Guy, Jasmine

Harlem Nights

This is a supremely disappointing film, especially considering the talent involved. Indeed, the cast would seem to be the summit of African American comedians, starring the three most influential standups of the modern era: Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor, and Eddie Murphy. Murphy obviously was paying respect to his elders when he cast them as his father and grandfather in this story of Harlem in the 1930s. Written and directed by Murphy, the plot involves gangsters and rival nightclub owners but doesn't add up. What's a particular shame is that, with three comics as funny as Murphy, Pryor, and Foxx, there are so few laughs and so much misogyny. Do you really want to watch Della Reese get shot in the foot to shut her up? That's the level of the humor here. --Marshall Fine

A 1930's nightclub owner has a scheme to keep mobsters from muscling in on his Harlem hot spot.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-DEC-2004
Media Type: DVD

Alex Haley's Queen

There are two sides to every story the saying goes. For Alex Haley one side was roots the towering chronicle tracing severn generations of his mother's family. The othe side comes to the screen in Alex Haley's Queen the remarkable history of a paternal side of the author's family. David L. Wolper (Roots The Thorn Birds) is the executive producer of this acclaimed adaption of the story Haley was working on when he died. Halle Berry plays Queen daughter of a slave (Jasmine Guy) and a plantation owner (Tim Daly). During the turbulent decades of the antebellum South the Civil war Reconstruction and beyond she searches for a home in the two cultures of her heritage - and at times is shunned by both. Rejection and hate are no match for her unconquerable will however. Ann-Margret Danny Glover and Ossie Davis are among the many stars of this poingnant uplifting final chapter of the Haley legacy.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BRITISH EMPIRE UPC: 085392425327 Manufacturer No: 1000035543

Cats Don't Dance

Actually, cats do dance, and there are a lot of little cat feet tapping all over this odd animated film. Complaints about originality can't be leveled here; the film works within the confines of the musical genre, but there's never really been anything like this. Danny the cat is from Kokomo, and he's got a short list of things he has to do to become a big star in Hollywood. Unfortunately, he's unaware that animals, even talented ones, aren't even considered for showy parts in films. They're considered window dressing for humans, especially big stars such as Darla Dimple, the unlikely antagonist here. The music is by Randy Newman, and it's not really his best, but toe tapping may occur. The animation is reminiscent of an upgraded Animaniacs, and there's a frenetic, jittery sense to the scenes (mostly dealing with slapstick humor). Older fans of animation or bygone Hollywood will have much more to appreciate here than small children, but that's refreshing in itself. --Keith Simanton

The rags-to-riches story of Danny a talented cat whose lifelong goal of movie stardom is sidetracked when he discovers only humans get the good roles in Hollywood. On the big screen animals can bark meow or moo but cats don't dance. Danny vows to break through the "species barrier" and prove that dreams really can come true.Running Time: 120 min.System Requirements: Running Time 75 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 053939643022

Feast Of All Saints

Anne Rice's The Feast of All Saints is a tale set in 1840's New Orleans about "free people of color", who formed their own class at a time when the predominant role of blacks in society was as slaves. The film focuses on the ordeal of one young man named Marcel Ste. Marie (Ri'chard), who searches for the truth about his heritage. As he finds his individual path into the future, Marcel is fully aware that he is a child of African and European descent, but his story is uniquely American.

Carrie (TV Film)

Nobody would argue with the thought that Sissy Spacek is the perfect heroine of Stephen King's scary tale of teenage telekinesis. But in a pinch, Angela Bettis, the star of this 2002 TV remake, fills Spacek's bloody shoes very well. Bettis--who expertly plays a similar role in the indie horror pic May--gets all the loner pathos of poor Carrie White, equally tormented by her cool classmates and her religious-fanatic mom (Patricia Clarkson). Her transformation from doormat to vengeful prom queen remains surefire wish fulfillment for anyone who ever felt a misfit in high school. Despite Bettis's intensity, it's difficult to justify remaking Carrie when Brian De Palma's 1976 version is enshrined as a classic of its kind (especially given the pedestrian TV-movie production values on display here). This one delivers its jolts, but when you could just as easily spend time with Spacek and De Palma, why bother? --Robert Horton

Carrie White (Angela Bettis) is going through an extremely difficult time. As she struggles to come to terms with the feminine changes that adolescence brings she has also developed a sort of telekinetic power that she is unable to fully control. Carrie attempts to shut herself off from the rest of the school but teasing pranksters have targeted her for their next practical joke. This 2002 TV-Movie follows Stephen King's source novel faithfully offering a variety of scares twists and special effects that were absent from Brian DePalma's 1976 theatrical release. Patricia Clarkson stands out as Carrie's bizarre mother.System Requirements:Starring: Angela Bettis Patricia Clarkson Rena Sofer Tobias Mehler Katherine Isabelle Directed By: David Carson Running Time: 150 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR UPC: 027616887559 Manufacturer No: 1004714

