The Great Buck Howard

• Once upon a time, Buck Howard (John Malkovich) spent his days in thelimelight. His mind-boggling feats as a mentalist extraordinaire notto be confused with those of a mere magician - earned him a marquee actin Vegas and 61 appearances on Johnny Carson s Tonight Show. In his ownhumble opinion, his talents go far beyond simple sleight of hand hecan read minds and hypnotize not just a single soul but

Once upon a time, Buck Howard [John Malkovich] spent his days in the
limelight as a mentalist extraordinaire! Nowadays, it s clear to everyone except Buck that his act has lost its luster. Convinced his comeback is imminent, Buck needs a new road manager and personal assistant. Recent law school drop-out and would-be writer Troy Gable [Colin Hanks] needs a job and a
purpose. Working for the pompous, has-been mentalist fills the former requirement, but how it satisfies the latter is questionabl! e. Nonetheless, with the aid of a fiery publicist [Emily Blunt] and a bold stroke of luck, Buck lands back in the American consciousness, taking Troy along for the ride.As Buck Howard (John Malkovich) explains in Sean McGinly's funny valentine to the talk show mainstays of yesteryear, he's a mentalist, not a magician. Unlike the brooding protagonists of The Illusionist and The Prestige, Howard doesn't do Harry Houdini-style tricks. Rather, he reads minds, finds hidden objects, and performs other feats that eschew props and assistants. Back in the day, Howard appeared on The Tonight Show 61 times (McGinly based his character on The Amazing Kreskin), but his best years appear to be behind him when he takes on law-school dropout Troy (a low-key Colin Hanks) as his road manager. From the start, Troy finds his temperamental employer fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. Desperate to get back in the limelight, Howard decides to hypnotize several hundr! ed audience members at once. Along with a sassy press agent (E! mily Blu nt) and two over-enthusiastic venue managers (Steve Zahn and Debra Monk), Troy works with Howard to make it happen. To his surprise, things go both better and worse than expected, and everything changes for the unlikely pair. Produced by Tom Hanks's Playtone banner and featuring the two-time Oscar winner as Toby's disapproving father, The Great Buck Howard follows the rise, fall, and rise template of many Hanks productions (see That Thing You Do!), but McGinly handles a large cast with ease, the laughs are plentiful, the cameos--John Stewart, Conan O’Brien, George Takei, etc.--are a treat, and the unpredictable Malkovich gives his most nuanced performance since, well, Being John Malkovich. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Frontrunners

• FRONTRUNNERS is a smart and funny political documentary that follows the student council presidential campaign at one of the country s most prestigious public high schools: Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Follow 4 charming and idiosyncratic candidates as they navigate an electoral process that is said to be one of the most competitive at the high school level. These teenaged candidates fa

FRONTRUNNERS - DVD MovieCaroline Suh’s directorial debut, Frontrunners, is a charming, candid, and almost scary glimpse into the advanced levels of student sophistication in America’s top high schools. In this case, Suh, who has copious experience as a documentary producer, put her documentary research skills to use at Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, an elite school in which students who aren’t admitted to Top Ten colleges are considered total rejects by their peers. Frontrunner! s charts the arc of the student government elections, starring four kids who want the presidency. Mike Zaytsev, Hannah Freiman, Alex Leonard, and George Zisiadis each select running mates and crave victory with varying degrees of conviction. The documentary is comprised of interview footage with the candidates at school, at home, and sometimes features the parents of the chosen few, expressing concerns about the pressures that are placed upon their children to succeed. The levels of competition are astounding; one scene capturing their "televised" debates shows how this school simulates real-life for hardcore training. Though the interviews are often hilarious, what really carries the film is ample footage of the candidates planning and enacting strategies. George, who seems to have been born to become president, cooks up political platforms as naturally as a thuggish student may shoot spitwads onto the classroom’s ceiling. Hannah, whose office bulletin board commemor! ates her trips to film festivals and theater events, is extrem! ely well -poised in front of a camera, resulting from what some may attribute to having been privy from her early years to a cultured lifestyle. So, as the presidential race unfurls, one sees not only a cutthroat teenage contest but also the ways in which students are shaped by their home lives. Frontrunners should provide proof to parents and public schools alike that youth will indeed succeed if one sets expectations and opportunity high. Bravo to Oscilloscope Laboratories (owned by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch) for releasing this humorously inspiring film. --Trinie Dalton

