Wrath of Gods

• Director's Cut, 72 minutes
• 2 hours of bonus material
• 1 hour exclusive interview with Gerard Butler
• Additional and extended scenes & exclusive interviews with the people behind Beowulf & Grendel
• Subtitles: Spanish, German, French, Icelandic, Polish + Version for the hearing impaired

This touching and humorous movie has earned the raves of critics and won the hearts of audiences everywhere! To spare the feelings of her fatherless boy, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer -- Disney's THE KID) secretly authors letters from his "father" that detail seafaring adventures from around the world. But she cannot maintain this illusion forever. Torn between exposing the truth and protecting her son, Lizzie gets more than anyone bargained for when she hires a handsome stranger (Gerald Butler -- THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE) to play the role of a li! fetime! Winner at both the Heartland Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, this entertaining motion picture is sure to touch your heart!Driven by intelligent, constantly surprising and moving performances from the film's leads, Dear Frankie stars Emily Mortimer (Lovely and Amazing) as Lizzie, Scottish mother of Frankie (Jack McElhone), a deaf and highly intelligent 9-year-old. Constantly uprooting themselves and relocating from town to town, Lizzie and Frankie are on the run from the latter's abusive father, a fact unknown to the boy, who believes his dad is a busy seaman sending letters full of adventure and love. In fact, Lizzie is writing those missives, but she is faced with a challenge when Frankie discovers his father's ship will dock nearby. Lizzie hires a kind, handsome stranger (Gerard Butler) to play Frankie's dad, creating an odd situation in which ever-growing lies become a conduit for love, and Lizzie's repressed desires come ! to the fore with a man posing as her husband. The moral tangle! s are of interest in director Shona Auerbach's charmingly paced, quietly insightful drama-comedy, but so is the glorious feeling of watching these characters come fully alive. --Tom KeoghDriven by intelligent, constantly surprising and moving performances from the film's leads, Dear Frankie stars Emily Mortimer (Lovely and Amazing) as Lizzie, Scottish mother of Frankie (Jack McElhone), a deaf and highly intelligent 9-year-old. Constantly uprooting themselves and relocating from town to town, Lizzie and Frankie are on the run from the latter's abusive father, a fact unknown to the boy, who believes his dad is a busy seaman sending letters full of adventure and love. In fact, Lizzie is writing those missives, but she is faced with a challenge when Frankie discovers his father's ship will dock nearby. Lizzie hires a kind, handsome stranger (Gerard Butler) to play Frankie's dad, creating an odd situation in which ever-growing lies become a conduit for love, and Lizz! ie's repressed desires come to the fore with a man posing as her husband. The moral tangles are of interest in director Shona Auerbach's charmingly paced, quietly insightful drama-comedy, but so is the glorious feeling of watching these characters come fully alive. --Tom KeoghUnited Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Short Film, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The title character in this bowl of Scottish blarney is a sweet nine-year-old deaf boy (Jack McElhone) who lives a fugitive existence with his beautiful mother (Emily Mortimer) and his chain-smoking grandmother (Mary Riggans). The family is forced to move every few months to avoid being tracked down by Frankie's violent, abusive father. Th! e happiness of the boy, who is too young to remember the his f! ather re volves around bogus letters penned by his mother posing as his devoted but absent dad, supposedly a merchant seaman. When a ship that coincidentally has the same name as the one his mother invented docks, she hires an impersonator (Gerard Butler) to play his seafaring dad. Although sensitively acted, the movie is a fraudulent mawkish yarn riddled with plot holes and improbabilities. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, European Film Awards, Montreal World Film Festival, ...Dear FrankieA GROUP OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDENTS BECOME TRAPPED IN THE PAST WHEN THEY GO THERE TO RETRIEVE THEIR PROFESSOR. THE GROUP MUSTSURVIVE IN 14TH CENTURY FRANCE LONG ENOUGH TO BE RESCUED.Just enough of Michael Crichton's novel survives in Timeline to make it a passable popcorn thriller. It's likely that Crichton fans will lament the shallowness of director Richard Donner's film, and its gee-whiz style of acting lays waste to any scientific credibility that Crichton's scenario might have retained! . Still, the Crichton formula is a sturdy one, following the model of Westworld and Jurassic Park by involving a small band of adventurers in a fantastical realm of danger and death. In this case, a group of archaeologists and combat experts (led by Paul Walker and Frances O'Connor) use a "3-D fax machine" (so much for technobabble!) to time-travel back to France in 1357, in hopes of retrieving Walker's father (Billy Connolly) and returning safely to the present. No such luck! Fending for themselves against marauding hordes of medieval French warriors at war with the invading British, these semi-intrepid travelers find their body count rising, and the deadline for their return home is rapidly approaching. All well and good, so far, and the castles-and-crossbows action reaches a fever pitch, but it's obvious that Donner's too lazy to make the much better film that this could and should have been. Despite its enjoyable highlights, Timeline is perfunctory ! entertainment. --Jeff ShannonWinner of 6 international ! film fes tival awards, this entertaining documentary tells the dramatic story behind the making of the epic movie Beowulf & Grendel, starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah Polley and Ingvar Sigurdsson. When Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson and his cast and crew, including Gerard Butler and Stellan Skarsgård, set upon Iceland to film Beowulf & Grendel in 2004, they expected the usual complications involved in making a major motion picture. What they encountered was a ruthless Icelandic winter on a foreboding landscape, financing complications and a bizarre run of bad luck that led some of them to believe they were in an epic battle with the Norse gods themselves. Filmmaker Jon Gustafsson was along for the ride. Hired to play one of Beowulf's warriors, he's one set with his camera as the crew battles hurricane force winds and he's in the backroom as the producers scramble to shore up a collapsing deal, creating an intimate portrait of filmmakers fighting the odds in pursuit of a vision. If you liked "Lost in la Mancha" or "Burden of Dreams" you will probably like this one. DVD Special Features: 2 hours of bonus features, 1 hour exclusive interview with Gerard Butler, exclusive interviews with producers of Beowulf & Grendel, additional & extended scenes, chapter selection, Subtitles: Spanish, German, French, Icelandic, Polish, English, version for the hearing impaired.

