Product Description Attorney Michael Clayton is a “fixer,â€� the go-to guy when his powerful New York law firm wants a mess swept under the rug. But now he’s handed a crisis even he may not be able to fix. The firm’s top litigator in a $3-billion case has gone from advocate to whistleblower. And the more Michael tries to undo the damage, the more he’s up against forces that put corporate survival over human life â€" including Michael’s. George Clooney portrays Michael, backed into a career corner that offers little room to fight free in this suspense- and star-packed thriller written and directed by Tony Gilroy (writer/co-writer of the Bourne movie trilogy). Keep your eyes on Michael Clayton. He has some life-or- death decisions to make. Fast.
I am a Rams fan, but I will be buying this to go along with my spiffy new NY Giants ballcap. This was arguably the greatest upset in sports history because of all the surrounding stories. From Spygate to Brady's love life, to an aging superstar (Strahan), to Belichick's lack of respect for the game (leaving the field early), to all the scenarios revolving around a possible perfect season, it was a perfect storm of hype and drama. And oh by the way, the game was one of the best Superbowls ever played. Seriously, does anyone outside of Boston even remotely like the pretentious Patriots? The Giants won the game for all of us, New York fan or not, and I will always appreciate this accomplishment. Thank you, G-Men!
The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since Fargo with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Not that there aren't moments of intense violence, but No Country for Old Men is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he's being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh's weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way--or loses a coin toss (as far as he's concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II vet, is on Moss's trail, Chigurh's former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful--except Moss has a conscious, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, "a prophet of destruction"). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, No Country for Old Men doesn't move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since Fargo with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Not that there aren't moments of intense violence, but No Country for Old Men is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he's being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh's weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way--or loses a coin toss (as far as he's concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II vet, is on Moss's trail, Chigurh's former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful--except Moss has a conscious, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, "a prophet of destruction"). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, No Country for Old Men doesn't move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Ridley Scott puts on his "sweeping saga" gameface again, this time not for the sci-fi vistas of Blade Runner or the ancient world of Gladiator but for an urban epic. American Gangster gives the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a real-life Harlem crime lord who built an empire on Southeast Asian heroin in the 1970s. Running parallel to Lucas's somewhat standard story is the investigation led by a persistent New Jersey cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Roberts is a more interesting character than Lucas--too honest for his own good, unlucky in his personal life--and this kind of character, easily patronized by others, fits Crowe like a polyester shirt. Scott's tendency to hit his points square on the noggin is much in evidence here, including the typecasting of the supporting roles and the predictable Serpico atmosphere of the whole thing. (And speaking of supporting actors, the film needs more Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose role as a Lucas sidekick feels cut down.) It succeeds as a kind of chewy entertainment, fueled by the presence of two big stars working their muscles. Both Washington and Crowe look pretty brawny here. --Robert Horton
With the ever growing popularity of the character on the hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, creator Joss Whedon gave tortured vampire with a soul Angel (David Boreanaz) his own show, which found the titular vamp treking to Los Angeles to open his own investigation service meant to "help the helpless". As the series begins, Angel accompanied by Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) and demonic liason Doyle (the late Glen Quinn) as Angel goes head to head with demonic lawfirm Wolfram & Hart. Later on, characters new and old like former Watcher Wesley (Alexis Denisof), demon street fighter Gunn (J. August Richards), physiscist Fred (Amy Acker), and fellow vampire with a soul Spike (James Marsters) would join the cast as the show ran the course of it's five seasons, with the best parts definitely coming in the second, third, and fourth seasons; beginning with Angel's resurrected former lover Darla (Julie Benz) returning, and their offspring Connor (Vincent Kartheiser) making his presence felt during a revenge driven quest against his father, which results in an unlikely union and an even more demonic offspring that puts a new and interesting twist on the apocalypse. The final season of Angel however is the low point of the series, as Carpenter's wry wit is missed (though she does return for one episode) as Angel and his crew take control of Wolfram & Hart, and prepare to make a last stand, which leads to the quite underwhelming series finale. All that aside, Angel was special because it was one of the few times that a spin-off managed to live up to the original show it was spun from, and in that respect alone, Angel was a sight to behold.
Michael Clayton (Widescreen Edition)
