Summer Heights High

• In this hilarious series set in a real Australian high school, actor/comedian Chris Lilley stars as three different characters: a vain drama teacher, a self-absorbed boy, and a haughty female exchange student. Hysterical, absurd and frequently shocking, Summer Heights High reveals a world where small issues become huge, social groups are critical, young minds are molded, hopes are shattered and dr

From the author of The Works: Anatomy of a City comes a gorgeous graphic tour through the inner workings of skyscrapers.

The skyscraper is perhaps the most recognizable icon of the modern urban landscape. Providing offices, homes, restaurants, and shopping to thousands of inhabitants, modern skyscrapers function as small cities- with infrastructure not unlike that hidden beneath our streets. Clean water is provided to floors thousands of feet in the sky; elevators move peo! ple swiftly and safely throughout the building; and telecom networks allow virtual meetings with people on other continents. How are these services-considered essential, but largely taken for granted- possible in such a complex structure? What does it really take to sustain human life at such enormous heights?

Exploring the interconnected systems that make life livable in the sky is the task of Kate Ascher's stunningly illustrated The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper. Ascher examines skyscrapers from around the world to learn how these incredible structures operate. Just how do skyscrapers sway in the wind, and why exactly is that a good idea? How can a modern elevator be as fast as an airplane? Why are skyscrapers in Asia safer than those in the United States? Have new safeguards been designed to protect skyscrapers from terrorism?

What happens when the power goes out in a building so tall? Why are all modern skyscrapers seemingly made of glass, and ! how can that be safe? How do skyscrapers age, and how can they! be main tained over decades of habitation? No detail is too small, no difficulty too big to escape Ascher's encyclopedic eye.

Along the way, The Heights introduces the reader to every type of person involved in designing, building, and maintaining a skyscraper: the designers who calculate how weight and weather will affect their structures, the workers who dig the foundations and raise the lightning rods, the crews who clean the windows and maintain the air ducts, and the firefighters-whose special equipment allows blazes to be fought at unprecedented heights.

More than a technical survey, Ascher's work is a triumphant ode to the most monumental aspect of modern civilization. Saturated with vivid illustrations and unforgettable anecdotes, The Heights is the ultimate guide to the way things work in the skyscraper.

Five New Yorkers must make decisions overnight that will affect their futures.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 2-MAY-2006
Media Type: DVDWith wit and sympathy, Heights traces the crossed paths and messy lives of New York theater people, journalists, and artists. At the middle of everything is Isabel (Elizabeth Banks, The Sisters), a struggling photographer whose mother, Diana (Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons), is the grand dame of the theater world. Isabel's fiance, Jonathan (James Marsden, X-Men), is being pursued by a writer for Vanity Fair about his relationship with a lionized photographer. Meanwhile, Diana, though married, casts her eye on a young actor named Alec (Jesse Bradford, Happy Endings), who lives in the same building as Isabel... This only begins to unravel the tangle, but a clever script, clean direction, and nicely pitched performances keep Heights from tripping over its own plot lines or sagging into soap opera. Close, in particular, has a blast doing an uncanny Meryl Streep impression, and def! t supporting performances by Isabella Rosselini (Blue Velve! t), Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio), George Segal (California Split), and musician Rufus Wainwright keep the edges of the stories lively. Heights doesn't achieve the emotional fullness of the best of Robert Altman's ensemble movies, but it stakes a claim in that cinematic territory. --Bret FetzerThis 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.A "devilishly delightful" (Bookpage) new novel from an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and the author of What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

Tim and Kate Welch are seemingly the last middle-class family in the exclusive neighborhood of Brooklyn Heigh! ts, NewYork. Tim is a popular history teacher, and an ordinary guy. Kate is not ordinary, but she aspires to be. Brought up by a hippie mother, Kate stays home with their two young sons trying to be the responsible parent she never had. But their neat and tidy world is turned upside down when Anna Brody- beautiful, wealthy, and impulsive-moves into the most expensive brownstone in Brooklyn, and draws Kate and Tim into her world.Kindle Description:Now updated with an Active Table of Contents.
Wuthering Heights is a gothic novel, and the only novel by Emily Brontë. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte.

The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centres (as an adjective; wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between ! Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved pas! sion eve ntually destroys them and many around them.

Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights met with mixed reviews by critics when it first appeared, mainly because of the narrative's stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty. Though Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was initially considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior. Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, a musical by Bernard J. Taylor, ballet, opera, and song.Kindle Description:Now updated with an Active Table of Contents.
Wuthering Heights is a gothic novel, and the only novel by Emily Brontë. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte.

The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor o! n the moors on which the story centres (as an adjective; wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.

