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Bill Paxton‘s unforgettable and underrated feature debut, Frailty, is finally coming to 4K Uhd for the first time with a stunning SteelBook release from Lionsgate, and we can exclusively share what’s included in this loaded release.

Look for Frailty‘s 4K Ultra HD + Blu-rayTM + Digital Copy SteelBook to hit shelves on July 15, 2025, with Msrp $44.99.

Bill Paxton stars in and directs the 2001 horror movie from a script by Brent Hanley. Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe, Luke Askew, Jeremy Sumpter, and Matt O’Leary also star.

Frailty “centers on the God’s Hand Killer, who terrorized a small Texas community with his axe-wielding butchery. Years after the murders, Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) walks into an FBI office with a shocking revelation: he not only knows who the killer is, but where the bodies are buried. Fenton recounts how his father (Paxton) received an angelic vision commanding the destruction of demons in human form,...

While it may not be the decade people immediately think of when discussing horror movies, the early 2000s were actually a very exciting time for the genre, with some of the best horror movies emerging in those ten years. This decade marked the beginning of iconic movie franchises like Saw and Final Destination, as well as offering plenty of unforgettable stories through films like Signs and The Mist. With new films popping up for every subset of the genre, the 2000s truly offered something for all types of horror lovers.

Of course, the impressive range of 2000s horror movies extends well beyond the fan favorites that fans of the genre are bound to be quite familiar with by now. Because of the overwhelming success of a handful of films, many exciting, well-made works of horror managed to fly under the radar. Just because they may not have received as much...

The 2000s were a great time for horror, including both box office hits and lesser-known films that were just as good. From brilliant and hilarious teen horror movies to supernatural tales like The Ring, there is a wide range of choices for any fan that might feel nostalgic. However, between widespread acclaimed blockbusters and great sequels of beloved movies, some of the decade's finest works have gone under the radar despite their exceptional narrative and blood-curdling plots.

While the mainstream horrors dominated the industry, some not-very well-known movies many probably haven't seen are not less deserving of attention and praise, as they often offered an innovative and unexplored perspective that challenged more traditional tropes. Whether through impressive visuals, disturbing and macabre twists, or even emotionally charged narratives, some underrated films deserve a spot among the great horrors of the 2000s.

Frailty Released In 2001

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Lee Van Cleef was truly one of the greatest stars of his era, with a filmography that included some of the best Western movies of all time. With over 170 film and television roles, Van Cleef was particularly known for his leading and supporting roles in acclaimed spaghetti Westerns and his performances opposite stars like Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood. With a talent for playing no-nonsense tough guy bandits, Van Cleef had a sinister screen presence that made him a truly compelling villain.

From Western team-ups with iconic stars to truly spectacular Western sequels, Van Cleefs time in the cinematic Wild West was well spent. While some of Van Cleefs best Westerns featured him as the lead, he often also took a backseat to play highly memorable supporting characters who helped elevate these movies to now legendary status. A true icon of the Western genre, Van Cleef should be...

Post-apocalyptic movies continue to captivate audiences with action, horror, sci-fi, and social satire. You can see an awesome marathon of them on May 24th. The Obscury Road marathon on Shout! TV features cult classics like Dune Warriors and Wheels of Fire. Enjoy the movie marathon on May 24th on Shout! TV, streaming on various platforms.

Movies set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland have long been some of the most popular among audiences, and remain so today, often bringing together action, horror, science fiction, and social satire to create cinematic wonder. Well, we have good news for fans of the genre, as Shout! TV Presents Obscury Road, a streaming marathon of post-apocalyptic films featuring cult classics including Dune Warriors, Wheels of Fire, Deathsport, and More.

You can check out the official announcement for the movie marathon event below:

Prepare to enter no-man's land with Shout! TVs Obscury Road, a marathon of post-apocalyptic films streaming Friday,...

Prepare to enter no-man’s land with Shout! TV’s Obscury Road, a marathon of post-apocalyptic films streaming Friday, May 24. The marathon will feature cult classic films including Dune Warriors, Wheels of Fire, and Deathsport, starring the likes of David Carradine, Luke Askew, and Claudia Jennings as desert warriors.

The Obscury Road marathon can be viewed on Shout! TV; as well as the Shout! TV app on Roku, Android, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV; and the following digital streaming platforms: Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee, Local Now, Plex, Pluto TV, Sling TV, LG Channels, available on LG Smart TVs, Fubo, and Xumo.

In support of the event, we’ve joined up with Shout! Studios to give away copies of the following movies: Wheels of Fire / Raiders of the Sun, Exterminators of the Year 3000, A Boy And His Dog, Cyborg, Equalizer 2000, Deathsport, MST3K Escape 2000, MST3K Robot Holocaust,...

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By John M. Whalen

We all know Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys, as famous for his colorful fringed shirts and hand-tooled boots as he was for his ability with his fists, guitar and shooting iron. He was the epitome of Hollywood’s concept of a fantasy hero in a west that never was, as far from reality as director William Witney and writers like Sloan Nibley and Gerald Geraghty could make him. He made over 80 feature films basically playing himself, and became an icon that will live on beyond the memory of any of us. He stopped making feature films in 1952, but spent five more years turning out over 100 episodes of the Roy Rogers TV Show. He sort of retired after that, making occasional appearances on TV and at rodeo shows, but in 1975, at age 64, in what may have been an attempt at a comeback,...

