To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan...... more

To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan Gosling, miles away from Half Nelson) a happy ending, the road is far from smooth. This rumpled Midwesterner couldn't be more miserable. His brother, Gus (Paul Schneider, All the Real Girls), and sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing), fall over themselves to cheer him up, but Lars cannot be moved; hes been like that since childhood. Then a porn-addicted co-worker hips him to the lifelike Real Doll. The next thing everyone knows, Lars has a new girlfriend named Bianca. She's from Brazil, she's shy, and she uses a wheelchair. She's also made of silicon. (Because Lars is a devout Christian, hanky-panky is out of the question.) Since he's finally emerging from his shell, his doctor, Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), advises Gus and Karin to play along with the "delusion." Soon the whole town, including Margo (Kelli Garner), who harbors a not-so-secret crush on her officemate, gets in on the action, forcing Lars to rejoin the human race or crawl deeper into psychosis. Written by Six Feet Under's Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl is built around such a preposterous premise, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, the actors play it straight. Gosling does his best to make Lars sympathetic, but Schneider and Mortimer, fully convincing in their concern, are the true heart and soul of this odd little film. --Kathleen C. Fennessy, Amazon.com

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Any movie that heralds the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to movie star action hero-dom after his foray into politics was going to bear the dubious honor of...... more

Any movie that heralds the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to movie star action hero-dom after his foray into politics was going to bear the dubious honor of being auspicious. For better or worse, The Last Stand takes that honor right down the middle of the road, being neither overly ambitious nor groaningly silly in letting this 66-year-old man mug, grunt, punch, and shoot his way back into our hearts and minds as the Ah-nold screen character for which we had such affection.Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, the sheriff of a tiny Arizona border burg who likes the peace and calm of his job and his townsfolk friends. When the FBI informs him that an escaped Mexican drug kingpin is barreling straight toward all that calm in a supercharged custom car, he sighs and saddles up, locking and loading with his wacky friends and deputies by his side for the inevitable stand. In fact, one might well call it a last stand. There are very few surprises in how it's all going to play out, right down to the bone-crunching mano a mano fistfight between Ray and the kingpin (Eduardo Noriega) on a makeshift bridge over the border. Ray has a history as a savvy big city cop, and he smells and foresees all the trouble coming his way, even though no one expects him to do much in the way of making any kind of last stand. That includes Forest Whitaker as the flummoxed FBI agent whose screwup sets the stage for the bloody showdown. Others who are surprised at Ray's chutzpah and ingenuity are Peter Stormare (sporting cowboy boots and a weirdly drawling accent) as the kingpin's sadistic lieutenant, and Luis Guzmán as Ray's bumbling sidekick, who unexpectedly pulls out all his stops at just the right moment. Also on hand is Johnny Knoxville as another town weirdo who happens to own an arsenal of antiquated weaponry that's drafted into action for the fiery climax. Like most of the cast--Schwarzenegger included--these guys are pretty much playing it for laughs even though the body count is exceedingly high among the gangs of henchmen and lawmen alike. The violence is also exceptionally gruesome, whether caused by vehicles, firearms, knives, explosions, or fisticuffs, with loving, lingering shots of spouting blood and severed body parts that were clearly designed to prompt cheerfully vocal responses from the audience. This is the first American film directed by Kim Jee-woon, one of the top names from a booming contemporary South Korean cinema machine, and he has brought an outsider's sensibility and stylistic flourish along with the gory details. People who care about such things might have hoped for a little more auspiciousness from him than Ah-nold's comeback (if it turns out to be that). Otherwise The Last Stand is pretty much exactly what most people would expect from such a thing, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. --Ted Fry

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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL...... more

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Actor James Franco wrote and directed this independent drama about two siblings who are by turns raised up and brought down by the bonds of family. Max (James Franco) boasts a genius level IQ, and his brother Adam (Matt Bell) is nearly as bright, but while Adam has the common sense and ambition to make something of his gifts, Max's greatest talent seems to be getting into scrapes and disappointing those around him. Adam has a successful practice as a doctor in New York City, but when Max foolishly tries to swindle some well-connected drug dealers, he has to leave the Big Apple, and somehow persuades his brother to take him to California. On the West Coast, Adam is able to use his medical background to get a lucrative new job, and Max fast talks his way onto the staff of a computer firm. However, Max's inability to stay on the straight and narrow and face his responsibilities quickly resurfaces, and when he starts using crystal meth, he loses his job. Adam also experiences a stretch of bad luck and loses his job, and as a sense of desperation takes hold, he starts joining Max in his drug fueled excesses, leading both down a road to destruction. 'Good Time Max' received its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ...Good Time Max

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The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting...... more

The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones--several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humour. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. --Bret Fetzer

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Any movie that heralds the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to movie star action hero-dom after his foray into politics was going to bear the dubious honor of...... more