ALL OF ME

• DVD

ALL ABOUT STEVE - DVD MovieA hunky TV news cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper, hot off of surprise hit The Hangover) gets stalked by a lonely crossword puzzle creator named Mary (Sandra Bullock, in a career resurgence after The Proposal) in the comedy All About Steve. Although only one screenwriter is credited, All About Steve feels like it's been clumsily patched together from a dozen different versions of itself. The story makes no sense and there's very little that resembles recognizable human behavior...and yet, for that very reason, the movie exerts a perverse fascination. Some parts are actually funny--Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), as a reporter hungry for an anchor position, unleashes arias of manipulative babble--but most of the movie is just baffling. The filmmakers seem to think they're sending a heartwarming message about embrac! ing yourself, no matter how out of the mainstream you may be. Unfortunately, all of the "quirky" people come across as brain-damaged because they're not really people, they're emblems of "uniqueness." Mary is meant to be endearingly eccentric, yet her social ineptness verges on schizophrenia or severe autism. At every turn, All About Steve unintentionally reminds the viewer that someone wrote this, that someone thought this bit of behavior or this turn of phrase would somehow make us like this character or find them charming. Unfortunately, that someone was very, very off the mark. The result--seeing the bald intentions under the failed result--is a jarring yet oddly compelling experience. Also featuring DJ Qualls (Hustle & Flow) and Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down). --Bret Fetzer

Stills from All About Steve (Click for larger image)

ALL ABOUT STEVE - Blu-Ray MovieA hunky TV news cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper, hot off of surprise hit The Hangover) gets stalked by a lonely crossword puzzle creator named Mary (Sandra Bullock, in a career resurgence aft! er The Proposal) in the comedy All About Steve. Although only one screenwriter is credited, All About Steve feels like it's been clumsily patched together from a dozen different versions of itself. The story makes no sense and there's very little that resembles recognizable human behavior...and yet, for that very reason, the movie exerts a perverse fascination. Some parts are actually funny--Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), as a reporter hungry for an anchor position, unleashes arias of manipulative babble--but most of the movie is just baffling. The filmmakers seem to think they're sending a heartwarming message about embracing yourself, no matter how out of the mainstream you may be. Unfortunately, all of the "quirky" people come across as brain-damaged because they're not really people, they're emblems of "uniqueness." Mary is meant to be endearingly eccentric, yet her social ineptness verges on schizophrenia or severe autism. At every ! turn, All About Steve unintentionally reminds the vie! wer that someone wrote this, that someone thought this bit of behavior or this turn of phrase would somehow make us like this character or find them charming. Unfortunately, that someone was very, very off the mark. The result--seeing the bald intentions under the failed result--is a jarring yet oddly compelling experience. Also featuring DJ Qualls (Hustle & Flow) and Katy Mixon (Eastbound & Down). --Bret Fetzer

Stills from All About Steve (Click for larger image)

