Honeydripper

• From Oscar® nominated director, John Sayles, comes an electrifying and vivid rock 'n' roll fable. When Tyrone, owner of the Honeydripper lounge, is faced with having to shut down his juke joint, his hopes rest on one man the famous Guitar Sam. It's a make or break weekend for the Honeydripper, this better be some Saturday night! With exquisite performances by Danny Glover, Char

Nicole Beharie (The Express), Will Patton (Entrapment, The Postman), Charles Dutton (TV's Roc, Mimic) and Alfre Woodard (TV's Desperate Housewives, Primal Fear) star in this gripping true-life story. Falsely accused of distributing narcotics in a school zone, Dee Roberts (Beharie) is offered a deal she can't refuse: plead guilty and accept a 10-year suspended sentence. The alternative: risk serving 16-to-25 in jail. Realizing a conviction would ru! in her life, Dee decides to fight back. Suing the DA for racial discrimination, Dee battles impossible odds in a case that will not only change her life but the laws of Texas as well.American Violet may be based on the story of outrageous injustices committed against Regina Kelly of Hearne, Texas, but that does not make it a good film. It is, at best, a bad film with an important message. American Violet is about a single mother of four, Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), who is wrongly convicted of drug charges due to police racism and corruption. As she struggles to stay out of prison with the help of her mother, Alma (Alfre Woodard), Dee exemplifies a stalwart woman who refuses to plead guilty when offered a plea bargain. While names of characters and the town itself are changed, the story in American Violet is allegedly altered only slightly in hopes of maintaining its tragic truth, that a plea-bargain system in Texas forced, in this case, impoverished a! nd sometimes innocent African Americans to accept guilty charg! es and t heir negative aftereffects. American Violet's melodramatic sensibility attempts to spark the same indignation that fuels ACLU lawyer David Cohen (Tim Blake Nelson) to embark on a lawsuit against the head racist, district attorney Calvin Beckett (Michael O'Keefe). Cohen, with the help of a former narcotics officer, Sam Conroy (Will Patton), discovers enough evidence to disturb any viewer. While it is crucial to have artful dialogue about this politically offensive topic, American Violet is not finely scripted or cinematically engaging enough to elevate it above second-hand documentary. Still, since the film does cover meaningful territory, there may be a place for it in classrooms, or it may inspire others to work on further exposing gross injustice for the benefit of our society. --Trinie DaltonNicole Beharie (The Express), Will Patton (Entrapment, The Postman), Charles Dutton (TV's Roc, Mimic) and Alfre Wooda! rd (TV's Desperate Housewives, Primal Fear) star in this gripping true-life story. Falsely accused of distributing narcotics in a school zone, Dee Roberts (Beharie) is offered a deal she can't refuse: plead guilty and accept a 10-year suspended sentence. The alternative: risk serving 16-to-25 in jail. Realizing a conviction would ruin her life, Dee decides to fight back. Suing the DA for racial discrimination, Dee battles impossible odds in a case that will not only change her life but the laws of Texas as well.American Violet may be based on the story of outrageous injustices committed against Regina Kelly of Hearne, Texas, but that does not make it a good film. It is, at best, a bad film with an important message. American Violet is about a single mother of four, Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), who is wrongly convicted of drug charges due to police racism and corruption. As she struggles to stay out of prison with the help of her mot! her, Alma (Alfre Woodard), Dee exemplifies a stalwart woman wh! o refuse s to plead guilty when offered a plea bargain. While names of characters and the town itself are changed, the story in American Violet is allegedly altered only slightly in hopes of maintaining its tragic truth, that a plea-bargain system in Texas forced, in this case, impoverished and sometimes innocent African Americans to accept guilty charges and their negative aftereffects. American Violet's melodramatic sensibility attempts to spark the same indignation that fuels ACLU lawyer David Cohen (Tim Blake Nelson) to embark on a lawsuit against the head racist, district attorney Calvin Beckett (Michael O'Keefe). Cohen, with the help of a former narcotics officer, Sam Conroy (Will Patton), discovers enough evidence to disturb any viewer. While it is crucial to have artful dialogue about this politically offensive topic, American Violet is not finely scripted or cinematically engaging enough to elevate it above second-hand documentary. Still, since the film ! does cover meaningful territory, there may be a place for it in classrooms, or it may inspire others to work on further exposing gross injustice for the benefit of our society. --Trinie DaltonViolet Brown is about to get a crash course in the penalties of the drug trade. Busted attempting to cross state lines with five kilos of Columbia’s finest, she finds herself facing a twenty-four year prison sentence, pregnant and alone. Find out what happens to Violet when the bars close on one of the most vicious correctional facilities in the state, and Begonia and her girls rip the city up to set things right.



