Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Constantine (Widescreen Edition)

  • Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, Constantine tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons
Based on the DC Comics/Vertigo Hellblazer graphic novels and written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello, Constantine tells the story of John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has literally been to hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister, their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles. Caught in a catastrophic! series of otherworldly events, the two become inextricably involved and seek to find their own peace at whatever cost.

DVD Features:
Additional Scenes:18 minutes of additional scenes
Alternate endings

In the grand scheme of theological thrillers, Constantine aspires for the greatness of The Exorcist but ranks more closely with The Order. Based on the popular Hellblazer comic book series, and directed with nary a shred of intelligence by music video veteran Francis Lawrence, it's basically The Matrix with swarming demons instead of swarming machines. Keanu Reeves slightly modifies his Matrix persona as John Constantine, who roams the dark-spots of Los Angeles looking for good-evil, angel-devil half-breeds to ensure that "the balance" between God and Satan is properly maintained. An ancient artifact and the detective twin of a woman who committed evil-induced suicide (Rachel Weisz) factor into the ! plot, which is taken so seriously that you'll want to stand up! and che er when Tilda Swinton swoops down as the cross-dressing angel Gabriel and turns this silliness into the camp-fest it really is. The digital effects are way cool (dig those hellspawn with the tops of their heads lopped off!), so if you don't mind a juvenile lesson in pseudo-Catholic salvation, Constantine is just the movie for you! --Jeff Shannon

Calendar Girls

  • When 12 ordinary members of the Women's Institute, a prim and proper local ladies' club, decide they need to find a more compelling way to raise money for a new charity, they turn to their traditional annual calendar and give it a very untraditional twist. Behind the usual baked goods, the apple pressing, and the flower arrangements are the women -- completely nude! Starring 2003 Golden Gl
When 12 ordinary members of the Women's Institute, a prim and proper local ladies' club, decide they need to find a more compelling way to raise money for a new charity, they turn to their traditional annual calendar and give it a very untraditional twist. Behind the usual baked goods, the apple pressing, and the flower arrangements are the women -- completely nude! Starring 2003 Golden Globe nominee Helen Mirren (Best Actress, CALENDAR GIRLS) and Julie Walters (HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS), CAL! ENDAR GIRLS is a terrifically entertaining comedy. And that's the naked truth.In the sensible yet elegant hands of actresses Helen Mirren and Julie Walters, Calendar Girls walks a fine line between sappiness and snickering and ends up both wonderfully funny and gently touching. When her best friend Annie (Walters, Billy Elliot) loses her husband, Chris (Mirren, Prime Suspect, Gosford Park) cooks up a scheme to memorialize him: They and their friends--all fiftysomething women--will make a nude calendar to raise money for the hospital where he died. The calendar becomes hugely popular, but the success may drive a wedge between the two women's friendship. Based on an actual event, Calendar Girls carefully balances the stories of several women as it follows the calendar's media explosion, becoming a surprisingly moving fable of loss, determination, and the perils of fame. And let's face it--Helen Mirren is one of the wittiest and sexiest women! alive, clothes on or not. --Bret Fetzer

Forget Paris

  • The romantic life of NBA referee Billy Crystal is on the rebound when he falls for airline employee Debra Winger. Crystal also directs this transatlantic comedy slam dunk with top-notch supporting cast of comedy pros, including Joe Mantegna, Cathy Moriarty and William Hickey.Running Time: 103 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 Age: 053939250121 UPC: 0
The romantic life of NBA referee Billy Crystal is on the rebound when he falls for airline employee Debra Winger. Crystal also directs this transatlantic comedy slam dunk with top-notch supporting cast of comedy pros, including Joe Mantegna, Cathy Moriarty and William Hickey.Billy Crystal plays Mickey, a basketball referee who has to accompany his estranged father's body to France, where the old man requested to be buried with the other members of his D-Day platoon. Unfortunately for Mickey, the airline loses his body. Fortu! nately for Mickey, this leads him to meet Ellen (Debra Winger), an airline executive who takes personal charge of the case and even joins him at the funeral. A whirlwind Paris romance leads to marriage, but that's when the complications begin... The story of Mickey and Ellen's marriage is recounted by their friends (played by Joe Mantegna, Cynthia Stevenson, Julie Kavner, Richard Masur, John Spencer, and Cathy Moriarty) as they wait for Mickey and Ellen to arrive at a dinner party. And of course these friends have their own stories, which are played out in witty shorthand as they bicker about who's going to tell the next part of the Mickey/Ellen saga. Forget Paris is uneven (unsurprisingly, Winger is stronger in the dramatic sections and Crystal in the comic parts, a schism that takes its toll on their chemistry), but its best parts hold up, even if the whole is shaky. Plus, the movie's theme (that romantic memories aren't what makes a marriage work, you have to live! in the present) is explored with conviction and tenderness. --Bret Fetzer

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