The Astronaut's Wife/Don Juan DeMarco

• Astronaut's Wife After losing contact with Earth for two terrifying minutes during a dangerous mission in space, NASA astronaut Spencer (Johnny Depp) returns home to his beautiful wife (Charlize Theron) in this heart-stopping psychological thriller. Don Juan DeMarco Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway and Johnny Depp deliver tour de force performances in this critically-acclaimed romantic comedy.

A woman becomes embroiled in a mystery after her astronaut husband suffers an accident and retires as a hero from the space program. When he begins acting strangely, she must decide whether his odd behavior is all in her mind, or if he is no longer the man she once knew.An intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks this stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that ! fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack from extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communications blackout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prematurely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-kill! ing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA o! fficial, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow-Rosemary's Baby haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie, but she did this role much, much better in The Devil's Advocate. Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favors with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. --Mark EnglehartLove and death have been on this poet's mind for some time. This poetry maps a few of her most intense experiences, accentuating the positive, the unusual, and the lost. With! a unique voice and lively wit, a sardonic twist, strength, and a peculiar resolve through melancholy, these words lay bare her soul. Luzajic believes in exploring the frontiers of the universe, its chaos, its beauty, its small kindnesses, its remarkable spirit. Along the way on these adventures, you sometimes have to say goodbye.Now a major motion picture from New Line Cinema, starring Johnny Depp. After a critical two-minute loss of contact with Earth, two astronauts return from space as changed men.An intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks this stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack from extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communications b! lackout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prem! aturely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-killing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA official, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow-Rosemary's Baby haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie,! but she did this role much, much better in The Devil's Advocate. Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favors with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. --Mark EnglehartAn intriguingly creepy premise but failed execution marks this stylish and ultimately bland thriller about a pretty, young woman whose pretty, young astronaut husband comes back from his most recent space mission a little... odd. Before that fated space trip, Spencer (Johnny Depp) and Jillian (Charlize Theron) were a sunny, happy couple with matching blonde hairdos and a predilection for romping in the sack fr! om extremely clever camera angles. However, after a communicat! ions bla ckout brings Spencer and his partner back down to earth prematurely, things are a little... peculiar. Spencer's partner goes bonkers and has a heart attack; on top of that, the partner's wife takes a fatal shower with a plugged-in radio. Getting out of the space biz, Spencer accepts a job as a corporate exec in New York, and as a welcome to the Big Apple for his comely wife, he molests her at the company cocktail party. Soon enough, Jillian is pregnant, but as you might expect, this pregnancy (twins, don't you know) is a little... unusual. Writer-director Rand Ravich takes his sweet time getting from extremely obvious plot point A to even more obvious plot point B, stretching out the development particulars in mind-numbing, suspense-killing fashion. Even Joe Morton, as a sinisterly psychotic NASA official, can't liven things up--you know you're in bad thriller territory when the biggest scare comes from a light suddenly being switched off. Theron, sporting a Mia Farrow-Ro! semary's Baby haircut, sleepwalks beautifully through the movie, but she did this role much, much better in The Devil's Advocate. Depp, with a cornpone Southern accent, is about as realistic as his peroxided hair. Ravich does the viewer no favors with a hackneyed ending straight out of a B-grade paperback horror novel in which the most shocking moment is Theron's sudden emergence as a brunette. With Blair Brown as a jaded socialite who offers to help out Theron by providing do-it-yourself abortion pills, and a lovely Donna Murphy as the suicidal wife who figures it all out before everyone else. --Mark EnglehartTHE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE/DON JUAN DEMARCO - DVD Movie

Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake

• ISBN13: 9780767905381
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

An FBI agent (Hanks) tracks down and catches a young con artist (DiCaprio) who successfully impersonated an airline pilot, doctor, assistant attorney general and history professor, cashing more than $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in 26 countries.An enormously entertaining (if somewhat shallow) affair from blockbuster director Steven Spielberg. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale, Jr., a dazzling young con man who spent four years impersonating an airline pilot, a doctor, and a lawyer--all before he turned 21. All the while he's pursued by a dedicated FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), whose dogged determination stays one step behind Abagnale's spontaneous wits. Both DiCaprio! and Hanks turn in enjoyable performances and the movie has a bouncy rhythm that keeps it zipping along. However, it never gets under the surface of Frank's drive to lose himself in other identities, other than a simplistic desire to please his father (Christopher Walken, excellent as always), nor does it explore the complex mechanics of fraud with any depth. By the movie's end, it feels like one of Frank's pilot uniforms--appearance without substance. --Bret FetzerBased on the true story of frank abagnale jr. a successful con artist who managed to pass himself off as several identities and the fbi agent hot on his trail. Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 05/01/2007 Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio Christopher Walken Run time: 141 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Steven SpielbergAn enormously entertaining (if somewhat shallow) affair from blockbuster director Steven Spielberg. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Frank Abagnale, Jr., a dazzling young! con man who spent four years impersonating an airline pilot,! a doct or, and a lawyer--all before he turned 21. All the while he's pursued by a dedicated FBI agent named Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), whose dogged determination stays one step behind Abagnale's spontaneous wits. Both DiCaprio and Hanks turn in enjoyable performances and the movie has a bouncy rhythm that keeps it zipping along. However, it never gets under the surface of Frank's drive to lose himself in other identities, other than a simplistic desire to please his father (Christopher Walken, excellent as always), nor does it explore the complex mechanics of fraud with any depth. By the movie's end, it feels like one of Frank's pilot uniforms--appearance without substance. --Bret FetzerFrank W. Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history.  In his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pa! n Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed over $2.5 million in forged checks, all before he was twenty-one. Known by the police of twenty-six foreign countries and all fifty states as "The Skywayman," Abagnale lived a sumptuous life on the lam-until the law caught up with him.  Now recognized as the nation's leading authority on financial foul play, Abagnale is a charming rogue whose hilarious, stranger-than-fiction international escapades, and ingenious escapes-including one from an airplane-make Catch Me If You Can an irresistible tale of deceit.

The uproarious, bestselling true story of the world's most sought-after con man currently in development as a DreamWorks feature film.

"I stole every nickel and blew it on fine threads, luxurious lodgings, fantastic foxes, and other sensual goodies.  I partied in every capital in ! Europe and basked on all the world's most famous beaches."When! this tr ue-crime story first appeared in 1980, it made the New York Times bestseller list within weeks. Two decades later, it's being rereleased in conjunction with a film version produced by DreamWorks. In the space of five years, Frank Abagnale passed $2.5 million in fraudulent checks in every state and 26 foreign countries. He did it by pioneering implausible and brazen scams, such as impersonating a Pan Am pilot (puddle jumping around the world in the cockpit, even taking over the controls). He also played the role of a pediatrician and faked his way into the position of temporary resident supervisor at a hospital in Georgia. Posing as a lawyer, he conned his way into a position in a state attorney general's office, and he taught a semester of college-level sociology with a purloined degree from Columbia University.

The kicker is, he was actually a teenage high school dropout. Now an authority on counterfeiting and secure documents, Abagnale tells of his years of i! mpersonations, swindles, and felonies with humor and the kind of confidence that enabled him to pull off his poseur performances. "Modesty is not one of my virtues. At the time, virtue was not one of my virtues," he writes. In fact, he did it all for his overactive libido--he needed money and status to woo the girls. He also loved a challenge and the ego boost that came with playing important men. What's not disclosed in this highly engaging tale is that Abagnale was released from prison after five years on the condition that he help the government write fraud-prevention programs. So, if you're planning to pick up some tips from this highly detailed manifesto on paperhanging, be warned: this master has already foiled you. --Lesley Reed

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
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

For the first time, the players at Leeds United during Brian Clough’s reign have their say Brian Clough’s 44-day tenure as manager of Leeds United between July and September 1974 is one of the most infamous episodes in soccer history. While The Damned United was a fictional account of Clough’s short-lived but controversial reign at the club, this book 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, and Norman Hunter. They reveal what it was like to make the transition from the relatively smooth management style of forme! r 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 re! ign at the club, We are the Damned United reveals the t! rue stor y, 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 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 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 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 ensu! ed from the moment Clough was earmarked by the club directors ! as the f avourite 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.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 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, transformi! ng 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)

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 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 unbearable, domineering jerk into someone you feel for deepl! y. After Frost/Nixon and The Queen, Sheen practi! cally sp ecializes 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 school! teacher John Scopes in the “Monkey 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, Massachusetts and the 1972 Preside! ntial pr imary, evidence mounts that sinister forces are on the rise, led by the Cult of Cthulhu and its most prominent member - Richard M. Nixon!In her analysis of the cultural construction of gender in early America, Elizabeth Reis explores the intersection of Puritan theology, Puritan evaluations of womanhood, and the Salem witchcraft episodes. She finds in those intersections the basis for understanding why women were accused of witchcraft more often than men, why they confessed more often, and why they frequently accused other women of being witches. In negotiating their beliefs about the devil's powers, both women and men embedded womanhood in the discourse of depravity. Puritan ministers insisted that women and men were equal in the sight of God, with both sexes equally capable of cleaving to Christ or to the devil. Nevertheless, Reis explains, womanhood and evil were inextricably linked in the minds and hearts of seventeenth-century New England Puritans. Women and men feared! hell equally but Puritan culture encouraged women to believe it was their vile natures that would take them there rather than the particular sins they might have committed. Following the Salem witchcraft trials, Reis argues, Puritans' understanding of sin and the devil changed. Ministers and laity conceived of a Satan who tempted sinners and presided physically over hell, rather than one who possessed souls in the living world. Women and men became increasingly confident of their redemption, although women more than men continued to imagine themselves as essentially corrupt, even after the Great Awakening.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 actual! ly work against gender equality. The rules inadvertently creat! e parado xes 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 team 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 achieve true gender parity in the workplace.

