Dead Silence [Blu-ray]

• UK Import
• Blu-ray
• Region-Free

New unrated version more gruesome and horrifying than anything seen in theaters. Dare to unlock the deadly curse of Mary Shaw... From the writers and director of Saw comes a new thriller of relentless terror! Ever since Mary Shaw was hunted down and killed, the small town of Ravens Fair has been haunted by horrific deaths. When a local's wife is brutally murdered, he returns home to unravel the terrifying legend of Mary Shaw and the reason why when you see her, you should never, ever scream. Starring: Donnie Wahlberg, Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Bob Gunton, Michael Fairman, Judith Roberts, Laura Regan Directed by: James WanYou Scream. You Die. Dare to unlock the deadly curse of Mary Shaw... From the writers and director of Saw comes a new thriller of relentless terror! Ever since Mary Shaw was hunted down and killed, the small town of Rav! ens Fair has been haunted by horrific deaths. When a local's wife is brutally murdered, he returns home to unravel the terrifying legend of Mary Shaw and the reason why when you see her, you should never, ever scream. Starring: Donnie Wahlberg, Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Bob Gunton, Michael Fairman, Judith Roberts, Laura Regan Directed by: James WanBilly in Dead Silence inevitably recalls other possessed dolls such as those in Devil Doll, but he is an entertaining dummy nonetheless. As a variation on evil-doll films like Child's Play or Puppet Master, Dead Silence stars a dummy who isn't a killer himself but a vehicle for a vengeful ghost. Previously owned by Mary Shaw, a ventiloquist who was murdered by local Ravens Hill villagers for kidnapping a boy to turn him into a human puppet, Billy houses Mary Shaw's spirit while she gets revenge on all those who killed her. Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) unravels Billy's mystery after Billy is delivered! to his door to claim Jamie's wife's life, since she is pregna! nt with Jamie's son. Mary Shaw aims to obliterate his entire Ashen clan, since they were partially responsible for her death. Plot, from there, teeters on the ridiculous, as Mary (via Billy) rips peoples tongues out left and right. Jamie's futile attempts to stop Shaw's ghost result in his discovering a gruesome secret about his brutal, abusive father. Writer Leigh Whannell and director James Wan, of Saw, made this almost comical film about 101 dummies, all relatives of Billy's, who are slaves to their sadistic creator. With many direct references to '80s horror films, and a soundtrack theme song almost exactly like Phantasm's, Dead Silence's charm banks on its lack of computer-y special effects rather than its originality. Billy's sly violence is creepy but funny, making for a relatively lighthearted horror film that won't traumatize as much as it makes one chuckle. â€"Trinie DaltonOld ladies, ventriloquist dummies, decrepit small-towns, and dolls are all explo! ited for their full creepy potential in DEAD SILENCE, a relatively innocent but thoroughly scary horror feature from the makers of SAW. After a heavily stylised black-and-white opening credit sequence that shows the story's central ghost, Mary Shaw, constructing her beloved ventriloquist dolls back in her heyday, the film transports viewers to the present. As newlyweds Jamie (Ryan Kwanten) and Lisa Ashen potter lovingly about their apartment far from their hometown of Raven's Fair, it is clear that something bad is about to happen. This dread is only further cemented when a knock on the door leads the lovebirds to discover an unmarked box containing a worn but eerily lifelike ventriloquist's dummy. When Jamie goes out to pick up some takeout, he returns to find his wife's mangled body (minus her tongue) propped up like the dummy seemingly responsible for her death. With detective Jim Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) on his heels, and a very guilty dummy in his passenger seat, grieving Jamie returns to Raven's Fair with the hunch that his wife's death is linked to the town's murdered ventriloquist, Mary Shaw. Once grand, Raven's Fair is now in a state of decay, and many of its inhabitants have died mysterious and brutal deaths in the years since Jamie was last home. Jamie arrives at his wealthy father's home, only to find a young new bride (Amber Valetta) by his side. No one wants to talk about Mary Shaw, let alone whisper her name. If Jamie is going to get to the bottom of the Mary Shaw legend, he'll have to face the town's past on his own. Arriving in the midst of the gore/torture trend (SAW, HOSTEL), DEAD SILENCE comes as a breath of fresh air. It's nice to see that a horror movie can still use gore with discretion and deliver a fright through old-fashioned scare tactics and a premise as simple as a ghost story.Billy in Dead Silence i! nevitably recalls other possessed dolls such as those in Devil Doll, but he is an entertaining dummy nonetheless. As a variation on evil-doll films like Child's Play or Puppet Master, Dead Silence stars a dummy who isn't a killer himself but a vehicle for a vengeful ghost. Previously owned by Mary Shaw, a ventiloquist who was murdered by local Ravens Hill villagers for kidnapping a boy to turn him into a human puppet, Billy houses Mary Shaw's spirit while she gets revenge on all those who killed her. Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwanten) unravels Billy's mystery after Billy is delivered to his door to claim Jamie's wife's life, since she is pregnant with Jamie's son. Mary Shaw aims to obliterate his entire Ashen clan, since they were partially responsible for her death. Plot, from there, teeters on the ridiculous, as Mary (via Billy) rips peoples tongues out left and right. Jamie's futile attempts to stop Shaw's ghost result in his discovering a gruesome secret ab! out his brutal, abusive father. Writer Leigh Whannell and dire! ctor Jam es Wan, of Saw, made this almost comical film about 101 dummies, all relatives of Billy's, who are slaves to their sadistic creator. With many direct references to '80s horror films, and a soundtrack theme song almost exactly like Phantasm's, Dead Silence's charm banks on its lack of computer-y special effects rather than its originality. Billy's sly violence is creepy but funny, making for a relatively lighthearted horror film that won't traumatize as much as it makes one chuckle. â€"Trinie Dalton