Julia Press Simmons is a talented writer who captures the heart and soul of her character's emotions, making readers become attached to the characters within her novels. Each novel in the Strawberry Mansion series just gets better and better.
~Leona Romich~
Violet Brown is about to get a crash course in the penalties of the drug trade! . Busted attempting to cross state lines with five kilos of Co! lumbia†™s finest, she finds herself facing a twenty-four year prison sentence, pregnant and alone. Find out what happens to Violet when the bars close on one of the most vicious correctional facilities in the state, and Begonia and her girls rip the city up to set things right.



Julia Press Simmons is a talented writer who captures the heart and soul of her character's emotions, making readers become attached to the characters within her novels. Each novel in the Strawberry Mansion series just gets better and better.
~Leona Romich~
From Oscar® nominated director, John Sayles, comes an electrifying and vivid rock 'n' roll fable. When Tyrone, owner of the Honeydripper lounge, is faced with having to shut down his juke joint, his hopes rest on one manâ€"the famous Guitar Sam. It's a make or break weekend for the Honeydripper, this better be some Saturday night!

With exquisite performances by Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Stacy Keach, Mary Steenburgen and Se! an Patrick Thomas; and featuring musicians Keb' Mo' and Dr. Mable Johnâ€"Honeydripper is an award winning film, full of great music and plenty of soul.Music has often played a significant part in John Sayles' stories, but in Honeydripper it largely is the story, as the veteran writer-director’s 2007 film depicts a significant (if mythical) turning point when the past reluctantly gave way to the future. The year is 1950. In the somewhat ironically-named town of Harmony, Alabama, old school blues pianist Tyrone "Pinetop" Purvis (Danny Glover) and his funky roadhouse, the Honeydripper, are on the skids, rapidly losing customers to the joint next door, where young people are flocking to hear more modern sounds. Against his better judgment, Pinetop dismisses his dignified but out-of-date singer (played by Dr. Mable John, one of the several real musicians who lend the film considerable authenticity) and books "New Orleans sensation" Guitar Sam, hoping to save his ! club from foreclosure. But Guitar Sam proves to be as elusive ! as Godot , and as the big night approaches, Pinetop is running out of ideas. Enter young Sonny Blake (Gary Clark Jr.), who ambles into town with his newfangled, self-constructed electric guitar and proceeds to rock the house with a style that suggests a combination of T-Bone Walker and Chuck Berry and effectively ushers in the rock 'n' roll era. Story-wise, that's about it. This is a character-driven film, and there are a lot of good ones, including Lisa Gay Hamilton as Tyrone’s conflicted wife, Charles Dutton as his partner, and Stacey Keach as the corrupt local lawman. It's also a film loaded with metaphors and symbols, including the electric guitar as the dividing line between old and new and blues musician Keb' Mo' as a kind of one-man Greek chorus, dispensing homilies before disappearing into the shadows. The pace is leisurely, the dialogue colorful, and Sayles (who not only edited the film but has a small acting role as well) once again shows himself to be a modest master at ! creating movies for those looking for good, no-frills entertainment. A 30-minute making-of featurette and cast interviews are the principal bonus features. --Sam Graham

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Evita

• Directed by award-winning filmmaker Alan Parker, Evita is the riveting true-life story of Eva Peron, who rose above childhood poverty and a scandalous past to achieve unimaginable fortune and fame. Despite widespread controversy- her passion changed a nation forever! Winner of the coveted Academy Award for Best Song (1996) and 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Song)- criti