Now considered a classic of English literature, Wuthering Heights met with mixed reviews by critics when it first appeared, mainly because of the narrative's stark depiction of mental and physical cruelty. Though Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was initially considered the best of the Brontë sisters' works, many subsequent critics of Wuthering Heights argued that its originality and achievement made it superior. Wuthering Heights has also given rise to many adaptations and inspired works, including films, radio, television dramatisations, a musical by Bernard J. Taylor, ballet, opera, and song.The narrative is non-linear, involving several flas! hbacks, and involves two narrators - Mr. Lockwood and Ellen "N! elly" De an. The novel opens in 1801, with Lockwood arriving at Thrushcross Grange, a grand house on the Yorkshire moors he is renting from the surly Heathcliff, who lives at nearby Wuthering Heights. Lockwood spends the night at Wuthering Heights and has a terrifying dream: the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw, pleading to be admitted to the house from outside. Intrigued, Lockwood asks the housekeeper Nelly Dean to tell the story of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights while he is staying at the Grange recovering from a cold.The narrative is non-linear, involving several flashbacks, and involves two narrators - Mr. Lockwood and Ellen "Nelly" Dean. The novel opens in 1801, with Lockwood arriving at Thrushcross Grange, a grand house on the Yorkshire moors he is renting from the surly Heathcliff, who lives at nearby Wuthering Heights. Lockwood spends the night at Wuthering Heights and has a terrifying dream: the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw, pleading to be admitted to the house from outside. Int! rigued, Lockwood asks the housekeeper Nelly Dean to tell the story of Heathcliff and Wuthering Heights while he is staying at the Grange recovering from a cold.In this hilarious series set in a real Australian high school, actor/comedian Chris Lilley stars as three different characters: a vain drama teacher, a self-absorbed boy, and a haughty female exchange student. Hysterical, absurd and frequently shocking, Summer Heights High reveals a world where small issues become huge, social groups are critical, young minds are molded, hopes are shattered and dreams are realized.

DVD Features:
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes

Australian writer/performer Chris Lilley specializes in the comedy of narcissism. All three of his characters in the mockumentary series Summer Heights High are blindly, maddeningly self-absorbed: Mr. G, a drama teacher who writes and directs his own musicals; Ja'mie, a preening 16-year-old from a wealthy private school who ! views her year at public school as purgatory; and Jonah, a Ton! gan juve nile delinquent who's been previously expelled from two other schools. The series' 8 episodes follow these three as they seek to find some form of fame and adulation.Mr. G struggles to create a musical about a student who recently died of a drug overdose... only it becomes increasingly about a heroic drama teacher whose dog dies in an accident; Ja'mie desperately wants to stage a formal dance and will lie, bribe, and manipulate to do it; and Jonah wants to do breakdancing with his posse, but he's simply incapable of keeping himself from insulting his teachers and getting into fights with other students. While Mr. G and Ja'mie are blinkered monsters, Jonah verges on tragic, as he stumbles towards increasing self-destruction. The thoroughness of Lilley's creations is impressive, as the comedian loses himself fully in these characters. Still, some viewers may find them more aggravating than funny; just a hint of self-awareness might have made them a little easier to spend time ! with. But for anyone who connects with Lilley's humor, Summer Heights High will be a feast of juicy, unfiltered, rampaging egomania. --Bret Fetzer

Stills from Summer Heights High (Click for larger image)

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Forbidden Lie$

• FORBIDDEN LIES (DVD MOVIE)

Studio: Independent Film Dev/dba Release Date: 09/28/2010 Run time: 70 minutes Rating: Nr

Back to the Future: The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition)

• Condition: Used, Very Good
• Format: DVD
• Anamorphic; Box set; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC

Experience one of the most popular movie series of all time like never before with the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, these timeless films feature all-new 25th Anniversary restorations for enhanced picture and sound plus hours of exciting bonus features.Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with Back to the Future, a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to! meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. --Doug Thomas

Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too! clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards! to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. --Tom Keogh

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom KeoghExperience one of the most popular movie series of all time like n! ever before with the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, these timeless films feature all-new 25th Anniversary restorations for enhanced picture and sound plus hours of exciting bonus features.Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with Back to the Future, a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is ca! tapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their t! eens, an d accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. --Doug Thomas

Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own ac! tions from the first film. --Tom Keogh

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom KeoghFrom the Academy Award-winning filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis comes Back to the Future - the original, groundbreaking adventure that sparked one of the most successful trilogies ever! When teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is blasted to 1955 in the DeLorean time machine created by the eccentric Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), he finds! himself mixed up in a time-shattering chain reaction that cou! ld vapor ize his future - and leave him trapped in the past. Powered by innovative special effects, unforgettable songs and non-stop action, Back to the Future is an unrivaled adventure that stands the test of time. Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Thomas F. Wilson, Crispin Glover, Claudia Wells, Billy Zane, Casey Siemaszko Directed by: Robert ZemeckisDr. Emmett Brown: Then tell me, "future boy," who is president in the United States in 1985?
Marty McFly: Ronald Reagan.
Dr. Brown: Ronald Reagan? The actor?! Who's vice president? Jerry Lewis?

Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with this joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during ! the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. Followed by two sequels. --Doug ThomasExperience one of the most popular movie series of all time like never before with the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain r! eaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmake! rs Steve n Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, these timeless films feature all-new 25th Anniversary restorations for enhanced picture and sound plus hours of exciting bonus features.Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with Back to the Future, a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled ! with memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast performances: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. --Doug Thomas

Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. --Tom Keogh

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in t! he Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scient! ist Chri stopher Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom KeoghExperience theiComplete Trilogy!Presented by Steven Spielberg directed by Oscar® winner Robert Zemeckis and starring time travelers Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd the phenomenally popular Back To The Future films literally changed the future of the adventure movie genre. Now this unprecedented Back To The Future DVD Trilogy immerses you in all the breathtaking action outrageous comedy and sheer moviemaking magic of one of the most brilliantly inventive wildly entertaining motion picture triumphs in Hollywood history!System Requirements:Starring: Michael J. Fox Christopher Lloyd Crispin Glover Elisabeth Shue and Lea Thompson. Directed By: Robert Zemeckis. Running Time: 344 Min. (Total) C! olor. These films are presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Universal.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG UPC: 025192212123 Manufacturer No: 61022121Filmmaker Robert Zemeckis topped his breakaway hit Romancing the Stone with Back to the Future, a joyous comedy with a dazzling hook: what would it be like to meet your parents in their youth? Billed as a special-effects comedy, the imaginative film (the top box-office smash of 1985) has staying power because of the heart behind Zemeckis and Bob Gale's script. High schooler Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox, during the height of his TV success) is catapulted back to the '50s where he sees his parents in their teens, and accidentally changes the history of how Mom and Dad met. Filled with the humorous ideology of the '50s, filtered through the knowledge of the '80s (actor Ronald Reagan is president, ha!), the film comes off as a Twilight Zone episode written by Preston Sturges. Filled with ! memorable effects and two wonderfully off-key, perfectly cast ! performa nces: Christopher Lloyd as the crazy scientist who builds the time machine (a DeLorean luxury car) and Crispin Glover as Marty's geeky dad. --Doug Thomas