Steve Jobs’ legacy is clear: The most innovative business leader of our time, the man FORTUNE named CEO of the Decade in 2009. Now from the pages of FORTUNE comes an anthology of 17 classic stories spanning the years 1983 to 2011 about the cultural icon who revolutionized computing, telephones, movies, music, retailing, and product design. The stories lay out in unparalleled detail the career of a man with relentless drive and a single underlying passionâ€"to carry out his vision of how all of us would use technology. Writes managing editor Andy Serwe! r in the book’s foreward: “In the end he was proved right ! a billio n times over, and his company Apple became one of the most successful enterprises on the planet.” All these stories are the product of deep reporting. In many cases FORTUNE’s writers spent hours interviewing Jobs and delving into his mind. The result is a singular journalistic collection, which will leave you with a comprehensive picture of Steve Jobs and Apple, a picture that is complex in the making yet simple in its triumph.Steve Jobs’ legacy is clear: The most innovative business leader of our time, the man FORTUNE named CEO of the Decade in 2009. Now from the pages of FORTUNE comes an anthology of 17 classic stories spanning the years 1983 to 2011 about the cultural icon who revolutionized computing, telephones, movies, music, retailing, and product design. The stories lay out in unparalleled detail the career of a man with relentless drive and a single underlying passionâ€"to carry out his vision of how all of us would use technology. Writes managing editor Andy ! Serwer in the book’s foreward: “In the end he was proved right a billion times over, and his company Apple became one of the most successful enterprises on the planet.” All these stories are the product of deep reporting. In many cases FORTUNE’s writers spent hours interviewing Jobs and delving into his mind. The result is a singular journalistic collection, which will leave you with a comprehensive picture of Steve Jobs and Apple, a picture that is complex in the making yet simple in its triumph.Comic wizard Bill Murray (CRADLE WILL ROCK, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS) teams up with Academy Award(R)-winner Richard Dreyfuss teams up with (Best Actor, 1978, THE GOODBYE GIRL) in an outrageously wild comedy that's sure to drive you off the deep end! Murray plays Bob Wiley, a troubled but lovable therapy patient who fears everything! After seeking help from noted psychiatrist Dr. Leo Marvin (Dreyfuss), Bob feels revived. But when the good doctor skips town to go on a quiet famil! y vacation, Bob, afraid of being alone, follows -- showing up ! unexpect edly at the therapist's lakeside retreat. That's when the fun really begins! Bob innocently becomes the houseguest who just won't leave -- endearing himself to the other family members ... and, in the end, driving the stressed-out shrink absolutely crazy!There's a lot of news happening in Blue's house! We find out about all the different news in Steve and Blue's special newspaper. And then we hear the biggest news of all - Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper are having another baby! Paprika's preparing for the new baby by giving up her crib for a new bed and creating a new "Big Kid" room for herself. We also see other friends' special spaces and learn all about their big news too. Preschoolers who cling to their handy-dandy notebooks long after Blue's latest clues have been collected should pencil in Read All About It, a must-see for scribes in training. In the first of two episodes, "What's New Blue," Steve and Blue scout around for stories to fill their newspaper; Mr. Salt ! and Mrs. Pepper provide a major scoop. Later, in "Blue's New Place," at-home sleuths get to the bottom of what Blue--a literary pup, it turns out--likes to do best in her new hideaway. Here, as ever, the show's creators prove they're on the same page with parents. Subtle, substantial skill builders, never patronizing or paper-thin, abound. --Tammy La Gorcedvd

Bart Got a Room : Widescreen Edition

• Widescreen

Nerdy high school senior Danny has spent six hundred bucks on the hotel room, the limo and the tux for his prom. He's only missing one thing - the girl. Hampered by well intentioned but clueless advice from his newly divorced parents and unsympathetic mocking from his best friends, Danny battles peer pressure, teen angst and his own raging hormones as he desperately searches for a prom date. Danny's luckless quest turns to panic when he learns that even Bart - the school's biggest dweeb - has secured not only a date but also a hotel room for the night.Bart Got a Room isn’t the first movie comedy about nerds, high school, and the senior prom, and it undoubtedly won’t be the last. It may not be the best, either, but writer-director Brian Hecker’s 2008 concoction has enough laughs, charm, amusingly-drawn characters, and winning performances to more than hold its own.! For Danny Stein (Steven J. Kaplan), a high school student in Hollywood, Florida, the imminence of the prom is the source of considerable distress; even more distressing is the prospect of booking of a hotel room for himself and his date at the end of the evening. Problem is, Danny (who’s a bit of a schlub, but far from a total, like, loser), doesn’t have a date yet. The obvious choice is his “best friend” Camille (Alia Shawkat), who’s available and clearly interested, but Danny thinks he can do better--say, with Alice (Ashley Benson), the sophomore hottie who drives to school with him every day. Wrong. As the days, then the hours, dwindle down, Danny, whose parents’ separation is an added distraction (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines are perfect as Ernie, who’s looking for love on the internet, and Beth, who has a new beau), realizes he’s in big trouble, not least because even the titular Bart--a geek so geeky he makes Danny look like Tom Cruise--already ha! s the room thing covered. All of this plays out in ways that a! re neith er surprising nor especially hilarious, but the movie has heart, not to mention a number of cute, quirky scenes (many involving Danny’s well-intentioned, but mostly clueless, family). Movies like Bart Got a Room aren’t really about the destination, anyway; they’re about the journey, and this one’s a fun ride. --Sam Graham

