Fascination

• This is ROLLIN at his best; visual delights, sensual lesbian lovemaking, and the beautiful Brigitte Lahaie as a scythe-wielding avenger, and a group of castle dwelling bourgeois women blood-drinkers. Two women chosen by the group must slaughter and communally consume in a cannibalistic vampire way. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: HORROR Rating: NR MA Age: 844015000286 UPC: 

Against a deceptively tranquil background of tropical breezes and secluded beaches, a sultry tale of obsession and seduction unfolds in this riveting erotic thriller. Starring Jacqueline Bisset, Adam Garcia, Alice Evans, and James Naughton, Fascination throbs with danger, deceit, passion, and suspense. Scott Doherty (Garcia) is baffled and distraught after his father mysteriously drowns. His confusion turns to fury, however, when his mother, Maureen (Bisset), returns from a cruise just a few weeks later with her ne! w lover, Oliver Vance (Stuart Wilson). Suspecting foul play, Scott confides in Oliver's beautiful daughter, Kelly (Evans); and as the two begin their own investigation, they succumb to unbridled passion. But Kelly has dark secrets of her own, and while she seems to be the love of Scott's life, she could also be the end of it.The masterpiece of renowned French filmmaker Jean Rollin, FASCINATION follows a swaggering thief who hides out in a lavish chateau, holding the occupants at gunpoint. When night falls, he realizes that these two maids are not only deadlier than he imagined, but are gatekeepers to a ring of women with a thirst for blood.

BONUS FEATURES: Original Theatrical French Trailer, Deleted Sex Scenes (16 min), Short Subject Documentary: ''Virgins & Vampires'' (24 min), Trailers for The Nude Vampire, Lips of Blood, Shiver of the Vampires & The Iron Rose.A pair of society women dressed in all their finery stand in the middle of an abattoir, animal car! casses hanging behind them and blood splashed across the floor! . Giggli ng and fidgeting, they drink their prescribed glass of ox blood. The startling, unreal image of high-society manners in the midst of gore and death pitches Jean Rollin's 1979 feature Fascination into a turn-of-the-century culture come unhinged. When a well-dressed rogue, fleeing from angry partners he double-crossed, takes refuge in a lavish, moat-protected mansion, servant girls Franca Mai and Brigitte Lahaie cajole, tease, and seduce him into staying for their nighttime soiree. "You have stumbled into Elizabeth and Eva's life, the universe of madness and death," mutters one of them as they await the cabal where he is the guest of honor. Shot on a starvation budget and populated with stiff performers, Rollin's direction is arch and at times sloppy and his story never more than an outline. It's the mix of dreamy and nightmarish imagery that gives Fascination its fascination: blonde Lahaie stalking victims with a scythe, the bourgeois blood cult swarming over a ! fresh victim like wild animals, alabaster faces streaked in blood. While it lacks the delirious spontaneity of his earlier vampire films Shiver of the Vampires and Requiem for a Vampire, the languid pace and austere beauty creates an often-mesmerizing fantasy. The DVD also features the original theatrical trailer, a gallery of production stills, and a Rollin filmography. --Sean AxmakerLegendary horror director Jean Rollin presents "Fascination," his "homage to vampirism." This film is filled with visual delights, sensual lesbian lovemaking, a group of castle-dwelling bourgeois women blood-drinkers and the beautiful Brigitte Lahaie as a scythe-wielding avenger. Two women chosen by the group must find a man that they can slaughter and communally consume in a cannibalistic vampire feast.A pair of society women dressed in all their finery stand in the middle of an abattoir, animal carcasses hanging behind them and blood splashed across the floor. Giggling a! nd fidgeting, they drink their prescribed glass of ox blood. T! he start ling, unreal image of high-society manners in the midst of gore and death pitches Jean Rollin's 1979 feature Fascination into a turn-of-the-century culture come unhinged. When a well-dressed rogue, fleeing from angry partners he double-crossed, takes refuge in a lavish, moat-protected mansion, servant girls Franca Mai and Brigitte Lahaie cajole, tease, and seduce him into staying for their nighttime soiree. "You have stumbled into Elizabeth and Eva's life, the universe of madness and death," mutters one of them as they await the cabal where he is the guest of honor. Shot on a starvation budget and populated with stiff performers, Rollin's direction is arch and at times sloppy and his story never more than an outline. It's the mix of dreamy and nightmarish imagery that gives Fascination its fascination: blonde Lahaie stalking victims with a scythe, the bourgeois blood cult swarming over a fresh victim like wild animals, alabaster faces streaked in blood. While i! t lacks the delirious spontaneity of his earlier vampire films Shiver of the Vampires and Requiem for a Vampire, the languid pace and austere beauty creates an often-mesmerizing fantasy. The DVD also features the original theatrical trailer, a gallery of production stills, and a Rollin filmography. --Sean AxmakerThis is cult director Jean Rollin at his best; visual delights, sensual lesbian lovemaking, the beautiful Brigitte Lahaie as a scythe-wielding avenger and a group of castle-dwelling bourgeois blood-drinkers. Two woman chosen by the group must find a man that they must slaughter and communally consume in a cannibalistic vampire feast.A pair of society women dressed in all their finery stand in the middle of an abattoir, animal carcasses hanging behind them and blood splashed across the floor. Giggling and fidgeting, they drink their prescribed glass of ox blood. The startling, unreal image of high-society manners in the midst of gore and death pi! tches Jean Rollin's 1979 feature Fascination into a tur! n-of-the -century culture come unhinged. When a well-dressed rogue, fleeing from angry partners he double-crossed, takes refuge in a lavish, moat-protected mansion, servant girls Franca Mai and Brigitte Lahaie cajole, tease, and seduce him into staying for their nighttime soiree. "You have stumbled into Elizabeth and Eva's life, the universe of madness and death," mutters one of them as they await the cabal where he is the guest of honor. Shot on a starvation budget and populated with stiff performers, Rollin's direction is arch and at times sloppy and his story never more than an outline. It's the mix of dreamy and nightmarish imagery that gives Fascination its fascination: blonde Lahaie stalking victims with a scythe, the bourgeois blood cult swarming over a fresh victim like wild animals, alabaster faces streaked in blood. While it lacks the delirious spontaneity of his earlier vampire films Shiver of the Vampires and Requiem for a Vampire, the languid pace an! d austere beauty creates an often-mesmerizing fantasy. The DVD also features the original theatrical trailer, a gallery of production stills, and a Rollin filmography. --Sean Axmaker

