French

Braveheart

Mel Gibson stars on both sides of the camera, playing the lead role plus directing and producing this brawling, richly detailed saga of fierce combat, tender love and the will to risk all that's precious: freedom. In an emotionally charged performance, Gibson is William Wallace, a bold Scotsman who used the steel of his blade and the fire of his intellect to rally his countrymen to liberation.

Blazing Saddles

Mel Brooks scored his first commercial hit with this raucous Western spoof starring the late Cleavon Little as the newly hired (and conspicuously black) sheriff of Rock Ridge. Sheriff Bart teams up with deputy Jim (Gene Wilder) to foil the railroad-building scheme of the nefarious Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman). The simple plot is just an excuse for a steady stream of gags, many of them unabashedly tasteless, that Brooks and his wacky cast pull off with side-splitting success.

The Birds

Nothing equals The Birds for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks.

Big

Tom Hanks won raves for his Oscar nominated performance (1988, Best Actor) as a twelve year old boy trapped inside a thirty-year-old body in director Penny Marshall's winning comedy. At a carnival, young Josh Baskin (Hanks) wishes he was big - only to awake the next morning and discover he is! With the help of his friend Billy (Jared Rushton), Josh lands a job at a toy company. There, his inner wisdom enables him to successfully predict what children want to buy, making the awestruck, naïve Josh irresistible to a beautiful ladder climbing colleague (Elizabeth Perkins).

Beverly Hills Cop

While its sequels were formulaic and safe, the first Beverly Hills Cop set out to explore some uncharted territory, and succeeded. A blend of violent action picture and sharp comedy, the film has an excellent director, Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman), who finds some original perspectives on stock scenes (highway chases, police rousts) and hits a gleeful note with Murphy while skewering L.A. culture. Good support from Judge Reinhold and John Ashton as local cops not used to doing things the Detroit way (Murphy's character hails from the Motor City).

Bruce Almighty

Bestowing Jim Carrey with godlike powers is a ripe recipe for comedy, and Bruce Almighty delivers the laughs that Carrey's mainstream fans prefer. The high-concept premise finds Carrey playing Bruce Nolan, a frustrated Buffalo TV reporter, stuck doing puff-pieces while a lesser colleague (the hilarious Steven Carell) gets the anchor job he covets. Bruce demands an explanation from God, who pays him a visit (in the serene form of Morgan Freeman) and lets Bruce take over while he takes a brief vacation. What does a petty, angry guy do when he's God?

Blame It On Rio

While vacationing in Rio, a befuddled older fellow finds himself involved in a comedic affair with the teenage daughter of his best friend. Michael Caine is perfect as the man in a doubful marriage, who is hit on suddenly by his best friend's daughter, Jennifer, played by the voluptous and pretty Michelle Johnson. Caine's chemistry with Joseph Bologna (who can portray the archetypal cynic as well as anyone) gives the film enough comic thrust to overlook the somewhat pedestrian performances of some of the other principal actors. Overall, it's a great movie to look and laugh at.

The Big Chill

Celebrate good friends, classic music and ground-breaking moviemaking with the 15th Anniversary Collector's Edition of The Big Chill. Experience the movie in digitally remastered stereo sound and a picture newly restored from the film elements. With a new featurette including up-to-date interviews with the cast and filmmakers, behind-the-scenes footage and hilarious scenes never before shown, this definitive special edition will take you straight to the heart of the reunion that made film history.

Bowfinger

How does Bobby Bowfinger (Steve Martin), Hollywood's least successful director, get Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), Hollywood's biggest star, in his ultra low-budget film? Any way he can. With an ingenious scheme and the help of Kit's eager and nerdy brother Jiff, an ambitious and sexy wannabe (Heather Graham) and an over-the-hill diva (Christine Baranski), Bowfinger sets out to trick Kit Ramsey into the performance of a lifetime. Enjoy the fun with Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin - together for the first time in the hit comedy Bowfinger.

Blue Lagoon

The lush beauty and splendor of a South Pacific paradise is vividly captures in this version of Henry DeVere Stacpoole's 1903 novel. Two small children and a ship's cook survive a shipwreck and find safety on an idyllic tropical island. Soon, however, the cook dies and the young boy and girl are left on their own. Days become years and Emmeline (Brooke Shields) and Richard (Christopher Atkins) make a home for themselves surrounded by exotic creatures and nature's beauty. They learn to cope with the bewildering variety of physical and emotional changes that come with adolescence.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - French