
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
As accomplished as it is superfluous, Willard is a stylish horror film with plenty of style and precious little horror. Genre buffs will appreciate it as a visually superior sequel/remake of its popular 1971 predecessor, giving Crispin Glover a title role perfectly suited to his uniquely odd persona, in the same league as Psycho's Norman Bates. This time, Willard's the psychotically lonely son of the original film's now-deceased protagonist; a milquetoast introvert who befriends an army of obedient rats--lethal allies when Willard's pushed to his emotional breaking point by his abusive boss (R. Lee Ermey). In keeping with his memorably macabre episodes of X-Files, writer-director Glen Morgan excels with dreary atmosphere and mischievously morbid humor (including an ill-fated cat named Scully), and Glover gives his best performance since River's Edge. But even the furry villain Ben--an oversized rat with attitude--is more funny than frightful... so really, what's the point? With some justification, Glover's fans will appreciate the open door to a sequel. --Jeff Shannon
Description
A lonely, awkward misfit tormented by his boss on a daily basis turns to rats for friendship...and revenge.
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Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy (Unrated Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Christina Applegate , Fred Armisen , Steve Carell , Darcy Donavan , and Will Ferrell Manufacturer: Dreamworks Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00005JMYI Release Date: 2004-12-28 |
Amazon.com
Will Farrell followed up his star-making vehicle Elf, which matched his fine-tuned comic obliviousness to a sweet sincerity, with a more arrogant variation on the same character: Ron Burgundy, a macho, narcissistic news anchor from the 1970s. Along with his news posse--roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd, Clueless), sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dim-bulb weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell, Bruce Almighty)--Burgundy rules the roost in San Diego, fawned upon by groupies and supported by a weary producer (Fred Willard, Best In Show) who tolerates Burgundy's ego because of good ratings. But when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate, View from the Top) arrives with ambitions to become an anchor herself, she threatens the male-dominated newsroom. Anchorman has plenty of funny material, but it's as if Farrell couldn't decide what he really wanted to mock, and so took smart-ass cracks at everything in sight. Still, there are moments of inspired delirium. --Bret Fetzer
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Epic Movie (Unrated Edition)
Starring: Kal Penn , Adam Campbell (IV) , Jennifer Coolidge , Jayma Mays , and Faune A. Chambers Director: Jason Friedberg , and Aaron Seltzer Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000O76ZOO Release Date: 2007-05-22 |
Amazon.com
By dint of the inexplicable popularity of their send-up of movie genres in the parody movies Scary Movie and Date Movie, writer/director duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer probably got an epic-sized bucket of cash for this hastily stitched pastiche of drive-by entertainment. There's no particular variety of movie they were sent to send up this time, unless big box-office grossers has now become a genre in and of itself. If so, Epic Movie may well qualify as part of that league itself. Very little expense has been spared to make so-called "comic" references to a slew of mostly recent blockbusters--The Chronicles of Narnia, Borat, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the X-Men and Harry Potter series, Superman Returns, Nacho Libre, and The Da Vinci Code to name a few--and it's assumed we've seen them all. In a goofy thread of a story about four orphans plucked from some of the above, battle must be done through various bastardized plots from same so that a prophecy can be fulfilled and they can assume their rightful place as rulers of a sacred land. Lots of crotch kicks, fart, urine, and vomit jokes speed by as we pass through Willie Wonka's factory and a magical wardrobe with an unusually interesting assortment of look-alikes and name actors caught up in the gag mix (some of it legitimately funny). Darrell Hammond, Crispin Glover, David Carradine, Kevin McDonald, Carmen Electra, Kal Penn put on game (and sometimes gamy) faces, and it's definitely a hoot to watch comedy improv alums Fred Willard and Jennifer Coolidge as Aslo the Lion and the White Bitch do battle in a Narnian good vs. evil character smackdown. As lame as you already expect a movie like this to be, anything that can throw together an homage to C.S. Lewis alongside MTV's Punk'd in less than 90 minutes can't be all bad. --Ted Fry
Epic Movie Extras
Watch the writers and producer talk about how adding song and dance made Epic Movie a smash. |
Beyond Epic Movie
More Comic Spoofs |
More Kal Penn Films |
More From 20th Century Fox |
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Description
The hilarious hi-jinks begin when a hapless group of orphans from curious backgrounds come together to embark on an adventure that takes them to a special chocolate factory where they fall into an enchanted wardrobe and wind-up in a magical land. Here, hilarity ensues when the bungling bunch run into a colorful collection of characters including a flamboyant pirate and a gang of wizardry-apprentices who they join forces with to overthrow the wicked White Bitch of Gnarnia.