Dr. T and the Women

• 100% pre-shrunk cotton
• Wash warm; dry low
• Imported
• Listed in junior sizes
• By Ripple Junction

Dr. Sullivan Travis, a successful Dallas gynecologist, finds his life disrupted by the women in his life; his wife suffers a nervous breakdown, his eldest daughter plans to marry despite being a lesbian, his youngest daughter is a conspiracy freak, his se
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: R
Release Date: 21-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVDLoose-limbed and casual even for a Robert Altman movie, Dr. T & the Women has a sly, offhanded wit that makes up for its ramshackle structure. Richard Gere's eponymous gynecologist seems the model of success: his office is packed daily with the cream of Dallas's society matrons clamoring for an appointment, his home life is blessed with loving wife Farrah Fawcett and daughters Tara Reid and Ka! te Hudson, and when he needs a break from the estrogen congestion there are always weekends to be spent with his trio of hunting buddies. But on a trip to the mall to shop for Hudson's upcoming nuptials, Fawcett strips naked and leaps about in a waterfall. Her subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital (she's diagnosed with the fictional "Hestia complex," suffering from receiving too much affection) along with the ongoing preparations for the wedding barely make a dent in Gere's charming, compassionate demeanor. Then his golf course hires a new female pro who's everything the other women in his life are not--independent, self-confident, Helen Hunt--and Dr. T finds himself with yet another woman to love. Though the minor characters are mostly nasty little caricatures, the film is not the bitter misogynistic rant its detractors claim it is; the problems in Dr. T's life are placed squarely on his own inability to see that women don't need his genteel protection, and Gere pe! rfectly captures this sweet yet condescending blind spot. -! -Bruce R eidIn director Robert Altman's star-studded new ensemble comedy, Richard Gere is a frantically overworked, socially in-demand gynecologist whose life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Farrah Fawcett) has regressed into a childlike state, while one daughter (Tara Reid) is raising suspicions about the relationship between his soon-to-be-married other daughter (Kate Hudson) and her maid of honor (Liv Tyler). Meanwhile, just as his champagne-loving sister-in-law (Laura Dern) arrives with three nieces in tow, the doctor falls for the sexy new golf pro (Helen Hunt). As complications mount, the good doctor's life rapidly approaches the force of a Texas tornado!Loose-limbed and casual even for a Robert Altman movie, Dr. T & the Women has a sly, offhanded wit that makes up for its ramshackle structure. Richard Gere's eponymous gynecologist seems the model of success: his office is packed daily with the cream of Dallas's society matrons clamoring for an appointment, ! his home life is blessed with loving wife Farrah Fawcett and daughters Tara Reid and Kate Hudson, and when he needs a break from the estrogen congestion there are always weekends to be spent with his trio of hunting buddies. But on a trip to the mall to shop for Hudson's upcoming nuptials, Fawcett strips naked and leaps about in a waterfall. Her subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital (she's diagnosed with the fictional "Hestia complex," suffering from receiving too much affection) along with the ongoing preparations for the wedding barely make a dent in Gere's charming, compassionate demeanor. Then his golf course hires a new female pro who's everything the other women in his life are not--independent, self-confident, Helen Hunt--and Dr. T finds himself with yet another woman to love. Though the minor characters are mostly nasty little caricatures, the film is not the bitter misogynistic rant its detractors claim it is; the problems in Dr. T's life are placed squarel! y on his own inability to see that women don't need his gentee! l protec tion, and Gere perfectly captures this sweet yet condescending blind spot. --Bruce ReidLoose-limbed