Armitage, George

Grosse Pointe Blank

Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson

A hit man attends his 10-year high school reunion with hopes of rekindling a romance, but things heat up when his arch rival appears.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-APR-2003
Media Type: DVD

Miami Blues

Alec Baldwin should have had an Oscar nomination for his cunning performance as Frederick J. Frenger Jr., the sleek sociopath and master of quicksilver improvisation who sets the pace for this deceptively breezy crime comedy. Junior's a genius in his fashion, yet not especially bright. In moments of repose, his mouth has a way of falling open slightly, like that of an animal panting in the shade, or Marilyn Monroe thinking. Miami Blues, written and directed by George Armitage, from the novel by Charles Willeford, divides its attention among Junior and two other characters who, in their respective ways, are as eccentric as he: Susie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a room-service hooker enrolled at Miami-Dade Community College who dreams of acquiring middle-class stability (say, a Burger King franchise); and Hoke Moseley (Fred Ward), a Miami P.D. detective with false choppers who gets on Junior's trail. Junior and Susie set up housekeeping in Coral Gables, and when Hoke catches up to his quarry, he sits down in the couple's newly rented kitchen and joins them in a meal of pork chops and beer. At which point--well, see for yourselves.

Jonathan Demme coproduced Miami Blues, and the movie operates as a companion piece to Demme's black-comedy meditation on the elusiveness of contentment in these United States, Something Wild ('86). The three principal actors are all terrific, but it's through Susie--and by all means Jennifer Jason Leigh's complex portrait of this down-to-earth creature--that Miami Blues finally touches a deep, abiding sadness, and the bruised tenaciousness of the American Dream. --Richard T. Jameson

Brace yourself'this intoxicating cocktail with rum and cyanide (Time) is at once brutal, funny, unpredictable and a bit unhinged (Newsweek)! Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in this offbeat black comedy about a murdering thief, his simple-minded wife and the denture-wearing cop closing in on his trail. Veteran criminal Junior Frenger (Baldwin) has moved to Miami to get a fresh start at robbing a whole new set of people. But when his streetwalker-gone-straight wife (Leigh) begins to suspect his criminal behavior, and an obsessed cop (Ward) begins to close in, Junior will need a lot more than luck and a bogus badge to escape a crossfire hotter than the barrel of a smoking gun!

The Big Bounce (Widescreen Edition)

There really can't be enough movies adapted from Elmore Leonard novels; his sinuous storylines and fluid, surprising dialogue give any movie a boost from the start. In The Big Bounce, laid-back Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Shanghai Noon) plays Jack, a small-time crook trying to lead an easier life in Hawaii. Trouble is, he can't keep out of trouble, and when he does stay clean, trouble finds him--in this case, in the bikini-clad form of Nancy (Sara Foster), the mistress of a local developer who gets turned on by the whiff criminal activity. She lures Jack into a scheme that ultimately involves a solid cast including Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth, Willie Nelson, and more. Foster doesn't bring much to movie besides her alarmingly sculpted body and the ending peters out, but The Big Bounce has enough snap and crackle that you don't miss the pop. --Bret Fetzer

Set on Hawaii's stunning North Shore, a charismatic drifter forms a dubious alliance with a powerful local businessman while hooking up with a criminally-minded seductress to double-cross a wealthy developer and his cohorts.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Visit the stars and filmmakers on the set in "The Big Bounce: A Con in the Making"
Filmographies:Surfing the Pipeline: Surfing in the Aloha State
Outtakes:Wicked Waves: Stunt Surfer Outtakes

The Big Bounce (Full Screen Edition)

There really can't be enough movies adapted from Elmore Leonard novels; his sinuous storylines and fluid, surprising dialogue give any movie a boost from the start. In The Big Bounce, laid-back Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Shanghai Noon) plays Jack, a small-time crook trying to lead an easier life in Hawaii. Trouble is, he can't keep out of trouble, and when he does stay clean, trouble finds him--in this case, in the bikini-clad form of Nancy (Sara Foster), the mistress of a local developer who gets turned on by the whiff criminal activity. She lures Jack into a scheme that ultimately involves a solid cast including Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth, Willie Nelson, and more. Foster doesn't bring much to movie besides her alarmingly sculpted body and the ending peters out, but The Big Bounce has enough snap and crackle that you don't miss the pop. --Bret Fetzer

Set on Hawaii's stunning North Shore, a charismatic drifter forms a dubious alliance with a powerful local businessman while hooking up with a criminally-minded seductress to double-cross a wealthy developer and his cohorts.

