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THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED- Giveaway
Forget about Clash of the Titans, don’t bother with Prince of Persia, and by all means take a pass on Quantum of Solace. The one film that showcases the wicked power of actress Gemma Arterton is The Disappearance of Alice Creed.
While I don’t know what I can or can’t say before the film opens next week, August 6th, I don’t think anyone will have a problem with me saying that you ought to seek this film out and watch a movie that is the perfect answer for a time of the year when you get nothing but ho-hum releases. Truly, a movie that delivers on being both exciting and thrilling, it’s a feature that keeps you guessing what is coming next.
To help get the word out on The Disappearance Of Alice Creed Anchor Bay Films want to give one of you lucky readers a chance to win a DVD prize pack. The grand prize includes: Brooklyn’s Finest, The Crazies, Pandorum, Righteous Kill and Traitor DVDs. All you have to do is shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com and I’ll get you entered.
While you wait to see if you’re the one who will be anointed with these goodies go on and find Alice Creed on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/whereisalicecreed
For additional information please visit: http://www.whereisalicecreed.com
Become a fan: http://www.facebook.com/whereisalicecreed
As well, watch the first 5 minutes of the thriller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhPNzoI__28
Good Luck!
About The Film:
Two men – one in his twenties, the other nearer forty, both intensely focused on the task at hand – line the inside of a transit van with plastic. Shopping, they buy a drill, a mattress and other supplies. In a small flat they assemble a bed for the mattress and staple foam insulation and board to the walls and windows of a bedroom. Then, their meticulous preparations complete, they kidnap a young woman. They drag her from the street into the back of the van and, with a bag over her head and ball gag in her mouth, take her back to the flat, tying her to the bed in the room they have converted into a prison cell.
The kidnappers are Danny (Martin Compston) and Vic (Eddie Marsan), two ex-cons planning to make a mint on the ransom for the young woman. The younger, nervier of the two, Danny defers to the more experienced Vic, who acts with a steely conviction. Their hostage is Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), daughter of a rich businessman, chosen by Vic and Danny as their passport to a better life. Terrified and immobile at first, it soon becomes clear that Alice isn ‘ t about to let her captors use her as capital without a fight. As determined to escape as Vic and Danny are to succeed, Alice enters into a battle of wills which strains the already fractious relationship between the two men. As the deadline for the exchange draws nearer, all three are brought close to breaking point, with Vic and Danny ‘ s foolproof plan descending into a desperate struggle for survival.
A taut, emotionally intense thriller, the debut feature from writer-director J Blakeson eschews genre convention, generating tension from the sexual and psychological ties that bind captive to captors.
Produced by Adrian Sturges (The Escapist), the film stars Gemma Arterton (Prince of Persia, Tamara Drewe, Quantum of Solace), Eddie Marsan (Happy-Go-Lucky, Sherlock Holmes) and Martin Compston (Sweet Sixteen, Red Road)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED will be in theaters August 6th from Anchor Bay .
THE DUNGEON MASTERS – DVD Review
I love this movie.
Much like Trekkies, this DVD explores the nuances of those who play Dungeons & Dragons. Of course the movie doesn’t work if you just took a look at some well meaning nerd who loved to roll the dice with his buddies on a Friday night, imbibing root beer and throwing back some Funyuns. No, the movie works because we see those at the fringe, the one you would be scared to be sitting next to on a long plane flight should they get it in them to explain the difference between an elf and a troll.
But, you know what? These are harmless fanatics. I would rather someone be as obsessive about the three lovers of all things Dungeon than someone who has a habit that could lead to more serious problems. Director Keven McAlester deserves a lot of credit for thinking long and hard about what would make for an interesting documentary, eschewing a finger pointing laugh fest and instead opting for a serious mediation on what it means to these people.