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By Doug Oswald

William Holden commands a newly formed commando group in “The Devil’s Brigade,” available by Kino Lorber on Blu-ray. On the heels of the successful “The Dirty Dozen” from the previous year, “The Devil’s Brigade” is based on the 1966 book by Robert H. Adleman and Colonel George Walton. It chronicles the true events of the 1st Special Service, a joint American and Canadian commando unit assigned to the United States Fifth Army. Inspired by true events, the movie follows the standard tropes of this type of action adventure men- at -war movie. A rag-tag group of soldiers are brought together for a mission, they initially mistrust each other, get into a fight, train together, get into another fight this time working together against another group, graduate from their training and then deploy on their mission to fight the enemy.

“You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.”

Golden Anniversaries: Films of 1969 features 6 classic films celebrating their 50th anniversaries. This second edition focuses on 1969 and features a half-dozen films, all screening for free at the St. Louis Public Library (1301 Olive Street St. Louis) over 3 weekends in late summer. (This series kicked off August 31st at 1:30pm with Midnight Cowboy). On Saturday September 14th at 1:30pm the ’69 film will be The Wild Bunch directed by Sam Peckinpah. There will be an intro and post-film Q&a with W.K. Stratton, author of The Wild Bunch: Sam Peckinpah, a Revolution in Hollywood, and the Making of a Legendary Film . Admission is Free. A Facebook invite can be found Here

Easy Rider (1969) is much more than a 60s relic – it’s still a great movie even today. I find it...

By Todd Garbarini

According to actor and film historian Douglas Dunning, the 50th anniversary screening of Dennis Hopper’s Easy Rider will take place at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre in Beverly Hills on Saturday, September 7th, 2019 at 7:30 pm. The film runs 95 minutes. The 1969 film, which stars Peter Fonda, director Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Toni Basil, and Luana Anders among many others, will be followed by a tribute to the late Peter Fonda.

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Note: Actress Sabrina Scharf Is Scheduled To Participate In A Q&a Following The Screening. Please Check The Theatre’S Website Regarding Updates/Changes/Additions Of Other Potential In-person Appearances.

From the press release:

Easy Rider

50th Anniversary Screening and Tribute to Peter Fonda

Saturday, September 7, at 7:30 Pm

Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre

Laemmle Theatres and the Anniversary Classics Series present a tribute to the late Peter...

Guest Reviewer Lee Broughton is back, with another Italo Western double bill DVD review. Wild East’s ongoing Spaghetti Western Collection continues to grow and this double bill release is particularly welcome since it features two obscure and wholly idiosyncratic genre entries from 1969. Italian Western directors had found it relatively easy to appropriate key plot points and ideas from Sergio Leone’s Dollars films during the genre’s early years but when Leone’s sprawling, mega-budgeted, meta-Western Once Upon a Time in the West was released in 1968 it was clear that this was one genre entry that local filmmakers would not be able to easily emulate.

With scriptwriters and directors now essentially being forced to come up with their own ideas and generic trends, a new wave of Spaghetti Westerns were produced that effectively took the genre in a multitude of new directions. The two films featured here were part of that wave.

“You learn to love the rope. That’s how you beat ’em. That’s how you beat people who torture you. You learn to love ’em. Then they don’t know you’re beatin’ ’em.”

Rolling Thunder (1977) screens Midnights next weekend (April 8th and 9th) at The Moolah Theater and Lounge (3821 Lindell Blvd, St. Louis, Mo 63108) as part of Destroy the Brain’s monthly Late Night Grindhouse film series.

Paul Schrader followed his Taxi Driver screenplay with the one for Rolling Thunder, a gritty revenge thriller directed by John Flynn in 1977. Similarities abound as both are about Vietnam vets who are ticking time bombs pushed to the brink by the violence they’ve come home to. But Rolling Thunder’s plot eventually veers from character study into a Death Wish-style vigilante thriller. Like Taxi Driver, it leads slowly toward a cathartic bloodbath finale. Rolling Thunder is highly regarded by fans and critics alike,...

“You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.”

Easy Rider screens in 16mm at 7:30pm Monday March 7th at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood

The perfect film to watch in old-school 16mm!

Easy Rider (1969) is much more than a 60s relic – it’s still a great movie even today. I find it fascinating that Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda took Roger Corman material and gave it an European- influenced arthouse approach. Combined with breathtaking visuals, a well-chosen rock soundtrack and some classic, stoned, improvised dialogue Easy Rider is still an impressive movie all these years later. Fonda had recently made The Wild Angels, Hopper the less remembered The Glory Stompers, and Jack Nicholson Hells Angels On Wheels, but Easy Rider reinvented the biker movie (or technically created a new subgenre: the “hippy” Biker Film), and things were never...