Any movie that heralds the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to movie star action hero-dom after his foray into politics was going to bear the dubious honor of being auspicious. For better or worse, The Last Stand takes that honor right down the middle of the road, being neither overly ambitious nor groaningly silly in letting this 66-year-old man mug, grunt, punch, and shoot his way back into our hearts and minds as the Ah-nold screen character for which we had such affection.Schwarzenegger plays Ray Owens, the sheriff of a tiny Arizona border burg who likes the peace and calm of his job and his townsfolk friends. When the FBI informs him that an escaped Mexican drug kingpin is barreling straight toward all that calm in a supercharged custom car, he sighs and saddles up, locking and loading with his wacky friends and deputies by his side for the inevitable stand. In fact, one might well call it a last stand. There are very few surprises in how it's all going to play out, right down to the bone-crunching mano a mano fistfight between Ray and the kingpin (Eduardo Noriega) on a makeshift bridge over the border. Ray has a history as a savvy big city cop, and he smells and foresees all the trouble coming his way, even though no one expects him to do much in the way of making any kind of last stand. That includes Forest Whitaker as the flummoxed FBI agent whose screwup sets the stage for the bloody showdown. Others who are surprised at Ray's chutzpah and ingenuity are Peter Stormare (sporting cowboy boots and a weirdly drawling accent) as the kingpin's sadistic lieutenant, and Luis Guzmán as Ray's bumbling sidekick, who unexpectedly pulls out all his stops at just the right moment. Also on hand is Johnny Knoxville as another town weirdo who happens to own an arsenal of antiquated weaponry that's drafted into action for the fiery climax. Like most of the cast--Schwarzenegger included--these guys are pretty much playing it for laughs even though the body count is exceedingly high among the gangs of henchmen and lawmen alike. The violence is also exceptionally gruesome, whether caused by vehicles, firearms, knives, explosions, or fisticuffs, with loving, lingering shots of spouting blood and severed body parts that were clearly designed to prompt cheerfully vocal responses from the audience. This is the first American film directed by Kim Jee-woon, one of the top names from a booming contemporary South Korean cinema machine, and he has brought an outsider's sensibility and stylistic flourish along with the gory details. People who care about such things might have hoped for a little more auspiciousness from him than Ah-nold's comeback (if it turns out to be that). Otherwise The Last Stand is pretty much exactly what most people would expect from such a thing, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. --Ted Fry

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Germany released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ),...... more

Germany released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, Music Video, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: A dead-straight, endless road leading to nowhere. And at the end of the road: Nouadhibou, a town in the West African country Mauritania, bordered by the ocean on one side and the Sahara Desert on the other. A bleak and inhospitable departure point for the tens of thousands of people that pour in from neighboring countries, all with only one dream in mind: Europe. Hotel Sahara is a film journey to the last invisible border separating the West-African coast and Europe. The bleak city on the Atlantic Coast is a metaphor, a point of arrival and of departure, a gathering place of broken dreams - a place of waiting for that better life on the far side of the Atlantic. It is above all a no-man's land, a place of endless waiting and endless hoping. The film reveals how difficult it is to differentiate between "true" and "false" refugees. Is one "real" only when threatened life and limb? What if one simply desires to escape a deadening lack of perspective? With an observant and cautious eye, Hotel Sahara documents how closely the dream of a better life is linked to sudden stagnancy, and how much patience is required to wait for years to finally, perhaps, arrive somewhere. ...Hotel Sahara ( Xenodoheio Sahara )

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A nostalgic, bittersweet ode to the hedonistic rock 'n' roll days of the early 1970s, Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe's most personal, deeply felt film (he even...... more

A nostalgic, bittersweet ode to the hedonistic rock 'n' roll days of the early 1970s, Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe's most personal, deeply felt film (he even cowrote the original songs with wife Nancy Wilson). "Does anybody remember laughter?" asks one of the characters in a Led Zeppelin reference that typifies how the film works both for those who, like Crowe, remember and love the times and its music, and those who can only look back in wonder at an era when rock music was about something more than just marketing. Closely based on his own coming-of-age experiences as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, the story follows the director's alter ego William Miller (sympathetic newcomer Patrick Fugit) on the journey of a lifetime touring with fictional rock band Stillwater, struggling to get the all-important interview, losing his virginity, falling in love, and trying to fend off his obsessively concerned mother (Frances McDormand). Kate Hudson as the "band-aid" (not groupie) Penny Lane is the film's magnetic centrepiece; Billy Crudup plays Stillwater's temperamental and egocentric lead guitarist perfectly; and Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as jaded rock journo Lester Bangs, the very personification of "uncool" whose ardent love for music--good, honest music--is at the very heart of this film. "I have to go home" says William on the Stillwater tour bus in one of the many emotionally truthful moments that permeate this wonderful film; "You are home", Penny Lane tells him. On the DVD: This is an attractive anamorphic 1.85:1 picture, and the fantastic soundtrack gets the Dolby 5.1 treatment. The extra features include the complete performance of Stillwater's Zeppelin-esque "Fever Dog" and a good 25-minute HBO "making-of" featurette with contributions from all the principals ("I really liked hanging out with all the girls on the set", says Patrick Fugit with a straight face). Navigate the special features menus by following the red Stratocasters and find Cameron Crowe's six articles for Rolling Stone that reveal how closely the film is based on his experiences on the road with the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin. There are also four trailers (only one for this film, oddly), and text-based Filmographies and Production Notes. No commentary, though. --Mark WalkerDVD Special Features: HBO Making of Featurette Rolling Stone Article--Original Text be Cameron Crowe Stillwater's "Fever Dog" Music Video Filmographies Production Notes Trailer Animated & Interactive Menus 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16:9 TVs) Dolby 5.1 English, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese

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Versatility, thy name is Van Damme! So Arnold cries in End of Days? Hah! In this relentless revenge actioner, Jean-Claude not only cries, but has a drunk scene,...... more

Versatility, thy name is Van Damme! So Arnold cries in End of Days? Hah! In this relentless revenge actioner, Jean-Claude not only cries, but has a drunk scene, suffers suicidal despair, does a little slapstick, and still manages to flash his ubiquitous butt. Which, of course, is what his legion of fans want to see him kick plenty of (other people's butts, that is; not his own). Van Damme may no longer generate any box-office heat (like 1998's Legionnaire, this bypassed cinemas to go straight to video), but he at least gives his fans what they want. Originally titled Coyote Moon, Desert Heat recalls that guilty pleasure Road House, as Eddie Lomax (Van Damme) comes to the rescue of a gallery of colourful characters terrorised by slobbering, drug-dealing bikers and rednecks in a dilapidated desert town. And this time, it's personal. As one denizen ominously observes, "There's trouble on the hoof and it's coming this way" for the three ill-fated bullies who beat up and shot Eddie and left him for dead. Despite its desert setting, Heat is an oasis for great character actors who pick up Van Damme's considerable slack. They include Danny Trejo (Con Air) as Eddie's Native American friend Johnny Sixtoes, Pat Morita (The Karate Kid), Larry Drake (Darkman), Vincent Schiavelli (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ghost), Bill Erwin (Candy Stripe Nurses), and luscious Jaime Preslly as Dottie the waitress. The director is credited as Danny Mulroon, a pseudonym for John Avildsen, the Academy Award-winning director of Rocky. His career, too, seems to be on the ropes, but he keeps punching with some welcome eccentric touches. At one point Johnny gives the recuperating Eddie a foot massage (didn't he see Pulp Fiction?). And the script offers such goodies as a lovelorn bus driver (Tom's brother, Jim Hanks) inviting Dottie to see Yojimbo, and one biker's plea for mercy from a local tough: "Jessie, we were in high school together. I signed your yearbook". --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com

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Plane crashes, pickpockets, hurricanes--heaven and hell is moving to prevent our able hero Ben (Ben Affleck) from marrying his sweetie (Maura Tierney) in...... more

Plane crashes, pickpockets, hurricanes--heaven and hell is moving to prevent our able hero Ben (Ben Affleck) from marrying his sweetie (Maura Tierney) in Savannah. At every turn he runs into someone else despairing about the woes of married life. And of course, temptation proves overwhelming in the face of travelling companion Sarah (Sandra Bullock), the wild woman whom he can't seem--or doesn't want--to lose. After a wayward bird flies into the engine of his aeroplane, Ben is forced to find another way to his wedding. He finds himself stuck with Sarah, whom he carried from the plane after she was whacked in the head by his laptop. The heat between them is unmistakable, and the drama in the film comes from the "will he or won't he", both in terms of sleeping with Sarah and meeting up with his bride. Forces of Nature is a fun and sentimental road-trip film, but Ben is so straight-laced, you can't help but want him to fall flat on his face just a little. Bullock is the life of this film, although her free-spirited ways get a bit tired (responsibility is not all bad). The highlight of this movie, though, is definitely the cinematography. The beautiful rain shots and the colours of the scenes lend to the unsettling mood. While the jokes are not rip-roaring, Forces of Nature is to be reckoned with for those times when a light-hearted film is what you need. --Jenny Brown, Amazon.com

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To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan...... more

To some, Lars and the Real Girl will play as comedy; to others, tragedy. Though Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) allows Lars Lindstrom (a mustachioed Ryan Gosling, miles away from Half Nelson) a happy ending, the road is far from smooth. This rumpled Midwesterner couldn't be more miserable. His brother, Gus (Paul Schneider, All the Real Girls), and sister-in-law, Karin (Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing), fall over themselves to cheer him up, but Lars cannot be moved; hes been like that since childhood. Then a porn-addicted co-worker hips him to the lifelike Real Doll. The next thing everyone knows, Lars has a new girlfriend named Bianca. She's from Brazil, she's shy, and she uses a wheelchair. She's also made of silicon. (Because Lars is a devout Christian, hanky-panky is out of the question.) Since he's finally emerging from his shell, his doctor, Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson), advises Gus and Karin to play along with the "delusion." Soon the whole town, including Margo (Kelli Garner), who harbors a not-so-secret crush on her officemate, gets in on the action, forcing Lars to rejoin the human race or crawl deeper into psychosis. Written by Six Feet Under's Nancy Oliver, Lars and the Real Girl is built around such a preposterous premise, it's hard to know whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, the actors play it straight. Gosling does his best to make Lars sympathetic, but Schneider and Mortimer, fully convincing in their concern, are the true heart and soul of this odd little film. --Kathleen C. Fennessy, Amazon.com

