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The Shawshank Redemption (Single Disc Edition) CASTLE ROCK HM VIDEO Castle Rock A prominent banker unjustly convicted of murder spends many years in the Shawshank prison He is befriended by a convict who knows the ropes and helps him to cope with the frightning realities of prison life When this popular prison drama was released in 1994 some critics complained that the movie was too long 142 minutes to sustain its story Those complaints miss the point because the passage of time is crucial to this story about patience the squeaky wheels of justice and the growth of a life-long friendship Only when the film reaches its final emotionally satisfying scene do you fully understand why writer-director Frank Darabont adapting a novella by Stephen King allows the story to unfold at its necessary pace and the effect is dramatically rewarding Tim Robbins plays a banker named Andy whos sent to Shawshank Prison on a murder charge but as he gets to know a life-term prisoner named Red Morgan Freeman we realize theres reason to believe the bankers crime was justifiable We also realize that Andys calm quiet exterior hides a great reserve of patience and fortitude and Red comes to admire this mild-mannered man who first struck him as weak and unfit for prison life So it is that The Shawshank Redemption builds considerable impact as a prison drama that defies the conventions of the genre violence brutality riots to illustrate its theme of faith friendship and survival Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture Actor and Screenplay its a remarkable film that signaled the arrival of a promising new filmmaker--a film that many movie lovers count among their all-time favorites --Jeff Shannon Hancock (Unrated Special Edition) [Blu-ray] SMITH,WILL Sony Pictures Academy Award nominee Will Smith Best Actor The Pursuit of Happyness 2006 stars in this action-packed comedy as Hancock a sarcastic hard-living and misunderstood superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public When Hancock grudgingly agrees to an extreme makeover from idealistic publicist Ray Embrey Jason Bateman Juno his life and reputation rise from the ashes and all seems right again--until he meets a woman 2003 Academy Award winner Charlize Theron Best Actress Monster with similar powers to his and the key to his secret past Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out The title character Will Smith can fly has superstrength and is invulnerable but hes also a sloppy alcoholic jerk who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime When he saves the life of a public-relations agent named Ray Jason Bateman Arrested Development Ray decides to improve Hancocks image--starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behavior The idea is that once hes in prison the crime rate will go up and people will start to realize Hancock might be of value after all This is only the first act of Hancock --from there the movie takes several clever turns that shouldnt be revealed Hancock isnt a great movie among other things director Peter Berg overuses close-ups with a hand-held camera to a degree that may cause motion sickness but it is an extremely entertaining one The script which holds together far better than most superhero movies has a propulsive plot good dialogue some compassion for its characters and even an actual idea or two The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics which actually makes the special effects more vivid The three leads Smith Bateman and Charlize Theron as Rays wife Mary deftly balance the movies mixture of comedy action and drama All in all a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously -- Bret Fetzer r span class h1 Stills from Hancock click for larger image / / span r border 0 cellpadding 4 width 100 cellspacing 4 align center valign top mg border 0 src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ sony/ Hancock/ Hancock 1sm jpg r / mg border 0 src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ sony/ Hancock/ Hancock 2sm jpg r / mg border 0 src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ sony/ Hancock/ Hancock 3sm jpg r / / align center valign top mg border 0 src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ sony/ Hancock/ Hancock 4sm jpg r / mg border 0 src http / The Blind Side [Blu-ray] WARNER HOME VIDEO Warner Home Video Michael Oher Quinton Aaron knows little about family Less about football What the homeless teen knows are the streets and projects of Memphis Well-to-do Leigh Anne Tuohy Sandra Bullock knows little about his world Yet when she and Michael meet hes found a home And the Tuohys have found something just as life-changing a beloved new son and brother This real-life story of family and of Michaels growth into a blue-chip football star will have you cheering with its mix of gridiron action and heartwarming emotion Share the remarkable