Sunday, October 2, 2011

Signed Lord Of The Rings (Elijah Wood / Cate Blanchet) 8x10

Wood
Blanchet Photo

  • Comes with Powers Collectibles COA and matching authenticity holograms
VERONICA GUERIN - DVD MovieIreland's most beloved and tragic contemporary hero/martyr gets the Hollywood treatment in the fact-based thriller Veronica Guerin, an average film made recommendable for a fine performance by Cate Blanchett in the title role. The life, work, and assassination of the slain Irish journalist is respectfully chronicled in this gritty, streetwise biopic by director Joel Schumacher, beginning with her 1996 murder (by Irish gangsters) and flashing back to her diligent efforts, begun in 1994, to expose the drug trade that plagued Ireland for most of the decade. Blanchett is flawless in a role that combines passion, courage, and recklessness in a way that doesn't sugar-coat Guerin's character or imbue her with artificial heroics. Unfortunately, Schumacher (who makes room for an unbilled Colin Farr! ell cameo) and a naggingly unsophisticated screenplay turn Guerin's complex story into a conventionally accessible thriller that sometimes seems too good to be true, which is ironic given that Guerin's story was fictionalized in the marginally better 2000 film When the Sky Falls, starring Joan Allen. Recommendable for Blanchett's performance and two memorably villainous roles for Ciarán Hinds and Gerald McSorley, Veronica Guerin is an adequate tribute that could and should have been exceptional. --Jeff ShannonANNIE HAS THE GIFT. SOME FEAR HER, OTHERS CLAIM SHE'S A WITCH. BUT NOW, A MURDER HAS BEEN COMMITTED AND ONLY SHE CAN SOLVE IT. ON A TWISTED TRAIL OF OPEN INFIDELITY AND JEALOUS RAGE, SHE SEES VISIONS THAT WILL HAUNT HER AND DISCOVERS A TRUTH THAT WILL TEAR THE TOWN APART.Take a pinch of psychic phenomenon, add a dash of Southern gothic, stir in a sharp cast of talented actors, and you'll come up with The Gift, director Sam Raimi's ingenious! gumbo of a thriller. It doesn't hold together as well as Raim! i's earl ier A Simple Plan, but the two films are stylistically connected--The Gift was cowritten (with Tom Epperson) by A Simple Plan's costar, Billy Bob Thornton, who in turn draws from the Deep South milieu that informed his own Sling Blade and his earlier collaboration with Epperson, One False Move. A similar sense of mystery permeates The Gift, in which a small-town Georgia psychic (perfectly played by Cate Blanchett) is tormented by tragic loss and visions connected to the murder of a local vamp (Katie Holmes) whose schoolteacher fiancé (Greg Kinnear) is a prime suspect.

Other suspects include a hot-tempered bully (Keanu Reeves) whose battered wife (Hilary Swank) is one of the psychic's regular clients, and a traumatized local (Giovanni Ribisi) who is tenuously stabilized by therapy and antidepressants. While this trio of potential killers keeps the mystery alive, the requisite red herrings don't add much to the film's low-level s! uspense. Instead, Raimi is far more effective in creating an atmosphere of anxious dread that wells up from each of these finely drawn characters, starting with the widow psychic's extended mourning for her lost husband, the agonized terror of a beaten wife, and the percolating anger of a cuckolded spouse. All of this makes The Gift a worthy showcase for its esteemed cast, even as its plot twists grow increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon This item comes with a certificate of authenticity from LCG Signatures.Signed 8x10

