![]() When people think of James Dean, they probably think first of the troubled teen from Rebel Without a Cause: nervous, volatile, soulful, a kid lost in a world that does not understand him. Made between his only other starring roles, in East of Eden and Giant, Rebel sums up the jangly, alienated image of Dean, but also happens to be one of the key films of the 1950s. Director Nicholas Ray takes a strikingly sympathetic look at the teenagers standing outside the white-picket-fence '50s dream of America: juvenile delinquent (that's what they called them then) Jim Stark (Dean), fast girl Judy (Natalie Wood), lost boy Plato (Sal Mineo), slick hot-rodder Buzz (Corey Allen). At the time, it was unusual for a movie to endorse the point of view of teenagers, but Ray and screenwriter Stewart Stern captured the youthful angst that was erupting at the same time in rock & roll. Dean is heartbreaking, following the method acting style of Marlon Brando but staking out a nakedly emotional honesty of his own. Going too fast, in every way, he was killed in a car crash on September 30, 1955, a month before Rebel opened. He was no longer an actor, but an icon, and Rebel is a lasting monument. —Robert Horton ![]() You wouldn't know it by watching the mostly ridiculous escapades on display in Wild America, but this comedy/adventure for young boys is marginally based on the true story of Marshall, Mark, and Marty Stouffer, three young brothers who successfully pursued their dream of becoming wildlife filmmakers. From their home in the South, the Stouffer boys embark on a cross-country trek to the West, where they hope to get rare footage from inside the dreaded Cave of the Sleeping Bears. Along the way they encounter cute British tourist girls, deadly alligators, a rampaging moose, and an Air Force fighter on a bombing range. In other words, Wild America is about as contrived as it could possibly be and still claim to be based on reality, but it is harmless enough for young viewers with its wholesome message about bravery, hard work, and family togetherness. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (from television's Home Improvement) leads the young cast of adventurers. —Jeff Shannon ![]() Limited Edition Packaging features a Lenticular Slipsleeve Cover and an Exclusive Collector's Book. ![]() A BOY GENIUS IN THE MAKING MUST COME TO THE RESCUE WHEN THE TOWN'S PARENTS ARE KIDNAPPED BY ALIEN INVADERS PLANNING TO TAKE OVER THE PLANET. ![]() When an unannounced, uninvited and unwelcome family of fun-loving misfits converge upon a lakeside resort to join their relatives for a summer of relaxation, the result is anything but restive in this raucous comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy., It's a vacationer's worst nightmare, as wheeler-dealer Aykroyd, his sexually repressed wife and eerie twin daughters join the easy-going Candy and his straight-laced clan for a season of fun in the sun. Unfortunately, the only thing these two in-laws have in common is their intense dislike for each other. Soon, it's brother-in-law against brother-in-law in an uproarious and hilarious fight to the finish to see which one really knows how to enjoy The Great Outdoors. ![]() A man who makes his living convincing women to run back into the arms of the men they have recently dumped is hired by his best friend to take out the beauty he longs to win back. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 01/13/2009 Starring: Jason Biggs Kate Hudson Run time: 112 minutes Rating: Ur | ![]() This hit-and-miss 1988 comedy pairs John Candy and Dan Aykroyd in a story of one family's summer vacation all but ruined by the uninvited appearance of another, more loutish family. Howard Deutch (Some Kind of Wonderful) directs from a half-hearted John Hughes script, which reduces Hughes's jokes-and-epiphanies formula (The Breakfast Club, Home Alone) to true gaudiness. On the other hand, Annette Bening makes her screen debut here. The DVD release has a widescreen presentation, production notes, trailer, optional French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. —Tom Keogh ![]() Matthew McConaughey is Tripp, a 35 year-old who still lives with his parents. And who can blame him? It's free, he's got a great room, and mom (Kathy Bates) does the laundry. Desperate to get him out of the house, his parents hire a gorgeous woman, Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), to give him a little.push. They just didn't expect Tripp would push back! Zooey Deschanel, Terry Bradshaw and Alias' Bradley Cooper co-star in this romantic battle of wills that proves there's no place like home. ![]() Walt Disney Pictures presents action hero Vin Diesel (XXX, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS) in a fast-paced comedy smash from the director of BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE! Lt. Shane Wolfe (Diesel) is a tough-as-nails Navy S.E.A.L. who has controlled military operations in every corner of the globe. Now the ultimate test comes when he's assigned to protect the