Calvaire: The Ordeal

• In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he s forced to seek refuge in a ru

In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens’ world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he’s forced to seek refuge in a rural inn. Marc is taken in by Bartel, a lonely and psychologically fragile innkeeper who promises! to help. But when Marc catches him dismantling his car, he realizes that the innkeeper has other plans for him â€" sadistic plans that will push him to the bounds of human pain and suffering.

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Deterrence offers a welcome throwback to such sweaty-palmed chamber pieces as Fail-Safe and Twelve Angry Men, and in his debut as writer-director, Rod Lurie, a West Point graduate and former film critic, has crafted a taut, one-set drama that would have been ideal for live television. With its provocative what-if scenario and a sharp cast confined to a claustrophobic space, this movie's more clever than coherent, but it grabs your attention for 103 briskly paced minutes.

The year is 2008, and U.S. President Walter Emerson (Kevin Pollak) has something to prove. He wasn't elected (he took office upon the death of the previous president), and he needs a pivotal boost in a current primary election. While he and his entourage are trapped under heavy snowfal! l in a tiny Colorado diner, Emerson must decide whether to unleash a nuclear arsenal on the son of Saddam Hussein, who has invaded Kuwait and taken hundreds of American lives. With his chief of staff (Timothy Hutton), top advisers, and a cluster of terrified diners, Emerson sorts through his options as tensions come to a boil.

This all works well on the surface, and Deterrence gains depth by depicting a president who is potentially as evil as his unseen enemy. But the film is almost fatally vague (clearly Lurie wants viewers to bring their own interpretation to these events) and ends with a twist that's too contrived to be dramatically satisfying. Until that point, however, Deterrence will certainly keep you engaged. --Jeff ShannonAs a concept, deterrence has launched a thousand books and articles. It has dominated Western strategic thinking for more than four decades. In this important and groundbreaking new book, Lawrence Freedman develops a disti! nctive approach to the evaluation of deterrence as both a stat! e of min d and a strategic option. This approach is applied to post-cold war crisis management, and the utility and relevance of the concept is addressed in relation to US strategic practice post-9/11, particularly in the light of the apparent preference of the Bush Administration for the alternative concept of pre-emption.