Wood
Blanchet comes with powers collectibles coa and matching holograms

The Legend Of Drunken Maste r/ Jackie Chan's Project A2

  • THE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER:The action legend himself -- Jackie Chan (SHANGHAI NOON, RUSH HOUR) -- explodes across the screen in a power-packed adventure that critics agree captures some of the most incredible action stunts ever! When the British government is discovered smuggling precious Chinese artifacts out of the country, folklore hero Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) uses his uniquely outlandish style
SAVIOR OF THE SOUL II - DVD MovieRosamund Kwan plays a ghost who competes with Ellen over a man, played by Tony Leung. This movie was at the peak of Ellen Chan's career. Ellen acted as a beautiful office lady and all men in the office were going after her. She was wearing those black high heels, tight black skirt and red office blazer with long curly hair. Everybody just go crazy over her. Then there was this ghost acted by Rosemuan Kwan. How can they name this movie Pretty Ghost, they should have na! me it `Pretty Office Girl!'. Well at the end, Ellen did the right thing by not risking her life to save this guy. Smart girl. Tony, an architect, is in love with Ellen. But his affection is not answered. One night, Tony is attacked by a vicious ghost. He is saved by a beautiful ghost, Rebecca. Somehow Tony and Rebecca can communicate without even talking. Rebecca finds out Tony's devotion to Ellen. She starts to be the matchmaker, Ellen finally agrees to marry Tony. But when Ellen learns Rebecca is a ghost, she runs away. Chasing her, Tony is about to be killed in a car accident, only to be rescued by Rebecca. But Rebecca is vanquished by a thunderbolt.Tells the story of Wong Fei Hung, legendary Cantonese martial arts master and folk hero of turn of the century China.
Genre: Foreign Film - Chinese
Rating: R
Release Date: 17-SEP-2002
Media Type: DVDThe first of a popular series (six in all) starring the charismatic and athletically a! dept Jet Li. Li plays legendary folk hero Wong Fei Hong, a la! te 19th century southern Chinese healer and kung fu master. The story begins with Western powers (American, British, and French) encroaching on the city of Canton. Wong is asked by the Black Flag army to safeguard the town by creating his own militia of kung fu experts. His assistants include the butcher "Porky" (Kent Cheng), a Chinese-American named Bucktooth So (Jacky Cheung), and his westernized "Auntie" Yee (Rosamund Kwan), a non-blood-related childhood friend for whom he holds a special affection. But the Westerners aren't the only problem in Canton. The Sha Ho gang terrorizes local businesses and has begun dealing with the Americans in exporting Chinese for slave labor and prostitution. A down-on-his-luck kung fu master named Iron Vest Yim (Yan Yee Kwan) has decided he needs to defeat Wong to open a school and Leung Fu (Jackie Chan contemporary Yuen Biao), a traveling opera troupe groupie, just keeps getting in the way. This epic martial-arts film showcases Li's amazing figh! ting and acrobatic skills and established Tsui Hark as a top-notch action film director. The final fight scene between Wong and Yim entails a dizzying orchestration of kicks and punches while teeter-tottering on ladders. The DVD features star bios, filmographies, trailers, and clips from early Wong Fei Hong films that starred veteran actor Kwan Tak Hing. --Shannon GeeTHE LEGEND OF DRUNKEN MASTER:The action legend himself -- Jackie Chan (SHANGHAI NOON, RUSH HOUR) -- explodes across the screen in a power-packed adventure that critics agree captures some of the most incredible action stunts ever! When the British government is discovered smuggling precious Chinese artifacts out of the country, folklore hero Wong Fei-Hung (Chan) uses his uniquely outlandish style of martial arts ... Drunken Boxing ... to fight the conspirators and salvage the valuables before it's too late! And the more Hung drinks, the more agile he becomes -- able to fend off numerous attacks with unbe! lievable moves! With Chinese treasures and family pride on the! line, H ung steps up to every challenge in this fun and unstoppably entertaining hit! JACKIE CHAN's PROJECT A2: Director and star Jackie Chan (RUSH HOUR 1 & 2, SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, THE TUXEDO, SHANGHAI NOON) is at his hard-hitting, high-flying best in this powerfully entertaining, action-packed treat! After defeating the evil Pirate Lo on the high seas, Dragon Mao (Chan) is assigned to lead the local police force. But he soon discovers that police corruption is running wild right under his nose! When he's framed for a jewelry robbery, Dragon Mao must fight to clear his name while battling with a group of spies, pirates, and revolutionaries who want to see him go down hard! Also starring the amazing Maggie Cheung

