Radio
(2003) DVD
Since winning an Academy Award
for his exuberant performance in Jerry Maguire, Cuba Gooding Jr. has gotten
little but static from critics for a spate of calamitous career choices
not seen since '80s-vintage Burt Reynolds. But he triumphantly returns
to Oscar-worthy status with his moving performance as Radio, a mentally
challenged young man, whom South Carolina high school football coach Harold
Jones (Ed Harris) takes under his nurturing wing. --Donald Liebenson |
Titanic
(1997) DVD
Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Kate
Winslet
Get swept away all over again
by the passion, myth and tragedy of Titanic and the story of Rose and Jack,
two fated lovers whose hearts will forever go on. The film has all the
ingredients of a blockbuster (romance, passion, luxury, grand scale, a
snidely villain, and an epic, life-threatening crisis). Great emotional
experience.
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The
Game (1997) DVD
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean
Penn, James Rebhorn, D. K. Unger
What do you want for your birthday?
You may think twice about the answer after you see "The Game". Michael
Douglas plays a rich, divorced, and dreadful investment banker whose 48th
birthday reminds him of his father's suicide at the same age. His younger
brother (Sean Penn) enrolls him in "The Game - a profound life experience"
for his birthday and his life turns into a nightmare.
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In
the Cut (Unrated and Uncut Director's Edition) (2003) DVD
Based on Susanna Moore's popular
novel, In the Cut centers on Frannie (Meg Ryan), an emotionally stifled
English teacher who gets steamy with sultry Malloy (Mark Ruffalo, You Can
Count On Me), a cop who's investigating a series of brutal murders--but
Frannie soon suspects that Malloy may be the killer. As a psychological
thriller, In the Cut is heavier on psychology than thrills; the story is
a skeleton that director Jane Campion (The Piano, An Angel at My Table)
cloaks in one of the most nightmarish visions of urban life since Taxi
Driver or Seven, accompanied by lots of explicit sex. The movie's dark
tone will put some viewers off, but Ruffalo's effortless magnetism serves
him well; no woman in the audience will question how quickly Ryan falls
into bed with him. Also featuring Jennifer Jason Leigh and an uncredited
Kevin Bacon.
--Bret Fetzer
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Donnie
Brasco (1997) DVD
Starring: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp,
Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby, James Russo, Anne Heche
Based on the true story of
former undercover cop Joe Pistone (Jonny Depp), who posed as a jewel thief
to infiltrate the mob in the '70s. Known as Donnie Brasco, Pistone is befriended
by mob hit man Lefty Ruggiero (All Pachino) who love his young protégé
like a son. But the lines of loyalty become blurred as Donnie and Lefty
form a bond that threatens the mission - and possibly Pistone's life!
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| The
Scarlet Tunic (1996) VHS |
| Pride
and Prejudice (1996) VHS |
| Persuasion
(1995) DVD |
| Persuasion
(1995) VHS |
| Jane
Austen's Emma (1996) DVD |
| Jane
Austen's Emma (1996) VHS |
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Thirteen
(2002) DVD
A gut-wrenching portrait of adolescence,
Thirteen is made all the more powerful because it was co-written by a genuine
teenage girl, Nikki Reed, who also co-stars in the movie. Tracy (Evan Rachel
Wood), a serious good student, finds herself needing to express her anger
and resentment at her fractured family life. To rebel, she pursues a friendship
with the reckless, alluring Evie (Reed), who seems to have all the cocksure
freedom that Tracy desires. What follows is both harrowing and compelling:
Tracy becomes enmeshed in a relationship with Evie that empowers Tracy
and drags her deeper into the misery she wants to escape--and terrifies
her mother (Holly Hunter), who struggles desperately to hold on to her
daughter's love. Thirteen makes every step on this path utterly convincing,
due to the vivid script, energized direction, and astonishingly alive performances
from Hunter, Reed, and especially Wood. Jolting, sad, and mesmerizing.
--Bret Fetzer |
You've
Got Mail (1998) DVD
Neigborhood bookstore rivals unwittingly
become e-mail pen pals in this charming remake of The Shop Around the Corner |
The
Rat Pack (1998) DVD
Starring: Ray Liotta, Joe Mantegna,
Don Cheadle
The story of friends Frank
Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis. Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop,
otherwise known as "The Rat Pack", who set the style and pace for 1950s
North America. Eye-opening and entertaining.
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