and casual even for a Robert Altman movie, Dr. T & the Women has a sly, offhanded wit that makes up for its ramshackle structure. Richard Gere's eponymous gynecologist seems the model of success: his office is packed daily with the cream of Dallas's society matrons clamoring for an appointment, his home life is blessed with loving wife Farrah Fawcett and daughters Tara Reid and Kate Hudson, and when he needs a break from the estrogen congestion there are always weekends to be spent with his trio of hunting buddies. But on a trip to the mall to shop for Hudson's upcoming nuptials, Fawcett strips naked and leaps about in a waterfall. Her subsequent incarceration in a mental hospital (she's diagnosed with the fictional "Hestia complex," suffering from receiving too much affection) along with the ongoing preparations for the wedding barely make a dent in Gere's char! ming, compassionate demeanor. Then his golf course hires a new female pro who's everything the other women in his life are not--independent, self-confident, Helen Hunt--and Dr. T finds himself with yet another woman to love. Though the minor characters are mostly nasty little caricatures, the film is not the bitter misogynistic rant its detractors claim it is; the problems in Dr. T's life are placed squarely on his own inability to see that women don't need his genteel protection, and Gere perfectly captures this sweet yet condescending blind spot. --Bruce ReidThis fitted tee features the one and only Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Dolls

• Legendary director & actor Takeshi Kitano (Brother, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) departs from his usual stylish gangster thrillers to present a masterpiece that is both artistic and moving. Bound by a long red cord, a young couple wanders in search of something they have tragically forgotten. An aging yakuza boss mysteriously returns to the park where he once met his long-past girlfriend. A disf

A mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett) and a young Japanese Warrior Yoshi (Gackt) both arrive in a town that has been terrorized by outrageous and virulent criminals. Each is obsessed with his seperate mission, and guided by the wisdom of The Bartender (Woody Harrelson) at the Horseless Horseman Saloon, the two eventually join forces to bring down the corrupt and contemptuous reign of Nicola (Ron Perlman), the awesomely evil woodcutter and his lady Alexandra (Demi Moore), a femme fatale with a secre! t past.A mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett) and a young Japanese warrior Yoshi (Gackt) both arrive in a town that has been terrorized by outrageous and virulent criminals. Each is obsessed with his separate mission, and guided by the wisdom of The Bartender (Woody Harrelson) at the Horseless Horseman Saloon, the two eventually join forces to bring down the corrupt and contemptuous reign of Nicola (Ron Perlman), the awesomely evil woodcutter and his lady Alexandra (Demi Moore), a femme fatale with a secret past.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 sword! s. 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 across 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 HortonA naïve young man assumes a dead man's identity in order to join a underworld game of Russian Roulette. The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. His only collateral is his life and however long his luck can hold. Are his odds any better than any other player in this most deadly game?In a young Republic of China, where greedy warlords fuel a period of war and strife, Hou Jie (Andy Lau) arrogantly shows no mercy to his enemies seeking refuge with the benign and compassionate Shaolin monks. After unscrupulously killing a wounded ! enemy, Hou Jie pays a terrible price for his actions and is fo! rced to seek refuge in the same Shaolin Monastery he blatantly disrespected. Hou Jie s traitorous second-in-command Cao Man (Nicholas Tse) continues where the once-warlord left off, betraying his country and his own people. Hou Jie must adapt to Shaolin principles to stop the monster he created.

