Billy Crudup (Without Limits) plays Harrelson's best pal, just returned to New Mexico from service in World War II with hopes of starting a cattle ranch free from the greedy clutches of a local rancher (Sam Elliott) who dominates the town of Hi-Lo like a bootclad kingpin. Harrelson joins in the effort, but tensions rise when he connects with the sultry seductress (Patricia Arquette) with whom Crudup has fallen inexplicably in love. Harrelson has provoked others as well, an! d he seems primed for a fall, but The Hi-Lo Country is! a film out of balance. Memorable moments are found in abundance, and the film's period detail is impeccable, but Crudup's character is so underwritten and underplayed that his role as narrator and ostensible hero has minimal dramatic impact. By the time fate deals its inevitable blow, it's too late to care. Frears has suffered from similar missteps before (remember Mary Reilly?), and The Hi-Lo Country leaves you wondering what Peckinpah might have done with the novel he so dearly admired. --Jeff ShannonIn his tale of two cowboys whose lives twist and fray, director Stephen Frears casts a nostalgic eye on the postwar West but falls short of reinventing Hollywood's most circumscribed genre, the Western. Although The Hi-Lo Country is set in northern New Mexico, its soundtrack sounds decidedly Lone Star. With famous Texans like Willie Nelson and the matchless yodeler Don Walser crooning some dusty charmers and a couple of country standards like "San An! tonio Rose" and "Why Don't You Love Me" thrown in for good measure, the overall mood is very barbecue-friendly. Only Beck, who duets with Nelson on "Drivin' Nails in My Coffin" sounds a bit out of place here, his nasal drawl in curious contrast to Nelson's unmistakable whinny. Carter Burwell's score is standard-issue "epic" in its long gazes that suggest the largeness of both the West and the men's souls who inhabit it, but it gains an edge with its austere cadences and Mexican trumpet and guitar flourishes. --Lois MaffeoFranzus International Converter/Adapter Set is for use overseas with 110 voltage products. .
The action centers on our favorite BFFs, Jade, Cloe, Sasha, and Yasmin, starting high school together at Carry Nation High, and navigating through the rigid clique system that seems destined to force the girls apart. Along the way, there are fireworks (created by brainy Jade in chem class), food fights, and lots of cute guys to crush on. Ruling over all: Meredith Baxter Dimly, the Baby Doc Duvalier of high-school politics, somehow managing to be student-body president for at least three years running (maybe the fact that! her pop is the principal has something to do with her anointment). Meredith, played to a scheming fare-thee-well by Chelsea Staub, is a formidable villain, but our girls realize nothing can come between true friends, if they just stick together. The climactic comeuppance scene--set at Carry Nation's annual talent show--will have Bratz fans clapping on their feet.
The film's soundtrack is upbeat and catchy, and features big names like the Black Eyed Peas and Ashlee Simpson, and the two show-stoppers sung by Staub as Meredith. And that's a Bratz-wrap! --A.T. HurleyBRATZ BABYZ:MOVIE - DVD MovieIncludes two full-length Bratz features including BRATZ BABYZ® THE MOVIE and BRATZ SUPER BABYZâ„¢. BRATZ BABYZ THE MOVIE: The Bratz Babyz spring into action when an older bully “petnaps†a puppy belonging to their good friends, twins Nora and Nita! After naptime, the Bratz Babyz embark on their mall mission â€" to try and trick the bully into parting with the puppy, and ! to round up the $50(!) that the bully wants for ransom. It's o! ne adven ture after another as they dive for coins in a fountain, perform in a karaoke contest and ultimately confront their foe. But will they free the puppy? One thing's for sure â€" anyone who teams up with the Bratz Babyz is bound to come out a winner! BRATZ SUPER BABYZ: Look! Up in the air â€" it's a bottle, a pacifier, a diaper? No, it's Bratz Super Babyz in an out-of- this-world movie. When the babysitter, Gran, finds a “matter exchanger†dropped off by aliens from outer space, she accidentally pushes the button and “zap!†The Bratz Babyz are transformed into Bratz Super Babyz. The Bratz Babyz decide to use their powers for good, but face a challenge bigger than even needing changing. The aliens return to find their matter exchanger, and the Bratz Babyz must square off without their new super powers. By overcoming their shortcomings and by working as a team, the Bratz Babyz discover they were already more powerful than an extra-absorbent diaper!BRATZ:MOVIE - DVD Movie ! Get your Bratitude on! Bratz, the life-action film featuring the four sassy tween-queen doll characters, drives home the kid- and (parent-) friendly messages of being true to yourself, and friendship above all else. If some kickass fashion and retail therapy help deliver those pearls of wisdom, who's going to complain?
