriend in every zip code of New York; Michelle Monaghan is Hannah, Tom's BFF since college, who's decided she wants marriage and family. When she becomes unexpectedly engaged to Colin (Journeyman's Kevin McKidd, rather McDreamy himself), Tom realizes what the viewer's known all along--that Hannah is in fact his dream woman. It's When Harry Met Sally... meets My Best Friend's Wedding--but thankfully, Dempsey's Tom is far more sympathetic than Julia Roberts' snide schemer. The plot isn't exactly full of surprises, but the cast--and their amazing chemistry--are so winning that the film makes for the perfect date movie. Not only are all three leads charming in their own way, but the rich cinematography manages to make both Manhattan and the Scottish countryside look like glorious edens, one urban, one windswept. Monaghan is a revelation, quietly lovely as a young Carla Bruni, but with a flinty gumption that makes her all the more appealing. The supporting cast is rich, too, especially Sydney Pollack as Tom's serially marrying dad. (At his dad's fifth--or is it sixth?--wedding, Tom's new arm-candy "stepmom" gets tipsy and overly affectionate with guests as her new husband looks on fondly: "Ah... drunk as the night I first met her.") But at the core of the film are its big heart, and the connection between Tom and Hannah, deep and wide whether they end up just best friends or more. And the delight for viewers is knowing they'll be just as glowy either way.-- A.T. Hurley

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