Nolan, Tom

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Widescreen Special Edition)

Before he became an overrated filmmaker, Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) was a reporter for Rolling Stone who was so youthful looking that he could go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. He wrote the script for this film, based on that book, and it launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen, and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great movie but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal movie experience. --Marshall Fine

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Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 23-AUG-2005
Media Type: DVD

Tequila Sunrise

Robert Towne is one of Hollywood's most celebrated screenwriters, but because his directorial efforts have been few and far between, anticipation was high when this star-powered crime story was released in 1988. Critical reaction was decidedly mixed, but there's plenty to admire in this silky, visually seductive film about a drug dealer (Mel Gibson) whose best friend from high-school (Kurt Russell) is now working for the Los Angeles sheriff's drug detail. Their personal and professional conflicts are intensified by their love for the same woman, a waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) at the Italian restaurant they both frequent. There's a big deal going down with a drug lord (the late Raul Julia), but as it twists and turns, Towne's story is really more about personal loyalties and individual honor. And even if it doesn't quite hold together, the movie's got a fantastic look to it (courtesy of the great cinematographer Conrad Hall), and the three stars bring depth and dimension to their well-written roles. --Jeff Shannon

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Full Screen Special Edition)

Before he became an overrated filmmaker, Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) was a reporter for Rolling Stone who was so youthful looking that he could go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. He wrote the script for this film, based on that book, and it launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen, and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great movie but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal movie experience. --Marshall Fine

Kiss Me, Stupid

Dean Martin is full of charm wit and snappy one-liners in this "sly irreverent brash and daring comedy" (The Film Daily) from the legendary team of Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond (Some Like It Hot The Apartment)!When the world-renowned singer "Dino" (Martin in a hilarious self-parody) passes through Climax Nevada he doesn't count on meeting two would-be songwriters with a plan to trap him there and serenade him with their songs. But then again they weren't counting on Dino's insatiable appetite... for wine and women! And when one of the men learns that his own wife was once president of Dino's fan club he hires a replacement wife (Kim Novak) to help lure the carousing star into a song-buying mood!System Requirements:Starring: Dean Martin Kim Novak Felicia Farr Cliff Osmond Ray Walston Directed By: Billy Wilder Running Time: 126 Min. Color Copyright 2003 MGM Studios.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 027616887627 Manufacturer No: 1004722

In 1964 director Billy Wilder was at the top of his game. Following a string of hits that had begun in 1959 with Some Like It Hot, he now intended to direct a bawdy boudoir farce in the grand tradition of the French theater. The contorted plot involves one Orville J. Spooner, an aspiring song writer (originally to be played by Peter Sellers, but replaced by Ray Walston after Sellers suffered a heart attack, which he partly blamed on Wilder), and his crazed lyricist, buddy Barney Milsap. Together they toil away in the town of Climax, Nevada, Orville working as a piano teacher and Barney pumping gas across the street. Along comes Dean Martin, playing a thinly veiled caricature of himself, who just wants to fill up his tank. Instead, the songwriting duo rig his car so he's forced to spend the night at Orville's, giving the dolts a chance to pitch their songs. But Dino also wants Orville's wife. No problem! They hire Polly the Pistol (Kim Novak), the local prostitute, to masquerade as her. Thus begin the high jinks. The film plays like an extended dirty joke that could have been told around the office water cooler in 1960. It was a colossal failure both critically and commercially, and was banned by the Catholic League of Decency, to boot. Nonetheless, the film has aged well and was ahead of its time (think of it as the grandfather of Caddyshack and the great-grandfather of There's Something About Mary). Wilder eventually renounced the film and moved on. --Kristian St. Clair

Yanks

An American GI finds love in Britain during World War II.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-MAR-2005
Media Type: DVD

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Collector's Edition) (High School Reunion Collection)

Before he became an overrated filmmaker, Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) was a reporter for Rolling Stone who was so youthful looking that he could go undercover for a year at a California high school and write a book about it. He wrote the script for this film, based on that book, and it launched the careers of several young actors, including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, and, above all, Sean Penn. The story line is episodic, dealing with the lives of iconic teen types: one of the school's cool kids, a nerd, a teen queen, and, most enjoyably, the class stoner (Penn), who finds himself at odds with a strict history teacher (a wonderfully spiky Ray Walston). This is not a great movie but very entertaining and, for a certain age group, a seminal movie experience. --Marshall Fine

USA Release Of 1932 Original Scarface

Dead Heat (Divimax Special Edition)