The study of deterrence has been hampered by the weight of the intellectual baggage accumulated since the end of the Second World War. Exaggerated notions of what deterrence might achieve were developed, only to be to knocked down by academic critique. In this book, Freedman charts the evolution of the contemporary concept of deterrence, and discusses whether - and how - it still has relevance in today's world. He considers constructivist as well as realist approaches and draws on criminological as well as strategic studies literature to develop a concept of a norms-based, as opposed to an interest-based, deterrence. This book will be essential reading ! for students of politics and international relations as well as all those interested in contemporary strategic thought.RECKONING/DETERRENCE - DVD Movie

As the costs of a preemptive foreign policy in Iraq have become clear, strategies such as containment and deterrence have been gaining currency among policy makers. This comprehensive book offers an agenda for the contemporary practice of deterrenceâ€"especially as it applies to nuclear weaponsâ€"in an increasingly heterogeneous global and political setting.

Moving beyond the precepts of traditional deterrence theory, this groundbreaking volume offers insights for the use of deterrence in the modern world, where policy makers may encounter irrational actors, failed states, religious zeal, ambiguous power relationships, and other situations where the traditional rules of statecraft do not apply. A distinguished group of contributors here examines issues such as deterrence among the Great Powers; the problems of ! regional and nonstate actors; and actors armed with chemical, ! biologic al, and nuclear weapons. Complex Deterrence will be a valuable resource for anyone facing the considerable challenge of fostering security and peace in the twenty-first century.

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Big Stan

• In this hilarious and outrageous, marital arts comedy, Rob Schneider stars as Stan Minton a two bit con man that is found guilty of cheating mostly elderly women out of their retirement saving on fraudulent vacation properties. With the help of his crooked lawyer, Lew Popper (M. Emmet Walsh), Stan is able to postpone his jail sentence for six months in order to tidy up his affairs. Stan quickly go

In this hilarious and outrageous, marital arts comedy, Rob Schneider stars as Stan Minton a two bit con man that is found guilty of cheating mostly elderly women out of their retirement saving on fraudulent vacation properties. With the help of his crooked lawyer, Lew Popper (M. Emmet Walsh), Stan is able to postpone his jail sentence for six months in order to tidy up his affairs. Stan quickly goes into a depression that not even his gorgeous and bubbly wife, Mindy (Jennifer Morrison), can pull h! im out of. However, when Stan receives news from an ex-prison inmate that his frail and weak body will be targeted and "loved" by all of the large men in jail, Stan realized his "tender parts" are on the line and as a last ditch effort he enlists the help of a mysterious martial arts guru know only as The Master (David Carradine). Over the course of the remaining months, The Master transforms Stan into a lean and mean fighting machine much to the dismay of Mindy who cannot see past The Master's other "abilities" such as eating Scorpions at the dinner table and smoking a hundred cigarettes a day. Stan is finally shipped off to jail and he soon realizes that prison is not at all like he imagined it's worse! Thankfully Stan has been trained well and he soon brings the warring gangs together and establishes peace inside the prison walls. This is much to the disgust of the prisons Warden Gasque (Scott Wilson) who has been hatching an evil plan to shut the prison down and sell of! f the land to a Vietnamese development company that he just so! happens to be a silent partner in. Gasque offers Stan a deal that will get him out of prison far ahead of schedule if he'll help him with his diabolical plan. With the clock ticking, Stan must decide between his own freedom and protecting the lives of the inmates that he has grown to respect.Big Stan, Rob Schneider’s Kung Fu spoof, is about as hilarious as one can get without some hardcore stunts such those seen in Kung Fu Hustle. Big Stan is Schnieder, starring as Stan Minton, a lowbrow, too-tan real-estate con artist who, in the opening scene, is scamming an elderly woman out of her savings for a fake timeshare. From here, he’s busted and sentenced to prison, and the film’s setting is split between Minton’s gaudy mansion, in which he attempts to toughen up before serving, and a jail ripe with gangs split by race and undersexed men. Stan is a character whose strength and confidence grows throughout the story, initially thanks to the cheerleading of his! doormat wife, Mindy (Jennifer Morrison), but mostly because The Master (David Carradine) trains him in a combo martial-arts style that is as absurd as the idea of Carradine chain-smoking while reviving his Shaolin monk persona from the old TV show. Carradine is funny in Big Stan, though it’s Schneider’s timing and slapstick physical comedy that carries the movie. Does he really learn how to break through wood blocks with his middle finger? One may never know. Strange, unlikely plot twists, like one involving prison Warden Gasque (Stan Wilson), are totally corny. But there are sublime moments, such as those when Stan is able to unite warring teams of buff men long enough to perform choreographed dance numbers, that make the whole film worth watching. Gay jokes abound in Big Stan, but not the calloused kind; in fact, the whole film is aimed at portraying a fantasy in which prison is a safe haven for guys of all sorts, a men’s club as pleasant as a spa. It’s a ! revelry that may never materialize but it never hurts to imagi! ne. --Trinie Dalton

