The Complete Conversations with God

• ISBN13: 9780399153297
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Conversations with God Book 1 began a series that has been changing millions of lives for more than ten years. Finally, the bestselling series is now a movie, starring Henry Czerny (The Pink Panther and Clear and Present Danger) and Ingrid Boulting (The Last Tycoon). Produced and directed by Stephen Simon (producer of Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come) and distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Fox Home Entertainment, the theatrical release is set for October 27, 2006. The movie is the true account of Walsch (played by Cierny), who went from an unemployed homeless man to an "accidental spiritual messenger" and author of the bestselling bookBlasphemy! ! Heresy! Who does this man think he is, claiming to speak directly to God?! Jesus did it, Muhammad did it, the Jewish prophets did it, but none of their Gods had the sardonic wit or raw verve of Prophet Walsch's God. Neale Donald Walsch isn't claiming to be the Messiah of a new religion, just a frustrated man who sat down one day with pen in his hand and some tough questions in his heart. As he wrote his questions to God, he realized that God was answering them... directly... through Walsch's pen. The result, far from the apocalyptic predictions or cultic eccentricities you might expect, turns out to be matter-fact, in-your-face wisdom on how to get by in life while remaining true to yourself and your spirituality.For the first time, Books 1, 2, and 3 in the multi-million copy bestselling Conversations with God trilogy are brought together in one special gift edition.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of Conversations with God, Boo! k 1, all three of the most essential books in Neale Donald! Walsch' s seminal trilogy are brought together in one beautiful volume just in time for the gift-giving season.

Conversations with God, Book 1 was the start of Neale Donald Walsch's ongoing dialogue with God. The trilogy contains the most essential truths and lessons for spiritual seekers, and these books are the bestselling of all the author's works. Featuring a new foreword by the author, printed throughout in two colors, and inserted in a fully enclosed full-color box, this remarkable book will be a Christmas gift to treasure.

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Birth

• In this mesmerizing and suspenseful film, a woman (Kidman) becomes convinced that a ten-year-old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband.Running Time: 100 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R Age: 794043783821 UPC: 794043783821 Manufacturer No: N7838

Â"Well-researched and engaging . . . Birth is a clever, almost irreverent look at an enduring everyday miracle. (A-)” —Entertainment Weekly
Â"Wonderful. Packed full of information, a brilliant mixture of ancient wisdom and modern science.” —Kate Mosse, author of the New York Times best seller, Labyrinth
Â"Birth is a power-packed book. . . . A lively, engaging, and often witty read, a quirky, eye-opening account of one of life’s most elemental experiences.” —The Boston Globe
Published to widespread acclaim, Tina Cassidy’s smart, engaging book is the first world hi! story of childbirth in fifty years. From evolution to the epidural and beyond, Tina Cassidy presents an intelligent, enlightening, and impeccably researched cultural history of how and why we’re born the way we are. Women have been giving birth for millennia but that’s about the only constant in the final stage of the great process that is human reproduction. Why is it that every culture and generation seems to have its own ideas about the best way to give birth? Cassidy explores the physical, anthropological, political, and religious factors that have and will continue to influence how women bring new life into the world.

In this mesmerizing and suspenseful film, a woman (Kidman) becomes convinced that a ten-year-old boy is the reincarnation of her dead husband.

