Thursday, December 1, 2011

Home Alone

Chapter 27

Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series)

  • From the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Quincy 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 and BasketballRunning Time: 127 min. System Requirements: Starring: Omar Epps, Debbi Morgan, Sanaa Lathan, Harry J. Lennix, and Alfre Woodard. Directed by Gi
Her sisters think she's a gift from heaven. Their husbands call her the sister-in-law from hell. But Eva (Gabrielle Union) is too busy being a smart, sassy, overprotective overachiever to really care what anyone thinks. That is until the guys decide the only way they will ever score any quality time with their women is to find single Eva a man. Pronto.

Enter Ray (LL Cool J) an ultra-suave player's player, who is hired to make Eva fall madly in love with him. All goes according to plan until this ! ladies' man finds himself unexpectedly falling for this beautiful lady in this hip, fresh and funny comic romp.At a time when theaters were clogged with insipid romantic comedies for a predominantly white audience, Deliver Us from Eva offered a smart and sassy alternative. It's another variation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, beginning when Ray (James Todd Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J) accepts a $5,000 challenge to seduce Eva (Gabrielle Union), an alleged man-hater who dominates her three sisters and the men in their lives, who are desperate to be "delivered from Eva." It's a sitcom plot from start to finish, with no real surprises. What lifts Eva from its potential doldrums is the sensible negotiations that emerge between the would-be lovers, and a sharp screenplay that allows Ray and Eva to arrive at a mutual understanding that's richer and more mature than most comedies would bother to allow. By giving its characters an opportunity to sh! ow their truly attractive colors, Eva is delivered to ! us, claw s retracted, and ready for love. --Jeff ShannonHer sisters think she's a gift from heaven. Their husbands call her the sister-in-law from hell. But Eva (Gabrielle Union) is too busy being a smart, sassy, overprotective overachiever to really care what anyone thinks. That is until the guys decide the only way they will ever score any quality time with their women is to find single Eva a man. Pronto.

Enter Ray (LL Cool J) an ultra-suave player's player, who is hired to make Eva fall madly in love with him. All goes according to plan until this ladies' man finds himself unexpectedly falling for this beautiful lady in this hip, fresh and funny comic romp.At a time when theaters were clogged with insipid romantic comedies for a predominantly white audience, Deliver Us from Eva offered a smart and sassy alternative. It's another variation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, beginning when Ray (James Todd Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J) accepts a $5,0! 00 challenge to seduce Eva (Gabrielle Union), an alleged man-hater who dominates her three sisters and the men in their lives, who are desperate to be "delivered from Eva." It's a sitcom plot from start to finish, with no real surprises. What lifts Eva from its potential doldrums is the sensible negotiations that emerge between the would-be lovers, and a sharp screenplay that allows Ray and Eva to arrive at a mutual understanding that's richer and more mature than most comedies would bother to allow. By giving its characters an opportunity to show their truly attractive colors, Eva is delivered to us, claws retracted, and ready for love. --Jeff ShannonDeliver Us From Eva Her sisters think she’s a gift from heaven. Their husbands call her the sister-in-law from hell. But Eva (Gabrielle Union) is too busy being a smart, sassy, overprotective overachiever to really care what anyone thinks. That is, until the guys decide the only way they will eve! r score quality time with their women is to hire ultra-suave R! ay (LL C ool J) to make Eva fall madly in love with him. All goes according to plan until this ladies’ man finds himself unexpectedly falling for this beautiful lady in this hip, fresh and funny comic romp.

Something New Kenya McQueen (Sanaa Lathan) thought she had it all: a successful career, good friends and family. There was just one thing she didn’t have under control: her love life. All that changes when she meets sexy, free-spirited Brian Kelly (Simon Baker). But when her ideal man (Blair Underwood) arrives on the scene, Kenya must decide between the relationship everyone expects and the romance no one expected.