Funny Games

• FUNNY GAMES (DVD MOVIE)

Genre: Suspense
Rating: R
Release Date: 10-JUN-2008
Media Type: DVD Michael Haneke is a modern master, which his spellbinding films Cache and The Piano Teacher proved to an international audience. When it came time for a Hollywood remake of his ultra-disturbing 1997 picture Funny Games, who better than Haneke himself to helm the new version? And indeed, the second Funny Games bears the impeccable sense of control and technique that the Austrian version had: it is a horrifyingly precise account of a family terrorized by two psychopathic young thugs at a vacation home. For anyone who's already seen the '97 film, this new one--a nearly shot-by-shot transcription of the original--will seem superfluous, no matter how impressive the performances of Naomi Watts and Tim Roth are. (Michael Pitt and Brady Corbe! t are suitably creepy as their menacers, too.) For newbies, the movie might be as infuriating and thought-provoking as Haneke intends it to be. That's because Funny Games is an intellectual game itself, a direct rebuke to the audience that gobbles up gratuitous violence and cynical manipulation. Haneke sets up our expectations, and then refuses to provide the conventional catharsis… or the conventional anything. All of this was pretty bracing in the first go-round, but feels like gamesmanship in the remake. Even if you dig what Haneke's up to, this is a brutal movie-watching experience. --Robert HortonStudio: Kino International Release Date: 03/11/2008 Run time: 104 minutesIt is impossible to have a neutral opinion about the Austrian thriller Funny Games--a movie so relentless in its ability to shock that it gained pariah status on the film festival circuit in 1997. In the warped tradition of A Clockwork Orange, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer! , and Blue Velvet, this is a film--directed with el! ectrifyi ng audacity by Munich-born Michael Haneke--that addresses the controversy of screen violence by making the viewer as guilty as the Leopold and Loeb-like killers who terrorize a young family of three during their summer vacation. They arrive as friendly neighbors, seducing the family with phony congeniality, but soon Funny Games reveals its devious strategy, turning savage and appalling... and completely captivating for those who can endure the terror. There's actually less violence than you'd see in a typical American horror flick such as Scream, but Haneke's forceful staging effectively fulfills his agenda of viewer complicity; we vividly experience this doomed family's fate and feel helpless to save them. So helpless, in fact, that Haneke dares to offer a hint of respite by giving a victim the upper hand, only to "replay" the same scene with the darkest of outcomes. Funny Games is guaranteed to outrage some viewers with its manipulative schemes, but th! ere's no denying the film's visceral impact, generated by Haneke's expert handling of a superior cast. Don't even think of allowing anyone under age 17 to watch this film; all others should proceed with caution. --Jeff Shannon

America's Heart & Soul

• From sea to shining sea, from amber waves of grain to purple mountain majesties, it's not merely the land that makes America beautiful -- it's her people. Captured with stunning cinematography, AMERICA'S HEART & SOUL takes you on a journey that weaves across this great nation, revealing a rich tapestry of ordinary people living extraordinary lives as they follow their dreams with the f