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 ca! st 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 com! ic contributions to the film, and as such, are only mildly ent! ertainin g. 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 GaitaWhat happens when a man with everything a beautiful wife (Nicole Kidman), a teenage daughter (Liana Liberato) and a wealthy estate is confronted with the reality of losing it all? That is what Kyle Miller (Nicolas Cage) must come to terms with as he and his family become the victims of a vicious home invasion. Led by Elias (Ben Mendelsohn) and Jonah (Cam Gigandet), a gang of cold-blooded thugs holds Kyle and his loved ones hos! tage as they carry out their plans to take everything that Kyle holds dear, including his life.Kyle and Sarah Miller (Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman) are minding their own business, enjoying the fruits of his lavish success as a diamond salesman. Well, maybe not "enjoying"--there are hints this marriage isn't exactly fulfilling either spouse. Out of the blue, a gang of jewel thieves arrive to take the couple hostage, find the loot, and threaten their teenage daughter (Liana Liberato) in the bargain. And with that setup, Trespass is off and running for 90 minutes of pretty-near nonstop crazy-time, as the thieves begin to unravel and motor-mouth Kyle tries to talk them out of whatever latest strategy they attempt. When you learn that the film is directed by Joel (Batman & Robin) Schumacher, you may assume that the tone will be lurid, and it is. But darned if Schumacher doesn't manage to make a guilty-pleasure sort of experience out of the hothouse dialogue and r! ampant overplaying; if this movie had been produced on a low b! udget wi th unknown actors, it would probably be hailed as a B-movie sleeper. Cage overdoes the nerd factor, but Kidman manages to find some eerie moments (and cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak sure knows how to photograph her). Adding value is the chief hostage-taker, Ben Mendelsohn, whose sinister performance in Animal Planet marked him as a villain to watch; here, he memorably tries to keep it together as he juggles his fragile brother (Cam Gigandet), a trigger-happy henchman (Dash Mihok), and a strung-out girlfriend (Jordana Spiro). For the record, the absurd plot turns are almost impossible to defend, but the movie hurtles along so insanely you may not have time to care. --Robert HortonYou 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, pum! ping up every sound with a digital whammy that might make your! head fe el 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 across 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 disf! igured 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 visible 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, a! nd formal movement imposed by Kitano's compositional eye and r! igorous, 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 destiny 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

