Drama

Charlie Wilson's War (Widescreen)

Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.System Requirements:Running Time: 102 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/BIOGRAPHY Rating: R UPC: 025195004848 Manufacturer No: 61100566

Political movies about backroom negotiations need not be dry or heavy-handed, as Charlie Wilson's War delightfully proves. Based on the true story of playboy congressman Wilson's efforts to fund Afghanistan's defense against the Soviet invasion of the 1980s, the film is borne along on breezy attitude and a peppery script by West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin. Wilson, played by Tom Hanks (who also produced), is the perfect hero for this kind of tale, because there's nothing perfect or heroic about him: He's a highball-swilling, fanny-pinching gadabout who becomes radicalized on the issue of helping the Afghans against their mighty aggressor. He has help in the form of a right-wing Texas anti-Communist (Julia Roberts) with a genius for raising money, and a sardonic CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman, stealing the show) who lacks all the social skills Wilson has in abundance. Sorkin's syncopated speech is just the ticket for director Mike Nichols, who understands exactly how to keep this kind of political comedy popping (the complicated story comes in at a hair over 90 minutes, amazingly). Some scoundrels are on the right side of the angels, and the movie's Charlie Wilson is one of them. --Robert Horton

Beyond Charlie Wilson's War on DVD

More Tom Hanks

Films by Mike Nichols

More Julia Roberts

Stills from Charlie Wilson's War (Click for larger image)

American Gangster (2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition)

Academy Award® winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) for an epic story as powerful as it is true. Armed with ruthless street-wise tactics and a strict sense of honor crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multi-million dollar empire it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation. American Gangster is "a brutal and brilliant film" (Pete Hammond Maxim.System Requirements:Running Time: 174 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CRIME & CRIMINALS Rating: NR UPC: 025193228024 Manufacturer No: 61032280

Ridley Scott puts on his "sweeping saga" gameface again, this time not for the sci-fi vistas of Blade Runner or the ancient world of Gladiator but for an urban epic. American Gangster gives the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a real-life Harlem crime lord who built an empire on Southeast Asian heroin in the 1970s. Running parallel to Lucas's somewhat standard story is the investigation led by a persistent New Jersey cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Roberts is a more interesting character than Lucas--too honest for his own good, unlucky in his personal life--and this kind of character, easily patronized by others, fits Crowe like a polyester shirt. Scott's tendency to hit his points square on the noggin is much in evidence here, including the typecasting of the supporting roles and the predictable Serpico atmosphere of the whole thing. (And speaking of supporting actors, the film needs more Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose role as a Lucas sidekick feels cut down.) It succeeds as a kind of chewy entertainment, fueled by the presence of two big stars working their muscles. Both Washington and Crowe look pretty brawny here. --Robert Horton

Beyond American Gangster on DVD

Great Crime and Gangster Films

More from Denzel Washington

More from Russell Crowe

Stills from American Gangster (Click for larger image)

Pride & Prejudice

One of the greatest love stories of all time Pride & Prejudice comes to the screen in a glorious new adaptation starring Keira Knightley. When Elizabeth Bennett (Knightley) meets the handsome Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) she believes he is the last man on earth she could ever marry. But as their lives become intertwined in an unexpected adventure she finds herself captivated by the very person she swore to loathe for all eternity. Based on the beloved masterpiece by Jane Austen it is the classic tale of love and misunderstanding that sparkles with romance wit and emotional force. Critics are calling it "Exhilarating. A joy from start to finish" (Carina Chocano Los Angeles Times).System Requirements:Running Time: 129 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 025192807220 Manufacturer No: 61028072

Literary adaptations just don't get any better than director Joe Wright's 2005 version of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice. The key word here is adaptation, because Wright and gifted screenwriter Deborah Moggach have taken liberties with Austen's classic novel that purists may find objectionable, but in this exquisite film their artistic decisions are entirely justified and exceptionally well executed. It's a more rural England that we see here, circa 1790 (as opposed to Austen's early 19th century), in which Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) is one of several sisters primed for marriage, with an anxious mother (Brenda Blethyn) only too desperate to see her daughters paired off with the finest, richest husbands available. Elizabeth is strong-willed and opinionated, but her head (not to mention her pride and prejudice) lead her heart astray when she meets the wealthy Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen), whose own sense of decency and discretion (not to mention his pride and prejudice) prevent him from expressing his mutual affection. They're clearly meant for each other, and as Knightley's performance lights up the screen (still young enough to be girlishly impertinent, yet wise beyond her 20 years), Austen's timeless romance yields yet another timeless adaptation, easily on par with the beloved BBC miniseries that has been embraced by millions since originally broadcast in 1995. Individual tastes will vary as to which version should be considered "definitive," but with a stellar supporting cast including Judi Dench and Donald Sutherland, this impeccable production achieves its own kind of perfection. --Jeff Shannon