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The Astronaut Farmer

• All systems are "Go" for Charles Farmer. He's faced bank foreclosure, neighborhood naysayers and a government alarmed by his huge purchase of high-grade fuel, but now he's ready to blast into space inside the homemade rocket he built in his barn. Just be home in time for dinner, Charlie.Billy Bob Thornton portrays Charlie in this charmer about chasing dreams.and about what it means to be a family

All systems are "Go" for Charles Farmer. He's faced bank foreclosure, neighborhood naysayers and a government alarmed by his huge purchase of high-grade fuel, but now he's ready to blast into space inside the homemade rocket he built in his barn. Just be home in time for dinner, Charlie. Billy Bob Thornton portrays Charlie in this charmer about chasing dreams...and about what it means to be a family. 10,000 pounds of rocket fuel alone can't lift Charlie into the heavens. He needs a launch/recovery cr! ew, and he has one of the best: his wife (Virginia Madsen) and children, dreamers all. They have liftoff. Our spirits have uplift. Gravity cannot hold down our dreams. The Astronaut Farmer is that kind of movie.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Outtakes

If you can give The Astronaut Farmer the big, bounding leap of faith it requires, you'll probably enjoy this good-natured film about the importance of holding on to your dreams. The title character (and the dreamer in question) is Charlie Farmer (Billy Bob Thornton), a Texas ranch owner and former aeronautics engineer who's got a homemade rocket in his barn and a dream to blast into space. Even though Charlie's deeply in debt and threatened with foreclosure, his wife (Virginia Madsen) and kids are deeply supportive of Charlie's Earth-orbit mission, even when he attracts the glaring attention of a seasoned Air Force colonel (played by Bruce Willis, in an uncredited role), the FAA, the FBI, a! nd the national media. "If we don't have our dreams, we have n! othing," says Charlie at a particularly desperate impasse, and this loopy, offbeat, and unabashedly sentimental drama embraces that message with disarming sincerity.

Suspension of disbelief is a challenge when the movie glosses over so many of its logistical details (like, where does one buy an old NASA space capsule?), and in trying for a kind of Capra-esque, eccentrically Western spin on the American dream, the Polish twins--director Michael and cowriter/actor Mark (making their mainstream debut after such indie hits as Twin Falls, Idaho and Northfork)--are only marginally successful in making Charlie's ambition genuinely believable. The film works much better as a kind of post space-age fable for families, and it's just involving enough to make its climax emotionally rewarding, mostly because Thornton, Madsen, and their costars (including Bruce Dern and Tim Blake Nelson) handle the delicate material with the earnestness it needs to be marginally convincing. Elton! John's "Rocket Man" is predictably heard over the closing credits (accordingly, Charlie's launch-time is "zero hours, nine a.m."), and at a time when several adventurous entrepreneurs (including Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos) are gradually developing a civilian space-flight industry, The Astronaut Farmer is an admirable yet forgivably flawed reminder that we should never stop reaching for the stars. --Jeff Shannon

