Young Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) is happy as a clam, and why not? She's got a loving, successful husband (Bruce Greenwood), an adorable son and an island home to die for. One morning, after a romantic sailing expedition with her husband, Libby finds herself covered in blood. Her husband is missing, the boat resembles a murder scene, and there's a knife on the deck. One might stop right there and call for help; Libby, however, takes matters-or, more specifically, the knife-into her own hands, and the moment she does, there's the Coast Guard. Faster than you can say frame-up, Libby's been charged with murder and jailed, with her young son stripped from her custody. It's all cut-and-dried, except for one thing: Libby's husband isn't dead, and she's about to track him down. And thanks to the US Constitution's "double jeopardy" rule, she can't be charged twice for his murder. Double Jeopardy has a singularly seductive revenge premise and, in Judd, one of the most seductive leading ladies to grace the silver screen in recent years. So then why does this thriller feel like it came from the bottom of the television movie barrel? Instead of taking a gritty, hard-boiled approach, the film plays up all of Libby's mushy emotions-tellingly, the director here is Bruce Beresford, whose best film, Driving Miss Daisy, is as far from thriller territory as you can get. No matter how stoically or deviously Judd plays her, Libby comes across as a soccer mom with a slight taste for blood. [+]

This minor 1955 work by Alfred Hitchcock, one of the lighter entries of his creative peak in the 1950s, is still imbued with the master's stock themes of shared guilt and romantic ambivalence. It is also hardly lacking in Hitchcockian cinematic inventiveness, such as a famous, often-imitated sequence in which some smooching between stars Cary Grant and Grace Kelly is intercut with a fireworks show that just happens to be going on outside in a Riviera setting. Grant plays a reformed cat burglar who is suspected of reviving his trade, though he knows someone else is using his old methods. A very enjoyable experience, but don't get this confused with Hitchcock's other Cary Grant film of that decade, a true masterpiece: North by Northwest. -Tom Keogh.

Audrey Hepburn's last Oscar nomination was for this adaptation of Frederick Knott's famed stage thriller about a blind woman, a con man (Alan Arkin), and a doll full of heroin. Thanks to Hepburn's husband, a photographer who does a good deal of travelling, she's unknowingly come into possession of said doll, which was given to him on a plane by a comely young drug runner who winds up dead. The murderous Arkin, aided by sympathetic henchman Richard Crenna, will let nothing stand in the way of his obtaining it, even if it comes down to assaying multiple "personalities" in order to visit and terrorise Hepburn; Crenna is unwillingly enlisted to help. However, the "world's champion blind lady" (as Hepburn sardonically states) is more than up to the task of defending herself in her basement Manhattan apartment in a heart-stopping climax that to this day still defines the way horror movies with jack-in-the-box psychos are made. Despite the obvious staginess of it all (the entire action takes place in Hepburn's apartment), it still works magnificently, thanks to Hepburn's steely will and Arkin's deadly, sadistic madman. A helpful hint: turn out all the lights when you watch it; theatres back in 1967 did so, killing the guiding lights during the film's last 15 minutes. We can't tell you why, but trust us, it's worth it. -Mark Englehart, Amazon. com.

Fire Walk With Me is a rare spin-off that refuses to repeat what worked on TV. Despite mannerisms and "draggy" spots, Twin Peaks emerged as one of the wonders of American TV: scary and funny, erotic and serious, offensive and freakish. It meandered in an always interesting but sometimes frustrating way through two seasons, then signed off with a cliff-hanger upon cancellation. When Lynch announced he would continue the saga with a theatrical movie, fans assumed he would: (a) pull out the stops to show what evils really lurked behind the pretty façade of that small town, and (b) wrap up a storyline which tailed off with Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) possessed by the evil spirit "Bob". As it happens, Lynch delivered on (a) but refrained from fulfilling clause (b), opting to do a prequel-adapted in part from The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer, a tie-in novel by Jennifer (Boxing Helena) Lynch-which sets up the series by following the last week in the life of the "prom queen from Hell". Fire Walk With Me assumes you will be familiar with the series (some bits are incomprehensible unless you paid attention while other bits are just incomprehensible), making it most accessible to Twin Peaks initiates though sometimes deliberately offensive to them. It then omits several of the show's stars (Michael Ontkean, Richard Beymer, Joan Chen, Sherilyn Fenn) and a great many of the "lovable" aspects (wry jokes, damn fine coffee), relegating MacLachlan to a walk-on since the story happens before Cooper was assigned to Twin Peaks. Some instances of joyless sex and violence exceed anything Lynch could do on television, but for the most part he creates an atmosphere of dread through edgy performances, unsettling lighting and sound effects and sheer grimness. Without the catchphrases and the quirky charm, the film never feels cuddly in the way the TV show did, but it is one of Lynch's finest works and, though deeply uncomfortable, a TV spin-off which ranks with the best in both media. On the DVD: The DVD is Region 0 with a widescreen print, augmented for 16x9 televisions. [+]

