The Guilty (DVD)
High-profile lawyer Callum Crane (Pullman) sees his life take a turn for the surreal after he has a brief, drunken sexual encounter with his new secretary Sophie (Anwar). Soon, events spiral out of control as she attempts to blackmail him, but he is no slouch himself in the games of deception and double-cross, and he enlists the aid of a seemingly well-meaning teenager named Nathan to murder Sophie. But Nathan may, in fact, be more than he seems, and all will be revealed as a web of danger, deception, lies and intrigue is unraveled.R"
Director: Anthony Waller
Catherine Cookson - The Secret (DVD)
Maggie Hewitt decides to make young Freddie a junior partner in his business, and he jumps at the chance to finally leave behind his sordid past. But old business associates won`t leave the past alone, and soon Maggie and Freddie must contend with their pasts. Based on author Cookson`s only thriller, set in nineteenth century Tyneside.NR"
ACTORS: Elizabeth Carling
Deacons for Defense (VHS)
Years before the Black Panthers, a black militia group known as the Deacons for Defense and Justice rose to protect the civil rights of African Americans by any means necessary. This made-for-cable movie tells the little-known story of the Deacons` creation, with the always impressive Forest Whitaker starring as the group`s founder, Marcus (a composite character of real-life members). A mill worker in a racist Louisiana town, Marcus forms the Deacons as a defense against the mounting brutality of the Ku Klux Klan at the dawn of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. As the Klan`s racist violence increases, and a team of nonviolent activists comes to town to organize, Marcus` armed military group becomes more and more resigned to fighting force with force, setting the stage for a fatal confrontation between the Deacons and the KKK. Director Bill Duke infuses this hidden chapter of American history with an affecting documentary style and strong supporting turns from Jonathan Silverman and the great Ossie Davis.R"
Director: Bill Duke
ACTORS: Forest Whitaker, Jonathan Silverman, Ossie Davis, Serena Lee, Adam Weiner
The Yards (DVD)
Director James Gray`s second film is a dark and atmospheric exploration of the corruption that lies underneath both the surface of a New York City railway manufacturing company and the family that runs it. Mark Wahlberg turns in an impressive and quietly intense performance as Leo, a 24-year-old who has just been released from prison and is in need of a job. Leo gets a job working for his uncle Frank (James Caan) in the railway business, where his best friend, Willie (Joaquin Phoenix), shows him how to bribe politicians by day and sabotage the competition`s work by night. Almost immediately Leo and Willie run into trouble when they go down to the railway yards to damage their competitor`s work. Leo is soon on the run, hunted for a murder that Willie committed.
Gray`s THE YARDS shows the obvious influence of Francis Ford Coppola`s seminal GODFATHER films as he emphasizes that his characters inhabit two worlds, one that follows the shifting morality of their businesses, the other centering around traditional family life. Aided immeasurably by its outstanding cast, stylish visual sense, and a lush, dissonant score, THE YARDS is a gripping and intensely moving film that fully lives up to its own ambitions.R"
Director: James Gray
ACTORS: Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, James Caan, Charlize Theron, Ellen Burstyn
Oh My Goddess! DVD Vol. 2 (DVD)
A five episode OVA, OH MY GODDESS is a cute, frequently hilarious and inventive take on a tried and true animi formula. In it, Keiichi, a lovelorn college freshman, tries to order takeout food one night and instead finds himself talking to a helper goddess service, through which he summons the goddess Belldandy, who offers to grant him one wish. Not believing that Belldandy is really a goddess, Keiichi wishes for Belldandy to stay with him forever. Soon, Keiichi realizes that Belldandy is no hoax and he promptly falls in love. However, he encounters more than a few pitfalls as he attempts to begin a romance with his new goddess, as well as more than a few visits from Belldandy`s rambunctious sisters Urd and Skuld. Contains the final two episodes.NR"