From sea to shining sea, from amber waves of grain to purple mountain majesties, it's not merely the land that makes America beautiful -- it's her people. Captured with stunning cinematography, AMERICA'S HEART & SOUL takes you on a journey that weaves across this great nation, revealing a rich tapestry of ordinary people living extraordinary lives as they follow their dreams with the freedom of spirit that's uniquely American. From the Vermont dairy farmer, to the blind mountain climber, to the father and son m! arathon runners, their inspiring stories are as different as can be -- passionate, colorful, courageous, funny, touching. Featuring an exclusive new song by John Mellencamp, "The World Don't Bother Me None," AMERICA'S HEART & SOUL is a gloriously joyous celebration of being an American.With its spectacular sweep of earthly treasures--the peak of Mt. Everest, a lush valley in the Western U.S., a whirl of land and sky as seen from the cockpit of an aerobatic flyer--America's Heart and Soul is an unusual Disney documentary visually grand yet thematically intimate, focusing on two dozen people from around the country who have found purpose through their passionate endeavors. First-time director Louis Schwartzberg embraces the soulful, gritty, sometimes painful cost of American freedom in the stories of cowboy Roudy Roudebush, a recovering alcoholic; Marc and Ann Savoy, Cajun musicians whose family has lived on the same Louisiana land for seven generations; and California! dancer-mountainside rappeller Amelia Rudolph, who choreograph! s eccent ric performances below the cliffs at Muir Beach. Chapters about ex-con Michael Bennett, who survived prison to become the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team captain, and the Reverend Cecil Williams, founder of a truly inclusive church in San Francisco, are particularly inspiring. --Tom Keogh

Wrath of Gods

• Director's Cut, 72 minutes
• 2 hours of bonus material
• 1 hour exclusive interview with Gerard Butler
• Additional and extended scenes & exclusive interviews with the people behind Beowulf & Grendel
• Subtitles: Spanish, German, French, Icelandic, Polish + Version for the hearing impaired

This touching and humorous movie has earned the raves of critics and won the hearts of audiences everywhere! To spare the feelings of her fatherless boy, Lizzie (Emily Mortimer -- Disney's THE KID) secretly authors letters from his "father" that detail seafaring adventures from around the world. But she cannot maintain this illusion forever. Torn between exposing the truth and protecting her son, Lizzie gets more than anyone bargained for when she hires a handsome stranger (Gerald Butler -- THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE) to play the role of a li! fetime! Winner at both the Heartland Film Festival and the Seattle International Film Festival, this entertaining motion picture is sure to touch your heart!Driven by intelligent, constantly surprising and moving performances from the film's leads, Dear Frankie stars Emily Mortimer (Lovely and Amazing) as Lizzie, Scottish mother of Frankie (Jack McElhone), a deaf and highly intelligent 9-year-old. Constantly uprooting themselves and relocating from town to town, Lizzie and Frankie are on the run from the latter's abusive father, a fact unknown to the boy, who believes his dad is a busy seaman sending letters full of adventure and love. In fact, Lizzie is writing those missives, but she is faced with a challenge when Frankie discovers his father's ship will dock nearby. Lizzie hires a kind, handsome stranger (Gerard Butler) to play Frankie's dad, creating an odd situation in which ever-growing lies become a conduit for love, and Lizzie's repressed desires come ! to the fore with a man posing as her husband. The moral tangle! s are of interest in director Shona Auerbach's charmingly paced, quietly insightful drama-comedy, but so is the glorious feeling of watching these characters come fully alive. --Tom KeoghDriven by intelligent, constantly surprising and moving performances from the film's leads, Dear Frankie stars Emily Mortimer (Lovely and Amazing) as Lizzie, Scottish mother of Frankie (Jack McElhone), a deaf and highly intelligent 9-year-old. Constantly uprooting themselves and relocating from town to town, Lizzie and Frankie are on the run from the latter's abusive father, a fact unknown to the boy, who believes his dad is a busy seaman sending letters full of adventure and love. In fact, Lizzie is writing those missives, but she is faced with a challenge when Frankie discovers his father's ship will dock nearby. Lizzie hires a kind, handsome stranger (Gerard Butler) to play Frankie's dad, creating an odd situation in which ever-growing lies become a conduit for love, and Lizz! ie's repressed desires come to the fore with a man posing as her husband. The moral tangles are of interest in director Shona Auerbach's charmingly paced, quietly insightful drama-comedy, but so is the glorious feeling of watching these characters come fully alive. --Tom KeoghUnited Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Cast/Crew Interview(s), Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Interactive Menu, Short Film, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: The title character in this bowl of Scottish blarney is a sweet nine-year-old deaf boy (Jack McElhone) who lives a fugitive existence with his beautiful mother (Emily Mortimer) and his chain-smoking grandmother (Mary Riggans). The family is forced to move every few months to avoid being tracked down by Frankie's violent, abusive father. Th! e happiness of the boy, who is too young to remember the his f! ather re volves around bogus letters penned by his mother posing as his devoted but absent dad, supposedly a merchant seaman. When a ship that coincidentally has the same name as the one his mother invented docks, she hires an impersonator (Gerard Butler) to play his seafaring dad. Although sensitively acted, the movie is a fraudulent mawkish yarn riddled with plot holes and improbabilities. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, European Film Awards, Montreal World Film Festival, ...Dear FrankieWinner of 6 international film festival awards, this entertaining documentary tells the dramatic story behind the making of the epic movie Beowulf & Grendel, starring Gerard Butler, Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah Polley and Ingvar Sigurdsson. When Canadian director Sturla Gunnarsson and his cast and crew, including Gerard Butler and Stellan Skarsgård, set upon Iceland to film Beowulf & Grendel in 2004, they expected the usual complications involved in making a major motion picture. What they encountered was a ruthless Icelandic winter on a foreboding landscape, financing complications and a bizarre run of bad luck that led some of them to believe they were in an epic battle with the Norse gods themselves. Filmmaker Jon Gustafsson was along for the ride. Hired to play one of Beowulf's warriors, he's one set with his camera as the crew battles hurricane force winds and he's in the backroom as the producers scramble to shore up a collapsing deal, creating an intimate portrait of filmmakers fighting the odds in pursuit of a vision. If you liked "Lost in la Mancha" or "Burden of Dreams" you will probably like this one. DVD Special Features: 2 hours of bonus features, 1 hour exclusive interview with Gerard Butler, exclusive interviews with producers of Beowulf & Grendel, additional & extended scenes, chapter selection, Subtitles: Spanish, German, French, Icelandic, Polish, English, version for the hearing impaired.