journey of the college All-American and first-round NFL draft pick who was a winner before he ever stepped onto the playing field The Blind Side takes the true story of a young man who went from abandonment to success as a pro-football player and treats it with respect The movie doesnt oversell what is on the face of it already compelling Its almost impossible to describe the plot without sounding painfully inspirational Michael Oher Quinton Aaron Be Kind Rewind a hulking but gentle African-American teen in Tennessee gets taken in by a well-to-do white family the mother Leigh Anne Touhy Sandra Bullock pushes and mothers the boy who eventually wins a football scholarship to the University of Mississippi In the wrong hands this could have been maudlin manipulative and condescending To the credit of writer-director John Lee Hancock adapting Michael Lewiss acclaimed book the result is intelligent genuine and alternately funny and moving Leigh Anne could easily have been grandstanding and virtuous but Bullock doesnt shy away from her vain and domineering side The football scenes will be gripping even to non-sports fans because theyve been so successfully grounded in Michaels emotional life The all-around solid cast includes country music star Tim McGraw pint-sized Jae Head Hancock and Kathy Bates as the tutor who guided Michaels academic success Dont be surprised if you cant keep yourself from watching all the real-life photos of Michael Leigh Anne and the rest of the family that are featured in the credits by the end of the movie you will care about them all --Bret Fetzer The Matrix (10th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] WARNER HOME VIDEO WARNER HOME VIDEO A computer programmer is mankinds last chance for survival against the machines that generated a computer based reality in which we all live Neo Keanu Reeves tries to live up to his calling as the chosen one and lead mankind to freedom from their comatose slave By following up their debut thriller Bound with the 1999 box-office smash The Matrix the codirecting Wachowski brothers--Andy and Larry--annihilated any suggestion of a sophomore jinx crafting one of the most exhilarating sci-fi/ action movies of the 1990s Set in the not too distant future in an insipid characterless city we find a young man named Neo Keanu Reeves A software techie by day and a computer hacker by night he sits alone at home by his monitor waiting for a sign a signal--from what or whom he doesnt know--until one night a mysterious woman named Trinity Carrie-Anne Moss seeks him out and introduces him to that faceless character he has been waiting for Morpheus Laurence Fishburne A messiah of sorts Morpheus presents Neo with the truth about his world by shedding light on the dark secrets that have troubled him for so long Youve felt it your entire life that theres something wrong with the world You dont know what it is but its there like a splinter in your mind driving you mad Ultimately Morpheus illustrates to Neo what the Matrix is--a reality beyond reality that controls all of their lives in a way that Neo can barely comprehend Neo thus embarks on an adventure that is both terrifying and enthralling Pitted against an enemy that transcends human concepts of evil Morpheus and his team must train Neo to believe that he is the chosen champion of their fight With mind-boggling technically innovative special effects and a thought-provoking script that owes a debt of inspiration to the legacy of cyberpunk fiction this is much more than an out-and-out action yarn its a thinking mans journey into the realm of futuristic fantasy a dreamscape full of eye candy that will satisfy sci-fi kung fu action and adventure fans alike Although the film is headlined by Reeves and Fishburne--who both turn in fine performances--much of the fun and excitement should be attributed to Moss who flawlessly mixes vulnerability with immense strength making other contemporary female heroines look timid by comparison And if we were going to cast a vote for most dastardly movie villain of 1999 it would have to go to Hugo Weaving who plays the feckless semipsychotic Agent Smith with panache and edginess As the films box-office profits soared the Wachowski brothers announced that The Matrix is merely the first chapter in a cinematically dazzling franchise--a chapter that is arguably Something the Lord Made HBO HOME VIDEO Hbo Home Video Drama Something the Lord Made tells the emotional true story of two men who defied the rules of their time to launch a medical revolution set against the backdrop of the Jim Crow south Working in 1940s Baltimore on an unprecedented technique for performing heart surgery on blue babies Dr Alfred Blalock Alan Rickman and lab technician Vivien Thomas Mos Def form an impressive team As Blalock and Thomas invent a new field of medicine saving thousands of lives in the process social pressures threaten to undermine their collaboration and tear