Edge of Darkness

• The bullet that killed his daughter was meant for Boston cop Thomas Craven. That s what police brass and Craven himself think, but that s not what the investigation finds. Clue after clue and witness after witness, the search leads him into a shadowy realm where money and political intrigue intersect. If Craven wasn t a target before, he and anyone linked to his inquiry now is. Mel Gibson stars in

The bullet that killed his daughter was meant for Boston cop Thomas Craven. That’s what police brass and Craven himself think, but that’s not what the investigation finds. Clue after clue and witness after witness, the search leads him into a shadowy realm where money and political intrigue intersect. If Craven wasn’t a target before, he--and anyone linked to his inquiry--now is. Mel Gibson stars in his first screen lead in eight years, making Craven’s grief palpable and his quest for paybac! k stone-cold and relentless. Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) directs from a screenplay co-written by The Departed’s William Monahan. Gibson is back, taking us to the edge…and into the sinister darkness.

Birth

• In this mesmerizing and suspenseful film, a woman (Kidman) becomes convinced that a ten-year-old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband.Running Time: 100 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R Age: 794043783821 UPC: 794043783821 Manufacturer No: N7838

Â"Well-researched and engaging . . . Birth is a clever, almost irreverent look at an enduring everyday miracle. (A-)” —Entertainment Weekly
Â"Wonderful. Packed full of information, a brilliant mixture of ancient wisdom and modern science.” —Kate Mosse, author of the New York Times best seller, Labyrinth
Â"Birth is a power-packed book. . . . A lively, engaging, and often witty read, a quirky, eye-opening account of one of life’s most elemental experiences.” —The Boston Globe
Published to widespread acclaim, Tina Cassidy’s smart, engaging book is the first world hi! story of childbirth in fifty years. From evolution to the epidural and beyond, Tina Cassidy presents an intelligent, enlightening, and impeccably researched cultural history of how and why we’re born the way we are. Women have been giving birth for millennia but that’s about the only constant in the final stage of the great process that is human reproduction. Why is it that every culture and generation seems to have its own ideas about the best way to give birth? Cassidy explores the physical, anthropological, political, and religious factors that have and will continue to influence how women bring new life into the world.

In this mesmerizing and suspenseful film, a woman (Kidman) becomes convinced that a ten-year-old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features
Theatrical Trailer

As directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) and dimly lit by cinematographer Harris Savides, Birth is a ! melancholy chamber piece, its pensive mood sustained by nearly! sub-son ic nuances in a fine, thematically developed score by Alexandre Desplat. All of these fine qualities are well-matched by the somber performance of Nicole Kidman, playing a still-grieving widow of 10 years, about to remarry when a 10-year-old boy (Cameron Bright) arrives to announce that he is her dead husband, reincarnated and full of convincing answers to personal marital questions. Rather than go for Sixth Sense-like chills and thrills, Glazer approaches Birth as a conundrum with no clear-cut solution, and his directorial style is so subdued, so deliberately understated, that most of the story's dramatic impact is sacrificed to oppressively dour atmosphere. If it doesn't lull you to sleep, Birth might hold your attention as a strange, subtle thriller in miniature scale. With its delicate, mature approach to the processes of grieving and recovery, however, Birth rewards attentive viewers attuned to the film's ultra-low-key wavelength, and it's gu! aranteed to provoke interesting post-movie discussions. Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston, Anne Heche, and Arliss Howard lead an esteemed supporting cast. --Jeff Shannon