Green Card

  • In the same romantic spirit as PRETTY WOMAN and GHOST, GREEN CARD lights up the screen with its irresistible charm and lighthearted humor! The fun starts when two strangers (Andie MacDowell, SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE), and Academy Award(R)-nominee Gerard Depardieu (CYRANO DE BERGERAC) agree to a marriage of convenience -- thinking it's going to be hassle-free. She'll get to live in the apar
Based on the novel by one of the world's best-selling authors, the Lifetime Original Movie PATRICIA CORNWELL S THE FRONT is the fast-paced sequel to Patricia Cornwell s At Risk and it reunites Monique Lamont (Andie MacDowell, Sex, Lies and Videotape) and Win Garano (Daniel Sunjata, Rescue Me) to investigate Boston s most famous criminal. Attempting to generate much needed publicity for her flagging political aspirations, Monique orders Win to re-open the investigation of the brutal, decades-old murder of a ! young blind woman named Janie Brolin. Janie s boyfriend was the main suspect in the original investigation, but Monique has another suspect in mind the Boston Strangler. Win must work closely with a no-nonsense and combative female detective named Stump (Ashley Williams, Good Morning, Miami) to unpeel layer upon layer of the 40-year-old crime. Win and Stump s relationship evolves as they uncover the truth about Janie s death and track down a psychopath who is leaving their witnesses and colleagues dead in his wake.This funny and touching story centers on Kate a forty-year-old respectable and successful headmistress in a small English village who gets together with her single friends Molly a doctor and Janie a local police detective every Monday to drink eat chocolate and decide who is the Saddest of the Week. Things start to turn displeasing between the three friends when Kate begins an affair with Jed a sexy 25-year old ex-pupil and is no longer the Saddest of the Week!Sys! tem Requirements: Running Time 122 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:!  MYSTER Y/SUSPENSE Rating: R UPC: 043396079021 Manufacturer No: 07902At first Crush seems to be merely the latest film to portray a clique of boozy, trash-talking women as part of a larger, liberated sisterhood worthy of celebration if not admiration. The lighthearted comedy abruptly detours, however, to expose vicious jealousies with brutal, unexpected consequences. A trio of single women in their 40s, Kate, Janine, and Molly (Andie MacDowell, Imelda Stanton, and Anna Chancellor) engage in a weekly ritual of gin, cigarettes, and joyous male sniping that despite its occasional glimpses of bare insecurity is all good "girl" fun. But when Kate, headmistress at the local school, takes up with a former student (Kenny Doughty) nearly 20 years younger and falls wildly in love, her closest friends, rather than embrace a true departure from social mores, plan instead to sabotage Kate's happiness and bring her to her senses. In one of the most inexplicable twists you're likely to s! ee in a comedy, Janine and Molly's ploy takes an unexpectedly lethal turn, and Crush goes from amusing, if predictable, to downright nasty, and then back to end on a happy note. The effect is provocative, though perhaps unintended. --Fionn Meade What begins as an average day for ethan takes a dangerous turn when hes kidnapped & held hostage in his apartment. The home invaders arent looking to rob him: instead they are looking to avenge the death of a right-wing cult leader. But the more they interrogate him the more they doubt hes the killer. Studio: Millenium Media Services Release Date: 10/12/2010 Starring: Andie Macdowell Frank Whaley Run time: 91 minutes Rating: RThe director Michael Lindsay-Hogg has a name that sounds British despite the fact that he is a New Yorker by birth. Maybe that association derives from the fact that he's primarily helmed television films--segments of Brideshead Revisited, for example, as well as a pile of music videos! for English bands like the Who and the Rolling Stones. One of! his few ventures into feature filmmaking (another was the little-seen Frankie Starlight) is the 1990 film The Object of Beauty, which also looks, sounds, and feels British in sensibility. The film is set in a tony London hotel, the weather is England-dreary, and the clothes (when the actors are wearing them) are tweedish and woolly in appearance. And the story is essentially repressed and internal save for the brash American performances of John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell, who play a couple living way above their limited financial means. When Jake (Malkovich) bottoms out in a business deal, he urges Tina (MacDowell) to sell her little Henry Moore sculpture, an object of great beauty. Such beauty, in fact, that a young mute hotel maid decides to steal it for her own. The actress Rudi Davies, who plays the maid, steals more than the Moore, however. She sneaks the film out from under Malkovich and MacDowell, who was just coming off of her sex, lies, and videotape acclaim, and who is quite good here as well. The Object of Beauty is too subtle in its message--Jake and Tina lose their last monetary chance and in penury begin to discover who they are as people--to let us care about such a pouty pair, and the "hilarious mix-ups and mayhem" that the film promises are, in actuality, tame and trite. --Paula Nechak OBJECT BEAUTY - DVD MovieThe director Michael Lindsay-Hogg has a name that sounds British despite the fact that he is a New Yorker by birth. Maybe that association derives from the fact that he's primarily helmed television films--segments of Brideshead Revisited, for example, as well as a pile of music videos for English bands like the Who and the Rolling Stones. One of his few ventures into feature filmmaking (another was the little-seen Frankie Starlight) is the 1990 film The Object of Beauty, which also looks, sounds, and feels British in sensibility. The film is set in a tony London hotel! , the weather is England-dreary, and the clothes (when the act! ors are wearing them) are tweedish and woolly in appearance. And the story is essentially repressed and internal save for the brash American performances of John Malkovich and Andie MacDowell, who play a couple living way above their limited financial means. When Jake (Malkovich) bottoms out in a business deal, he urges Tina (MacDowell) to sell her little Henry Moore sculpture, an object of great beauty. Such beauty, in fact, that a young mute hotel maid decides to steal it for her own. The actress Rudi Davies, who plays the maid, steals more than the Moore, however. She sneaks the film out from under Malkovich and MacDowell, who was just coming off of her sex, lies, and videotape acclaim, and who is quite good here as well. The Object of Beauty is too subtle in its message--Jake and Tina lose their last monetary chance and in penury begin to discover who they are as people--to let us care about such a pouty pair, and the "hilarious mix-ups and mayhem" that the film pr! omises are, in actuality, tame and trite. --Paula Nechak Describes the career of Andie MacDowell and how she achieved success as a fashion model. Includes her goals and personal beauty tips.In the same romantic spirit as PRETTY WOMAN and GHOST, GREEN CARD lights up the screen with its irresistible charm and lighthearted humor! The fun starts when two strangers (Andie MacDowell, SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE), and Academy Award(R)-nominee Gerard Depardieu (CYRANO DE BERGERAC) agree to a marriage of convenience -- thinking it's going to be hassle-free. She'll get to live in the apartment of her dreams, he'll get a "green card" to live in the U.S. But before they know it, the two opposites encounter far greater differences than most married couples could ever imagine! And worst yet, this mismatched twosome just might be falling love. Winner of two Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture and Best Actor), this delightful tale enjoyed cheers from critics and audiences alike. With its! sunny mix of wit, spirit, and charm, GREEN CARD is an enterta! ining hi t you'll never forget!With the help of his lawyer, Georges (Gérard Depardieu), a composer and one-time petty thief who grew up in poverty, attempts to escape his life in Paris and begin anew in America by illegally marrying Bronte (Andie MacDowell), a prim and repressed young lady from a privileged life in Connecticut. Bronte, who has agreed to the scheme for her own self-serving reasons, is exasperated when the Immigration & Naturalization Service investigates their case, and she and Georges, whom she detests, must spend time together studying each other's lives to avoid disaster. The fallout, and how it ends, is infinitely more delightful than your run-of-the-mill Hollywood romantic comedy, and the very ending itself stops deliciously short of where Hollywood would feel compelled to drag the story. Fine performances are given by MacDowell, Depardieu--who is fiercely charming pounding the keyboard of a Steinway at an upper class Manhattan dinner party--and Bebe Neuwirth! , who is perfect as an upper-class child turned artist who revels in her irresponsibility. --James McGrath

