Glengarry Glen Ross
by James Foley
from Lions Gate
Like moths to a flame, great actors gravitate to the singular genius of playwright-screenwriter David Mamet, who updated his Pulitzer Prize-winning play for this all-star screen adaptation. The material is not inherently cinematic, so the movie's greatest asset is Mamet's peerless dialogue and the assembly of a once-in-a-lifetime cast led by Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin (the last in a role Mamet created especially for the film). Often regarded as a critique of the Reagan administration's impact on the American economy, the play and film focus on a competitive group of real estate salesmen who've gone from feast to famine in a market gone cold. When an executive "motivator" (Alec Baldwin) demands a sales contest among the agents in the cramped office, the stakes are critically high: any agent who fails to meet his quota of sales "leads" (i.e., potential buyers) will lose his job. This intense ultimatum is a boon for the office superstar (Pacino), but a once-successful salesman (Lemmon) now finds himself clinging nervously to faded glory. Political and personal rivalries erupt under pressure when the other agents (Alan Arkin, Ed Harris) suspect the office manager (Kevin Spacey) of foul play. This cauldron of anxiety, tension, and sheer desperation provides fertile soil for Mamet's scathingly rich dialogue, which is like rocket fuel for some of the greatest actors of our time. Pacino won an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance, but it's Lemmon who's the standout, doing some of the best work of his distinguished career. Director James Foley shapes Mamet's play into a stylish, intensely focused film that will stand for decades as a testament to its brilliant writer and cast. --Jeff Shannon
A group of sleazy real estate men face a high-pressure stress as they are put in danger of getting the ax by their hard-driving bosses.System Requirements:Starring: Al Pacino Alan Arkin Alec Baldwin Ed Harris Jack Lemmon and Kevin Spacey. Directed By: James Foley. Running Time: 100 Min. Color. This film is presented in both "Widescreen" and "Standard" formats. Copyright 2002 Artisan Entertainment.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 012236114505 Manufacturer No: 13286
Dirty Dancing (20th Anniversary Edition)
from Lions Gate
The summer of 1963 innocent 17-year-old Baby (Grey) vacations with her parents at a Catskill's resort. One evening she is drawn to the staff quarters by stirring music. There she meets Johnny the hotel dance instructor who is as experienced as Baby is naive. Baby soon becomes Johnny's pupil in dance and love.Special Features: DISC ONE: Commentary with Writer/ Co-Producer Eleanor Bergstein Trivia Track Newly Remastered Audio DISC TWO: DIRTY DANCING with Patrick Swayze Tribute to Jerry Orbach Deleted Scenes Alternate Scenes Extended Scenes Outtakes Original Screen Tests Multi Angle Dance Sequences The Classic Story on Stage Interactive Photo Gallery Jennifer Grey Interview Eleanor Bergstein Interview Kenny Ortega Interview Emile Ardolino Tribute "Hungry Eyes" Music Video "She's Like The Wind" Music Video "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" Music Video TrailersSystem Requirements:Running Time: 105 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG - 13 UPC: 012236212775 Manufacturer No: 21277
As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.
Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Dirty Dancing (Ultimate Edition)
from Lions Gate
As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.
Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
An innocent young girl is introduced to the sensuality of dance when she meets the dance instructor at her resort hotel.
Genre: Musicals
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 9-DEC-2003
Media Type: DVD
In America
by Jim Sheridan
from 20th Century Fox
In America stars the incandescent Samantha Morton and Paddy Considine as two young Irish parents who have lost their only son. Trying to run away from their grief, they move (illegally) to a junkie-infested apartment building in New York City with their two daughters, Christy (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger). Though they struggle with meager jobs and suffocatingly hot weather, a friendship with an artist in an apartment below them (Djimon Hounsou, Gladiator) becomes a catalyst that allows them to rebuild their family. In America is splendidly acted throughout--of particular note are the two girls, real-life sisters whose on-screen charisma is clearly a family trait. But it's Morton who anchors the movie; her every emotion seems to glow from her skin. The commitment of the actors keeps the movie compelling, despite some dangerously sentimental patches. --Bret Fetzer
From Academy Awad Nominee Jim Sheridan comes this deeply personal and poignant tale of a poor Irish family searching for a better life In America. Through the eyes of their spunky daughters, two anguished parents find hope and the ability to once again believe in love and magic…even amidst the dangers of New York's harrowing Hell's Kitchen. With mesmerizing performances by Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou, In America is "a classic" (USA Today) you won't ever forget.
