Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Bicentennial Man

  • Bicentennial Man follows the life and times of Andrew (Robin Williams), a robot programmed to perform menial tasks, but who displays uncharacteristically human emotions, curiosity and creativity. Andrew soon discovers what it truly means to be a human being with the help of Little Miss (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) and his understanding owner (Sam Neill). Andrew is no ordinary robot! System Requireme
From the acclaimed director of MRS. DOUBTFIRE, Academy Award(R)-winner Robin Williams (1997, Best Actor, GOOD WILL HUNTING) stars in a delightfully heartwarming comedy about one extraordinary android who just wants to be an ordinary guy! It doesn't take long for the Martin family to realize Andrew (Williams), who was purchased as a mere "household appliance," is no run-of-the-mill robot! Funny, incredibly lifelike, and possessing an astounding level of creativity, this special machine soon takes on a l! ife of his own -- and eventually begins a centuries-long quest to achieve true humanity! A crowd-pleasing comedy hit -- everyone is sure to love this touchingly entertaining movie treat!Bicentennial Man was stung at the 1999 box office, due no doubt in part to poor timing during a backlash against Robin Williams and his treacly performances in two other, then-recent releases, Jakob the Liar and Patch Adams. But this near-approximation of a science fiction epic, based on works by Isaac Asimov and directed, with uncharacteristic seriousness of purpose, by Chris Columbus (Mrs. Doubtfire), is much better than one would have known from the knee-jerk negativity and box-office indifference.

Williams plays Andrew, a robot programmed for domestic chores and sold to an upper-middle-class family, the Martins, in the year 2005. The family patriarch (Sam Neill) recognizes and encourages Andrew's uncommon characteristics, particularly his artis! tic streak, sensitivity to beauty, humor, and independence of! spirit. In so doing, he sets Williams's tin man on a two-century journey to become more human than most human beings.

As adapted by screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, the movie's scale is novelistic, though Columbus isn't the man to embrace with Spielbergian confidence its sweeping possibilities. Instead, the Home Alone director shakes off his familiar tendencies to pander and matures, finally, as a captivating storyteller. But what really makes this film matter is its undercurrent of deep yearning, the passion of Andrew as a convert to the human race and his willingness to sacrifice all to give and take love. Williams rises to an atypical challenge here as a futuristic Everyman, relying, perhaps for the first time, on his considerable iconic value to make the point that becoming human means becoming more like Robin Williams. Nothing wrong with that. --Tom Keogh

Fargo (Special Edition)

  • 2003 - MGM - Fargo - Rare Special Edition
  • Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi
  • Rated R - Director: Joel Coen - DVD
  • Special Features - Widescreen / Standard Versions
  • Collectible
Nominated* for seven Oscars(r) and winner of two, this darkly amusing thriller combines a first-rate cast, "a dazzling mix of mirth and malice" (Rolling Stone) and a bizarre kidnapping plot that unravels the Midwest like never before. Starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi, Fargo is a brilliant tour de force from the creators of Raising Arizonaand O Brother, Where Art Thou? *1996: Best Picture, Director, Actress (McDormand, won), Supporting Actor (Macy), Original Screenplay (won), Cinematography, EditingLeave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers (Joel directs, Ethan produces, they both write) to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper that's simu! ltaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller, and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota, (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humor. At times shocking and hilarious, Fargo is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. --Jeff Shannon

Forever Faithless

  • FAITHLESS FOREVER FAITHLESS - GREATEST HITS
2009 two CD compilation from the British Dance duo. Contains hits, album tracks a few rarities and plenty of great Faithless moments guaranteed to keep you up all night. 30 tracks including 'God Is A DJ', 'We Come 1', 'One Step Too Far' (featuring Dido) and many more. Camden.2010 release from the iconic British Electronic act. The Dance sees Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo reach the bar that their back-cat sets so high, and Maxi reckons it's 'chock-a-block with dance tunes which we hope will be the soundtrack to many Saturday nights for a while to come.' Faithless family member Dido lends her shimmering tones to 'Feeling Good'. Also getting in the vocal booth for tracks on the album are Dougy Mandagi (The Temper Trap), Itch (The King Blues) and classical singer Mia Maestro. First single 'Not Going Home' is a stadium-like club symphony, a seven m! inute sonic call-to-arms. Faithless' influence from being at the top of the pile for a decade and a half is easy to spot these days: think Calvin Harris' recent #1 or the countless tracks with a House groove, riff and rapper, Faithless' signature sound adopted by many, bettered by none. PIAS. 2010.FAITHLESS - DVD Movie* Unavailable in the US! Repromotion. Forever Faithless features the greatest hits of Faithless's 10-million-records-selling career, with tracks taken from all four previously released albums 'Reverence', 'Sunday 8pm', 'Outrospective' and 'No Roots'. Tracks include 'God Is a DJ', 'Insomnia' and the massive 'We Come 1'. Faithless are, Sister Bliss (biggest female DJ in the world and multi-instrumentalist), Maxi Jazz (leading UK rapper and Buddhist) and Rollo (producer and svengali).16 tracks including a new track, 'Fatty Boo'. BMG.

Behind the Sun

  • CLAPTON ERIC BEHIND THE SUN
Golden Globe Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, BEHIND THE SUN is a critically acclaimed story about love, loyalty, and the choice a son must make between honoring his family and following his heart. In the brutal Brazilian badlands of 1910, two families are locked in a bloody, generations-old feud. In one family, the oldest remaining son, distressed by the prospect of death and encouraged by his younger brother -- begins to question the cycle of violence. Then a beautiful young woman crosses his path and opens his eyes to life outside his culture's rigid code of honor. Stunningly photographed and exquisitely told, this outstanding motion picture masterpiece will transport you to a vastly different place and time ... a place somewhere "behind the sun"!Behind the Sun is a rapturous Western, a big film about a big, unwanted destiny visited upon a ! vulnerable, young hero. Adapted from the novel Broken April by Albanian writer Ismail Kadare (the story has been transferred from Europe to Brazil's rugged, northeastern badlands in 1910), Behind the Sun concerns two families and their long-running land war, which has robbed many a young man of his hope, love and, ultimately, life. Sent by his aggrieved father to avenge the slaying of an older brother, Tonho (Rodrigo Santoro), in torment, carries out his bloody, ancestral obligation and then proposes a truce between the families. Director Walter Salles (Central Station) aims to make a magnificently crafted, lush, and exotic epic told in broad strokes for art house aficionados, and he succeeds almost to a self-conscious fault. Still, there is nothing like a stirring, archetypal tragedy about the endless repercussions of violence and the sacrifice of innocence to a dubious cause. --Tom KeoghDVD-Behind The Sun by Open Doors FilmsDigitally remaster! ed Japanese reissue of his top 40 1985 album for Duck/ Reprise! in a mi niaturized LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only. 11 tracks, including the top 30 hit 'Forever Man' and the single 'See What Love Can Do'. Gatefold sleeve. 1999 release.

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