DVDpedia : Library : Title : K

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Drama

Duration: 121

Summary: I must say that `K-Pax' released in '01 was a delightfully unexpected surprise. I absolutely loved it! I found it to be an intriguing combination of the '75 hit `One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' and the much earlier '51 sci-fi classic `The Day the Earth Stood Still.' Do you sci-fi fans out there remember the name of the large robot with the x-ray eyes in the '51 film? For those who don't it was Gort, a name strikingly similar to that of the supposed humanoid alien Prot played so brilliantly by Kevin Spacey.



With 190 reviews already on-line for `K-Pax' there's no need for me to rehash the storyline. I would however like to recommend this film to one and all. It's beautifully filmed and directed complimented by sharp, insightful dialogue containing numerous quotable lines. Kevin Spacey is perfect as Prot the self professed alien from the planet K-Pax and Jeff Bridges gives the performance of his life as Dr. Mark Powell, the psychiatrist who's worldview is called into question by his enigmatic patient from another universe.



A treasure to be owned, you'll watch it again and again.

Theatrical: 1992

Studio: Lions Gate

Genre: Drama

Duration: 127

Summary: A former rockstar Johnny Boz is brutally killed during sex , and the case is assigned to the Detective Nick Curran of the SFPD . During the investigation , Nick meets Catherine Tramell , a crime novelist who was Boz's girlfriend when he died . Catherine proves to be a very clever and manipulative woman , and though Nick is more or less convinced that she murdered Boz , he is unable to find any evidence . Later , when Nilsen , Nick's rival in the police is killed , Nick suspects of Catherine's involvement in it . He then starts to play a dangerous lust-filled mind game with Catherine to nail her , but as their relationship progresses , the body count rises and contradicting evidences force Nick to start questioning his own suspicions about Catherine's guilt .

Theatrical: 1977

Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 83

Summary: Twenty years before the Farrelly Brothers turned raunch into acceptable film comedy, the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker exploited it first. The college threesome made it big with "Airplane!" in 1980, but this 1977 cinematic version of their live theater show is ground zero for their talents. Like "The Groove Tube", "Kentucky Fried Movie" is a mishmash of sketches, fake commercials, and parodies with no central theme--except their crudeness and laugh-out-loud humor. Highlights include a commercial for "Scot Free," a board game based on the Kennedy assassination conspiracy, "The Wonderful World of Sex," in which a couple goes through foreplay with a self- help narrator instructing them step by step, and a 20-minute spoof of Bruce Lee films entitled "A Fistful of Yen." Brazen to a fault, the movie will reach for any punch line, no matter how crude (and those who flocked to the film's initial release looking for R-rated sex will remember the final sketch and the infamous trailer for "Catholic High School Girls in Trouble.") Directed by then-unknown John Landis on a shoestring budget, the film has aged. But crassness, when it's this funny, is forever. "--Doug Thomas"

Theatrical: 1995

Studio: Criterion

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 96

Summary: Paralyzed with post-graduation ennui, a group of college friends remain on campus, patching together a community for themselves in order to deny the real-world futures awaiting them. Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach's hilarious and touching directorial debut was one of the highlights of the American independent film scene of the nineties, speaking directly to a generation of adults-to-be unable to reconcile their hermetic education experience with workaday responsibility, and posing the eternal question, "Where do we go from here?" Stingingly funny and incisive, Baumbach's breakthrough features endlessly quotable dialogue delivered by a stellar ensemble cast.

