The Alphabet Killer

• A ten year old girl is found brutally murdered outside the small blue-collar city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and DOLLHOUSE) suffers a mental breakdown while trying to solve the crime. But when the child-killings resume two years later, Megan s return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucination

Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothi! ng to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release of a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders. This factual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothing to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release o! f a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders.! This fa ctual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.Between 1971 and 1973, three young girls, ages ten to eleven, were found sexually assaulted and slain near Rochester, New York. The girls all had double initials for their first and last names and were found dead in suburbs with names in which the first letter co-ordinated with the girls' initials. Two prime suspects later committed suicide. A third suspect, Kenneth Bianchi, went to California where he went on to become one of the infamous Hillside Stranglers, but to this day he insists he had nothing to do with the so-called Double Initial, or Alphabet, murders. The crimes remain unsolved, but interest in the case was re-energised with the release of a fictionalised motion picture loosely based on the murders. This factual account, the first book fully devoted to the case, explores the crime and the ongoing investigation.A ten year old girl is found brutally murdered ou! tside the small blue-collar city of Rochester, New York, and obsessed police detective Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and DOLLHOUSE) suffers a mental breakdown while trying to solve the crime. But when the child-killings resume two years later, Megan’s return to the investigation also brings back her own horrific hallucinations.  Even if she can prove a ‘double initial’ connection to the slayings, will she hang onto her sanity long enough to catch a psychopath? Cary Elwes (SAW), Michael Ironside (STARSHIP TROOPERS), Bill Moseley (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS), Carl Lumbly (ALIAS) and Academy Award® winner Timothy Hutton co-star in this chilling thriller directed by Rob Schmidt.In the spirit of suspense films and television shows that focus on the sleuth’s attempt to make something out of senseless violence, Alphabet Killer is less about the murders it details than about the detective,! Megan Paige (Eliza Dushku of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who suffers mentally for studying brutality. Though opening scenes show young girls slayed at various wooded Rochester, New York crime scenes, the film quickly digresses into Megan’s stressed relationship with her co-detective lover, Kenneth Shine (Cary Elwes), who watches her obsession with the case spiral out of control. As murders continue, Megan gets psychic leads and is haunted by the ghosts of the wrongly deceased, but cannot solve the case. Megan’s diagnosis as a schizophrenic complicates matters greatly, and elevates the film into deeper story, especially when one senses, through subtle filmic clues, the creepiness of Megan’s therapist, Richard Ledge (Timothy Hutton). Some silly, dramatized enactments of mental illness on Dushku’s part do not help convince the viewer through fine acting, though one may be willing to look past this in hopes for pending potential spookiness. And the conundrum posed by Megan in her therapy group is engaging: manic peop! le do often excel due to intuition, yet it is their ability to experience the world differently that gets them into trouble. Although the ghosts hallucinations are unconvincing, and Dushku probably could have used more research before she took the role, Alphabet Killer captivates because it shows how convoluted layers of reality can confuse even the sharpest detective. The disturbing thing about Alphabet Killer is not the film itself but the idea behind it: that the majority of what we know and trust is illusory, and that truth is discovered best through madness. --Trinie Dalton

Stills from The Alphabet Killer (Click for larger image)

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Ordinary People

• ISBN13: 9780140065176
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Money Shot chronicles the African American porn industry's steady rise to the mainstream. Lawrence Ross, a prominent journalist and lecturer, details a year in the life of porn star Lexington Steele, whose eleven-inch penis and $75,000 per-movie-fee made him one of the most famous figures in the porn industry. Beginning and ending with Lexington Steele as the book's narrative thread, Ross conducts hundreds of interviews with college professors, industry insiders, and porn stars themselves, providing an insider's view of the often dangerous and disheartening reality of the black porn industry. His research uncovers a world fraught with sexual and racial politics. He describes an AIDS crisis that ! threatens the lives and careers of several black porn stars, the racism that implicitly prohibits interracial sex scenes in porn films, the moral implications of black female porn stars working as escorts to wealthy African Americans, and much more. Money Shot humanizes those who participate in a largely inhumane occupationâ€"it is a cautionary tale for those who thought that what they are seeing on the screen is simply sex.

The classic depiction of the harsh realities of American life, the dark side of the American Dream, and one man's doomed pursuit of love and success...

