- Widescreen
Beyond Bandidas
More Films from Salma Hayek | More Films from Penelope Cruz | More Comic Westerns |
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Beyond Bandidas
More Films from Salma Hayek | More Films from Penelope Cruz | More Comic Westerns |
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A talking baseball and a talking bat might not be the most likely characters to inspire a personal revelation about perseverance and self-esteem, but in Everyone's Hero it's just those two things that help young Yankee Irving (Jake T. Austin) overcome his reputation as a baseball loser and become a true American hero. A ten-year old spurned by the neighborhood kids because of his repeated strike-outs at ba! t, Yankee is at a point of personal crisis. A chance encounter with a talking foul ball named Screwie (Rob Reiner) and some time spent with his father (Mandy Patinkin), who's a janitor for the New York Yankees, gives Yankee cause for some serious reflection. When Babe Ruth's famous bat "Darlin'" (Whoopi Goldberg) is stolen by opposing teammate Lefty Maginnis (William H. Macy) and Yankee's father is fired as a result of the theft, it suddenly falls to Yankee and his new friend Screwie to find Darlin' and return her to Babe Ruth before the Chicago Cubs loose the final game of the World Series to the New York Yankees. The combined efforts of Screwie, Darlin', and new friend Marti Brewster (Raven-Symoné) aid Yankee in conquering his own self-doubt and infuse him with the self-confidence and strength to profoundly affect both his family and the entire baseball world. Produced by Christopher Reeve, this CGI animated presentation features a great cast of characters and voice tale! nt, and an important message about the power of perseverance. ! (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
Beyond Everyone's Hero
Everyone's Hero: The Movie Storybook (Paperback) | More Sports-Themed Family Films | Nothing is Impossible: Reflections on a New Life by Christopher Reeve |
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Bonus Features
English Dub
Deleted Scenes
US Trailers
International TrailersBased loosely on the 1982 martial arts epic Shaolin Temple, which helped to mint Jet Li as a star, this Hong Kong blockbuster from Benny Chan stars Andy Lau as a battle-weary warlord who finds refuge and then solace among the monks of a Shaolin temple. Set during the tumult of early Republican China, the story unfolds as Lau's warlord usurps his rivals, but at the cost of his daughter's life and his wife's loyalty. His spirit crushed, he decides to atone for his violent past by joining a Shaolin order (which counts Jackie Chan, in a glorified cameo, as its cook). Lau's path to enlightenment is cast into doubt! when he discovers that his former second-in-command (Nicholas! Tse, in an enjoyably overripe performance) has enslaved the local population and forced them to unearth relics in order to pay for greater weapons. Things naturally come to a head between Lau and Tse, but the film is less concerned with sprawling martial arts battles than the emotional conflicts between and within its major players. Honor, familial loyalty, remorse, and pursuit of spiritual wholeness are cornerstones of Hong Kong action films, but the depth of the performances and screenplay (by Alan Yuen) lends rich nuances to the subjects, often at the expense of adding an extra fight scene to the picture. That's perhaps a good thing, as martial arts choreographer Corey Yuen's usual pyrotechnics are hobbled somewhat by his leads, who are fine actors but only modest fighters, leaving the firepower to wushu champion Wu Jing as a Shaolin elder. Chan's formidable talents are used to underscore his comic contributions to the film, and as such, are only mildly entertaining. That's also! how most martial arts fans will view Shaolin, though those who value theme as well as action may find it a frequently thoughtful diversion. The Blu-ray collector's edition features a gallery of deleted scenes (mostly extended versions of scenes in the theatrical cut) and trailers, as well as a pair of by-the-books featurettes on the film's production. Slightly more interesting are a handful of interviews with the principals, which touch on the picture's historical basis and the '82 Li film, among other subjects. --Paul GaitaKimstim and Kino are proud to present this collection of short films from one of the world s greatest stop-motion animators: Kihachiro Kawamoto. Famous for his beautiful, expressive puppets, Kawamoto began his career in the 1950s. Honing his skills at the legendary Kratky Studios in Prague (under the mentorship of celebrated Czech animator Jiri Trnka), Kawamoto harnessed Japan s unique aesthetic traditions to create visually stunning stori! es. Drawing on ancient legends, contemporary short novels, as ! well as Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku doll theater, Kawamoto s haunting, poetic films speak of passion and loss in worlds populated by ghosts and demons. ALL FILMS ARE IN JAPANESE WITH OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED.