Changing Lanes
from Paramount
Road rage causes a minor accident on New York's FDR Drive to spiral out of control when the white attourney and the African American salesman involved in the accident subsequently attempt to ruin each other's lives.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 29-DEC-2004
Media Type: DVD
Impeccably crafted and smarter than your average thriller, Changing Lanes proves that revenge is a dish best served cold. A high-powered attorney (Ben Affleck) learns that lesson the hard way after he flees the scene of an accident involving an insurance salesman (Samuel L. Jackson) who holds a powerful advantage in his retaliatory strike against the lawyer's arrogant behavior. Affleck has everything to gain if he can retrieve a lost document from Jackson, who has everything to lose (wife, family, savings) when threatened with financial sabotage. To his versatile credit, Notting Hill director Roger Michell never plays the race card in this escalating battle of wills, focusing instead on the percolating resentments of men at opposite ends of the economic scale. As he did in Eyes Wide Shut, actor-director Sydney Pollack chillingly embodies the venal elite in a pivotal supporting role, and Changing Lanes potently illustrates the wisdom of heeding a guilty conscience. --Jeff Shannon
Romeo is Bleeding
by Peter Medak
from MGM (Video & DVD)
Romeo Is Bleeding is the flawed black comedy from director Peter Medak (The Krays) about a bad cop who slowly gets his due. Gary Oldman plays yet another quirky character, this time a New York detective on the take. His life goes haywire as he squares off with a Russian hit woman. Despite an intriguing cast and great dialogue, the movie becomes a bit too eccentric for its own good as several actors have nothing to do. The high point is Lena Olin, who finally has a role she can sink her teeth into: her zesty, monstrous assassin, Mona Demarkov, is one of the great movie villains. --Doug Thomas
Gary Oldman delivers an uncanny performance (The New York Times) and Lena Olin is 'the most astoundingly vicious and sexy female villain in movie history (Variety) in this spine-tingling, erotic film about a crooked cop and the sadistic hit woman who lures him into a lethal dance of deceit. Co-starring Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis and Roy Scheider, Romeo Is Bleeding is a mind-blowing, crazy, outrageous movie (WNBC-TV)! Jack Grimaldi (Oldman) leads more than a double life: He's a veteran cop, a two-timing husband and a corrupt mob informant. But when the Feds enlist him to protect Russian gangster Mona Demarkov (Olin) at the same time that the Mafia orders himto kill her, Jack's world of greed and lust begins to crack. Complicating this already dangerous situation is Mona herself, a seductive schemer who entangles Jack in a deadly, depraved plan of her own!
Dirty Dancing (Collector's Edition)
from Live / Artisan
As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.
Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Game 6
by Michael Hoffman
from Arts Alliance Amer
Game 6, the first produced screenplay by acclaimed novelist Don DeLillo (White Noise), follows the obsession of a playwright, Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton), whose beloved jinxed Red Sox are playing game six of the 1986 World Series--the same night Rogan's new play opens on Broadway. The stories that intersect to construct this ominous character study are woven by stellar performances by a first-rate cast, including Keaton, who gives a not-quite-unraveled reading that reminds us what a strong character actor he can be. Around Keaton is a fine ensemble, including a brittle Catherine O'Hara as his estranged wife ("Nicky, I'm seeing a prominent divorce attorney." "How prominent?" "He has his own submarine."); Bebe Neuwirth as his high-strung paramour; Griffin Dunne as an unglued fellow writer; and Robert Downey Jr. as a Buddhist theater critic whose ruinous reviews are as deadly as the loaded gun he takes to premieres. If the plot is a little far-fetched (and the climactic scene preposterous), the audacious writing and gripping performances more than make up for it. As Rogan says, "Winning is easy; losing is complicated." --A.T. Hurley
Written by award-winning novelist Don DeLillo (WHITE NOISE UNDERWORLD) and directed by Michael Hoffman (SOAPDISH ONE FINE DAY) GAME 6 is a smart psychological study of a man unable to face the reality of his life. Michael Keaton stars as Nickey Rogan a successful playwright of Broadway fluff whose new serious play is scheduled to open on October 25 1986 -- the same night his beloved Boston Red Sox have a chance at winning the World Series playing Game 6 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. Despite his popular success Rogan sees his life as being as futile as the Red Sox who have not won the baseball championship since 1918. He's not very close with his daughter (Ari Graynor) his wife (Catherine O'Hara) is divorcing him his girlfriend (Bebe Neuwirth) doesn't understand him and his lead actor (Harris Yulin) has a parasite in his brain that is causing him to forget his lines. Meanwhile Rogan is terrified that hated theater critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) will tear his play apart leaving him a shell of a man like his friend Elliot Litvack (Griffin Dunne). A former cabdriver Rogan spends much of the day stuck in taxis in heavy traffic attempting to engage the hacks in conversation and bonding better with strangers than with his friends and family. As the curtain approaches he can't decide whether he'd rather be at the play or watching the game on television afraid that both might fail him. Hoffman sets the film in a tight-knit New York City community that moves at a snail's pace where coincidences both welcome and not abound. Keaton excels as the tortured soul who is looking for that critical hit--in both Broadway and baseball parlance. He just can't face another ball going through his legs. Hoboken's Yo La Tengo composed the movie's excellent score.System Requirements:Running Time 87 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 829567035726 Manufacturer No: 035726
Zombie Honeymoon
by David Gebroe
from Showtime Ent.
Zombie Honeymoon is a romantic horror film about a young married couple madly in love on their honeymoon. One day on the beach the groom Danny is attacked and killed by a man who rises up out of the water with no explanation leaps on top of him and vomits blood into his mouth. Danny is resuscitated ten minutes later and seems to look and act totally normal. However his wife Denise finds out that that's not the case at all. It turns out that Danny has become a zombie. However instead of becoming a "Night Of The Living Dead"-style creature right off the bat he disintegrates gradually in a manner akin to cancer or AIDS. He and his wife Denise do their best to cope with his slipping away not to mention the fact that he can't stop killing and eating people. As their best friends arrive for a weekend visit she makes him promise her that they're off-limits. He agrees but finds it more and more difficult to control himself. She hangs in there because he's the love of her life but it becomes more and more apparent that her life is in jeopardy as well.System Requirements:Running Time 83 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR UPC: 758445401820 Manufacturer No: SHO4018D
Glengarry Glen Ross
by James Foley
Like moths to a flame, great actors gravitate to the singular genius of playwright-screenwriter David Mamet, who updated his Pulitzer Prize-winning play for this all-star screen adaptation. The material is not inherently cinematic, so the movie's greatest asset is Mamet's peerless dialogue and the assembly of a once-in-a-lifetime cast led by Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin (the last in a role Mamet created especially for the film). Often regarded as a critique of the Reagan administration's impact on the American economy, the play and film focus on a competitive group of real estate salesmen who've gone from feast to famine in a market gone cold. When an executive "motivator" (Alec Baldwin) demands a sales contest among the agents in the cramped office, the stakes are critically high: any agent who fails to meet his quota of sales "leads" (i.e., potential buyers) will lose his job. This intense ultimatum is a boon for the office superstar (Pacino), but a once-successful salesman (Lemmon) now finds himself clinging nervously to faded glory. Political and personal rivalries erupt under pressure when the other agents (Alan Arkin, Ed Harris) suspect the office manager (Kevin Spacey) of foul play. This cauldron of anxiety, tension, and sheer desperation provides fertile soil for Mamet's scathingly rich dialogue, which is like rocket fuel for some of the greatest actors of our time. Pacino won an Oscar nomination for his volatile performance, but it's Lemmon who's the standout, doing some of the best work of his distinguished career. Director James Foley shapes Mamet's play into a stylish, intensely focused film that will stand for decades as a testament to its brilliant writer and cast. --Jeff Shannon
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