Dunsmore, Rosemary

Anne of Green Gables - The Sequel

A sequel to the original Anne Of Green Gables which tells the continuing story of Anne Shirley the beguiling redhead from Prince Edward Island in Canada as she makes the transition from an angst-ridden youth to a bright accomplished teacher.System Requirements:Running Time: 232 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 622237222323 Manufacturer No: SULDV22232

This video is the sequel to the beloved children's book and video Anne of Green Gables. It continues the story of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and headstrong young orphan in 1890s Canada, whose hot temper matches her red hair. Anne of Green Gables told of Anne's adoption by an elderly brother and sister, Marilla (Colleen Dewhurst) and Matthew Cuthbert, and her childhood adventures in the idyllic village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. Anne of Avonlea takes up the story soon after Matthew's death, when Anne has graduated from college. It follows her struggles and adventures as an aspiring writer and English teacher in a private school on the mainland. Girls seven and older, as well as adults, will enjoy this intelligent and beautifully made film, first shown on PBS. It's filled with themes parents can discuss with their daughters--including self-reliance, generosity, and perseverance. It also gives a realistic portrayal of the situation for women during this historical period, through characters that are multifaceted and human. Anne's struggle to find her voice as a writer, to handle difficult people maturely, to stay optimistic despite setbacks, and to nurture her students are both thought provoking and entertaining. Girls will also enjoy Anne's romantic travails, as she tries to decide between two suitors: her childhood friend Gilbert, and a rich, handsome, and mysterious widower. The film is beautifully filmed, and the costumes and settings portray an idyllic time and place. The cast is excellent. Megan Follows as the spirited Anne and Dewhurst as the gruff but tender Marilla give especially fine performances. --Elisabeth Keating

Twins

DeVito and Schwarzenegger as fraternal twin brothers? Hey, why not? This delightful 1988 comedy by Ivan Reitman--about genetically designed twin siblings who discover each other at the age of 35--works out just fine, thanks largely to great chemistry between the two stars. Despite a certain amount of rough action and tension, the film really gets a lift from the palpable innocence Reitman develops, and the female costars (Chloe Webb and Kelly Preston) bring some interesting texture of their own. This is a film that walked the tightrope of a high concept and completely succeeded. To see how easy it is to stumble in a similar situation, check out DeVito and Schwarzenegger in Reitman's Junior. The DVD release has a full-screen presentation, optional French and Spanish soundtracks, optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

Dreamcatcher (Widescreen Edition)

Regardless of its critical roasting, Dreamcatcher is a must-see for Stephen King fans. In adapting King's epic novel (itself an amalgam of familiar King plotlines), director Lawrence Kasdan and cowriter William Goldman sacrificed much of the character depth that gave the story its crucial humanity, resulting in a tame frightfest about four longtime friends (Damian Lewis, Jason Lee, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant) whose past--and a shared gift of telepathy--connects them to a present-day alien invasion in the snowy forests of Maine. Like an ambitious episode of The X-Files, this slick production offers slimy "weasels" that gestate in human bowels; ominous aliens who seize control of bodies and minds; a secret military strike (led by Morgan Freeman) against the invaders; and enough gross-out humor to satisfy jaded horror buffs. Unfortunately, it just isn't scary. Despite its A-list advantages, Dreamcatcher works best as a glorified B-movie, likely to benefit from lowered expectations. --Jeff Shannon

Four young friends perform a heroic act and are changed forever by the uncanny powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they are overtaken by a blizzard, a vicious storm in which something much more ominous moves. Challenged to stop a deadly alien force, they confront an unparalleled horror, with the fate of the world in the balance.