THE BREAKING OF BRANCHES IS FORBIDDEN (14 min / 1968 / Color) A monk orders a young acolyte, who happens to have a fondness for sake, to guard a beautiful cherry blossom tree.Â
AN ANTHROPO-CYNICAL FARCE (8 min / 1970 / B&W / IN FRENCH WITH OPTIONAL ENGLISH SUBTITLES) A dog race is interrupted by a ringmaster who attaches fish to the animals collars and makes them run in circles. The crowd becomes incensed and the ringmaster finds himself in a race for his life.
THE DEMON (8 min / 1972 / Color) A pair of hunters encounter a ghastly demon in the woods. Escaping by severing the apparition s arm, they make an even more grisly discovery on the journey home. Based on the 12th-century Japanese medieval legend Konjaku-monogatari.
THE! TRIP (12 min / 1973 / Color / NO DIALOGUE) A young girl sets off on a surreal metaphysical voyage through which she will learn all the pain and joy of life.
A POET S LIFE (19 min / 1974 / Color) A mysterious meditation on the power of poetic imagination. A worker fired from a factory for demanding higher wages is plagued by ghastly nightmares. Based on a story by novelist Kobo Abe.Â
DOJOJI TEMPLE (19 min / 1976 / Color) Two pilgrims, an elderly monk and his young disciple, out on a spiritual journey, encounter a mysterious woman whose frenzied passions transform her into a huge white serpent.
HOUSE OF FLAMES (19 min / 1979 / Color) A Japanese Drama of the Absurd. A young village woman is torn between two suitors. Out of anguish, she decides to destroy herself. Although her intentions are pure, her death reverberates with shocking consequences. The short films of Kihachiro Kawamoto represent a fusion of Eastern European stop-motion animation and tradit! ional Japanese Bunraku puppetry. Kawamoto studied under the gr! eat Czec h animator Jiri Trnka (The Puppet Films of Jiri Trnka), and his cut-out/puppet combination films--"An Anthropo-Cynical Farce," "The Trip," and "A Poet's Life"--share the dark visions of the old Soviet Bloc artists. "The Breaking of Branches is Forbidden," in which a drunken novice violates the orders of a severe old monk, echoes the farcical Kyogen comedies that break up programs of Noh plays. "Dojoji Temple" is a strikingly beautiful retelling of a popular Kabuki play: overcome by lust, a woman transforms into a demon-serpent to take revenge on the monk who rejects her. Kawamoto has said that "Dojoji" allowed him to experiment with the combination of two- and three-dimensional elements needed for "House of Flames," his masterpiece to date. Reminiscent of a Noh tragedy, the film recounts the story of three star-crossed lovers whose suffering transcends the phenomenal world. The title of the collection is not hyperbole: Kawamoto's films truly are exquisite. His most re! cent film, The Book of the Dead is also available on DVD. (Unrated: suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, alcohol use) --Charles SolomonJapanese pop stars Gackt and HYDE star in this wild hybrid of futuristic science fiction, John Woo-style gunplay, and Gothic vampire horror. MOON CHILD follows a group of childhood friends as they advance in a futuristic criminal underworld. Sho (Gackt) feels he is doomed to walk in his idol Kei's (HYDE) footsteps as a vampire with the gift of eternal life and the curse of blood thirst. Over time, their tight friendship becomes corrupted because of their rivalry and love for the same woman. Filmmaker Takahisa Zeze brings a stylized sting to the blood draining and hyper violent proceedings. Japanese with English subtitles.The musclebound Cimmerian warrior of Robert E. Howard's pulp novels makes a sword-swinging return to the screen in this action-packed epic. Follow Conan (Jason Momoa) as he embarks on a brutal and blood! -soaked quest for vengeance against Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang),! the evi l, power-mad warlord who slaughtered his people two decades earlier. With Rose McGowan, Rachel Nichols, Said Taghmaoui, and Ron Perlman. 