Born Romantic (DVD)
Scottish writer-director David Kane (THIS YEARS LOVE) directs his sophomore effort, BORN ROMANTIC, a bittersweet comedic ensemble piece about London lonely hearts struggling with the quest for love. Jimmy (Adrian Lester) is a Brixton cab driver, who, along with a pair of nameless co-workers (John Thomson and Ian Hart) offers philosophical musings and observations on love while ferrying a group of confused singles to and from a popular salsa club. Frankie (Craig Ferguson) is a Dean Martin wannabe looking to escape the sloping flat he shares with his angry ex-wife, while Eddie, a dimwitted thief, stumbles on the club when trying to outrun the police. Both men find themselves returning after meeting Eleanor (Olivia Williams), a cold, brutally blunt art historian to whom Frankie is drawn, and Jocelyn (Catherine McCormack), a nerdy, death-obsessed grave tender, who catches Eddie`s fancy. Meanwhile, Fergus (David Morrissey) a failed rock-n-roller, begins a search for his long-lost love, Mo (Jane Horrocks), armed only with a list of her likes : Bloody Marys, roller-skating, and the British Museum; to help track her down. Featuring a uniformly strong cast, Kane`s film is a comedy that truthfully examines urban loneliness and the difficulties of finding and keeping love.R"
Director: David Kane
ACTORS: Olivia Williams, Craig Ferguson, David Morrissey, Jane Horrocks, Jimi Mistry
Black Point (DVD)
Seasoned television cop David Caruso (formerly of TV`s hit series NYPD BLUE) goes back to his crime fighting roots here, playing an ex-cop with a strong sense of right and wrong. When he falls obsessively in love with a beautiful woman, this former policeman finds himself caught up on the side of the law he once tried to fight, entangled in an illegal, murderous game.R"
ACTORS: David Caruso, Susan Haskell, Thomas Ian Griffith
Flossin (DVD)
When a Bel Air family`s fortune diminishes before their eyes, their living options become very minimal. Now they are forced to move a Compton ghetto where reputation is everything. Will they survive the culture shock?NR"
ACTORS: Tyrone Burton, Todd Bridges
The Leather Boys (DVD)
The Wild One had been banned in the U.K. 11 years earlier for fear of being a bad influence on the young, but The Leather Boys presents a similar portrait of English juvenile delinquency, this time with more female participation. Sidney J. Furie ( The Ipcress File ) directs Rita Tushingham ( A Taste of Honey, The Knack ) as Dot, biker companion to Reggie (Colin Campbell). After being forced to keep their romance a secret, they decide to wed. As young delinquents, however, they are unable to keep faithful to one another, and their relationship turns destructive. Uncharacteristically bleak for the time and unwilling to conform to the sexual mores of their era, The Leather Boys is an entertaining look at youth gone wild. (For trivia buffs, scenes from this film comprise the Smiths 1988 music video Girlfriend in a Coma ).NR"
Director: Sidney J. Furie
ACTORS: Rita Tushingham
Never Die Alone (VHS) Spanish Subtitled Longtime Spike Lee cinematographer Ernest Dickerson (JUICE) directs this violent gangster film with oodles of style, using contrasting films stocks, odd camera angles, and multiple narratives. Adapted from the novel b...
Longtime Spike Lee cinematographer Ernest Dickerson (JUICE) directs this violent gangster film with oodles of style, using contrasting films stocks, odd camera angles, and multiple narratives. Adapted from the novel by African American pulp novelist Donald Goines, NEVER DIE ALONE tells the story of King David (DMX) a big time old-school street thug who is murdered shortly after returning from jail on a quest for redemption. After his death, an aspiring novelist (David Arquette) comes into possession of a series of tapes King David recorded, telling the story of his life which is then relayed in a series of brutal flashbacks (involving pimping, drug dealing, and murder). Meanwhile we also learn what led to the actions of Mike (Michael Ealy), King David`s assassin. Fast moving and pulling none of its hard-to-the-gut punches, the film is steeped in rich shadows and contains a pervasive sense of karmic fatalism that links it with the classic film noir of the 1940s and 50s. Performances are generally strong with Ealy a standout and rap star DMX (in his second starring role after the action hit CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE) earning full acting props for his ability to make the larger-than-life character of King David simultaneously savage, sympathetic, and--most importantly--believable. He also contributes to the rich soundtrack which also includes such diverse artists as Curtis Mayfield, Bilal, Lil Scrappy and Vivaldi.
R"
Director: Ernest R. Dickerson
ACTORS: DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy, Reagan Preston-Gomez, Clifton Powell