In the vastly overrated 1998 book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, author Peter Biskind puts the blame for Hollywood's blockbuster mentality at least partially on Steven Spielberg's box-office success with this adaptation of Peter Benchley's bestselling novel. But you can't blame Spielberg for making a terrific film, which Jaws definitely is. The story of a Long Island town whose summer tourist business is suddenly threatened by great white shark attacks on humans bypasses the potboiler trappings of Benchley's book and goes straight for the jugular with beautifully crafted, crowd-pleasing sequences of action and suspense. This is supported by a trio of terrific performances by Roy Scheider (as the local sheriff), Richard Dreyfuss (as a shark specialist), and particularly Robert Shaw (as the old fisherman who offers to hunt the shark down). The sequences on Shaw's boat-as the three of them realise that in fact the shark is hunting them-are what entertaining moviemaking is all about. -Marshall Fine -This text refers to another version of this video. Jaws revolutionised Hollywood, single-handedly invented the summer blockbuster, spawned three increasingly poor sequels, and became the first film to gross more than 100 million dollars. Unlike many recent blockbusters, however, in Jaws the audience really cares about the fate of the men engaged in their duel with the monster. Granted the shark looks fake, but we willingly suspend our disbelief as storytelling and character development count for far more than mere special effects, adding enormously to the movie's suspense, excitement and sheer terror. The cast and screenplay are exemplary, but it was Steven Spielberg who emerged as the film's true star, while John Williams' unforgettable Oscar-winning score made him almost as much of as household name as the young director. [+]

jeff goldblum,kristin scott thomas,michael lerner. A painter is accused of art-forging. He thinks his girlfriend betrayed him, so it's time for revenge.

This complex 1996 drama directed by Harold Becker (Sea of Love) attempts to explore big-city corruption and the flexibility of what's right and wrong in the political arena. John Cusack plays the senior aide to mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino), a popular and seasoned politician whose administration is threatened when what seems to be an accidental shooting of a child reveals a nest of corruption and lifelong personal debts. This tests Cusack's loyalty to the man he thought he knew. Pacino turns in a finely textured performance as a man who has his own lofty ideals, but whose pragmatism sets in motion a series of events with tragic results. Cusack admirably captures the essence of someone polished and savvy at his job but must cope with fundamental disillusionment. This political thriller suffers at times from a lack of focus, but still offers an insightful and poignant treatise on the quagmire of politics in the modern age and the human toll it sometimes exacts. -Robert Lane.

3 episodes of PUDDLE LANE. When the magic stopped. The wideawake mice go to market. [+]

If Sylvester Stallone plays the world's number one assassin in this thriller, that must make Antonio Banderas, well, number two. The two are competing to hit the same target for a $20-million payoff and their challenge takes them from explosion to explosion on a cat-and-mouse chase from Seattle to Mexico. Julianne Moore plays the cagey cat fancier and computer hacker who possesses a stolen computer disc that makes her a prime target for bad guys, and Robert Rath (Stallone)is only too happy to come to her defense. Director Richard Donner handles action sequences with adequate flair and has a good time blowing things up. Banderas has fun with the nonsensical plot, and Moore is enjoyable in one of her big-budget mainstream roles. -Jeff Shannon.