112 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English, Spanish; audio commentary; featurettes.You think your childhood was rough? Check out the opening 20 minutes of Conan the Barbarian, a bone-cracking coming-of-age prologue that fully explains the "Barbarian" part of the name. The film gets off to a ripping start, including li'l Conan's lethal dispatching of a crowd of restless natives (it's not every lad that returns from camp with the decapitated heads of his enemies dangling from his shoulders) and a great deal of hoo-hah about the forging of swords. As the character grows into manhood, played by Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones), the cascade of brutality continues: boiling oil, nose trauma, death by metal fingernails--you name it, the movie has it. The "origin story" plot is a workable way! into the world of pulp writer Robert E. Howard's hero: Conan seeks vengeance for the death of his father (Ron Perlman) and pursues power-hungry Khalar Zym (Stephen Lang, enjoying the fruits of Avatar), who in turn seeks the final piece of a many-tailed magic mask, which will give him untold power. Rose McGowan is all spooky as Khalar's daughter (she's got the fingernails) and Rachel Nichols is an innocent slated to be sacrificed by the evildoers. Director Marcus Nispel rolls out the tech hardware for this relentless action picture, pumping up every sound with a digital whammy that might make your head feel it has been split in two by Conan's mighty sword (that is, if you didn't already feel that from the chaotic cutting--since the movie was originally released in uninspired 3-D, this visual unpleasantness was enhanced in theaters). The movie's not a complete bust, but it is a fairly punishing experience. As for Momoa, he's got the pectorals, and generally comes acro! ss as a likable sort. Of course, Conan isn't supposed to be a ! likable sort, so his casting will likely trigger an unexpected response in viewers familiar with the 1982 version of the character. You will miss Arnold Schwarzenegger. --Robert HortonInspired by the everlasting emotions expressed in Japanese Bunraku doll theatre, Dolls weaves three stories delicately intertwined by the beauty of sadness. Bound by a long red cord, a young couple wanders in search of something they have tragically forgotten. An aging yakuza mysteriously returns to the park where he used to meet his long-past girlfriend. A disfigured pop star confronts the phenomenal devotion of her biggest fanDolls is a film of extraordinary beauty and tenderness from a filmmaker chiefly associated with grave mayhem and deadpan humor. That is to say, this is not one more Takeshi Kitano movie focused on stoical cops or gangsters. The title refers most directly, but not exclusively, to the theatrical tradition of Bunraku, enacted by half-life-size dolls and their visib! le but shrouded onstage manipulators. Such a performance--a drama of doomed lovers--occupies the first five minutes of the film, striking a keynote that resonates as flesh-and-blood characters take up the action.
The film-proper is dominated by the all-but-wordless odyssey of a susceptible yuppie and the jilted fiancée driven mad by his desertion to marry the boss's daughter. Bound by a blood-red cord, they move hypnotically through a landscape variously urban and natural, stylized only by the breathtaking purity of light, angle, color, and formal movement imposed by Kitano's compositional eye and rigorous, fragmentary editing. Along the way we also pick up the story of an elderly gangster, haunted by memories of the lover he deserted three decades earlier and generations of "brothers" for whose deaths he was, in the accepted order of things, responsible. Another strand is added to the imagistic weave via a doll-like pop singer and a groupie blinded by devotion to her.!
This is a film in which character, morality, metaphysics,! and des tiny are all expressed through visual rhyme and startling adjustments of perspective. It sounds abstract--and it is--but it's also heartbreaking and thrilling to behold. Kitano isn't in it, but as an artist he's all over it. His finest film, and for all its exoticism, his most accessible. --Richard T. Jameson
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From his debut in 1984 to his final WWE match in 2010, the world has seen Michaels allure audiences and perform like no other entertainer in history. But that's inside the ring. What if you could walk beside the incomparable Heartbreak Kid outside the squared circle, beyond the curtain and spend four days with the man living a boyhood dream?
 Diary of a Heartbreak Kid shadows Shawn Michaels for an immensely poignant occasion of reflection, introspection and celebration as The Heartbreak Kid ! is inducted into the esteemed WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 2, 2011.
 In a moment-to-moment narrative, Diary captures the raw emotions and unfiltered candor of The Heartbreak Kid as he's reunited with family, friends and a veritable who's who of squared circle lore â" Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Ric Flair, The Rock, Vince McMahon â" all of whom have crossed and shaped Michaels' path to the Hall of Fame.