Theatrical: 1965

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Kids & Family

Duration: 147

Summary: Two of the all-time cartoon classics "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (1966) and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (a Peabody and Emmy winner from 1965) highlight this three-disc, six-episode set. Although the DVDs contain no extras (good grief!) and could have been combined on a single disc (drat!), the collection looks and sounds wonderful on DVD. The content is the same on the VHS and DVD sets, with two episodes per tape or disc. Accompanying "Pumpkin" is "You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown", a cute spin on politics that has aged very well since its 1972 release. "Christmas" sports a lackluster sequel of sorts, "It's Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown" (1992) that has Sally dwelling on getting (instead of giving), Charlie Brown facing a spending dilemma, and everyone suffering stage fright before the annual school play. "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" (1973) also won an Emmy but is not as well known as others; it also suffers from not having the original cast. Snoopy is foremost in helping to put on an impromptu feast (toast and popcorn) as the gang keeps forgetting the true meaning of the holiday. Also on the disc is a better Thanksgiving venue, "The Mayflower Voyages" (1988), part of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" series that breathed new life into the franchise. Mostly narrated by Linus, the show traces the Pilgrims' plight and doesn't talk down to youngsters on the hardships they faced. It's a treasure of a gift (for others or yourself), all nicely packaged. "--Doug Thomas"

Theatrical: 1988

Studio: A&E Home Video

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 500

Summary: Thirty Helens agree: "The Kids in the Hall" is a funny show. (Mr. Tyzik, the bitter Head Crusher, however, may not agree.) The no-holds-barred sketch comedy is also strange, silly, profane--occasionally even profound. The five Canadian writer-comedians behind it, Dave Foley ("NewsRadio"), Bruce McCulloch ("Superstar"), Kevin McDonald ("That ''70s Show"), Mark McKinney ("Saturday Night Live"), and Scott Thompson ("The Larry Sanders Show"), formed the troupe in the early 1980s. Naturally, they weren't really kids, but boyish-looking men in their twenties and thirties. "SNL"'s Lorne Michaels produced the series, which lasted for five seasons, and aired on HBO, Comedy Central, and Canada's CBC. It garnered three Emmy nominations and was followed by the theatrical cult classic "The Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy" (1996) and several tours.
The Toronto-based team took more inspiration from the absurdity of "Monty Python"--and the craziness inherent in everyday life--than the topical humor of "SNL" (on which celebrities, politicians, and pop culture are frequent targets). Each 30-minute installment features short, punchy skits (some filmed in advance, some before a live audience), men in drag, and no special guest hosts or stars (musical or otherwise). During their small-screen rein, the Kids took aim at everything from mainstream comedy and corporate culture to sexism, bigotry, and pretension. Many of their best-loved characters first appeared during the 20 episodes produced between 1989-1990. They include the 30 Helens (30 Helens standing in a field agreeing about something or other), Tyzik (McKinney), rockin' Bobby (McCulloch), bickering Fran and Gordon (Thompson and McCulloch), chatty Cathy and Kathie (McCulloch and Thompson), the "Nobody Likes Us" guys (Foley and MacDonald), and the acerbic Buddy Cole (Thompson).
Canadian underground heroes Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet provided the icing on their spicy little cake with their wistful surf-rock theme "Having an Average Weekend." "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: Miramax

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 248

Summary: Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Miramax

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 248

Summary: Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, Vol. 1 is trash for connoisseurs. From his opening gambit (including a "Shaw-Scope" logo and gaudy '70s-vintage "Our Feature Presentation" title card) to his cliffhanger finale (a teasing lead-in to 2004's Vol. 2), Tarantino pays loving tribute to grindhouse cinema, specifically the Hong Kong action flicks and spaghetti Westerns that fill his fervent brain--and this frequently breathtaking movie--with enough cinematic references and cleverly pilfered soundtrack cues to send cinephiles running for their reference books. Everything old is new again in Tarantino's humor-laced vision: he steals from the best while injecting his own oft-copied, never-duplicated style into what is, quite simply, a revenge flick, beginning with the near-murder of the Bride (Uma Thurman), pregnant on her wedding day and left for dead by the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (or DiVAS)--including Lucy Liu and the unseen David Carradine (as Bill)--who become targets for the Bride's lethal vengeance. Culminating in an ultraviolent, ultra-stylized tour-de-force showdown, Tarantino's fourth film is either brilliantly (and brutally) innovative or one of the most blatant acts of plagiarism ever conceived. Either way, it's hyperkinetic eye-candy from a passionate film-lover who clearly knows what he's doing.