I, for one, am in awe of these people as I really didn’t understand it growing up, this movie also made me accept that I was a geek as opposed to a nerd because of its intricate rules and application of math which really was like garlic to a arithmetic-phobe like myself, but gained an appreciation for it by watching this. It’s really not an intricate treatise on the nature of life but, again, that’s where McAlester deserves some kudos. He makes a movie that shows them to be sensitive human beings who simply love to play this game and incorporate it deeply into their lives. Like Trekkies, we see them at first to be outcasts who are a little weird around the edges but, by the end, you really do end up feeling an affinity for what some of these people have gone through in order to keep playing a game they love.
Any movie that can put into context any marginalized group which has been seen as on the fringe and misunderstood gets a vote in my book and it was a delight to finally see what these nerds were all uppity about in the first place. I get it now.
About The Movie:
Some board games are merely played. Others are lived. Among the latter, none is more obsessed over than Dungeons & Dragons, the enduringly popular fantasy role-playing board game in which a roll of the oddly angled dice can alter a character’s life. But for some dedicated players, the game has altered their actual lives. Three such fanatics are profiled in THE DUNGEON MASTERS, an eye-opening film from the critically acclaimed director, Keven McAllester (You’re Gonna Miss Me) coming to DVD from FilmBuff and MPI Media Group on August 3, 2010, with an SRP of $19.98.
What the hit comedy feature Role Models did for live-action role-playing game enthusiasts, THE DUNGEON MASTERS does for devoted table-top players. Dungeons & Dragons is no mere game to Richard, Scott and Elizabeth, the people at the center of this entertaining and ultimately moving documentary. Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, these three struggling adults devote their lives to Dungeons & Dragons, the storied role-playing game introduced in 1974. One player is a sanitation worker who lures friends into a “Sphere of Annihilation.” Another is an evil “drow-elf” displaced by Hurricane Katrina. And one is a failed supervillain who starts a cable access show involving ninjas, puppets and a cooking segment.
But the baroque fantasies of these three clash with their mundane real lives, and they gradually come to realize that the game’s imaginary triumphs can’t completely mask the very real disappointments of life. The beauty of Keven McAlester’s film is in revealing his subjects’ real-life heroism: summoning the courage to face hardships head on. Along the way, THE DUNGEON MASTERS reimagines the themes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of struggles and triumphs.
The Austin Chronicle’s Richard Whittaker said of THE DUNGEON MASTERS: “McAlester’s film cuts with sensitivity through the nerdy facade to the dedication its subjects show to their hobby in the toughest of times.” Kevin Kelly of Indiewire called it “a well-crafted film that “¦ gives you an unflinching look at three people who have made gaming one of their creative outlets.”
Since its debut in the 1970s, the role-playing board game Dungeons and Dragons has sold more than 20 million copies. It has spawned two feature films and dozens of books; all told, sales of the game and related books, DVDs and equipment have surpassed $1 billion.
THE DUNGEON MASTERS was an Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival and the South by Southwest Film Festival.
THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS: 1985 WORLD SERIES COLLECTORS EDITION – DVD Review
I was there. Game 7. I was 10 at the time and there was no such thing, in 1985, as DVR’ing the thing so I could see whether I showed up on the screen.
The thing about the series at the time, because it dealt with two teams that literally only had to roll a little further down the highway in order to get to each others’ stadiums, was how insular it felt. I still remember feeling like this was a series that no one else cared about because the teams were so close together but I wasn’t too far off in my assessment that life wouldn’t get much better than it did for the Royals as it did for this World Series.
The wonderful thing about this box set which collects all 7 games is how, if you’re a fan of the game, you can see how much things haven’t really changed. Like football games that are replayed on ESPN Classic there is a certain timelessness to watching these little slices of sports history. Not only was it something to witness, how the Royals shut down the Cardinals in Game 7 with a shutout to win it all, but seeing how DVD now affords us the opportunity how 2 blown calls in Game 6 essentially allowed the Royals the opportunity that they might not have had if the umps were doing what they should have been. It’s as clear as day and it almost feels like revisiting a crime scene where the call just went to the wrong team and perhaps allowed them the one edge they needed.
