- A ten year old girl is found brutally murdered outside the small blue-collar city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and DOLLHOUSE) suffers a mental breakdown while trying to solve the crime. But when the child-killings resume two years later, Megan s return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucination
Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothi! ng to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release of a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders. This factual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothing to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release o! f a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders.! This fa ctual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothing to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release of a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders. This factual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.A ten year old girl is found brutally murdered ou! tside the small blue-collar city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and
DOLLHOUSE) suffers a mental breakdown while trying to solve the crime. But when the child-killings resume two years later, Megan’s return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucinations. Even if she can prove a ‘double initial’ connection to the slayings, will she hang onto her sanity long enough to catch a psychopath? Cary Elwes (
SAW), Michael Ironside (
STARSHIP TROOPERS), Bill Moseley (
THE DEVIL’S REJECTS), Carl Lumbly (
ALIAS) and Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton co-star in this chilling thriller directed by Rob Schmidt.In the spirit of suspense films and television shows that focus on the sleuth’s attempt to make something out of senseless violence,
Alphabet Killer is less about the murders it details than about the detective,! Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who suffers mentally for studying brutality. Though opening scenes show young girls slayed at various wooded Rochester, New York crime scenes, the film quickly digresses into Megan’s stressed relationship with her co-detective lover, Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes), who watches her obsession with the case spiral out of control. As murders continue, Megan gets psychic leads and is haunted by the ghosts of the wrongly deceased, but cannot solve the case. Megan’s diagnosis as a schizophrenic complicates matters greatly, and elevates the film into deeper story, especially when one senses, through subtle filmic clues, the creepiness of Megan’s therapist, Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton). Some silly, dramatized enactments of mental illness on Dushku’s part do not help convince the viewer through fine acting, though one may be willing to look past this in hopes for pending potential spookiness. And the conundrum posed by Megan in her therapy group is engaging: manic peop! le do often excel due to intuition, yet it is their ability to experience the world differently that gets them into trouble. Although the ghosts hallucinations are unconvincing, and Dushku probably could have used more research before she took the role, Alphabet Killer captivates because it shows how convoluted layers of reality can confuse even the sharpest detective. The disturbing thing about Alphabet Killer is not the film itself but the idea behind it: that the majority of what we know and trust is illusory, and that truth is discovered best through madness. --Trinie Dalton
Stills from The Alphabet Killer (Click for larger image) 
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Gene Hackman plays the veteran ringleader of a gang of theives (Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay and Rebecca Pigeon as Hackman's youngish wife) that pulls off complex heists for a despicable fence (Danny DeVito). After stiffing the gang on a jewelry robbery, DeVito forces the gang to go after a Swiss gold shipment and to use his son (Sam Rockwell) in the crime. Mistrust runs rampant as double-crosses threaten the split-second operation.
DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer
David Mamet's
Heist is--not unlike many of his previous films--amusing, manicured, and fraught with an awkward tension. If you've seen
The Spanish Prisoner or
House of Games, you're by now familiar with the plot-subverting gambit of the double-cross turned triple- and then quadruple-cross.
Heist sticks to the formula. Likewis! e, the quips and laconic wit that adorn what can most accurately be called "Mametspeak" are again on display: "Cute as a pail full of kittens," for instance, and "Everybody needs money; that's why they call it money." What you haven't yet seen in a Mamet film is the magisterial charm of Gene Hackman. In the role of Joe Moore, an aging criminal out for one final score before cashing in, Hackman shows us all (Mamet included) how it's done, embodying tough-but-clever effortlessly. Delroy Lindo, as Joe's partner Bobby, picks up on Hackman's ultra-cool and gives plenty in return. While the script and the remaining cast (Danny Devito, Rebecca Pidgeon, Sam Rockwell) are serviceable,
Heist is entirely Hackman's show to steal.
--Fionn Meade![]()
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- 80% rayon, 10% spandex, 10% metallic.
- Hand wash.
- Imported.
- SKU 188143
- Style S0CLM1019500
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S.
Exude golden girl glam in this bebe bodycon sweater dress, featuring fan design, one-shoulder action, and high-powered metallic accents. Offers medium-weight and soft stretch. 27" measurement from shoulder.