Stills from Bart Got a Room (Click for larger image)

Bart Got a Room isn't the first movie comedy about nerds, high school, and the senior prom, and it undoubtedly won't be the last. It may not be the best, either, but writer-director Brian Hecker's 2008 concoction has enou! gh laughs, charm, amusingly-drawn characters, and winning perf! ormances to more than hold its own. For Danny Stein (Steven J. Kaplan), a high school student in Hollywood, Florida, the imminence of the prom is the source of considerable distress; even more distressing is the prospect of booking of a hotel room for himself and his date at the end of the evening. Problem is, Danny (who's a bit of a schlub, but far from a total, like, loser), doesn't have a date yet. The obvious choice is his "best friend" Camille (Alia Shawkat), who's available and clearly interested, but Danny thinks he can do better--say, with Alice (Ashley Benson), the sophomore hottie who drives to school with him every day. Wrong. As the days, then the hours, dwindle down, Danny, whose parents' separation is an added distraction (William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines are perfect as Ernie, who's looking for love on the internet, and Beth, who has a new beau), realizes he's in big trouble, not least because even the titular Bart--a geek so geeky he makes Danny look like Tom Cruise--! already has the room thing covered. All of this plays out in ways that are neither surprising nor especially hilarious, but the movie has heart, not to mention a number of cute, quirky scenes (many involving Danny's well-intentioned, but mostly clueless, family). Movies like Bart Got a Room aren't really about the destination, anyway; they're about the journey, and this one's a fun ride.

Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman's Cult Classics)

• The 1975 low-budgetic Death Race 2000 takes place in the year 2000, when America s national sport is the death race, a cross-country excursion in which contestants rack up points by killing innocent bystanders. Meanwhile, a revolution is brewing, and rebels disrupt the televised competition in an attempt to overthrow the morally bankrupt President. Will Frankenstein, the mysterious reigning champ

Genre: Action/Adventure
Rating: UN
Release Date: 23-DEC-2008
Media Type: DVDMayhem rules in Death Race, a head-over-heels remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race 2000, in which cars become lethal weapons. The strength of this new version is its total single-mindedness about vehicular homicide; it has the virtue of no cluttering subplots or simpering sentimentality. And banish all memory of the original's wild satirical comedy: ! Death Race is as grim as a dinner tray to the face (a reference that will be explained in a key sequence). In a slightly futuristic maximum-security prison, cons take part in brutal races around the island prison, their violent deaths watched live by millions of viewers. Jason Statham, possibly cast because of his driving dexterity in the Transporter movies, plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. Joan Allen provides her brittle cool as the warden, who recruits Statham to assume the masked persona of a legendary driver called Frankenstein. Tyrese Gibson is Frankie's main rival, Natalie Martinez provides the fetching eye candy, but the acting honors go to Ian McShane, as the philosophical prison mechanic. One misses the cross-country race from the original film, as the setting here is claustrophobic and the cars are largely colorless and indistinguishable from each other. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) continues to display the sensibili! ty of a video-game addict, which will either be a recommendati! on or a turn-off, depending on your own tastes. At least it doesn't have the hypocritical moral blathering of something like the somewhat similar Condemned--who knew you could be so grateful for simple, straight-forward head-bashing? --Robert Horton