Theatrical: 1955

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Crime

Duration: 67

Summary: Prize-fighter Davy Gordon intervenes when private dancer Gloria Price is being attacked by her employer and lover Vincent Raphello. This brings the two together and they get involved with each other, which displeases Raphello much. So much even that he sends men out to kill Davy, but by mistake not Davy, but his friend gets murdered. Trying to escape Raphello forever, Davy and Gloria decide to leave town.

Theatrical: 1956

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Crime

Duration: 85

Summary: After getting out of prison, Johnny Clay masterminds a complex race-track heist, but his scheme is complicated by the intervention of the wife of a teller (George Peatty) in on the scheme, the boyfriend of the wife, airport regulations, and a small dog.

Theatrical: 1933

Studio: Turner Home Ent

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 104

Summary: "Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!" And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man." Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate. "King Kong"'s first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T. rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. "King Kong" was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the 20th century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the movies' most indelible and iconic images. "--Donald Liebenson"
DVD features
Not surprisingly, the eighth wonder of the world's DVD treatment is nothing short of spectacular. The newly restored, digitally mastered print of the 1933 version of "King Kong" is sharp, well balanced, and given that this film is seventy years old, has very few scratches or blemishes. The restoration is nothing short of amazing. What may frustrate some is the audio. Though crystal clear, it is still in 2.0 Mono. The soundtrack on "Kong" is such an integral part of the film you really wished they could have pulled it out to at least 2.0 Surround; but this is a minor criticism. The bulk of the commentary track is by visual effects veterans Ray Harryhausen and Ken Ralston joyfully discussing the special effects of the film and discussing why "King Kong" is such a favorite and important film to the community of visual effects artists. Spliced between their commentaries are colorful and humorous anecdotes from director from Merian C. Cooper and Fay Wray. The two documentaries on disc two run over three and half hours long. "I Am Kong! The Exploits of Merian C. Cooper" is an engaging documentary on the renegade, Hemingway-like director. It is fascinating to learn that Cooper was every bit the adventurer that the fictional director Carl Denham in "King Kong" was in the film. "RKO Production 601: The Making of Kong, Eighth Wonder of the World" is a two and a half hour documentary broken into 7 parts: "The Origins of "King Kong"," "Willis O'Brien and Creation," "Cameras Roll on Kong," "The Eighth Wonder," "A Milestone in Visual Effects," "Passion, Sound and Fury," "The Mystery of the Lost Spider Pit Sequence," and "King Kong's Legacy." Also included is complete footage of the legendary "The Lost Spider Pit Sequence." Presenting the segments are various film historians and filmmakers including Rudy Behlmer, Cooper biographer Mark Cotta Vaz, the Chiodo Brothers (of "Team America: World Police" special effects fame), and directors John Landis and Peter Jackson. Here you will learn everything you would ever want to know about the making and importance of "King Kong", including that the producer/director team of Cooper and Schoedsack played the pilots who shoot Kong off the Empire State Building. The highly anticipated, long-awaited release of "King Kong" will meet most viewers' expectations, and exceed everyone's else. "--Rob Bracco"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Universal