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Dodgeball - A True Underdog Story (Full Screen Edition)

• brings a lot of laughs

You'll dodge, duck, dip, dive. . . and laugh out loud watching Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller settle their differences in a winner-take-all dodgeball competition. Under the painful tutelage of legendary ADAA champ, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn), Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) and his Average Joes take on the Purple Cobras, led by egomaniacal fitness guru, White Goodman (Stiller). It's an over-the-top underdog tale filled with hilarious sight gags and balls-out fun!How's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend competition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber aced Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction--along with a sublime cast of screen comedians--proved to be just what moviegoers w! ere ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp in which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughn) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days. The solution: A dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughn and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughn, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. --Jeff ShannonYou'l! l dodge, duck, dip, dive. . . and laugh out loud watching Vinc! e Vaughn and Ben Stiller settle their differences in a winner-take-all dodgeball competition. Under the painful tutelage of legendary ADAA champ, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn), Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) and his Average Joes take on the Purple Cobras, led by egomaniacal fitness guru, White Goodman (Stiller). It's an over-the-top underdog tale filled with hilarious sight gags and balls-out fun!How's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend competition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber aced Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction--along with a sublime cast of screen comedians--proved to be just what moviegoers were ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp in which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughan) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in ! 30 days. The solution: A dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughan and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughan, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. --Jeff ShannonStudio: Tcfhe Release Date: 12/09/2008 Run time: 92 minutes Rating: Pg13How's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend c! ompetition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Th! urber ac ed Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction--along with a sublime cast of screen comedians--proved to be just what moviegoers were ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp in which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughan) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days. The solution: A dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughan and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughan, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Han! k Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. --Jeff ShannonYou'll dodge, duck, dip, dive. . . and laugh out loud watching Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller settle their differences in a winner-take-all dodgeball competition. Under the painful tutelage of legendary ADAA champ, Patches O'Houlihan (Rip Torn), Peter LaFleHow's this for impressive trivia: Dodgeball faced off against The Terminal in opening-weekend competition, and 29-year-old writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber aced Steven Spielberg by a score of $30 to $18.7 in box-office millions. That's no mean feat for a newcomer, but Thurber's lowbrow script and rapid-fire direction--along with a sublime cast of screen comedians--proved to be just what moviegoers were ravenous for: a consistently hilarious, patently formulaic romp i! n which the underdog owner of Average Joe's Gym (Vince Vaughan! ) faces foreclosure unless he can raise $50,000 in 30 days. The solution: A dodgeball tournament offering $50K to the winners, in which Vaughan and his nerdy clientele team up against the preening, abhorrently narcissistic owner (Ben Stiller) of Globo Gym, who's threatening a buy-out. That's it for story; any 5-year-old could follow it with brainpower to spare. But Thurber, Vaughan, Stiller, and their well-cast costars (including Stiller's off-screen wife, Christine Taylor) keep the big laughs coming for 96 nonsensical minutes. With spot-on cameos by champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong, David Hasselhoff, Hank Azaria, Chuck Norris, and William Shatner, and a crudely amusing coda for those who watch past the credits, Dodgeball is no masterpiece, but you can bet Spielberg was unexpectedly humbled by its popular appeal. --Jeff Shannon

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Bring It On: Fight to the Finish

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

BRING IT ON - DVD MovieSunny, happy Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) is the new leader of the Toros, the cheerleading squad of Rancho Carne, an affluent San Diego high school that has lousy football players but one hell of a cheerleading team. National champions, they're the ones who bring in the bodies to the football games with their award-winning moves and sassy grace, and they're poised to take their sixth national cheer title. Torrance's new reign as cheer queen, though, is cut short when she discovers that her snotty, duplicitous forerunner was regularly stealing routines from the East Compton Clovers, the hip-hop influenced cheerleaders of a poor inner city school, and passing them off as the original work of the Toros. Scrambling to come up with a new routine for the Toros--and do the righ! t thing by giving the Clovers their due--Torrance butts heads with the proud and understandably wary Isis (Gabrielle Union), the leader of the Clovers, who wants nothing to do with a rich blond white girl, but does want to get her squad to the championships. Problem is, only one team can take home the national title. Who's it gonna be?