Critics and audiences didn't seem too happy with Back to the Future, Part II, the inventive, perhaps too clever sequel. Director Zemeckis and cast bent over backwards to add layers of time-travel complication, and while it surely exercises the brain it isn't necessarily funny in the same way that its predecessor was. It's well worth a visit, though, just to appreciate the imagination that went into it, particularly in a finale that has Marty watching his own actions from the first film. --Tom Keogh

Shot back-to-back with the second chapter in the trilogy, Back to the Future, Part III is less hectic than that film and has the same sweet spirit of the first, albeit in a whole new setting. This time, Marty ends up in the Old West of 1885, trying to prevent the death of mad scientist Christophe! r Lloyd at the hands of gunman Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen (Thomas F. Wilson, who had a recurring role as the bully Biff). Director Zemeckis successfully blends exciting special effects with the traditions of a Western and comes up with something original and fun. --Tom Keogh

Drop Dead Gorgeous

• A mockumentary about a vicious competition between two contestants in a rural Minnesota beauty pageant. While the two girls prepare for the contest, their mothers (an overbearing hairdresser and a civic-minded matriarch) decide they will stop at nothing to help each one's respective child win the contest.Running Time: 98 min. System Requirements: Starring: Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin, Kirsten

The sarah rose cosmetics miss teen princess america pageant is a beauty contest to die for. And thats exactly what the contestants in mount rose minnesota are doing in this hilarious satire of all-american competition. Special features: animated and interactive menus cast and crew filmographies and more. Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 02/03/2004 Starring: Kirstie Alley Kirsten Dunst Run time: 98 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Michael Patrick JannSubtle is not the word to describe Drop! Dead Gorgeous, a mock documentary purporting to cover the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Teen America Beauty Pageant in Mount Rose, Minnesota. Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love) and Kirsten Dunst (Interview with a Vampire, Dick) are perfectly cast as a mother and daughter whose only ambition is to use the pageant to get out of their claustrophobic small-town lives. Opposing them are Denise Richards (Wild Things, Starship Troopers) and her mother, Kirstie Alley (Look Who's Talking), who just happens to be the pageant's organizer. The plot, which centers on contestants being murdered (mostly by flaming explosions), is clearly secondary to the backstage shenanigans and satirical portrayals of vanity, small-town corruption, and family dysfunction. There's not much suspense to the pageant itself, but Dunst is an endearing protagonist and along with the broad jokes are some excellent acting turns from the cast, particularly Barkin, Brittany Murphy (Clueless), Nora Dunn (a Saturday Night Live alumna! ), and t he great character actress Allison Janney, who's played small roles in countless movies but finally gets a chance to shine as the supportive neighbor of Barkin and Dunst. In fact, for all the jokes and satirical jabs, in the end it's the characters' relationships that stay in your mind. A bonus: the soundtrack features a hard-rocking version of the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, performed with cool aplomb by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. --Bret Fetzer

French Connection Women's Bambi Knits Dress, Gray/Black, 2

• Stripe
• Long sleeve

FRENCH CONNECTION/FRENCH CONNECTION 2 - DVD MovieFRENCH CONNECTION 2 - Blu-Ray MovieSweater dress

Dust Tactics Revised Core Set

• A brand new core set for dust tactics
• Features the new point system
• Includes all new, never-before-released miniatures exclusive to this core set
• Features two double-sided terrain posters (each the size of six terrain tiles)
• Includes the ?Victory Bridge? scenario book

SEVEN-YEAR-OLD MATTHEW DISAPPEARS one day on a walk into Horshoe, a dust bowl farm town in Depression-era Saskatchewan. Other children go missing just as a strange man named Abram Harsich appears in town. He dazzles the townspeople with the promises of a rainmaking machine. Only Matthew’s older brother Robert seems to be able to resist Abram’s spell, and to discover what happened to Matthew and the others.

“A remarkably effective sense of atmosphere.”â€"Kirkus Reviews, Starred

“Choose it for science-fiction fans who are ready for something a little different.”â€"School Library Journal, Starred

“Beautifully written novel . . . strong character development, an authentic setting, and some genuinely spooky moments.”â€"VOYA, Starred

A Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature

An ALA Best Books for Young Adults


From the Hardcover edition.CD reissue of the debut album from the American Rockers, a mixture of British-influenced Hard Rock and Prog. The album was originally released on the Kama Sutra label in 1971, introducing a group of young players to the world at large, most of whom would move on to bigger things. The rhythm section featured drummer Marc Bell, who would later join New York Punkers Richard Hell & The Voidoids, while bassist Kenny Aaronson would join labelmates Stories by their third album. The songwriting team of producer Kenny Kerner and singer/guitarist Richie Wise would go on to produce the third Stories album. Seven tracks. Repertoire.FF! GDT022 Core Set Revised Dust Tactics by Fantasy Flight Games
Get ready to fight the war anew. The Dust Tactics Revised Core Set is the perfect introduction for new players or a great expansion for veterans. It includes all new, never-before-released miniatures exclusive to this Core Set, an updated and comprehensive rulebook, the Victory Bridge scenario book, six custom dice, two double-sided terrain posters (each the size of six terrain tiles), 10 unit cards, nine double-sided hazard squares, two ammo-crates, and two antitank traps.

