Summer Rental
by Carl Reiner
from Paramount
John Candy's first leading role was in this 1985 film by Carl Reiner, in which the comic actor played a stressed-out air traffic controller who takes his family on a Florida vacation and has to deal with arrogant, rich jerks. Candy is good in what is almost a straight part (albeit with some jokes), and Reiner keeps the tone in check so his star has an opportunity to show more than one dimension. --Tom Keogh
No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 1-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVD
Columbo - Mystery Movie Collection, 1989
by James Frawley
from Universal Studios
After a 10-year break from the role that made him a TV superstar, Peter Falk returned as rumpled LAPD homicide detective Lt. Columbo in 1989, appearing in feature-length episodes of The ABC Mystery Movie. The first five of those TV movies are collected here as the Mystery Movie Collection 1989 comprising what is essentially the long-delayed "eighth season" (and part of the ninth) of Columbo, the popular series that made its debut on NBC in 1971. Now signed to ABC with a lucrative new contract, Falk returned to his iconic role as if he'd never left, still wearing the same worn-out overcoat, still driving the same old 1959 Peugeot rust-bucket (with his lazy Bassett Hound "Dog" in the passenger seat), still making frequent references to the never-seen "Mrs. Columbo," and still annoying nervous murder suspects with his politely cunning approach to solving homicides in Los Angeles. As created by TV mystery masters Richard Levinson and William Link, the Columbo series was nothing if not formulaic, but the fun of watching these 93-minute TV movies comes from seeing how that formula still works like a charm: The first half-hour shows how the killers commit and conceal their crimes (Columbo is a police procedural, not a whodunit), and the remaining hour shows Columbo grilling his suspects, slowly turning up the heat until the killer's goose is summarily cooked. With his trademark line "Just one more thing...," Falk fits his role like an old shoe, and the show's writers played on the character's beloved status by milking humor from Columbo's well-established mannerisms, such as leaving the room after gently probing suspects for telling clues, then returning (after a pregnant pause) to deliver "one more thing "--his crime-solving coup de grace (aptly referred to by Rockford Files creator Stephen J. Cannell as Columbo's trademark "dart to the heart.")
The Mystery Movie Collection emphasizes a colorfully Southern Californian element of crime and eccentricity, from the beheading of a magician in "Columbo Goes to the Guillotine" (with Anthony Andrews hamming it up as the killer) to the malicious misdeeds of "Murder, Smoke and Shadows," in which Spielbergian movie-mogul wunderkind (Fisher Stevens) stages an electrocution murder on the backlot of Universal Studios. "Sex and the Married Detective" is a lightly comedic film noir send-up, in which a sex therapy radio-host (Lindsay Crouse) invents a sexy alter ego to eliminate her cheating lover. In "Grand Deceptions," Robert Foxworth's misdeeds on a military training base aren't clever enough to fool Columbo, and in "Murder: A Self Portrait," Patrick Bachau plays a selfish lothario with three lovers (wife, ex-wife, and girlfriend) who decides that three's a crowd and his ex (Fionnula Flanagan) has got to go! Clever enough to hold anyone's attention, these murders are smartly conceived and entertainingly solved, and the performances and direction are uniformly strong. But the obvious appeal of Columbo is Columbo himself, and with Falk in the role he was born to play (even though it was originally offered to Bing Crosby!), the character remained so popular that he appeared in 19 more TV movies between 1990 and 2003. The Mystery Movie Collection includes one DVD bonus feature: a 30-minute tribute to "America's Top Sleuths," as chosen in a 2007 online survey by viewers of the newly-launched Sleuth TV network. Columbo ranks #2 (out of 10), a close runner-up to Tom Selleck's Magnum P.I. --Jeff Shannon
Legendary actor Peter Falk returns in his 4-time Primetime Emmy® award-winning role as everyone s favorite trenchcoat-wearing Police Lieutenant in Columbo: Mystery Movie Collection 1989! Join Columbo in this three-disc set as he asks all the right questions in some of the most deceptive and deadly cases. The captivating movies feature such brilliant guest stars as Fisher Stevens (Factotum) and Lindsay Crouse (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) among others! The landmark crime series that inspired a genre is back and no murderer can hide for long with Columbo on the beat!System Requirements:Runtime: 466 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 025193327222 Manufacturer No: 61033272
