Friday, September 23, 2011

Deceived

  • Goldie Hawn delivers a critically acclaimed performance as Adrienne Saunders, someone whose perfect life as a wife, mother, and career woman disintegrates into a confusing world of betrayal and deception. After her husband (John Heard -- HOME ALONE, AWAKENINGS) apparently dies in a mysterious auto accident, Adrienne discovers a series of shocking truths about him -- and chilling evidence of a dead
As the daughter of a legendary grid iron star, a young woman's greatest desire is to coach a team of her own. But when the chauvinistic powers-that-be assign her to an inner-city ghetto school, the spirited female has her work cut out for her.Goldie Hawn plays a physical education teacher who gets a chance to coach an inner-city high school football team. If that sounds contrived, it is, but in the hands of director Michael Ritchie (Smile), the jokes all fire, and there's plenty of comedy t! eased out in details. (The cheerleading squad has some funny moments just belting out their morale-boosting chants.) The supporting cast has a couple of significant up-and-comers: Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes. --Tom Keogh It's the craziest mix-up ever! Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell dazzle the screen in this buoyant and screwball comedy of memory-making and memory-faking. One of Hollywood's most dynamic screen pairs, Hawn and Russell make the most of every hilarious situation in this delightful riches-to-rags romance that's perfect entertainment for anyone who appreciates a great practical joke. Hawn is Joanna Stayton, the pampered wife of a pretentious, yacht-owning socialite. When their boat gets stuck for repairs, Joanna employs carpenter Dean Proffitt (Russell) to improve her closet space. But when Dean asks to be paid, he's blatantly turned down by the "nothing is ever good enough for me" Joanna.So when Joanna falls overboard and gets a bad case of amnesia, ! Dean takes advantage of the situation and, in a stroke of retr! ibutive genius, tells her that she's his wife and the mother of hisfour unruly children!Real-life couple Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn star in this enjoyable 1987 comedy by Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman) about an imperious heiress (Hawn) who loses her memory after a boating accident and is identified as the wife of a handyman (Russell). Russell's character brings her "home" to his messy house and unruly kids, and the laughs follow as the aristocratic Hawn tries fitting in. Marshall delivers the comic goods, the leads are entertaining (Russell needs to do more comedy), and the supporting cast is made up of happily familiar faces, including Roddy McDowall, Edward Herrmann, and Marshall favorite Hector Elizondo in an unbilled bit. --Tom Keogh Goldie Hawn delivers a critically acclaimed performance as Adrienne Saunders, someone whose perfect life as a wife, mother, and career woman disintegrates into a confusing world of betrayal and deception. After her husband (John Heard ! -- HOME ALONE, AWAKENINGS) apparently dies in a mysterious auto accident, Adrienne discovers a series of shocking truths about him -- and chilling evidence of a deadly scheme that threatens her life! From the first startling plot twist to the heart-stopping climax, DECEIVED is a riveting suspense-filled thriller that will entertain you in the spirit of Hitchcock's best!

Mother [Blu-ray]

  • Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, D0-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a schoolgirl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused
Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a schoolgirl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His m! other refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl's killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son's name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations.Just as South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's previous film, The Host, subverted the traditions of the giant monster movie to examine the effects of a crisis on a unique family, his latest effort, Mother, embraces the tropes of the murder mystery for an unsettling and affecting story of parental love taken to its extreme. Popular South Korean television actress Kim Hye-ja gives a powerful performance as a downtrodden acupuncturist whose mentally challenged son (Korean A-lister Won Bin) is accused of murdering a local schoolgirl. Bullied into a confession by the local police (led by Yoon Je-moon of The Host), the young man faces incarceration at a mental hospital unless his mother can discover the killer's true ! identity. Her inquiry leads her into classic noir territory, w! ith perc eived truths blown apart at every turn; in typical Joon-ho fashion, these discoveries are marked by moments of shocking violence, dark slapstick humor, and moving familial drama, which come together in a genuinely unique perspective on the nature of truth and commitment. The official South Korean submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards, Mother is yet another entry on a growing list of exceptional motion pictures from one of the international scene's most intriguing filmmakers. --Paul Gaita