Dorian Gray

• DORIAN GRAY (DVD MOVIE)

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young woman, "as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife," Dorian Gray is surprised to find no difference in his vision or surroundings. "The roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden."

As Hallward tries to make sense ! of his creation, his epigram-happy friend Lord Henry Wotton encourages Dorian in his sensual quest with any number of Wildean paradoxes, including the delightful "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." But despite its many languorous pleasures, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an imperfect work. Compared to the two (voyeuristic) older men, Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims, not least "no artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." Nonetheless, the glamour boy gets his just deserts. And Wilde, defending Dorian Gray, had it both ways: "All excess, as well as all renunciation, brings its own punishment."This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community ! of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase o! f the Ki ndle edition includes wireless delivery.Dorian Gray, a handsome young man, receives a beautiful painting of himself from his good friend Basil Hallward. In the same moment, a new acquaintance, Lord Henry, introduces Dorian to the ideals of youthfulness and hedonism, of which Gray becomes immediately obsessed. Meanwhile, the painting in Dorian's possession serves as a constant reminder of his passing beauty and youth, driving his obsession.A lush, cautionary tale of a life of vileness and deception or a loving portrait of the aesthetic impulse run rampant? Why not both? After Basil Hallward paints a beautiful, young man's portrait, his subject's frivolous wish that the picture change and he remain the same comes true. Dorian Gray's picture grows aged and corrupt while he continues to appear fresh and innocent. After he kills a young woman, "as surely as if I had cut her little throat with a knife," Dorian Gray is surprised to find no difference in his vision or surrou! ndings. "The roses are not less lovely for all that. The birds sing just as happily in my garden."

As Hallward tries to make sense of his creation, his epigram-happy friend Lord Henry Wotton encourages Dorian in his sensual quest with any number of Wildean paradoxes, including the delightful "When we are happy we are always good, but when we are good we are not always happy." But despite its many languorous pleasures, The Picture of Dorian Gray is an imperfect work. Compared to the two (voyeuristic) older men, Dorian is a bore, and his search for ever new sensations far less fun than the novel's drawing-room discussions. Even more oddly, the moral message of the novel contradicts many of Wilde's supposed aims, not least "no artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style." Nonetheless, the glamour boy gets his just deserts. And Wilde, defending Dorian Gray, had it both ways: "All excess, as wel! l as all renunciation, brings its own punishment."Forever you! ng. Fore ver cursed. Based on the acclaimed novel by Oscar Wilde. Upon arriving in London, the young and powerful Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) becomes drawn into a world of debauchery and decadence by Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth). Desperate to preserve the beauty captured in his exquisite portrait, Dorian trades his soul for eternal youth â€" leading him down a path of wickedness and murder in order to protect his horrifying secret.