The Black Swan: Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: "On Robustness and Fragility"

• ISBN13: 9780812973815
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

“You can’t tear your eyes away” (Entertainment Weekly) from this “wicked, psychosexual thriller” (Daily Variety) starring ACADEMY AWARD® WINNER Natalie Portman* and directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler ). Portman delivers “the performance of her career” (Vanity Fair ) as Nina, a stunningly talented but dangerously unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her driven artistic director (Vincent Cassel) and the threat posed by a seductive rival dancer (Mila Kunis), Nina’s tenuous grip on reality starts to slip away â€" plunging her into a waking nightmare.Feverish worlds such as espionage and warfare have nothing on the hothouse realm of ballet, as ! director Darren Aronofsky makes clear in Black Swan, his over-the-top delve into a particularly fraught production of Swan Lake. At the very moment hard-working ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) lands the plum role of the White Swan, her company director (Vincent Cassel) informs her that she'll also play the Black Swan--and while Nina's precise, almost virginal technique will serve her well in the former role, the latter will require a looser, lustier attack. The strain of reaching within herself for these feelings, along with nattering comments from her mother (Barbara Hershey) and the perceived rivalry from a new dancer (Mila Kunis), are enough to make anybody crack… and tracing out the fault lines of Nina's breakdown is right in Aronofsky's wheelhouse. Those cracks are broad indeed, as Nina's psychological instability is telegraphed with blunt-force emphasis in this neurotic roller-coaster ride. The characters are stick figures--literally, in the case of t! he dancers, but also as single-note stereotypes in the horror ! show: wi tchy bad mommy, sexually intimidating male boss, wacko diva (Winona Ryder, as the prima ballerina Nina is replacing). Yet the film does work up some crazed momentum (and undeniably earned its share of critical raves), and the final sequence is one juicy curtain-dropper. A good part of the reason for this is the superbly all-or-nothing performance by Natalie Portman, who packs an enormous amount of ferocity into her small body. Kudos, too, to Tchaikovsky's incredibly durable music, which has meshed well with psychological horror at least since being excerpted for the memorably moody opening credits of the 1931 Dracula, another pirouette through the dark side. --Robert Horton“You can’t tear your eyes away” (Entertainment Weekly) from this “wicked, psychosexual thriller” (Daily Variety) starring Academy Award® Winner Natalie Portman and directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler). Portman delivers “the performance of her career” (Vanity Fai! r ) as Nina, a stunningly talented but dangerously unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her driven artistic director (Vincent Cassel) and the threat posed by a seductive rival dancer (Mila Kunis), Nina’s tenuous grip on reality starts to slip away â€" plunging her into a waking nightmare.Feverish worlds such as espionage and warfare have nothing on the hothouse realm of ballet, as director Darren Aronofsky makes clear in Black Swan, his over-the-top delve into a particularly fraught production of Swan Lake. At the very moment hard-working ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) lands the plum role of the White Swan, her company director (Vincent Cassel) informs her that she'll also play the Black Swan--and while Nina's precise, almost virginal technique will serve her well in the former role, the latter will require a looser, lustier attack. The strain of reaching within herself for these feelings, along with nattering comment! s from her mother (Barbara Hershey) and the perceived rivalry ! from a n ew dancer (Mila Kunis), are enough to make anybody crack… and tracing out the fault lines of Nina's breakdown is right in Aronofsky's wheelhouse. Those cracks are broad indeed, as Nina's psychological instability is telegraphed with blunt-force emphasis in this neurotic roller-coaster ride. The characters are stick figures--literally, in the case of the dancers, but also as single-note stereotypes in the horror show: witchy bad mommy, sexually intimidating male boss, wacko diva (Winona Ryder, as the prima ballerina Nina is replacing). Yet the film does work up some crazed momentum (and undeniably earned its share of critical raves), and the final sequence is one juicy curtain-dropper. A good part of the reason for this is the superbly all-or-nothing performance by Natalie Portman, who packs an enormous amount of ferocity into her small body. Kudos, too, to Tchaikovsky's incredibly durable music, which has meshed well with psychological horror at least since being excerpted! for the memorably moody opening credits of the 1931 Dracula, another pirouette through the dark side. --Robert HortonA black swan is an event, positive or negative, that is deemed improbable yet causes massive consequences. In this groundbreaking and prophetic book, Taleb shows in a playful way that Black Swan events explain almost everything about our world, and yet weâ€"especially the expertsâ€"are blind to them. In this second edition, Taleb has added a new essay, On Robustness and Fragility, which offers tools to navigate and exploit a Black Swan world.