Stills from Death Race (Click for larger image)

DEATH RACE - Blu-Ray MovieMayhem rules in Death Race, a head-over-heels remake of the Roger Corman cult classic Death Race 2000, in which c! ars become lethal weapons. The strength of this new version is! its tot al single-mindedness about vehicular homicide; it has the virtue of no cluttering subplots or simpering sentimentality. And banish all memory of the original's wild satirical comedy: Death Race is as grim as a dinner tray to the face (a reference that will be explained in a key sequence). In a slightly futuristic maximum-security prison, cons take part in brutal races around the island prison, their violent deaths watched live by millions of viewers. Jason Statham, possibly cast because of his driving dexterity in the Transporter movies, plays a man wrongly imprisoned for murder. Joan Allen provides her brittle cool as the warden, who recruits Statham to assume the masked persona of a legendary driver called Frankenstein. Tyrese Gibson is Frankie's main rival, Natalie Martinez provides the fetching eye candy, but the acting honors go to Ian McShane, as the philosophical prison mechanic. One misses the cross-country race from the original film, as the settin! g here is claustrophobic and the cars are largely colorless and indistinguishable from each other. Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) continues to display the sensibility of a video-game addict, which will either be a recommendation or a turn-off, depending on your own tastes. At least it doesn't have the hypocritical moral blathering of something like the somewhat similar Condemned--who knew you could be so grateful for simple, straight-forward head-bashing? --Robert Horton


Stills from Death Race (Click for larger image)

In the world’s most dangerous prison, a new game is born: Death Race. The rules of this adrenaline-fueled blood sport are simple, drive â€" or die. When repentant convict Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) discovers there’s a price on his head, his only hope is to survive a twisted race against an army of hardened criminals and tricked-out cars. Also starring Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames, Death Race 2 tells the explosive story of how the legendary race began. Strap yourself in for an insane thrill-ride!Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 01/18/2011From the man who introduced us to Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, James Cameron and Martin Scorsese . . . Shout! Factory is proud to present a new collectors series of Roger Corman s most loved productions.


Welcome to the year 2000, now a place plagued by a lack of morals and political unrest. The only thing that society looks forward to is the three-day Transcontine! ntal Death Race, a high-speed competition that is won by the d! river wh o collects the most points by killing spectators and pedestrians. But this year the drivers have something to worry about other than getting killed by rival contestants: there is a group of anti-race activists trying to stop the race for good. The games all-time champion, Frankenstein (David Carradine), takes on such colorful characters as Machine Gun Joe Viterbo (Sylvester Stallone), Calamity Jane (Mary Woronov), Nero The Hero (Martin Kove) and Matilda The Hun (Roberta Collins) in this dark comedy-science fiction classic directed by Paul Bartel ( Eating Raoul). ?

Bonus Features:

* New Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) High-Definition Transfer From The Interpositive Film Element

* David On Death Race: Interview with David Carradine

* Audio Commentary With Roger Corman & Mary Woronov

* New Audio Commentary With Assistant Director Lewis Teague And Editor Tina Hirsh

* Playing The Game: Looking Back at Death Race 2000
* Ready To Wear: Interview with costume designer Jane Ruhm

* Designing Dystopia A detailed look at the design of the films now-legendary race cars, costumes and futuristic landscapes with members of the production, design and costume crew

* Start Your Engines: Interview with author Ib Melchior

* Killer Score: An all-new interview with composer Paul Chihara on the creation of the films eclectic score

