Blast From the Past

• BLAST FROM THE PAST (DVD MOVIE)

Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 11/09/2010Coasting on the successes of Gods and Monsters and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser turns in yet another winning performance in this fish-out-of-water comedy in which Pleasantville meets modern-day Los Angeles, with predictably funny results. Fraser stars as Adam, who was born in the bomb shelter of his paranoid inventor dad (a less-manic-than-usual Christopher Walken), who spirited his pregnant wife (Sissy Spacek, in fine comic form) underground when he thought the Communists dropped the bomb (actually, it was a plane crash). Armed with enough supplies to last 35 years, the parents bring up Adam in Leave It to Beaver style with nary any exposure to the outside world. When the supplies run out, and dad suffers a heart attack, Fraser goes up to modern-day L.A. for some shopping and lon! g-awaited culture shock. More of a cute premise with lots of clever ideas attached than a fully fleshed out story, Blast from the Past is also supposed to be part romantic comedy, as the hunky Adam hooks up with his jaded Eve (Alicia Silverstone) and tries to convince her to marry him and go underground. The sparks don't fly, though, because Silverstone is saddled with the triple whammy of being miscast, playing an underwritten character, and suffering a very bad hairdo. Fraser, however, carries the film lightly and easily on his broad, goofy shoulders, mixing Adam's gee-whiz innocence with genuine emotion and curiosity; only Fraser could pull off Adam's first glimpse of a sunrise or the ocean with both humor and pathos. Also winning is Dave Foley as Silverstone's gay best friend, who manages to make the most innocuous statements sound like comic gems. --Mark Englehart

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Oakley Men's D-Wayne' Game Boardshort, Solar Green, 32

• Boardshort
• Board shorts

Surf/swim

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Any Given Sunday (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

• Life is a contact sport and football is life when three-time academy award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and a dynamic acting ensemble explore the fortunes of the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday.At the 50-year line of this gridiron cosmos is Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato, the embattled Sharks coach facing a full-on blitz of team strife plus a new, marketing-savvy sharks owner (Cameron Diaz) who's su

When a devastating hit knocks a professional football legend and quarterback Cap Rooney (Denis Quaid) out of the game, a young, unknown third-stringer is called in to replace him. Having ridden the bench for years because of a string of bad luck stories and perhaps insufficient character, Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx) seizes what may be his last chance, and lights up the field with a raw display of athletic prowess. His stunning performance over several games is so outstanding and fresh it seems to aug! ur a new era in the history of this Miami franchise, and forces aging coach Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) to reevaluate his time-tested values and strategies and begin to confront the fact that the game, as well as post-modern life may be passing him by. Adding to the pressure on D'Amato to win at any cost is the aggressive young President/Co-owner of the team, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), now coming into her own after her father's death. Christina's driving desire to prove herself in a male dominated world is intensified by her focus on the marketing and business of football, in which all coaches and players are merely properties.Any Given Sunday, Oliver Stone's salute-cum-exposé of pro football, belabors some pretty obvious points for nigh onto three hours; but between the frenetic editing, the pounding rap-music beats, and several flashy performances, it's certainly never dull. Al Pacino, coach of the fictional Miami Sharks (the NFL declined involvement in