Coastlines

• An ex-con returns to his Florida hometown after three years and becomes involved with the wife of his best friend, the local sheriff. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R Age: 796019798686 UPC: 796019798686 Manufacturer No: 79868

THE FILM FOLLOWS GRAY WHEELER WHILE SHE CONFRONTS HER GRIEF OVERTHE DEATH OF HER SEEMINGLY PERFECT FIANCE. WHEN GRAY TURNS TO HER FIANCE'S FRIENDS FOR EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, SHE DISCOVERS THATTHERE WERE A FEW THINGS SHE DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT HER LATE BEAU. SHEALSO STARTS TO DEVELOP FEELINGS FOR ONE OF HIS FRIENDS.Jennifer Garner's lips grow more Angelina-esque every year. In the romantic comedy Catch and Release, Garner (Alias, 13 Going On 30) plays Gray Wheeler, a young woman whose fiance dies unexpectedly before the wedding, leaving Gray unable to afford her home--so she moves in with her fiance's best friends, Sam (Kevin Smith, director of Clerks! and Dogma) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger, Lucky Number Slevin). But the presence of another old friend named Fritz (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood) leads to the unveiling of a secret: Gray's fiance had a child with another woman. Catch and Release lacks the clear story structure that most romantic comedies are built on, but trades it for a richer sense of the ambiguities of human relationships. Garner, though lovely and personable, is a bit bland--fortunately, she's surrounded by actors with all kinds of edges, including Smith (who shows an unexpected and uncloying earnest side), Fiona Shaw (from the Harry Potter movies) as the fiance's grieving mother, and Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), who demonstrates once again her powers as a fearless and surprising actress. Catch and Release is an uneven movie, with a remarkably elegant visual style that sometimes clashes with the workmanlike dialogue, but it can't be written off as the same old! Hollywood claptrap. Though a happy ending is inevitable, the ! path it takes has some surprising turns and flashes of unexpected emotional depth.-- Bret Fetzer

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Gray Wheeler just lost everything. But it could be the best thing that ever happened to her. After the death of her fiancé, Gray (Jennifer Garner) moves in with her late love’s best friends. While Sam (Kevin Smith) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger) do their best to cheer Gray up, Fritz (Timothy Olyphant) doesn’t seem to care. Once Gray breaks through Fritz’s defenses, however, she finally sees why her fiancé thought so highly of him. As they spend more time together, Gray learns that her chances for love have not died out with her fiancé. But when some surprise guests show up on their doorstep, it’ll take the love of all of her new friends to help Gray learn that life may b! e messy, but love is messier.Jennifer Garner's lips grow more Angelina-esque every year. In the romantic comedy Catch and Release, Garner (Alias, 13 Going On 30) plays Gray Wheeler, a young woman whose fiance dies unexpectedly before the wedding, leaving Gray unable to afford her home--so she moves in with her fiance's best friends, Sam (Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and Dogma) and Dennis (Sam Jaeger, Lucky Number Slevin). But the presence of another old friend named Fritz (Timothy Olyphant, Deadwood) leads to the unveiling of a secret: Gray's fiance had a child with another woman. Catch and Release lacks the clear story structure that most romantic comedies are built on, but trades it for a richer sense of the ambiguities of human relationships. Garner, though lovely and personable, is a bit bland--fortunately, she's surrounded by actors with all kinds of edges, including Smith (who shows an unexpected and uncloying earnes! t side), Fiona Shaw (from the Harry Potter movies) as t! he fianc e's grieving mother, and Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), who demonstrates once again her powers as a fearless and surprising actress. Catch and Release is an uneven movie, with a remarkably elegant visual style that sometimes clashes with the workmanlike dialogue, but it can't be written off as the same old Hollywood claptrap. Though a happy ending is inevitable, the path it takes has some surprising turns and flashes of unexpected emotional depth.- Bret Fetzer

Stills from Catch and Release (click for larger image)

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Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 10/05/2010(Drama/Thriller) Sonny (Olyphant), an ex-con, returns home and creates a new dynamic for both friends and enemies. The local power broker, Fred Vance (Forsythe), wants Sonny back in his shady world but Sonny only wants money due. As he fig! hts his long suppressed desire for his best friend's wife, passion and revenge threaten to overtake all as Sonny’s anger careens out of control, leading to an explosive confrontation, and finally to a surprising resolution.