DVD Features:
DVD ROM Features
Theatrical Trailer

As directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast) and dimly lit by cinematographer Harris Savides, Birth is a ! melancholy chamber piece, its pensive mood sustained by nearly! sub-son ic nuances in a fine, thematically developed score by Alexandre Desplat. All of these fine qualities are well-matched by the somber performance of Nicole Kidman, playing a still-grieving widow of 10 years, about to remarry when a 10-year-old boy (Cameron Bright) arrives to announce that he is her dead husband, reincarnated and full of convincing answers to personal marital questions. Rather than go for Sixth Sense-like chills and thrills, Glazer approaches Birth as a conundrum with no clear-cut solution, and his directorial style is so subdued, so deliberately understated, that most of the story's dramatic impact is sacrificed to oppressively dour atmosphere. If it doesn't lull you to sleep, Birth might hold your attention as a strange, subtle thriller in miniature scale. With its delicate, mature approach to the processes of grieving and recovery, however, Birth rewards attentive viewers attuned to the film's ultra-low-key wavelength, and it's gu! aranteed to provoke interesting post-movie discussions. Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston, Anne Heche, and Arliss Howard lead an esteemed supporting cast. --Jeff Shannon

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The Last Song

• LAST SONG (DVD MOVIE)

John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Oscar® Winner Marisa Tomei star in this quirky, hilarious story about love, family and cutting the cord. Not-so-recently divorced John (Reilly) thinks he’s finally found the perfect woman when he meets the sweet and sexy Molly (Tomei). There’s just one problem â€" Molly’s son Cyrus (Hill) clings to his mom like lint on a T-shirt, and he’s not about to let another man come between them. It’s one hysterically awkward moment after another as John and Cyrus fight for the right to be Molly’s #1 man. Mumblecore auteurs the Duplass brothers (Baghead, The Puffy Chair) dip their toes in the precarious waters of Hollywood by casting well-known actors in Cyrus. But their devotion to clumsy, uncomfortable people remains: John (John C. Reilly, Step Brothers) has barely left his apartment in the seven years sinc! e Jamie (Catherine Keener, Lovely & Amazing) divorced him, so Jamie demands he come to a party--where, miraculously, he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler), who seems like the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, Molly comes with some baggage: her 22-year-old son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill, Superbad). To say Molly and Cyrus are close is an understatement, and John finds himself in a battle of wills with Molly as the prize. The Duplass brothers seek a kind of cinematic simplicity--to call it purity would be too highbrow for these aggressively pedestrian filmmakers--and when it works, it brings the viewer in intimate contact with life in its ordinary, essential glory. When it doesn't work, it's just dull. Despite its flatfooted plot, Cyrus works pretty well. The higher caliber of the cast helps--Reilly, Tomei, Hill, and Keener are all excellent, and much of the movie is genuinely funny. Don't expect elegance, but sometimes, something plain can please. ! --Bret FetzerAmbitious television reporter Maria Sanche! z (Danie lle Harris of Rob Zombie's Halloween, Hatchet 2) is investigating the disappearance of over 200 Midwestern University students when a local man (Lance Henriksen of Aliens) contacts her with information that reveals details of the serial killer and his crimes: His name is Cyrus (a chilling performance by Brian Krause of ''Charmed'') and the murders themselves were brutal. What happened next was horrific but the worst is still to come. Based on shocking true events, this bloody and brutal story of the 'The County Line Cannibal' will leave a taste in your mouth that you'll never forget.John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill and Oscar® Winner Marisa Tomei star in this quirky, hilarious story about love, family and cutting the cord. Not-so-recently divorced John (Reilly) thinks he’s finally found the perfect woman when he meets the sweet and sexy Molly (Tomei). There’s just one problem â€" Molly’s son Cyrus (Hill) clings to his mom like lint on a T-shirt, and he’s not about to let a! nother man come between them. It’s one hysterically awkward moment after another as John and Cyrus fight for the right to be Molly’s #1 man. Mumblecore auteurs the Duplass brothers (Baghead, The Puffy Chair) dip their toes in the precarious waters of Hollywood by casting well-known actors in Cyrus. But their devotion to clumsy, uncomfortable people remains: John (John C. Reilly, Step Brothers) has barely left his apartment in the seven years since Jamie (Catherine Keener, Lovely & Amazing) divorced him, so Jamie demands he come to a party--where, miraculously, he meets Molly (Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler), who seems like the woman of his dreams. Unfortunately, Molly comes with some baggage: her 22-year-old son, Cyrus (Jonah Hill, Superbad). To say Molly and Cyrus are close is an understatement, and John finds himself in a battle of wills with Molly as the prize. The Duplass brothers seek a kind of cinematic simplicity--to c! all it purity would be too highbrow for these aggressively ped! estrian filmmakers--and when it works, it brings the viewer in intimate contact with life in its ordinary, essential glory. When it doesn't work, it's just dull. Despite its flatfooted plot, Cyrus works pretty well. The higher caliber of the cast helps--Reilly, Tomei, Hill, and Keener are all excellent, and much of the movie is genuinely funny. Don't expect elegance, but sometimes, something plain can please. --Bret Fetzer