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 188

Summary: Movies don't come any bigger than Peter Jackson's "King Kong", a three-hour remake of the 1933 classic that marries breathtaking visual prowess with a surprising emotional depth. Expanding on the original story of the blonde beauty and the beast who falls for her, Jackson creates a movie spectacle that matches his "Lord of the Rings" films and even at times evokes their fantasy world while celebrating the glory of '30s Hollywood. Naomi Watts stars as Ann Darrow, a vaudeville actress down on her luck in Depression-era New York until manic filmmaker Carl Denham (a game but miscast Jack Black) entices her with a lead role. Dazzled by the genius of screenwriter Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), Ann boards the tramp steamer S.S. "Venture", which she--and most of the wary crew--believes is headed for Singapore. Denham, however, is in search of the mythic Skull Island, hoping to capture its wonders on film and make a fortune. What he didn't count on were some scary natives who find that the comely Darrow looks like prime sacrifice material for a mysterious giant creature....
There's no point in rehashing the entire plot, as every movie aficionado is more than familiar with the trajectory of "King Kong"; the challenge facing Jackson, his screenwriters, and the phenomenal visual-effects team was to breathe new life into an old, familiar story. To that degree, they achieve what could be best called a qualified success. Though they've assembled a crackerjack supporting cast, including Thomas Kretschmann as the "Venture"'s hard-bitten captain and young Jamie Bell as a plucky crewman, the first third of the movie is rather labored, with too much minute detail given over to sumptuous re-creations of '30s New York and the unexciting initial leg of the "Venture"'s sea voyage. However, once the film finds its way to Skull Island (which bears more than a passing resemblance to "LOTR"'s Mordor), "Kong" turns into a dazzling movie triumph, by turns terrifying and awe-inspiring. The choreography and execution of the action set pieces--including one involving Kong and a trio of Tyrannosaurus Rexes, as well as another that could be charitably described as a bug-phobic's nightmare--is nothing short of landmark filmmaking, and a certain Mr. Spielberg should watch his back, as "Kong" trumps most anything that has come before it.
Despite the visual challenges of "King Kong", the movie's most difficult hurdle is the budding romance between Ann and her simian soulmate. Happily, this is where Jackson unqualifiedly triumphs, as this unorthodox love story is tenderly and humorously drawn, by turns sympathetic and wondrous. Watts, whose accessibility balances out her almost otherworldly loveliness, works wonders with mere glances, and Andy Serkis, who digitally embodies Kong here much as he did Gollum in the "LOTR" films, breathes vibrant life into the giant star of the film without ever overplaying any emotions. The final, tragic act of the film, set mostly atop the Empire State Building, is where "Kong" earns its place in movie history as a work that celebrates both the technical and emotional heights that film can reach. "--Mark Englehart"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 201

Summary: The extended version of Peter Jackson's "King Kong" adds 13 minutes to the running time--fortunately those 13 minutes include two dynamic action scenes and no material has been added to the movie's belabored set-up, which tries to give depth to these quintessentially b-movie characters with a clumsy patchwork of melodrama and in-jokes. But once movie-maker Carl Denham (Jack Black, "School of Rock") and his crew finally arrive at Skull Island, the movie kicks into gear with spectacular action, technical wizardry, and genuine feeling. Though "Kong" seems crafted to dazzle the eye on the giant screen, the overlong structure improves when you can take an intermission at will. At home, each scene can be approached on its own terms, be it the insanely choreographed battle between Kong and three T. Rexes or the subtle and multi-layered interplay between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts, "Mulholland Drive") and Kong (played, through motion-capture technology, by Andy Serkis, who previously played the similarly animated Gollum in Jackson's "Lord of the Rings"). The addition of a rampaging ceratops and an underwater race with what the movie's crew dubbed a "piranhadon" not only add more eye candy, but provide some valuable moments of character development. But in the end, that's frosting on the cake; when the movie's weaknesses and strengths are weighed, the emotional power of the fantastical relationship between a woman and a giant ape is a real cinematic achievement. "--Bret Fetzer"

Theatrical: 1977

Studio: Good Times Video

Genre: Sci-Fi

Duration: 97

Summary: Investigating the mysterious deaths of a number of farm animals, vet Rack Hansen discovers that his town lies in the path of hoards of migrating tarantulas. Before he can take action, the streets are overrun by killer spiders, trapping a small group of towns folk in a remote hotel.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Drama