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Season OneHBO's violent men-behind-bars drama is an addictive, testosterone-driven soap opera for guys. The eight episodes of the first season set the style for...... more

Season OneHBO's violent men-behind-bars drama is an addictive, testosterone-driven soap opera for guys. The eight episodes of the first season set the style for the show: a massive cast of a vivid characters on both sides of the bars, four or five stories unleashed at a breakneck pace and framed by angry, oddball introductions, and a soaring casualty rate. Created by Homicide producer Tom Fontana, this drama quickly earned its rightful reputation as the most brutal show on TV. It's simple chemistry: combine volatile ingredients in a confined space, shut tight, and shake. The yellow brick road of the Oswald Correctional Facility (affectionately known as "Oz" among the inmates) leads to "Emerald City," an antiseptic cellblock of cement and glass overseen by prison-reform advocate Tim McManus (Terry Kinney). The first episode introduces its two most compelling inmates: meek lawyer Beecher (Lee Terguson), who transforms from a vulnerable lamb to a fearless, drug-addicted wildcat, and Muslim activist Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), a fiercely non-violent leader whose campaign for reform explodes in a season-climaxing riot. The stunning first-season cast also features Ernie Hudson (the warden), Rita Moreno (a worldly drug-counseling nun), and Edie Falco (who jumped from her role as a single-mother prison guard to mob wife in The Sopranos). It carries no rating, but the drug use, nudity, and brutal violence make this highly inappropriate for young viewers and unsuited to the squeamish. Oz pulls no punches in its portrayal of prison violence and predatory abuse. --Sean Axmaker Season TwoIf the title of HBO's brutal prison drama suggests a fairy tale, be warned that this Oz lies on the other side of the rainbow. This gritty portrait of men behind bars is a testosterone-driven soap opera packed with murder, suicide, sadism, and savage battles for dominance in the concrete jungle. Season 2 opens in the wake of a prison riot that shut down the experimental cell block known as "Emerald City" among the inmates, but it doesn't take long to build a whole new head of steam after prison reformer Tim McManus (Terry Kinney) reopens the unit. The drug wars pit the Italians against the blacks, the Aryan Brotherhood re-establish their campaign of intimidation, and Alvarez is pushed to desperate measures when he's ousted by the new Latino leader (Luiz Guzmán). Even more volatile than the physical brutality (this season offers up a bloody blinding and a crucifixion) is the soul-crushing psychodrama played out between vicious Aryan leader Schillinger (J.K. Simmons) and Beecher (Lee Tergeson), the meek lawyer transformed into a drug-addicted wild man by prison's predatory world and seduced by cold-blooded killer Chris Keller (Law and Order: SVU's Christopher Meloni). Some the stories get lost in the thrilling runaway pacing, but at its best Oz's searing stories of men penned in and pushing back goes straight for the jugular and invariably draws blood. In addition to HBO's four-minute promotional short is an interesting featurette in which the creators and select actors discuss the show. --Sean AxmakerSeason ThreeA volatile men-in-prison soap opera, fueled by testosterone and lubricated by blood, HBO's Oz is addictive viewing. The third season of the most violent show on cable TV, set in a cage of concrete and steel and glass, opens with echoes of violence past. Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) is in solitary confinement for brutally blinding a guard, one-time drug lord Simon Adebissi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) mourns for his murdered father, and Tobias Beecher (Lee Tergesen) nurses bones broken by Aryan Brotherhood leader Schillinger (J.K. Simmons) and a heart broken by the betrayal of Keller (Law and Order: SVU's Christopher Meloni). Their stories of vengeance, redemption, and forgiveness anchor this season. The show races through each episode with a driving pace that only intensifies the ferocity. But for all the show's physical brutality, the most affecting violence is emotional, from the strange and savage love affair between Beecher and Keller to the escalating war of terror between Beecher and Schillinger. On a lighter note, this season marks the debut of both Miss Sally and new prison CO Sean Murphy (Robert Clohessy), whose understated strength is too often overlooked in the face of the show's more explosive personalities. Season 3 ends pitched on a powder keg, with the fuse in the hands of the show's most ferocious, unpredictable character. It's the kind of promise that will have you slavering for season 4. The three-disc set features all eight episodes along with a season 2 recap, episode recaps and previews, commentary on the episode "Unnatural Disasters" by writer-creator Tom Fontana and episode director Chazz Palmintieri, and 22 minutes of deleted scenes. --Sean AxmakerSeason FourThe heightened reality of Oz remains consistently engrossing in the fourth season of HBO's volatile prison drama. All 16 episodes were written or cowritten by series creator Tom Fontana, and are bookended by the wisely sardonic observations of paraplegic prisoner Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau), whose terse, philosophical ruminations about life in "Oz" give the series its literate edge. The 2000-2001 season finds Oz in the wake of racial warfare; tensions remain high among the factions that make the "Em City" cell block a hotbed of seething animosity among the skinhead Aryans led by Shillinger (J.K. Simmons); Muslim splinter groups led by Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), the fearsome Adebisi (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Supreme Allah (Lord Jamar); and the resident Mafia, Latinos, and lowlifes who make up Em City's embroiled population of newcomers, hard-timers, and death-row inmates. Unit Administrator McManus (Terry Kinney) sets up a centrally located penalty cage for anyone who causes outbreaks of violence (which are shockingly frequent and frequently lethal), but loses his job in a mid-season plot development that spins Oz into a maelstrom of internal politics and brutal retaliation. Through it