Lust, Caution (Widescreen, NC-17- Rated Edition)

Provocative thrilling and passionate Lust Caution is the daring new film from acclaimed Academy Award®-winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain; Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). Set against the backdrop of a transforming countrya young woman finds herself swept up in a radical plot to assassinate a ruthless and secretive intelligence agent. As she immerses herself in her role as a cosmopolitan seductress she becomes entangled in a dangerous game that will ultimately determine her fate. Erotic breathtaking and suspenseful this award-winning film is being called "exquisitely beautiful" (Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times) and "lushly sensual" (Leah Rozen People).System Requirements:Running Time: 159 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA Rating: NC-17 UPC: 025193330628 Manufacturer No: 62033306

Lust, Caution, Ang Lee's follow up to Brokeback Mountain, for which he won the Academy Award® for Best Director, continues his exploration of people with a passion for each other trapped in a world where their passion could be life-threatening, but in a very different context this time. Set in China during the Japanese occupation of early World War II, the underlying plot concerns the story of young Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei), an actress and member of a small group of student resistors planning to infiltrate the home of Mr. Yee (Tony Leung), a high-ranking collaborationist government official, in order to kill him for his role in the torture and executions of Chinese resistance fighters. Chi ingratiates herself with Yee's wife, the sophisticated and cultured Mrs. Yee (Joan Chen) under the guise of being the wife of a wealthy but unseen tycoon. Flashbacks tell the tale of how Chi came to be involved with the resistors: her acting ability is her most valuable asset, and her assignment is to act the role of Mr. Yee's lover, right down to the sex. The story of their love and the painful intimacy it involves for both of them is told through their sexual relationship, which starts out violently, drifts into S&M, and shifts with their feelings, moving from pain and fear to some sort of desperate connection. This is lust with a capital L; the film's sex scenes have become famous for their frankness and acrobatic portrayals (they took 12 days to film), but amazingly enough, it's never prurient. The nature of their sexual relationship, and not the sex itself, is the point. Chi falls in love with the man she's supposed to kill, but there is no stopping the mission and she knows it. The danger of it all collapsing for them both is ever present, and that's the Caution. The cinematography and direction in Lust, Caution is masterful, and every scene is beautiful. The film does drift into a languid pace, and at times one wonders why Lee would feel the need to draw it out at the expense of delaying the crucial climactic scenes. Still, it's a wonderful piece of storytelling that should only help solidify Ang Lee's place in cinematic history as a master of films that express the difficulty of being essentially human in an inhumane world. --Daniel Vancini

Stills from Lust, Caution (click for larger image)

Reservation Road

Academy Award® nominee Joaquin Phoenix Mark Ruffalo and Academy Award® winners Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino deliver riveting performances in the gripping thriller Reservation Road. A powerful human story of anger revenge and great courage this film takes you on an intense journey that follows two fathers as their families and lives converge after the events of one fateful night. "Suspenseful emotional and completely engrossing" (Pete Hammond Maxim) Reservation Road is "a deft satisfying thriller" (Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly).System Requirements:Running Time: 103 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 025193344823 Manufacturer No: 62033448

After grappling with civil war in Some Mother's Son and Hotel Rwanda, Terry George turns to the tranquility of the American suburbs. Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz, Reservation Road marks a smooth transition into seemingly alien territory. The Northern Irish director first introduces Connecticut professor Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and attorney Dwight (Mark Ruffalo). One night, they end up on the same road; Ethan is returning with his wife (Jennifer Connelly) and kids from a school recital, Dwight and his son are heading home after a baseball game. In an instant, Ethan's boy is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Dwight knows what he's done, but doesn't say a word, as he doesn't want to lose custody of his child. Impatient for justice, Ethan becomes convinced the authorities will never solve the case, so he tries to track down the killer himself. Coincidence builds on coincidence--Dwight's ex-wife (Mira Sorvino) teaches Ethan's daughter (Elle Fanning), and Ethan hires Dwight as his lawyer. Just as the attorney-client relationship forces the two men to work together, the script asks the same of these gifted actors. Fortunately, Phoenix and Ruffalo rise to the occasion. That said, movies about grieving parents can be a tough sell. It remains to be seen whether Reservation Road will benefit from the success of In the Bedroom and Mystic River--or suffer from the onslaught of cinematic grief. At the very least, it allows more light in at the end of its dark journey into the soul. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from Reservation Road (click for larger image).