The Best Man Harper Steward (Taye Diggs) is a commitment-shy writer and the best man at the wedding of Lance (Morris Chestnut) and Mia (Monica Calhoun). Unfortunately for Harper, the timing couldn’t be worse. His new book is coming out, and it chronicles his college life with his friends in a less than perfect light. The wedding party reunites college bu! ddies Quentin (Terrence Howard), Mirch (Harold Perrineau) and love interest Jordan (Nia Long). As the celebration weekend nears, scandalous secrets begin to reveal themselves…for better or for worse.At a time when theaters were clogged with insipid romantic comedies for a predominantly white audience, Deliver Us from Eva offered a smart and sassy alternative. It's another variation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, beginning when Ray (James Todd Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J) accepts a $5,000 challenge to seduce Eva (Gabrielle Union), an alleged man-hater who dominates her three sisters and the men in their lives, who are desperate to be "delivered from Eva." It's a sitcom plot from start to finish, with no real surprises. What lifts Eva from its potential doldrums is the sensible negotiations that emerge between the would-be lovers, and a sharp screenplay that allows Ray and Eva to arrive at a mutual understanding that's richer and more matur! e than most comedies would bother to allow. By giving its char! acters an opportunity to show their truly attractive colors, Eva is delivered to us, claws retracted, and ready for love. --Jeff Shannon The game is on and the rules are out as Jamie Foxx, Morris Chestnut, Jennifer Esposito and Gabrielle Union star in this outrageous comedy that rewrites the book of loveJamie Foxx proves a winning romantic lead in the surprisingly subtle Breakin' All the Rules. When Quincy (Foxx, Ali, Collateral) gets brutally dumped by his fiancee, he researches the psychology of firing employees to create a break-up guide--a guide to a kinder, gentler break-up. His cousin Evan (Morris Chestnut, The Brothers) is afraid that his girlfriend is going to dump him, so he asks for Quincy's help, setting in motion a web of mistaken identities that snares Evan's girlfriend Nicky (Gabrielle Union, Bring It On), Quincy's boss Philip (a wonderfully squirmy Peter MacNicol), and a blithe gold digger named Rita (Jennifer Esposit! o, Dracula 2000). Writer/director Daniel Taplitz gives his characters, if not three dimensions, then two and a half--comedy comes out of their personalities instead of lame gags. Add in some unpredictable plot twists, genuine chemistry between Foxx and Union, and the result is genuinely fun. --Bret FetzerKenya McQueen (Sanaa Lathan) thought she had it all: a successful career, good friends and family. There was just one thing she didn't have under control: her love life. All that changes when she meets sexy, free-spirited Brian Kelly (Simon Baker). But when her ideal man (Blair Underwood) arrives on the scene, Kenya must decide between the relationship everyone expects and the romance no one expected.The tricky topic of interracial romance gets a sexy, charming, and unexpectedly realistic treatment in Something New. Kenya (Sanaa Lathan, Out of Time, Alien Vs. Predator), a successful accountant, gets set up on a blind date with Brian (Si! mon Baker, The Ring Two)--only to discover that he's wh! ite, lea ding her to cut the date short. At a party, Kenya admires the garden and gets introduced to the landscape architect: Brian. Thus begins a bumpy but increasingly sparky relationship, despite opposition from Kenya's friends and family, as well as Kenya and Brian's own internal resistance. Make no mistake, Something New is a mainstream romantic comedy, with ridiculously attractive people grappling with problems that get solved with just a little too much ease--but along the way, Kriss Turner's script, Sanaa Hamri's direction, and Baker's and especially Lathan's performances ground the movie in something resembling the real world. Kenya's and Brian's emotional terrain has a genuine texture to it; the rhythm of the dialogue and the visual pacing allows their characters to breathe and become more genuine and vivid than your standard rom-com lovers. The strong supporting cast--including Alfre Woodard (Crooklyn), Donald Faison (Scrubs), Mike Epps (Next Friday! ), and Blair Underwood (Full Frontal)--doesn't hurt. But Lathan owns the movie; this actress deserves true stardom. --Bret FetzerAt a time when theaters were clogged with insipid romantic comedies for a predominantly white audience, Deliver Us from Eva offered a smart and sassy alternative. It's another variation of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, beginning when Ray (James Todd Smith, a.k.a. LL Cool J) accepts a $5,000 challenge to seduce Eva (Gabrielle Union), an alleged man-hater who dominates her three sisters and the men in their lives, who are desperate to be "delivered from Eva." It's a sitcom plot from start to finish, with no real surprises. What lifts Eva from its potential doldrums is the sensible negotiations that emerge between the would-be lovers, and a sharp screenplay that allows Ray and Eva to arrive at a mutual understanding that's richer and more mature than most comedies would bother to allow. By giving ! its characters an opportunity to show their truly attractive ! colors, Eva is delivered to us, claws retracted, and ready for love. --Jeff ShannonFrom the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Quincy 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 and Basketball.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