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Auntie Mame
Starring: Joanna Barnes , Henry Brandon , Coral Browne , Brook Byron , and Peggy Cass Manufacturer: Warner Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00006FDCA Release Date: 2002-10-01 |
Amazon.com
Remember darlings, "Life's a banquet, and most suckers are starving to death." That tag line sums up this exuberant and immensely amusing 1958 comedy that can be seen repeatedly, as it never grows stale. Rosalind Russell plays the flamboyant aunt who takes in poor, orphaned Patrick, played with sophisticated ease by Jan Handzlik. Mame, all glitter and martinis, raises her nephew in a world filled with acceptance and her oddball literati friends. Nothing is too bohemian. This unfolds in colorful episodic segments that allow us to watch Patrick grow as Mame oversees his unusual upbringing while she juggles a few spouses and an extended household. Russell, who created the title role for the stage, simply shines. She is bright and brassy, but never goes too far over the top. Peggy Cass is a comedic delight as her befuddled secretary, and Coral Browne brings class to the production as her best friend. This was based on the exuberant stage play, which in turn was based on Patrick Dennis's humorous, bittersweet novel. The screen version was written by the clever duo of Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Not to be confused with the pathetically lackluster musical version starring Lucille Ball (1974), simply entitled Mame. --Rochelle O'GormanDescription
Rosalind Russell recreates her hallmark stage role as the accentric grande dame of highlife, briging up a 10-year-old nephew. A banquet of laughter, nominated for 6 Academy Awards(R).
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The Color Purple
Starring: Danny Glover , Whoopi Goldberg , Margaret Avery , Oprah Winfrey , and Willard E. Pugh Director: Steven Spielberg Manufacturer: Warner Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: 0790729717 Release Date: 1997-03-26 |
Product Description
Based on Alice Walkers Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple is the richly textured, decades-spanning story of Celie, an uneducated woman living in the rural American south. Forced to marry a brutal man she calls "Mr.," Celie turns inward and shares her grief only with God. But she is transformed by the friendship of two remarkable women, acquiring self-worth... and the strength to forgive.Starring: Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey, Rae Dawn ChongDirector: Steven SpielbergProduced by Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Ken; written by Menno Meyjes; Running time of 154 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1985, Warner Bros.Amazon.com
Steven Spielberg, proving he's one of the few modern filmmakers who has the visual fluency to be capable of making a great silent film, took a melodramatic, D.W. Griffith-inspired approach to filming Alice Walker's novel. His tactics made the film controversial, but also a popular hit. You can argue with the appropriateness of Spielberg's decision, but his astonishing facility with images is undeniable--from the exhilarating and eye-popping opening shots of children playing in paradisiacal purple fields to the way he conveys the brutality of a rape by showing hanging leather belts banging against the head of the shaking bed. In a way it's a shame that Whoopi Goldberg, a stage monologist who made her screen debut in this movie, went on to become so famous, because it was, in part, her unfamiliarity that made her understated performance as Celie so effective. (This may be the first and last time that the adjective understated can be applied to Goldberg.) Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including best picture and actress (supporting players Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery were also nominated), it was quite a scandal--and a crushing blow to Spielberg--when it won none. The digital video disc requires flipping to play the whole movie. --Jim Emerson
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Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Nathaniel Bellamy Jr. , Glenndon Chatman , James DuMont , Christine Dunford , and Omar Epps Manufacturer: New Line Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
Product Features:
ASIN: B00004Y2R1 Release Date: 2000-10-10 |
Product Description
From the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Qunicy taught each other how to play the game. Now, their commitment to the sport will force them to make a choice between each other and the game...between family and team...between "Love & Basketball." DVD Features: Two Original Documentaries, Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel, Three Feature Length Commentaries, Music Video, DVD-ROM Content Including Screenplay And Original Theatrical Web Site, 127 MinutesAmazon.com