The Allies are ready to lay waste to their Axis foes with their new forces. Meanwhile, the Blutkreuz Korps refuse to be bested on any field of battle. Their new Axis troops are equally powerful. With astonishing abilities and firepower, it will be a struggle deciding which side you want to fight for.

The included terrain posters unique to the Revised Core Set introduce Dust Tactics players to new terrain elements featured in the Victory Bridge scenario book. These terrain posters ! are a new warfare experience due to the new environment they offer players - a bridge and building structures, as well as new terrain symbols. The Victory Bridge scenario book offers players six never-before-seen scenarios with which they can carry out a campaign. Englands Cobden Bridge has suddenly become the strategic location for gaining access to Southampton. Can your faction take control of the bridge, and gain the advantage of advancing into southern England.

Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 3 (Border Incident / His Kind of Woman / Lady in the Lake / On Dangerous Ground / The Racket)

• Five more film noirics lined up with genre stars such as Robert Mitchum, Robert Montgomery, Robert Ryan, and Jane Russell, are now available in Volume 3 of the Film Noir Classics Collection series. The new 6-Disc DVD set is only available as a collection and includes a bonus documentary disc on the Noir genre. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR Age: 012569761247

Genre: LGBT Action/Adventure
Dangerous Ground; Previous Book: Old Poison

Special Agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt have been partners forever and lovers for three months, but their new relationship is threatened when Will is offered a plum two-year assignment in Paris.

Will believes the posting only means postponing what they both want. Taylor fears that kind of separation will mean the end of their new and still-fragile relationship. It’s a! bad time to find themselves in the middle of the New Mexico wilderness responsible for the health and welfare of a suspected terrorist. Especially when everyone else they run into seems determined to see their prisoner -- and them -- dead.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.Genre: LGBT Action/Adventure
Dangerous Ground; Previous Book: Old Poison

Special Agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt have been partners forever and lovers for three months, but their new relationship is threatened when Will is offered a plum two-year assignment in Paris.

Will believes the posting only means postponing what they both want. Taylor fears that kind of separation will mean the end of their new and still-fragile relationship. It’s a bad time to find themselves in the middle of the New Mex! ico wilderness responsible for the health and welfare of a sus! pected t errorist. Especially when everyone else they run into seems determined to see their prisoner -- and them -- dead.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Male/male sexual practices.Something's hot in Seattle, and it's not just the espresso. Madison's needs are simple. All she wants are two things: Make Ooo La Latte the newest trend in espresso, and seduce the sexiest cop in Seattle. But things aren't going exactly as planned.

First, Gabe's a little hung up on the fact that she's his best friend's little sister, and he's determined to keep his hands off. Second, her shop gets robbed by the increasingly violent Espresso Bandit, and now she's the only one who can identify him.

Gabe whisks her into hiding for her own protection, but soon finds his heart is under assault by the luscious--and persistent--Madison. But no matter where they hide, danger follows. O! n such dangerous grounds, the trick will be to live long enough to keep the flame alive.

Something's hot in Seattle, and it's not just the espresso. Madison's needs are simple. All she wants are two things: Make Ooo La Latte the newest trend in espresso, and seduce the sexiest cop in Seattle. But things aren't going exactly as planned.

First, Gabe's a little hung up on the fact that she's his best friend's little sister, and he's determined to keep his hands off. Second, her shop gets robbed by the increasingly violent Espresso Bandit, and now she's the only one who can identify him.

Gabe whisks her into hiding for her own protection, but soon finds his heart is under assault by the luscious--and persistent--Madison. But no matter where they hide, danger follows. On such dangerous grounds, the trick will be to live long enough to keep the flame alive.

Genre: LGBT Action/Adventure Suspense
Series: Dangerous Ground; Previous Book: Blood Heat
!
Like your heroes tall, dark and dangerous? Meet Loose Id! 's Men o f Mystery.

The boys are back in town -- and Paris is burning!

For Special Agents of the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt, the strain of a long distance relationship is beginning to tell after eleven months of separation. A romantic holiday could be just the thing to bridge the ever-growing distance, but when Taylor spots a terrorist from the 70s, long believed dead but very much alive, it’s c’est la vie.

Now instead of sipping wine and seeing the sights, the boys are chasing a wily and deadly foe through the graveyards and catacombs of Paris.

Of course, it could always be worse -- and soon it is.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.Genre: LGBT Action/Adventure Suspense
Series: Dangerous Ground; Previous Book: Blood Heat

Like your heroes tall, da! rk and dangerous? Meet Loose Id's Men of Mystery.

The boys are back in town -- and Paris is burning!

For Special Agents of the Department of Diplomatic Security, Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt, the strain of a long distance relationship is beginning to tell after eleven months of separation. A romantic holiday could be just the thing to bridge the ever-growing distance, but when Taylor spots a terrorist from the 70s, long believed dead but very much alive, it’s c’est la vie.

