Smoke (DVD)
In 1990, novelist Paul Auster was asked to contribute a Christmas story to the New York Times. The resulting piece, Auggie Wrens Christmas Story, forms the basis for his screenplay for SMOKE. Directed by Wayne Wang and set in a Brooklyn cigar store, Auster expanded the story to include four other characters whose lives intertwine with Auggie Wrens. As Auggie, the manager of the store that serves as a neighborhood meeting place, Harvey Keitel gives a restrained, mellow performance. The other characters, Paul (William Hurt), a blocked writer; Rashid (Harold Perrineau Jr.), a troubled youth; Ruby (Stockard Channing), Auggies former lover; and Cyrus (Forest Whitaker), Rashids long-lost father, form a web of relationships over a few summer days. Auster, who had previously adapted his novel THE MUSIC OF CHANCE into a taut script, here exhibits a loose, almost improvisational style as he lets his characters simply talk about their lives. Wang eschews the big, somewhat melodramatic style he used in THE JOY LUCK CLUB for relaxed, natural direction that allows the actors, who are all terrific, to project an everyday realism seldom seen in American movies. The actual Christmas story appears at the end in a beautiful black-and-white montage, accompanied by a bittersweet Tom Waits song.R"
Director: Wayne Wang
D.O.A. (DVD)
A washed-up writer/college professor discovers one day that someone has slipped him a poison, leaving him with only 48 hours to live. He spends his final days searching for his murderer. A remake of the classic film noir.R"
Director: Rocky Morton|Annabel Jankel
ACTORS: Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Daniel Stern, Charlotte Rampling
Agatha Christie`s Poirot - Volume 5 (DVD)
Agatha Christie`s classic Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot returns to solve three more thorny mysteries: The Mystery of the Spanish Chest, The Double Clue and The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor. NR"
ACTORS: David Suchet
Clerks Uncensored (DVD) 2-Disc Set A collection of all six episodes of the Clerks animated series, based on Kevin Smith`s low-budget comedy hit. Follow the adventures of convenience store clerk Dante and his friend, video store clerk Randal, as they get invol...
A collection of all six episodes of the Clerks animated series, based on Kevin Smith`s low-budget comedy hit. Follow the adventures of convenience store clerk Dante and his friend, video store clerk Randal, as they get involved in a series of bizarre and hilarious misadventures. Includes several episodes never seen on television.
NR"
Director: Steve Loter
The Falcon and the Snowman (DVD) Contemporary Classics Based on an actual incident, THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN is a tale of espionage about two upper-middle class kids who, in 1977, became spies for the Soviet Union. Disillusioned with the American government, a drop-...
Based on an actual incident, THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN is a tale of espionage about two upper-middle class kids who, in 1977, became spies for the Soviet Union. Disillusioned with the American government, a drop-out seminary student, Christopher Boyce (Timothy Hutton), begins stealing classified information from his workplace. With the help of his boyhood friend, strung-out cocaine addict Daulton Lee (Sean Penn), Boyce begins selling government secrets to the Soviets, with disastrous results.
R"
Director: John Schlesinger
ACTORS: Sean Penn, Timothy Hutton, Lori Singer, Jennifer Runyon, Pat Hingle
