The Lost Angel - only $6.00
When the sister of police inspector Billie Palmer becomes the target of a relentless serial killer, the tables are turned as the dedicated law woman becomes the subject of a media witch hunt in this thriller from director Dimitri Logothetis. It hasn't been long since Palmer watched in helpless horror as her mother was brutally murdered by the killer who has since eluded capture, and when the killer sets his sites on Palmer's teenage sister, the cop will stop at nothing to ensure that her sister remains safe. As the killer stalks the streets leaving a trail of bodies branding ominous messages carved in cuneiform, the media begins to question Palmer's competence. Wounding the suspect in self-defense, Palmer quickly becomes the subject of a massive Internal Affairs investigation, leaving her younger sibling an open target on the streets.
Darkness - only $6.00
With central plot points concerning children, the occult, and the ultimate realization of pure evil, Spanish director Jaume Balagueró's sophomore effort shares a lot in common with his freshman feature, The Nameless. Despite such striking similarities between the two films, with Darkness Balagueró nevertheless crafts an eerie, menacing, and unusually classy hybrid of The Shining and The Amityville Horror that will no doubt provide ample scares for the adventurous fear junkie. Balagueró is a director whose masterful use of creepy imagery has provided his first two features with an effectively overwhelming sense of dread, and there's no question that he and cinematographer Xavi Gimenez (who also shot The Nameless) know how to shoot a stylish and aesthetically appealing chiller. They use shadows and light to remarkable effect in Darkness, giving the film an ominous texture, and its muted color scheme provides a staggering sense of spiritual suffocation. The only elements holding Darkness down are the sometimes muddied plot points and poor performances by some key players. Though the former can be casually forgiven by those willing to overlook such minor plot shortcomings in favor of effective chills, the presence of a talented cast makes the latter somewhat inexplicable, bringing some to question Balagueró's ability to solicit effective performances from his players. Cribbing from The Shining for his unhinged, potentially dangerous father routine, Iain Glen's performance simply recalls that of Jack Nicholson (or Terry O'Quinn from The Stepfather), while mother Lena Olin is given little to do other than sulk and deny the menace that threatens her children. Thankfully, actors Anna Paquin and Fele Martinez instill the perceptive youngsters with a believable blend of innocence and intuition that is key to the effectiveness of the film. In the end, it's their performances that could have easily made or broken Darkness, and when all is said and done, the film succeeds thanks to their sizable contributions and Balagueró's seductively bleak vision. With a coda that is suitably faithful to that unwavering vision, Balagueró has set himself apart from the pack as one of the few filmmakers brave enough to follow through on such dark concepts, and one of the few true visionaries working in horror today. Disappointed viewers of Dimension's massively truncated American theatrical release take note - in an unfortunate bid to sell as many tickets as possible the American distributor has sadly compromised Balagueró's vision to the point of near incomprehensibility. In order to fully appreciate Darkness in it's truly effective original form, stateside viewers are best advised to seek out Dimension's subsequent DVD release of the original, uncut version. While it may be regrettable that this was not the version released into theaters, Dimension should be commended for finally backing Balagueró's original vision and releasing Darkness on DVD in its potent original form.
Deuce Bigalow European Vacation - only $6.00
Women of the world beware -- the world's least likely male pleasure machine is back in business and breaching international boundaries in this sequel to the comedy hit Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. Despite his lack of enthusiasm for his career as a lover-for-hire, Deuce (once again played by Rob Schneider) is back to work as a gigolo when his former manager T.J. Hicks (Eddie Griffin) is accused of murdering a number of male escorts in Amsterdam. Needing to raise money for his friend's legal defense, Deuce is once again showing off the tricks of the trade in the European theater, while also dealing with the less-than-genial European Union of gigolos, a British school for male prostitutes, and some truly puzzling female clients.
40 Year Old Virgin - only $6.00
Cult comic actor Steve Carell--long adored for his supporting work on The Daily Show and in movies like Bruce Almighty and Anchorman--leaps into leading man status with The 40 Year-Old Virgin. There's no point describing the plot; it's about how a 40 year-old virgin named Andy (Carell) finally finds true love and gets laid. Along the way, there are very funny scenes involving being coached by his friends, speed dating, being propositioned by his female manager, and getting his chest waxed. Carell finds both humor and humanity in Andy, and the supporting cast includes some standout comic work from Paul Rudd (Clueless, The Shape of Things) and Jane Lynch (Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), as well as an unusually straight performance from Catherine Keener (Lovely & Amazing, Being John Malkovich). And yet... something about the movie misses the mark. It skirts around the topic of male sexual anxiety, mining it for easy jokes, but never really digs into anything that would make the men in the audience actually squirm--and it's a lot less funny as a result. Nonetheless, there are many great bits, and Carell deserves the chance to shine.
Contact: Barry (510)333-3904
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