all, Fontana and his collaborators (including guest director Steve Buscemi) maintain impressive focus on dozens of finely drawn characters. Laced with homosexual tension, jealousies, religious fervor, and threats of betrayal, the season's most compelling conflicts involve impulsive killer Ryan O'Reily (played with cagey menace by Dean Winters) and his brain-damaged half-brother Cyril (Scott William Winters); and the manipulative Keller (Christopher Meloni) and his prison lover Toby Beecher (Lee Tergesen), a lawyer and convicted murderer whose survival seems perpetually uncertain. Tenuous order is barely maintained by warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) and Catholic counselor "Sister Pete" (Rita Moreno), but the bulk of Oz's fourth season is devoted to chaos, as shifting loyalties keep all prisoners (and all viewers) in a state of anxious anticipation. The criminal histories of many inmates are shown in flashback, and one death-row scenario (involving guest star Kathryn Erbe) reaches its inevitable conclusion. By the time episode 16 ends with a blazing inferno, you'll be wondering about the fate of Rev. Cloutier (Luke Perry) and anxious for the tumultuous events of season 5. --Jeff ShannonSeason FiveRaw, uncompromising, and brutal, the fifth season of Oz represents a turning point for the series, tying up loose ends and preparing for the closure of season 6. As with all previous seasons of HBO's hard-edged prison series, the outbreaks of violence, racial tensions, emotional bleakness, and full-frontal male nudity ensure that Oz is decidedly not for the weak of heart. Simmering animosity between the Aryans, Muslims, Sicilians, and Latinos continues unabated; these eight episodes include numerous shankings and slashings, a severed arm, strangulation, a stabbing with a crucifix, and the death (among others) of one of the series' most prominent characters. As Schillinger (J.K. Simmons) and his skinheaded Aryans exploit a naive pair of new inmates, tensions mount between the weak-willed Omar (Michael Wright, in a standout performance) and his prone-to-rage Muslim mentor Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker, also excellent); Ryan O'Reily (Dean Winters) continues to protect his volatile brother Cyril (Scott William Winters) and reunites with his mother (Betty Lynn Buckley) who's in Oz doing community service; McManus (Terry Kinney) locks horns with his ex-wife over prison policy; Alvarez (Kirk Acevado) seeks partial redemption by training a guide-dog for the guard he blinded; and Keller (Christopher Meloni) returns to the "Em City" cellblock, to the relief of his bisexual lover Beecher (Lee Tergesen) who attends "interaction" sessions with Sister Pete (Rita Moreno) to encourage tenuous peace among inmates. With subplots involving guest stars Luke Perry, Peter Criss (from Kiss), Malachy McCourt, and others, the fifth season of Oz is weak at times, but series creator and primary writer Tom Fontana keeps a lot of characters in steady play, covering impressive dramatic territory after the relatively generous allotment of 16 episodes in Season 4. The series is clearly winding down here (the semi-musical episode "Variety" is a curious attempt to broaden the show's creative horizons, and works surprisingly well), and the outbreaks of violence now have a rather predictable and oppressive frequency. Anyone looking for "feel good" entertainment should stay away, but Fontana and the uniformly excellent cast maintain admirable depth of character and incident, including a tragic loss (in "Visitation") that resonates throughout the season. --Jeff ShannonSeason SixThe sixth and final season of HBO's prison drama Oz--which aired in 2003--is brutal, passionate, and gritty. Compellingly addictive with taut storylines and superb acting, each of the eight episodes on this 3-disc set nicely paves the way for the series finale, which wraps the show up in a satisfying (and surprising) manner. Often told through the eyes (and voice) of deceased prisoner Augustus Hill (Harold Perrineau, Lost), Oz isn't an easy show to watch. Inmates are routinely raped, tortured, and killed--not out of need, but out of boredom and cruelty. And in a corrupt system where too few bureaucrats actually care about these men's lives, few are willing to do anything about it. Those that do give a damn--Sister Peter Marie (Rita Moreno, West Side Story), Father Mukada (B.D. Wong, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Dr. Nathan (Lauren Velez), Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson), McManus (Terry Kinney)--face an uphill battle. One of the strongest storylines is the ongoing romance between murderer Keller (Christopher Meloni, Law & Order: SVU and Beecher (Lee Tergesen), who's hoping to be paroled. Series creator Tom Fontana doesn't allow their arc to be diluted by any idealistic expectations. The viewer is acutely aware that Beecher is an easy target for annihilation whether or not he is released from prison. The viewer is never quite as certain of Keller's motives--whether they're borne of love and affection, or a selfish need to satisfy his own primal urges. Like Beecher, Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) is trying to keep his own nose clean in the hopes that he'll be eligible for parole three years down the line. It's easy to understand the almost suffocating feeling he lives every day, knowing that three years may as well be a lifetime when you're behind bars and the target of both your former gang and the Aryan brothers, led by Schillinger (J.K. Simmons, Law & Order: SVU, the Spider-Man films). And Ryan (Dean Winters) desperately tries to save his mentally retarded brother Cyril (played by Dean's real-life sibling Scott William Winters) from being executed. There are a few subplots that don't ring true, such as the quasi romance between a librarian (Patti LuPone) and one of the prisoners, and an elderly inmate's (Joey Grey) implausible death wish. And for all the constraints the majority of convicts face, some appear to have almost free run of the prison. Still, Fontana has created a vivid, dark world where the occasional acts of humanity are as important as the non-stop chaos that is Oz. While it certainly helps to have seen the previous five seasons of the series to enjoy this season, it's not mandatory. These last eight episodes work fine as a stand-alone piece of drama. --Jae-Ha Kim