Few times in the history of Hollywood has a film been released with the scope and daring of EVITA! Now, experience this landmark achievement as entertainment megastar Madonna -- in the role of a lifetime -- joins Antonio Banderas (ASSASSINS, DESPERADO) for the year's most talked about motion picture event! Directed by award-winning filmmaker Alan Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING), EVITA is the riveting true-life story of Eva Peron (MADONNA), who rose above childhood poverty and a scandalous past to achie! ve unimaginable fortune and fame. Despite widespread controversy, her passion changed a nation forever! Winner of the coveted Academy Award(R) for Best Song (1996) and 3 Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Song) -- critics nationwide hailed EVITA as a triumphant must-see masterpiece -- and so will you!After more than a decade of false starts and several potential directors, the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice musical finally made it to the big screen with Alan Parker (The Commitments) at the helm and Madonna in the coveted title role of Argentina's first lady, Eva Perón. A triumph of production design, costuming, cinematography, and epic-scale pageantry, the film follows the rise of Eva Perón to the level of supreme social and political celebrity in the 1940s. Like Madonna, Perón was a material girl (she was only 33 when she died); she was instrumental in the political success of her husband, Juan Perón (Jonathan Pryce). But Eva was al! so a supremely tragic figure whose life was essentially hollow! at its core despite the lavish benefits of her nearly goddess-like status. The film has a similar quality--it's visually astonishing but emotionally distant, and benefits greatly from the singing commentary of Ché (Antonio Banderas), who serves as a passionate chorus to guide the viewer through the elaborate parade of history. --Jeff Shannon

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Clear and Present Danger (Jack Ryan)

• ISBN13: 9780425122129
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

In CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER, Harrison Ford returns as intrepid CIA agent Jack Ryan. When his mentor, Admiral Greer (Jones), becomes gravely ill, Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. His first assignment: investigate the murder of one of the President's friends, a prominent U.S. businessman with secret ties to Colombian drug cartels. Unbeknownst to Ryan, the CIA has already dispatched a deadly field operative (Dafoe) to lead a paramilitary force against the Colombian drug lords. Caught in the crossfire, Ryan takes matters into his own hands, risking his career and life for the only cause he still believes in -- the truth.The third installment in the cinematic incarnation of ! Tom Clancy's CIA analyst Jack Ryan and the second starring Harrison Ford, this follow-up to Patriot Games is a more complex, rewarding, and bolder film than its predecessor. Ford returns as Ryan, this time embroiled in a failed White House bid to wipe out a Colombian drug cartel and cover up the mess. The script, by Clancy and John Milius (Red Dawn), has an air of true adventure about it as Ryan places himself in harm's way to extract covert soldiers abandoned in a Latin American jungle. There are a couple of remarkable set pieces expertly handled by Patriot Games director Phillip Noyce, especially a shocking scene involving an ambush on Ryan's car in an alley. The supporting cast is superb, including Willem Dafoe as the soldiers' leader, Henry Czerny as Ryan's enemy at the CIA, Joaquim de Almeida as a smooth-talking villain, Ann Magnuson as an unwitting confederate in international crime, and James Earl Jones as Ryan's dying boss. The DVD release has a! widescreen presentation, theatrical trailer, closed captionin! g, optio nal French soundtrack, and optional Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh The controversial bestseller from Tom Clancy, the all-time master of the techno-thriller. CIA Deputy Director Jack Ryan joins the war on drugs. And when three American officials are assassinated in Colombia, the U.S. response is swift-and shocking.At the end of the prologue to Clear and Present Danger, Clancy writes, "And so began something that had not quite begun and would not soon end, with many people in many places moving off in directions and on missions which they all mistakenly thought they understood. That was just as well. The future was too fearful for contemplation, and beyond the expected, illusory finish lines were things fated by the decisions made this morning--and, once decided, best unseen." In Clear and Present Danger nothing is as clear as it may seem.

The president, unsatisfied with the success of his "war on drugs," decides that he wants some immediate su! ccess. But after John Clark's covert strike team is deployed to Colombia for Operation Showboat, the drug lords strike back taking several civilian casualties. The chief executive's polls plummet. He orders Ritter to terminate their unofficial plan and leave no traces. Jack Ryan, who has just been named CIA deputy director of intelligence is enraged when he discovers that has been left out of the loop of Colombian operations. Several of America's most highly trained soldiers are stranded in an unfinished mission that, according to all records, never existed. Ryan decides to get the men out.

Ultimately, Clear and Present Danger is about good conscience, law, and politics, with Jack Ryan and CIA agent John Clark as its dual heroes. Ryan relentlessly pursues what he knows is right and legal, even if it means confronting the president of the United States. Clark is the perfect soldier, but a man who finally holds his men higher than the orders of any ca! reless commander.

