Four Rooms

• great dvd

Don't miss the fun in this hilariously sexy comedy that has Antonio Banderas (Once Upon a Time in Mexico), Madonna (Swept Away), and a sizzling all-star cast checking in for laughs!

It's Ted the Bellhop's (Tim Roth, Pulp Fiction) first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another. Also featuring Marisa Tomei (Cyrus), Four Rooms is a wild night of highly original comedy entertainment you'll enjoy...without reservations.This unbearable quartet of stories was written and directed by hot filmmakers Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi), Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), and Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup), which only proves that even the smart guys can really blow it sometimes. The anthology is linked by the hotel in which all the events are taking place, and by Tim Roth as a bellboy flitting from scene to scene. Nobody overcomes the insufferable air of self-congratulation that permeates this exercise in forced hipness. With Bruce Willis, Madonna, Lili Taylor, Ione Skye, Jennifer Beals, and Antonio Banderas. --Tom Keogh Don't miss the fun in this hilariously sexy comedy that has Antonio Banderas (THE MASK OF ZORRO), Madonna (EVITA), and a sizzling all-star cast checking in for laughs! It's Ted the Bellhop's (Tim Roth -- PULP FICTION) first night on the job ... and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments! It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening ... after another! Also featuring Academy Award(R) winner Marisa Tomei (1992 Best Supporting Actress, MY COUSIN VINNY), FOUR ROOMS is a! wild night of highly original comedy entertainment you'll enj! oy ... w ithout reservations!This unbearable quartet of stories was written and directed by hot filmmakers Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi), Allison Anders (Gas Food Lodging), and Alexandre Rockwell (In the Soup), which only proves that even the smart guys can really blow it sometimes. The anthology is linked by the hotel in which all the events are taking place, and by Tim Roth as a bellboy flitting from scene to scene. Nobody overcomes the insufferable air of self-congratulation that permeates this exercise in forced hipness. With Bruce Willis, Madonna, Lili Taylor, Ione Skye, Jennifer Beals, and Antonio Banderas. --Tom Keogh

• FROZEN (DVD MOVIE)

A typical day on the slopes turns into a chilling nightmare for three snowboarders when they get stranded on the chairlift before their last run. As the ski patrol switches off the night lights, they realize with growing panic that they’ve been left behind, dangling high off the ground with no way down.

Snow-sport enthusiasts, take note: Adam Green's unsettling thriller Frozen suggests that abiding by the rules and regulations of your local ski resort might not only be polite, but essential to your health. Green's hapless heroes--nice guy Dan (Kevin Zegers, Transamerica), his best pal Lynch (Shawn Ashmore, the X-Men franchise), and Dan's new girlfriend Parker (newcomer Emma Bell)--decided to cut a few corners in pursuit of more time on the slopes. Miscommunication with the staff results in the trio getting stuck on a lift some 60 feet in the a! ir just moments before the resort closes for a three-day weekend. The hope for rescue soon dwindles, and the trio faces the decision to either endure the elements or somehow make their way to the ground without injury. All of the gruesome possibilities inherent to the situation--from frostbite and broken limbs to a pack of voracious wolves--are explored in unpleasant detail, but what sets Frozen apart from a simple splatterfest is the quality of the performances, especially Bell, who rises above her character's initial superficiality to present a wholly sympathetic character. Fans of Green's first film, the abysmal slasher tribute Hatchet, might find the pacing glacial (ahem), but those who admired his sophomore effort, the psychological thriller Spiral, will appreciate his attention to pacing and suspense, which puts Frozen on par with the very similar Open Water. The DVD includes commentary by Green and his stars, along with deleted scen! es and a wealth of behind-the-scenes featurettes focusing on c! onceptio n of the project, as well as the crew's struggles with the genuinely contentious weather at the Utah filming location. --Paul Gaita

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Capturing the Friedmans

• Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and with over $3 million at the box office to date, Capturing The Friedmans is nothing short of the most riveting, provocative, and hotly debated films of the year. Despite their predilection for hamming it up in front of home-movie cameras, the Friedmans were a normal middle-class family living in the affluent New York suburb of G