Highwaymen

• Original Release CD

Here are 36 highlights from all three albums by country's greatest supergroup! Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson unite for the hits Highwayman; Desperados Waiting for a Train , and Silver Stallion ; inspired spins on Take It to the Limit; Sunday Morning Coming Down; Luckenbach, Texas; Me and Bobby McGee; Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys; Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way , and more.Don Was, the producer who transformed Bonnie Raitt from cult hero to pop star, tried to jump-start the stalled careers of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings by producing their recent albums, Across the Borderline and Waymore's Blues (Part II), respectively. This resulted in two artistic triumphs but no hits. That didn't deter Nelson and Jennings from hiring Was to produce their album with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson as the H! ighwaymen. The Road Goes on Forever is easily the best of the three Highwaymen albums, even if changing radio tastes will probably doom it to the poorest sales of the three. The two earlier releases, 1985's Highwaymen and 1990's Highwaymen 2, were thrown together as if the sheer star power of the four singers could carry the project. Both albums had their exciting moments when everything clicked but both also had a lot of filler. By contrast, Was approached the new recording as if every song and every arrangement had to be good enough to be a single. He picked one obscure but terrific composition from each of the four singers and supplemented them with equally strong material from four of Texas's best songwriters--Steve Earle, Billy Joe Shaver, Robert Earl Keen Jr., and Stephen Bruton. Nelson's harmonica ace Mickey Raphael and Kristofferson's singing buddy Billy Swan are joined by top L.A. session pros like keyboardist Benmont Tench and drummer Kenny Ar! onoff to create a sound that has the twangy picking of old-fas! hioned c ountry and the fat bottom of modern pop. The result is an album with everything: first-rate material, grade-A playing, and inimitable singing. The thread that ties Nelson, Jennings, Cash, and Kristofferson together is the crustiness of their voices (a honey-voiced singer like George Jones or Don Gibson would seem out of place in this crowd); when they sing Shaver's "(I'm Going To) Live Forever," they sound as if they're more than halfway there. The Highwaymen are so naturally hard-bitten and world-weary that they can slip a little sentiment into a song without spoiling it. They use this to great advantage on the album's two great outlaw songs, Earle's "The Devil's Right Hand" and Keen's title tune; the gruff tales of violence lead up to a sobering admission of the price paid for such a life. That same gruffness allows the Highwaymen to sing two religious meditations, Jennings's "I Do Believe" and Cash's "Death and Hell," without once sounding sanctimonious. --Geoffrey Him! esA man sets out to avenge the death of his wife by tracking down her murderer - a serial killer who hunts & kills women using his 72 el dorado. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 04/03/2007 Starring: Jim Caviezel Run time: 81 minutes Rating: R

Blast From the Past

• BLAST FROM THE PAST (DVD MOVIE)