home front ... as in a house loaded with five out-of-control kids! But even when he trades combat gear for diapers and juice boxes, it's not just a babysitting job — it's an adventure! ![]() Jackie Chan (RUSH HOUR 2) and Owen Wilson (THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) jump back in the saddle for SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, the hilarious sequel to the hit action-comedy SHANGHAI NOON. When Chon Wang (Chan) gets news of his estranged father's murder in Shanghai, he leaves his honorable life as Carson City's sheriff in a cloud of dust and reunites with his yarn-spinning sidekick, Roy O'Bannon (Wilson). Together they make their way to London on a daring quest for honor and revenge. Hilarious escapades and hair-raising adventures ensue as our heroes find themselves in the middle of a devious plot to eliminate the entire royal family. And Chon gives Victorian Britain a royal kick in the pants as he tries to avenge his father's death and keep love-struck Roy away from his sister! ![]() Set in Montana's Big Sky country, shot in Utah, lensed by Eric Alan Edwards (cinematographer of My Own Private Idaho)—no wonder it's hard to tell where Clay Pigeons lives, or where it's going. A Ridley Scott protégé previously at home in commercials and videos, debuting director David Dobkin aims to deliver us into the blackly comedic badlands of neo-noir, territory mined by the likes of Red Rock West and Fargo. Pigeons launches strongly, with several cruel turns of the screw. Out target-shooting, Clay Birdwell (Joaquin Phoenix) is hit with the news that his best pal knows he's been boffing his ur-slut wife (Georgina Cates) and could take Clay out on the spot, but chooses a creepier revenge—committing suicide in order to frame the guy who's cuckolded him. Naturally, Clay covers up the mess, thereby opening the film's can of very nasty worms. A slick, fast-talking cowboy (Vince Vaughn)—the funhouse-mirror-opposite of Phoenix's sweet, slow farmboy—turns up, and a string of ugly murders begins to play out. Once Vaughn's Lester Long is on the scene, spreading his psychotically giggling bonhomie, Dobkin's skin-deep riff on Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train pretty much belongs to him. The rest of the cast looks more or less like clay pigeons set up by a scattershot script: exceptions include the always-estimable Scott Wilson who transforms his caricature-prone Sheriff Mooney into a character of nuanced humanity, and Janeane Garofalo, as an urban-hip FBI agent, whose single-chick sarcasm goes down in flames when Lester unholsters those big guns of come-hither charm. John Lurie of Lounge Lizards fame contributes a distinctive score, but Elvis Presley acts as the film's patron saint in more ways than one: Clay Pigeons' sexiest, scariest wet work is choreographed to "It's Now or Never." —Kathleen Murphy ![]() In this hilarious box office hit, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson have perfected the art of wedding crashing but when one of them actually falls in love their sacred rule, "never leave a fellow crasher behind," may be broken! ![]() Set in Montana's Big Sky country, shot in Utah, lensed by Eric Alan Edwards (cinematographer of My Own Private Idaho)—no wonder it's hard to tell where Clay Pigeons lives, or where it's going. A Ridley Scott protégé previously at home in commercials and videos, debuting director David Dobkin aims to deliver us into the blackly comedic badlands of neo-noir, territory mined by the likes of Red Rock West and Fargo. Pigeons launches strongly, with several cruel turns of the screw. Out target-shooting, Clay Birdwell (Joaquin Phoenix) is hit with the news that his best pal knows he's been boffing his ur-slut wife (Georgina Cates) and could take Clay out on the spot, but chooses a creepier revenge—committing suicide in order to frame the guy who's cuckolded him. Naturally, Clay covers up the mess, thereby opening the film's can of very nasty worms. A slick, fast-talking cowboy (Vince Vaughn)—the funhouse-mirror-opposite of Phoenix's sweet, slow farmboy—turns up, and a string of ugly murders begins to play out. Once Vaughn's Lester Long is on the scene, spreading his psychotically giggling bonhomie, Dobkin's skin-deep riff on Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train pretty much belongs to him. The rest of the cast looks more or less like clay pigeons set up by a scattershot script: exceptions include the always-estimable Scott Wilson who transforms his caricature-prone Sheriff Mooney into a character of nuanced humanity, and Janeane Garofalo, as an urban-hip FBI agent, whose single-chick sarcasm goes down in flames when Lester unholsters those big guns of come-hither charm. John Lurie of Lounge Lizards fame contributes a distinctive score, but Elvis Presley acts as the film's patron saint in more ways than one: Clay Pigeons' sexiest, scariest wet work is choreographed to "It's Now or Never." —Kathleen Murphy |
















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