"Mr. Dreiser is not imitative and belongs to no school. He is at heart a mysticist and a fatalist, though using the realistic method. He is, on the evidence of this novel alone, a power."-The New York Times Book ReviewIn this acclaimed biographical novel, Irving Stone brings to life the tender and poignant love story of Rachel and Andrew Jackson. "Beyond any doubt one of the great rom! ances of all time." -- The Saturday Review of LiteratureDaniell e Steel celebrates families of every stripe in her compelling new novelâ€"a tale of three very different couples who struggle and survive, love, laugh, and learn to take life…

Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega-bestselling author who writes under the name of Florence Flowersâ€"and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood’s top producers. They’re not your typical family by any means.…Jane has lived with her partner, Liz, for ten years, in a solid, loving relationship. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco, a law school dropout and the family black sheep, works as a dog walker, having fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.

But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane’s luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a m! atter of days.…It turns out Jane’s house comes complete with an unexpected houseguest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who’s fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn’t be more different. The attraction couldn’t be more immediate.

Suddenly Coco is seeing things differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he’s a single dad to an adorable six-year-old girl. Her mother is not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she’s a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of allâ€"into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood’s hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their lives, old wounds are healed and new familes are formedâ€"some traditional, some not so traditional, but all bonded by love.

With wit and intelligence, Danielle Steel’s new novel explores love in all its guises, taking! us into the lives of three unusual but wonderfully real couple s. Funny, sexy, and wise, One Day at a Time is at once moving, thought provoking, and utterly impossible to put down.Describes a youth's breakdown and recovery and how it affects his family.

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Fears of the Dark

• FEARS OF THE DARK (DVD MOVIE)

Every morning that you ask the 15K-waterproof, 10K-breathable Volcom Mirror who is the greatest rider in the land, it will always say you. Why? Because the Mirror Jacket works so well, and fits so comfortably every day will be the best day ever. Game for any mountain weather and flaunting a perfectly baggy fit, the Mirror has you in its eye.

Product Features

• Material: [membrane/laminate] V-Science (2-layer); [shell] V-Science plain-weave
• Insulation:
• Fabric Waterproof Rating: 15,000 mm
• Fabric Breathability Rating: 10,000 g/m
• Hood: yes, fixed
• Fit: standard
• Center Back Length:
• Length: below hip
• Venting: underarm zip vents
• Powder Skirt: yes, adjustable
• Pockets: (external) 2 hand-warmer, 1 left chest zip, (interna! l) 1 goggle, 1 media
• Seams: critical seams taped
• Wrist Gaiters: no
• Liner-Compatible: no
• RECCO:
• Weight:
• Recommended Use: snowboarding
• Manufacturer Warranty: 30 days

Synopsis of Dark Quarry, by David H. Fears

This first in the "Dark" series of Mike Angel, Private Investigator mysteries is a wild ride, set in the New York/New Jersey and Chicago areas in 1960. If you like complex plots, soul-tortured protagonists, and suspense, you'll be hooked by this series. The first volume is historical fiction, involving names and places connected with remnants of the infamous Purple Gang of the 1930s. Suspense, seduction and even some suupernatural elements are involved, though this is more of a mystery series in the vein of Chandler, Spillane, Hammett.

Burdened by the unsolved murder of his father, a career NYPD lieutenant whose "voice" warns whenever danger is near, 30-year-old Mike Angel is a K! orean vet and bored private investigator of insurance fraud. W! hen a we althy ex-college buddy hires him to tail Joe Ambler, a petty blackmailer, Mike fixates on Kimbra, the blackmailer's woman, a stunning beauty who commits murder. Mike impulsively helps her dispose of the body and finds himself on the wrong side of the law.
Mike then discovers the dead man was the grandson of a feared and legendary mob leader, founder of Detroit's Purple Gang of the 1920s and 30s, possibly still alive. The same week, a well-dressed thug comes looking for Ambler, and the wealthy buddy who hired Mike runs off with Kimbra and is murdered in the Bahamas.

Kimbra disappears. While searching for her Mike stumbles across connections to the Russian-Cuban branch of the ring responsible for a string of unsolved murders in three states.