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, and with over $3 million at the box office to date, Capturing The Friedmans is nothing short of the most riveting, provocative, and hotly debated films of the year. Despite their predilection for hamming it up in front of home-movie cameras, the Friedmans were a normal middle-class family living in the affluent New York suburb of Great Neck. One Thanksgiving, as the family gathers at home for a quiet holiday dinner, their front door ! explodes, splintered by a police battering ram. Officers rush into the house, accusing Arnold Friedman and his youngest son Jesse of hundreds of shocking crimes. The film follows their story from the public?s perspective and through unique real footage of the family in crisis, shot inside the Friedman house. As the police investigate, and the community reacts, the fabric of the family begins to disintegrate, revealing provocative questions about truth, justice, family, and -ultimately-truth. With an abundance of exclusive DVD bonus features supplied on a second disc, Capturing the Friedmans is sure to capture you and pin you to your seat.A Sundance Grand Jury prize winner and a true conversation starter, Capturing the Friedmans travels into one apparently ordinary Long Island family's heart of darkness. Arnold and Elaine Friedman had a normal life with their three sons until Arnold was arrested on multiple (and increasingly lurid) charges of child abuse. Becaus! e the Friedmans had documented their own lives with copious ho! me movie s, filmmaker Andrew Jarecki is able to sift through their material looking for clues. Yet what emerges is more surreal than fiction: the youngest Friedman son went to jail, the eldest became a birthday-party clown. In the end, we can't be sure whether Arnold Friedman is a monstrous child molester or the victim of railroading. The portrait of a disconnected family is deeply disturbing, either way, and this film is further proof that a documentary can be just as spellbinding as anything a great storyteller dreams up. --Robert Horton

Fracture (Widescreen Edition)

• Academy Award? winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award? nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this "exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter" (Rex Reed) that's so smart it "doesn't let go, even after the final twist" (Gene Shalit, "Today"). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Will

Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award® nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this "exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter" (Rex Reed) that's so smart it "doesn't let go, even after the final twist" (Gene Shalit, "Today"). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Willy Beachum (Gosling), believes a conviction is a slam dunk; that is until the case completely unrav! els. Now, with little evidence, Beachum goes head to head with the cunning Mr. Crawford in a desperate search for the truth and the answer to one burning question: How is this guy getting away with murder?Anthony Hopkins plays a brilliant, pathologically serene killer outwitting the good guys at every turn and taking a shine to a twentysomething law enforcer who can’t conceal a rural accent and rugged origins. Could it be...? No, not The Silence of the Lambs, but an original mystery, Fracture, which plays a little like Lambs as an episode of Columbo, minus Columbo. Which means the film tells us from the get-go that Hopkins’ character, a wealthy engineer, shoots his philandering wife (Embeth Davidtz) and leaves her in a vegetative state. From there, it should be a simple matter for young, assistant District Attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) to nail Crawford, who provides a full confession and even eschews counsel. That’s good for Beachum! , a slick winner with a vague background of deprivation, rapid! ly on hi s way out of public service after attracting the attention of a deep-pocket, private firm. What he doesn’t know, however, is that Crawford has masterminded more than vengeance against his wife, and that the state’s case against him is full of pre-arranged holes and a huge time-bomb that will send Beachum scrambling to keep the pieces together.

The story, conceived and co-scripted by Daniel Pyne (Doc Hollywood), goes down easily with a minimum of blood and violence, and should easily appeal to mystery buffs as well as old fans of Hopkins and new admirers of Oscar nominee Gosling (Half Nelson). The latter holds his own in multiple, two-character scenes with the masterful portrayer of Hannibal Lecter, pacing Beachum’s reactions to Crawford’s polite provocations so everything spills onto his youthful face: torn loyalties, confusion, gullibility. Director Gregory Hoblit (Hart’s War), still best-known for decades of distinguished television wor! k (NYPD Blue), brings the necessary intimacy to make the stars’ chemistry work effectively. His noirish atmosphere is a little over the top, sometimes pushing the audience to a level of expectation that the film isn’t really ready to deliver, but this, overall, is an enjoyable work. --Tom Keogh