Now instead of sipping wine and seeing the sights, the boys are chasing a wily and deadly foe through the graveyards and catacombs of Paris.

Of course, it could always be worse -- and soon it is.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: male/male sexual practices.Ice Cube and Elizabeth Hurley in the tale of a South African freedom fighter who returns home after 14 ye! ars in exile for his father's funeral. Apartheid is over, but ! now the drug wars are destroying his people...and his brother is missing in action.An odd combination of consciousness-raising and run-of-the-mill action, Dangerous Ground features Ice Cube, mostly unbelievably, as a one-time South African native named Vusi. Vusi came to America at age 14 to escape police repression, and eventually reinvented himself as an American scholar and community-oriented volunteer. Called back to the old country to bury his father, Vusi discovers the new South Africa under Mandela, but also gets a snootful of the nation's surge in crime and drug usage. Sent to Johannesburg to retrieve a long-missing brother, Vusi allies himself with a coke-addicted stripper (Elizabeth Hurley) who knows the vanished man. The script and direction by Darrell James Roodt (Cry, the Beloved Country) seems to be serving various masters: viewers interested in epochal changes in South Africa, and viewers who want to kick back and watch a suspense movie about ! drugs, a hooker, and a nasty crime lord (Ving Rhames). The result is unwieldy, and Cube's thumping performance doesn't do much to bridge the gap. --Tom Keogh

Somethings hot in Seattle, and its not just the espresso.

The Seattle Steam series.

 Madisons needs are simple. All she wants are two things: Make Ooo La Latt the newest trend in espresso, and seduce the sexiest cop in Seattle. But things arent going exactly as planned. First, Gabes a little hung up on the fact that shes his best friends little sister, and hes determined to keep his hands off. Second, her shop gets robbed by the increasingly violent Espresso Bandit, and now shes the only one who can identify him. Gabe whisks her into hiding for her own protection, but soon finds his heart is under assault by the lusciousand persistentMadison. But no matter where they hide, danger follows. On such dangerous grounds, the trick will be to live long enough to keep the flame alive.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights rese! rved.

It took almost another hour before she slipped into a light sleep, and instead of being comforted, she found herself reliving the robbery. Except this time, the robber pulled the trigger.

She jerked upright with a cry, dragging the sheets around her. A moment later her door burst open and Gabe's silhouette filled the doorway.

"Maddie?" He shut the door and came over to the bed. "What's wrong? I heard you cry out."

She turned her head away before he could see the shine of tears in her eyes.

The dream had been too real.

"Did you dream about him?" Gabe asked, his voice soft. "It's all right, Maddie. It's normal. I haven't seen you break down once yet."

"I'm not the type to break down," she mumbled. She urged herself to regain control and not lose it. But the back of her throat burned from choking back the tears, and soon she stopped fighting.

The tears ran down her cheeks and she kept ! her face averted, trying to hide them.

"Maddie..." He pulled her unresisting body into his arms, sliding back against the bedpost to support them. She buried her head against his chest.

"It's just sexual tension combined with the post-traumatic stress." She tried to laugh and it came out choked. "Nothing to worry about. It'd all go away if you'd just have sex with me."

"You don't need to make it a joke, Maddie," he murmured. "It's nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about."

Wasn't it? She hated that she was crying on Gabe's shoulder. He was always so controlled and seemed so kept together. And now, in between pathetic attempts to seduce him, she sat here bawling her eyes out on his chest. His naked chest. Hmm. She hadn't noticed that before.

She blinked the last of her tears away and became quite aware of the rapid pounding of Gabe's heart.

Maybe he wasn't as controlled as he'd have her believe.

! She kept her head against his chest. "You're not immune to me! , Gabe."

His hand that had been stroking her hair stilled, and then resumed its comforting movements.

"I never said I was."

"Then why--"

"Just sleep, Maddie," he interrupted, his voice gentle. "I'll stay here with you, if you'd like. But only to sleep."

Madison considered her options. Having Gabe in bed with her would be a major temptation to attempt to seduce him again. It'd be better just to send him back to his own bed. But then the thought of being alone, with the possibility of more nightmares, made it an obvious choice.

"I'd like you to stay, and I promise not to touch you. Tonight. Deal?"

He gave a soft laugh and maneuvered them so that they were lying down next to each other.

"Deal."

The USS Memphis, a dilapidated submarine that that should have been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by the newly elected president. The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's co! astal waters and recon the leaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America's major cities.
The Memphis's commander, Lowell Hardy, had been looking forward to flag rank and pleasant duty upon the sub's decommissioning. Now he is trapped in an inconceivably dangerous and illegal mission which could easily end his career, if not his life and the lives of his crew. But it's the crew who feel Hardy's tension as he tyrannizes everyone on board to ensure they'll be ready for anything:
Jerry Mitchell: a former naval pilot with political connections, he is a novice submariner, unprepared for his demanding job as a weapons officer. Central to the Memphis's mission, Mitchell may be its greatest liability . . . or its ultimate salvation.
Dr. Joanna Patterson: The senior civilian scientist, appointed by and reporting to! the president, she is a world-class expert on nuclear fuel co! ntaminat ion--and every bit as demanding as Hardy. Patterson and her partner, Dr. Emily Davis, soon find themselves battling flaring tempers, faulty machinery, lethal radioactivity, and the raging arctic seas.
The submariners: Seething with rage at their Captain Bligh-like commander and the equally domineering Joanna Patterson, they are also at war with Jerry Mitchell, and one another. Like the captain, they feel they deserve better, not this antiquated relic, not this hostile scientist, not this novice weapons officer, and definitely not this disastrously dangerous mission.
Nor is the mission what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far more deadly than anything naval command could imagine--a secret so menacing the Russian Fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her.

The USS Memphis, a dilapidated submarine that that should have been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by ! the newly elected president. The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's coastal waters and recon the leaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America's major cities.
The Memphis's commander, Lowell Hardy, had been looking forward to flag rank and pleasant duty upon the sub's decommissioning. Now he is trapped in an inconceivably dangerous and illegal mission which could easily end his career, if not his life and the lives of his crew. But it's the crew who feel Hardy's tension as he tyrannizes everyone on board to ensure they'll be ready for anything:
Jerry Mitchell: a former naval pilot with political connections, he is a novice submariner, unprepared for his demanding job as a weapons officer. Central to the Memphis's mission, Mitchell may be its greatest liability . . . or its ultimate salvation.
Dr. ! Joanna Patterson: The senior civilian scientist, appointed by ! and repo rting to the president, she is a world-class expert on nuclear fuel contamination--and every bit as demanding as Hardy. Patterson and her partner, Dr. Emily Davis, soon find themselves battling flaring tempers, faulty machinery, lethal radioactivity, and the raging arctic seas.
The submariners: Seething with rage at their Captain Bligh-like commander and the equally domineering Joanna Patterson, they are also at war with Jerry Mitchell, and one another. Like the captain, they feel they deserve better, not this antiquated relic, not this hostile scientist, not this novice weapons officer, and definitely not this disastrously dangerous mission.
Nor is the mission what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far more deadly than anything naval command could imagine--a secret so menacing the Russian Fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail in her.

The USS Memphis, a dilapidated submarine th! at that should have been mothballed decades ago, has been given one last mission by the newly elected president. The task: To sneak illegally into Russia's coastal waters and recon the leaking nuclear fuel containers hidden on the floor of the Arctic Ocean. More than just an environmental nightmare, this radioactive burial ground houses enough nuclear capability to destroy most of America's major cities.
The Memphis's commander, Lowell Hardy, had been looking forward to flag rank and pleasant duty upon the sub's decommissioning. Now he is trapped in an inconceivably dangerous and illegal mission which could easily end his career, if not his life and the lives of his crew. But it's the crew who feel Hardy's tension as he tyrannizes everyone on board to ensure they'll be ready for anything:
Jerry Mitchell: a former naval pilot with political connections, he is a novice submariner, unprepared for his demanding job as a weapons officer. Central to the Memphis's mission, M! itchell may be its greatest liability . . . or its ultimate sa! lvation.
Dr. Joanna Patterson: The senior civilian scientist, appointed by and reporting to the president, she is a world-class expert on nuclear fuel contamination--and every bit as demanding as Hardy. Patterson and her partner, Dr. Emily Davis, soon find themselves battling flaring tempers, faulty machinery, lethal radioactivity, and the raging arctic seas.
The submariners: Seething with rage at their Captain Bligh-like commander and the equally domineering Joanna Patterson, they are also at war with Jerry Mitchell, and one another. Like the captain, they feel they deserve better, not this antiquated relic, not this hostile scientist, not this novice weapons officer, and definitely not this disastrously dangerous mission.
Nor is the mission what it seems. Lurking beneath the frigid, black, radioactive waters is a secret far more deadly than anything naval command could imagine--a secret so menacing the Russian Fleet is hell-bent on destroying the Memphis and all who sail ! in her.

Someone from DSS Special Agent Taylor MacAllister’s past -- the past he doesn’t discuss with his partner and now-lover Will Brandt -- wants him scared. Dead scared. Or maybe just dead. Will fears the past will end a future romance. Or any future at all.

(This book was previously released through Loose Id Publishing.)Someone from DSS Special Agent Taylor MacAllister’s past -- the past he doesn’t discuss with his partner and now-lover Will Brandt -- wants him scared. Dead scared. Or maybe just dead. Will fears the past will end a future romance. Or any future at all.

(This book was previously released through Loose Id Publishing.)Loretta Brown is mad at herself for not telling her best friend Xavier Johnson about the feelings she has for him; she’s been led to believe that he’s engaged. With the help of her friend Cookie she’ll prove to Xavier that she’s the woman for him.

Xavier has been trying to break out! of the “friend zone” with Loretta, for every step she tak! es towar d him she takes two steps back. He understands that she was in an abusive marriage and careful with her feelings, but he’s determined to breach that wall she’s built around her heart.

Unknown to Loretta her life is in danger from a mad man who blames her for his son’s death. Xavier uses all of his contacts in high places to ensure her safety, except that one man in question demands something from Xavier that may damage his relationship with Loretta or claim his life.

Excerpt:
Loretta locked the door as soon as she got inside her house. Loretta kicked her shoes off before she made her way into the kitchen. Just as she was reaching for a glass on the shelf she heard a knock at the front door. Who could it be at this time of night?

Loretta walked over to the front door; however, she didn’t open it. “Who is it?”

“It‘s me Loretta, open up.”

Loretta would recognize Xavier’s voice anywhere. She opened t! he door and let him in. “Xavier what are you doing here at this hour?”

Xavier barely got in the door good before he started talking about her date. “Did you enjoy your date tonight Loretta?” Xavier towered over her as if he was trying to intimidate her.

Loretta put her hands on her hips. “Xavier I don’t have to ask you or anyone else for permission to go out on a date.”

Xavier realized that he couldn’t intimidate Loretta, so tried another approach. “You know you don’t want him.”