Life with Judy Garland - Me and My Shadows

Pulling off the rare feat of winning Emmys for portraying the same role, Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard raise this widely watched TV movie above the usual weepy-biopic standard. Since the project is based on a memoir by Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's "other" daughter, the emphasis is on Garland's rocky post-MGM years, spotlighting marriages, pills, and spectacular stage comebacks. Davis handles the neurotic swoops with authority; when Garland sighs on her birthday, "I'm 47 today--with my life, that makes me 412," you believe her. One thing she can't capture is Garland's onscreen incandescence: Davis's lip-syncing of "The Trolley Song" is expert but joyless. The luminous young Blanchard (who won the supporting actress trophy) has a physical and vocal resemblance to the former Frances Gumm that's often breathtaking, and the Wizard of Oz sequences look like outtakes from the real thing. Too much TV-flick telescoping dooms the movie to sketchiness, but those performances are over the rainbow. --Robert Horton

Dramatization of Judy Garland's life from the 1930's until her death.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: PG
Release Date: 14-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVD

All I Wanna Do

When Odette (Gaby Hoffman) gets kicked out of her coed school for plotting to lose her virginity (All I Wanna Do is set in 1963), her parents send her to Miss Godard's Preparatory School, an all-girls school that tries to instill independence in its students. Her roommates turn out to be the school's troublemakers--Verena (Kirsten Dunst), Tinka (Monica Keena), and their friends Tweety (Heather Matarazzo) and Momo (Merritt Weaver). Though Odette initially resists (not because she wants to stick to the rules, but because she hates the whole school so much she won't even join the rebels), she gradually becomes part of the rambunctious circle. Due to financial trouble, the school's trustees decide to merge with a nearby boys' academy, despite the furious protests of Miss Godard's headmistress (Lynn Redgrave). Verena echoes the headmistress's sentiments and launches an offensive of pranks to discredit the visiting boys, even though the struggle splits apart her own social group. Though All I Wanna Do is being marketed as a goofy romp, it walks a line between a coming-of-age comedy and a young feminist manifesto (as one might imagine from the movie's previous title, Strike!). It's a tricky combination, but writer-director Sarah Kernochan succeeds--she also wrote Impromptu, which similarly mixed tart yet sympathetic humor with subtle political commentary. The direction is tight and the script allows its heroines a surprising complexity. The cast of rising young stars, also featuring Rachael Leigh Cook, is superb throughout. Strongly recommended. --Bret Fetzer

Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story

Breaking the Surface is about the tough times Greg Louganis had on his way to becoming one of the world's top Olympic divers. Some topics discussed were Greg's childhood problems his homosexuality and him contracting the HIV virus.System Requirements:Run Time: 95 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 631008050492 Manufacturer No: CQC504

Total Recall (Special Limited Edition)

This science fiction blockbuster from 1990 began its production life as a very different movie than the one that was released. An adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," Total Recall was originally conceived of with Richard Dreyfuss starring as a Walter Mitty-like character who experiences a variety of artificially induced fantasies. The movie we know is a mega-budget action epic set on Mars. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a normal working man who discovers that his entire reality has been invented to conceal a plot of planetary domination. Oscar-winning special effects and violent action propel the twisting plot, in which Arnold manipulates his manipulators in a world of dazzling high technology. Director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop) indulges his usual penchant for gratuitous bloodshed, but the movie has enough cleverness to rise above its excesses. --Jeff Shannon

This science fiction blockbuster from 1990 began its production life as a very different movie than the one that was released. An adaptation of the Philip K. Dick short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale," Total Recall was originally conceived of with Richard Dreyfuss starring as a Walter Mitty-like character who experiences a variety of artificially induced fantasies. The movie we know is a mega-budget action epic set on Mars. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a normal working man who discovers that his entire reality has been invented to conceal a plot of planetary domination. Oscar-winning special effects and violent action propel the twisting plot, in which Arnold manipulates his manipulators in a world of dazzling high technology. Director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop) indulges his usual penchant for gratuitous bloodshed, but the movie has enough cleverness to rise above its excesses. --Jeff Shannon

The Disappearing Act (True Stories Collection TV Movie)

