Landes, Michael

Final Destination 2

Final Destination 2 begins with a well-orchestrated multicar pileup on a freeway--a horrifying accident that turns out to be a premonition, as seen by a young woman (A.J. Cook) who saves herself and several other people by blocking a freeway on-ramp. Thus, as in the first Final Destination, a prescient vision disrupts the destined plans of death, and death goes to extreme lengths to correct matters. What makes Final Destination 2 entertaining is that the characters can only survive by learning to recognize the signs of impending doom--and the signs are basically the cinematic foreshadowing that moviemakers use to invoke suspense. This, combined with some elaborately complicated and gruesome deaths, fosters a ghoulish humor that's more entertaining than the smirky self-referentiality of Scream. Final Destination 2 doesn't aspire to be a great movie, but trash has its pleasures. Also featuring Ali Larter as the only survivor of the first movie. --Bret Fetzer

This summer, fasten your seatbelts for the ultimate rollercoaster!! Packed with cutting-edge special effects, state-of-the-art gore and enough scares to send your heartbeat into overdrive, Final Destination 2 is a killer sequel to the smash-hit original.

DVD Features:
3D Animated Menus
Audio Commentary:with Director David Ellis, Producer Craig Perry and Screenwriters Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber
DVD ROM Features:Play Movie Script-to-screen Link to original website Screensaver, Wallpapers, "Chain Reaction" activity Exclusive content at infinifilm.com
Deleted Scenes
Documentaries:"The Terror Gauge" "Cheating Death: Beyond & Back" "Bits & Pieces: Bringing Death to Life"
Extended takes
Full Screen Version:and also Widescreen version on one disc
Other:DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound Exclusive infinifilm fact track with exclusive material Trailers for the orginal Final Destination and upcoming Highwaymen Widescreen & Fullscreen on one disc
Theatrical Trailer

A Carol Christmas

DVD: 05-51363 A Carol Christmas Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills, 90210), William Shatner (Star Trek) and Gary Coleman (Diff'rent Strokes) shine in this light-hearted update of the Dickens classic. Carol Cartman (Spelling) says "Bah, humbug" to the clichés of her fellow talk-show host, Dr. Bob (Shatner), and especially to a live Christmas Eve show her producer has planned. But during a pre-show nap, her late Aunt Marla (Dinah Manoff) takes Carol on a holiday journey, complete with Ghosts of Christmas Past (Coleman) and Present (Shatner again). Soon, this Scrooge-like celebrity is shown the life she should have led, the life she causes others to lead…and the fate that might await her, if she doesn't show some holiday spirit! Running Time: Approx. 85 Minutes Color/NTSC/Stereo

Hart's War

Anyone who appreciates subtle tension will enjoy this World War II prison-camp drama, based on John Katzenbach's novel, in which honor, courage, and sacrifice are revealed in unexpected ways. Bruce Willis plays the ranking U.S. prisoner in a Nazi POW camp, joined in December 1944 by a law-student lieutenant (up-and-coming star Colin Farrell) who'd been captured despite his father's powerful military connections. When a black pilot (Terrence Dashon Howard) from the famous Tuskeegee airmen is falsely accused of murdering a fellow prisoner, Farrell tries his case and discovers the real motivation behind Willis's kangaroo court. While combining elements of Stalag 17 and The Great Escape, director Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, Frequency) spices this moral dilemma with well-crafted suspense and a rousing dogfight sequence, but the human drama remains muted despite fine, understated performances by Willis, Farrell, and Howard. An escape thriller with an ethical twist, Hart's War works best as a study of heroism under extraordinary circumstances. --Jeff Shannon

Bruce Willis stars as an imprisoned officer who refuses to give up his fight to defeat the Nazis inthis "absorbing" (Roger Ebert) WWII adventure. Co-starring Colin Farrell (Minority Report) and packed with "crisp action sequences" (Los Angeles Times), Hart's War is a powerful and "stirring tribute to soldierly courage and honor" (L.A. Daily News). When Col. William McNamara (Willis) is stripped of his freedom in a German POW camp, he's determined to keep onfightingeven from behind enemy lines. Enlisting the help of a young lieutenant (Farrell) in a brilliant plot against his captors, McNamara risks everything on a mission to free his men and change the outcome of the war.