* Leonard Maltin Interviews Roger Corman About Death Race 2000

* Theatrical Trailer

* Theatrical Trailer With Commentary By John Landis

* TV And Radio spots

* 12-Page Booklet

* New World Trailers

Casanova

• Heath Ledger stars as the legendary Casanova, the world s most notorious seducer, a master of disguise and wit. It was said no woman could resist his amorous charms. But Casanova has finally met his match in the fiery intelligent beauty Francesca portrayed by Sienna Miller. Academy Award® winner Jeremy Irons also stars in this scandalously fun adventure from the director of Chocolat. Set in t

Casanova is back as you've never seen him before! The Eisner Award winning team of Matt Fraction (INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, UNCANNY X-MEN) and Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon (UMBRELLA ACADEMY, DAYTRIPPER, PIXU) bring their appropriately iconic book to ICON! FULL SIZE! FULL COLOR! REMASTERED and REBORN! Meet Casanova Quinn, morally flexible and terminally directionless, as he gets abducted across space and time to infiltrate his own father's E.M.P.I.R.E. of law and order. Featuring an all-new bonus story by Fra! ction and Moon. This is the book GQ called "devastatingly geeky-and brilliant."

COLLECTING:

Casanova: Arc One #1-4

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.Heath Ledger, Academy Award(R) nominee (Best Actor, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, 2005), stars in the scandalously funny adventure CASANOVA. After a lifetime of women falling head over heels in love with him, the world's legendary ladies' man (Ledger) meets the love of his life -- the one woman who thinks he's a total heel. Comic chaos ensues in a hilarious whirl of misadventures, disguises, and mistaken identities as the love-struck Casan! ova tries to win the heart of the fiery feminist who wants not! hing to do with the man she thinks he is.A light farce dressed up as a lush 18th century costume drama, Casanova gives a fictional spin to the exploits of history's most rakish seducer of women. As played by Heath Ledger, this Casanova bears no resemblance to Donald Sutherland's unrepentant portrayal in Fellini's Casanova, filmed 30 years earlier. Instead, the great ladies' man of Venice is just biding time by bedding women, waiting for true love (and the return his long-absent mother) to settle down into blissful monogamy. He finds true love in Francesca (Sienna Miller), a feminist who initially resists Casanova's affections while director Lasse Hallström serves up a variety of lightweight subplots including Casanova's flight from the Vatican's inquisitor (Jeremy Irons); a host of mistaken identities involving, among others, the portly "Lard King of Genoa" (played with scene-stealing perfection by Oliver Platt in a blubbery fat suit); and the romantic negotiations of! Francesca's mother (played by Hallström’s wife, Lena Olin) and a young bumbler named Giovanni with his own promising future as a lover of women. It all adds up to a good-looking and harmless diversion that barely warrants an R-rating, and it makes a fine double-bill with the more enjoyable Dangerous Beauty, another Venetian lover’s tale that was also blessed by the presence of Platt, who gives this Casanova the majority of its entertainment value. --Jeff Shannon

American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies that the Government Tells Us