An unexpected box-office hit in the late summer of 2000, Bring It On is a smart, snappy teen comedy that bristles with good cheer (literally) and lively, down-to-earth characters. The story may be fairly predictable (who's going to win the big championship?), but director Peyton Reed and screenwriter Jessica Bendinger have fleshed out their characters with formidable strength and provided them with sharp dialogue. Dunst is a radiant comedian, projecting warmth, determination, sincerity, and a sublime airheadedness, and Union is an impressive dancer and counterpart to Dunst, matching her admirably despite her limited onscreen time.! An excellent young supporting cast rounds out the film, most ! notably Eliza Dushku (Faith of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Jesse Bradford (Steven Soderbergh's King of the Hill) as siblings new to Rancho Carne, who become Torrance's best friend and potential new boyfriend, respectively. All in all, a pleasantly surprising and intelligent teen movie. Don't miss the opening sequence, a hilarious send-up of all those high school cheerleading routines you had to sit through at boring pep rallies. --Mark EnglehartBring on the spirit, spunk and sass with everyone's favorite cheerleading series in the Bring It On
Collection! All four high-energy, fun Bring It On movies are here: Bring It On, starring Kirsten Dunst; the hilarious sequel Bring It On Again; the elecGet ready for more fun, attitude and excitement in this all-new comedy! When popular Britney Allen (Hayden Panettiere) moves from posh Pacific Vista to working-class Crenshaw Heights, her life goes from cheer-topia to cheer-tastrophe. Britney finds herself at odds with ! her new classmates, especially head cheerleader Camille (Solange Knowles-Smith). But when she wins a spot on the cheer squad and faces her former team in a cross-town cheer-off to star in music sensation Rihanna's upcoming video, only one team can "bring it" and earn a place in cheer history! Starring: Solange Knowles, Hayden Panettiere, Gus Carr, Marcy Rylan, Cindy Chiu, Giovonnie Samuels, Francia Raisa, Danielle Savre, Jessica Nicole Fife, Jake McDorman, Eric Bruskotter, Kiersten Warren, Rihanna Directed by: Steve RashBring It On: All or Nothing is the idealized version of what happens when a rich girl from an elite California school is forced to transfer to an urban setting for her senior year of high school. Former head cheerleader Britney (Hayden Panettiere, Ice Princess) finds herself with a quandary--does she join the new squad, or does she stick to the promise she made to her old teammates that she'll never cheer again? Given that this is the second s! equel to the Bring It On franchise, which started with ! Kirsten Dunst's 2000 flick, and that there's really no reason for this movie to exist without a match-up between Britney's old and new squads, of course she must bring her pompoms out of retirement. In between routines, she manages to land the hottest male cheerleader, Jesse (Gus Carr), and befriend Camille (Beyonce's little sis Solange Knowles-Smith), the feisty head of the squad. She even excuses Britney from practice when the latter lies and says her family pet has died: "Who am I to stand between a white girl and her dead dog?" Beyond the inclusion of a few broad stereotypes dealt for laughs, this straight-to-DVD movie doesn't dwell on any real racial issues that a spoiled white girl actually might face at a predominantly ethnic school. Unlike Dunst's film, which was mindless but well-crafted, this sequel asks nothing of its actors but to look good and leap high. Bring It On: All or Nothing has already been brought. Twice. --Jae-Ha KimChristina Milian stars as sas! sy cheer captain Lina Cruz, whose world is turned upside-down when her family moves from the urban streets of East Los Angeles to the sunny beach town of Malibu. At her new school, Lina clashes with Avery, the ultra-competitive all-star cheer captain, while also falling for Avery’s super-cute brother, Evan. Lina’s always been able to rise to a challenge, but can she create a new all-star squad, beat Avery at the Spirit Championships, and still keep her romance with Evan? Hot music, fierce competition and high-flyin’ fun continue in this all-new movie!Like its predecessors in the Bring It On franchise, Bring It On: Fight to the Finish focuses on a perky cheerleader who's taken out of her comfort zone and ends up excelling in her new environment. This time around, the focus is on Lina Cruz (singer Christina Milian), whose family moves from East Los Angeles to Malibu. The streetwise teen makes an instant frenemy of alpha female Avery (Rachele Brooke Smi! th)--also a cheerleader--at her new school. Never mind that th! e two gi rls don't get along. There's more drama when Lina and Avery's brother Evan (Cody Longo) fall for each other. Though Lina describes her new classmates as living "lifestyles of the rich and annoying" and Avery refers to Lina and her Latina friends as "illegal cheermigrants," the two really aren't that different. Both live for cheerleading and are super driven when it comes to their sport of choice. The viewer gets the impression that if both girls shared the same ethnicity (or at least a similar bank account), they'd be besties at school. The Bring It On franchise was spawned by Kirsten Dunst's hit film from 2000, which clearly had better writing and acting, as well as a larger budget to work with. While films like Bring It On: Fight to the Finish aren't going to win any awards, they do have an appeal to teenage girls and/or cheerleading fans. The plot really doesn't matter so much as the cheerleading choreography and the driving music behind it. And there's ! plenty of both in this production. --Jae-Ha Kim

