Illegally Yours

Description

From the Oscar(r)-nominated* director of What's Up, Doc?, Mask and Paper Moon comes this wickedly funny romantic comedy about a girl on her way to being convicted, a smitten juror who's really conflicted and a lawless affair that's totally restricted! Starring Rob Lowe(Austin Powers in Goldmember) and Colleen Camp (Wayne's World), Illegally Yours is the most fun you can have without being hauled into court. When Richard Dice (Lowe) receives a jury summons for a murder trial, he tries to get out of serving until he discovers that the accused is Molly (Camp), his ultimate infatuation in elementary school! Convinced she couldn't have done the deed, Richard breaks every rule and squares off against blackmailers, thieves and even his own family to clear her name! *1971: Director (Peter Bogdanovich), The Last Picture Show

Customer Reviews:

Buckle up your safety belts.......2005-07-18

Just sit back in your deepest armchair and enjoy the chase, because this film is a chase from the very first image to the very last frame. Richard Dice is both the hunter and the huntee, the hunting and the hunted, the agent and the patient, the chaser and the chasee. There is no depth in all that but it is more or less funny and entertaining, though of course there is no surprise, so suspense, no doubt about the ending. The poor darling Richard casts his dice and as the Dice he is he rolls on the floor, under a couple of tables, into some moat, away from a pair of alligators, up a crane and down a ladder, after a criminal and ahead of a policeman. He never stops rolling and he never collects any grass, mud, sand, or anything else of any value, though he loses his billfold, one of his shoes, and he wrecks a fair number of cars. Enjoy the film and you will feel kind of relaxed. Life has no problems any more : everything is easygoing, smooth, cool, charming and trendy.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Bogdanovich is a gambler.......2001-09-03

It's telling that director Peter Bogdanovich made this film in between Mask in 1985 and Texasville in 1990, having endured a much publicised antipathy with Cher over Mask, and the loss of Dorothy Stratten just before They All Laughed was released in 1981. The latter was a return to the form of farce which he had peaked with What's Up Doc? In 1972. However as with the later Noises Off in 1985, Bogdanovich's sense of audience tolerance had gone off and while Noises Off and this film show his skill in staging antics, quick editing and frenetic performances, they also ultimately become exhausting experiences. This film has a weaker screenplay by M A Stewart and Max Dickens, whereby the narrative concerning a dead politician and a woman on trial set in Florida at Christmas, read as convoluted blather, with the narration presumably an afterthought in an attempt at clarity. Bogdanovich uses his familiar schtich with a clumsy leading man modelled on Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby via Ryan O'Neal in What's Up Doc?, multiple pursuers, bags, and crashing cars. Rob Lowe as Richard Dice is surprisably likeable as a man on jury duty in the trial of his school sweetheart, Cathleen Camp. Bogdanovich even gives Lowe a drag scene a la Bringing up Baby, and a geeky brother to have twin archetypes. But he doesn't highlight the deadpan humour we have seen Camp deliver elsewhere, prefering instead to present her as a Cybill Shepherd type sassy haughty beauty. Some of the supporting cast have a few redemptive eccentric moments, particularly Jessica James as Lowe's mother, but the loud Johnny Cash song Love is a gambler on the soundtrack clues us that Bogdanovich is trying too hard, or not enough.

Average customer rating:

We learn more of Cadfael's past
Well adapted
Past Passion + Poison = Problems
One of my favorite Brother Cadfael movies I've seen!
Too slow, even for a Cadfael mystery

Cadfael - Monk's Hood
Starring: Eoin McCarthy , and Anthony Green (II)
Director: Sebastian Graham Jones , and Graham Theakston
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Detectives | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00008DDH2
Release Date: 2003-03-25

Amazon.com

Wonderfully preposterous as whodunits go, Cadfael proves that sleuthing for clues in 12th-century England can be hazardous to a "mere" monk's health. In this 1994 episode, Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) becomes entangled in a murder investigation. A wealthy landowner disinherits his stepson (played by then-unknown Jonny Lee Miller) and wills his estate to Shrewsbury Abbey, home of Cadfael's clerical order. But the brutal old fellow is soon poisoned, and Cadfael is alone in doubting the boy's culpability.

The case becomes more urgent after the incorrigible monk discovers the suspect's mother is a sweetheart he left behind after joining the Crusades 40 years earlier. Complicating matters is growing corruption at the abbey following news of the deceased man's benevolence. As usual, Cadfael's fearlessness at pursuing truth in the face of powerful interests, along with Jacobi's knowing performance, is the most compelling element of this medieval thriller. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

We learn more of Cadfael's past.......2004-12-24

"No man is measured by the love he gives to others, but how he is loved by others."