“Since when have you become an authority on my wants and needs? For a man who’s suppose to be getting married, you sure are paying a lot of attention to my dating habits... ”

Xavier cut off Loretta’s tirade by kissing her thoroughly. When Loretta responded, Xavier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his body. “Whatever you’re looking for you don’t have to go chasing all over the city I got wh! at you need.”

Loretta was momentarily disoriented! . “Xav ier I won’t be the other woman.”

“Loretta, you’re the only woman.”

(For Adult Audiences, Sexually Explicit, Romance, Mystery)Loretta Brown is mad at herself for not telling her best friend Xavier Johnson about the feelings she has for him; she’s been led to believe that he’s engaged. With the help of her friend Cookie she’ll prove to Xavier that she’s the woman for him.

Xavier has been trying to break out of the “friend zone” with Loretta, for every step she takes toward him she takes two steps back. He understands that she was in an abusive marriage and careful with her feelings, but he’s determined to breach that wall she’s built around her heart.

Unknown to Loretta her life is in danger from a mad man who blames her for his son’s death. Xavier uses all of his contacts in high places to ensure her safety, except that one man in question demands something from Xavier that may damage his relationship with Lorett! a or claim his life.

Excerpt:
Loretta locked the door as soon as she got inside her house. Loretta kicked her shoes off before she made her way into the kitchen. Just as she was reaching for a glass on the shelf she heard a knock at the front door. Who could it be at this time of night?

Loretta walked over to the front door; however, she didn’t open it. “Who is it?”

“It‘s me Loretta, open up.”

Loretta would recognize Xavier’s voice anywhere. She opened the door and let him in. “Xavier what are you doing here at this hour?”

Xavier barely got in the door good before he started talking about her date. “Did you enjoy your date tonight Loretta?” Xavier towered over her as if he was trying to intimidate her.

Loretta put her hands on her hips. “Xavier I don’t have to ask you or anyone else for permission to go out on a date.”

Xavier realized that he couldn’t intimidate Loretta, so tried another appr! oach. “You know you don’t want him.”

“Since whe! n have y ou become an authority on my wants and needs? For a man who’s suppose to be getting married, you sure are paying a lot of attention to my dating habits... ”

Xavier cut off Loretta’s tirade by kissing her thoroughly. When Loretta responded, Xavier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to his body. “Whatever you’re looking for you don’t have to go chasing all over the city I got what you need.”

Loretta was momentarily disoriented. “Xavier I won’t be the other woman.”

“Loretta, you’re the only woman.”

(For Adult Audiences, Sexually Explicit, Romance, Mystery)Five more film noir classics lined up with genre stars such as Robert Mitchum, Robert Montgomery, Robert Ryan, and Jane Russell, are now available in Volume 3 of the Film Noir Classics Collection series. The new 6-Disc DVD set is only available as a collection and includes a bonus documentary disc on the Noir genre.Two peak achievements by as many top noir di! rectors ... a customized vehicle for one of noir's premier icons ... an oddball experiment in making a truly "private eye" movie ... and a Howard Hughes remake of his earliest contribution to the gangster genre. Such are the five titles corralled for Warner Home Video's third box set of film noir classics.

For eye-popping dynamism coupled with ferocious intensity, no noir director matched Anthony Mann. Border Incident (1949) was Mann's and cinematographer John Alton's first film for MGM following a string of darkly dazzling low-budget beauties at Eagle-Lion (T-Men, Raw Deal, The Black Book, et al.). In structure it's virtually a remake of T-Men, transposed from the shadowy city where a Secret Service team battled counterfeiters, to California's Imperial Valley where the Immigration Service sets out to infiltrate a gang exploiting--and often murdering--Mexicans eager to work the farms. From the opening night scene of three laborers ! trying to recross the border and meeting a grisly end, the mov! ie relen tlessly imagines ways the human body can merge with the earth. Visually stunning, and replete with memorable villains (headed by Howard Da Silva, a past master at making affability lethal), this is one of Mann's strongest noirs and surely his most inventive. Its neglect can be explained only by people's assumption that nothing worthwhile could come of a movie top-billing Ricardo Montalban and George Murphy (as the government agents). Wrong, wrong, wrong.

After a scalding first reel in big-city night streets, Nicholas Ray's On Dangerous Ground (RKO, 1951) likewise forsakes familiar noir terrain for the countryside--the mountains and snowfields where city cop Robert Ryan seeks a psychotic killer. For both the actor and the director, Ryan's character is an exemplary creation: a man with personal demons whose overzealous pursuit of criminals has pushed him into sadism. His passage from urban darkness into the silent white mountain country becomes a redemptive jour! ney, thanks largely to his interaction with a blind woman (Ida Lupino) in an isolated farmhouse whose younger brother may be the quarry he's after. Ray developed the screenplay with A.I. Bezzerides under the supervision of producer John Houseman (for whom Ray had made his feature debut, They Live By Night). The film boasts a thrilling music score by Bernard Herrmann, anticipating his great soundtrack for North by Northwest.