Charlie Wilson's War (Full Screen)

Political movies about backroom negotiations need not be dry or heavy-handed, as Charlie Wilson's War delightfully proves. Based on the true story of playboy congressman Wilson's efforts to fund Afghanistan's defense against the Soviet invasion of the 1980s, the film is borne along on breezy attitude and a peppery script by West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin. Wilson, played by Tom Hanks (who also produced), is the perfect hero for this kind of tale, because there's nothing perfect or heroic about him: He's a highball-swilling, fanny-pinching gadabout who becomes radicalized on the issue of helping the Afghans against their mighty aggressor. He has help in the form of a right-wing Texas anti-Communist (Julia Roberts) with a genius for raising money, and a sardonic CIA operative (Philip Seymour Hoffman, stealing the show) who lacks all the social skills Wilson has in abundance. Sorkin's syncopated speech is just the ticket for director Mike Nichols, who understands exactly how to keep this kind of political comedy popping (the complicated story comes in at a hair over 90 minutes, amazingly). Some scoundrels are on the right side of the angels, and the movie's Charlie Wilson is one of them. --Robert Horton

Beyond Charlie Wilson's War on DVD

More Tom Hanks

Films by Mike Nichols

More Julia Roberts

Stills from Charlie Wilson's War (Click for larger image)

Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this compelling and witty film from Oscar®-winning director Mike Nichols and Primetime Emmy®-winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing). Based on the outrageous true story, Charlie Wilson's War shows how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one renegade CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.

Jesus Christ Superstar (Special Edition)

Ted Neeley makes for a wimpy looking Jesus in Norman Jewison's screen adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice "rock opera," which was a smash on stage in the early '70s. Jewison (Other People's Money) adds some good exterior settings in the desert, but Lloyd Webber and Rice's dialogue-free story (everything is sung, as in a real opera), with its quasi-profundities about the inner demons of principal figures in the life of Christ, is the real hook. Yvonne Elliman sings the show's best-known song, "I Don't Know How to Love Him." --Tom Keogh

House, M.D. - Season Three

Two-time Golden Globe Winner and Primetime Emmy Award nominee Hugh Laurie is back making "House" calls in all 24 engaging episodes of this hit medical series! Dr. Gregory House (Laurie) still has the most unapologetically prickly bedside manner ever but his genius for solving medical mysteries other practitioners can't has earned him the respect of his team. In this provocative and compelling season House's unpredictable cases - from killer germs to killer secrets - strain his already tenuous relationship with his co-workers and put his own health at risk. Take the doctor's orders: make House: Season Three a habit!System Requirements:Running Time: 219 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 025195008136 Manufacturer No: 61100973

The cantankerous and brilliant Dr. House (Golden Globe winner Hugh Laurie) is back for a third season of the hit drama House, which picks up with his being shot at the end of season two and ends with his staff dramatically refusing to put up with his oddball (and borderline abusive) demands. Each of the 24 episodes, which aired on FOX from 2006 to 2007, is included in this 5-disc set. Fans of the drama will be happy to hear that the formula remains the same: Each show begins with a medical dilemma that's so severe and life-threatening that only Dr. House can diagnose and fix the problem, even if it goes against conventional medical rules. His put-upon boss Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) is back, as are his young charges Foreman (Omar Epps), Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), and Chase (Jesse Spencer). Oncologist Wilson (Tony winner Robert Sean Leonard), who is House's best friend by default, also returns to support (and infuriate) the cranky doctor. Speaking of cranky, House's difficult nature proves to bite him in the rear. In a six-episode arc, the Vicodin-popping House meets his match after he antagonizes the wrong patient, police officer Michael Twitter (David Morse, who played a compassionate physician on St. Elsewhere). Hell hath no fury like a patient poked and prodded like a guinea pig, and Twitter makes it his business to make House's life miserable. But since the show is called House, viewers are safe in assuming that House will not be rotting his life away in a jail cell. After all, the excitement of the show is driven by his unorthodox treatment of patients. As Cuddy succinctly points out, "You just keep on going until you come up with something so insane it's usually right." Look for a slew of excellent guest stars (rocker Dave Matthews, Charles S. Dutton, Piper Perabo, John Larroquette) to help stir things up. The episodes are as compelling as ever, focusing on a morbidly obese patient in denial, an autistic child, and a comatose man that House insists on "waking" up. The bonus materials include Morrison and Edelstein doing scenes in Valley Girl-speak and a featurette on Laurie's all-star charity group called Band from TV (Laurie plays piano). --Jae-Ha Kim

Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary, Queen of Scots

Enter the world of majesty with two emotionally charged epics that expose the secret lives and public battles of England's most influential royalty in the Anne of the Thousand Days / Mary Queen of Scots 2-Movie Collection! Honored with a combined 15 Academy Award nominations these films tell the torrid true-life tales of King Henry VIII Queen Elizabeth I Anne Boleyn and Mary Queen of Scots. Featuring lavish costumes stunning Technicolor photography and critically acclaimed performances these spectacular films bring new life to some of the most powerful figures of all time!System Requirements:Running Time: 146 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG UPC: 025195015721 Manufacturer No: 61101955

As costume dramas go, this is a passionate and feisty one, keyed by the ever-luminous Vanessa Redgrave in the title role and the sharp-edged Glenda Jackson as her jealous cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (who knew a thing or two about palace intrigue). Mary, who was raised in France as a Catholic, claims the Scottish crown from her mother upon her death. But she runs up against religious prejudice, both from the Protestant Elizabeth (who had encountered anti-Protestant bias before she took the throne) and from Mary's Protestant half-brother James Stuart (Patrick McGoohan). Elizabeth, whose own reign is shaky (given a strong Catholic presence in her country), is nervous about her Catholic cousin--and made more so by Mary's seeming inability to appreciate the political niceties of the period. Redgrave received an Oscar nomination for her performance. --Marshall Fine

Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition)

Academy Award® winners Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush join Academy Award® nominee Clive Owen in a gripping historical thriller full of suspense intrigue and adventure!When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army she and her shrewd advisor must act to safeguard to the lives of her people. But when a dashing seafarer Walter Raleigh captures her heart she is forced to make her most tragic sacrifice for the good of her country.Elizabeth: The Golden Age tells the thrilling tale of one woman's crusade to control her love destroy her enemies and secure her position as a beloved icon of the western world.System Requirements:Running Time: 115 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/HISTORICAL EPIC Rating: PG-13 UPC: 025193333223 Manufacturer No: 61033332

In 1998's Elizabeth, Shekhar Kapur added a layer of suds to his history lesson; the director follows the same audience-pleasing recipe in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Since the first film, Blanchett scored an Oscar for her note-perfect rendition of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, and she plays the preternaturally bemused monarch in a similar fashion. By 1585, Elizabeth I is an experienced ruler about to face two of her biggest challenges: betrayal by her Catholic cousin, Mary Stuart (Control's Samantha Morton), and invasion by the Spanish Armada. It isn't so much that the Protestant Elizabeth wishes to rid England of "papists," but that she wants her country to remain free from foreign domination. Closer to her home, she enjoys a sisterly relationship with lady-in-waiting Bess (rising Aussie star Abbie Cornish). That changes when Sir Walter Raleigh (a dashing Clive Owen) hits the scene. In order to continue exploring the New World, he seeks the queen's sponsorship. She is charmed, but Raleigh only has eyes for Bess. As in the previous picture, Elizabeth enjoys better luck at affairs of state than affairs of the heart, but the conclusion is more beatific than before (and Kapur intends a third installment if Blanchett is willing). Elizabeth: The Golden Age is a rush of royal intrigue, bloody torture, fantastic headpieces, and irresistibly ripe dialogue, like "I have a hurricane in me that will strip Spain bare if you dare to try me!" To Kapur, victory for the Virgin Queen was a viable alternative to sex. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond Elizabeth - The Golden Age on DVD

More from Cate Blanchett

British Royalty on DVD

More Drama from Universal Studios

Stills from Elizabeth - The Golden Age (click for larger image)