Duration: 118

Summary: One of the best films of 2004, "Kinsey" pays tribute to the flawed but honorable man who revolutionized our understanding of human sexuality. As played by Liam Neeson in writer-director Bill Condon's excellent film biography, Indiana University researcher Alfred Kinsey was so consumed by statistical measurements of human sexual activity that he almost completely overlooked the substantial role of emotions and their effect on human behavior. This made him an ideal researcher and science celebrity who revealed that sexual behaviors previously considered deviant and even harmful (homosexuality, oral sex, etc.) are in fact common and essentially normal in the realm of human experience, but whose obsession with scientific method frequently placed him at odds with his understanding wife (superbly played by Laura Linney) and research assistants. In presenting Kinsey as a driven social misfit, Condon's film gives Neeson one of his finest roles while revealing the depth of Kinsey's own humanity, and the incalculable benefit his research had on our collective sexual enlightenment. With humor, charm, and intelligence, "Kinsey" shines a light where darkness once prevailed. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 103

Summary: As a screenwriter, Shane Black made millions of dollars from screenplays for the big-budget action movies "Lethal Weapon" and "The Last Boy Scout", among others. With his directing debut "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", Black mocks and undercuts every cliche he once helped to invent. While fleeing from the cops, small time hood Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr., "Wonder Boys") stumbles into an acting audition--and does so well he gets taken to Hollywood, where--pursuing a girl he loved in high school (foxy Michelle Monaghan, "North Country")--he gets caught up in twisty murder mystery. His only chance of getting out alive is a private detective named Gay Perry (Val Kilmer, "Wonderland", "The Doors"), who sidelights as a consultant for movies. No plot turn goes untweaked by Black's clever, witty script, and Downey, Kilmer, and Monaghan clearly have a ball playing their screwball variations on action movie stereotypes. There's nothing profound about "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang", but it brings back wicked mischief to a genre that all often takes itself too seriously. "--Bret Fetzer"

Theatrical: 2007

Studio: Universal Studios

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 129

Summary: Slobby Ben and up and coming career girl Alison meet at a bar, and end up having a one night stand. Eight weeks later, Ben is shocked when Alison meets him and reveals that she is pregnant. Despite having little in common, the two decide that they have to at least try to make some kind of relationship work for the baby's sake.

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: First Look Pictures

Genre: Mystery

Duration: 102

Summary:

Theatrical: 1985

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Drama

Duration: 95

Summary: Like its progenitors "Beat Street" and "Wild Style", "Krush Groove" is a movie about hip-hop that in its rush to document an emergent culture ignores plot, acting, cinematography, and anything else that makes a movie watchable or worthwhile. That said, "Krush Groove" contains some nifty performances from hip-hop legends Run-DMC, the always hilarious Fat Boys (see "Disorderlies" if you can't get enough of their weighty shtick), brilliant MC Kurtis Blow, and Prince protégé Sheila E. Also look out for soon-to-be "L.A. Law"-yer Blair Underwood in a lead role. Performances aside, "Krush Groove" isn't def, it's just so-so. "--Ethan Brown"

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: Sony Pictures

Genre: Action & Adventure

Duration: 99

Summary: Stephen Chow (director and star of "Shaolin Soccer") is at it again with his newest action-packed and comedic martial-arts adventure, "Kung Fu Hustle". From wildly imaginative kung fu showdowns to dance sequences featuring tuxedoed mobsters, you've never seen action this outrageous and characters this zany! With jaw-dropping fight sequences by Yuen Wo Ping (famed action choreographer of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix"), "Kung Fu Hustle" will blow you away! In a town ruled by the Axe Gang, Sing (Stephen Chow) desperately wants to become a member. He stumbles into a slum ruled by eccentric landlords who turn out to be kung fu masters in disguise. Sing's actions eventually cause the Axe Gang and the slumlords to engage in an explosive kung fu battle. Only one side will win and only one hero will emerge as the greatest kung fu master of all.