Along with the usual, stunning array of ! military hardware and the latest techno-gadgets, Clear and Present Danger further develops the relationships and characters that Clancy fans have grown to love. Admiral James Greer passes the CIA torch to his pupil, Ryan. Mr. Clark and Chavez meet for the first time. Other recurring characters like Robert Ritter and "the President" add continuity to Clancy's believable, alternate reality. This is Clancy at his best. --Patrick O'Kelley

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Human Trafficking

• HUMAN TRAFFICKING (DVD MOVIE)

Here's the hip, adrenaline-pumped comedy about one wild weekend in the lives of five young friends ... and how their latest raved-up adventure just might change their outlook before the next weekend arrives! For Jip, Lulu, Koop, Nina, and Moff, workdays are merely the dreary downtime between frenetic 48-hour binges of clubbing, pubbing, and partying without rules or limits! But when these friends spend a wild weekend in search of some meaning and real connections, they'll see things in ways they've never imagined! Fast, funny, and excitingly original -- discover for yourself this widely acclaimed hit!Human Traffic wants to be a Trainspotting for the rave set, and so it has thick British accents, hip snotty attitudes, slick visuals, a propulsive electronic soundtrack, and unfortunately some very weak writing and drab characters. A band of friends, w! ith the cute names of Jip, Koop, Nina, Lulu, and Moff, are sex-obsessed clubgoers having some sort of premature midlife crisis. Jip and Lulu are best friends, only their friendship is about to be threatened by sexual tension. Koop gets ravingly jealous about his girlfriend, Nina. Moff masturbates a lot and has a repressive dad. Jip's mother is a prostitute. Koop's father is a paranoid schizophrenic. What little plot there is revolves around whether or not they'll get into a particularly hip club. Critics usually complain that movies are too much like music videos, but Human Traffic could stand to be more of one. All the best moments are when the tepid dialogue stops and the driving beats and quickly edited images take over. A brief break dancing sequence is a moment of genuine dazzle. The actors aren't completely without charm, but the movie is just trying too hard to achieve the effervescent buzz it seeks. --Bret FetzerStudio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release D! ate: 05/17/2011 Run time: 84 minutes Rating: RHuman Traff! ic w ants to be a Trainspotting for the rave set, and so it has thick British accents, hip snotty attitudes, slick visuals, a propulsive electronic soundtrack, and unfortunately some very weak writing and drab characters. A band of friends, with the cute names of Jip, Koop, Nina, Lulu, and Moff, are sex-obsessed clubgoers having some sort of premature midlife crisis. Jip and Lulu are best friends, only their friendship is about to be threatened by sexual tension. Koop gets ravingly jealous about his girlfriend, Nina. Moff masturbates a lot and has a repressive dad. Jip's mother is a prostitute. Koop's father is a paranoid schizophrenic. What little plot there is revolves around whether or not they'll get into a particularly hip club. Critics usually complain that movies are too much like music videos, but Human Traffic could stand to be more of one. All the best moments are when the tepid dialogue stops and the driving beats and quickly edited images take over. A ! brief break dancing sequence is a moment of genuine dazzle. The actors aren't completely without charm, but the movie is just trying too hard to achieve the effervescent buzz it seeks. --Bret FetzerNominated for Two Golden Globes® - Best Actress and Best Actor in a TV Miniseries; Lifetime Television's most-watched miniseries of 2005. Featuring Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award winner Donald Sutherland (The Italian Job), Academy Award® and Golden Globe® Award winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle, Human Trafficking is at once a gripping thriller, a cautionary tale, and one of the most fundamentally important stories of our time. DVD Features include: Interviews with Mira Sorvino and Robert Carlyle, Behind the Scenes with the cast and crew, and A "Take Action" Guide to shop human trafficking now! The Lifetime cable channel made TV history with this ambitious, acclaimed original miniseries on the horrifying phenomenon of human traffi! cking, or sexual slavery. It follows the fictional cases of yo! ung wome n around the world, lured or abducted, sometimes right off the street, into a world of unspeakable brutality--which the filmmakers show in almost overwhelming detail at times. Mira Sorvino and Donald Sutherland star as American government officials bent on exposing and stopping the phenomenon, and both are more than serviceable in their roles. But the revelation is Robert Carlyle, the Scottish star of The Full Monty and Trainspotting, who here is transformed into a ruthless criminal mastermind behind his own trafficking network. Even his Eastern European accent is spot-on and blood-chilling. The supporting cast of women and girls is strong, and in some cases, truly heartbreaking. And while sometimes almost unbearably harsh, the film serves as a reminder this terrible situation still exists and thrives; and told through the characters, is also a well-paced thriller. --A.T. Hurley

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