In 1906, a stilted English translation of Xenophon of Athens' story about Cyrus the Great's military campaigns was published. Now, a century later, a much more accessible edition of one of history's most extraordinary and successful leaders is emerging.

Among his many achievements, this great leader of wisdom and virtue founded and extended the Persian Empire; conquered Babylon; freed 40,000 Jews from captivity; wrote mankind's first human rights charter; and ruled over those he had conquered with respect and benevolence.!

According to historian Will Durant, Cyrus the Great's military enemies knew that he was lenient, and they did not fight him with that desperate courage which men show when their only choice is "to kill or die." As a result the Iranians regarded him as "The Father," the Babylonians as "The Liberator," the Greeks as the "Law-Giver," and the Jews as the "Anointed of the Lord."

By freshening the voice, style and diction of Cyrus, Larry Hedrick has created a more contemporary Cyrus. A new generation of  readers, including business executives and managers, military officers, and government officials, can now learn about and benefit from Cyrus the Great's extraordinary achievements, which exceeded all other leaders' throughout antiquity.

Miley Cyrus shines as the star of this heartwarming coming-of-age movie that will strike your emotional chords. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks (Dear John, The Notebook), The Last Song follows R! onnie (Cyrus) and her estranged father as he tries to restore ! the lovi ng relationship they once had. But reconnecting with his rebellious daughter isn’t easy, so he chooses the one thing they still have in common â€" music. Complete with not-to-be-missed bonus features â€" the Miley Cyrus music video “When I Look At You,” exclusive interviews with the actress and more â€" this uplifting and touching drama about family, first loves and second chances is a heartfelt story to you won’t soon forget.
This romantic tearjerker from writer Nicholas Sparks (Dear John, The Notebook) can be formulaic at times, but it stays interesting thanks to pacing and snappy dialogue. Miley Cyrus sulks through The Last Song as troubled teen Ronnie, who resents her father (Greg Kinnear) for divorcing Mom (Kelly Preston) and leaving the family. A piano prodigy, Ronnie refuses to play after her father leaves, and she snubs admission to Julliard. Ronnie and her wisecracking brother Jonah (Bobby Coleman) are sent to spend the summer with ! their father in a small Georgia beach town. Handsome townie Will (Liam Hemsworth) strikes up a tense relationship with Ronnie and, true to romance formula, they fall in love. Ronnie softens her attitude and the ice between father and daughter begins to melt away. But Dad has a tragic secret, and in the end, music helps Ronnie open her heart and heal. Cyrus gives a predictable performance as the all-attitude Ronnie, but she's helped along by Coleman's cute-little-brother shtick (which can be a bit heavy-handed, but the youngster is a scene-stealer). Veteran actors Preston and Kinnear are one-dimensional, but The Last Song is a harmless teen romance--who's watching the adults, anyway? --Francine Ruley

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Eastern Promises (HD DVD/DVD Combo)

• 5-weight memory for one user

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).

David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enfor! cer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Morten! sen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a tr! ue, haun ting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, ! a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (cen! ter) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, myster! y and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the mov! ie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely s! hocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

!

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo ! Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).