Dream for an Insomniac (Repackaged)

Once upon a time a lovely maiden lived in an enchanted land. Surrounded by great friends and a terrific job yet cursed with insomnia she longed for the day when Prince Charming would enter her life ... so she could finally get some sleep. DREAM FOR AN INSOMNIAC is a charming hip romantic comedy a reverse Sleeping Beauty tale for everyone who's ever dared pursue their wildest dreams starringIone Skye Jennifer Aniston and Mackenzie Astin. Frankie (Ione Skye Gas Food Lodging) hasn't slepta full night since she was six years old. She's convinced that once she and her best friend Allison(Jennifer Aniston The Good Girl) leave San Francisco to pursue acting careers in Los Angeles she'll meet her dream man: one "with the soul of a poet and eyes like Frank Sinatra." Then she'll be able to sleep. Four days before moving to L.A. David (Mackenzie Astin The Evening Star) walks into Frankie's life. She's convinced he's her very own Prince Charming. She now has only three days to convince him that she's the love of his life.System Requirements:Running Time: 87 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396169449 Manufacturer No: 16944

Frankie (Ione Skye) is looking for a man "with the soul of a poet and eyes like Frank Sinatra." Her world is black and white--literally in this film--until the blue eyes of David (Mackenzie Astin) enter the café where she works with her uncle and cousin. But Frankie's about to leave San Francisco for L.A. with her best friend, Allison (Jennifer Aniston), where they'll both become actresses. Time is running out for Frankie to convince David that she's the love of his life.

Unfortunately for Frankie, and this film, the lackluster plot and trite characters don't give her much to work with. The dialogue is atrocious (Frankie says, with complete sincerity, "I'm going to circumnavigate his soul until he's anchored on all sides by my love"), and her character is so utterly spoiled and obnoxious you can't understand what David--or her friends--see in her. What makes the film all the more disappointing is the promising cast. Jennifer Aniston is underused, and Michael Landes does the best he can with his clichéd role as a gay man who desperately wants to come out to his father but can't work up the courage. Dream for an Insomniac tries too hard to be the kind of hip '90s love story that films such as Walking and Talking and Naked in New York succeed in being. --Jenny Brown

Dream For an Insomniac

Frankie (Ione Skye) is looking for a man "with the soul of a poet and eyes like Frank Sinatra." Her world is black and white--literally in this film--until the blue eyes of David (Mackenzie Astin) enter the café where she works with her uncle and cousin. But Frankie's about to leave San Francisco for L.A. with her best friend, Allison (Jennifer Aniston), where they'll both become actresses. Time is running out for Frankie to convince David that she's the love of his life.

Unfortunately for Frankie, and this film, the lackluster plot and trite characters don't give her much to work with. The dialogue is atrocious (Frankie says, with complete sincerity, "I'm going to circumnavigate his soul until he's anchored on all sides by my love"), and her character is so utterly spoiled and obnoxious you can't understand what David--or her friends--see in her. What makes the film all the more disappointing is the promising cast. Jennifer Aniston is underused, and Michael Landes does the best he can with his clichéd role as a gay man who desperately wants to come out to his father but can't work up the courage. Dream for an Insomniac tries too hard to be the kind of hip '90s love story that films such as Walking and Talking and Naked in New York succeed in being. --Jenny Brown