It’s hard to quantify why buying this set is such a bargain but not only are these complete games enough to make any baseball fan salivate as you can see, like I did, the drama unfold as the series wore on it is also the inclusion of some priceless bonus features that should more than enough seal the deal. From a retrospective on the moment looking back 25 years to a highlight reel that puts the Royals’ success in proper context with showcasing who they beat out in the ALCS it is also worth checking out because this win might as well be seen as significant as the Chicago Cubs winning it all. The Royals’ odds to win it all once again might be as absurd as the whole team winning the lottery and being struck with lightning but, honestly, this box set captures the moment when lightning did strike at just the right moment. It’s like Major League had the Cleveland Indians went on to win it all. Honestly, after watching this, you would be hard pressed not to be inspired by a team that was good enough to put the St. Louis Cardinals away and win the World Series.
And if you see some goofy kid in the upper deck wearing a blue clown wig? That’s me, rooting on the Royals.
About The Movie:
In 1985, under the even keeled guidance of manager Dick Howser, and the one-field excellence of the their veteran stars including George Brett and Frank White and precocious pitcher Bret Saberhagen the Kansas City Royals established a championship resilience. The club overcame a late season deficit to win the American League West division, then overcame a 3 games to 1 deficit to stun the Toronto Blue Jays and win the American League. With a come-from-behind pattern squarely in place Kansas City completed its improbably run by then storming back from a similar 3 games to 1 deficit to capture the World Series crown.
This July, A&E Home Entertainment and Major League Baseball Productions invite sports fans everywhere to relive the Royals’ history-making World Series in a spectacular 7-disc set ““ THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS 1985 WORLD SERIES COLLECTOR’S EDITION. Priced to add to every sports lovers home entertainment collection at $69.95srp, the DVD, timed to the 25th anniversary of Kansas City’s heart-stopping championship run, also features memorable moments from the Royals ’85 season, rare interviews, archival footage and much more!
Released from the Major League Baseball Film and Video archives for the first time ever, each disc features the actual television broadcasts of this historic Fall Classic. The seven games in this remarkable DVD collection showcase the rollercoaster of intra-state emotions as the Cardinals flew out to grab three quick wins in the first four games, only to have the Royals capture the final three games in oh-so-dramatic fashion. These vintage games capture the beauty of mid-1980s Royals Stadium, a roster of all-time Royals stars, and a battle of players, managers, and intra-state cities that enthralled the region and delighted a nation.
DVD bonuses on the set include the 1985 Kansas City Royals season Highlight Film, segment on George Brett Hometown Hero, Bret Saberhagen Cy Young Award Winner, and classic segments including: ALCS Highlights; Royals Clubhouse Celebration, “Royals Looking Back” and “How The Royals Met the Cardinals”.
ALADIN – DVD Review
This is my first Bollywood experience.
Truly, I didn’t know what I was getting into but thankfully this movie was one that I was able to thoroughly enjoy with the kind of interest I usually reserve for films where the bar is set unbelievably low. It’s not a knock on the film but when you realize you’re the outsider, I would assume that productions like this have their own set of rules and parameters around which other people who consume them regularly are able to judge their quality, so it’s really incumbent on me as a guest to the form to experience the movie in its totality.
Split into two distinct kinds of films, Aladin tells the tale of Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) who comes from the hardscrabble life we’ve come to know of the westernized ideal of who Aladdin really is and comes into owning a magical lamp not by finding it in the pit of a sand lion’s stomach but as a gift. The real delight comes as the dueling genies I did recognize from my many Disney viewings of the animated classic take on a supernatural, and very corporal, form.
The bad and good genies posses normal features and actually adds a more interesting twist to a film that impresses with its special effects and toe tapping musical numbers which give any viewer of this movie a delightful spectacle of song and dance along with its more dramatic elements. With the parts of the clever genie (Amitabh Bachchan) and the one who would like to see the power taken away from the young upstart (Sanjay Dutt) played by a couple of heavyweights on the Bollywood scene it is not hard to see why this movie looks as polished as it does.