David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stah! l, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight! also wr ote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for la! rger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).
David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Easter! n Promis es, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody w! ill cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Muelle! r-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMIS! ES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenber! g's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

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D.O.A. - Dead or Alive

• Four gorgeous women are invited to a remote island to participate in a fighting tournament. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R Age: 796019796941 UPC: 796019796941 Manufacturer No: 79694

Four gorgeous women are invited to a remote island to participate in a fighting tournament.Based on the popular video-game series, Corey (The Transporter) Yuen's DOA: Dead Or Alive brings together cheesecake titillation and martial-arts action in a lightweight slice of exploitation that's sure to keep its largely young and male audience happy. Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl) is top-billed as a pro wrestler who joins a no-holds-barred brawling competition on a remote island; once there, she discovers that the tournament's sponsor, Donovan (Eric Roberts at his toothiest and oiliest), has nefarious plans up his sleeve, and the competitors (which include Devon Aoki, Ho! lly Valance, and the always impressive Kane Kosugi) must bond together to fight a common enemy. As with 2007's The Condemned, DOA: Dead Or Alive is the 21st century equivalent of an early '70s drive-in movie: Proudly loud and lunkheaded, its main function is to cram as much fighting and bikini-clad women into its running time as possible, and to that end, it's enormously successful. Director Yuen understands this, and wisely skews the tone towards the broadly (ahem) tongue-in-cheek; Pressly (whose knack for comedy doesn't get as much mileage here) and the rest of her castmates look good and move well, and the fighting, while not on par with Hong Kong or Thai standards, is plentiful and flashy. If you come expecting this and nothing else, you'll have a fine time with DOA: Dead Or Alive. --Paul Gaita

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Dorian Blues

• Witty, knowing and immensely entertaining, Dorian Blues is a delightfully off-kilter coming-of-age tale from debut writer-director Tennyson Bardwell. Adolescence is proving a pain for Dorian (Michael McMillian). He s an outcast and the butt ofmates jokes at high school, and his football hero brother (Lea Coco) is constantly rescuing him. But everything finally begins to make sense when he realizes

Witty, knowing and immensely entertaining, Dorian Blues is a delightfully off-kilter coming-of-age tale from debut writer-director Tennyson Bardwell. Adolescence is proving a pain for Dorian (Michael McMillian). Hes an outcast and the butt of classmates jokes at high school, and his football hero brother (Lea Coco) is constantly rescuing him. But everything finally begins to make sense when he realizes that hes gay. Before his archconservative dad (Steven C. Fletcher, in a hilarious role) can throw ! him out of the house, hes off to NYU where he encounters a new world of cafes, sophisticates and handsome men but this life proves just as frustrating as his world back home.Like That 70's Show and Napolean Dynamite, director Tennyson Bardwell's debut feature, Dorian Blues, stylishly contemplates the hellishness of high school in the '70s, but through a gay protagonist. Dorian Lagatos (played by Michael McMillan) is raised by Nixon-loving conservatives, and his manly brother is star of the football team, so it's difficult for him to admit, even to himself, that he is gay. Coming-out scenes construct a picture that is wrought by fear made into dry comedy. Dorian cries to himself in the middle of the night, gets beat up in the school halls, falls in love with his male therapist, talks to a dummy in order to practice breaking the news to his father, and tries to learn how to fight his brother when he finds out that Dorian is a "sissy." When Dorian leaves f! or New York, he meets his first boyfriend, and befriends a viv! acious l esbian named El. Scenes in S&M clubs, coffee bars, and New York lofts show Dorian slowly coming to terms with his true identity. The film's opening and closing shots take place at the cemetery during Dorian's father's funeral, accentuating not only the hatred Dorian feels for this stubborn man, but also the anger and fear Dorian harbors for himself. Ultimately, he must obliterate this order to find real happiness. Dorian Blues is a study in self-confidence, made funny by familiar scenes that teenagers struggling to fit in will know all too well.--Trinie Dalton

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Gangster No 1 [Blu-ray]