Gina Prince-Bythewood, a former college athlete, puts a spin on this one-on-one tale of Love and Basketball. Sanaa Lathan (The Best Man) is the fiercely driven, hot-tempered Monica, a tomboy who gives her all for basketball. Omar Epps (The Mod Squad) is Quincy, an NBA player's son who has pro dreams of his own. Next-door neighbors since first grade, they start as rivals (she flabbergasts the boy by outplaying him in a game of driveway pickup) and age into best friends and lovers. The romantic complications follow a familiar game plan, but the film throws a fascinating spotlight onto the contrast between men's and women's basketball. While Quincy plays college ball on huge courts to cheering, sold-out crowds, we see Monica's sweat, tears, and sheer physical dedication in front of tiny audiences in small gyms and second-rate auditoriums.The story is pointedly set in the late 1980s, years before the establishment of the WNBA, so Monica's prospects for pro ball lie exclusively in Europe, while Quincy steps into the pros at home. It's a pleasure to see a character as passionate and fully developed as Monica, and Lathan gives a fiery portrayal (she had never played ball before the film, but you'd never tell from her performance). Prince-Bythewood favors her struggle over Quincy's and opens our eyes to her unique challenges with a sharp, savvy contrast. Alfre Woodard costars as Monica's harping mom (always trying to get her to be more ladylike) and Dennis Haysbert is Quincy's philandering father. Hoops fan Spike Lee produced. --Sean Axmaker
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That Touch of Mink
Starring: Cary Grant , Doris Day , Gig Young , Audrey Meadows , and Alan Hewitt Director: Delbert Mann Manufacturer: Republic Pictures ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000056BOR Release Date: 2001-01-23 |
Description
A wholesome young woman gets swept into the world of the rich and famous when a romantic business tycoon falls in love with her simple country ways.
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Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (Unrated Extended Edition)
Starring: John Cho , Kal Penn , Paula Garcés , Neil Patrick Harris , and David Krumholtz Director: Danny Leiner Manufacturer: New Line Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00068WOH8 Release Date: 2005-01-04 |
Amazon.com
From the director of Dude, Where's My Car? comes another crazed tale of two friends on a perilous quest--in this case, to eat burgers at the fast food restaurant White Castle. The pair--repressed Harold (John Cho, Better Luck Tomorrow) and freewheeling Kumar (Kal Penn, Love Don't Cost a Thing)--get extremely high and set off on the road, only to be sidetracked by skateboarding hooligans, racist cops, an inbred tow truck driver, and Neil Patrick Harris--yes, Doogie Howser, M.D. The humor is all over the map, and it would be nice if there were one female character who wasn't a caricature, but Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle has a loose, gregarious charm, and the movie's canniness about the cliches of the buddy-movie genre give it a sneaky subversive feel--just the fact that neither of the heroes is white puts a different spin on just about every circumstance. Surprisingly clever, cheerfully stupid. --Bret FetzerDescription
In the year's funniest comedy, two guys on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers find themselves on a hilarious all-night adventure as they run into one screwy obstacle after another.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Deleted Scenes
Featurette
Interviews
Music Video
Other:Spansh Subtitles!
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Wee Sing in Sillyville
Starring: Joy Anderson (II) , Ryan Willard , Renee Margolin , Sandra Dee Heidecke , and Joel Morello Director: David Poulshock Manufacturer: Wee Sing Productions ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B00026L7RM Release Date: 2004-06-21 |
Description
Come along on a surprise journey with Lauri, Scott, and Barney the dog, as they magically disappear into the pages of their coloring book. Meet Sillywhim, who welcomes them to the wacky world of Sillyville where anything can happenÑas long as itÕs fun. But thereÕs a problem here: The yellow Spurtlegurgles donÕt like the green Jingleheimers, while the red Bitty Booties wonÕt talk to the blue Twirlypops. Now itÕs up to Laurie and Scott to teach them the true meaning of friendship, no matter what color they are.Children of all ages will love to sing and dance along with the characters to 20 best-loved childrenÕs songs.