their friendship apart DVD Features / r Audio Commentary / Audio commentary with director Joseph Sargent writer Peter Silverman executive directors Eric Hetzel and Joseph W Cort Featurette Making History Slide Show r Featurette / r Other / Making History Slide Show r / Something the Lord Made recounts the relationship between Dr Alfred Blalock Alan Rickman and Vivian Thomas Mos Def It begins in 1930s Nashville when imperious cardiac surgeon Blalock hires Thomas an African American carpenter as his janitor When the latter reveals a passion for medicine and facility with surgical instruments Blalock promotes him to lab tech Thomas isnt given a raise works side jobs to make ends meet and is expected to be grateful Along the way he follows Blalock from Vanderbilt to Johns Hopkins where they save thousands of lives through their pioneering work but will Thomas ever get any credit The film provides a satisfying answer to that question Joseph Sargent A Lesson Before Dying directs with subtlety and intelligence while Rickman and Mos Def are in top form often underplaying where most actors would do otherwise Something the Lord Made won the 2004 Emmy for outstanding made-for-TV movie --Kathleen C Fennessy Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Lions Gate Lionsgate Precious Jones an inner-city high school girl is illiterate overweight and pregnant again Na ve and abused Precious responds to a glimmer of hope when a door is opened by an alternative-school teacher She is faced with the choice to follow opportunity and test her own boundaries Prepare for shock revelation and celebration Not every movie can survive the kind of hype--multiple awards at Sundance and other festivals rapturous reviews the promise of Oscars to come--that greeted the release of em Precious Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire / em but this extraordinary piece of work is more than up to the task Whats particularly notable about the films success and acclaim is that in the beginning at least it presents one of the grimmest scenarios imaginable The scene is Harlem New York in 1987 Teenager Clarisse Precious Jones played by newcomer Gabourey Sibide in an absolutely fearless performance is dirt poor morbidly obese semiliterate and pregnant for the second time--both courtesy of her own father the first baby was born with Down syndrome Her home life is several levels below Hell as her bitter vengeful welfare mother Mary MoNique in a role that has generated legitimate Oscar buzz abuses her both physically and otherwise telling Precious she should have aborted her is only the worst of a relentless flood of insults and vitriol Yet somehow the young woman still has hopes and dreams depicted in a series of delightful fantasy sequences She enrolls in an alternative school where a young teacher Paula Patton takes her under her wing and even into her home and visits a social worker an excellent Mariah Carey fellow pop star Lenny Kravitz is also effective as a male nurse who further helps bring Precious out of the darkness Incredibly Preciouss circumstances deteriorate even more before showing the slightest sign of improvement and a climactic confrontation with her mother is one of the more wrenching scenes in recent memory But against all odds director Lee Daniels screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher working from Sapphires novel and especially the wondrously affecting Sibide have managed to make em Precious / em a film that will lift the viewer far higher up that one might ever have thought possible em --Sam Graham / em em / em / r border 0 width 100 tbody align center valign top style width 33 mg src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ lionsgate/ Precious 1 sm jpg / / style width 33 mg src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ lionsgate/ Preicous 2 sm jpg / / style width 33 mg src http / / g-ecx images-amazon com/ images/ G/ 01/ dvd/ lionsgate/ Precious 3 sm jpg / Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series) NEW LINE HOME VIDEO New Line Home Video Classic DVD Exclusive interviews highlights and behind the scenes coverage DVDs main menu allow you to jump directly to the action Presented in full-screen digital video FROM THE PLAYGROUND TO THE PRO LEAGUES MONICA AND QUINCY TAUGHT EACH OTHER HOW TO PLAY THE GAME NOW THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE SPORT WILL FORCE THEM TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN EACH OTHER AND THE GAME BETWEEN FAMILY AND TEAM BETWEEN LOVE AND BASKETBALL Gina Prince-Bythewood a former college athlete puts a spin on this one-on-one tale of Love and Basketball Sanaa Lathan The Best Man is the fiercely driven hot-tempered Monica a tomboy who gives her all for basketball Omar Epps The Mod Squad is Quincy an NBA players son who has pro dreams of his own Next-door neighbors since first grade they start as rivals she flabbergasts the boy by outplaying him in