White Man's Burden

The premise is interesting, but the execution fails to live up to any of its potential. White Man's Burden imagines an America where black people are the ruling class and whites are underprivileged minorities. John Travolta stars as a factory worker who is fired after making a delivery to the house of the factory owner (Harry Belafonte) and accidentally peeping the man's naked wife through a window. Now jobless and unable to support his family, his wife (Kelly Lynch) leaves him. In desperation he kidnaps Belafonte. The best part of the film is seeing African American actors filling the smaller, background roles that usually go to white actors (such as police officers and wealthy suburbanites), but the movie fails in its poorly thought-out ideas. Transposing the characters' skin color out of the thinly veiled metaphor, John Travolta's portrayal of the poor black man as violent and uneducated (but family oriented), combined with Belafonte's rich white man as just and compassionate (and also family oriented), borders on being truly offensive. The fact that it's helmed by an Asian American director, Desmond Nakano, only makes you wonder why Asian Americans are conspicuously absent (as are Hispanics) and where the heck they would fit into this world, anyway. --Andy Spletzer

From the producer of "Pulp Fiction" --set in a time where color roles have been reversed John Travolta is Louis Pinnock--a poor man struggling to keep his wife and children fed and clothed. But when he loses his job Pinnock snaps and decides to fight back the only way he knows how. With nothing left to lose Pinnock decides to take the system by taking on the factory owner. But the fight he will have to finish may cost him more than job was ever worth . WHITE MAN's BURDEN will change the way you see the world forever.Running Time: 89 min.System Requirements:Starring: John Travolta Harry Belafonte Tom Bower Margaret Avery and Kelly Lynch. Directed By: Desmond Nakano. Running Time: 89 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Standard" format. Copyright 2000 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 026359128929

Miracle in Lane 2

Based on the real-life story of disabled soap box derby champion Justin Yoder, this Disney bio-pic manages the difficult trick of balancing earnestness with wit, action with family drama. Frankie Muniz (TV's Malcolm in the Middle) plays Justin, a 12-year-old who accepts the limitations of his spina bifida but still wants to win a trophy like his athlete brother. Rick Rossovich and Molly Hagan are note perfect as his thoroughly likable but flawed parents, and Patrick Levis deftly portrays the difficulties of being a loving older brother who gets fed up always having to play second fiddle to his brother and his disease. Frequent trips into Justin's avid imagination, which provide humor and context, help the film avoid the sentimentality that usually accompanies triumph-over-adversity movies. (For instance, God is a race car driver who wears a T-shirt proclaiming "I don't make mistakes.") The smart script is cheerfully candid about Justin's problems (such as vomiting and lack of bladder control) and honest about the strain a disability puts on a family, but it's packed with enough action to sate the sports-minded viewer. (Ages 6 and older) --Kimberly Heinrichs

Sensational Frankie Muniz (TV's MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE) stars as Justin Yoder in MIRACLE IN LANE 2, inspired by the true story of a mischievous and courageous 12-year-old who refused to let a physical challenge defeat him. His unrelenting desire to win a trophy leads to Justin's discovery that it's perseverance that makes a winner, as he prepares for a national soapbox championship race! Fresh, funny, full of action and heart, MIRACLE IN LANE 2 combines courage, challenges, and thrills for the ride of a lifetime!

Chastity

Long out of the public eye, Cher's 1969 feature Chastity offers plenty of camp pleasure for curious cult movie viewers. Written and produced (and directed, as some have suggested) by husband Sonny Bono, Cher stars as the title character, a sullen drifter escaping her troubled past who finds possible happiness in the arms of a nice-guy parking attendant (Stephen Whittaker). Emotional turmoil puts her back on the road, and once in Mexico, Chastity becomes the plaything of a cold-hearted madam (Barbara London). Sonny's script is muddled and often downbeat, but Cher's performance isn't as bad as some wags have said, and the film is escapist enjoyment for fans of '60s youthquake pictures and camp delights. MGM's DVD is widescreen; the print has some fleeting nudity and suggestive scenes, which may indicate that this is the "M" rated version rather than the theatrical R or heavily edited TV versions. Trivia note: Sonny and Cher's daughter Chastity was conceived during the making of this film. --Paul Gaita

Oscar® winner* Cher makes an impressive debut (Motion Picture Herald) as a reckless rebel who s taking the fast lane on the road to nowhere! Written and produced by Sonny Bono Chastity is a gritty gutsy ride through a powerful emotional landscape filled with love adventure tragedy and truth. Desperate to escape her dark past wild child Chastity (Cher) hits the streets on a quest for freedom only to find herself launched on an electrifying odyssey of self-discovery. But as she thumbs her way cross-country and ends up at a seedy brothel in Mexico with fewer and fewer options she finally begins to see that the only safe place to run is into the arms of the one man who truly loves her.System Requirements: Running Time 72 MineFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 027616902917 Manufacturer No: 1006068