The action centers on our favorite BFFs, Jade, Cloe, Sasha, and Yasmin, starting high school together at Carry Nation High, and navigating through the rigid clique system that seems destined to force the girls apart. Along the way, there are fireworks (created by brainy Jade in chem class), food fights, and lots of cute guys to crush on. Ruling over all: Meredith Baxter Dimly, the Baby Doc Duvalier of high-school politics, somehow managing to be student-body president for at least three years running (maybe the fact that her pop is the principal has something to do with her anointment). Meredith, played to a scheming fare-thee-well by Chelsea Stau! b, is a formidable villain, but our girls realize nothing can ! come bet ween true friends, if they just stick together. The climactic comeuppance scene--set at Carry Nation's annual talent show--will have Bratz fans clapping on their feet.
The film's soundtrack is upbeat and catchy, and features big names like the Black Eyed Peas and Ashlee Simpson, and the two show-stoppers sung by Staub as Meredith. And that's a Bratz-wrap! --A.T. HurleyThere's more girl power, cool fashion, and great music when the Bratz girls start their own teen magazine and go to London to become the Rock Angelz band! See them like never before in this feature length, CGI animated film.The super stylin’ Bratz are multicultural dolls with ultra-shiny hair, almond-shaped eyes, and enviably trim figures. Rock Angelz begins when Jade gets a job as an intern for Burdine Maxwell (Just Shoot Me's Wendy Malick), the evil stepmother-like editor of Your Thing. After she gets fired--through no fault of her own--Jade joins Yasmin, Cloe, and Sasha to s! tart their own magazine. Along the way, they travel to London and form a band. The Bratz have even more of a "passion for fashion" than the classic (if less hip) Barbie and their new careers allow for some scorchin' wardrobe changes in this bouncy musical (CD sold separately). There isn't much substance to Rock Angelz, but the pace is brisk, the computer-generated look is vibrant--like Pixar animation crossed with Teen Vogue. The Bratz are joined on their adventures by the happy-go-lucky Bratz Boyz Dylan and Eitan. (Ages 7 to 12) --Kathleen C. Fennessy
About FreeStyle
With the extremist in mind, FreeStyle has created an extensive collection of innovative performance watches that will go with you to the edge and back--whether you're surfing, skiing, biking, or hiking. Established in 1981, Freestyle Watches was the brainchild of a couple of Surfers whose mission was to create a watch line that could withstand the abusive conditions of their beach lifestyle. Their experience told them very few watches on the market could stand up to the daily abuse of salt water and sand. The result was The Shark Freestyle watch, a lightweight, low profile, and extremely durable timepiece that was im! mediately demanded by athletes all over the world.
Aesthetically, H2 is striking, thanks largely to the ashen color scheme by cinematographer Brandon Trost (Crank 2: High Voltage), which underscores the doom-laded spiral track each of the main characters seem to travel in the film. And Zombie is to be commended for venturing outside of his comfort zone--the grimy, pop-culture ironic, white trash environment his characters frequently inhabit--with the scenes between Michael and his mother. But again, his ambitions don’t meet with his abilities--Moon looks impressive, but her apocalyptic mutterings ring more silly than spectral, especially when she’s forced to play opposite an enormous pale horse (insert heavy-handed Biblical imagery here). Most fans will fi! nd these moments more tedious than inspired, and a distraction from the murders, which retain Zombie’s preference for mayhem. He succeeds in this department, but if the end result is a menu of ugly killings, the point of revamping the Halloween franchise is somewhat moot, since the threadbare follow-ups to the Carpenter original already achieved that goal. Zombie’s knack for offbeat casting remains his most inspired talent: Haddonfield is filled with cult icons like Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Margot Kidder, and Daniel Roebuck, who jostle for space with rough-hewn character players like Duane Whitaker, Mark Boone Junior, and Dayton Callie (Deadwood) and left-field cameos by Howard Hesseman and “Weird Al†Yankovic. --Paul Gaita