WHEN VIOLENCE LOOKS THIS INNOCVENT, YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH MURDER…"Carolyn has it all: beauty, brains, and personality. But she has the temper of a serial killer." That's the verdict of Tim Dolan on his glamorous blonde fiancée, Carolyn - shortly before he disappears under mysterious circumstances. Tim's mother, Faye is convinced that something dreadful has happened to her son. But, who could believe that someone so seemingly loving and innocent as Carolyn could be capable of harming her fiancé, especially when she tearfully reveals that Tim was the violent partner in their relationship? As damning evidence builds up, however, a very different picture of Carolyn emerges - and Faye must prove that behind Carolyn's beauty and innocence lie the instincts of a killer. This sensational true story - which closely parallels the Tracey Andrews "road rage killer" case, in which another glamorous blonde who pleaded innocence was convicted of the frenzied murder of her boyfriend - stars two award-winning actresses: PATTY DUKE (Oscar®-winner for The Miracle Worker) and KELLY ROWAN (Gemini Award winner for Adrift).

Dreamcatcher (Full Screen Edition)

Regardless of its critical roasting, Dreamcatcher is a must-see for Stephen King fans. In adapting King's epic novel (itself an amalgam of familiar King plotlines), director Lawrence Kasdan and cowriter William Goldman sacrificed much of the character depth that gave the story its crucial humanity, resulting in a tame frightfest about four longtime friends (Damian Lewis, Jason Lee, Thomas Jane, Timothy Olyphant) whose past--and a shared gift of telepathy--connects them to a present-day alien invasion in the snowy forests of Maine. Like an ambitious episode of The X-Files, this slick production offers slimy "weasels" that gestate in human bowels; ominous aliens who seize control of bodies and minds; a secret military strike (led by Morgan Freeman) against the invaders; and enough gross-out humor to satisfy jaded horror buffs. Unfortunately, it just isn't scary. Despite its A-list advantages, Dreamcatcher works best as a glorified B-movie, likely to benefit from lowered expectations. --Jeff Shannon

Four young friends perform a heroic act and are changed forever by the uncanny powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they are overtaken by a blizzard, a vicious storm in which something much more ominous moves. Challenged to stop a deadly alien force, they confront an unparalleled horror, with the fate of the world in the balance.

Covert One: The Hades Factor

Stephen Dorff (Blade) and Academy Award® winners Mira Sorvino (Best Supporting Actor Mighty Aphrodite 1995) and Anjelica Huston (Best Supporting Actor Prizzi's Honor 1985) star in this globe-spanning tale of action and intrigue based upon the bestselling series written by Robert Ludlum (The Bourne Identity The Osterman Weekend).Colonel Jonathan Smith (Dorff) is a disease specialist and former secret agent for Covert One an elite intelligence agency made up of political and technical experts that report directly to the President (Huston). When an unknown deadly virus begins to surface Smith is called into action to find and isolate the source before the outbreak can endanger millions of lives.Featuring an all-star supporting cast including Blair Underwood (Rules of Engagement) and more it's a race against time for Covert One to stop the virus and uncover the truth behind a conspiracy at the highest and most dangerous levels of society.System Requirements:Run Time: 160 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 043396157767 Manufacturer No: 15776

Based on Robert Ludlum's novel, The Hades Factor puts a bio-terrorism spin on a good old-fashioned spy thriller storyline for this tense TV miniseries. Stephen Dorff is top-billed as a former spy turned medical researcher who is pulled back into the espionage business when a new and mysterious disease erupts simultaneously in three military-sensitive regions. The target of the investigation centers on another covert operative (Mira Sorvino), who made off with a black-market virus in the middle of a government sting. The film's solid cast, which includes Blair Underwood and two Hustons--Danny and Anjelica (as the U.S. President)--helps the suspension of belief required for this sort of story considerably, and director Mick Jackson delivers the required amount of action at a brisk and engaging clip. Squeamish viewers should know that the outbreak scenes are particularly grisly for a television production. --Paul Gaita