Seduction, deception, murders, shootouts, and crooked officials take Mike on a dangerous mission to the final showdown at Russian mob headquarters outside the small town of Mattoon, Illinois, where he hopes t! o discover who killed his father and save the life of Nika, a woman he has fallen for. You may have quite a few laughs at Mike's sarcasm and approach throughout. Consistenly rated high.Synopsis of Dark Quarry, by David H. Fears

This first in the "Dark" series of Mike Angel, Private Investigator mysteries is a wild ride, set in the New York/New Jersey and Chicago areas in 1960. If you like complex plots, soul-tortured protagonists, and suspense, you'll be hooked by this series. The first volume is historical fiction, involving names and places connected with remnants of the infamous Purple Gang of the 1930s. Suspense, seduction and even some suupernatural elements are involved, though this is more of a mystery series in the vein of Chandler, Spillane, Hammett.

Burdened by the unsolved murder of his father, a career NYPD lieutenant whose "voice" warns whenever danger is near, 30-year-old Mike Angel is a Korean vet and bored private investigator of insurance ! fraud. When a wealthy ex-college buddy hires him to tail Joe A! mbler, a petty blackmailer, Mike fixates on Kimbra, the blackmailer's woman, a stunning beauty who commits murder. Mike impulsively helps her dispose of the body and finds himself on the wrong side of the law.
Mike then discovers the dead man was the grandson of a feared and legendary mob leader, founder of Detroit's Purple Gang of the 1920s and 30s, possibly still alive. The same week, a well-dressed thug comes looking for Ambler, and the wealthy buddy who hired Mike runs off with Kimbra and is murdered in the Bahamas.

Kimbra disappears. While searching for her Mike stumbles across connections to the Russian-Cuban branch of the ring responsible for a string of unsolved murders in three states.

Seduction, deception, murders, shootouts, and crooked officials take Mike on a dangerous mission to the final showdown at Russian mob headquarters outside the small town of Mattoon, Illinois, where he hopes to discover who killed his father and save the life of Nika, a wo! man he has fallen for. You may have quite a few laughs at Mike's sarcasm and approach throughout. Consistenly rated high.It has been hailed as the most visually stunning and unsettling anthology in modern animation history: Artistic director Etienne Robial brings together six of the world s leading comic and graphic artists Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Richard McGuire, Pierre di Sciullo and Lorenzo Mattotti to each create a black and white journey straight into the realm of fright. This is their stark and naked world of phobias, nightmares and shadows, of strange noises, slimy bugs and dead things. It s a creepy, kinky, sometimes funny and always scary ride inside what makes our skin crawl and keeps us awake all night. The lights are off. The fear is real. Do you dare watch it alone?

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Absolute Power

• ABSOLUTE POWER (DVD MOVIE)

He was where he shouldn’t have been and saw what he shouldn’t have seen. Now, who will believe the word of a career thief and ex-con? Who will trust Luther Whitney when he says he saw a woman killed â€" and that the man responsible for her death is the President of the United States? Clint Eastwood portrays Whitney and directs this crisp, finely acted caper based on David Baldacci’s bestseller. Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney and more top-drawer acting talents create well-rounded characters that intensify a constantly spiralling game of cat-and-mouse between Whitney, local police and the highest levels of Oval Office power. Eastwood is a master at steadily raising the stakes in thrillers. Here his mastery is absolute.Director Clint Eastwood's 1997 box-office hit stars himself as Luther Whitney, a highly skilled thief who finds himself in the wrong place ! at the wrong time, witnessing the murder of a woman involved in a secret tryst with the U.S. president (played by Gene Hackman). Determined to clear his name, Whitney cleverly eludes a tenacious detective (Ed Harris) while investigating a corruption of power reaching to the highest level of government. Adapted by veteran screenwriter William Goldman from David Baldacci's novel, this thriller balances expert suspense with well-drawn characters and an intelligent plot that's just a pounding heartbeat away from real White House headlines. Absolute Power features the great Judy Davis in a memorable supporting role as the White House chief of staff who desperately attempts to cover up the crime. --Jeff Shannon

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House of Sand and Fog

• Condition: New
• Format: DVD
• AC-3; Anamorphic; Closed-captioned; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widesc