Rocker turned writer-director Rob Zombie returns to the horror field with this visually ambitious and aggressively brutal follow-up to his 2007 reinvention of John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween. The 1981 sequel to the Carpenter film is completely ignored here (an! d for good reason) in favor of an extension of the central focus of Zombie’s Halloween, and all of his films, for that matter: the corruption at the heart of the nuclear family. Here, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor Compton) is attempting to heal the psychic wounds from her previous encounter with brother Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) by bonding with Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif, a pleasure to watch as always) and his daughter Anne (Danielle Harris, herself a vet from the original run of Halloween sequels). Her previous surrogate father, Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has forsaken his connection to Laurie by exploiting his connection to Michael with a tell-all book; meanwhile, Michael himself roams the lonely outskirts of Haddonfield, driven by visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a single-minded urge to bond with his sister at any cost.Aesthetically, H2 is striking, thanks largely to the ashen color scheme by cinematographer Brandon Trost (Crank 2:! High Voltage), which underscores the doom-laded spiral tr! ack each of the main characters seem to travel in the film. And Zombie is to be commended for venturing outside of his comfort zone--the grimy, pop-culture ironic, white trash environment his characters frequently inhabit--with the scenes between Michael and his mother. But again, his ambitions don’t meet with his abilities--Moon looks impressive, but her apocalyptic mutterings ring more silly than spectral, especially when she’s forced to play opposite an enormous pale horse (insert heavy-handed Biblical imagery here). Most fans will find these moments more tedious than inspired, and a distraction from the murders, which retain Zombie’s preference for mayhem. He succeeds in this department, but if the end result is a menu of ugly killings, the point of revamping the Halloween franchise is somewhat moot, since the threadbare follow-ups to the Carpenter original already achieved that goal. Zombie’s knack for offbeat casting remains his most inspired talent: Haddonfield is fil! led with cult icons like Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Margot Kidder, and Daniel Roebuck, who jostle for space with rough-hewn character players like Duane Whitaker, Mark Boone Junior, and Dayton Callie (Deadwood) and left-field cameos by Howard Hesseman and “Weird Al†Yankovic. --Paul GaitaRocker turned writer-director Rob Zombie returns to the horror field with this visually ambitious and aggressively brutal follow-up to his 2007 reinvention of John Carpenter’s seminal slasher Halloween. The 1981 sequel to the Carpenter film is completely ignored here (and for good reason) in favor of an extension of the central focus of Zombie’s Halloween, and all of his films, for that matter: the corruption at the heart of the nuclear family. Here, Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor Compton) is attempting to heal the psychic wounds from her previous encounter with brother Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) by bonding with Sheriff Brackett (Brad Dourif, a pleasure to watch as always) and his daughter Anne (Danielle Harris, her! self a vet from the original run of Halloween sequels). Her previous surrogate father, Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell) has forsaken his connection to Laurie by exploiting his connection to Michael with a tell-all book; meanwhile, Michael himself roams the lonely outskirts of Haddonfield, driven by visions of his mother (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a single-minded urge to bond with his sister at any cost.
Aesthetically, H2 is striking, thanks largely to the ashen color scheme by cinematographer Brandon Trost (Crank 2: High Voltage), which underscores the doom-laded spiral track each of the main characters seem to travel in the film. And Zombie is to be commended for venturing outside of his comfort zone--the grimy, pop-culture ironic, white trash environment his characters frequently inhabit--with the scenes between Michael and his mother. But again, his ambitions don’t meet with his abilities--Moon looks impressive, but her apocalyptic mutterings ring more silly! than spectral, especially when she’s forced to play opposit! e an eno rmous pale horse (insert heavy-handed Biblical imagery here). Most fans will find these moments more tedious than inspired, and a distraction from the murders, which retain Zombie’s preference for mayhem. He succeeds in this department, but if the end result is a menu of ugly killings, the point of revamping the Halloween franchise is somewhat moot, since the threadbare follow-ups to the Carpenter original already achieved that goal. Zombie’s knack for offbeat casting remains his most inspired talent: Haddonfield is filled with cult icons like Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Margot Kidder, and Daniel Roebuck, who jostle for space with rough-hewn character players like Duane Whitaker, Mark Boone Junior, and Dayton Callie (Deadwood) and left-field cameos by Howard Hesseman and “Weird Al†Yankovic. --Paul GaitaLiving Dead Dolls Michael Myers Halloween 2 Doll
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