Fade to Black: No Gi Chokes

• Vol 1: Darce Chokes
• Vol 2: Guillotines
• Vol 3: Peruvian Neckties
• Vol 4: Arm Triangles, Vol 5: Reverse Arm Triangles
• Vol 6: Gators

FADE TO BLACK takes a look at the rapper’s career, providing a backstage glimpse during the concert and showing how his last album was conceived. Narrated by Jay-Z himself, the film features notable guest performances by Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, R. Kelly, Pharrell Williams, Foxy Brown and appearances by P. Diddy and 2004 Grammy-winner Kanye West.Fade to Black is a document of Jay-Z’s self-proclaimed final concert; a grand affair that took place before a sold-out crowd at New York’s Madison Square Garden in November 2003. (But anyone who follows celebrity news knows that Jay-Z was out of retirement and back performing at the Garden just a year later.) Fade to Black is a legitimately powerful record of! a truly historic event in the annals of rap. Muttering offhand narration with typical bored, streetwise affect, Jay hails the concert as a momentous occasion for being the first time a hip-hop show was allowed to headline at the Garden.

It’s unlikely that the full impact of the live performances will hit home to viewers unfamiliar with Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella Records stable of artists. Another frustration is trying to identify the array of visitors who trade raps on Jay’s stage. Included in the star-studded lineup are Missy Elliott, Foxy Brown, Pharell, Ghostface Killah, Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and R. Kelly. One unmistakable figure--and we do mean figure--is Jay’s squeeze Beyonce, who raises the temperature and the roof with her skimpy outfit, flowing hair, soulful yowl, and sexed-up dance routine that leaves her boyfriend and the whole of Madison Square Garden slack-jawed with animal desire.