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- Format: AC-3, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, 3D, Widescreen
- Language: English, Spanish, French
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Run Time: 100 minutes
- Actors: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French
From the Director of The Nightmare Before Christmas comes a visually stunning stop-motion animated feature! Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that's just like her own...but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her "other" Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home. Critics are hailing Coraline as "a remarkable feat of the imagination" (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times). Directed by: Henry SelickIncludes: 3D Glasses (4 pairs) From the Director of The Nightmare Befor! e Christmas comes a visually stunning stop-motion animated feature - the first to be originally filmed in 3-D! Discover how the filmmakers and artisans created the magical handmade world of Coraline, exclusively in this 2-Disc Collector's Edition! Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her into a world that's just like her own...but better! But when this fantastical adventure turns dangerous and her "other" Mother tries to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness and bravery to get home. Coraline is "A visual marvel." (Claudia Puig, USA TODAY). Directed by: Henry SelickA dark and creepy film about family relationships directed by Henry Selick of
Nightmare Before Christmas and
James and the Giant Peach fame,
Coraline is based on the haunting book
Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The first stop-motion feature shot in stereoscopic 3-D,
Coraline features big-headed, stick-bodied animated! characters with huge eyes and demonic grins set against menac! ing back grounds and an undercurrent of spooky music. Coraline is a teenager who has just moved to an old house in the middle of nowhere with her writer parents and she is bored, bored, bored. Her only companions are an annoyingly talkative boy Wybie (short for Why Born), some eccentric neighbors from the theater and circus, and a strange, button-eyed doll with a marked resemblance to Coraline which Wybie found in an old trunk of his grandmother's. When Coraline finds an old door hidden behind an armoire and papered over with wallpaper, she convinces her mother to unlock it, only to find a wall of bricks. When Coraline revisits the door later that night, the bricks magically disappear and she discovers a strange pathway to another world where everything is just what she wishes for. In stark contrast to the real world where Coraline's parents just don't have time for her, her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" in this alternate world are the perfect loving, attentive parents who antici! pate her every need and desire. Initially comforted and quite happy in this new world, suspicion that things may not be quite as they seem grows inside Coraline and her disquiet is furthered by the mute "Other Wybie" and a strange-talking cat that seems to move between both worlds. Eventually, Coraline discovers some dark secrets about her "other parents" and the seemingly perfect "other world," but it may be too late for her to escape back to the real world. Teri Hatcher is especially effective in her dual (voice) role as Mom and "Other Mom" and Dakota Fanning also gives a great performance as Coraline.
Coraline is a disturbing, intriguing film that both captivates and frightens. (Ages 11 and older)
--Tami Horiuchi Stills from Coraline (Click for larger image)
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- AND SOON THE DARKNESS (DVD MOVIE)
Stephanie (Amber Heard) and Ellie’s (Odette Yustman) vacation to an exotic village in Argentina is a perfect ‘girl’s getaway’ to bask in the sun, shop and flirt with the handsome locals. After a long night of bar-hopping, the girls get into an argument, and Stephanie heads out alone in the morning to cool off. But when she returns, Ellie has disappeared. Finding signs of a struggle, Stephanie fears the worst, and turns to the police for help. But the local authorities have their hands full already - with a string of unsolved kidnappings targeting young female tourists. Skeptical of the sheriff’s competency, she enlists help from Michael (Karl Urban), an American ex-pat staying at their hotel. Together they go on a frantic search for Ellie, but Stephanie soon realizes that trusting his seemingly good intentions may drag her farther from the! truth. With danger mounting, and time running out, Stephanie must find her friend before darkness falls.Lesson from
And Soon the Darkness: don't miss the last bus out of the small town in Argentina where you've stopped for the night on your cross-country bicycling tour. Especially if you are two nubile young women on your own. Actually, there are many lessons to be learned in this movie, which hews closer to the twisty suspense of
A Perfect Getaway than the hardcore travel-torture action of
Hostel. Amber Heard and Odette Yustman star as the gadabout gals, partying a little too heartily and sleeping in past their departure date in a tiny village full of vaguely shady characters. Karl Urban (
Star Trek) is also loitering around the town, an actor who brings a useful quality of "is he a good guy or a possible killer?" to the proceedings. Director Marcos Efron can find no way of making the behavior of the characters even marginally believable, eith! er as real people or as movie types we might reasonably want t! o accept as figures in a cautionary tale. They're just dumb. The movie's pictorial qualities are pretty enough, as the countryside of Argentina looks fairly spectacular and Heard and Yustman find excuses to sunbathe in their bikinis. Amber Heard (
Zombieland,
Pineapple Express) definitely has something, leading lady-wise, but a movie this single-note is not the way to explore whatever that is. For the record, it's a remake of a 1970 British film, where the travelers were lost in the wilds of France.
--Robert Horton
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- A feature film version of America's hit comedy concert tour, "Blue Collar Comedy Tour - The Movie" stars renowned comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall and fellow Blue Collar comics Ron White and Larry The Cable Guy. The film features live stand-up performances filmed at Phoenix's Dodge Theater as well as behind-the-scenes sequences highlighting the individual comedians. The number one comedy
For the first time ever, all three Blue Collar Comedy Tour movies are available to own in one complete set!A feature film version of America's hit comedy concert tour, "Blue Collar Comedy Tour - The Movie" stars renowned comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Bill Engvall and fellow Blue Collar comics Ron White and Larry The Cable Guy. The film features live stand-up performances filmed at Phoenix's Dodge Theater as well as behind-the-scenes sequences highlighting the individual comedians. The number one comed! y tour of the last two years, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour has grossed more than $12 million to date and produced a best-selling live album, The Blue Collar Comedy Tour Live, released in November 2001.It had to happen: A national tour of redneck comedians culminating in this frequently funny concert film, shot in Phoenix. Ron White's scotch-and-tobacco-fueled, fatalistic world view gets things off to a good start. ("That last engine had just enough power to get us to our crash site.") Larry the Cable Guy's creepy-silly persona helps deliver a set long on gross-out humor. ("I've been seein' a good-lookin' girl. But now I lost my binoculars.") Bill Engvall balances the tone with his family-man shtick. ("There needs to be a teenage driver's lane lined with tires and mattresses.") Main event champ Jeff Foxworthy offers fresh material about the act of ice-fishing as an out-of-body experience for fish, describes the bizarre sight of a leaf blower among items confiscated by airport! security and, of course, renders his trademark re-re-re-defin! itions o f what constitutes a redneck ("a glorious absence of sophistication"). Lots to enjoy here.
--Tom Keogh