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This clunky road movie about three drag queens (Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguziamo) who get stranded in a sleepy Nebraska town on their...... more

This clunky road movie about three drag queens (Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguziamo) who get stranded in a sleepy Nebraska town on their way to a beauty contest, is too uplifting for its own good. Released during drag's mid-90s heyday when RuPaul and the Wigstock documentary were all the rage, To Wong Foo aimed straight for the mainstream with its inoffensive camp and "can't we all get along" morality. While gay-activist groups howled about straights getting the lead roles in To Wong Foo, in the end the filmmakers really couldn't have done better than this trio of actors. John Leguziamo provides real sass and bite as a Latino (or should we saw Latina?) drag queen, and Wesley Snipes is surprisingly fierce as the imposing leader of the pack. Saddled with a cloying Southern accent and off-kilter wig, Patrick Swayze barely holds his own with his co-stars, though. To Wong Foo is best viewed as a cultural artefact of a time when it seemed as though drag could rule all tomorrow's parties. --Ethan Brown, Amazon.com

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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Portuguese ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene...... more

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: Portuguese ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Macário spends an entire train journey to the Algarve talking to a woman he does not know about the trials and tribulations of his love life: straight after starting his first job he falls madly in love with a young blonde, who lives across the road. No sooner does he meet her than he wants to marry her. His uncle, totally opposed to the match, kicks him out of the house and Macário departs for Cape Verde where he makes his fortune. When he finally wins his uncle's approval to marry his beloved, he discovers the "singularity" of his fiancée's character. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Berlin International Film Festival, ...Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl ( Singularidades de uma Rapariga Loura ) ( Las excentricidades de una rubia )

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1-Straight Up No ChaserPARKER, Bobby 2-Break It UpPARKER, Bobby 3-Breaking Up Somebody's HomePARKER, Bobby 4-Nothing But The BluesPARKER, Bobby 5-So...... more

1-Straight Up No ChaserPARKER, Bobby 2-Break It UpPARKER, Bobby 3-Breaking Up Somebody's HomePARKER, Bobby 4-Nothing But The BluesPARKER, Bobby 5-So Glad I Found YouPARKER, Bobby 6-I Ain't SuperstitiousPARKER, Bobby 7-It's UnfairPARKER, Bobby 8-Going Down SlowPARKER, Bobby 9-Chill OutPARKER, Bobby 10-Mellow Down EasyPARKER, Bobby 11-Watch Your StepPARKER, Bobby 12-Bits And PiecesBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 13-Strange Things HappensBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 14-I'm Beginning To See The LightBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 15-Sunrise Cajun StyleBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 16-Honey BoyBROWN, Clarence "Garemouth" 17-Further On Up The RoadBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 18-I've Got My Mojo WorkingBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth 19-DrifterBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 20-Grape JellyBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 21-Okie Dokie StompBROWN, Clarence "Gatemouth" 22-Good Moring Little SchoolgirlGUY, Buddy 23-Louise McGheeGUY, Buddy 24-Done Got OldGUY, Buddy 25-Hoochie Coochie ManGUY, Buddy 26-FeverGUY, Buddy 27-Drowning On My Dry landGUY, Buddy 28-Stormy MondayGUY, Buddy 29-Jam Session 1GUY, Buddy 30-So Many Roads So Many TrainsGUY, Buddy 31-Jam Session 2GUY, Buddy (2004 'Eagle Vision') 'Recorded and filmed live st Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux, Switzerland - July 2004'. (PAL, Farbe/color, Bildformat/picture format: 16:9, Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0, DTS Surround, stereo, Region code: 0, Spieldauer/running time: ca. 238 mns.).