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Elektra (Widescreen Edition)

  • TESTED
THE FILM FOLLOWS GRAY WHEELER WHILE SHE CONFRONTS HER GRIEF OVER THE DEATH OF HER SEEMINGLY PERFECT FIANCE. WHEN GRAY TURNS TO HER FIANCE'S FRIENDS FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, SHE DISCOVERS THAT THERE WERE A FEW THINGS SHE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HER LATE BEAU. SHE ALSO STARTS TO DEVELOP FEELINGS FOR ONE OF HIS FRIENDS.Jennifer Garner's lips grow more Angelina-esque every year. In the romantic comedy Catch and Release, Garner (Alias, 13 Going On 30) plays Gray Wheeler, a young woman whose fiance dies unexpectedly before the wedding, leaving Gray unable to afford her home--so she moves in with her fiance's best friends, Sam (Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Dogma) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger, Lucky Number Slevin). But the presence of another old friend named Fritz (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood) leads to the unveiling of a secret: Gray's fiance had a child with! another woman. Catch and Release lacks the clear story structure that most romantic comedies are built on, but trades it for a richer sense of the ambiguities of human relationships. Garner, though lovely and personable, is a bit bland--fortunately, she's surrounded by actors with all kinds of edges, including Smith (who shows an unexpected and uncloying earnest side), Fiona Shaw (from the Harry Potter movies) as the fiance's grieving mother, and Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), who demonstrates once again her powers as a fearless and surprising actress. Catch and Release is an uneven movie, with a remarkably elegant visual style that sometimes clashes with the workmanlike dialogue, but it can't be written off as the same old Hollywood claptrap. Though a happy ending is inevitable, the path it takes has some surprising turns and flashes of unexpected emotional depth.-- Bret Fetzer

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Stills from Catch and Releas! e ( click for larger image)







Beyond Catch and Release on Amazon.com

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More Films from Jennifer Garner

CD Soundtrack

More Romantic Comedies

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST - DVD MovieStarring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner and directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), Ghost of Girlfriends Past seems to be lacking some of the chemistry we have seen from the stars in similar romantic comedies, but is still entertaining and worth a watch. McConaughey plays a womanizer named Conner Mead far from settling down who is forced to take a Christmas Carol-type journey through girlfriends of his past, present and future while attending his brother’s wedding weekend. Jenny (Garner) is the childhood sweetheart and longstanding object of his affection. Will he be able to grow up and admit his love for Jenny before the weekend is over, or will he continue his man-whore ways and lose her forever? Although McConaughey and Garner both tread familiar territory, they’re so good at it that you don’t mind. Some of the best scenes i! n the movie involve Michael Douglas, who is perfect as Conner’s dead uber-womanizing mentor Uncle Wayne, and Lacey Chabert, who is also hilarious as the stressed out bride-to-be. Yes, it’s predictable and cheesy, but it has some real moments and provides laughs--and that is exactly what a romantic comedy is for. --Lisanne ChastainFROM THE FORCES THAT BROUGHT YOU X-MEN AND DAREDEVIL?Superstar Jennifer Garner proves that looks can kill as the sexiest action hero ever to burst from the pages of Marvel Comics. Restored to life after sustaining mortal wounds in Daredevil, an icy, solitary Elektra (Garner) now lives only for death as the world?s most lethal assassin. Using her bone-crunching martial arts skills and Kimagure?the ability to see into the future?Elektra is on a collision course with darkness? until her latest assignment forces her to make a choice that will lead either to her redemption or destruction in the ultimate battle between good and evil!While 20! 03's Daredevil was a conventional superhero movie, the ! 2005 spi noff, Elektra, is more of a wuxia-styled martial arts/fantasy flick. Elektra (Jennifer Garner) has returned to her life as a hired assassin, but she balks at an assignment to kill a single father (Goran Visnjic, ER) and his teenage daughter (Kirsten Prout). That makes her the target of the Hand, an organization of murderous ninjas, scheming corporate types, and a band of stylish supervillains seeking to eliminate Elektra and tip the balance of power in the ongoing battle of good vs. evil.