• UK Import
• Blu-ray
• Region-Free

"Fascinating" (The Hollywood Reporter) and "sensational" (Los Angeles Times), this bold, innovative thriller chronicles the bloody, single-minded climb of a barbarous crime lord to power. Starring Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), David Thewlis (Naked) and Saffron Burrows (Deep Blue Sea), Gangster No. 1 enters the psyche of an unrepentant mobster and reveals the madman within. Bettany gives "a brilliantly eerie, star-making performance" (American Film Institute) as a ruthless mobster who slugs, claws and kills his way to the top. But when he learns that the former mentor (Thewlis) he put in prison is about to get out, this self-made monster must not only face a man whose life he ruined but the twisted remnants of his own demented conscience as well.This glinting, scalding gangland phantasmagoria offers a sort! of funhouse-mirror refraction of the life and career of a British hooligan so elemental in his right villainy that he's merely identified as "Gangster." The action begins in 1999, with Malcolm McDowell brutishly savoring his eminence as a crime lord; but more of the film is taken up with an extended flashback to 1968, when his youthful self--played by Paul Bettany (but voiced by McDowell during private reveries)--got his start. Bettany's patron is Freddie Mays, "the Butcher of Mayfair" (David Thewlis), a comparatively suave rotter whom "Young Gangster" more or less simultaneously worships, emulates, and craves to see destroyed. Director Paul McGuigan layers the eras and personalities in a kaleidoscope of jagged stylization (occasionally the image shatters like glass, then hellishly reconstitutes itself). The effect is less to tell a proper story than to suspend us in a state of mind--and a homage to McDowell's landmark role in A Clockwork Orange. But it does exert a! n unclean fascination. --Richard T. JamesonWhen a young! gangste r (Paul Bettany) starts working for gang leader Freddie Mays (David Thewlis), known as the Butcher of Mayfair, he dreams of being everything that Freddie is: smooth, sophisticated, impeccably dressed, always with the right women, and driving the fanciest cars. Freddie takes the young gangster (unnamed in the film but listed as Gangster 55 in the credits) under his wing as a potential war with a rival gang starts to heat up. After Freddie falls for Karen (Saffron Burrows), whom 55 had his eye on, the young gangster lies in wait for an opportunity to change things, and when that moment comes, he leaves a bloodbath of betrayal in his wake. Paul McGuigan's GANGSTER NO. 1 is framed by scenes set in the present, where the aging 55, played with delicious villainy by Malcolm McDowell, narrates the tale of his younger self's rise to power in Soho in the late 1960s. Bettany is a revelation as 55, who seems to enjoy a bit of the old ultraviolence now and again; when he tells a potential victim (or even a friend) to look into his eyes, it is hard for the audience as well not to be mesmerised--and scared out of their wits. McGuigan's fast-paced direction includes creative split screens, extreme close-ups, fireballs coming right at the viewer, and a sweeping handheld camera all set to a swinging 1960s score.This glinting, scalding gangland phantasmagoria offers a sort of funhouse-mirror refraction of the life and career of a British hooligan so elemental in his right villainy that he's merely identified as "Gangster." The action begins in 1999, with Malcolm McDowell brutishly savoring his eminence as a crime lord; but mo! re of the film is taken up with an extended flashback to 1968, when his youthful self--played by Paul Bettany (but voiced by McDowell during private reveries)--got his start. Bettany's patron is Freddie Mays, "the Butcher of Mayfair" (David Thewlis), a comparatively suave rotter whom "Young Gangster" more or less simultaneously worships, emulates, and craves to see destroyed. Director Paul McGuigan layers the eras and personalities in a kaleidoscope of jagged stylization (occasionally the image shatters like glass, then hellishly reconstitutes itself). The effect is less to tell a proper story than to suspend us in a state of mind--and a homage to McDowell's landmark role in A Clockwork Orange. But it does exert an unclean fascination. --Richard T. Jameson

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