Filmed entirely on the magnificent, sandy coast of northern Brazil, Áurea's saga begins in 1910, in Maranhão, where her fanatical husband has relocated his family to start a farm. Desperate and pregnant, Áurea (Fernanda Torres) longs to return to the city, but cannot traverse the dunes with her aging mother, Maria (Fernanda Montenegro) in tow. When calamity strikes, the two women find themselves stranded. Eventually, they settle among the shifting sands and Áurea finds peace. But her passionate daughter, Maria, longs to explore the world beyond the dunes. This profound portrait of passing generations has established Andrucha Waddington as one of the most exciting directors in Brazil today.The landscape looks like the surface of the moon. Set in Br! azil's Maranhão desert, House of Sand follows three generations of women, from 1910 to 1969, as they eke out a living from this hostile environment. Oafish Vasco (director Ruy Guerra) brings pregnant wife Áurea (Fernanda Torres) and her mother, Dona Maria (Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station), from the city to make a new start. Shortly after they arrive, fate takes him out of the picture. Mother and daughter muddle through with the help of slave descendents. Wary at first, Massu (Seu Jorge, City of God) takes a particular shine to the duo. The story then skips ahead to 1919, when an escape route materializes. There will be two more shifts in time. By 1942, Áurea's daughter, Maria (Torres), has grown into impetuous womanhood, while Áurea (Montenegro) and Massu (Luiz Melodia) have settled into middle age. In the final section, set during the year of the first lunar landing, Áurea (Montenegro) is around the same age as her mother at the start of the ! film. With the exception of Camilla Facundes as nine-year-old ! Maria, T orres and her real-life mother assume every female role. What does it all mean? Andrucha Waddington (Me You Them) doesn't burden his enigmatic epic with a singular message, but those who appreciate dust-swept dramas like Woman in the Dunes and Walkabout aren't likely to hold it against him. The point seems to be that the human--especially the female--capacity for survival knows no bounds. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Stills from House of Sand (click for larger image)

	!

Academy Award winners Ben Kingsley (Gandhi) and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) deliver stunning performances as two strangers whose conflicting pursuits of the American Dream lead to a fight for their hopes at any cost. What begins as a struggle over a rundown bungalow spirals into a clash that propels everyone involved toward a shocking resolution. "The surprise ending will leave you breathless!" (Clay Smith, Access Hollywood! )Jennifer Connelly followed up her Academy Award for A Beau! tiful Mi nd with this dark but moving story of small mistakes that escalate, with tragic necessity, to disaster. In House of Sand and Fog, Kathy (Connelly) gets evicted from her house for failing to pay a tax she never should have been charged in the first place. The house is swiftly put up for auction and bought by a former military officer from Iran named Behrani (Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast). When legal efforts fail her, Kathy turns to a sympathetic cop (Ron Eldard, Bastard Out of Carolina), who wants out of a loveless marriage and who's willing to step over legal boundaries if it might give him a fresh start. Topnotch performances by the entire cast make House of Sand and Fog a compelling psychological drama; your sympathies will be pulled in all directions. --Bret Fetzer

Four Minutes

• For over sixty years, aged pianist Traude Kr ger has been teaching piano at the women's prison. But she's never met someone like Jenny, a convicted killer beating everything around her to a pulp just to amuse herself. But Jenny used to be a great musical talent. And she still is under her impenetrable facade. She could manage to win a prestigious piano contest she is allowed to participate

For over sixty years, aged pianist Traude Krüger has been teaching piano at the women s prison. But she s never met someone like Jenny, a convicted killer beating everything around her to a pulp just to amuse herself. But Jenny used to be a great musical talent. And she still is under her impenetrable facade. She could manage to win a prestigious piano contest she is allowed to participate in despite her prison sentence. However, a contest is no challenge to someone who wants life to stand still.Four Mi! nutes recalls the lineage of films dedicated to marginalized characters who find solace in piano playing, such as Jane Campion’s The Piano, yet there is more to this drama than the story of a woman yearning for autonomy. Jenny (Hannah Herzsprung), a prisoner described as the type to "steal a smoke from a corpse" by another inmate, is wasting away in a German penitentiary until she is recruited by piano teacher, Traude Krüger (Monica Bleibtrau), to train for a contest coming up. Krüger, who sees Jenny’s fingers keying organ music on her church pew in Sunday mass, realizes Jenny’s innate talent and slowly heals her student through music as well as through conversations revealing their mutually difficult pasts. While Jenny’s violent outbursts continuously disrupt her piano privileges, Traude heroically defends Jenny in meetings with the hard-edged warden, Mr. Meyerbeer (Stefan Kurt). The crux of the story lies in the friendship forged between these women t! hrough Traude’s determination to heal her young prodigy. Thr! ough fla shback, the viewer learns what male violence was inflicted upon each lady. Four Minutes, subtitled from German, is a bit humorless, and one doesn’t glimpse even a slight smile on any character’s face until fifty minutes of film have rolled. Jenny’s outbursts at the piano as well, such as when she plays handcuffed to defy Meyerbeer, are overwrought. Still, the lack of sentimentality inherent to each character lends a wry realism to the intelligent script, such as when Ms. Krüger tells Jenny to stop playing "negro music," exposing her antiquated, uptight musical taste. Four Minutes succeeds at illustrating a relationship in which two women cut from different cloth share commonalities that assume a female essence, though at their core they crave a universal desire for freedom. --Trinie Dalton

Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti

• ISBN13: 9780914232636
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

They are real. They are the harbingers of the Apocalypse. And only one woman stands between them and us. THE FOUR HORSEMEN is a race-against-the-clock thriller starring Andie Sullivan. As the world's only "culturalist," she is employed by corporations and wealthy individuals to break through the barriers with any culture around the globe. Now, she faces the most challenging and dangerous assignment of her career. Hired by a ruthless businessman to infiltrate the mysterious tribe who serve as the protectors of the Four Horsemen's ancient secret, Andie is plunged into a mysterious world where every answer only opens the door to more questions. With a shadowy government force and a brutal terrorist also v! ying for the Horsemen's unfathomable power, Andie must collect them all and unlock their mysteries before time runs out.A boy's account of growing up in the South during the depression era. Both a rare first novel and a new American classic, Sams novel has been compared to Tom Sawyer and To Kill a Mockingbird.Includes photographs and drawings. Foreword by Joseph Campbell This is the classic, intimate study, movingly written with the special insight of direct encounter, which was first published in 1953 by the fledgling Thames & Hudson firm in a series edited by Joseph Campbell. Maya Deren's Divine Horsemen is recognized throughout the world as a primary source book on the culture and spirituality of Haitian Voudoun. The work includes all the original photographs and illustrations, glossary, appendices and index. It includes the original Campbell foreword along with the foreword Campbell added to a later edition.

Eastern Promises (HD DVD/DVD Combo)

• 5-weight memory for one user

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).

David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enfor! cer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Morten! sen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a tr! ue, haun ting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, ! a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (cen! ter) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, myster! y and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the mov! ie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely s! hocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

!

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo ! Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).

David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Eastern Promises, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stah! l, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight! also wr ote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody will cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for la! rger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.

Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today).
David Cronenberg's signature obsessions flower in Easter! n Promis es, a stunning look at violence, responsibility, and skin. Near Christmastime in London, a baby is born to a teenage junkie--an event that leads a midwife (Naomi Watts) into the world of the Russian mob. Central to this world is an ambitious enforcer (Viggo Mortensen) who's lately buddied up with the reckless son (Vincent Cassel) of a mob boss (Armin Mueller-Stahl, doing his benign-sinister thing). Screenwriter Steve Knight also wrote Dirty Pretty Things, and in some ways this is a companion piece to that film, though utterly different in style. The plot is classical to the point of being familiar, but Cronenberg doesn't allow anything to become sentimental; he and his peerless cinematographer Peter Suschitzky take a cool, controlled approach to this story. Because of that, when the movie erupts in its (relatively brief) violence, it's genuinely shocking. Cronenberg really puts the viewer through it, as though to shame the easy purveyors of pulp violence--nobody w! ill cheer when the blood runs in this film. Still, Eastern Promises has a furtive humor, nicely conveyed in Viggo Mortensen's highly original performance. Covered in tattoos, his body a scroll depicting his personal history of violence, Mortensen conveys a subtle blend of resolve and lost-ness. He's a true, haunting mystery man. --Robert Horton

Stills from Eastern Promises (click for larger image). Photos by Peter Mountain.

Vincent Cassel (left) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Muelle! r-Stahl (center) stars in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMIS! ES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Viggo Mortensen (left) and Naomi Watts (right) star in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Naomi Watts stars in David Cronenberg's new thriller EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Armin Mueller-Stahl (left) and Naomi Watt (right) star in David Cronenber! g's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.
Mina E. Mina (left), Vincent Cassel (center) and Viggo Mortensen (right) star in David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Vincent Cassel stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.	Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg’s EASTERN PROMISES, a Focus Features release.