As the star of Alias, Garner has proven that she can kick butt with the best of them, and some of the visual effects are impressive, but the action sequences tend to be anticlimactic, and there's not much to the story. Fans will notice numerous references to Frank Miller's comic books, but there's very little resemblance to Miller's cold-blooded killer (Elektra with an agent? Elektra referring to herself as a "soccer mom"?).

Is Elektra ! better than Daredevil? Not really, even with the distinct advantage of having all Garner and no Ben Affleck. That could be the spinoff's greatest disappointment: after Spider-Man 2 raised the bar for comic-book movies, Elektra lowered it back to Daredevil's level. Directed by Rob Bowman (the X-Files movie), and featuring Terence Stamp as the mysterious mentor Stick, Will Yun Lee (Die Another Day) as the chief villain, and NFL-player-turned-mixed-martial-arts-champion Bob Sapp as the immovable Stone.

DVD features
Ben Affleck's much-rumored cameo is one of the deleted scenes on the Elektra DVD. It's a one-minute throwaway, and while he's supposedly appearing as Matt Murdock (who romanced Elektra in Daredevil), the barrage of celebrity gossip makes it impossible to see him as anything other than Jennifer Garner's real-life boyfriend. There's also a making-of featurette, which is mostly promotional hype o! ther than a few interesting effects shots; four editing featur! ettes; a nd Jennifer Garner's videotaped message to ComicCon. --David Horiuchi

More on Elektra


Elektra: The Album (Soundtrack CD)

Elektra: The Movie (Comic Adaptation)

Frank Miller Comic Books

Daredevil (Director's Cut) (DVD)

Jennif! er Garner stars in Alias (DVD)

More Superhero DVDs

Holly Hobbie Pretty Patches Valance

  • Valance 84-inch by 15-inch
  • 40/60 Poly Cotton
  • Multicolor Holly Hobbie/Pretty Patches
'Footprints' is the debut album from ex-Australian soap star, Holly Valance. The album combines the sounds of R&B, pop, dance and various world music influences, creating a different take on the pop genre. The Eastern influenced, UK number one single 'Kiss Kiss', and the Nelly Hooper produced single 'Down Boy' are also included. EMI. 2002.Second album from the Australian TV star turned dance pop diva. 12 tracks including the first single & title track. London. 2003.UK edition of the second album from the Australian TV star turned dance pop diva features 12 audio tracks, plus a bonus DVD (Pal/Region 0) that contains four music videos, 'Kiss Kiss', 'Down Boy', 'Naughty Girl', & 'State of Mind'. 16 tracks in all. London. 2003.Hephaestus Books represents a new publishing paradigm, allowing di! sparate content sources to be curated into cohesive, relevant, and informative books. To date, this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing, although as Hephaestus Books continues to increase in scope and dimension, more licensed and public domain content is being added. We believe books such as this represent a new and exciting lexicon in the sharing of human knowledge. This particular book is a collaboration focused on Australian pop singers.Holly Hobbie, the charming girl in the oversized, blue chintz bonnet, is a charter who personifies childhood innocence. Holly's engaging smile and friendly country girl appeal hide a deeper wisdom and strong optimistic outlook on life - one she is quite happy to share with others.