Twenty cameras captured the event, and some of the most powe! rful sequences are sweeping moves across the swirling, blissed! -out mas ses as they lip sync along in perfect unison with Jay-Z’s complex, profane, quick-witted raps. Less effective are intermittent cutaway segments that show the artist in various studio settings working up beats and rhymes. These amateurish home video breaks may give some insight to Jay’s perfectionism and dedication to his craft, but they detract from the visceral power of the beautifully executed performance footage. --Ted FryA mysterious figure has broken into Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s laboratory in the Seireitei. Using a scythe-like weapon, the intruder causes Mayuri to go mad and destroy his own lab equipment. Kenpachi rushes to the laboratory as the Seireitei becomes engulfed in a cloud of reishi. When Kenpachi arrives he is greeted by an even greater explosion of reishi that completely devastates the Seiretei. Rukia witnesses this catastrophe from a distance, when the two intruders approach her and use the same scythe that drove Mayuri mad. The intruders then abdu! ct Rukia as she feels something inside of her fade away. Meanwhile, in the World of the Living, Ichigo and Kon experience a strange disturbance and head to Kisuke Urahara’s shop for some answers. When Kisuke informs them about the destruction of the Seireitei, the two set out for the Soul Society. What awaits Ichigo in the devastated Seireitei, however, are Soul Reapers who seem to have lost all memory related to both him and Rukia. To make matters worse, the Soul Reapers witness Ichigo’s Hollowfication and suspect him of being the one responsible for the Seireitei’s destruction. Now on the run, Ichigo is forced into a lonely battle against the Soul Reapers who once fought alongside him. Overcoming countless obstacles, Ichigo finally finds Rukia, only to learn she is not herself. Ichigo must find out what happened to Rukia and try to save her before the two are forced to part ways forever!Director Noriyuki Abe and his artists pull out all the stops in Bleach the Mo! vie: Fade to Black (2008), the most dramatic and satisfyin! g of the theatrical features based on Tite Kubo's best-selling manga. A mistake in Captain Mayuri's research unleashes an explosion of serpentine creatures that bury a third of the Seireitei in a whitish gunk that imprisons anyone caught in it. An eerie-looking girl and a gaunt young man with a scythe capture Rukia, declaring they will destroy her memory so she can stay with them forever. Their power not only erases Rukia's memory, but makes everyone else forget she ever existed. Even Ichigo forgets her, until recollections of their first adventures trouble his dreams. Ichigo charges to the rescue, only to discover that no one in the Seireitei remembers him either--not even his close friends Renji and Hitsugaya. The ultimate source of all the trouble is a parasitic Hollow with a scythe-like tentacle that can sever memories. But Ichigo knows that friendship and loyalty transcend any obstacle a Hollow can create. His courage and unbreakable bonds with Renji, Hitsugaya, Uruhara, and es! pecially Rukia triumph over the sinister Hollow and its wraith-like slaves. Fade to Black boasts a stronger emotional punch than the first feature, Memories of Nobody, and more spectacular battles than the second, Diamond Dust Rebellion. The result is a high-energy yet moving film that will delight fans of the long-running Bleach series. (Rated "Teen," suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles SolomonA mysterious figure has broken into Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s laboratory in the Seireitei. Using a scythe-like weapon, the intruder causes Mayuri to go mad and destroy his own lab equipment. Kenpachi rushes to the laboratory as the Seireitei becomes engulfed in a cloud of reishi. When Kenpachi arrives he is greeted by an even greater explosion of reishi that completely devastates the Seiretei. Rukia witnesses this catastrophe from a distance, when the two intruders approach her and use the same scythe that drove Mayuri! mad. The intruders then abduct Rukia as she feels something i! nside of her fade away. Meanwhile, in the World of the Living, Ichigo and Kon experience a strange disturbance and head to Kisuke Urahara’s shop for some answers. When Kisuke informs them about the destruction of the Seireitei, the two set out for the Soul Society. What awaits Ichigo in the devastated Seireitei, however, are Soul Reapers who seem to have lost all memory related to both him and Rukia. To make matters worse, the Soul Reapers witness Ichigo’s Hollowfication and suspect him of being the one responsible for the Seireitei’s destruction. Now on the run, Ichigo is forced into a lonely battle against the Soul Reapers who once fought alongside him. Overcoming countless obstacles, Ichigo finally finds Rukia, only to learn she is not herself. Ichigo must find out what happened to Rukia and try to save her before the two are forced to part ways forever!Director Noriyuki Abe and his artists pull out all the stops in Bleach the Movie: Fade to Black (2008), the most dr! amatic and satisfying of the theatrical features based on Tite Kubo's best-selling manga. A mistake in Captain Mayuri's research unleashes an explosion of serpentine creatures that bury a third of the Seireitei in a whitish gunk that imprisons anyone caught in it. An eerie-looking girl and a gaunt young man with a scythe capture Rukia, declaring they will destroy her memory so she can stay with them forever. Their power not only erases Rukia's memory, but makes everyone else forget she ever existed. Even Ichigo forgets her, until recollections of their first adventures trouble his dreams. Ichigo charges to the rescue, only to discover that no one in the Seireitei remembers him either--not even his close friends Renji and Hitsugaya. The ultimate source of all the trouble is a parasitic Hollow with a scythe-like tentacle that can sever memories. But Ichigo knows that friendship and loyalty transcend any obstacle a Hollow can create. His courage and unbreakable bonds with Renj! i, Hitsugaya, Uruhara, and especially Rukia triumph over the s! inister Hollow and its wraith-like slaves. Fade to Black boasts a stronger emotional punch than the first feature, Memories of Nobody, and more spectacular battles than the second, Diamond Dust Rebellion. The result is a high-energy yet moving film that will delight fans of the long-running Bleach series. (Rated "Teen," suitable for ages 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) --Charles SolomonDanny Huston (Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans) stars with Oscar®-winner Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter) in this twisting mystery-thriller of intrigue, seduction and murder. Arriving in post-WWII Rome to re-kindle his failing career, movie star and director Orson Welles is immediately captivated by a ravishing young actress (Paz Vega, Spanglish). But when her stepfather is killed by an unknown assassin, Welles and his street-wise Italian driver/bodyguard (Diego Luna, The Terminal) are plunged into Rome’s chaotic criminal underworld, where nothing is! what it seems, no one can be trusted and the truth…is the deadliest illusion of all."I'm Jarret. Cody Jarret, understand?!" snarls Dennis Christopher (Breaking Away) in his best James Cagney. OK, he's no Rich Little, but as the movie-mad social misfit Eric Binford he makes a convincing media-saturated Norman Bates, and for a while his geeky fumblings and wounded vulnerability keep the film on track. He is a gofer for a B-movie studio, constantly bullied by his tough-guy coworker Mickey Rourke and his aunt, a bitter wheelchair-bound failed starlet who blames the boy for her misfortunes and never lets him forget it. His sanity already precariously close to the edge, he flares up and becomes Richard Widmark in Kiss of Death, shoving dear auntie down the back stairs and forever losing himself in the characters of his favorite movies. It's the first of many movie-inspired murders, but the gimmick becomes repetitive and the film loses its focus in series of pre-Scream set pieces. Better is Eric's deluded romance with! an Auss ie Marilyn Monroe look-a-like. It's hard to understand what she sees in this jittery nerd who rattles off meaningless movie trivia like it was the meaning of life, but give Eric credit for wooing her as Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl. Tim Thomerson gets to play both tough guy and sensitive social worker as the counselor who utters the immortal line: "Binford's not to blame, he's a victim of society!" --Sean AxmakerFade to Black is the debut novel by award-winning short fiction writer and journalist Morgan Kearns. It is a tempestuous and witty love story, complete with dangerous twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very last page. Kate Callahan is a news reporter in Salt Lake City whose life seems to be perfect. Her attentive boyfriend, Jesse Vasquez, is determined to prove his love for her. But the day she steps through the doors of KHB as their newest reporter and meets photographer Rich Spencer, everything changes. There i! s something about the way he caresses her with his eyes, speaks to her without saying a word, and lights her skin aflame with a simple touch that makes her rethink everything she’s ever known. Ultimately, she is faced with an impossible choiceâ€"one that tears her heart in twoâ€"which becomes excruciating when fate steps in and decides for her. Walking along a mountain of heartache and regret, Kate struggles to find a world where love does conquer all.Japanese only SHM pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Universal. 2009.Don't let tha! t classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool ! you-- Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubitably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), electric-chair execution (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the best track on this album is probably "Fade to Black," a slower, more introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. Very highly recommended. --Genevieve WilliamsDon't let that classical-guitar-ish opening to "Fight Fire with Fire" fool you--Ride the Lightning packs a heavy-metal wallop. While not as ambitious as the subsequent Master of Puppets, this early Metallica album is indubit! ably one of their best. Thematically, it explores death and dying from myriad points of view: nuclear war ("Fight Fire with Fire"), execution by electric chair (the title track), and drowning ("Trapped Under Ice"). Interestingly, the album's best track is "Fade to Black," a slower, introspective song about suicide. There's also "Creeping Death," which remains a concert favorite. An excellent mix of rapid-fire guitar riffs, rip-roaring solos, and singer James Hetfield's trademark growl, this is thrash metal at its finest. -- Genevieve Williams Brandon Quick teaches a HUGE variety of chokes in this 6 volume DVD set. The chokes you'll see here are the latest innovations of darces, peruvian neckties, guillotines, arm triangles, and gators and chances are your opponent hasn't seen most of these!