this! production), struggles with the most time-honored of sports m! ovie dil emmas: what to do with the old friend who's past his prime and the young hotshot who could save the franchise but first has to learn what being a team player is all about. Comedian Jamie Foxx does a marvelous dramatic turn as the rookie quarterback whose ego and talent are equally impressive, while Pacino seems more at ease in Oliver Stone Land than any actor since regular James Woods (on hand as well as a sleazy team doctor). Prowling the sidelines, shouting spittle-flecked orders, seizing up in almost physical pain when a play goes the wrong way, Pacino is as unashamedly--and entertainingly--hyperbolic as Stone's whirling montages of boiling storm clouds, bloodthirsty fans, and players smashed into the mud. (Once again football, perhaps the most sophisticated of team sports, is viewed cinematically as a bunch of guys hitting each other in slow motion.) Unfortunately, all the self-conscious mythologizing and pumped-up macho posturing that Stone can muster doesn't conceal a ! clichéd, slapped-together script, whose few good ideas (mostly about race in America) jostle about with several hoary, terrible ones--including a too-literal analogy of football players as modern gladiators. (To drive the point home, Stone includes Charlton Heston--the aging Ben-Hur--in one of many star-powered cameos.) All in all, Any Given Sunday is never dull, but never very enjoyable, either. --Bruce ReidLife is a contact sport and football is life when three-time academy award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and a dynamic acting ensemble explore the fortunes of the Miami Sharks in Any Given Sunday. At the 50-year line of this gridiron cosmos is Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato, the embattled Sharks coach facing a full-on blitz of team strife plus a new, marketing-savvy sharks owner (Cameron Diaz) who's sure Tony is way too old school. An injured quarterback (Dennis Quaid), a flashy, bull-headed backup QB (Jamie Foxx), a slithery team doctor (James Woods) ! and a running back with an incentive-laden contract (LL Cool J! ) also p rovide some of the stories that zigzag like diagrams in a playbook. and throughout, there's the awesome spectacle of motion, sound and action orchestrated by Stone.Any Given Sunday, Oliver Stone's salute-cum-exposé of pro football, belabors some pretty obvious points for nigh onto three hours; but between the frenetic editing, the pounding rap-music beats, and several flashy performances, it's certainly never dull. Al Pacino, coach of the fictional Miami Sharks (the NFL declined involvement in this production), struggles with the most time-honored of sports movie dilemmas: what to do with the old friend who's past his prime and the young hotshot who could save the franchise but first has to learn what being a team player is all about. Comedian Jamie Foxx does a marvelous dramatic turn as the rookie quarterback whose ego and talent are equally impressive, while Pacino seems more at ease in Oliver Stone Land than any actor since regular James Woods (on hand as well as ! a sleazy team doctor). Prowling the sidelines, shouting spittle-flecked orders, seizing up in almost physical pain when a play goes the wrong way, Pacino is as unashamedly--and entertainingly--hyperbolic as Stone's whirling montages of boiling storm clouds, bloodthirsty fans, and players smashed into the mud. (Once again football, perhaps the most sophisticated of team sports, is viewed cinematically as a bunch of guys hitting each other in slow motion.) Unfortunately, all the self-conscious mythologizing and pumped-up macho posturing that Stone can muster doesn't conceal a clichéd, slapped-together script, whose few good ideas (mostly about race in America) jostle about with several hoary, terrible ones--including a too-literal analogy of football players as modern gladiators. (To drive the point home, Stone includes Charlton Heston--the aging Ben-Hur--in one of many star-powered cameos.) All in all, Any Given Sunday is never dull, but never very enjoyable, ! either. --Bruce Reid