He Got Game

  • TESTED
FOR LOVE OF THE GAME - DVD MovieBilly Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads.

Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers, but everything for Bil! ly. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a solid double. --Doug ThomasBilly Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for the Detroit Tigers, it means his ca! reer--and his life--is at a crossroads.

Although it! is no < i>Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers, but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a solid double. --Doug ThomasBilly Chapel (Ke! vin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads.

Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Killer Angels) stream-of-consciousness novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers, but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threaten! ing injury). His one viable link to the game at hand is his ca! tcher, p layed winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a solid double. --Doug ThomasBilly Chapel (Kevin Costner) is having a bad day. His girlfriend Jane (Kelly Preston, stunning as ever) says she's leaving, and his boss (Brian Cox) says he's selling the business and ace employee Billy may be out of job. Sounds like business as usual for an old-fashioned veteran. However, the business is baseball and for Billy Chapel, the 40-year old former all-star for the Detroit Tigers, it means his career--and his life--is at a crossroads.

Although it is no Bull Durham, For Love of the Game finds a solid and very believable role for Costner. The film is based on Michael Shaara's (The Ki! ller Angels) stream-of-consciousness novel (the rough manuscript was found after his death 1988). The entire film takes place on Billy's day on the mound against the Yankees, a meaningless late-season game for the Tigers, but everything for Billy. In flashbacks, he lingers over his long relationship with Jane and his baseball career (from World Series heroism to a career-threatening injury). His one viable link to the game at hand is his catcher, played winningly by John C. Reilly. Costner, like Chapel, is looking for one more great performance, but the film is too simplistic and loopy at times to resonate. The love story has an extra helping of cuteness, and legendary baseball announcer Vin Scully nearly takes on a leading role, waxing grandiloquent. It's no grand slam, but a solid double. --Doug Thomas"Get ready for fun!" (Leah Rozen, People) with the "feel good movie of the year!" (Clay Smith, Access Hollywood) Love Actually is the ultimate romantic comedy f! rom the makers of Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill. Fun! ny, irre sistible and heartwarming, an all-star cast (Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson, to name a few!) will take you on a breathtaking tour of love's delightful twists and turns. Fall under the spell of Love Actually and share the laughs and charm again and again.With no fewer than eight couples vying for our attention, Love Actually is like the Boston Marathon of romantic comedies, and everybody wins. Having mastered the genre as the writer of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and Bridget Jones's Diary, it appears that first-time director Richard Curtis is just like his screenplays: He just wants to be loved, and he'll go to absurdly appealing lengths to win our affection. With Love Actually, Curtis orchestrates a minor miracle of romantic choreography, guiding a brilliant cast of stars and newcomers as they careen toward love and holiday cheer in London, among them the Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) who's smitten with! his caterer; a widower (Liam Neeson) whose young son nurses the ultimate schoolboy crush; a writer (Colin Firth) who falls for his Portuguese housekeeper; a devoted wife and mother (Emma Thompson) coping with her potentially unfaithful husband (Alan Rickman); and a lovelorn American (Laura Linney) who's desperately attracted to a colleague. There's more--too much more--as Curtis wraps his Christmas gift with enough happy endings to sweeten a dozen other movies. That he pulls it off so entertainingly is undeniably impressive; that he does it so shamelessly suggests that his writing fares better with other, less ingratiating directors. --Jeff ShannonAcademy