Easy

• Jamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a 25-year-old self-proclaimed jerk magnet. After determining not to spend the rest of her life as the easy chick, she gets involved in a romantic triangle with 2 great guys (2004 Tony winner Brian F. O Byrne and Lost s Naveen Andrews), only to discover that love is anything but easy. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR Age: 025192

In this charming, critically acclaimed tale of rumors and reputation, Olive (Emma Stone), an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates (Amanda Bynes, Aly Michalka) are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher (Thomas Haden Church) and the distracted guidance counselor (Lisa Kudrow). With the support of her hilariously idi! osyncratic parents (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson) and a little help from a long-time crush (Penn Badgley), Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all. Easy A is a frothy, fizzy, and funny romantic comedy for teens--and adults will love it too. Not since Clueless has a high-school heroine been able to delight both audiences, and Easy A's Olive (the sparkling Emma Stone) is a stellar young star. But Easy A benefits from a great script by writer Bert V. Royal and assured direction by TV veteran Will Gluck. Olive is a smart girl happy to stay in the shadows of high school, until her good friend, Brandon (Dan Byrd), who's gay, begs her to pretend to have sex with him so the rest of the school will stop picking on him. She obliges, but soon she picks up not one but two reputations--as the girl who sleeps around, and, on the down-low, as the girl who'll pretend to sleep with a guy so! he won't be branded a virgin. Soon Easy A's complicati! ons pile up higher than the entrance of Olive's high school, and her two story lines, neither of which reflects the real Olive, take on lives of their own. There are backlashes and blacklists and repercussions galore. "I always thought pretending to lose my virginity would feel a little more special," muses Olive. "Judy Blume should have prepared me for that." Stone is accompanied by a strong supporting cast: Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her bemused parents, Gossip Girl's dreamy Penn Badgley, the freshly unretired Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Lisa Kudrow, and Malcolm McDowell. And it's to the cast's and the writer's credit that the audience is kept engaged, and guessing, till the very end. Easy A should be awarded exactly that. --A.T. HurleyIn this charming, critically acclaimed tale of rumors and reputation, Olive (Emma Stone), an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use! the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates (Amanda Bynes, Aly Michalka) are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher (Thomas Haden Church) and the distracted guidance counselor (Lisa Kudrow). With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents (Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson) and a little help from a long-time crush (Penn Badgley), Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.Easy A is a frothy, fizzy, and funny romantic comedy for teens--and adults will love it too. Not since Clueless has a high-school heroine been able to delight both audiences, and Easy A's Olive (the sparkling Emma Stone) is a stellar young star. But Easy A benefits from a great script by writer Bert V. Royal and assured direction by TV veteran Will Gluck. Olive is a smart girl happy to stay in the shadows of high school! , until her good friend, Brandon (Dan Byrd), who's gay, begs h! er to pr etend to have sex with him so the rest of the school will stop picking on him. She obliges, but soon she picks up not one but two reputations--as the girl who sleeps around, and, on the down-low, as the girl who'll pretend to sleep with a guy so he won't be branded a virgin. Soon Easy A's complications pile up higher than the entrance of Olive's high school, and her two story lines, neither of which reflects the real Olive, take on lives of their own. There are backlashes and blacklists and repercussions galore. "I always thought pretending to lose my virginity would feel a little more special," muses Olive. "Judy Blume should have prepared me for that." Stone is accompanied by a strong supporting cast: Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her bemused parents, Gossip Girl's dreamy Penn Badgley, the freshly unretired Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Lisa Kudrow, and Malcolm McDowell. And it's to the cast's and the writer's credit that the audie! nce is kept engaged, and guessing, till the very end. Easy A should be awarded exactly that. --A.T. HurleyJamie Harris (Marguerite Moreau) is a 25-year-old self-proclaimed "jerk magnet." After determining not to spend the rest of her life as "the easy chick," she gets involved in a romantic triangle with 2 great guys (2004 Tony winner Brian F. O'Byrne and "Lost's" Naveen Andrews), only to discover that love is anything but easy.