Another Cinderella Story

• DVD Details: Actors: Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley
• Directors: Damon Santostefano
• Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1; Number of discs: 1; Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008; Run Time: 90 minutes

A "modern" young woman of the 16th century, Danielle (Barrymore) is as independent and wise as she is beautiful and kind. Against remarkable odds, she stands up to her scheming stepmother (Huston) and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France (Dougray Scott)!Now you can relive this captivating, contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale.Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays C! inderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougray Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's The Amy Fisher Story), Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--Ever After is a surpr! isingly delightful film. --Tom KeoghA "modern" young wo! man of t he 16th century, Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is as independent and wise as she is beautiful and kind. Against remarkable odds, she stands up to her scheming stepmother (Huston) and works miracles on the lives of everyone around her, including the crown prince of France (Dougray Scott)! Now you can relive this captivating, contemporary retelling of the classic fairytale. Take away the Fairy Godmother, and what have you got left from the Cinderella fable? The story of a girl for whom a bad stroke of luck is no match for her internal strength and purity of heart. Drew Barrymore plays Cinderella's alleged inspiration, Danielle, in this romantic drama that purports to tell the "facts" behind the Grimm brothers' story. One of three daughters of a man (Jeroen Krabbé) who dies and leaves her fate in the hands of a conniving stepmother (Anjelica Huston), Danielle is cast into the lowly role of a servant. Meanwhile, her sisters are evaluated as possible mates for a French prince (Dougr! ay Scott), but he's far more intrigued with Danielle's intelligence and beauty--not to mention her way with a sword and fist. Directed by Andy Tennant (who directed Barrymore in TV's The Amy Fisher Story), Ever After has that rare ability to win the heart and mind of a viewer simply by being committed to its own innocence, particularly where Barrymore's luminous performance is concerned. A contemporary take on an old, virtually forgotten Hollywood convention--the costume adventure with middling artistic ambition but real audience appeal--Ever After is a surprisingly delightful film. --Tom KeoghIt’s musical. It’s magical. It’s Another Cinderella Story, the dancing ever-after fairy tale. In this joyous update, Selena Gomez(The Wizards of Waverly Place) is Mary, a modern Cinderella complete with dancing shoes instead of a glass slipper. Drew Seeley (High School Musical) is Joey, a Prince Charming and dreamy new-guy-in-school looking for a girl! to love. Could Mary be that girl? With your kind of music and! dance, your kind of romance and all kinds of surprises, you’ll find that Another Cinderella Story is a perfect fit.Another Cinderella Story adds a few modern day twists to the classic fairy tale on which it is based, and it aims straight for the hearts of 21st century tweens. Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) plays Mary, a shy high-school student saddled with a wicked guardian and a pair of mean girls stepsisters. Her life changes dramatically when a famous pop star enrolls at her school. Joey (Andrew Seeley) is everything the rest of boys in her class aren'tâ€"handsome, kind, and desirable. At a masked dance, Mary and Joey meet and fall in like with each other. But when she has to rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams. Gomez, who shows nice range, is well-cast in the ingénue role. While indeed very dreamy, Seeley is a tad too old to play Gomez's boyfriend. Another Cinderella S! tory isn't the best-made Cinderella story. Drew Barrymore's Ever After was more clever. And the 1965 adaptation of Cinderella starring Lesley Ann Warren still stands up to time. But with its young cast and energetic choreography, Another Cinderella Story is a perfect fairytale for the tween and young teen set. --Jae-Ha Kim

Good Dick

• GOOD DICK (DVD MOVIE)

An eccentric and troubled young woman spends her days watching porn in the claustrophobic world of her apartment. An eccentric and troubled young man spends his days cataloguing films and serving her in a claustrophobic video store, before spending his nights sleeping in his car. The harder he tries to give himself to her the more she pushes him away. The farther away he goes, the closer she needs him to be. This impossible situation escalates and threatens to become combustible, just as it starts to become calm.