Clan of the Cave Bear
by Michael Chapman
from Warner Home Video
Daryl Hannah and Pamela Reed star in this richly detailed beautifully shot saga of the rise of a more advanced clan of people. John Sayles wrote this adaptation of Jean M. Auel's worldwide bestseller. Starring: Daryl Hannah Pamela Reed Year: 1986 Sound: ENG; Subtitles: ENG FR Screen Format: Side A: Widescreen; Side B: StandardRunning Time: 98 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 085391375326
Every statuesque, beautiful blonde woman has spent more time in the company of Neanderthals than she cares to remember. Seems it's always been that way: Clan of the Cave Bear, a 1986 feature scripted by John Sayles and based on Jean Auel's bestselling novel set in prehistoric times, stars former mermaid Daryl Hannah as an intelligent Cro-Magnon woman adopted and raised by lesser-evolved Neanderthals. Berated for her brains, sexually exploited, and generally treated as uppity chattel, Hannah's character sets out for the far country to see who else is there. Eventually, she finds more Baywatch-like gods and goddesses similar to herself, including an Aryan-looking stud with whom she discovers how good sex can feel with a warm, caring, proto-human. Sayles's writing on this project is forceful but cheeky. It's hard not to laugh at a number of scenes that shouldn't, in the strictest sense, be laughed at (the use of subtitles to decipher caveman grunts and clucks may or may not be an intentional running joke), but one gets the feeling Sayles looked upon this challenge as a pop exercise instead of (as many of the book's fans would have preferred) a religious experience. Michael Chapman, ace cinematographer of Mean Streets and The Wanderers, directed with an eye toward primitive exotica and made this a terrific-looking movie. Author Auel was reportedly unhappy with the final results on screen, but the film is well worth a fascinated look. With Pamela Reed and James Remar. --Tom Keogh
Night Court - The Complete First Season
by John Larroquette
from Warner Home Video
One of the zaniest and bawdiest shows to hit network primetime in the 1980s, Night Court starred Harry Anderson as the Mel Tormé-loving, magic-playing, too-young judge Harry Stone presiding over the night beat of New York. Joining him were lecherous assistant district attorney Dan (John Larroquette), bald Bunyanesque bailiff Bull (Richard Moll), uptight court clerk Lana (Karen Austin), earnest public defender Elizabeth (Paula Kelly), and grizzled bailiff Selma (Selma Hacker).
In between cases involving ladies of the evening, a derelict who thinks he's Santa, and sparring spouses, the court staff spends most of their spare time trying to figure out the judge's age and background, making jokes about Bull's imposing appearance, or, in Dan's case, propositioning any woman who comes along. Among the first-season guest stars, Michael J. Fox takes a break from Family Ties to play a young tough, while Soviet comedian Yakov Smirnoff (there's a flashback for you!) plays a Russian who threatens to blow up the court. Created by Rheinhold Weege (who co-produced and wrote for Barney Miller), Night Court took off in later years, as the cast solidified with court clerk Mac (Charles Robinson), sexy public defender Christine (Markie Post), and glib bailiff Roz (Marsha Warfield). With better people to bounce off of, Laroquette took home four consecutive Supporting Actor Emmys beginning with the second season. Those were the only major statuettes the series won during its nine-season run, but it did hold down the 9:30 slot of NBC's "must see" Thursday lineup between Cheers and L.A. Law. --David Horiuchi
Judge Harry T. Stone presides over the New York City night court. The cases that come before Judge Stone are always a little bit silly but it's up for debate whether his motley crew of staff or the criminals for whom he dispenses justice are more bizarre. Enjoy the chaos that made this hilarious 80s sitcom one of the top shows of its time.Running Time: 313 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES UPC: 012569599161
When a Stranger Calls Back
by Fred Walton (II)
from Good Times Video
Masters of Horror: Dance of the Dead
by Tobe Hooper
from Starz / Anchor Bay
