The fact-based mystery of Hollywoodland takes place in 1959, when the death of Adventures of Superman TV star George Reeves cast a pall over the waning days of golden-age Hollywood. As written by Paul Bernbaum, this intriguing whodunit effectively evokes the tainted atmosphere that surrounded Reeves’ death (officially ruled a suicide but never conclusively solved), and speculates on circumstances to suggest that Reeves may have been murdered. In combining the melancholy course of Reeves’ career with the investigation of a down-and-out private detective into the possible causes of Reeves’ death, the film evolves into an engrossing study of parallels between lives on either side of the Hollywood dream. Building upon a distinguished career in TV including episodes of HBO’s The Sopranos, Rome and Six Feet Under, director Allen Coulter finds a satisfying balance between the tragic overtones of the Reeves case and the time-honored elements of the gumshoe genre, with Adrien Brod (more…)

Enter a terrifying new dimension in communication with the dead: The Near-Death Experience.What would you do if you could tell who was about to die? Would you try to save innocent lives? After barely escaping a near-death experience, Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion, Serenity) discovers that he has been granted a mysterious ability. But using this dark gift means interfering with the natural order of life and death, a choice that comes with a heavy price. Also starring Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), White Noise 2 explores an unthinkable and evil dimension in communication with the dead. (more…)

A fantastical tale about a man who makes up bedtime stories for his niece and nephew only to find that they magically come true the next day, Bedtime Stories is a funny and enjoyable film about finding happiness in unexpected places. Skeeter (Adam Sandler) grew up with his sister Wendy (Courteney Cox) in a small hotel run by his father Marty (Jonathan Pryce) which was eventually sold to Barry Nottingham (Richard Griffiths) with the caveat that Skeeter would someday assume a leadership role in the business. Expansion transformed the small hotel into the luxury Nottingham Hotel, but Skeeter is just a handyman with little hope of advancement. When his sister needs to leave the state for a job interview, Skeeter ends up sharing the responsibility of watching her two elementary-age children Bobbi (Laura Ann Kessling) and Patrick (Jonathan Morgan Heit), whom he hasn’t seen for years, with Wendy’s friend Jill (Keri Russell). Initially an awkward situation, Skeeter and the kids b (more…)

There are a lot of broad comedies about men refusing to grow up, but few have the sly bite of You, Me and Dupree. Even though Carl (Matt Dillon, Crash, There’s Something About Mary) is newly married to Molly (Kate Hudson, Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days), when his best friend Dupree (Owen Wilson, Wedding Crashers, The Life Aquatic) ends up homeless, Carl invites Dupree into their house–in which Dupree promptly makes himself at home, culminating in setting the place on fire during lurid sex. But though he’s trapped between his wife and his best friend, Carl may have bigger problems as his boss–and father-in-law–hates him and is sneakily working against his marriage. You, Me and Dupree seems at first glance to be a frat-boy farce about men being emasculated by their wives, but the well-written script, guided with a sure hand by director team Joe and Anthony Russo (who each directed episodes of the top-notch TV series Arrested Development), successfully walks (more…)

Disney’s 1959 animated effort was the studio’s most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It’s not really all that much about the title character–how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory he (more…)

This Disney masterpiece from 1940 will hold up forever precisely because it doesn’t restrain or temper the most elementalemotions and themes germane to its story. Based on the Collodi tale about a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy, Pinocchio is among the most magical, mythical, and frightening films to come from the studio in its long history. A number of scenes make permanent impressions on young minds (just ask Steven Spielberg, who quoted the film more than once in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the songs (”When You Wish upon a Star”) can’t be beat. –Tom Keogh Stills from Pinocchio (click for larger image)
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio! The legendary masterpiece that inspired millions to believe in their dreams has reawakened with an all-new, state-of-the-art digital restoration that shines brilliantly on 2-disc DVD. Now, for the first time ever, the richly detailed animation, unforgettable award-winning mu (more…)