 With his beautiful wife, two jubilant children, time tested faith and nearly three decades of four-cornered memories, the retired Michaels steps back into the warmth of the limelight during the weekend of WWE's grandest extravaganza to experience the greatest honor in sports-entertainment. And with Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, you're riding shotgun.
It's the week of Wrestlemania, an event that began the same year as Shawn Michaels' decorated career, an annual spectacular that The Heartbreak Kid seized time after time as his per! sonal stage of excellence. Such a grand setting could not be m! ore appr opriate for WWEâs one and only Showstopper to add "Mr. Hall of Fame" to his myriad monikers.
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From his debut in 1984 to his final WWE match in 2010, the world has seen Michaels allure audiences and perform like no other entertainer in history. But that's inside the ring. What if you could walk beside the incomparable Heartbreak Kid outside the squared circle, beyond the curtain and spend four days with the man living a boyhood dream?
 Diary of a Heartbreak Kid shadows Shawn Michaels for an immensely poignant occasion of reflection, introspection and celebration as The Heartbreak Kid is inducted into the esteemed WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 2, 2011.
 In a moment-to-moment narrative, Diary captures the raw emotions and unfiltered candor of The Heartbreak Kid as he's reunited with family, friends and a veritable who's who of squared circle lore â" Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Ric Flair, The Rock, Vince McMahon â" all of wh! om have crossed and shaped Michaels' path to the Hall of Fame.
 With his beautiful wife, two jubilant children, time tested faith and nearly three decades of four-cornered memories, the retired Michaels steps back into the warmth of the limelight during the weekend of WWE's grandest extravaganza to experience the greatest honor in sports-entertainment. And with Diary of a Heartbreak Kid, you're riding shotgun.
More and more American children are emotionally hurt early in life and cannot form the relationships necessary to heal themselves. The cost to America as these children become adults is beyond estimation. This book takes a hard-hitting look at our society's key role in creating uncontrollable, unreachable young people and the no-nonsense steps we absolutely must take toward a genuine solution.Caution! High Voltage!
Electrician Sophie North felt as if she'd touched a live wire the first time she laid eyes on Tyler Barnes. That was to be expec! ted, of course.
He had a heartbreaking grin, an incredible b! ody and a thousand watts of cowboy charm. Half the women in Brody, Texas, were out to snag him. But Sophie was just passing through. And she'd sworn never to live her life at the mercy of her own passionate nature.
Nevertheless, every time Tyler came near her, her response was shocking. Which wasn't supposed to be happening.
Lightning was only supposed to strike once!After her brilliant career in a comedy duo with Mike Nichols, Elaine May made tentative progress as a director, making only four films between 1971 and 1987 (her last being the disastrous but underrated Ishtar). Released in 1972, The Heartbreak Kid (from a screenplay by Neil Simon) is widely considered her best work from behind the camera, and it's still one of the most accomplished--but least recognized--comedies of the 1970s. Charles Grodin landed one of his best roles as Lenny, a newlywed husband who meets a gorgeous blonde (Cybill Shepherd) while on his honeymoon, and finds his new bride, L! ila (played by May's daughter, Jeannie Berlin), unappealing by comparison. When Lila is forced to rest with a severe case of sunburn, Lenny's free to pursue his new interest, oblivious to the manipulative games that he'll soon be subjected to. May and screenwriter Simon draw plenty of pain, awkwardness, and embarrassment from hilarious situations, giving this comedy a perceptive awareness of human foibles and unchecked desires. It's a newlywed's worst nightmare come true, made enjoyable because we're watching it happen to someone else. Grodin's a prime choice of casting for expressing the movie's lusty anxiety--he's a schmuck, but you can still sympathize with the anguish he's brought on himself. --Jeff ShannonâG-d wears many masks. And one is Groucho Marx,â a narrator of Mel Waldmanâs daring and profoundly thoughtful novel declares. It is a clue and testimony to the threads of humor and irony that weave through this tale of erotic encounter, romance, insanity ! and murder. Ranging from the neighborhoods of Brooklyn to Manh! attanâ s Bleecker Street with stopovers at Kennebunkport, Maine, Dr. Waldman composes a dark and at times tender and moving fantasy of a modern day Odysseusâs quest for mental stability and love. Who Killed the Heartbreak Kid? is that rare mystery novel less concerned with whodunit than with the riddles of the human psyche.