DVD Features:
Featurette:Visit the stars and filmmakers on the set in "The Big Bounce: A Con in the Making"
Filmographies:Surfing the Pipeline: Surfing in the Aloha State
Outtakes:Wicked Waves: Stunt Surfer Outtakes

Private Duty Nurses

The Big Bounce 2-pack (1969 & 2004 Versions)

The Big Bounce (1969)
An Elmore Leonard novel, subsequently remade for a 2004 Owen Wilson release, gets the swinging sixties treatment. Ryan O'Neal, in his first big film after achieving TV stardom, plays a Vietnam vet drifting from job to job; Leigh Taylor-Young is the rich man's mistress who takes a fancy to him. The plot sort of revolves around an amazingly vague plan to steal money from the rich guy, but the purpose seems to be showing thrillseeker Taylor-Young in various stages of undress. This is a vacuous movie, ineptly written and shot, in which poor O'Neal wanders around looking understandably bewildered. (His career bounced back with Love Story the following year.) Decorating this mishmash is the exceptionally maladroit musical score by Mike Curb (remember the soft-rock stylings of the Mike Curb Congregation?), whose soupy melodies undercut the tension at every turn. In short, a pretty good selection for Bad Cinema Night. --Robert Horton

The Big Bounce (2004)
There really can't be enough movies adapted from Elmore Leonard novels; his sinuous storylines and fluid, surprising dialogue give any movie a boost from the start. In The Big Bounce, laid-back Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Shanghai Noon) plays Jack, a small-time crook trying to lead an easier life in Hawaii. Trouble is, he can't keep out of trouble, and when he does stay clean, trouble finds him--in this case, in the bikini-clad form of Nancy (Sara Foster), the mistress of a local developer who gets turned on by the whiff criminal activity. She lures Jack into a scheme that ultimately involves a solid cast including Morgan Freeman, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise, Bebe Neuwirth, Willie Nelson, and more. Foster doesn't bring much to movie besides her alarmingly sculpted body and the ending peters out, but The Big Bounce has enough snap and crackle that you don't miss the pop. --Bret Fetzer

Grosse Pointe Blank [Region 2]

Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson

Grosse Pointe Blank [Region 2]

Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson

Grosse Pointe Blank [Region 2]

Hit man Martin Q. Blank (John Cusack) is in an awkward situation. Several of them, actually. He's attending his high school reunion on an assignment; he's got a rival hit man (Dan Aykroyd) on his tail; and he's going to have to explain to his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) why he stood her up on prom night. This amiable black comedy, cowritten by Cusack and directed by Jonathan Demme protégé George Armitage (Miami Blues), has the feel of Demme's Something Wild and Married to the Mob--which is to say its humor is dark and brightly colored at the same time. Cusack and Driver are utterly charming--as is the leading man's sister, Joan, who plays his secretary. (Ms. Cusack received an Oscar nomination for her next role, in In & Out.) Alan Arkin is also very funny as Martin's psychiatrist. --Jim Emerson

Grosse Pointe Blank/High Fidelity

Grosse Pointe Blank - English/French DVD- Here's the killer comedy hit that's loaded with outrageous fun! For Martin Blank (John Cusack -- HIGH FIDELITY, SERENDIPITY), a hit man stuck in a career rut, attending his 10-year high school reunion is about the last thing he's in the mood for! But when the prospects of rekindling an old flame (Minnie Driver -- GOOD WILL HUNTING) and pulling off one final job convince him to go, things are looking up ... that is, until Martin's arch rival (Dan Aykroyd) shows up aiming to blow the competition away! For hilarious comedy entertainment that's packed with action, GROSSE POINTE BLANK is a surefire knockout! High Fidelity - DVD- From the guys who brought you GROSSE POINTE BLANK comes the absolutely hilarious HIGH FIDELITY. John Cusack (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH) stars as Rob Gordon, the owner of a semi-failing record store located on one of the back streets of Chicago. He sells music the old-fashioned way -- on vinyl, with two wacky clerks, the hysterically funny rock snob Barry (Jack Black) and the more quietly opinionated underachiever Dick (Todd Luiso). But Rob's business isn't the only thing in his life that's floundering -- his needle skips the love groove when his longtime girlfriend Laura (newcomer Iben Hjejle) walks out on him. And this forces him to examine his past failed attempts at romance the only way he knows how! For a rocking fun time, give HIGH FIDELITY a spin. It's sure to make your all-time top five list for comedies -- with a bullet.