Director Sujoy Ghosh deserves credit for obviously trying to bridge a narrative gap between the fantastic and the dramatic but it also deserves kudos from me for making the movie accessible to someone who may not understand the structure of a film like this. Yes, at times the song and dance numbers seem a bit jarring and out of place but they’re wonderfully choreographed and the effects aren’t that bad. They are sure better than let’s say a film that airs on the Disney Channel on any given Saturday night but the cumulative effect of all of this is a movie that I would heartily recommend to anyone looking to enjoy a true spectacle of song, dance, and excitement. While some of the dialogue truly falls flat, be it delivery or in its simplicity, that shouldn’t deter anyone from seeking this out and enjoying a delightful, earnest story.
About The Movie:
This new Hindi movie, stars the latest heart throb chocolate-boy, Ritesh Deshmukh and the newcomer and oh-so-pretty Barbie Doll, Jacqueline. To add up to the spice is Amitabh, the genie who is at his best with the character of Genius and to create tension, tossed in the middle of this perfect love story is the villian, Sanjay Dutt.
From the land of myths and legends – India – comes a fantasy adventure for the entire family. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, ‘Aladin’ is a modern re-imagining of the classic tale of ‘Aladin and The Magic Lamp’.
Aladin Chatterjee (Riteish Deshmukh) lives in the city of Khwaish, an orphan who has been bullied since childhood by Kasim and his gang. But his life changes when Jasmine (Jacqueline Fernandez) gives him a magic lamp as a Birthday gift – because it lets loose the genie, Genius (Amitabh Bachchan).
Desperate to grant him 3 wishes and seek the end of his contract with the Magic Lamp and get retirement, the rock-star Genius makes Aladin’s life difficult until the real threat looms on the horizon : the ex-genie, Ringmaster (Sanjay Dutt).
Why does Ringmaster want to kill Aladin? What is the dark secret about Aladin’s past that Genius is carrying? And what is Aladin’s destiny? Find out more in this swashbuckling fantasy adventure film.
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the FRED…
Children of the 70’s and 80’s remember well the overly-earnest, deadly-dry, unintentionally laughable educational films and programs that were a regular staple of the classroom. Well, the brilliant Peter Serafinowicz & Robert Popper have taken that fertile ground and crafted a magnificently bent parody in 
Time to upgrade your trusty old lunchbox? Why not go with the 
If you’re only knowledge of the character is the equally underrated film, do yourself a favor and pick up the beautifully presented 
If you go into 
The term “classic” gets thrown about with abandon nowadays, and I’d certainly question its application I the “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” line of catalogue releases, but there’s no doubt that “cult” is more than applicable. The latest pair of additions to the line are 
What do you get one a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost shack up together? The supernatural Three’s Company dramedy that is the BBC’s 
It’s gut level humor and certainly not high-brow, but its base nature is probably why my nephews got such a kick out of 
The residents of the Springfield Retirement Castle will be delighted at the release of 
You know, I kind of dug 
Get all goofy with Batman, Superman, and all the rest down at the Hall of Justice with the second volume of 
Fear for the future of civilization after viewing even one minute of 
I didn’t a chance to see this movie when it came out theatrically months ago but I couldn’t be more eager to see what Louis Leterrier concocted. I am an unabashed fan of both The Transporter and The Incredible Hulk so it’s only right to be at least interested in knowing how the man created a 450 million dollar box office juggernaut.
To review this film with the usual sets of criteria usually reserved for any other movie would be unfair.
You must, must check this film out. If you only make enough to buy 1 DVD, and Lord knows that is the least of your problems if you’re on that tight of a budget, make this one you get this month as this movie has still stayed with me months after seeing it. It’s available now from Oscilloscope Laboratories so do what you can to witness one of the brightest spots of the spring movie season.
Not that many of you would care but after 9 months of gestation I am utterly delighted and tickled to introduce my newest daughter Nina Elizabeth.
At the beginning of autumn in 1977, I had not yet started kindergarten and my Nana (who I lived with) dressed me in a yellow Star Wars tee-shirt and sent me off for the day to my cousins’ grandmother’s place, on a nearby farm. I hated the tee-shirt because I thought it was boyish. I was also mistrustful because I’d heard that bees were attracted to the color yellow. Did you think that when you were little? Maybe it’s just because everyone I knew was a dumb bumpkin.