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Red Devil 3040 Scraper, Double Edge

• Red Devil
• 3040
• Utility Knives

This book is now a major motion picture released with the same title in August 2011. In 1987, Latif Yahia was taken to Saddam's headquarters to meet Uday, Saddam's eldest son, and told that a great honour had been bestowed upon him: that because of the great likeness between them, he had been chosen to be Uday's double. For many Iraqis it would have been the highlight of their lives, but for Latif, a peace-loving man who did not agree with Saddam's brutal regime, it was not. He refused. Following a week of torture, and realising he would be killed if he continued to refuse, Latif was forced to accept the role. After a gruesome training programme during which he was made to watch over thirty films of torture, hours of tapes of Uday, and undertake a final remodelling of his appearance, Latif was deemed ready. But it was only after the final test, a ! meeting with Saddam himself, that Latif made his first public appearance. And so began his life as Uday's double - a life on the perimeter of the inner circle of Saddam's eldest son, a witness to the horror of his insane life of debauchery, excess and brutality, and an experience for which he almost paid with his life on more than one occasion.Based on a gripping, unbelievable true story of money, power and opulent decadence, Lionsgate’s THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE takes a white- knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as Baghdad, 1987. Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ â€" or body double â€" to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein (also Dominic Cooper), a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his familyâ€! ™s lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self foreve! r as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince’s psychotic, drug-addled life of fast cars, easy women and impulsive violence. With one wrong move costing him his life, Latif forges an intimate bond with Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), Uday's seductive mistress who’s haunted by her own secrets. But as war looms with Kuwait and Uday’s depraved gangster regime threatens to destroy them all, Latif realizes that escape from the devil’s den will only come at the highest possible cost.After scene-stealing turns in The History Boys and An Education, charismatic Brit Dominic Cooper becomes a leading man--twice. Like Nicolas Cage in Adaptation, he plays two men with similar features and opposing personalities. In 1987, as Iraq is locked in a power struggle with Kuwait, Uday Hussein decides he needs a fiday, or body double, so he selects former classmate Latif Yahia, and doesn't give the army! lieutenant a choice. Upright Latif must put his scruples aside to take on the part of an insecure, misogynistic sadist. Though dazzled by the Black Prince's wealth, he finds his behavior horrifying, and discovers he isn't alone. Uday's security officer, Munem (Raad Rawi), his mistress, Sarrab (Swimming Pool's Ludivine Sagnier), and even his father, Saddam (Philip Quast, surprisingly sympathetic), all think he's off his rocker. When Uday's encounters with a couple of women come to a grim end, Latif runs away with Sarrab, who's just as anxious to make a new life for herself. New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who came to fame with Once Were Warriors, consistently goes for the big, the bold, and the operatic, leading to an entertaining, if lurid Scarface-like spectacle. The more his camera ogles Uday's snazzy suits and sexy conquests, the more he seems equally bedazzled by this real-life Devil. Fortunately, Cooper rises to the occasion with two impressive! ly divergent performances; he keeps you rapt no matter how rid! iculous the proceedings get. --Kathleen C. FennessyBased on a gripping, unbelievable true story of money, power and opulent decadence, Lionsgate’s THE DEVIL’S DOUBLE takes a white- knuckle ride deep into the lawless playground of excess and violence known as Baghdad, 1987. Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ â€" or body double â€" to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein (also Dominic Cooper), a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family’s lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince’s psychotic, drug-addled life of fast cars, easy women and impulsive violence. With one wrong move costing him his! life, Latif forges an intimate bond with Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), Uday's seductive mistress who’s haunted by her own secrets. But as war looms with Kuwait and Uday’s depraved gangster regime threatens to destroy them all, Latif realizes that escape from the devil’s den will only come at the highest possible cost.After scene-stealing turns in The History Boys and An Education, charismatic Brit Dominic Cooper becomes a leading man--twice. Like Nicolas Cage in Adaptation, he plays two men with similar features and opposing personalities. In 1987, as Iraq is locked in a power struggle with Kuwait, Uday Hussein decides he needs a fiday, or body double, so he selects former classmate Latif Yahia, and doesn't give the army lieutenant a choice. Upright Latif must put his scruples aside to take on the part of an insecure, misogynistic sadist. Though dazzled by the Black Prince's wealth, he finds his behavior horrifying, and discovers he isn't alo! ne. Uday's security officer, Munem (Raad Rawi), his mistress, ! Sarrab ( Swimming Pool's Ludivine Sagnier), and even his father, Saddam (Philip Quast, surprisingly sympathetic), all think he's off his rocker. When Uday's encounters with a couple of women come to a grim end, Latif runs away with Sarrab, who's just as anxious to make a new life for herself. New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who came to fame with Once Were Warriors, consistently goes for the big, the bold, and the operatic, leading to an entertaining, if lurid Scarface-like spectacle. The more his camera ogles Uday's snazzy suits and sexy conquests, the more he seems equally bedazzled by this real-life Devil. Fortunately, Cooper rises to the occasion with two impressively divergent performances; he keeps you rapt no matter how ridiculous the proceedings get. --Kathleen C. FennessyRed Devil 3040 Scraper, Double EdgeUse to remove paint or varnish from furniture, molding, cornices, wooden sashes, etc. Heavy-duty plastic handle.Red Devil 3040 Scraper, Double! Edge Features:; 1 1/2" (3.8 cm) Blade; Carded; Made from hardwood for long lasting life; Hardened high-carbon steel blades; Replacement blade 3062 (3673-5355); 7" x 1-1/2"

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Frost/Nixon [Blu-ray]

• Condition: New
• Format: Blu-ray
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen

From Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard comes the electrifying, untold story behind one of the most unforgettable moments in history. When disgraced President Richard Nixon agreed to an interview with jet-setting television personality, David Frost, he thought he’d found the key to saving his tarnished legacy. But, with a name to make and a reputation to overcome, Frost became one of Nixon’s most formidable adversaries and engaged the leader in a charged battle of wits that changed the face of politics forever. Featuring brilliant portrayals by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon is the fascinating and suspenseful story of truth, accountability, secrets and lies.Sounds like a good match: a historical drama from the author of The Queen, but! with an American subject in the generational wheelhouse of director Ron Howard. And so Peter Morgan's Tony-winning play morphs into a Hollywood movie under the wing of the Apollo 13 guy. Morgan's subject is a curious moment of post-Watergate shakeout: British TV host David Frost's long-form interviews with ex-President Richard Nixon, conducted in 1977. It was a big ratings success at the time, justifying the somewhat controversial decision to cut an enormous check for Nixon's services. The movie adds a mockumentary note to the otherwise straightforward style, having direct-to-camera addresses from various aides to Frost and Nixon (played by the likes of Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Kevin Bacon); these basically tell us things we already glean from the rest of the movie, adding unnecessary melodrama and upping the stakes. In this curious scheme, the success of Frost's career, which could bellyflop if he doesn't get something worthwhile out of the cagey, long-win! ded Nixon, is given somewhat more weight than the actual revel! ations o f the interviews. Even with these questionable storytelling decisions, there's still the spectacle of two actors going at it hammer and tongs, and on that level the movie offers some heat. Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair not only in The Queen but also in another Morgan-scripted project, The Deal, is adept at catching David Frost's blow-dried charm, as well as the determination beneath it. Frank Langella's physical performance as Nixon is superb, and he certainly can be a commanding actor, though veteran Nixon-watchers might find that he misses a certain depth of self-pity in the man. Both actors were retained from the original stage production, a rare thing in Hollywood--and probably Howard's best decision of the project. --Robert HortonFrom Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard comes the electrifying, untold story behind one of the most unforgettable moments in history. When disgraced President Richard Nixon agreed to an interview with j! et-setting television personality, David Frost, he thought he’d found the key to saving his tarnished legacy. But, with a name to make and a reputation to overcome, Frost became one of Nixon’s most formidable adversaries and engaged the leader in a charged battle of wits that changed the face of politics forever. Featuring brilliant portrayals by Frank Langella and Michael Sheen, Frost/Nixon is the fascinating and suspenseful story of truth, accountability, secrets and lies.Sounds like a good match: a historical drama from the author of The Queen, but with an American subject in the generational wheelhouse of director Ron Howard. And so Peter Morgan's Tony-winning play morphs into a Hollywood movie under the wing of the Apollo 13 guy. Morgan's subject is a curious moment of post-Watergate shakeout: British TV host David Frost's long-form interviews with ex-President Richard Nixon, conducted in 1977. It was a big ratings success at the time, justifyin! g the somewhat controversial decision to cut an enormous check! for Nix on's services. The movie adds a mockumentary note to the otherwise straightforward style, having direct-to-camera addresses from various aides to Frost and Nixon (played by the likes of Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell, and Kevin Bacon); these basically tell us things we already glean from the rest of the movie, adding unnecessary melodrama and upping the stakes. In this curious scheme, the success of Frost's career, which could bellyflop if he doesn't get something worthwhile out of the cagey, long-winded Nixon, is given somewhat more weight than the actual revelations of the interviews. Even with these questionable storytelling decisions, there's still the spectacle of two actors going at it hammer and tongs, and on that level the movie offers some heat. Michael Sheen, who played Tony Blair not only in The Queen but also in another Morgan-scripted project, The Deal, is adept at catching David Frost's blow-dried charm, as well as the determination beneath it. Fr! ank Langella's physical performance as Nixon is superb, and he certainly can be a commanding actor, though veteran Nixon-watchers might find that he misses a certain depth of self-pity in the man. Both actors were retained from the original stage production, a rare thing in Hollywood--and probably Howard's best decision of the project. --Robert Horton

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Zhu Zhu Puppies Bark Park Playset Puppies Not Included!

• Manufacturer's Suggested Age: 3 Years and Up
• Material: Plastic
• Educational Focus: Social Skills
• Number of Pieces: 11
• Dimensions: 11.75 " H x 4.0 " W x 13.5 " L
• Weight: 1.72 Lb.
• Care and Cleaning: Wipe Clean With a Damp Cloth

With German Shepherds, Collies, Dalmatians and Corgis, our 15 champion dogs are ready to train and play. The 50 pc. set has just the equipment needed for success. All in realistically detailed plastic. Larger dog house is 4 1/2 W. x 4" H. Ages 4 yrs. +. OUR Exclusive"This 51 pc. set is the purr-fect" place for feline fun! Including a 4 1/2" L. x 4 3/4" H. moving swing, climbing gym, beds, cat-care accessories and more. Durable plastic. Ages 4 yrs. +."A film about modern romance and the notion that a dog park is the singles bar of the late '90s. A young man, whose girlfriend! has just left him and taken their dog, falls for another woman who is also on the rebound, but prefers the company of her dog to the company of men.

Barbie and her puppies are ready for fun water play adventures at the water park. The Barbie Puppy Water Park Playset features a waterslide and Ferris wheel for the puppies to ride. Barbie also has a great squirt gun to enjoy water play fun with her favorite pup friends. It includes 1 doll, 2 puppies and a water park accessory.

• Product Dimensions: 14.5 (L) x 3.5 (W) x 12.75 (H)
• Age: 3 years and up

Your Puppies will discover endless adventures in this whimsical puppy playground! Set Includes* 1 bark park playset and accessories Puppies NOT Included!