Friday, September 30, 2011

Christmas Vacation '95 ( Vacanze di Natale '95 ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Italy ]

Lost in Beijing (Uncut NTSC All Region Import) Tony Leung, Fan Bing Bing, Tong Da Wei, Li Yu

  • NTSC All Region Import, Widescreen 1.85:1
  • Language: Mandarin
  • Subtitle: ENGLISH, Traditional Chinese
  • Dolby Digital 2.0
  • 112 Minutes
Shuangxi leaves his hometown for Beijing and soon finds work in a photo studio, hoping that one day he will be able exhibit his own work. He lives with his girlfriend, Xiao Qian, in a rented courtyard, and apart from the humiliation of having his temporary residence permit constantly scrutinized by the police, life is good for Shuangxi, whose first joint exhibition wins praise from critics. However, events soon take a tragic turn when a gas leak asphyxiates his girlfriend and leaves Shuangxi with both physical and psychological injuries. With the persuasion of his family, he reluctantly returns to his hometown, restarting the life that he had been so eager to leave behind. First time filmmaker Shi Lei, a graduate from the Beijing Film Academy, wrote, directed and produced the film, despite being a relatively new arrival to the industry. Unlike his prominent classmate, Wang Xiaoshuai, who made his name as an art-house film director, Shi Lei found his niche filming documentaries for the CCTV Science Channel. After fifteen years in TV, Shi decided that the time was right to return to his cinematic roots, a move that resulted in Shuangxi. The life of a young migrant worker couple who moves into the fashionable nightclub district in Beijing is plunged into turmoil as the wife is raped by her boss at the foot massage parlor. The husband's jealousy and anger is dissipated when he decides to blackmail the rapist, but things become even more problematic when he finds out his wife is pregnant and either man might be the father. LOST IN BEIJING is a controversial assessment of human desires and greed in a China undergoing rapid economic expansion.

Descendant

  • As Ann Hedgerow (Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl) an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe begins to explore her family's past, she meets novelist Ethan Poe (Party of Five's Jeremy London). Ethan, also a distant descendant of Poe, is tormented by visions of his famous ancestor. When Ann and Ethan begin a romance, the dark and deadly secrets of Poe's legacy emerge will Poe's stories inspire a
Holly (Katherine Heigl) is an up-and-coming caterer and Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a promising network sports director. After a disastrous first date, all they have is common is their dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Judging career ambitions and competing social calendars, they’ll have to find common ground while living under the same roof. Josh Lucas, Chri! stina Hendricks, Hayes MacArthur and Jean Smart co-star in this tart and tender romantic comedy directed by Greg Berlanti (TV’s Brothers & Sisters and Everwood). In Life as We Know It, Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel discover that their closest friends have appointed them guardians of their child in the unlikely event of their joint death--an unlikely event that has just happened. Make no mistake: There's no reason this movie should have been any good. The premise is the worst kind of formulaic Hollywood claptrap; the pleasant but cautious Heigl (Knocked Up) is playing yet another uptight fussbudget; since a promising movie debut in the underrated Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Duhamel has largely coasted on his looks in tripe like the Transformers movies--yet Life as We Know It is surprisingly likable. After the movie gets through the basic exposition--and navigates some radical shifts in tone with unexpected deftness--t! he script somehow manages to make its clichés into something ! resembli ng real human situations. The colorful supporting characters are all entertainingly written and well played by a solid cast. And both Heigl and Duhamel give understated, engaging performances that manage to make the inevitable conclusion seem almost not inevitable. Director Greg Berlanti (The Broken Hearts Club) deserves kudos for skillfully balancing humor and pathos and turning this unpromising material into a sincere and enjoyable movie. --Bret FetzerKatherine Heigl and Gerard Butler star in this wildly funny battle of the sexes. Abby (Heigl), a successful morning show producer, is looking for a lot in a man. Mike (Butler), her obnoxious TV star, knows men only want one thing. Determined to prove that she's not romantically challenged, Abby takes Mike's advice during a promising new romance, but the unexpected results will stun everyone.Katherine Heigl further cements her reputation as one of film's most dazzling, and go-to, romantic comedy heroines. In T! he Ugly Truth she brings her deft comic timing and true vulnerability to a film that avoids clichés, successfully, all the way until the surprising, quiet end. Heigl's partner in crime--and at first, in pure hatred--is the rakishly charming Gerard Butler. Heigl plays Abby, a career-bound TV producer, and Butler is Mike, an outrageous dude's dude whose public access show about what men want (one thing only) makes him so popular that he's hired to work alongside Abby, who naturally chafes at everything Mike stands for. Yet The Ugly Truth could not be more unpredictable, and men as well as women will like the refreshing story line and the crisp direction by Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, Monster-in-Law). Both lead actors put their all into their performances, and the nuance and depth makes The Ugly Truth not just a great date-night film, but a transportive testament on the primal human urge simply to connect. The Ugly Truth is more than! a little raunchy, and it deserves its R rating, but there's h! ilarity in its crudeness. The supporting cast includes the delightful Cheryl Hines and John Michael Higgins as a tensely married couple forced to appear together on TV. And Eric Winter (Brothers & Sisters) is dreamy as Abby's potential love-match--as long as she doesn't have to be herself. The DVD includes mostly forgettable deleted and extended scenes, but also a gag reel that shows that the cast had every bit as much fun creating the film as the viewer has watching it. The Ugly Truth has never shined so brightly. --A.T. Hurley