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Chicken Little
Starring: Joan Cusack , Don Knotts , Catherine O'Hara , Wallace Shawn , and Patrick Stewart Director: Mark Dindal Manufacturer: Walt Disney Home Entertainment ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000DWMYQ8 Release Date: 2006-03-21 |
Amazon.com
A classic fable gets fused with War of the Worlds in Disney's Chicken Little. In the small town of Oakey Oaks, young Chicken Little (voiced by Zach Braff, Garden State) struggles to live down the embarrassment of having once thought the sky was falling. But when he gets struck again by a hexagonal, sky-camouflaged, hi-tech doohickey, he and his friends Ugly Duckling (Joan Cusack, School of Rock), Runt of the Litter (Steve Zahn, Sahara), and Fish Out of Water discover that aliens are preparing to invade Earth--but since no one believed Chicken Little the first time, why would they believe him now? Though kids will enjoy the bright whizz-bang action sequences of Chicken Little, discerning parents will find the movie tedious. Technically, it has the computer animation quality of Pixar--but with none of their intelligence, heart, or simple storytelling skill. The basic idea of connecting the fable to aliens is amusing, but the script routinely bogs down in clumsy father-son issues that seem like material edited out of Finding Nemo. The jokes rarely have anything to do with the characters, but are mostly pop-culture references that are sadly out of date. The action sequences were obviously created with the inevitable video game in mind, for which the movie is little more than an advertisement. Chicken Little falls flat. --Bret FetzerDescription
Experience a fantastic world of breathtaking action in Disney's hilarious new movie CHICKEN LITTLE. It's "the perfect family film," raves Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood. When the sky really is falling and sanity has flown the coop, who will rise to save the day? Together with his hysterical band of misfit friends, Chicken Little must hatch a plan to save the planet from alien invasion and prove that the world's biggest hero is a little chicken. Overflowing with incredible music and bursting with exciting bonus features, including alternate openings, an exclusive "making of" featurette, games, and much more, this sensational DVD is truly something to cluck about.
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For Your Consideration
Starring: Jr. Ed Begley , Craig Bierko , Hart Bochner , Paul Dooley , and Richard Kind Director: Christopher Guest Manufacturer: Warner Home Video ProductGroup: DVD Binding: DVD Similar Items:
ASIN: B000M341Q4 Release Date: 2007-02-20 |
Amazon.com
Christopher Guest (director of A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, and Waiting for Guffman) and his sparkling troupe of improvisational satirists return with a sardonic look at C-list (or perhaps D- or E-list) actors driven to the brink of madness by the possibility of winning an Academy Award. Marilyn Hack (the ever-brilliant Catherine O'Hara, Beetlejuice), a modestly talented character actress, hears of an Internet rumor that she might be nominated for the dubious movie she's currently making, Home for Purim. Soon buzz is flying about all the rest of the cast (which includes Harry Shearer and Parker Posey) and everyone starts clawing for as much attention as they can get while appearing modest and unambitious. Despite the movie's target being so familiar to them, For Your Consideration is not Guest & Co.'s best work--in an effort to give everyone in the huge cast face time, few of the characters gain any comic traction or have a particularly engaging storyline; the mockery stays on a fairly surface level. Nonetheless, some of those surfaces are pretty funny: Fred Willard and Jane Lynch are devastating as a pair of predatory infotainment hosts, while Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde) turns in a daffy and surreal performance. Throughout, the movie's anchor is O'Hara; the way her character is virtually crushed by the hype has a surprising richness and depth. She remains a cinematic treasure. --Bret FetzerDescription
Debut feature director Jay Berman (Christopher Guest), steers cast and crew through a typically tumultuous independent film Home for Purim, an intimate period drama about a Jewish family's turbulent reunion on the occasion of the dying matriarch's favorite holiday. When Internet-generated rumors begin circulating that three of Purim's stars -- faded luminary Marilyn Hack (Catherine O'Hara), journeyman actor and former hot dog pitchman Victor Allan Miller (Harry Shearer), and ingenue Callie Webb (Parker Posey) -- may be perpetrating Award-worthy performances, a rumble of excitement rattles the cast. Once "Hollywood Now" anchors Chuck Porter (Fred Willard) and Cindy Martin (Jane Lynch) pick up the buzz, Award fever infects the entire production. Unit publicist Corey Taft (John Michael Higgins), talent agent Morley Orfkin (Eugene Levy), and producer Whitney Taylor Brown (Jennifer Coolidge) all smell the sudden potential for a sleeper hit. As does Sunfish Classics President Martin Gibb (Ricky Gervais), who suggests some last-minute changes to the film that he feels will broaden the film's appeal. Meanwhile, Purim's screenwriters, Lane Iverson (Michael McKean) and Philip Koontz (Bob Balaban) grow steadily more horrified as they watch the first film adaptation of their work diverge from their original story. As the hopeful Purim team careens toward the end of production and the upcoming Award season, tenuous relationships and brittle dreams play out in unexpected ways...DVD:
DVD
God, the Devil and Bob - The Complete Series
Lucy Show: Lucy and Ring a Ding Ring/Lucy Gets Caught Up in