Ghost Dog - Way of Samurai - Whitaker Jarmusch 11x17 Poster

• 11x17 INCHES

A black hitman goes by the name Ghost Dog and lives by the code of the samurai.
Genre: Feature Film Urban Action
Rating: R
Release Date: 21-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVDForest Whitaker makes an unlikely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby street clothes, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative, and at times absurd, it's just the kind offbeat vision we've come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behavior outlined in Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film). When the local mob marks him for death in a complicated cod! e of Mafiosi-style honor, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war," remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-center humor. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-driven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western, and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honor in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean AxmakerForest Whitaker makes an unlikely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby street cl! othes, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way! of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative, and at times absurd, it's just the kind offbeat vision we've come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behavior outlined in Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film). When the local mob marks him for death in a complicated code of Mafiosi-style honor, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war," remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-center humor. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-dr! iven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western, and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honor in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean AxmakerForest Whitaker makes an unlikely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby street clothes, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative, and at times absurd, it's just the kind offbeat vision we've come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behavior outlined in Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film)! . When t he local mob marks him for death in a complicated code of Mafiosi-style honor, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war," remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-center humor. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-driven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western, and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honor in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean AxmakerIndie film director Jim Jarmusch always works! an unexpected angle, whether it's offbeat humor, a nonlinear narrative, or specific and idiosyncratic characterization. For his latest film--the story of a ghetto hit man who lives by the codes of the Hagakure, an 18th-century Japanese warrior text--Jarmusch enlisted RZA, a founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Instead of imagistic tone poems that serve to reinforce a certain mood, à la Neil Young on Dead Man, RZA offers active gunplay that propels the film's narrative. The 11 tracks serve as an RZA-producer showcase, standing as independent pieces, regardless of the movie itself. Tracks vary from the subdued "4 Sho Sho," which interpolates Forest Whitaker's interior monologue with RZA's street visions, to the stuttering rhythms of Kool G. Rap's "Cakes." Tekitha's '70s disco groove for "Walkin' Through the Darkness" offers unexpected sensuality, while "The Man" by Masta Killah sets things back on the gangsta tip. --Rob O'Connor Forest Whitaker makes an unlik! ely modern samurai with his laser-sighted pistols, shabby stre! et cloth es, and oddly graceful gait--but then Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is an unusual film. Quirky, contemplative, and at times absurd, it's just the kind offbeat vision we've come to expect from the fiercely independent Jim Jarmusch (Stranger than Paradise, Dead Man). Whitaker is Ghost Dog, a mysterious New York hit man who lives simply on a tenement rooftop and follows a code of behavior outlined in Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai (passages of this book are interspersed throughout the film). When the local mob marks him for death in a complicated code of Mafiosi-style honor, Ghost Dog sends a cryptic message to his foes. "That's poetry. The poetry of war," remarks mobster Henry Silva, with sudden respect upon reading the verse. He could be describing the ethereal beauty of Jarmusch's vision, full of wonderful imagery (a night drive across town seems to float in time) and off-center humor. Though it briefly stalls in a series of assassinations ! (Jarmusch is no action director), it settles back into character-driven drama in a quietly epic showdown, equal parts samurai adventure, spaghetti western, and existential crime movie. The film is likely too unconventional and offbeat for general audiences, but cult-movie buffs and Jarmusch fans will appreciate his idiosyncratic vision. He finds a strange sense of honor in the clash of Old World traditions, and salutes his heroes with a skewed but sincere respect. --Sean Axmaker

Frankie & Johnny Are Married

• In a hilariously misguided attempt to save his rocky marriage, Director Michael Pressman casts his wife opposite hit-shot actor Alan Rosenberg in a new play. But when Rosenberg can t differentiate between stage and real-life love scenes, it s up to Pressman to fix his marriage and keep the show on the road. Frankie & Johnny Are Married is a smart, witty romantic comedy that will touch anyone who s

In a hilariously misguided attempt to save his rocky marriage, Director Michael Pressman casts his wife opposite hit-shot actor Alan Rosenberg in a new play. But when Rosenberg can’t differentiate between stage and real-life love scenes, it’s up to Pressman to fix his marriage and keep the show on the road. Frankie & Johnny Are Married is a smart, witty romantic comedy that will touch anyone who’s been in a relationship.

City of Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, Book 3)

• ISBN13: 9780345515599
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

IT’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN ALIVE AND UNDEAD.
 
Chess Putnam has a lot on her plate. Mangled human corpses have started to show up on the streets of Downside, and Chess’s bosses at the Church of Real Truth have ordered her to team up with the ultra-powerful Black Squad agency to crack the grisly case.

Chess is under a binding spell that threatens death if she talks about the investigation, but the city’s most notorious crime bossâ€"and Chess’s drug dealerâ€"gets wind of her new assignment and insists on being kept informed. If that isn’t bad enough, a sinister street vendor appears to have information Chess needs. Only he’s not telling what he knows, or what it all has to do with! the vast underground City of Eternity.

Now Chess will have to navigate killer wraiths, First Elders, and a lot of seriously nasty magicâ€"all while coping with some not-so-small issues of her own. And the only man Chess can trust to help her through it all has every reason to want her dead.