Award(R)-winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, 2001, TRAINING DAY) stars in this must-see story about a convict given one shot at a second chance to be a father! With promises of a reduced sentence, Jake Shuttlesworth (Washington) is granted temporary release from state prison in order to persuade the nation's top ! basketball recruit ... his estranged son, Jesus (Ray Allen of ! NBA's Mi lwaukee Bucks), to play ball for the governor's alma mater! But just as Jesus faces intense pressures and irresistible temptations contemplating his big decision, Jake is also forced to consider not only what's best for himself ... but what's best for his son! With a groundbreaking soundtrack by the legendary Public Enemy -- plus great cameos from John Turturro and basketball personalities Dick Vitale, John Thompson, Dean Smith, and more, HE GOT GAME is a critically acclaimed hit you don't want to miss!As a filmmaker and passionate fan of basketball, Spike Lee was the perfect director for this ambitious and heartfelt sports drama, which brought out the best in both Lee and his well-chosen cast. In his third film for Lee, Denzel Washington plays Jake Shuttlesworth, who is in prison for the manslaughter of his wife. His estranged son Jesus (well played by Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Ray Allen) is the nation's best high school basketball star, and Jake receives a compelli! ng offer from the state's governor: If Jake can convince Jesus to sign a letter of intent to attend Big State University, the governor will reduce his sentence. Lee turns this back-room bargain into a fascinating examination of capitalism in college and professional sports, but the film also works as the moving story of a father's desperate attempt to regain his son's respect. Lee handles the basketball angle with an insider's awareness, and takes a few stylistic risks (including a memorable final image) that pay off with considerable emotional effect. He Got Game fully explores the visual poetry of basketball and the greed that fuels this particular vision of the American dream, but Lee never loses sight of the sport's inherent beauty, or the higher priorities of redemption and family that form the solid foundation of this exceptional film. --Jeff Shannon

Dans Paris

Cold Creek Manor

  • Finally putting an end to their days as slaves to the hustle-and-bustle of city life, Gothamites Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid) and his wife, Leah (Sharon Stone), pack up their kids and all their possessions and move into a recently repossessed mansion in the sticks of New York State. Once grand and elegant, the Cold Creek Manor is now a shambles, but Cooper and Leah have plenty of time to renovate.
COLD CREEK MANOR is a heart-pounding thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat in tension-filled suspense. Wanting to escape city life for the saner, safer countryside, New Yorkers Cooper Tilson (Dennis Quaid), his wife Leah (1995 Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone, Best Actress, CASINO), and their two children move into a dilapidated old mansion still filled with the possessions of the previous family. Turning it into their dream house soon becomes a living nightmare when the previous owne! r (Stephen Dorff) shows up, and a series of terrifying incidents lead them on a spine-tingling search for clues to the estate's dark and lurid past.Turn off your brain and Cold Creek Manor just might turn into an entertaining thriller. Taking an uncharacteristic detour into nonsensical plot mechanics, director Mike Figgis expertly pushes buttons with this nerve-jangling but ultimately hackneyed story (by Richard Jeffries) about a documentary filmmaker (Dennis Quaid) who moves his wife (Sharon Stone) and two kids into a run-down rural mansion once owned by the family of a simmering ex-convict (Stephen Dorff), who's got secret reasons for wanting Quaid's family to leave. This rote potboiler wants to be as thrilling as Fatal Attraction, but it's more like Pacific Heights--fun to watch as the tension escalates with Dorff's violent behavior, but seriously flawed as plot holes proliferate. With a few good shocks and slinky support from Juliette Lewis, it's pe! rfectly enjoyable as a popcorn distraction, but maybe they sho! uld've c alled it Cold Creaky Manor instead. --Jeff Shannon