a game of driveway pickup and age into best friends and lovers The romantic complications follow a familiar game plan but the film throws a fascinating spotlight onto the contrast between mens and womens basketball While Quincy plays college ball on huge courts to cheering sold-out crowds we see Monicas sweat tears and sheer physical dedication in front of tiny audiences in small gyms and second-rate auditoriums The story is pointedly set in the late 1980s years before the establishment of the WNBA so Monicas prospects for pro ball lie exclusively in Europe while Quincy steps into the pros at home Its a pleasure to see a character as passionate and fully developed as Monica and Lathan gives a fiery portrayal she had never played ball before the film but youd never tell from her performance Prince-Bythewood favors her struggle over Quincys and opens our eyes to her unique challenges with a sharp savvy contrast Alfre Woodard costars as Monicas harping mom always trying to get her to be more ladylike and Dennis Haysbert is Quincys philandering father Hoops fan Spike Lee produced --Sean Axmaker Love Jones Warner Brothers New Line Home Video Say hello to Darious Lovehall Larenz Tate and Nina Mosley Nia Long two confused lovebirds who discover that you can never underestimate the power of a love jones DVD Features / r Music Video / r Production Notes / r Theatrical Trailer / r / Boy meets girl and boy loses girl--no more and no less than that--in this romantic story of young upwardly mobile African Americans navigating through Chicago club culture to the perilous shores of a relationship The film was surprisingly popular at a couple of key film festivals in 1997 but there isnt anything particularly noteworthy about it aside from its rare emphasis on a love affair between black urbanites Larenz Tate and Nia Long are fine in the leads Tate makes a convincingly self-centered boy-man and director Theodore Witcher aims for his small target and hits it squarely --Tom Keogh Man on Fire WASHINGTON,DENZEL 20th Century Fox Used - Like New Hard-drinking burnt-out ex-CIA operative John Creasy Washington has given up on life--until his friend Rayburn Oscar winner Christopher Walken gets him a job as a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita Ramos Dakota Fanning Bit by bit Creasy begins to reclaim his soul but when Pita is kidnapped Creasy unleashes a firestorm of apocalyptic vengeance against everyone responsible Style trumps substance in Man on Fire a slick brooding reunion of Crimson Tide star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott The ominous crime-ridden setting is Mexico City where a dour alcoholic warrior with a mysterious Black Ops past Washington seeks redemption as the devoted bodyguard of a lovable 9-year-old girl the precociously gifted Dakota Fanning then responds with predictable fury when she is kidnapped Prolific screenwriter Brian Helgeland Mystic River L A Confidential sets a solid emotional foundation for Washingtons tormented character and Scotts stylistic excess compensates for a distended plot thats both repellently violent and viscerally absorbing Among Scotts more distracting techniques is the use of free-roaming comic-bookish subtitles even when theyre unnecessary Adapted from a novel by A J Quinnell and previously filmed as a 1987 vehicle for Scott Glenn Man on Fire is roughly on par with Scotts similar 1990 film Revenge efficiently satisfying Washingtons incendiary bloodlust under a heavy blanket of humid doom-laden atmosphere --Jeff Shannon Bill Cosby, Himself TCFHE 20th Century Fox One of Americas most popular comedians Bill Cosby treats his fans to a funny satirical and heart-warming concert at Torontos Hamilton Place Performing Arts Center His material ranges from marriage and the unending trials of parenthood to the side-splitting antics of the very young and a hilarious encounter with a dentists drill and needle Insightful and witty this highly entertaining film is a rare cinematic treat filled with all the spontaneity and electricity that only a live performance can provide After I Spy and before The Cosby Show Bill Cosby left his own inimitable mark on the arena of stand-up comedy in this live concert showcasing his down-to-earth observations on the rigors and joys of family life Cosby using only a microphone and a chair discusses his take on raising kids and the illogical nature of children and the futility of trying to argue with a child that in the end may be smarter than you Notable highlights include Cosbys ruminations on the meaning of the all-purpose phrase I dont know to kids and Cosby describing the effect raising children has on his wife Camilles mental state and the pitch of her voice Containing the basis for the humor of his long-running situation comedy Bill Cosby Himself is a polished occasionally insightful and frequently hilarious night of comedy from one of the longtime masters of the form --Robert Lane