Sidney Offit, novelist, teacher and curator of the George Polk Journalism awards.
Brooklyn noir and a thrilling ride through the labyrinth of the human psyche, revealing our darkest thoughts and emotions. A must-read!
Richard Freeman, Publisher of PBW.
Like a wild ride on the Coney Island Cyclone, itâs a breathtaking journey and murder mystery, with an intriguing exploration of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and multiple personality through the eyes of a trauma survivor. Non-stop excitement!
Richard E. Frenkel, M.D., author, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, researcher, lecturer, and speaker at the United Nation! s.
Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/06/2008 Run time: 115 minutes Rating: R
That all works; what doesn't work is Branagh's tendency to over-direct the big dramatic moments. He indulges in quick cutting and flashbacks as though to fend off the audience's objections to the four-hour running time, and the style sometimes looks like wasted energy. The experienced Shakespearians in the cast come off nicely; Derek Jacobi's Claudius, Richard Briers' Polonius, and Michael Maloney's Laertes are just terrific. Julie Christie is a suitably attractive Gertrude, and Kate Winslet makes the most of Ophelia's mad scenes. Branagh's habit of folding in unexpected American performers is on the ! mark, too: Billy Crystal is surprisingly good as the Gravedigger, Robin Williams predictably camps up Osric, and Charlton Heston is an inspired choice as the grandiloquent Player King. The biggest irony here is that Branagh himself is not quite spot-on as Hamlet. Of course he speaks the lines beautifully, but Branagh's screen personality radiates certainty and clarity of vision; there's little of the doubt that might make him Hamlet-esque. Still, tremendous credit for fending off slings and arrows to get the movie made. --Robert Horton
When young Pip accidentally meets a convict out in the marsh one Christmas Eve, he has no idea that his life is about to change--forever.  The amazing events following that encounter, and the strange tale of Miss Havisham and her adopted daughter Estella, have made Great Expectations a must-read since it was first serialized in 1860. Now, young readers can enjoy Dickensâs engrossing story in this simplified yet thrilling version.
Two of the most beloved novels in all of English literature--together in one extraordinary volume.
A TALE OF TWO CITIES
After 18 years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, ! the aging Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of the two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of the guillotine.
GREAT EXPECTATIONS
A terrifying encounter with an escaped convict in a graveyard on the wild Kent marshes; a summons to meet the bitter, decaying Miss Havisham and her beautiful, cold-hearted ward Estella; the sudden generosity of a mysterious benefactor--these form a series of events that changes the orphaned Pip's life forever, and he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman. Dickens's haunting late novel depicts Pipâs e! ducation and development through adversity as he discovers the! true na ture of his "great expectations."
This deluxe paperback edition features
â¢Ã‚   French flaps
â¢Ã‚   rough-cut high-quality paper
â¢Ã‚   complimentary front- and back-cover designs highlighting each novel and including foil and debossing
A Charles Dickens Timeline
1812 | Born February 7 in Portsmouth, England |
1824 | His father John sent to Marshalsea Debtor's Prison for a debt of £40 and 10 shillings |
Began working 10-hour days in shoe-polish warehouse to help support family | |
1833 | First story, "A Dinner at Poplar Walk," appeared in the Monthly Magazine |
1836 | First book, Sketches by Boz, collected his early journalism and stories |
First novel, The Pickwick Papers, began its monthly serialization | |
Married Catherine Hogarth | |
1837-39 | Oliver Twist! em> appeared in monthly installments |
1838-39 | Nicholas Nickleby serialized |
1840-41 | The Old Curiosity Shop |
1841 | Barnaby Rudge |
1842 | American Notes, based on his tour that year of the United States |
1843 | The Christmas Carol, the first of his "Christmas tales" |
1843-44 | Martin Chuzzlewit |
1846-48 | Dombey and Son |
1849-50 | David Copperfield |
1852-53 | Bleak House |
1854 | Hard Times |
1855-57 | Little Dorrit |
1857 | Met actress Ellen Ternan, his longtime companion |
1858 | Separated from his wife, Catherine |
1859 | !A Tale of Two Cities |
1860-61 | Great Expectations |
1864-65 | Our Mutual Friend |
1867-68 | Second tour of America |
1868-69 | Farewell reading tour of the British Isles |
1870 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished) |
Died from a stroke on June 9 |