Dury, Ian

Judge Dredd

In a future world where Judges hold the authority of police and the legal system, a former judge plots an overthrow of the government and battles against Dredd (Stallone) in his efforts.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 3-SEP-2002
Media Type: DVD

Judge Dredd is one of those movies that doesn't have a brain of its own, so it can only rip off a lot of ingredients from other, better movies. It's a mishmash of Blade Runner, Total Recall, and The Road Warrior, with a dash of Star Wars tossed in for good measure. As if that weren't enough, it's got Sylvester Stallone, who seems to be the only one in the movie who's in on the game and knows it's all a sci-fi scam. Like The Fifth Element a few years later, Judge Dredd depicts a futuristic megalopolis packed with crowded vertical overgrowth and rampant commerce, where anarchy reigns supreme. Violent "block wars" are fought by lawless citizens with machine guns, and Judge Dredd (Stallone) is one of the city's heavily armed policemen, given free rein to judge and execute the perpetrators of violence. But Dredd himself is subjected to judgment and swift justice when his own gun is identified in the murder of a prominent TV reporter, forcing him to do whatever he can to clear his name. Diane Lane plays his partner in crime-fighting and romance, and Rob Schneider provides juvenile comic relief as Dredd's streetwise sidekick. Impressive special effects are on vivid display, and the movie's fun for what it's worth. Lower your expectations and you just might enjoy it. --Jeff Shannon

The Crow - City of Angels (Collector's Series)

Because of his tragic death on the set of The Crow, we'll never know if Brandon Lee would have turned one successful film into a popular series. But one look at this tepid sequel suggests that not even the charismatic Lee could have rescued The Crow movies from the burden of a lackluster screenplay. Based on the popular comic books by James O'Barr, this sequel finds Vincent Pérez as a man named Ashe, who is murdered along with his young son by a gang of drug-running thugs under the employ of slimy kingpin Judah Earl (Richard Brooks). Ashe is resurrected with the help of a tattoo artist named Sarah (Mia Kirschner), whereupon he begins a campaign of revenge against his killers. More a rehash than a sequel, the film repeats the grungy, dark look of urban decay from The Crow, but its combination of violence, heavy-handed symbolism, and tacky sentiment make this a film strictly for nihilistic teens. Then again, no movie in which veteran punkster Iggy Pop plays a sleazeball can be considered a total loss. --Jeff Shannon

This action-packed sequel to THE CROW explodes on screen with hot new stars Vincent Perez (I DREAMED OF AFRICA) and sexy Mia Kirshner! After a brutal attack by an evil drug cartel, the murder victim (Perez) is brought back to life by a mysterious crow. With the help of a beautiful woman named Sarah (Kirshner), he exacts revenge on his killers one by one ... only to realize his enemy, the lethal Judah, has discovered the one weakness that can destroy him forever!

The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover [Region 2]

Few directors polarize audiences like Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th century painting as by the French New Wave. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon, The Singing Detective) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer, Diva), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard, Strapless). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes color as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. --Bret Fetzer

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover

Few directors polarize audiences like Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th century painting as by the French New Wave. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon, The Singing Detective) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer, Diva), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard, Strapless). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes color as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. --Bret Fetzer

The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o Arabic (subtitles) o Danish (subtitles) o Dutch (subtitles) o English (subtitles) o Finnish (subtitles) o French (subtitles) o German (subtitles) o Hebrew (subtitles) o Italian (subtitles) o Norwegian (subtitles) o Portugese (subtitles) o Russian (subtitles) o Spanish (subtitles) o Swedish (subtitles) o Turkish (subtitles) o English (Dolby Digital 2.0) o German (Dolby Digital 2.0) o Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0) o Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: This is probably Peter Greenaway's most famous (or infamous) film, which first shocked audiences at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival and then on both sides of the Atlantic. A gang leader (Michael Gambon), accompanied by his wife (Helen Mirren) and his associates, entertains himself every night in a fancy French restaurant that he has recently bought. Having tired of her sadistic, boorish husband, the wife finds herself a lover (Alan Howard) and makes love to him in the restaurant's coziest places with the silent permission of the cook (Richard Bohringer). Though less cerebral than Greenaway's other films, featuring deadly passions reminiscent of Jacobean revenge tragedies of the early 17th century, the picture still offers the director's usual ironic and paradoxical comments on the relations between eating and sex, love and death. The film is at once funny and horrific, and those who are not used to Greenaway's peculiar style might be even disgusted or shocked; however, one might mention Sacha Vierny's brilliant camerawork, Jean-Paul Gaultier's gaudily stylized costumes, and Michael Nyman's somber, pulsating music, which will haunt the viewer long after the film's end. Special Features: o Interactive Menu o Scene Access o Trailer(s) o Uncut