Stills from The Ugly Truth (Click for larger image)








He’s tall, dark and handsome with a hint of mystery. What more does Jen (Katherine Heigl) need to know about Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), the man who’s just swept her off her feet down in the French Riviera? Well, maybe that he’s a professional spy whose spe! cial talent is assassination. But no matter, neither bullets n! or bombs nor bad guys with big guns can keep these two from living happily ever after â€" if they can get through the day alive â€" in the outrageous romantic hit comedy that will slay you.Killers has been murdered by most film critics, and the box-office receipts haven't been too impressive either. But that's kind of a bad rap. Granted, it isn't likely to make many year's best (or even month's best) lists, but this is an entertaining little diversion that at the very least offers an appealing cast, a few laughs, and some cool chase scenes. Katherine Heigl plays Jen, who, having recently been dumped by her boyfriend, is vacationing in Nice with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara). Enter Spencer (Ashton Kutcher), a hired assassin (hey, it's a comedy) who happens to be on the scene for a job. The couple's cutesy flirting turns into a romantic dinner, which leads to some heavy drinking… and before you know it, Spencer has renounced the killing gig, married Jen, and ! moved back to her hometown in the States, where he becomes a "corporate consultant." Three years later his past catches up to him, as we knew it would, and a seemingly limitless array of hired guns emerges from the woodwork, intent on collecting the $20 million bounty that's been put on Spencer's head. Exactly why this is, and who's responsible for it, are secrets revealed only at the end, although perspicacious viewers will no doubt have seen it coming. In the meantime, Spencer's revelation of who he really is and Jen's reaction to it are mildly reminiscent of the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Jamie Lee Curtis relationship in True Lies, as issues of trust, safety, and Jen's newly discovered pregnancy complicate Spencer's attempts to keep the two of them alive while he tries to figure out what's going on. Director Robert Luketic displays a sure hand during the action sequences, but he's working with a thin script and a pair of attractive young actors whose chemistry doesn't ! exactly burn up the screen. Those are serious drawbacks, but a! ll in al l, there are far worse ways to kill a couple of hours than watching Killers. --Sam GrahamGerard Depardieu (GREEN CARD) stars as an overprotective father who lands in hot water when his overactive teenage daughter gets in over her head at a tropical vacation resort! Soon, the mischievous teen is getting dad in big, big trouble -- hurling him into one madcap misadventure after another. Combining uproarious comedy and a beautiful island setting, MY FATHER,THE HERO, simply overflows with nonstop fun in the sun. Discover for yourself the comedy hit that left critics and audiences alike drowning with laughter.Based on Janette Oke's best-selling book series, and directed by Michael Landon Jr., Loves Comes Softly is inspired story-telling for the whole family. Marty and Aaron Claridge (Katherine Heigl and Oliver Macready) travel west in search of new opportunity. But when tragedy strikes and Marty is suddenly widowed, the young woman must face the rugged terr! ain, bleak weather, and life among strangers-alone. That is until a handsome widower named Clark Davis ( Dale Midkiff) suggests a platonic "marriage of convenience" until Marty can return home. As the months pass, through, Marty and Clark discover an unexpected new love where there was once only loss.Writer/director Michael Landon Jr. continues in his famous father's footsteps by creating moral family entertainment set in the early days of the American prairie. Stubborn Marty Claridge (Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy) travels west with her new husband--but after they find a beautiful patch of land, her husband dies in an accident before they've even started building. A man named Clark (Dale Midkiff, Air Bud: World Pup) makes a proposal: If Marty will enter into a platonic marriage with him, he'll pay for her passage back east in the spring. What Clark needs is a mother, however temporary, for his willful tomboy daughter Missie (Skye McCole Bartusiak, Beyond the Prairie, Part 2
). Missie fights Marty's prese! nce fier cely while Clark, though supportive, speaks few words, and Marty suspects she's made a terrible mistake--but time reveals otherwise. Love Comes Softly, based on the popular Christian novel by Janette Oke, is a romance, but Landon carefully avoids any bodice-ripping histrionics. Problems get solved perhaps a little too easily, but the movie is cleanly written, pleasantly understated, and respectful to its characters. For many viewers, Love Comes Softly will be a welcome change from overheated secular love stories. --Bret FetzerKatherine Heigl (Knocked up, TV's Grey's Anatomy) lights up the screen in this charming romantic comedy from the screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada." Heigl stars as Jane, a romantic, completely selfless woman who has been a bridesmaid in no less than 27 weddings. Unfortunately her own happy ending seems to be nowhere in sight. Until her younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane's boss -- on whom Jane has a secret crush inspi! ring Jane to change her "always-a-bridesmaid" destiny.Katherine Heigl is delightful as Jane, a self-effacing Gal Friday so addicted to organizing weddings in her off time, that 27 Dresses opens with her character juggling two nuptials on the same night. A perpetual bridesmaid, Jane’s hobby is discovered by a matrimony reporter named Kevin (James Marsden), who hides a romantic side behind his wall of cynicism. While Kevin gradually develops feelings for Jane, the latter’s superficial sister, Tess (Malin Akerman), pursues George (Edward Burns), Jane’s boss and the object of her love. This romantic circle could go on forever, except that Jane is unexpectedly moved by Kevin despite her general irritation with him and without knowing that he’s on the verge of sandbagging her with a ridiculing article in his newspaper. The situation is absurd, but the emotions are not. Heigl is very good, rooted in a long tradition of comely comediennes playing characters who fly u! nder the radar of life. She makes Jane’s pain palpable and c! onveys h er character’s inability to say no without making her look unappealing or weak. Marsden perfectly captures the part of a rumpled, underdressed writer with repressed passions, Akerman is as convincingly shrewish here as she was in The Heartbreak Kid, and Burns is fine as one of those guys so busy saving the world he barely pays attention to the people in his life. The script by Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada) is fun if predictable, and Anne Fletcher’s direction is vibrant. --Tom Keogh


