De Sade (DVD)
A unique 1969 version of the tale of the Marquis de Sade, produced by Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff. Keir Dullea plays the title character in a film characterized by its psychedelic imagery and go-go sensibilities. He is terrorized by his uncle and haunted by his own past before embarking on a pattern of debauchery. Originally released with an X rating, this film has lost its edge over time, although the final orgy sequence is 20 minutes of erotic filmmaking that offers release after the teasting first hour which acts ostensibly as art cinema. John Huston shines in a supporting role.NR"
Director: Cy Endfield|Roger Corman|Gordon Hessler
First Do No Harm (DVD)
In this alternately heartbreaking and uplifting drama inspired by actual events, a small town Midwest family discovers that their youngest son suffers from epilepsy. Left without hope after their insurance runs out, the mother presses on, studies everything she can find about the illness, and, against the wishes of their local doctor, takes her son to Baltimore for treatment with the controversial ketogenic diet.PG-13"
Director: Jim Abrahams
ACTORS: Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, Seth Adkins, Tom Butler, Allison Janney
Blue Velvet (DVD) Special Edition Director David Lynch follows up 1984s DUNE with this electrifyingly original thriller. After returning to his hometown of Lumberton, North Carolina, in order to visit his sick father, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan)...
Director David Lynch follows up 1984s DUNE with this electrifyingly original thriller. After returning to his hometown of Lumberton, North Carolina, in order to visit his sick father, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) discovers a severed human ear in a vacant field. He befriends Sandy Williams (Laura Dern), the daughter of the detective assigned to the case, and uses her information to investigate the situation himself. This leads Jeffrey to Dorothy Valence (Isabella Rossellini), a sexy nightclub singer whose involvement with a raving psychopath named Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) begins to answer some important questions. Unfortunately, it also draws Jeffrey one step closer to Frank, a menacing figure who inhales from a nitrous-oxide tank and preaches the pleasures of drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. The film contains such a unique blend of comedy, drama, and suspense that the line between the three is blurred, making for an unsettling yet highly invigorating viewing experience. Lynch manages to create a world onscreen that is superficially normal but tinted with a weirdness that is all his own. It is this twisting of reality that makes BLUE VELVET an oddly familiar yet completely unique motion picture, featuring an unforgettable performance by Dennis Hopper.
R"
Director: David Lynch
ACTORS: Kyle MacLachlan, Isabella Rossellini, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell
Unbreakable (DVD) Vista Series 2-Disc Set UNBREAKABLE stars Bruce Willis as David Dunne, a Philadelphia security guard and the sole survivor of a disasterous train wreck. Not only is David still alive after the crash--he`s completely unharmed. After thi...
UNBREAKABLE stars Bruce Willis as David Dunne, a Philadelphia security guard and the sole survivor of a disasterous train wreck. Not only is David still alive after the crash--he`s completely unharmed. After this miraculous incident, he`s contacted by the mysterious Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a dealer of comic book art who seems to have the opposite physicality--his bones tend to snap like twigs. As Elijah attempts to help the reluctant hero realize his superhuman potential, David tries to make amends with his estranged wife (Robin Wright Penn) and son (Spencer Treat Clark).
Following the runaway success of THE SIXTH SENSE, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan once again teams up with Willis for another bleak supernatural tale with a surprising finale. Although Willis and Jackson are excellent in their roles, the highlights of the film are Eduardo Serra`s cinematography and Shyamalan`s direction, which are eerily atmospheric and inventive--in certain sequences, for example, entire scenes are shot as reflections on glass. UNBREAKABLE is a superhero film at heart, but Shyamalan`s somber aesthetic transforms it into something far more intriguing.
PG-13"
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
ACTORS: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (DVD)
The not-very-famous comedy team Mitchell and Petrillo doing their shameless Dean/Lewis impersonation meet Lugosi who promptly injects Mitchell with a serum that turns him into a gorilla. A.K.A. The Boys From Brooklyn. NR"
Director: William Beaudine
ACTORS: Bela Lugosi, Duke Mitchell, Ramona The Chimp, Sammy Petrillo