2008 Yu-Gi-Oh! Yugioh 5Ds Zombie World Structure Deck w/ Red Eyes Darkness Zombie Dragon

• Total Cards in Set: 40 Cards (39 Common, 1 Ultra Rare)
• New 5D's Deck focusing on the classic Zombie Deck.
• 40 Card Deck, Playmat, and Rulebook
• Check Out our other Yu Gi Oh! Listings!

Young Masters is a delightful new hardcover book and music series from Grammy Award® Winner Bunny Hull that is destined to be in every child s collection. 28 pages Preschool Early Reader w/CD Somewhere over the sky and under the moon, Butaan and Phylos met and became the best of friends. Now children everywhere can share in the wisdom and wonder of these two Young Masters as they explore life s hidden treasures and discover its most precious secrets. Illustrator Kye Fleming has created two loveable characters that capture children s hearts. Songs support the theme and actress Elayn J. Taylor narrates the story backed by a beautiful score created by Hull. In The Magic Eye, Butaan helps Ph! ylos to understand the boundless nature of the imagination, and how it can be used to overcome obstacles. Dan Cowan, Music DesignThis digital document is an article from The Futurist, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2008. The length of the article is 744 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: WorldFuture 2008: seeing the future through new eyes.
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: The Futurist (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2008
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 42 Issue: 1 Page: 52(3)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Now in full color and completely upd! ated, the Fifth Edition of this best-selling manual is a relia! ble quic k-reference guide for all clinicians who treat eye disorders. Every disorder encountered in the office, emergency room, or hospital is covered in concise outline format: symptoms, signs, work-up, treatment, and follow-up. Also included are chapters on differential diagnosis of ocular symptoms and signs, a section on current imaging modalities in ophthalmology, and a Pharmacopoeia.

This edition features over 200 full-color photographs and includes the newest drugs, procedures, and treatment protocols. New topics covered include iridodialysis/cyclodialysis, shaken baby syndrome, crystalline keratopathy, refractive surgery complications, aberrant regeneration of the third nerve, venous stasis retinopathy, choroidal effusion/detachment, and common laser procedures. New appendices cover intravitreal injections and antibiotics, anterior chamber paracentesis, laser peripheral iridotomy, and YAG capsulotomy.

“Adrienne Rich is the Blake of American letter! s.”â€"Nadine Gordimer

Across more than three decades Adrienne Rich’s essays have been praised for their lucidity, courage, and range of concerns. In A Human Eye, Rich examines a diverse selection of writings and their place in past and present social disorders and transformations. Beyond literary theories, she explores from many angles how the arts of language have acted on and been shaped by their creators’ worlds.Be prepared for the ultimate scare with the all new Yu-Gi-Oh! Structure Deck, Zombie World! Introducing brand new cards and some highly desirable reprints, the all new Structure deck allows Duelist to create an indestructible Zombie army by turning ALL monsters into Zombies. This 40-card deck is enjoyable for the intermediate player and creates many new possibilities for the tournament level players by allowing them to fit any monster into a Zombie deck. This Deck also contains a new rulebook, playmat and a Dueling Guide that explains s! ome of the exciting new strategies to use as well as relevant ! cards fr om recently-released products to help build an unbeatable Deck! Create an outbreak of Zombies with Zombie World!