• ISBN13: 9781616082147
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/30/2009 Run time: 135 minutes Rating: RWhat is it about director Richard Donner that Mel Gibson enjoys so much that he's appeared in five of Donner's films? Is it the on-set pranks? Could it be the big-budget perks and $20-million paychecks? Or is it just a well-stocked catering table? Whatever the case, the Lethal Weapon star and director teamed up again, along with fellow superstar Julia Roberts, for this typically glossy, entertaining but ultimately hokey thriller. Gibson plays New York cab driver Jerry Fletcher, whose wacky belief in conspiracies finally hits on a coincidental truth involving an evil figure named Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and a sec! ret program of government-funded mind control. Roberts plays the Justice Department attorney who finally believes in Jerry's paranoid ramblings. With a plot (from LA. Confidential cowriter Brian Helgeland) that's a lot of fun as long as you don't think about it too critically, Conspiracy Theory benefits immeasurably from the charisma of its high-magnitude stars. --Jeff ShannonWhat is it about director Richard Donner that Mel Gibson enjoys so much that he's appeared in five of Donner's films? Is it the on-set pranks? Could it be the big-budget perks and $20-million paychecks? Or is it just a well-stocked catering table? Whatever the case, the Lethal Weapon star and director teamed up again, along with fellow superstar Julia Roberts, for this typically glossy, entertaining but ultimately hokey thriller. Gibson plays New York cab driver Jerry Fletcher, whose wacky belief in conspiracies finally hits on a coincidental truth involving an evil figure n! amed Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and a secret program of governmen! t-funded mind control. Roberts plays the Justice Department attorney who finally believes in Jerry's paranoid ramblings. With a plot (from LA. Confidential cowriter Brian Helgeland) that's a lot of fun as long as you don't think about it too critically, Conspiracy Theory benefits immeasurably from the charisma of its high-magnitude stars. --Jeff ShannonA CONSPIRACY OBSESSED CABDRIVER NAMED JERRY FLETCHER BELIEVES HEHAS AN INEXPLICABLE CONNECTION TO A JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY,ALICE SUTTON. HE KEEPS TRYING TO WARN HER ABOUT IMPENDING CONSPIRACIES EVEN THOUGH SHE GENTLY BUT FIRMLY DISMISSES HISCONCERNS.What is it about director Richard Donner that Mel Gibson enjoys so much that he's appeared in five of Donner's films? Is it the on-set pranks? Could it be the big-budget perks and $20-million paychecks? Or is it just a well-stocked catering table? Whatever the case, the Lethal Weapon star and director teamed up again, along with fellow superstar Julia Rober! ts, for this typically glossy, entertaining but ultimately hokey thriller. Gibson plays New York cab driver Jerry Fletcher, whose wacky belief in conspiracies finally hits on a coincidental truth involving an evil figure named Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and a secret program of government-funded mind control. Roberts plays the Justice Department attorney who finally believes in Jerry's paranoid ramblings. With a plot (from LA. Confidential cowriter Brian Helgeland) that's a lot of fun as long as you don't think about it too critically, Conspiracy Theory benefits immeasurably from the charisma of its high-magnitude stars. --Jeff ShannonWhat is it about director Richard Donner that Mel Gibson enjoys so much that he's appeared in five of Donner's films? Is it the on-set pranks? Could it be the big-budget perks and $20-million paychecks? Or is it just a well-stocked catering table? Whatever the case, the Lethal Weapon star and director teamed up again, a! long with fellow superstar Julia Roberts, for this typically g! lossy, e ntertaining but ultimately hokey thriller. Gibson plays New York cab driver Jerry Fletcher, whose wacky belief in conspiracies finally hits on a coincidental truth involving an evil figure named Jonas (Patrick Stewart) and a secret program of government-funded mind control. Roberts plays the Justice Department attorney who finally believes in Jerry's paranoid ramblings. With a plot (from LA. Confidential cowriter Brian Helgeland) that's a lot of fun as long as you don't think about it too critically, Conspiracy Theory benefits immeasurably from the charisma of its high-magnitude stars. --Jeff Shannon

Seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list: Jesse Ventura tells it like it is, and this time he tackles our government’s biggest secrets.

In this explosive account of wrongful acts and ensuing cover-ups, Jesse Ventura takes a systematic look at the wide gap between what the government knows and when the government knows it, and! what is revealed to the American people and when it is revealed. The media is complicit in these acts of deception, often refusing to consider alternate possibilities and dismissing voices that diverge from public opinion. In American Conspiracies, Ventura looks closely at the theories that have been presented over the years and examines the truth, as well as the lies.

The assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, the Kennedys, and Martin Luther King Jr.â€"these cases and more need to be re-examined in Ventura’s eyes. Was Watergate presented honestly, or was the CIA involved? Did the Republican Party set out to purposefully steal two elections? Has all of the evidence on 9/11 been presented, or is there another angle that the media is afraid to explore? And finally, is the collapse of today’s financial order and the bailout plan by the Federal Reserve the widest-reaching conspiracy ever perpetrated? Nothing gets by Jesse Ventura in American Conspir! acies.