Hard to define but easy to enjoy, The Men Who Stare at Goats is the preposterous yet more-true-than-not story of a small-town journalist named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) who, trying to prove himself in Iraq, stumbles upon a man named Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to be a psychic spy for the U.S. Army. With dazzling cinematic efficiency, the movie bounces back and forth between the origins of the New Earth Army—a squad of American Jedi warriors—and Bob and Lyn wandering through war-torn Iraq, pursuing a mission that turns out to have been assigned by a vision. The movie shifts from giddy comedy to melancholy as a portrait of human pettiness, manifested in military paranoia and corporate greed, unfolds. The ending loses a bit of steam, but most of The Men Who Stare at Goats is a delight—unusual yet satisfying, funny and thoughtful in turns. Jeff Bridges plays—of course—the addled yet charismatic founder of the New Earth Army, while Kevin Spacey plays—of course—the weaselly, manipulative psychic spy who turns what was meant to transform the world for the better into a mechanism for propaganda and worse. Adapted from the bestselling nonfiction book of the same title by British journalist Jon Ronson, The Men Who Stare at Goats niftily balances surface lunacy with serious undercurrents, buoyed by excellent performances from all involved. —Bret Fetzer
Metropolis is a grand city-state populated by humans and robots the cohabitants of a strictly segmented society. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions detective shunsaku ban and his sidekick ken-ichi are searching for rebel scientist dr. Laughton to arrest him and seize his latest creation. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/27/2003 Starring: Animated Run time: 109 minutes Rating: Pg13
Helena is a 15-year-old girl working for her family circus who wishes that she could run away from the circus & join real life. But such is not to be the case as she finds herself on a strange journey into the dark lands a fantastic land filled with fantastic creatures. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/22/2007 Starring: Stephanie Leonidas Rob Brydon Run time: 104 minutes Rating: Pg
During the 1972 olympic games in munich 11 israeli athletes are taken hostage & murdered by a palestinian terrorist group known as black september. In retaliation the israeli government recruits a group of mossad agents to track down & execute those responsible for the attack. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 02/05/2008 Starring: Eric Bana Ciaran Hinds Run time: 164 minutes Rating: R
Something evil is stirring in the small mining town of Gold Lick, and it's not happy. Guan-di, the Chinese protector of the dead with a strange affinity for bean curd, has been awakened by reckless teenagers, and now his bloody crusade to wipe out the town's entire population can only be stopped by one man - Bruce Campbell (the guy who starred in all three Evil Dead movies and Bubba Ho-tep), B-move star and deadbeat ex-husband extraordinaire, who's recruited to be their unwitting savior. Thinking the whole scenario's a publicity prank, Bruce is distracted from his mission by a hot mom and fan boys aplenty— but when our hero has to face off against a dark force more fearsome than a Hollywood agent, the laughs and screams start flying!
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/27/2005
Hayao Miyazaki gained widespread attention in Japan for his complex ecological manga series, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1982), which he adapted for the screen two years later. One thousand years after a war devastated much of the Earth, humanity clings to existence at the fringes of a vast, polluted forest inhabited by monstrous insects. Only Nausicaä, the princess of the tiny realm of the Valley of the Wind, grasps the environmental significance of the forest. She sees beyond petty wars and national rivalries to the only viable future for the planet. In Nausicaä, Miyazaki began to explore elements he would develop more fully in his later films: daring, compassionate heroines; exciting flying sequences; colorful side characters; strong interpersonal relationships; and a call for an ecologically sustainable way of life. Nausicaä prefigures Sheeta in Castle in the Sky and Chihiro in Spirited Away, just as the rough and ready Asbel anticipates Pazu in Castle in the Sky and Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke. For years, Nausicaä was available in the United States only as the badly re-edited Warriors of the Wind. The new English dub from Disney presents the film in its entirety, with strong vocal performances by Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, Alison Lohman, and Edward James Olmos. (Rated PG: violence, frightening imagery) —Charles Solomon |
Item is a must-have for any fan of this influential electronic dance pop group. This 2-DVD special addition contains two complete releases-a comprehensive music video compilation and a documentary. Disc 1, A Collection, features all of New Order's groundbreaking videos including "Bizarre Love Triangle," "Blue Monday," and "True Faith" plus alternate versions and brand-new videos for "Temptation" and "Ceremony" created just for this compilation. Disc 2, NewOrder Story is the complete documentary. This is the extended version with additional interviews and live footage-over two revealing hours available for the first time on DVD. Track Listings: Confusion, Perfect Kiss,Shellshock, State of the Nation, Bizarre Love Triangle, True Faith, Touched by the Hand of God, Blue Monday '88, Fine Time, Round & Round, Run, World in Motion, Regret, Ruined in a Day, World in Motion, Regret, Ruined in a Day, World, Spooky, 1963, Crystal, 60 Miles an Hour, Here To Stay, Krafty, Jetstream, Waiting for the Sirens Call, Round & Round-USA/Patty, Regret-Baywatch, Crystal-Gina Birch Version, Paris-Ceremony, Paris-Temptation, Live 1981-Temptation, Documentary.
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 02/22/2005 Run time: 210 minutes Rating: Nr
This stylish science fiction detective story bears the stamp of director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell). "Labors" are gigantic robots used for everything from construction work to law enforcement, but a massive land reclamation project in Tokyo Bay is threatened by robots going on unexplained rampages.
Despite its title, this theatrical feature has little to do with the mecha adventures and ensemble comedy of the popular broadcast series Mobile Police Patlabor. Inspector Shin'ichiro Hata of the Tokyo Police is assigned to investigate an unexplained series of violent and grisly deaths. Instead of the rogue mecha the Patlabor team fight, the killer is a weird, amphibious monster, the product of yet another biotech experiment gone wrong. Hata meets the beautiful scientist who created the monster—using cells from the cancer that killed her daughter. The familiar characters Noa Izumi, Isao Ota, and Captain Goto appear in brief cameos when they dispatch the mutant monster in a half-ruined stadium. Director Fumihiko Takayama tries to emulate the look and tone of Hiroyuki Okiura's Jin-Roh, but fails to generate the ominous tension that distinguished The Wolf Brigade. (Rated R: violence, grotesque imagery, profanity, tobacco use) —Charles Solomon |
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