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Xbox 360 4GB Console

• Sleek New Design
• 4GB internal memory
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Whisper Quiet

When asked to save a struggling auto dealership from bankruptcy, Jeremy Piven and his ragtag crew descend on a small California town to party and wreak havoc... and move some cars, in this outrageously funny comedy.Look out, Temecula, here comes Don Ready and his band of X-treme salesmen, rarin' to boost sales at a struggling car dealership over the course of a single hardcore weekend. That's the plan in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, a scattershot comedy featuring fast-talking Jeremy Piven as the slippery Mr. Ready, who knows how to lay on the discounts, the free food, and the personal appearances by bottom-tier celebrities. He and his for-hire team (Ving Rhames, David Koechner, and Kathryn Hahn) have three days to clear the lot, or the owner (a game James Brolin) will lose his business. The ! movie's at its funniest when going for non sequitur craziness (best exemplified by the zany-creepy vibe between Hahn and Brolin's ten-year-old son, played by Rob Riggle, whose glandular condition makes him look like a strapping 35-year-old). Good folks score in drive-by bits: Ed Helms does his best fatuous jerk, Craig Robinson glowers as a grumpy DJ, and producer Will Ferrell gets an extended cameo during which he spends much of his time falling from a plane without a parachute. (He's funny enough that you wish his role weren't confined to a flashback and a fantasy sequence.) The central role is tailor-made for Piven's skills, and he's suitably revved-up, but ultimately the movie leaves him stranded by trying to have it both ways: it can't decide whether it's a totally put-on sketch comedy or a more-or-less sincere redemption story. That won't fly, and the movie sputters accordingly. --Robert Horton

Stills from The Goods: Li! ve Hard, Sell Hard (Click for larger image)

The new Xbox 360® 4GB Console. Her! e today, ready for tomorrow with a brand new, leaner machine. Wi-Fi is built-in for easier connection to the world of entertainment on Xbox LIVE, where HD movies and TV stream in an instant. It’s ready for the controller-free experiences of Kinect â€" you don’t just play the game, you are the game. Xbox 360 is more games, entertainment and fun.

What’s In The Box?
• Xbox 360 4GB S Console
• Xbox 360 Black Wireless Controller
• Xbox 360 Composite A/V cable (standard definition)
• One Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership
• 1 year limited warranty on console

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Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (Widescreen Edition)

• All Movie Guide - As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and m

From Mel Gibson, director of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST and the Academy Award®-winning BRAVEHEART (Best Director, Best Picture, 1995) comes the thrilling historical epic APOCALYPTO. This intense, nonstop action-adventure transports you to an ancient South American civilization, for an experience unlike anything you’ve ever known. In the twilight of the mysterious Mayan culture, young Jaguar Paw is captured and taken to the great Mayan city where he faces a harrowing end. Driven by the power of his love ! for his wife and son, he makes an adrenaline-soaked, heart-racing escape to rescue them and ultimately save his way of life. Filled with unrelenting action and stunning cinematography, APOCALYPTO is an enthralling and unforgettable film experience.'Forget any off-screen impressions you may have of Mel Gibson, and experience Apocalypto as the mad, bloody runaway train that it is. The story is set in the pre-Columbian Maya population: one village is brutally overrun, its residents either slaughtered or abducted, by a ruling tribe that needs slaves and human sacrifices. We focus on the capable warrior Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), although Gibson skillfully sketches a whole population of characters--many of whom don't survive the early reels. Most of the film is set in the dense jungle, but the middle section, in a grand Mayan city, is a dazzling triumph of design, costuming, and sheer decadent terror. The movie itself is a triumph of brutality, as Gibson lets loose hi! s well-established fascination with bodily mortification in a ! litany o f assaults including impalement, evisceration, snakebite, and bee stings. It's a dark, disgusted vision, but Gibson doesn't forget to apply some very canny moviemaking instincts to the violence--including the creation of a tremendous pair of villains (strikingly played by Raoul Trujillo and Rodolfo Palacias). The film is in a Maya dialect, subtitled in English, and shot on digital video (which occasionally betrays itself in some blurry quick pans). Amidst all the mayhem, nothing in the film is more devastating than a final wordless exchange of looks between captured villager Blunted (Jonathan Brewer) and his wife's mother (Maria Isabel Diaz), a superb change in tone from their early relationship. Yes, this is an obsessive, crazed movie, but Gibson knows what he's doing. --Robert Horton

Beyond Apocalypto

!

More films directed by Mel Gibson

Apocalypto soundtrack by James Horner

Stills from Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (click for larger image)

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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 FrankieWinner of 6 international film festival 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.

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