Under the Sand (DVD)
Francois Ozon`s haunting UNDER THE SAND stars the remarkable British actress Charlotte Rampling, who plays Marie Drillon: a strong, attractive, professional, independent middle-aged woman trying to get her life back on track after the sudden disappearance of her husband. Even for a superwoman like Marie, the shock of the tragedy is psychologically traumatizing. Marie isn`t sure what happened to her husband (Is he dead? Did he run off with someone else?) and she`s in denial about him being gone. At Parisian dinner parties with her supportive, careful friends, Marie still talks about her husband in the present tense. At home, she still imagines that he is with her; she pours two cups of tea in the morning and she reminds him to set the alarm clock before going to sleep at night. At the university where she teaches English, she reads to her students from the melancholy book THE WAVES by Virginia Woolf. Through all of this, Ozon`s camera caresses Marie and encourages her, always casting her in cold, confident light. Using film language such as the repeated double reflection of Marie`s face in the mirror, audiences come to understand Marie`s innermost thoughts and feelings. She is a woman confronting herself (her identity, her age, her body, her sexuality, her emotions, her intellect) with brutal honesty. UNDER THE SAND is beautiful, sad, languorous film that includes some unforgettable images of the rolling ocean waves near Marie`s beach house in Landes, France.NR"
Director: Francois Ozon
ACTORS: Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart, Pierre Vernier
Exorcist 2 - The Heretic (DVD)
Richard Burton stars as exorcist Father Philip Lamont in John Boorman`s sequel to THE EXORCIST. The cleric, who is struggling with his faith, is investigating the death of Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow), who was killed in the course of exorcising the Assyrian demon Pazuzu from Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair). Although now seemingly normal, Regan continues to be monitored at a psychiatric institute by Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher). In an attempt to plumb her memories of exorcism, Dr. Tuskin has hypnotized the girl, to whom she`s linked by a synchronizer and is so overcome by witnessing Regan`s memory of the event that Lamont has to rescue her. After a tour of the Georgetown house where the exorcism took place, Lamont returns to be coupled with Regan by synchronizer. The priest is spirited to the past by Pazuzu to observe Father Merrin exorcising a young boy, Kokumo (Joey Green), in Africa. Learning that the boy developed special powers to fight Pazuzu, who appears as a swarm of locusts, Lamont journeys to Africa, defying his superior, to seek help from the adult Kokumo (James Earl Jones).R"
Director: John Boorman
ACTORS: Richard Burton, Linda Blair, Louise Fletcher, James Earl Jones, Max Von Sydow
Welcome to Death Row (DVD)
The record label Death Row Records has, since its creation in 1993, been synonymous with the American hip-hop climate. Formed by ex-bodyguard Suge Knight, the label has released seminal rap albums from luminaries including Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and the famous hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur. WELCOME TO DEATH ROW is a fascinating, well-researched documentary which explores the history of this intriguing and incredibly significant company.NR"
C`est La Vie, Mon Cheri (DVD)
An offbeat, spirited opera singer falls in love with a luckless saxophonist, only to face another woman, familial conflicts, and a deadly illness. Winner of 6 Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Derek Yee), Best Actress (Anita Yuen), Best Supporting Actor (Paul Chun), Best Supporting Actress (Petrina Fung), and Best Screenplay (Derek Yee).NR"
Director: Derek Yee
Dawn of the Dead (DVD) Theatrical Version Picking up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD left off, and still offering no explanation of why the dead are walking the earth, DAWN plunges headlong into one of the most violent and original horror films ever made. Aft...
Picking up where NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD left off, and still offering no explanation of why the dead are walking the earth, DAWN plunges headlong into one of the most violent and original horror films ever made. After securing an apartment building overcome with flesh-eating zombies, two Philadelphia area SWAT team members, Peter (Ken Foree) and Roger (Scott Reiniger), flee to a television station, where they escape in the stations helicopter with Francine (Gaylen Ross) and Stephen (David Emge), two station employees. Seeking refuge from the zombies and the ensuing hysteria, they land on top of a Pittsburgh area shopping mall, despite the fact that the undead seem to be flocking there. What begins as a stop for supplies becomes a longer stay as the four become embroiled in a futile war within the mall to keep their flesh to themselves and remain alive. The films relentlessly disturbing and innovative gore effects are one reason to see DAWN OF THE DEAD, but those who can stomach the endless barrage of blood and gnarled zombie faces will be rewarded--and possibly surprised--by what the film says about human nature and life within a consumer-based culture. Any aficionado of horror is likely to place the film high on their list of revered cinema.
NR"
Director: George A. Romero
ACTORS: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, Tom Savini