In the near future when nuclear war has turned much of our world into wasteland the youth of America have become drug-crazed sociopaths who lawlessly prowl what s left. But for pretty teenage Peggy (Jessica Lowndes) her sheltered life is far removed from underground club The Doom Room where a depraved MC (Robert Englund Freddy Krueger from NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET fame) provides immoral entertainment for the murderous masses. Tonight the most horrific stage show of all is about to begin and Peggy s young innocence will come to a brutal end forever.Jonathan Tucker (of HOSTAGE and the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake) co-stars in this extreme shocker adapted by Richard Christian Matheson from the celebrated short story by his father Richard Matheson (writer of I AM LEGEND DUEL and STIR OF ECHOES) and featuring music by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins.System Requirements:Running Time: 60 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 013131446494 Manufacturer No: DV14464
Masters of Horror: Joe Dante - Homecoming
by Joe Dante
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Made for Showtime, the Masters of Horror series features films by renowned horror film directors, such as Homecoming by Joe Dante (The Howling, Gremlins). This satire about Bush's War On Terrorism is a one-liner, in which soldiers killed in Iraq rise from the dead to vote the president out of office as their last effort to end the war. Zombies fight for peace as the politicians concoct deadly schemes in this comedic film about the idiocy of our current government. Political consultants Jane Cleaver (Thea Gill) and David Murch (Jon Tenney) meet during a talk show panel, then watch in horror as the news begins to air footage of soldier zombies wandering the streets towards their local voting booths. Top political officials, unable to slay the undead, discover that the zombies die on their own after dropping their voting cards into the boxes. Zombies spark a small revolution by denouncing WMDs on television, urging citizens to follow suit. Though weak compared to Romero's great sarcastic zombie film, Dawn of the Dead, Homecoming features enough body parts squirting green blood to entertain. Over-the-top humor throughout recalls Re-Animator, yet the political message goes deeper. Dante's warped rendition of America's recent history seems more relevant than ever. --Trinie Dalton
A horror film with a political message HOMECOMING comes from director Joe Dante (GREMLINS THE HOWLING). With a war going on abroad and an election coming up the Republican party is anxious about getting enough votes to seal the deal. But when they wish for the soldiers who died in the war to come back to life and speak on their behalf they never expect it to actually happen. Rising from their graves the undead men and women set out to tell their own version of events and to get revenge.System Requirements:Running Time 59 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 013131446791 Manufacturer No: DV14465
Far From Home
by Meiert Avis
from Lions Gate
On the other side of innocence lies fear. Drew Barrymore (Charlie's Angels, The Wedding Singer, Never Been Kissed), Anthony Rapp, (Adventures in Babysitting), Richard Masur (License to Drive) and Matt Frewer ("Max Headroom") star in this twisted suspense thriller as an innocent girl's budding sexuality lures her into a frenzied whirlwind of seduction and murder. Stranded in the desert with an empty gas tank, Charlie Cross (Frewer) and his beautiful young daughter Joleen (Barrymore) go to a nearby trailer park to escape the blistering noonday heat. It's there Joleen meets Jimmy, a strange and mysterious boy whose brazen and enticing sexuality captures her curiosity. But as a shy competitor vies for her attention, Joleen becomes embroiled in a deadly adult world where the price of sophistication is terror.
Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry
from KOCH VISION
In this delightful romantic comedy, four-time Oscar Award winner Katherine Hepburn stars as a wealthy, WASP-ish widow who falls in love with her divorced, Jewish physician (Harold Gould).
After he brings her back to life from a critical illness, a charming relationship evolves between them. Their love is complicated, however, by the prejudices and greediness of their respective families and intrusive neighbors. Also starring Denholm Elliott, Bibi Besch and Charles Frank.
Laura Lansing Slept Here
from KOCH VISION
The legendary Katharine Hepburn stars as Laura Lansing, a wealthy, internationally renowned novelist who faces the crisis of her career when her publisher turns down her latest book. Faced with retiring, Lansing makes a bet to prove she has not lost touch with her readers: she will live a full seven days with a typical family in the suburbs - or give up writing.
In the home of Walter and Melody Gomphers, Lansing turns the family's ordinary lifestyle upside down with her outlandish behavior. She struggles to relate to the children, meddles in marital matters, and jeopardizes the outcome of her bet!
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