Few directors polarize audiences like Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th century painting as by the French New Wave. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon, The Singing Detective) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer, Diva), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard, Strapless). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes color as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. --Bret Fetzer

Different For Girls

This uniquely poignant and funny film focuses on the rekindling of a school relationship that has taken on a new twist.

The Crow: City of Angels

Because of his tragic death on the set of The Crow, we'll never know if Brandon Lee would have turned one successful film into a popular series. But one look at this tepid sequel suggests that not even the charismatic Lee could have rescued The Crow movies from the burden of a lackluster screenplay. Based on the popular comic books by James O'Barr, this sequel finds Vincent Pérez as a man named Ashe, who is murdered along with his young son by a gang of drug-running thugs under the employ of slimy kingpin Judah Earl (Richard Brooks). Ashe is resurrected with the help of a tattoo artist named Sarah (Mia Kirschner), whereupon he begins a campaign of revenge against his killers. More a rehash than a sequel, the film repeats the grungy, dark look of urban decay from The Crow, but its combination of violence, heavy-handed symbolism, and tacky sentiment make this a film strictly for nihilistic teens. Then again, no movie in which veteran punkster Iggy Pop plays a sleazeball can be considered a total loss. --Jeff Shannon

The Raggedy Rawney

Academy Award® nominee* Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa) makes his directorial debut with this lyrical mystical fable about the strength of family and the transcendence of love.When a young military recruit named Tom (Dexter Fletcher) goes AWOL after his first taste of battle he must disguise himself with face paint and women s clothing to avoid being captured by his vengeful commanding officer. He s instead discovered and taken in by Darky (Hoskins) the leader of an eccentric group of traveling gypsies who thinks he s a rawney a half-mad half-magical woman who brings good fortune. But when Tom begins a love affair with Darky s daughter he sets off a chain reaction of events that will soon put all of their lives in grave danger!System Requirements: Running Time 103 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 027616896599 Manufacturer No: M103398

Split Second [PAL DVD}

Rutger Hauer and Kim Cattrall star in this festival of stolen plots and embarrassing dialogue. Harley Stone (Hauer) is a tough cop. The kind of cop who lives by his own rules. The kind of cop who smokes, swears, and eats junk food. The kind of cop who slams people into walls to drive home a conversational point. If it sounds like you've seen this character before, you have. Split Second is not so much a movie as a cinematic crib sheet, cheerfully ripping off Jaws, Aliens, and Hauer's own Blade Runner, just to name a few. Which is not for a moment to suggest that the movie isn't fun to watch. Connoisseurs of horror-action also-rans will be in spasms of delight over everything from the ludicrous plot to the cookie-cutter dialogue ("They say he's the best." "He is.") to the incredibly misguided decision to have Stone eat chocolate truffles throughout the entire film. It is honestly sometimes hard to tell what is an intentional joke and what's just plain bad. Anyway, there's a serial killer rampaging through London in 2008 and Stone doesn't want a new partner, especially one with all that book learning and blah, blah, blah. Just turn your brain off and enjoy the magic. --Ali Davis

Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale [Region 2]

This relatively obscure Brothers Grimm tale has been updated and Americanized in this 19-minute story of a deal with the devil gone right, for once. A Civil War veteran without family or prospects is propositioned by a man with a plan and a cloven hoof. The soldier agrees to stop bathing and grooming for seven years while wandering the country in a bear hide in exchange for lifelong wealth. Just when the situation seems intolerable, "Bearskin" is able to help a man who, in return, promises him one of his three daughters as a bride. From this point the story is similar to the traditional version of Beauty and the Beast. The selfish daughters balk, leaving the kind daughter to come to the aid of their father--and find reward in the end. The performances, costumes, and camera work in this "From the Brothers Grimm" series are professional and charming without being cloying. The content and pace will engage students 8 and older, and their parents. --Kimberly Heinrichs