Damned If She Does, Damned If She Doesn't: Rethinking the Rules of the Game That Keep Women from Succeeding in Business

  • ISBN13: 9781616141745
  • Condition: New
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Brian Clough's 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United between July and September 1974 is one of the most infamous episodes in British football history. While the bestselling The Damned United was a fictional account of Clough's short-lived but controversial reign at the club, We are the Damned United reveals the true story, as told by the players he managed at the time. Vividly recreating the atmosphere of the era, the book features candid contributions from legendary names such as Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray, Terry Yorath, and Duncan McKenzie. They reveal what it was like to make the transition from the relatively smooth management style of former manager Don Revie, who helped ! the club achieve success in Europe, to a constant crossing of swords with the outspoken Brian Clough, who left the club flailing at the foot of the league upon his premature departure. This explosive account covers all the drama that ensued from the moment Clough was earmarked by the club directors as the favorite to succeed Revie to his exit less than two months later, saddled with the knowledge that he had been the club's most unsuccessful manager ever. Told from the perspective of those who experienced Clough's dictatorial managerial methods at Leeds at first hand, We are the Damned United tells it how it really was rather than how it might have been.
Brian Clough’s 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United between July and September 1974 is one of the most infamous episodes in British football history. While the bestselling The Damned United was a fictional account of Clough’s short-lived but controversial reign at the club, We are the Dam! ned United reveals the true story, as told by the players ! he manag ed at the time. Vividly recreating the atmosphere of the era, the book features candid contributions from legendary names such as Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray, Terry Yorath and Duncan McKenzie. They reveal what it was like to make the transition from the relatively smooth management style of former manager Don Revie, who helped the club achieve success in Europe, to a constant crossing of swords with the outspoken Brian Clough, who left the club flailing at the foot of the league upon his premature departure. This explosive account covers all the drama that ensued from the moment Clough was earmarked by the club directors as the favourite to succeed Revie to his exit less than two months later, saddled with the knowledge that he had been the club’s most unsuccessful manager ever. Told from the perspective of those who experienced Clough’s dictatorial managerial methods at Leeds at first hand, We are the Damned United tells it how it really was rather than how it migh! t have been.Brian Clough’s 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United between July and September 1974 is one of the most infamous episodes in British football history. While the bestselling The Damned United was a fictional account of Clough’s short-lived but controversial reign at the club, We are the Damned United reveals the true story, as told by the players he managed at the time. Vividly recreating the atmosphere of the era, the book features candid contributions from legendary names such as Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray, Terry Yorath and Duncan McKenzie. They reveal what it was like to make the transition from the relatively smooth management style of former manager Don Revie, who helped the club achieve success in Europe, to a constant crossing of swords with the outspoken Brian Clough, who left the club flailing at the foot of the league upon his premature departure. This explosive account covers all the drama that ensued from the moment Clough was earm! arked by the club directors as the favourite to succeed Revie ! to his e xit less than two months later, saddled with the knowledge that he had been the club’s most unsuccessful manager ever. Told from the perspective of those who experienced Clough’s dictatorial managerial methods at Leeds at first hand, We are the Damned United tells it how it really was rather than how it might have been.From the Academy Award-nominated writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon, The Damned United is based on the incredible true story of Brian Clough, one of England’s greatest soccer managers and his 44 controversial days at the helm of reigning champs Leeds United. Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Twilight Saga: New Moon) triumphs as Clough starring alongside a winning ensemble cast that includes Timothy Spall (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Colm Meaney (Layer Cake) and Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). This inspiring and humorous sp! orts drama is about the power of friendship in the face of adversity and the stubborn will of one man to play by his own rules.You don't have to like football (or soccer, as we call it in the U.S.) to enjoy The Damned United, because this sharp, funny movie isn't about sports any more than Citizen Kane is about running a newspaper. The Damned United is about ego--specifically, the large and driven ego of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), the manager of a low-rung football team who, along with his assistant Peter Taylor (the always superb Timothy Spall, Secrets & Lies), brought his team to the top rank. At which point Clough self-destructed, even as he seemed to be given the keys to even greater heights: he was hired as the new manager of Leeds United, perhaps the strongest team in England, replacing his longtime rival Don Revie (Colm Meaney, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The Damned United bounces back and forth in time, deftly laying out Clough! 's rise and fall, transforming a man who initially seems an un! bearable , domineering jerk into someone you feel for deeply. After Frost/Nixon and The Queen, Sheen practically specializes in playing real people, but his performance here is utterly stellar, by turns brilliantly comic and subtly moving. The movie lets the relationship between Clough and Taylor unspool organically, until the love and anger between them starts to fray and collapse. This is a riveting and ultimately invigorating story, psychologically compelling and with more twists and turns than a crime thriller. Simply a great movie. --Bret Fetzer


Stills from The Damned United (Click for larger image)











From the Academy Award-nominated writer of The Queen and Frost/Nixon, The Damned United is based on the incredible true story of Brian Clough, one of England’s greatest soccer managers and his 44 controversial days at the helm of reigning champs Leeds United. Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans and Twilight Saga: New Moon) triumphs as Clough starring alongside a winning ensemble cast that includes Timothy Spall (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Colm Meaney (Layer Cake) and Jim Broadbent (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). This inspiring and humorous sports drama is about the power of friendship in the face of adversity and the stubborn will of one man to play by his own rules.You don't have to like foot! ball (or soccer, as we call it in the U.S.) to enjoy The Damned United, because this sharp, funny movie isn't about sports any more than Citizen Kane is about running a newspaper. The Damned United is about ego--specifically, the large and driven ego of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), the manager of a low-rung football team who, along with his assistant Peter Taylor (the always superb Timothy Spall, Secrets & Lies), brought his team to the top rank. At which point Clough self-destructed, even as he seemed to be given the keys to even greater heights: he was hired as the new manager of Leeds United, perhaps the strongest team in England, replacing his longtime rival Don Revie (Colm Meaney, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The Damned United bounces back and forth in time, deftly laying out Clough's rise and fall, transforming a man who initially seems an unbearable, domineering jerk into someone you feel for deeply. After Frost/Nixon and The Queen, Sheen practically specializes in playing real ! people, but his performance here is utterly stellar, by turns brilliantly comic and subtly moving. The movie lets the relationship between Clough and Taylor unspool organically, until the love and anger between them starts to fray and collapse. This is a riveting and ultimately invigorating story, psychologically compelling and with more twists and turns than a crime thriller. Simply a great movie. --Bret Fetzer


Stills from The Damned United (Click for larger image)











Drawing on untapped archives and full of fresh revelations, here is the definitive biography of America’s legendary defense attorney and progressive hero.

Clarence Darrow is the lawyer every law school student dreams of being: on the side of right, loved by many women, played by Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind. His days-long closing arguments delivered without notes won miraculous reprieves for men doomed to hang.
 
Darrow left a promising career as a railroad lawyer during the tumultuous Gilded Age in order to champion poor workers, blacks, and social and political outcasts against big business, Jim Crow, and corrupt officials. He became famous defending union leader Eugene Debs in the land­mark Pullman Strike case and went from one headline case to the nextâ€"until he was nearly crushed by an indictment for bribing a jury. He redeemed himself in Dayton, Tennessee, defending schoolteacher John Scopes in the “Monk! ey Trial,” cementing his place in history.
 
Now, John A. Farrell draws on previously unpublished correspondence and memoirs to offer a candid account of Darrow’s divorce, affairs, and disastrous finances; new details of his feud with his law partner, the famous poet Edgar Lee Masters; a shocking disclosure about one of his most controversial cases; and explosive revelations of shady tactics he used in his own trial for bribery.
 