A wealthy land owner Geravase Gurney wills his land to the abbey in exchange for a small home and to have the Abby supply the meals. His stepson is cut out of his inheritance this way. The mother is caught in-between and tries to reconcile them both. Before the deal is done he is poisoned. Yep too many people had access to the meal so it is up to Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) to figure out who did it and why. If you have a pre3ty good idea you are wrong.

Of occurs to add a little spice the toe story when Cadfael discovers a little something of his past that makes it imperative he find the answer.

This is the time that Abbot Herribert (Peter Copley) is replaced by Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) see him in a different light as Walter Fane in "Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder"

Well adapted.......2000-10-05

This is a very good adaptation of Ellis Peter's Monks Hood.If you have read the book, then you will not be disappointed. The acting was brilliant, Derek Jacobi as cadfael and Mary Miller as Richildis were wonderful. Julian Firth as brother Jerome is brilliantly sycophantic, and also quite funny. The plot is well crafted, Gervase Bonel in a fit of pique disinheirits his stepson Eedwin Gurney, and gifts his land to the Abbey. Bonel then dies violently, and his stepson appears to be the only one with the motive and oppertunity to kill, or was he? Cadfael is drawn in to this because his medicine has been the cause of death.Bonel's wife just happens to be Cadfael's former fiancee...

Past Passion + Poison = Problems.......1999-04-23

Brother Cadfael, having fought in the Crusades and seen the world, now lives contentedly in the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul. He takes pleasure in healing the sick with his herbs and tending his garden. But life becomes thorny when Richildis, whom Cadfael loved as a teenager, comes to dwell within the abbey's confines. Her second husband Gervase Bonel deeds his property to the Benedictines and soon afterward is murdered. Edmund Gurney, Richildis' son, may very well be the killer as he and his step-father fought bitterly. The boy prefers the company of commonfolk and tradespeople, disdaining the lord's more leisurely life. Gervase has disinherited Edmund, leaving Mannerly manor and its lands to the Benedictines in Shrewsbury.

There are others who may have used Cadfael's curative unction Monk's Hood to kill Master Bonel. For Richildis' sake, Cadfael untangles the web in which Edmund has been caught. The boy's guilt or innocence must be proven or Cadfael will again have abandoned Richildis. Also, more than one man's freedom is at stake. With diligence and care Cadfael manages to separate truth from lies.

Sir Derek Jacob is brilliantly convincing. Wistful best describes the look on Cadfael's face when he learns that Richildis, whom he left for the Holy Land but promised to wed when he came back, has returned. There is a gentle innocence in the scenes between the two, pulling not only at their heartstrings but the viewer's as well. The one-time bold crusader must meekly accept his superior's bidding when ordered to discontinue the investigation. Cadfael is still as strong-willed as he was in his youth, but he is a principled man and having taken vows, one of which is obedience, he acquiesces. Sir Derek's wide palette of emotions paints a portrait of Cadfael which is clearly defined, brightly hued, and of great depth and insight. He is, indeed, a master.

Sean Pertwee (Hugh Beringar) is solid as the shire's undersheriff. Michael Culver (Prior Robert) may be dislikeable but that's only his character; Culver is a skilled actor. The same can be said of Julian Firth whose Brother Jerome is perhaps the most irritating and exasperating a man to ever walk the face of the earth. He is the bane of Cadfael's life and Cadfael deserves instant sainthood for putting up with Jerome without resorting to some old crusader's cure for pests - say, thwacking the heck out of the twitty little monk!

Mary Miller (Richildis) is exactly the kind of woman with whom Cadfael would have fallen in love as a youth. She is warm, caring, faithful, down to earth. Ms. Miller's beauty and strength comes from within, yet it is also visible.

Jonny Lee Miller (Edmund) plays his role of the disinherited youth well. Huw Garmon (Meurig) and Thomas Craig (Aelfric) give performances which are to be respected for their clarity.

Russell Lewis adapted Ellis Peters' book for the screen. Graham Theakston directed and Stephen Smallwood produced. This is an early Cadfael chronicle, as the series of books is called. It is also one of the early episodes filmed in the PBS-shown series. Later Cadfaels are more cryptic and perhaps more exciting than this episode, but it is well worth watching more than once. The Medieval monk is a mystery himself. "Monk's Hood" provides clues that answer how Cadfael came to be an Benedictine in the Abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul.

