Mulholland Drive (DVD) @ discount dvd online store
Mulholland Drive (DVD)
David Lynch strikes again with this literal nightmare of a motion picture--a brilliant, scathing, hysterical, and haunting ode to Hollywood. In the film, a mysterious dark-haired woman (Laura Elena Harring) emerges from an accident with a purse full of cash and a head full of amnesia. Meanwhile, Betty Elms (Naomi Watts), a wide-eyed gal from Deep River, Ontario, has just landed in Los Angeles with dreams of movie super stardom. When Betty finds the nameless beauty in her aunt`s apartment, she is deeply intrigued by the situation and offers to help her. This sends the two women on a bizarre search for the truth through the macabre, sun-soaked streets of the City of Angels, where the mob, a young film director (Justin Theroux), a studio executive with a tiny head, and an enigmatic figure named the Cowboy all float into the picture, then out again, until there is no longer any distinction between what is dream and what is reality.
Originally filmed as a pilot for ABC, Lynch`s daring, open-ended vision was coldly rejected by the network. As he was about to abandon the project, French producer Pierre Edelman convinced Lynch to rethink it as a feature. The result is this stunning expression of the subconscious, a testament to the power of personal artistic vision.R"
Director: David Lynch
ACTORS: Laura Elena Harring, Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller, Robert Forster
Maryam (DVD)
Opening with a montage of news footage of the Islamic revolution in Iran and the exile of the Shah, set to The Cars` Good Times Roll, MARYAM depicts the patriotic fervor and anti-Iranian sentiment of America in 1979 through the eyes of an assimilated Iranian American teenage girl (Mariam Parris) who, like most teens, only wants to fit in. Her suburban existence is slightly shaken by the arrival of her cousin, Ali (David Ackert), a fundamentalist Muslim who has come to the U.S. to attend grad school. Ali reveals a terrible family secret that Maryam`s mother (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and father (Shaun Toub) have kept from her. The family`s peaceful middle class life is thrown into turmoil when the hostage crisis in Iran brings the bigotry in their white suburban community to the fore. Parris delivers a strong and sympathetic performance as a shy, pretty teen whose growing political and personal awareness brings on an emotional upheaval. First-time writer-director Ramin Serry has created a deeply personal film about an international crisis. His treatment of the subject is fair-minded and insightful. Working with a limited budget, he captures the specific flavor of 1979 and the universal angst of adolescence with equal aplomb.NR"
Director: Ramin Serry
Institute Benjamenta or: This Dream People Call Human Life (DVD)
Brilliant English animators The Brothers Quay create their first feature-length live-action film in this tale of a dilapidated boarding school for the teaching of servants run by a brother and sister in which the curriculum is the repetition of one single lesson. When Jacob, a young man, enrolls in the school, he becomes entangled in the strange lives of the students and headmasters alike. Called by director Terry Gilliam, The most visually beautiful and hauntingly humorous film I have seen in the last 300 years. NR"
Director: Brothers Quay
ACTORS: Alice Krige, Mark Rylance, Gottfried John
Love the Hard Way (DVD)
Stylish, gritty, and utterly New York City, LOVE THE HARD WAY is a slice-of-life film that pairs two total opposites in a test of wills. Jack (Adrien Brody) is a cocky young bad boy, living in a loft in the Bronx, driving a rundown car, listening to loud hip-hop, and running small scams with a close-knit group of two-bit criminals. He struts the streets with his cell phone in hand, making appointments and always thinking about the next job. A chance meeting leads to a few dates with a fresh young woman, Claire (Charlotte Ayanna), who works afternoons at a movie theater and otherwise studies biology at Columbia University. Claire is more serious than Jack, and instantly makes demands on him. She cramps his style and he does everything in his power to dump her. But she clings on. Finally, in a twisted reversal of roles, everything changes and both of their worlds are thrown into shock and chaos. Meanwhile, the cops are moving in on Jack`s operation, and Claire`s grades are on the line. Peter Sehr writes, directs, and produces this offbeat love story that casts New York City in a splendorous light, featuring popular locations such as the Columbia University campus and Canal Street`s The Screening Room.NR"
Director: Peter Sehr
ACTORS: Adrien Brody, Charlotte Ayanna, Jon Seda, Pam Grier, August Diehl
Eddie and the Cruisers (DVD)
Back in the early 1960s, Eddie and the Cruisers, a (fictitious) rock band, was the hottest act around. However, in 1964 the group broke up, following the apparent suicide of the band`s charismatic lead singer Eddie Wilson, who drove off a bridge. His body was never found. Twenty years later, TV reporter Maggie Foley decides to do an investigative story on the band. At the same time, she searches for the missing tapes of the group`s last recording, which could provide clues to Eddie`s disappearance. The more Maggie researches her story, however, the more she suspects that Eddie Wilson may still be alive...PG"
Director: Martin Davidson
ACTORS: Tom Berenger, Michael Pari, Ellen Barkin, Joe Pantoliano