Beyond 27 Dresses


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Emmy-w inner Katherine Heigl (TV's "Grey’s Anatomy" and Knocked Up), is a twenty-something career girl whose landed the perfect job. As she moves up the corporate ladder, she starts to really enjoy the perks of success - a company car, a big raise, and a closet full of great clothes. But when the man of her dreams comes into the picture, she must find a way to balance love, career, friends and family, or risk losing them all to protect the job she's always wanted.A well-intentioned film about a young pharmaceutical rep who is torn between earning a good living and living a good life, Side Effects tells the story of Karly Hert, portrayed by Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Roswell), who also executive produced the project. Karly works for a company whose motto is "To protect and prolong life." But what they really mean is prolong their own) lives by making as much money as possible. Based on writer-director Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau's previous career a! s a legal pill pusher, Side Effects is a comedy with an agenda. Its goal is to educate viewers about the dangers of an uneducated sales force telling doctors which drugs to prescribe--regardless of the side effects. While Slattery-Moschkau is heavy handed in her delineation of who is good (the patients) and evil (the drug reps), her semi-autobiographical Karly is relatable. When we meet her, Karly has no patience with her pod-like boss. When her employer rhetorically asks, "How do you think I ended up in management?" Karly zings back, "There are rumors." But as she herself moves up in the company and earns expensive perks, Karly is seduced. Heigl gives an earnest, likable performance, especially during scenes with Lucian McAfee, who plays her boyfriend Zach. While her Norma Rae moment at the end of the film doesn't ring quite true, it gives the movie a fitting ending that ties together all the loose ends. --Jae-Ha KimAfter a disastrous first date for catere! r Holly (Katherine Heigl) and network sports director Messer (! Josh Duh amel), all they have is common is a dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Juggling careers and social calendars, they’ll have to find common ground while living under the same roof. Josh Lucas, Christina Hendricks, Hayes MacArthur and Jean Smart co-star in this tart and tender romantic comedy directed by Greg Berlanti (Brothers & Sisters, Everwood). In Life as We Know It, Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel discover that their closest friends have appointed them guardians of their child in the unlikely event of their joint death--an unlikely event that has just happened. Make no mistake: There's no reason this movie should have been any good. The premise is the worst kind of formulaic Hollywood claptrap; the pleasant but cautious Heigl (Knocked Up) is playing yet another uptight fussbudget; since a promising m! ovie debut in the underrated Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Duhamel has largely coasted on his looks in tripe like the Transformers movies--yet Life as We Know It is surprisingly likable. After the movie gets through the basic exposition--and navigates some radical shifts in tone with unexpected deftness--the script somehow manages to make its clichés into something resembling real human situations. The colorful supporting characters are all entertainingly written and well played by a solid cast. And both Heigl and Duhamel give understated, engaging performances that manage to make the inevitable conclusion seem almost not inevitable. Director Greg Berlanti (The Broken Hearts Club) deserves kudos for skillfully balancing humor and pathos and turning this unpromising material into a sincere and enjoyable movie. --Bret FetzerAs Ann Hedgerow (Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl) - an indirect descendant of Edgar Allan Poe - beg! ins to explore her family's past, she meets novelist Ethan Poe! (Par ty of Five's Jeremy London). Ethan, also a distant descendant of Poe, is tormented by visions of his famous ancestor. When Ann and Ethan begin a romance, the dark - and deadly - secrets of Poe's legacy emerge...will Poe's stories inspire a real-life horror-tragedy?