Stills from Bring it On: Fight to the Finish (Click for larger image)

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Adventures of Joe Dirt, The (2001) - 11 x 17 - Style B

• Wonderful poster to add to any collection
• Arrives rolled in a protective mailer tube
• Brand new poster ready to frame

Classic rock means different things to different people. But when it comes to the 1970s, kitsch classics reign supreme. Joe Dirt is a comedy that combines the '70s stoner vibe with the air-guitar dreamers of the '80s. There are stacks of both overplayed and overlooked hard rock that could accompany this trip down memory lane. At only 12 tracks, this brief introduction is for those who have never experienced classic rock radio. Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," and the Doobie Brothers' "China Grove" are obvious staples, while Argent's 1972 hit "Hold Your Head Up" and April Wine's 1978 track "Roller" border on the obscure. George Thorogood blows out his amp with a pulverizing version of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love." ! But the inclusion of Cheap Trick and Eddie Money tips the balance toward pop rock that most self-respecting mullet-heads would never order up on the local jukebox. --Rob O'Connor No Description Available.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 25-JUL-2006
Media Type: DVDAnother of those cut-and-paste comedies from Adam Sandler's production company starring one of Sandler's erstwhile Saturday Night Live colleagues, The Adventures of Joe Dirt finds the magnificently caustic David Spade emasculated by a sentimental script and shapeless, haphazard cutting. Spade plays the title character, a white-trash orphan in search of the parents who abandoned him at the Grand Canyon. The humor is supposed to come from Joe's misadventures, his redneck gullibility, and his encounters with such figures as a serial killer, a wacked-out janitor (Christopher Walken), and a lovable gal (Jamie Pressly) who may, unfortuna! tely, turn out to be his sister. But the squishier requirement! s of the story, requiring the audience to feel deeply for the pain of Spade's caricature, are an irritant and force Spade to veer from the nastier stuff he does so well. With Kid Rock, Dennis Miller. --Tom Keogh Another of those cut-and-paste comedies from Adam Sandler's production company starring one of Sandler's erstwhile "Saturday Night Live" colleagues, "The Adventures of Joe Dirt" finds the magnificently caustic David Spade emasculated by a sentimental script and shapeless, haphazard cutting. Spade plays the title character, a white-trash orphan in search of the parents who abandoned him at the Grand Canyon. The humor is supposed to come from Joe's misadventures, his redneck gullibility, and his encounters with such figures as a serial killer, a wacked-out janitor (Christopher Walken), and a lovable gal (Jamie Pressly) who may, unfortunately, turn out to be his sister. But the squishier requirements of the story, requiring the audience to feel deeply for the pain of Spa! de's caricature, are an irritant and force Spade to veer from the nastier stuff he does so well. With Kid Rock, Dennis Miller. "--Tom Keogh"Another of those cut-and-paste comedies from Adam Sandler's production company starring one of Sandler's erstwhile Saturday Night Live colleagues, The Adventures of Joe Dirt finds the magnificently caustic David Spade emasculated by a sentimental script and shapeless, haphazard cutting. Spade plays the title character, a white-trash orphan in search of the parents who abandoned him at the Grand Canyon. The humor is supposed to come from Joe's misadventures, his redneck gullibility, and his encounters with such figures as a serial killer, a wacked-out janitor (Christopher Walken), and a lovable gal (Jamie Pressly) who may, unfortunately, turn out to be his sister. But the squishier requirements of the story, requiring the audience to feel deeply for the pain of Spade's caricature, are an irritant and force Spade to veer fro! m the nastier stuff he does so well. With Kid Rock, Dennis Mil! ler. --Tom Keogh Another of those cut-and-paste comedies from Adam Sandler's production company starring one of Sandler's erstwhile Saturday Night Live colleagues, The Adventures of Joe Dirt finds the magnificently caustic David Spade emasculated by a sentimental script and shapeless, haphazard cutting. Spade plays the title character, a white-trash orphan in search of the parents who abandoned him at the Grand Canyon. The humor is supposed to come from Joe's misadventures, his redneck gullibility, and his encounters with such figures as a serial killer, a wacked-out janitor (Christopher Walken), and a lovable gal (Jamie Pressly) who may, unfortunately, turn out to be his sister. But the squishier requirements of the story, requiring the audience to feel deeply for the pain of Spade's caricature, are an irritant and force Spade to veer from the nastier stuff he does so well. With Kid Rock, Dennis Miller. --Tom Keogh 11" x 17" high quality reproduction pos! ter by Pop Culture Graphics. Printed in the USA. Perfect for framing.