Beverly Hills Ninja : Widescreen Edition

• Widescreen

BEVERLY HILLS NINJA - DVD MovieA slapstick comedy starring Chris Farley, Beverly Hills Ninja is part prop-gag movie and part testament to the late comedian's physical comedic abilities. As a baby, Haru (Farley) appeared on the coastal shores of Japan. Legend has it that a foreigner would arrive and become the greatest ninja ever, known as the "Great White Ninja." As Haru grew, it became apparent: he was not the one. But when a beautiful stranger named Sally (Nicollette Sheridan) appears at the dojo seeking a ninja's help, Haru finds his calling. Through a series of mix-ups (generally caused by Haru himself), Haru is framed for murder and he follows Sally to Beverly Hills to set things right. Finding out Sally's boyfriend is a counterfeiter and murderer, Haru with the help of hotel bellboy Joey (Chris Rock) and unknowingly with the help of his ninja brother Gobei (Robin Shou)! takes down the counterfeit ring and finds his place among the ninja clan.

Beverly Hills Ninja is full of individual comic gags that are hilarious in their purity--call it sadistic, but sometimes it's just plain funny watching a guy unwittingly walk into a lamppost while carrying on a conversation. Farley was a master at these tried-and-true gags, which reach right back into the origins of comedy. But it's not all slapstick; a scene where Haru is so taken by dancers at a local strip bar that he joins in is reminiscent of the mud-wrestling scene from Stripes. Beverly Hills Ninja may be considered a low-brow romp, but a romp it is nonetheless. --Shannon Gee A slapstick comedy starring Chris Farley, Beverly Hills Ninja is part prop-gag movie and part testament to the late comedian's physical comedic abilities. As a baby, Haru (Farley) appeared on the coastal shores of Japan. Legend has it that a foreigner would arrive and become the great! est ninja ever, known as the "Great White Ninja." As Haru grew! , it bec ame apparent: he was not the one. But when a beautiful stranger named Sally (Nicollette Sheridan) appears at the dojo seeking a ninja's help, Haru finds his calling. Through a series of mix-ups (generally caused by Haru himself), Haru is framed for murder and he follows Sally to Beverly Hills to set things right. Finding out Sally's boyfriend is a counterfeiter and murderer, Haru with the help of hotel bellboy Joey (Chris Rock) and unknowingly with the help of his ninja brother Gobei (Robin Shou) takes down the counterfeit ring and finds his place among the ninja clan.

Beverly Hills Ninja is full of individual comic gags that are hilarious in their purity--call it sadistic, but sometimes it's just plain funny watching a guy unwittingly walk into a lamppost while carrying on a conversation. Farley was a master at these tried-and-true gags, which reach right back into the origins of comedy. But it's not all slapstick; a scene where Haru is so taken by dancers at a l! ocal strip bar that he joins in is reminiscent of the mud-wrestling scene from Stripes. Beverly Hills Ninja may be considered a low-brow romp, but a romp it is nonetheless. --Shannon Gee A slapstick comedy starring Chris Farley, Beverly Hills Ninja is part prop-gag movie and part testament to the late comedian's physical comedic abilities. As a baby, Haru (Farley) appeared on the coastal shores of Japan. Legend has it that a foreigner would arrive and become the greatest ninja ever, known as the "Great White Ninja." As Haru grew, it became apparent: he was not the one. But when a beautiful stranger named Sally (Nicollette Sheridan) appears at the dojo seeking a ninja's help, Haru finds his calling. Through a series of mix-ups (generally caused by Haru himself), Haru is framed for murder and he follows Sally to Beverly Hills to set things right. Finding out Sally's boyfriend is a counterfeiter and murderer, Haru with the help of hotel bellboy Joey! (Chris Rock) and unknowingly with the help of his ninja broth! er Gobei (Robin Shou) takes down the counterfeit ring and finds his place among the ninja clan.

Beverly Hills Ninja is full of individual comic gags that are hilarious in their purity--call it sadistic, but sometimes it's just plain funny watching a guy unwittingly walk into a lamppost while carrying on a conversation. Farley was a master at these tried-and-true gags, which reach right back into the origins of comedy. But it's not all slapstick; a scene where Haru is so taken by dancers at a local strip bar that he joins in is reminiscent of the mud-wrestling scene from Stripes. Beverly Hills Ninja may be considered a low-brow romp, but a romp it is nonetheless. --Shannon Gee DVD

Down Terrace

• DOWN TERRACE (DVD MOVIE)

Father and son Bill and Karl (real life father and son Bob and Robin Hill) have just been released from jail free and clear, but all is not well at Down Terrace. Patriarchs of a small crime family, their business is plagued with infighting. Karl has had more than he can take of his old man's philosophizing and preaching, and Bill thinks Karl's dedication to the family is seriously compromised when he takes up with an estranged girlfriend who claims to be carrying his baby. To make matters worse, there’s an unidentified informant in their midst that could send them all to prison for a very long time, and none of their associates can be trusted.