His Kind of Woman (also RKO, 1951) is a vehicle for both RKO's reigning bad boy, Robert Mitchum, and Howard Hughes' definitive coup of distaff engineering, Jane Russell. Their characters cross paths en route to a seaside Mexican resort, where she aims to continue her gold-digger pursuit of Hollywood ham Vincent Price, and Mitchum will figure in a plot to get deported mobster Raymond Burr back into the U.S.A. The slow-brewing romance between this dauntingly tall, broad-shouldered pair gives off little heat, but the players' g! ood-natured, weary-pro rapport as they go through their mostly! prepost erous paces makes for very good fun. Still more is supplied by Price, who just about steals the movie when he gets to extend his subâ€"Errol Flynn screen heroism into real life--all the while supplying his own florid running commentary on the action. The urbane director John Farrow filled the movie with one delicious, what-the-hell-is-going-on-here scene after another (highlight: a bored Mitchum ironing his money), but that wasn't enough for studio boss Hughes. Richard Fleischer was brought in to stretch the climactic melodrama aboard Burr's yacht in the harbor, and the picture grew to an overblown two hours in length. Not that you're likely to regret a minute of it.

Robert Montgomery directed and played Phillip Marlowe in Lady in the Lake (MGM, 1947), Raymond Chandler's novel as adapted by Steve Fisher (I Wake Up Screaming). The gimmick is that, apart from a few scenes of private detective Marlowe chatting us up in his office, everything is view! ed through his eyes, with Marlowe himself remaining unseen unless he glances in a mirror. This literal-minded conceit is more curious than compelling; the camera simply doesn't see the way the human eye does, and the artificiality constantly calls attention to itself. Montgomery, a suave actor who enjoyed playing it coarse and obnoxious on occasion, makes his screen Marlowe more smartass than any other ("dumb, brave, and cheap"). With him cracking wise off-camera, much of the movie is really carried by Audrey Totter, a swell late-'40s dame who has to stand up under more relentless scrutiny than even her shifty character deserves.

The Racket (RKO, 1951) is the second film version of a 1920s play about municipal corruption, gangsterism, and the attempt to squash an honest police precinct captain. John Cromwell had acted in the original Broadway production, which may help explain why, as director, he let so much of this movie turn back into a play. Event! ually studio boss Howard Hughes, who had produced the 1928 fil! m versio n (directed by Lewis Milestone), once again called in another director to do salvage work.

That was Nicholas Ray, whose scenes include police captain Robert Mitchum's pursuit of the man who has just bombed his home. Mitchum's fellow cast members include Robert Ryan as the ultra-paranoid gangster; husky-voiced noir blonde Lizabeth Scott as a nightclub thrush romanced by Ryan's brother; future Perry Mason D.A. William Talman as a dedicated street cop; and Ray Collins and William Conrad as two municipal officials negotiating a delicate dance with morality and expediency. --Richard T. Jameson

Code Name - The Cleaner

• The laughs fly like bullets in this action comedy about a man with amnesia who can't remember whether he's a super spy.or a janitor.Jake Rogers (Cedric the Entertainer) just woke up in a hotel room next to a dead CIA agent and a briefcase full of money. Things go from bad to worse when his blonde bombshell wife (Nicollette Sheridan) arrives to inform him that he's a Special Forces Operative entan

The laughs fly like bullets in this action comedy about a man with amnesia who can't remember whether he's a super spy...or a janitor. Jake Rogers (Cedric the Entertainer) just woke up in a hotel room next to a dead CIA agent and a briefcase full of money. Things go from bad to worse when his blonde bombshell wife (Nicollette Sheridan) arrives to inform him that he's a Special Forces Operative entangled in a high-level Government conspiracy. But nothing seems to add up as Jake digs deeper into the ca! se. Teaming up with another beauty from a past he can't remember (Lucy Liu), this custodian of comedy needs to get a clue before the bad guys take him out with the trash!Code Name: The Cleaner squeaks by in living up to the reputation of its star, Cedric the Entertainer. The movie does entertain, but just barely and pretty much only because of the skill we've come to expect from Cedric as an entertainer. In another actor's hands, this freewheeling spy spoof could easily have turned into a schizophrenic dud. The movie still has a little split-personality problem between its aspirations to be a tense, Bourne Identity-like thriller or out-and-out comic caper. Fortunately, the entertainer in him gives Cedric the credibility to juggle both genres with only a few dropped balls. When Cedric, as ordinary Joe (maybe) Jake Rodgers, wakes up in a hotel room with amnesia, a dead FBI agent, and a bag stuffed with cash, at least two people show unusual interest in a ! prized missing microchip, the money, and him -- in that order.! Nicolle tte Sheridan is a bit too desperate in claiming to be his housewife as she whisks him "home" to their huge mansion. Showing the first shades of skepticism (and comic brilliance), the still-amnesiac Jake wonders, "I'm rich, I live in a big house and I'm married to a white woman. Am I Lionel Richie?" He also wonders if the gun-toting, butt-kicking Lucy Liu really is his mistress, as she claims to be. It all seems to good to be true. But the bad guys who just want the microchip don't care, and the genuine thriller mayhem and laugh riot gags that fly by don't give Jake much time to think that maybe he is just an ordinary janitor who has wrong-manned his way into a massive spy vs. spy cliche. There are a couple of fantastically funny supporting roles for additional distraction. DeRay Davis steals the spotlight as Jake's wannabe-rapper janitor pal, and Niecy Nash (of Reno 911! fame) also chomps hard on the scenery as a sex-crazed security guard. Food Network fans will get a! n unintended chuckle from seeing Mark Dacascos, the suave and sybaritic "Kitchen Stadium Chairman" from Iron Chef America playing head cheese of the bad guy contingent. In all, it's not worth the audience spending too much time thinking all this through either, especially when Cedric's doing his thing (the clog dance and grandma-spanking scenes are highlights). Maybe someday they'll let Cedric off the thinking leash altogether -- perhaps in Code Name: The Entertainer? --Ted Fry