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Kids
Leo Fitzpatrick, Sarah Henderson (II), Justin Pierce, Joseph Chan, Johnathan Staci Kim, Adriane Brown, Sajan Bhagat, Billy Valdes, Billy Waldeman, Javier Núñez, Luis Núñez (II), Christian Bruna, Alex Glen, Chloë Sevigny, Rosario Dawson Larry Clark
Larry Clark's controversial "Kids" is a film about New York City adolescents walking the AIDS tightrope, but it's also an unblinking look at the dehumanising rituals of growing up. It really doesn't add up to more than the sum of its various shocks--virgin-busting, skinny-dipping, male callousness--overlayed with middle-class disapproval. Clark is hectoring us for cutting kids loose at a terrible time in modern American history, but so are a lot of other people who also offer alternatives and ideas. The film does nothing to push us toward new thoughts, new solutions, new dreams. It is more like a window onto our worst fantasies about what our children are doing out there on the streets. --"Tom Keogh, Amazon.com"

Killer Net
Crime Tam Williams, Paul Bettany, Emily Woof Geoffrey Sax
I remember seeing this when it was first screened and it was great to watch it again 10 years on. It centres around a bunch of flat-sharing students in mid-nineties Brighton who, amongst the usual things, like to spend their spare time messing about with the internet. They discover from a dubious source an internet game called Killer Net, which although coming from the US features a conveniently local setting and real-life characters. As the plot progesses the game proceeds to become even more disturbingly lifelike as a real murder is commited exactly as featured in the game. The plot is a little disjointed, but its still an interesting retrospective on mid-nineties Brighton and student life, with scenes featuring rave clubs which were at their peak at the time, the fashions of the day, and obviously the early days of the internet. Broadband and camcorders were then still a twinkle in Microsofts eye, and in order to communicate with someone live online you really did need to do some major surgery to your hard drive. Oh and you could also quickly run up a £1000 telephone bill too. The cast features Paul Bettany, and Emily Woof, plus a young Zoe Lucker who later appeared in footballers wives!

Kind Hearts And Coronets
Comedy Dennis Price, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood, Alec Guinness, Audrey Fildes, Miles Malleson, Clive Morton, John Penrose, Cecil Ramage, Hugh Griffith, John Salew, Eric Messiter, Lyn Evans, Barbara Leake, Peggy Ann Clifford Robert Hamer
Set in Victorian England, Robert Hamer's 1949 masterpiece "Kind Hearts and Coronets" remains the most gracefully mordant of Ealing Comedies. Dennis Price plays Louis D'Ascoyne, the would-be Duke of Chalfont whose Mother was spurned by her noble family for marrying an Italian singer for love. Louis resolves to murder the several of his relatives ahead of him in line for the Dukedom, all of whom are played by Alec Guinness, in order to avenge his Mother--for, as Louis observes, " revenge is a dish which people of taste prefer to eat cold". He gets away with it, only to be arraigned for the one murder of which he is innocent. Guinness' virtuoso performances have been justly celebrated, ranging as they do from a youthful D'Ascoyne concealing his enthusiasm for public houses from his priggish wife ("she has views on such places") to a brace of doomed uncles and one aunt, ranging from the doddery to the peppery. Miles Malleson is a splendid doggerel-spouting hangman, while Valerie Hobson and Joan Greenwood take advantage of unusually strong female roles. But the great joy of "Kind Hearts and Coronets" is the way in which its appallingly black subject matter (considered beyond the pale by many critics at the time) is conveyed in such elegantly ironic turns of phrase by Dennis Price's narrator/anti-hero. Serial murder has never been conducted with such exquisite manners and discreet charm. --"David Stubbs"

The King
World Cinema Gael Garcia Bernal, William Hurt, Pell James, Paul Dano, Laura Elena Harring
A young sailor, named Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal), takes leave from the Navy and attempts to meet with his estranged Father (William Hurt's David Sandow), now a local town Pastor. On first appearances the clean cut and polite young man appears to be a fine, respectable American citizen. However when this initial meeting is halted somewhat abruptly, it gradually becomes clear that things aren't at all what they seem. And so begins `The King', which on the surface at least, is a typical Middle American drama centered around a Bible-Belt dwelling family. What it becomes further along is an engaging and at times thought provoking case study of innocence lost and regained, dealing with sin, vengeance, love and ultimately forgiveness.

Living in the pastel shaded Corpus Christi (Body of Christ to you or me) the Sandow's inhabit the general sanctity of a `Christian Values' town. The father a town Pastor, the good and dutiful wife (Mullholland Drive's Laura Harring), the prodigal son and doting daughter are, from the outside looking in, a picture perfect masquerade belying the secrets and lies of forgotten and hidden pasts. Upon the arrival of the unstable Elvis this veil soon begins to slip. He quickly embarks on a love affair with his 16 year old half-sister, that they both know is wrong but do it anyway. He out of a need for companionship and she as a means of defiance against her father's strict principles, both are convinced that it is love.