Unchained Memories

The material used for this beautifully made HBO documentary dates back to the 1930s, when journalists conducted thousands of interviews with former slaves who'd been emancipated at the end of the Civil War. A selection of these faithfully transcribed "slave narratives" are vividly read (acted, really) here by a host of distinguished performers, ranging from Samuel L. Jackson to Oprah Winfrey, from Don Cheadle to Angela Bassett, with narration by Whoopi Goldberg. Since there's obviously no film available from the slave period, the producers use artfully edited photos, file footage, some atmospheric new film, and shots of the performers in action to bring the material to life. Add all of that to the DVD bonus features (text bios of individual slaves and a couple of lengthy audio segments), and you have a moving record of bitter, weary, yet resilient and quietly proud people living with memories that never would, or could, fade. --Sam Graham

When the Civil War ended in 1865 more than four million slaves were set free. Over 70 years later the memories of some 2000 slave-era survivors were transcribed and preserved by the Library of Congress. These first-person anecdotes ranging from the brutal to the bittersweet have been brought to vivid life in this unique HBO documentary special featuring the on-camera voices of over a dozen top African-American actors.Running Time: 75 min.System Requirements:Running Time 75 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. Rating: NR UPC: 026359201523

Diamond Men

Eddie is an aging traveling diamond salesman working the back roads of Pennsylvania. He's developed longstanding relationships with his clients and prides himself in his knowledge of the trade. After a heart attack, management deems him too high a risk to be carrying the expensive collection of diamonds. His last assignment is to train a rookie salesman, Bobby, whose cocky sales tactics promise to estrange Eddie's long-standing clientele. Needless to say, the relationship between the two men gets off to a rocky start but eventually, the two find that each has something valuable to offer the other.

Guinevere

Sarah Polley has built a reputation on her eerie calm--most of her performances seem dominated by an icy, implacable stare. That's why her performance in Guinevere is such a revelation. Polley plays Harper, a young woman from a wealthy but troubled family who's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. At her older sister's wedding, she meets Connie (Stephen Rea), a photographer as old as her parents, with whom she begins an affair. Their relationship--partly an education in the arts, partly an escape from the repression of her family--takes a variety of twists and turns, none of them predictable, all of them questionable, all of them genuine. The movie is clear-eyed about the situation: Connie isn't idealized, and is in many ways a creepy older man, neurotic and self-aggrandizing, but he also offers a kind of emotional support that Harper has never had. Whenever the movie seems to be turning into some bohemian fantasy, something happens that returns it to earth, sometimes with an uncomfortable jolt. It's unsettling, insightful, charming, scary, absurd, and all too real. All the performances are excellent--Jean Smart, as Harper's mother, is smart and cuttingly bitter; Rea is by turns sweet and manipulative, honest and self-deluded. But above all, Polley displays a combination of vulnerability and steely determination that makes Guinevere utterly compelling. The ending is curious--I still haven't made up my mind about it. But for a movie as committed to the contradictions of human relationships as this one, there's nothing wrong with that. --Bret Fetzer

The story of a shy young woman's discovery of life and love in the arms of an older man.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 4-JAN-2005
Media Type: DVD

America's Dream

American's Dream captures the joy the pain the struggle to survive in a land where dreams can be lost...and found. In 'Long Black Song" a hard-working farmer (Danny Glover) invests what little he has in a gift for his wife while back home she falls fo rthe advances of a traveling salesman. In 'The Boy Who Pained Christ Black" a small town principal (Wesley Snipes) must risk his career to defend a young boy's image of a black Christ painted for a state-wide competition. And in 'The Reunion" a jazz-joint piano player (Lorraine Toussaint) must come to terms with prejudices that have haunted her since childhood when she si confronted by the source of her pain. Three tales of alughter three tales of tears three diffrent ways of searching for America's Dream.Running Time: 87 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 026359131721 Manufacturer No: 91317

Klash

A New York photographer on assignment in Jamaica becomes ensnared in a dangerous web of drugs power and lust when he intertwines with the girlfriend of a local gangster who is intent on highjacking the boxoffice of Kingston's biggest Reggae concert "The Kla$h." Featuring hot live reggae performances by Shabba Ranks Snow Patra Cobra Papa San Ninja Man and Tommy Cowan! System Requirements: Running Time 90 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 000799432723 Manufacturer No: 23071