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The Motel

• Puberty sucks, and nobody knows it better than 13-year-old Ernest Chin (Jeffrey Chyau). As he watches guests come and go, Ernest finds himself forever stuck at his family's hourly-rate motel, where he divides his time between taking orders from his overbearing mom, cleaning up after whatever miscreants the motel may attract and longing for the girl of his dreams, 15-year-old Christine (Samanth

A group of over-achieving Asian-American high school seniors engage in some extra curricular crime.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 1-MAR-2004
Media Type: DVDJustin Lin's well-received 2002 independent feature, Better Luck Tomorrow, is a strangely appealing story of the mysterious, somehow inexorable drift of an ultra-conscientious, Southern California high school senior, Ben (Parry Shen), toward a fateful interlude with crime. Though high! ly focused on impressing colleges with his thoughtful balance of excellent grades, energized volunteer work (as a translator), and varsity sports (warming the bench during basketball games), something about Ben appears to be unraveling. Perhaps it is an attraction to his out-of-reach lab partner (Karin Anna Cheung), or his growing attachment to hard cash, or simply the malaise that coats his every act of self-denial. In any case, he and a brood of fellow Asian American overachievers metamorphose into the local go-to gang of black-market thievery--all while keeping up their classes. Lin brings a fresh angle to the exhausted youth-crime genre, and clarifies, with no small wisdom, the distinction between building a future and living one's destiny. --Tom KeoghStudio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 07/14/2009 Rating: RJustin Lin's well-received 2002 independent feature, Better Luck Tomorrow, is a strangely appealing story of the mysterious, somehow inexorable! drift of an ultra-conscientious, Southern California high sch! ool seni or, Ben (Parry Shen), toward a fateful interlude with crime. Though highly focused on impressing colleges with his thoughtful balance of excellent grades, energized volunteer work (as a translator), and varsity sports (warming the bench during basketball games), something about Ben appears to be unraveling. Perhaps it is an attraction to his out-of-reach lab partner (Karin Anna Cheung), or his growing attachment to hard cash, or simply the malaise that coats his every act of self-denial. In any case, he and a brood of fellow Asian American overachievers metamorphose into the local go-to gang of black-market thievery--all while keeping up their classes. Lin brings a fresh angle to the exhausted youth-crime genre, and clarifies, with no small wisdom, the distinction between building a future and living one's destiny. --Tom KeoghJustin Lin's well-received 2002 independent feature, Better Luck Tomorrow, is a strangely appealing story of the mysterious, somehow inex! orable drift of an ultra-conscientious, Southern California high school senior, Ben (Parry Shen), toward a fateful interlude with crime. Though highly focused on impressing colleges with his thoughtful balance of excellent grades, energized volunteer work (as a translator), and varsity sports (warming the bench during basketball games), something about Ben appears to be unraveling. Perhaps it is an attraction to his out-of-reach lab partner (Karin Anna Cheung), or his growing attachment to hard cash, or simply the malaise that coats his every act of self-denial. In any case, he and a brood of fellow Asian American overachievers metamorphose into the local go-to gang of black-market thievery--all while keeping up their classes. Lin brings a fresh angle to the exhausted youth-crime genre, and clarifies, with no small wisdom, the distinction between building a future and living one's destiny. --Tom KeoghAn award-winning English language film for the whole family, "the D! ebut" revolves around Ben Mercado (Dante Basco), a talented hi! gh schoo l senior who has rejected his Filipino heritage. The long-simmering feud between Ben and his immigrant father Roland (Tirso Cruz III) threatens to boil over and ruin the 18th birthday party of Ben's sister Rose (Bernadette Balagtas). But to Ben's surprise, his sister's celebration challenges his sense of misplaced identity, and the way he regards his father and grandfather (Filipino film legend Eddie Garcia). In one night, Ben faces the true nature of his relationships with his family, his friends, and himself.

