Take the first Pirates of the Caribbean film, add a dash of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and a lot more rum. Shake well and you'll have something resembling Dead Man's Chest, a bombastic sequel that's enjoyable as long as you don't think too hard about it. The film opens with the interrupted wedding of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), both of whom are arrested for aiding in the escape of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) in the first film. Their freedom can only be obtained by getting Captain Jack's compass, which is linked to a key that's linked to a chest belonging to Davy Jones, an undead pirate with a tentacle face and in possession of a lot of people's souls. If you're already confused, don't worry--plot is definitely not the... Learn More
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Given the formidable challenge of adapting Philip Roth's acclaimed novel to the screen, it's a wonder that The Human Stain retains so much of what makes Roth's novel a masterpiece. As adapted by Nicholas Meyer, Robert Benton's film is inevitably a different animal altogether, and it's wide open to charges of miscasting and thematic diffusion. But at its core, this delicate drama succeeds in exposing the sins that stain all of humanity, forcing men like former welterweight boxer and esteemed professor Coleman Silk (Anthony Hopkins) to forsake family and career to conceal his African American heritage. Light-skinned and passing as a Jewish professor of classics in a tony East Coast college, 71-year-old Silk sinks into scandal when an innocent remark is misinterpreted as a racist... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Anthony Hopkins - Nicole Kidman - Ed Harris - Gary Sinise Director(s): Robert Benton DVD Release Date: Released the 20 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Writer-director Robert Benton, who examined a similar story in 1998's "Twilight," first explored the territory of the geriatric private eye in this sadly underrated 1977 delight. Art Carney stars as a nearly retired detective who suddenly finds himself caught up in two seemingly separate cases. One involves the murder of his former partner (Howard Duff); the other entangles him with a flaky post-hippie (Lily Tomlin), who wants him to find her missing cat. The two cases eventually dovetail, but the plot--which leads them to a Hollywood crime bigwig played by the affable Eugene Roche--is of less interest than the almost magical chemistry between the crotchety Carney and the wonderfully off-the-wall Tomlin. The perfect film for anyone who likes their mysteries in the Dashiell Hammett/Raymond... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Art Carney - Lily Tomlin Director(s): Robert Benton DVD Release Date: Released the 30 March 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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"Worn to perfection" is the tag line promoting this crafted character study. It describes Paul Newman, the resourceful 70-year-old lead actor, but not his character, Sully, a North Bath, New York, loner who totally emulates the negative definition of the title. Newman gives a brilliant performance (Oscar-nominated and winner of two critics circle awards) relying on his well-honed subtleties. The dramatics are simple: the return of his son (Dylan Walsh) and grandson, offering a chance to reconcile; odd jobs for a construction company he's trying to sue for an injury; and a comedic grudge match against the owner (a reserved Bruce Willis). North Bath is the kind of place, wrapped in winter (beautifully shot by John Bailey), where enemies are friends, marriages are shaky, and Hawaii is only a... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Paul Newman - Jessica Tandy - Bruce Willis Director(s): Robert Benton DVD Release Date: Released the 09 September 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A genteel Northerner during the Civil War (Barry Brown) is robbed by scalawag Jeff Bridges--and winds up teaming up with him. Together, they become a criminal duo (although with one member more reluctant than the other) in this entertaining, realistic tale of what the West was really like. Bridges has a gangly, easy-going demeanor, as well as a sense of playfulness that even extends to moments of extreme jeopardy. He makes an interesting team with the stiff, proper Brown, creating comedy seemingly out of thin air. Film directing debut of Robert Benton, who had cowritten Bonnie and Clyde, and who would go on to win an Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer. --Marshall FineMore Info About This DVD Actor(s): Jeff Bridges - Barry Brown - Jim Davis Director(s): Robert Benton DVD Release Date: Released the 13 May 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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The oily allure of underground power is compelling. During the heyday of New York's mob scene, it was more than a mysterious, dynamic draw, it was a ticket out of poverty and stepping stone to notoriety. Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, Billy Bathgate is the story of a street-smart boy (Loren Dean) who, after a chance encounter with racketeering kingpin Dutch Schultz (Dustin Hoffman), sets out to apprentice himself to the Mafia and ride the roller-coaster life of a gangster.
Central to the story development is the idea of fate and circumstance. Except for Billy, who is merely a criminal voyeur, all the characters play out the hand they were dealt, good or bad, live or die. Moving from misunderstood businessman, struggling to legitimize his line of work, to a steely,... More Info About This DVD Actor(s): Dustin Hoffman - Nicole Kidman Director(s): Robert Benton DVD Release Date: Released the 08 October 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Few movies hit you so unabashedly in the heart with a melodramatic wallop as Bentonâs Places in the Heart, yet manage to avoid feeling cheap. A deeply touching slice of the depression era, worthy of all the Oscars it bagged (screenplay, best actress for Fields) plus several nominations.
Sally Field weilds absolute acting prowess as Edna Spaulding, a wife and mother of two kids who becomes widowed after a drunk accidentally shoots her husband. So she decides to make some money by planting cotton. She takes in a very friendly black man (wonderfully played by Danny Glover) who helps her get and plant the cotton, and a smart blind man (played by John Malkovich in an Oscar-nominated performance) who's a paying boarder.