Nothing is known of Elvis' back story, why or how he served in the Navy. What he did before this or where he wants to go. We are told that his mother is apparently dead and that he appears to have no other family. His simplistic and crucially regimented outlook on life comes to the fore when presented with a threat or challenge. Clearly lacking an understanding of right and wrong Elvis seems eager to adopt the church as a means to excuse his behavior and thus erase his guilt.

The ensemble cast all put in smart, nuanced performances and Bernal is a fantastic presence, his cutesy pie eyes hiding a much darker core at once sensitive and flirtatious but also verging on something much more dangerous. Pell James (last seen in Jim Jarmusch's `Broken Flowers') is superb, shouldering much of the emotional weight as Malarie, Elvis's half sister and the (perhaps not totally) unwitting catalyst to some unexpectedly violent outbursts. The transition from naive young daddy's girl to dead eyed doll is painstakingly human, her scenes with Bernal are handled with a sensitivity that suggests the sensations are shared yet are never condoned. The under-rated William Hurt puts in yet another strong turn as a `saved' Pastor struggling to maintain control of his congregation, belief and family as his buried sins re-surface. In one key scene his un-wavering faith in a higher order to all things, prompts his wife Twyla to walk headlong in to oncoming traffic, rambling; "Nothing means anything anymore".

British Co-writer/Director James Marsh's `The King' is a difficult proposition to discuss openly without giving away too much of what's going on. That said many cinema-goers who happen to chance upon this indie picture will leave the auditorium by turns, frustrated and - as the makers no doubt intended - shocked and disturbed. Whether or not you enjoy `The King's slow-burning psychological melodrama will depend on your personal moral standing and beliefs (You get the feeling that that's half the point).

Though at times bleakly comical, rather than adopting a satirical approach to its subject matter, The King is a superbly acted treatise on the apparent weaknesses of absolute belief in faith, redemption and an all forgiving higher power.


A Knight's Tale
Action & Adventure Heath Ledger|Rufus Sewell|Shannyn Sossamon|Paul Bettany Brian Helgeland
There's no rule against rock anthems from the 1970s in the soundtrack for a movie about a medieval jousting champion, but if you're going to attempt such jarring anachronisms, you'd better establish acceptable ground rules. Writer-director Brian Helgeland does precisely that in "A Knight's Tale" and pulls off this trick with such giddy aplomb that you can't help but play along. Upon witnessing a crowd of peasants at a jousting match, singing and clapping to the beat of Queen's "We Will Rock You", you're either going to love this movie or dismiss it altogether. Other vintage rock hits will follow, but Helgeland--the Oscar-winning co-writer of "LA Confidential"--handles this ploy with judicious goodwill, in what is an otherwise honest period piece about a peasant named William (Heath Ledger) who rises by grit and determination to the hallowed status of knighthood. As if the soundtrack weren't audacious enough, Helgeland (recovering from the sour experience of his directorial debut, "Payback") casts none other than Geoffrey Chaucer (wonderfully played by Paul Bettany) as William's cohort and match announcer, along with William's pals Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk), and feisty blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser). Of course there must be a fair maiden, and she is Jocelyn (newcomer Shannyn Sossamon), with whom William falls in love while battling the nefarious Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell) on the European jousting circuit. Add to this an inspiring father-son reunion, Ledger's undeniable charisma, a perfect supporting cast, and enough joyful energy to rejuvenate the film's formulaic plot, and "A Knight's Tale" becomes that most pleasant of movie surprises--an unlikely winner that rises up, like its hero, to exceed all expectations. --"Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com"

On the DVD: From "The Rock Music Scene in 1370" to "You Never Know What You'll Find in a Czech Prop House", this disc doesn't scrimp on the special features. Offering a wealth of information regarding the making of this $41million film, from the jousting (which many of the actors actually performed) to justification for the rock soundtrack and Audrey Hepburn-esque dresses in Medieval Europe. Along with these mini-documentaries, (most lasting for only five minutes) there's a mini interview with the new heartthrob of Hollywood, Heath Ledger and a great selection of deleted scenes. The commentary--by director Brian Helgeland and Paul Bettany (who plays Chaucer in the film)--is a lively and enjoyable romp that makes it clear that the cast and crew bonded on set. The disc comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack to improve the "raucous rock" and an anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio to bring the "modernised medieval mood" to life. --"Nikki Disney"

The Kumars At Number 42
Comedy Sanjeev Bhaskar|Meera Syal Lissa Evans, Nick Wood (II)
This is worth picking up for sure. It's a great show and extremely funny. I love watching the stars crack up at the fun interviews. My only complaint is that there isn't enough. Where are ALL the episodes?!? I want a complete set.

Kyle Xy: Complete First Season
Drama Jake D. Smith Pat Williams (III), Holly Dale



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