Filipino-American high school student Ben (Dante Mercado) works in a comic book shop to earn money to pay his way into Cal Arts. His father, a postman, is determined that his son--who has won a pre-med scholarship to UCLA--will become a doctor. The eighteenth birthday party of Ben's sister, Rose, sets off a comedic and touching series of events and family struggles that will in turn determine young Ben's future. This fresh independent production from Gene Cajayon ! presents a lighthearted and warm coming-of-age tale filtered through the eyes of an American subculture rarely seen on film.Puberty sucks, and nobody knows it better than 13-year-old Ernest Chin (Jeffrey Chyau). As he watches guests come and go, Ernest finds himself forever stuck at his family's hourly-rate motel, where he divides his time between taking orders from his overbearing mom, cleaning up after whatever miscreants the motel may attract and longing for the girl of his dreams, 15-year-old Christine (Samantha Futerman, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA). When charismatic Sam Kim (Sung Kang, PEARL HARBOR, BETTER LUCK TOMORROW, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT) checks into the motel, fatherless Ernest is taken under his wing and hustled toward manhood, for better or worse. THE MOTEL is an honest portrait of adolescence as heartfelt and authentic as it is hilarious.Winner of the Humanitas Prize at Sundance 2005, The Motel is a charming feature debut by writer/director Mic! hael Kang. Between Kang and producer Gina Kwon (Me and You ! and Ever yone We Know), this chronicle of adolescent sexual exploration shares the clean, contemporary look of Miranda July's film, and also Dayton/Faris's recent release, Little Miss Sunshine. Interestingly, all three examinations of humanity's awkwardness star nerdy, charismatic children. Punctuated by spare dialogue, The Motel follows Ernest (Jeffrey Chyau), a thirteen year-old Chinese American boy whose family runs a roach motel primarily visited by prostitutes and druggies. Ernest's mother and grandfather strictly enforce their depressing traditional family work ethic, squashing Ernest's hopes of winning a writing contest that he has secretly entered, for example. As Ernest cleans scummy rooms, he discovers porno magazines and other evidence of raunchy sexual escapades. Intrigued but shy about his sexual prospects, Ernest casually enlists his semi-girlfriend, Christine (Samantha Futerman) to explore magazine images with him. Funny, touching scenes of Ernest wit! h his little sister's stuffed toy bunny, to name one, remind the viewer of that curious age when sex is mysterious but tangible. When renegade adult, Sam Kim (Sung Kang), moves into the motel to drink and cavort with women, Ernest befriends him and takes tips. Eventually Ernest realizes that he's a gentleman as he begins to understand the subtleties of love. In this film marked by sincerity, one can't help but think of the protagonist's name metaphorically. --Trinie Dalton

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Buffalo Soldiers

• This Turner Network Televison movie tells the true story of the black calvary corps known as the 'Buffalo Soldiers.' These troops patrolled America's wild west after the civil war. In addition to keeping the peace, they fought the racism of their commanders and other white corps soldiers.Running Time: 94 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: G Age: 053939747027 UPC:

This Turner Network Televison movie tells the true story of the black calvary corps known as the 'Buffalo Soldiers.' These troops patrolled America's wild west after the civil war. In addition to keeping the peace, they fought the racism of their commanders and other white corps soldiers.

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