One of my favorite Brother Cadfael movies I've seen!.......1999-04-04

This is one of the best Brother Cadfael videos of all times! I thought the producer did and excellent job of adapting the book to videotape. I also appreciate Cadfael's being in trouble for a change by nearly being kicked out of the abbey. (It wasn't like that in the book, and it was a pleasant surprise for a change. A series gets boring unless the main character occasionally faces personal challenges.) What basically happens is that one of the abbey's guests is murdered, and his stepson is accused of the crime. When Cadfael is called to help the dying man, he realises that the dead man's widow is his childhood sweetheart. Naturally, Prior Robert and Brother Jerome are very upset about the whole matter, and very pettily try to spite Cadfaelby forbidding him to investigate the murder and preventing him from leaving the abbey. The fact that the abbot is away and will probably not return as abbot doesn't help matters. Cadfael is faced with demands on his duty and on his conscience: he can either risk losing his home at the abbey and help his former fiance clear her son's name of the charge of murder, or bow to the prior's wishes and let Richildis have a permanent grudge against him. This is a must-see for all Brother Cadfael fans, especially those who are itching to learn some more of Cadfael's past.

Too slow, even for a Cadfael mystery.......1999-03-20

Not enough energy, not enough mystery-solving, not enough romance, not enough humor, not enough wisdom, not enough action (although that's usually not needed in Cadfael stories)- not enough anything. Very flat. Had I seen this prior to purchasing it, I would not have purchased it.

Average customer rating:

Old-Fashioned Thriller from Tod Slaughter: They Don't Make Films Like This Anymore
Sociopathic Glee...
Not Great Print Quality

Murder in the Red Barn
Starring: Tod Slaughter , Sophie Stewart , D.J. Williams , Eric Portman , and Clare Greet
Director: Milton Rosmer
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Crime & Criminals | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Art House & International | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Drama | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Horror | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Science Fiction & Fantasy | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B0001ZMXGS
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

Old-Fashioned Thriller from Tod Slaughter: They Don't Make Films Like This Anymore.......2007-09-14

(As to the picture quality of DVD, see Fred Mudge's review)

They don't make films like this any more. Old-school horror maestro Tod Slaughter gives us gleefully theatrical performances as Squire Corder who seduces a local peasant girl Maria Marten, and then plans to get rid of her while attempting to pay his debt by marrying another woman. Tod Slaughter, who often played the roles of villains (including murderous barber Sweeney Todd) on stage, shows his trademark sneering, eye-rolling acting as "evil" square, but his turns as the killer are more restrained than Sweeney Todd.

The film shows a glimpse of what the stage in Victorian era was like, but at the same time it looks less stagy with more sophisticated and modern camera works including the climax sequence in the barn where Corder is driven to near madness.

The story of Red Barn Murder is based on true events that happened in the village of Polstead, Suffolk, in 1827. (The details of what really happened can be easily found on the websites like Wikipedia.) The murder case was immediately turned into a variety of plays, which remained popular stock plays during the 19th century. I know the version that ends with Maria's ghost haunting Corder, but this filmed version wraps up with more dramatic (and implausibly melodramatic) fashion.

William Corder's trial and his subsequent execution was soon followed by another sensational case of "Burke and Hare," notorious Edinburgh murders William Burke and William Hare, which also became a film "Horror Maniacs" aka "The Greed of William Hart" starring, of course, Tod Slaughter.

Sociopathic Glee..........2006-07-20

Tod Slaughter plays a magistrate who is not at all what he appears to be (of course). He is drowning in gambling debts and must find a way to repay massive losses. So, he decides to marry a rich old woman in a hurry. Oh-oh! It seems that he's seduced a local maiden in the meantime, and gotten her pregnant! And she's poor! Our evil magistrate must find a way out of this sticky situation. What do you think he'll do? Well, Mr. Slaughter has only one method of dealing with such dilemmas! A quick murder and a shallow grave! Will he be found out? MURDER IN THE RED BARN has the lowest body-count of all Tod Slaughter films, but it's still a classic!...

Not Great Print Quality.......2005-01-18

A great film if you are into 1930s British horror, but unfortunately the print quality here is not so good. The version released by Arcanum in their Johnny Legend Deadly Doubles series has a much better quality print, PLUS a missing scene. AND it is paired with second feature FACE AT THE WINDOW.

DVD:

DVD

DVD