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The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting...... more

The lurid scenario--a nymphomaniacal white trash nymphet (Christina Ricci) is held prisoner by a bitter bluesman (Samuel L. Jackson)--gives way to an affecting tale of redemption in Black Snake Moan, writer/director Craig Brewer's follow-up to the acclaimed Hustle & Flow. Lazarus (Jackson, Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction) finds Rae (Ricci, Monster, The Ice Storm) beaten unconscious on the road in front of his backwoods house. After bringing her inside, he learns of her wanton ways and decides to exorcise his own demons by curing Rae of her sexual compulsion. Black Snake Moan could have been terrible, but Brewer takes his story seriously enough to dig into the genuine emotions of such a situation (though along the way he certainly flirts with sexploitation overtones--several scenes look like they were plucked straight out of a hitherto unknown 1970s trash classic). Ricci, Jackson, and the supporting cast (including pop star Justin Timberlake, giving a surprisingly good performance as Rae's boyfriend) treat the characters with respect, honesty, and humour. The result is off-kilter and maybe a little too fond of its sleazy cinematic forbears to truly hit the emotional notes it's after, but Black Snake Moan has considerably more substance than its marketing would suggest. --Bret Fetzer

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(2003/STRAIGHT SIX)NTSC, Color & B/W, 66 minutes,english sehr gute Dokumentation mit aktuellen Aufnahmen (auf Jimmy's Ranch etc.) und Archivmaterial. -...... more

(2003/STRAIGHT SIX)NTSC, Color & B/W, 66 minutes,english sehr gute Dokumentation mit aktuellen Aufnahmen (auf Jimmy's Ranch etc.) und Archivmaterial. - auch ohne Englisch Kenntnisse sehenswert ! The film crew followed Martin on tour for two years, capturing unique moments backstage, onstage, and on the road - giving the viewer an inside look at one of bluegrass music's most enigmatic and influential forefathers. 'King of Bluegrass' includes vintage photos, unreleased live recordings, and rare historical footage. The 20-song soundtrack traces Martin's career from his early days with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe to recently recorded electrifying performances with his Sunny Mountain Boys. Includes interviews with Ralph Stanley, Marty Stuart, Tom T. Hall, Bill Emerson, JD Crowe, Paul Williams, and more. Extras Included: Bonus Scenes/Jimmy Martin Timeline/Decca LP Discography/Director's Interview/Roots Of Bluegrass/Player Bios/Bonus Music & More!

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United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL...... more

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: Actor James Franco wrote and directed this independent drama about two siblings who are by turns raised up and brought down by the bonds of family. Max (James Franco) boasts a genius level IQ, and his brother Adam (Matt Bell) is nearly as bright, but while Adam has the common sense and ambition to make something of his gifts, Max's greatest talent seems to be getting into scrapes and disappointing those around him. Adam has a successful practice as a doctor in New York City, but when Max foolishly tries to swindle some well-connected drug dealers, he has to leave the Big Apple, and somehow persuades his brother to take him to California. On the West Coast, Adam is able to use his medical background to get a lucrative new job, and Max fast talks his way onto the staff of a computer firm. However, Max's inability to stay on the straight and narrow and face his responsibilities quickly resurfaces, and when he starts using crystal meth, he loses his job. Adam also experiences a stretch of bad luck and loses his job, and as a sense of desperation takes hold, he starts joining Max in his drug fueled excesses, leading both down a road to destruction. 'Good Time Max' received its world premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. ...Good Time Max

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Diminutive Highway Patrolman, Pedro Rojas (Roberto Soza) is small in stature but high on morals. While his Mexican traffic cop compadres are taking bribes left,...... more

Diminutive Highway Patrolman, Pedro Rojas (Roberto Soza) is small in stature but high on morals. While his Mexican traffic cop compadres are taking bribes left, right and centre he prefers the straight-and-narrow route to law and order. But life on the highway is not as clear-cut as Pedro would like to believe and he starts to stray off course. After stopping Griselda Marcos (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez) for a minor infraction, he accepts her offer of breakfast at the family home and is before he knows it is betrothed with a child on the way. After taking a kickback from a livestock carrier without the correct health and safety permits, Pedro drinks his guilt away in a border bar and ends up in the arms of Maribel (Vanessa Bauche), a beautiful prostitute strung-out on heroin. In the act of arresting two drunk drivers on a deserted road, Pedro is shot in the leg and left with a permanent limp. Soon after, when his fellow cop and close friend Anibal Morales (Bruno Bichir) is blasted to death by heavily armed drug traffickers, Pedro decides to walk tall and take the cartel on himself. Based on the experiences of a real highway patrolman and shot in a string of northern Mexican border towns, Alex Cox's Spanish-language road movie is flawlessly directed. Cinematographer Manuel Garzon's roaming camera floats like a mirage through the desert landscape, tracking the every move of Soza's scrawny but street tough cop. On the DVD: An audio commentary by Alex Cox and his collaborator on the film, writer/producer Lorenzo O'Brien, details the precarious ins and outs of shooting on location in Mexico and the series of real life dramas that trailed their wake. The feature appears in widescreen. --Chris Campion