Clarence Darrow is a sweeping, surprising portrait of a leg­endary legal mind.A hilarious, shocking, terrifying thrill-ride across the American landscape, The Damned Highway combines two great flavors of weird: the gonzo journalism of Hunter S. Thompson and the uncanny terrors of H.P. Lovecraft! Horror legend Brian Keene and cult storytelling master Nick Matamas dredge up a tale of drug-fueled eldritch madness from the blackest depths of the American Nightmare. On a freaked-out bus journey to Arkham, Massac! husetts and the 1972 Presidential primary, evidence mounts tha! t sinist er forces are on the rise, led by the Cult of Cthulhu and its most prominent member - Richard M. Nixon!Forty-five years after Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, women have yet to achieve parity with men in the workplace. Men continue to make more money than women, and women's representation in the higher management ranks continues to lag behind men's.

Damned if She Does, Damned if She Doesn't asserts that certain respected rules of business actually work against gender equality. The rules inadvertently create paradoxes that put women in no-win situations, limiting their opportunity to succeed relative to men. Written by a woman and a man who have lived in the trenches of the corporate battlefield, this perceptive analysis exposes five of these paradoxes and concludes with a new model for business, which the authors call a coed corporation.

The tacit rules of corporate culture that create these parity paradoxes are:

  • Be a te! am player: While women rarely receive recognition comparable to men, if a woman seeks recognition for herself, she is seen as not being a team player.

  • Attract mentors and advocates: Talented women who work hard often don't attract the respected mentors or win influential, loyal advocates to the same degree as men.

  • Show commitment to the job: A woman fully dedicated to her career is often perceived as lacking a personal life. Conversely, a woman with a fulfilling personal life is dismissed as not seriously committed to her career.

  • Bond with coworkers: A woman who tries to bond with her male peers is seldom successful and tends to alienate both men and women.

  • Recognize your role in the system: If women accept their role, nothing changes; if they challenge it, they are stigmatized and their careers are limited.

  • With the insights that these two seasoned consultants provide, changes can be made that will finally achi! eve true gender parity in the workplace.

    Big Trouble

    • The laughs come fast and furious as Tim Allen (JOE SOMEBODY, GALAXY QUEST) and Rene Russo (SHOWTIME, THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR) star in a film from Barry Sonnenfeld, director of GET SHORTY and MEN IN BLACK. Based on humorist Dave Barry's best-selling first novel, BIG TROUBLE follows the comedic chaos created when a mysterious suitcase that threatens the security of Miami changes the lives of a d
    BIG TROUBLE - DVD MovieThe frantic pacing of Big Trouble is surely intentional, but the movie leaves you wanting more of... something. Not more characters--it's got plenty of those--but more room for them to breathe in a top-heavy plot that recalls Get Shorty (also directed by Barry Sonnenfeld) without reaching those heights of ingenuity. Based on the bestseller by syndicated Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry, this Miami-based mayhem bears the distinct imprint of Barry's humo! r, in which absurdities pile up like rush-hour traffic, involving a former journalist (Tim Allen) connected by circumstance to a wealthy schemer (Stanley Tucci), his bored wife (Rene Russo), Russian mobsters, mismatched cops (Janeane Garofalo, Patrick Warburton), power-crazed FBI agents (Heavy D, Omar Epps), a Frito-loving drifter (Jason Lee), cretinous criminals (Tom Sizemore, Johnny Knoxville), and a gigantic toad that shoots hallucinogenic saliva. Culminating in an airport bomb smuggling (prompting the film's delayed release after the tragedy of September 11, 2001), Big Trouble needs the brilliant cohesion of Dr. Strangelove; what it gets is Sonnenfeld's knack for sustained chaos, and a few decent belly laughs. --Jeff Shannon
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