Jones, Mickey

Sling Blade - Director's Cut (Miramax Collector's Series)

A mentally handicapped man, recently released from prison for murdering his mother and her lover, makes friends with a boy. His newfound peace is threatened by the boy's mother's abusive boyfriend.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: UN
Release Date: 22-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD

Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in this mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. --Tom Keogh

National Lampoon's Vacation (20th Anniversary Special Edition)

Vacation paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the 1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct, and/or produce The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Uncle Buck, Home Alone, and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis (Caddyshack, Groundhog Day, Stuart Saves His Family), the first Vacation movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family: father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), son Rusty (future Hughes staple Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way to view the world's biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several sequels--National Lampoon's European Vacation, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation--but this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of the bunch. --Jim Emerson

The Griswolds have planned all year for a great summer vacation. From their suburban Chicago home across America to the wonders of Wally World fun park in California every step of the way has been carefully plotted. Except a few hundred hysterical exceptions. National Lampoon's Vacation is a sublimely goofy comedy thanks largely to Chevy Chase in his signature role of Clark Griswold. The inept but sincere Clark takes misfortune in stride. So what if they lose all their money when their new car gets wrecked. And it's not too bad when Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) deposits sour Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) in their back seat for a lift to Phoenix. But what really keeps Clark's eyes on the road is a flirtation with a mysterious blonde (Christie Brinkley) in a red Ferrari. For those along on the ride National Lampoon's Vacation called "fast funny satire" by The New York Times' Janet Maslin is a jolly jaunt.Running Time: 98 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY UPC: 085392753529

Tin Cup

One of the better romantic comedies of the 1990s, this quirky love story stars Kevin Costner as washed-up golf pro Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy, who has the singular misfortune of falling in love with the girlfriend (Rene Russo) of his arch rival (Don Johnson). Although he is inspired to re-ignite his golf career, challenge his opponent in the U.S. Open, and win the affection of the woman of his dreams, McAvoy has just one flaw: he's a show off when he should just focus on playing the game. Reunited with his Bull Durham writer-director Ron Shelton, Costner fits into his role like a favorite pair of shoes, and costar Cheech Marin scores a memorable scene-stealing comeback as McAvoy's best buddy, Romeo Posar. Mixing his love of sports with his flair for fresh, comedic dialogue, Shelton takes this enjoyable movie down unexpected detours (although some may find it a bit too long), and his characters are delightfully unpredictable. --Jeff Shannon

An unreachable shot to the green. A hopeless romance. Driving-range pro Roy McAvoy can't resist an impossible challenge. Each is what he calls a defining moment. You define it. Or it defines you. With lady-killer charm and a game that can make par with garden tools, Kevin Costner rejoins Bull Durham filmmaker Ron Shelton for another funny tale of the games people play. For Costner's Roy, golf is a head-and heart-game. On both counts, that's where shrink Molly Griswold (Rene Russo) comes in. She's big city, Roy's small time, and he believes only the grandest of gestures can lure her away from a slick touring pro (Don Johnson) and earn her love. So Roy and his dutiful caddy (Cheech Marin) set out to do the impossible: win the U.S. Open. With laughs, clever battle-of-the-sexes banter and a handy way with a 7-iron, Tin Cup winningly defines the moment and contemporary romantic comedy

Tom Horn

The saga of Tom Horn - a real-life "enforcer" of Old West days - held a particular fascination for another legend. Hollywood icon Steve McQueen starred in and executive-produced what would be his next-to-last movie, a gritty, exciting recreation of Horn's latter-day career in a turn-of-the-century West where gentler ways supplanted the law of the gun - and Horn would be an unwitting victim of that change. Linda Evans, Richard Farnsworth, Billy Green Bush and Slim Pickens head a strong cast in a film capturing the essence of a time when a man's word was only as good as his guns or fists. Shot on serenely beautiful Arizona locations, Tom Horn indelibly brings to life one of the West's truly unsung heroes.

Making Love

A successful young L.A. doctor and his equally successful television-producer wife find their happily-ever-after life torn assunder when he suddenly confronts his long-repressed attraction for other men. Zach and Claire live a comfortable life secure in their love for one another when Bart a swinging L.A. novelist walks into Zach's office and awakens unfamiliar feelings in him. In a move which leaves him wracked with guilt Zach cancels dinner with his wife in order to go out with Bart. He is inexplicably drawn to this man who seems intent on keeping him at arms distance. Why can't Bart allow their relationship to grow? he wonders. Exasperated he asks Bart "Do you snore? Does anybody ever get a chance to find out?" As Zach's absences become more and more frequent Claire's concern manifests itself in the suspicion that he is having an affair with another woman. Jilted by Bart and feeling alone for the first time in his married life Zach resolves to tell Claire the truth about himself. Predictably Claire is shocked that she could have known so little about the man she has loved for so many years and accuses him of deceiving her from the very start.System Requirements:Running Time 113 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 024543224761 Manufacturer No: 2232476

The studio marketed Making Love as "one of the most honest and controversial films we have ever released," adding that "it may be too strong for some people." That was then, and what once seemed shocking now seems tame. Still, it's hard to imagine the more sexually explicit Brokeback Mountain without it. On the surface, Beverly Hills physician Zack (Michael Ontkean, Twin Peaks) and his TV producer wife, Claire (Kate Jackson, Charlie's Angels), are the ideal couple. A smartly-dressed Gilbert and Sullivan fan, Zack appears to have little in common with denim-clad, openly-gay novelist Bart (Harry Hamlin, L.A. Law). They meet when Bart makes an appointment for a check-up, and the two hit it off. Turns out they share a love of "corny old movies." Afterwards, Zack can't stop thinking about his vain, if affectionate patient. Lunch leads to dinner, which leads to physical intimacy (sex is suggested rather than shown). Zack is falling in love, but Bart has no interest in commitment, and Claire suspects another woman. Making Love is narrated by Claire and Bart, who speak directly to the camera. It's unclear whether Arthur Hiller, best known for Love Story, is going for documentary-style realism or foreign film-style sophistication, but the technique does differentiate Making Love from your average soap opera (story credit goes to Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg). Though Hamlin has maintained the highest profile since, it's the sensitive performances of Ontkean and Jackson that anchor this no longer groundbreaking, but still relevant romantic drama. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Extreme Prejudice

Penny Dreadful - After Dark Horror Fest

Penny a young woman traumatized by a childhood auto accident that killed her parents accompanies her therapist on a road trip back to the scene of the accident as part of her therapy to overcome her fear of cars. But when the two women accidentally cross paths with a dark and mysterious Hitchhiker on a lonely stretch of mountain highway an attempt at healing suddenly takes a terrifying detour into a horrific life and death struggle with a ruthless deranged killer bent on preying upon Penny's worst fears.System Requirements:Run Time: 92 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: R UPC: 031398211204 Manufacturer No: 21120

Drop Zone

When Marshal Pete Nessip's prisoner parachutes out of a 747 to escape, and Pete's brother is killed, Pete takes up skydiving to catch the criminals.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 28-MAR-2006
Media Type: DVD

Sling Blade

Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in this mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. --Tom Keogh

Gunsmoke Movie Collection (Return to Dodge/The Last Apache/To the Last Man)