The Devil's never been so hot or hilarious! Brendan Fraser is a hapless, love-starved computer technician who falls prey to sinfully sexy Elizabeth Hurley when he agress to sell her his soul in exchange for seven wishes. But the sly Princess of Darkness has more than a few tricks up her... sleeve. And before you can say Fire and Brimstone, Elliot's life becomes a hysterical hell on earth.Brendan Fraser stars in Bedazzled as Elliot, a dweebish office worker who yearns for Alison (played by Frances O'Connor from Mansfield Park), a coworker who barely knows he exists. When he blithely says he'd give his soul for Alison, the Devil appears (Elizabeth Hurley, Austin Powers) and says she'll give him seven wishes in exchange. Elliot is dubious at first, but agrees out of desperation. Unfortunately, his every wish always leaves the Devil a ! little wiggle room. When he asks to be rich and powerful, the Devil turns him into a drug lord beset on all sides. When he asks to be a successful, well-endowed writer, the Devil adds a male lover to the mix. The setup and situations are clever, though Bedazzled doesn't delve into any real moral or theological questions and has a little less bite than the original it's based on (from 1968, starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook). But it does provide some better comic substance than Fraser has had in most of his previous roles (George of the Jungle, Encino Man). Fraser demonstrated in Gods and Monsters that he could hold his own dramatically with the likes of Brit thespian Ian McKellen, and he's consistently been a charming presence in movies enjoyable (The Mummy) and not so enjoyable (Dudley Do Right). Bedazzled may not give him any more movie-making clout, but it does give his fans something to enjoy. O'Connor is e! ntirely pleasant in her largely straight role, and Hurley fil! ls out h er part by delectably filling out a number of revealing outfits. An enjoyable bit of froth. --Bret FetzerStanley (Moore) is a hapless short-order cook who is hopelessly in love with a waitress named Margaret (Eleanor Bron) - although she barely knows he's alive. Enter George Spiggott (Cook), a.k.a. Satan, who grants Stanley seven wishes in order to win Margaret over, but his efforts are hilariously hampered by the Seven Deadly Sins - including the insatiable Lilian Lust (Raquel Welch)!When the Devil (Peter Cook) offers suicidal short-order cook Stanley (Dudley Moore) seven wishes, Stanley easily surrenders his soul. All of his wishes are granted, to the letter. Unfortunately, as each wish comes to life, the Devil--cheeky sod!--manages to slip some unexpected problem into the mix, ruining everything in a deliciously funny way. Bedazzled was made long before 10 and Arthur made Dudley Moore an unlikely movie star. It's a much purer expression of the! off-kilter British humor that Moore and his writing partner Cook pioneered, humor that would lead to Monty Python's Flying Circus and other absurdist goofballs. Moore is charming enough, but what really makes Bedazzled work is Cook, who combines upper-class arrogance with a cheerful, even casual lunacy. Though he played character roles in movies like The Princess Bride and Black Beauty, he was never able to parlay his sneaky sense of humor into starring roles. Bedazzled is his outstanding triumph. Not only does the movie offer some sly commentary on Christian morality, it has a cameo with Raquel Welch as the embodiment of Lust. A classic. --Bret FetzerDisc 1: BEDAZZLED '67 Disc 2: BEDAZZLED '00Brendan Fraser stars in Bedazzled as Elliot, a dweebish office worker who yearns for Alison (played by Frances O'Connor from Mansfield Park), a coworker who barely knows he exists. When he blithely says he'd give his soul for! Alison, the Devil appears (Elizabeth Hurley, Austin Power! s) a nd says she'll give him seven wishes in exchange. Elliot is dubious at first, but agrees out of desperation. Unfortunately, his every wish always leaves the Devil a little wiggle room. When he asks to be rich and powerful, the Devil turns him into a drug lord beset on all sides. When he asks to be a successful, well-endowed writer, the Devil adds a male lover to the mix. The setup and situations are clever, though Bedazzled doesn't delve into any real moral or theological questions and has a little less bite than the original it's based on (from 1968, starring Dudley Moore and Peter Cook). But it does provide some better comic substance than Fraser has had in most of his previous roles (George of the Jungle, Encino Man). Fraser demonstrated in Gods and Monsters that he could hold his own dramatically with the likes of Brit thespian Ian McKellen, and he's consistently been a charming presence in movies enjoyable (The Mummy) and n! ot so enjoyable (Dudley Do Right). Bedazzled may not give him any more movie-making clout, but it does give his fans something to enjoy. O'Connor is entirely pleasant in her largely straight role, and Hurley fills out her part by delectably filling out a number of revealing outfits. An enjoyable bit of froth. --Bret FetzerDVDWhen the Devil (Peter Cook) offers suicidal short-order cook Stanley (Dudley Moore) seven wishes, Stanley easily surrenders his soul. All of his wishes are granted, to the letter. Unfortunately, as each wish comes to life, the Devil--cheeky sod!--manages to slip some unexpected problem into the mix, ruining everything in a deliciously funny way. Bedazzled was made long before 10 and Arthur made Dudley Moore an unlikely movie star. It's a much purer expression of the off-kilter British humor that Moore and his writing partner Cook pioneered, humor that would lead to Monty Python's Flying Circus and oth! er absurdist goofballs. Moore is charming enough, but what rea! lly make s Bedazzled work is Cook, who combines upper-class arrogance with a cheerful, even casual lunacy. Though he played character roles in movies like The Princess Bride and Black Beauty, he was never able to parlay his sneaky sense of humor into starring roles. Bedazzled is his outstanding triumph. Not only does the movie offer some sly commentary on Christian morality, it has a cameo with Raquel Welch as the embodiment of Lust. A classic. --Bret FetzerStudio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 11/09/2010Coasting on the successes of Gods and Monsters and George of the Jungle, Brendan Fraser turns in yet another winning performance in this fish-out-of-water comedy in which Pleasantville meets modern-day Los Angeles, with predictably funny results. Fraser stars as Adam, who was born in the bomb shelter of his paranoid inventor dad (a less-manic-than-usual Christopher Walken), who spirited his pregnant wife (Sissy Spacek, in fine com! ic form) underground when he thought the Communists dropped the bomb (actually, it was a plane crash). Armed with enough supplies to last 35 years, the parents bring up Adam in Leave It to Beaver style with nary any exposure to the outside world. When the supplies run out, and dad suffers a heart attack, Fraser goes up to modern-day L.A. for some shopping and long-awaited culture shock. More of a cute premise with lots of clever ideas attached than a fully fleshed out story, Blast from the Past is also supposed to be part romantic comedy, as the hunky Adam hooks up with his jaded Eve (Alicia Silverstone) and tries to convince her to marry him and go underground. The sparks don't fly, though, because Silverstone is saddled with the triple whammy of being miscast, playing an underwritten character, and suffering a very bad hairdo. Fraser, however, carries the film lightly and easily on his broad, goofy shoulders, mixing Adam's gee-whiz innocence with genuine emo! tion and curiosity; only Fraser could pull off Adam's first gl! impse of a sunrise or the ocean with both humor and pathos. Also winning is Dave Foley as Silverstone's gay best friend, who manages to make the most innocuous statements sound like comic gems. --Mark Englehart