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Versatility, thy name is Van Damme! So Arnold cries in End of Days? Hah! In this relentless revenge actioner, Jean-Claude not only cries, but has a drunk scene,...... more

Versatility, thy name is Van Damme! So Arnold cries in End of Days? Hah! In this relentless revenge actioner, Jean-Claude not only cries, but has a drunk scene, suffers suicidal despair, does a little slapstick, and still manages to flash his ubiquitous butt. Which, of course, is what his legion of fans want to see him kick plenty of (other people's butts, that is; not his own). Van Damme may no longer generate any box-office heat (like 1998's Legionnaire, this bypassed cinemas to go straight to video), but he at least gives his fans what they want. Originally titled Coyote Moon, Desert Heat recalls that guilty pleasure Road House, as Eddie Lomax (Van Damme) comes to the rescue of a gallery of colourful characters terrorised by slobbering, drug-dealing bikers and rednecks in a dilapidated desert town. And this time, it's personal. As one denizen ominously observes, "There's trouble on the hoof and it's coming this way" for the three ill-fated bullies who beat up and shot Eddie and left him for dead. Despite its desert setting, Heat is an oasis for great character actors who pick up Van Damme's considerable slack. They include Danny Trejo (Con Air) as Eddie's Native American friend Johnny Sixtoes, Pat Morita (The Karate Kid), Larry Drake (Darkman), Vincent Schiavelli (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ghost), Bill Erwin (Candy Stripe Nurses), and luscious Jaime Preslly as Dottie the waitress. The director is credited as Danny Mulroon, a pseudonym for John Avildsen, the Academy Award-winning director of Rocky. His career, too, seems to be on the ropes, but he keeps punching with some welcome eccentric touches. At one point Johnny gives the recuperating Eddie a foot massage (didn't he see Pulp Fiction?). And the script offers such goodies as a lovelorn bus driver (Tom's brother, Jim Hanks) inviting Dottie to see Yojimbo, and one biker's plea for mercy from a local tough: "Jessie, we were in high school together. I signed your yearbook". --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.com

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A nostalgic, bittersweet ode to the hedonistic rock 'n' roll days of the early 1970s, Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe's most personal, deeply felt film (he even...... more

A nostalgic, bittersweet ode to the hedonistic rock 'n' roll days of the early 1970s, Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe's most personal, deeply felt film (he even cowrote the original songs with wife Nancy Wilson). "Does anybody remember laughter?" asks one of the characters in a Led Zeppelin reference that typifies how the film works both for those who, like Crowe, remember and love the times and its music, and those who can only look back in wonder at an era when rock music was about something more than just marketing. Closely based on his own coming-of-age experiences as a teenage journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, the story follows the director's alter ego William Miller (sympathetic newcomer Patrick Fugit) on the journey of a lifetime touring with fictional rock band Stillwater, struggling to get the all-important interview, losing his virginity, falling in love, and trying to fend off his obsessively concerned mother (Frances McDormand). Kate Hudson as the "band-aid" (not groupie) Penny Lane is the film's magnetic centrepiece; Billy Crudup plays Stillwater's temperamental and egocentric lead guitarist perfectly; and Philip Seymour Hoffman steals the show as jaded rock journo Lester Bangs, the very personification of "uncool" whose ardent love for music--good, honest music--is at the very heart of this film. "I have to go home" says William on the Stillwater tour bus in one of the many emotionally truthful moments that permeate this wonderful film; "You are home", Penny Lane tells him. On the DVD: This is an attractive anamorphic 1.85:1 picture, and the fantastic soundtrack gets the Dolby 5.1 treatment. The extra features include the complete performance of Stillwater's Zeppelin-esque "Fever Dog" and a good 25-minute HBO "making-of" featurette with contributions from all the principals ("I really liked hanging out with all the girls on the set", says Patrick Fugit with a straight face). Navigate the special features menus by following the red Stratocasters and find Cameron Crowe's six articles for Rolling Stone that reveal how closely the film is based on his experiences on the road with the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin. There are also four trailers (only one for this film, oddly), and text-based Filmographies and Production Notes. No commentary, though. --Mark WalkerDVD Special Features: HBO Making of Featurette Rolling Stone Article--Original Text be Cameron Crowe Stillwater's "Fever Dog" Music Video Filmographies Production Notes Trailer Animated & Interactive Menus 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen (enhanced for 16:9 TVs) Dolby 5.1 English, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese

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