Edie and Pen

Edie and Pen are two women who've come to Reno to get divorced. Edie (Jennifer Tilly) already has a new fiancé lined up; Pen (Stockard Channing) can't quite get over the end of her nine-year marriage. After a brief drunken quest that leaves them stranded at the edge of town with Harry (Scott Glenn), a bitter cowboy whose wife just left him, the two women bond--but later that night it turns out they have more in common than they knew. Edie & Pen is full of quirky bit parts played by a wealth of character actors, but the grounded, well-crafted writing and warm performances keep things from getting too cute. Channing and Glenn have lovely chemistry, while Tilly gives charm and just enough weight to the ditzy Edie to make her relationship with Pen more than a gimmick. A modest but genuinely sweet movie. --Bret Fetzer

In this delightfully witty, romantic gem, young idealistic believer Edie (Jennifer Tilly) and devastated Pen ("Grease's" Stockard Channing) meet in Reno, where both intend to get "quickie" divorces. The unlikely friends share a wild night of drunken adventure and soul searching with a local cowboy ("The Silence of the Lambs'" Scott Glenn) just dumped by his wife, encountering a quirky mix of characters along the way. Both funny and insightful, "Edie and Pen" dives into the gap between what men and women want... and what they end up with! Music by Shawn Colvin.

Lucky 13

If you really want to know a man, just ask his ex-girlfriends. Brad Hunt, Harland Williams (Dumband Dumber) and Lauren Graham ("Gilmore Girls") star in this goofy romantic comedy that finallyreveals what women really want and what men really need.For Zach (Hunt), breaking up isn't hard to dohe's already done it a dozen times. But when his childhood crush Abbey (Graham) decidesto move to New York, Zach realizes that he's about to lose the only girl he's ever truly loved. Now, with the help of his hilarious best friend, Bleckman (Williams), Zach has just three days to question all 12 of his ex-girlfriends. It's the only way to learn where he went wrongand finally get it rightbefore the love of his life becomes unlucky number 13!

When the Party's Over

Final Destination/Final Destination 2

While hardly a spiritual upgrade of the slasher film, this high-concept teen body-count thriller drops hints of The Sixth Sense into the smart-aleck sensibility of Scream. Helmed by X-Files veteran James Wong, who cowrote the screenplay with longtime creative partner Glen Morgan, Final Destination is an often entertaining thriller marked by an unsettling sense of unease and scenes of eerie imagery. It suffers, however, from a schizophrenic tone and a frankly ludicrous premise. A high school Cassandra, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa of Idle Hands), wakes from a preflight nightmare and panics when he's convinced the plane is doomed. His ruckus bumps seven passengers from the Paris-bound plane, which immediately explodes into a fireball on takeoff, but fate hasn't finished with these lucky few and, one by one, death claims them. Wong brings such a funereal tone to these early scenes of survivor's guilt and inevitable doom that the already far-fetched film threatens to veer into unplanned absurdity. Thankfully, the tale loosens up with a playful morgue humor: one of the victims winds up the splattered punch line to a grim joke and elaborate Rube Goldbergesque chains of cause and effect become inspired spectacles of destruction. Final Destination is a pretty silly thriller when it takes itself seriously, and the filmmakers play fast and loose with their own rules of fate, but once they stick their tongues firmly in cheek, the film takes off with a screwy interpretation of the domino effect of doom. --Sean Axmaker

Final Destination 2 begins with a well-orchestrated multicar pileup on a freeway--a horrifying accident that turns out to be a premonition, as seen by a young woman (A.J. Cook) who saves herself and several other people by blocking a freeway on-ramp. Thus, as in the first Final Destination, a prescient vision disrupts the destined plans of death, and death goes to extreme lengths to correct matters. What makes Final Destination 2 entertaining is that the characters can only survive by learning to recognize the signs of impending doom--and the signs are basically the cinematic foreshadowing that moviemakers use to invoke suspense. This, combined with some elaborately complicated and gruesome deaths, fosters a ghoulish humor that's more entertaining than the smirky self-referentiality of Scream. Final Destination 2 doesn't aspire to be a great movie, but trash has its pleasures. --Bret Fetzer

Getting Personal