Deep In The Valley (Unrated)

• DEEP IN THE VALLEY UNRATED (DVD MOVIE)

"Hypnotic andihaunting." -Peter Travers Rolling StoneHarlan (Norton) is a charismatic cowboy stuck in suburban San Fernando Valley who by a twist of fate rides into the life of a rebellious young girl Tobe (Wood). Their chance encounter explodes into a passionate romance-despite evidence that a more sinister truth might be lurking beneath his country charm.Wanting to protect his teenage daughter and young son from the man that is clearly not who he is Tobe's father prohibits the lovers to ever see each other again. More alienated than ever down in the valley Harlan gallops full speed into a breakdown resulting in a desperate attempt to hold onto whatever or whomever he can.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R Age: 821575548755 UPC: 821575548755 Manufacturer No: TF-54875Down in the Valley falls short of the greatness it's strivi! ng for, but it's a fascinating film that's easily recommended. Serving as both star and co-producer, Edward Norton seized upon writer-director David Jacobsen's neo-western screenplay as an opportunity to play the kind of daring and challenging role that Hollywood rarely offers. Norton's considerable talent is fully engaged as he portrays Harlan Carruthers, a cowboy anachronism in California's San Fernando Valley, where his Stetson hat, old-fashioned manners, and wild-west romanticism provide an escape from his dreary life of dead-end jobs and fleabag motels. We can't tell if he's really a former ranch-hand from South Dakota or a delusional psychopath, and that turns Down in the Valley into a suburban variation of Taxi Driver, with the threat of danger increasing as Harlan is befriended by Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood), a bored teenager who seduces Harlan for the sake of romantic adventure. Tension and suspense escalate even further as Harlan tangles with Tobe's susp! icious and belligerently protective father (David Morse) and l! onely 13 -year-old brother (Rory Culkin), but Jacobsen's intriguing film grows problematic when it veers into mythic western territory. Struggling for present-day resonance with themes of rugged individualism and frontier manhood in an era when those qualities are virtually extinct, Down in the Valley reaches a climax that feels forced and unconvincing, but fine performances (especially by Norton) and Jacobsen's bold, risk-taking direction make this a film worth seeing.--Jeff ShannonDown in the Valley falls short of the greatness it's striving for, but it's a fascinating film that's easily recommended. Serving as both star and co-producer, Edward Norton seized upon writer-director David Jacobsen's neo-western screenplay as an opportunity to play the kind of daring and challenging role that Hollywood rarely offers. Norton's considerable talent is fully engaged as he portrays Harlan Carruthers, a cowboy anachronism in California's San Fernando Valley, where his Ste! tson hat, old-fashioned manners, and wild-west romanticism provide an escape from his dreary life of dead-end jobs and fleabag motels. We can't tell if he's really a former ranch-hand from South Dakota or a delusional psychopath, and that turns Down in the Valley into a suburban variation of Taxi Driver, with the threat of danger increasing as Harlan is befriended by Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood), a bored teenager who seduces Harlan for the sake of romantic adventure. Tension and suspense escalate even further as Harlan tangles with Tobe's suspicious and belligerently protective father (David Morse) and lonely 13-year-old brother (Rory Culkin), but Jacobsen's intriguing film grows problematic when it veers into mythic western territory. Struggling for present-day resonance with themes of rugged individualism and frontier manhood in an era when those qualities are virtually extinct, Down in the Valley reaches a climax that feels forced and unconvincing, but fi! ne performances (especially by Norton) and Jacobsen's bold, ri! sk-takin g direction make this a film worth seeing.--Jeff ShannonCreate a whimsical town to call your own with these fresh, fun designs as your building blocks! These mix-and-match house and building patterns include country cabins and quaint churches, plus a school, town hall, barn, and cozy cottage. A delightful medley of 16 step-by-step projects with easy paper-piecing. Each chapter features a different theme-Main Street, Prairieland, Mountain Folk, and Cabin Country. Create scenes in wall quits, table runners, place mats and pillows.DEEP IN THE VALLEY - DVD Movie

Read more »

Angels & Demons [Blu-ray]

• Condition: New
• Format: Blu-ray
• AC-3; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen

In Ron Howard's thrilling follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, expert symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) follows ancient clues on a heart-racing hunt through Rome to find the four Cardinals kidnapped by the deadly secret society, the Illuminati. With the Cardinals' lives on the line, and the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) desperate for help, Langdon embarks on a nonstop, action-packed race through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and the most secretive vault on Earth!If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his repris! ed role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is! Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematogra! phy by S alvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley

Stills from Angels & Demons (click for larger image)

Heaven and hell are vying for human souls in vortices between humanity and the afterlife. When Lucifer and his demons overwhelm Archangel Michael and Gabriel, heaven is faced with the possibility of losing all souls on the planet.

Reincarnated in heaven, Michael must fight his way back to Earth to stop more demons from swarming the planet and help his brother Gabriel track down the devil before he tricks humanity into harvesting billions of souls into his fiery kingdom.

---------

"Angels and Demons: Perspectives of a Violent Afterlife" is an 11,250 word (approx. 50 pages in print) collection of short sto! ries.

PRODUCT WARNING: This work describes an alter! nate rea lity where God and the Devil have agreed to an afterlife that is based solely on how the person died. So, life and death aren't fair. It also contains strong language, violence, charred wings, and a naked angel running around Oslo. Sorry about that.Heaven and hell are vying for human souls in vortices between humanity and the afterlife. When Lucifer and his demons overwhelm Archangel Michael and Gabriel, heaven is faced with the possibility of losing all souls on the planet.

Reincarnated in heaven, Michael must fight his way back to Earth to stop more demons from swarming the planet and help his brother Gabriel track down the devil before he tricks humanity into harvesting billions of souls into his fiery kingdom.

---------

"Angels and Demons: Perspectives of a Violent Afterlife" is an 11,250 word (approx. 50 pages in print) collection of short stories.

PRODUCT WARNING: This work describes an alternate reality where God and the Devil have agreed t! o an afterlife that is based solely on how the person died. So, life and death aren't fair. It also contains strong language, violence, charred wings, and a naked angel running around Oslo. Sorry about that.In Ron Howard's thrilling follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, expert symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) follows ancient clues on a heart-racing hunt through Rome to find the four Cardinals kidnapped by the deadly secret society, the Illuminati. With the Cardinals' lives on the line, and the Camerlengo (Ewan McGregor) desperate for help, Langdon embarks on a nonstop, action-packed race through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, and the most secretive vault on Earth!If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependa! bly watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon! , summon ed urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, wit! h lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley

Stills from Angels & Demons (click for larger image)

!

Read more »