'Broadcast News' with Albert Brooks and Holly Hunter: Glib TV news watch. '31 Days of Oscar': 'Broadcast News' slick but superficial critics pleaser (See previous post: “Phony 'A Beautiful Mind,' Unfairly Neglected 'Swing Shift': '31 Days of Oscar'.”) Heralded for its wit and incisiveness, James L. Brooks' multiple Oscar-nominated Broadcast News is everything the largely forgotten Swing Shift isn't: belabored, artificial, superficial. That's very disappointing considering Brooks' highly addictive Mary Tyler Moore television series (and its enjoyable spin-offs, Phyllis and Rhoda), but totally expected considering that three of screenwriter-director Brooks' five other feature films were Terms of Endearment, As Good as It Gets, and Spanglish. (I've yet to check out I'll Do Anything and the box office cataclysm How Do You Know starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson.) Having said that, Albert Brooks (no relation to James L.; or to Mel Brooks...

“You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.”

Easy Rider screens in 16mm at 7:30pm Monday October 5th at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood

The perfect film to watch in old-school 16mm!

Easy Rider (1969) is much more than a 60s relic – it’s still a great movie even today. I find it fascinating that Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda took Roger Corman material and gave it an European- influenced arthouse approach. Combined with breathtaking visuals, a well-chosen rock soundtrack and some classic, stoned, improvised dialogue Easy Rider is still an impressive movie all these years later. Fonda had recently made The Wild Angels, Hopper the less remembered The Glory Stompers, and Jack Nicholson Hells Angels On Wheels, but Easy Rider reinvented the biker movie (or technically created a new subgenre: the “hippy” Biker Film), and things were never...

“You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it.”

Easy Rider screens in 16mm at 7:30pm Monday August 3rd at Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood

Easy Rider (1969) is much more than a 60s relic – it’s still a great movie even today. I find it fascinating that Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda took Roger Corman material and gave it an European- influenced arthouse approach. Combined with breathtaking visuals, a well-chosen rock soundtrack and some classic, stoned, improvised dialogue Easy Rider is still an impressive movie all these years later. Fonda had recently made The Wild Angels, Hopper the less remembered The Glory Stompers, and Jack Nicholson Hells Angels On Wheels, but Easy Rider reinvented the biker movie (or technically created a new subgenre: the “hippy” Biker Film), and things were never quite the same in Hollywood for the rest of the Seventies.

Stars: Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, L.Q. Jones, Logan Ramsey, John Dennis Johnston, Ron Soble, Luke Askew, Meshach Taylor, Boyce Holleman | Written by Tom Holland | Directed by Philippe Mora

The Beast Within is a strange movie, you spend a lot of the time thinking it’s a strange werewolf film and the rest wondering just what the hell the beast is. The fact is though if you take your time and watch it you realise that the so-called Beast is unique, by listening to the commentary and watching the documentary included in this release you realise that the creature is in fact a cicada. I know, I had to look up what it was too.

The Beast Within starts with newlyweds Eli and Caroline MacCleary (Ronny Cox and Bibi Besch) enjoying their honeymoon until their car breaks down on a cold dark country road.

Stars: Ronny Cox, Bibi Besch, Paul Clemens, Don Gordon, R.G. Armstrong, Katherine Moffat, L.Q. Jones, Logan Ramsey, John Dennis Johnston, Ron Soble, Luke Askew, Meshach Taylor, Boyce Holleman | Written by Tom Holland | Directed by Philippe Mora

When I was a kid, there were two movies that terrified me as a kid. This wasn’t the creeping dread I felt when I watched Night of the Living Dead or The Twilight Zone. No, this was outright fear, the kind that sends you under the covers, sleeping in a sheen of sweat with the lights on. And maybe it sounds silly but as someone with a highly overactive imagination who lived in the woods, I don’t find it silly at the time. But now when you’re older, you look back and feel stupid about some of the things that terrified you or the film just isn’t that good. The...

Scream Factory, ever busy preserving horror’s cinematic legacy, recently released another pair of cult classics on Blu-ray, The Beast Within and Crawlspace. Today, we have another double review taking a look back at these two often overlooked genre films.

The Beast Within: The Beast Within is the first theatrical screenplay by now genre vet, Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child’s Play). It follows a sickly 17-year-old named Michael MacCleary (Paul Clemens), who, as it turns out, has the misfortune of being the offspring of a violent encounter between a murderous swamp beast and his mother (Bibi Besch). And as Michael begins awkwardly transitioning into a man on the eve of his 18th birthday, he’s also forced to deal with the terrifying evil growing inside that he must overcome. Because, if he doesn’t face his true nature, Michael may forever be lost to his swamp beast lurking...

Review by Sam Moffitt

I think everybody knows Dwight Yoakum as a hell of a good singer, an excellent song writer and one of Country music’s biggest stars. How many people know he directed a terrific western with all the elements we expect of a good western movie?

Yoakum shocked me, quite frankly, with his appearance in Sling Blade, Billy Bob Thornton’s masterpiece. From everything I’ve heard Yoakum is a very nice guy with his feet firmly on the ground and treats his fans with a great deal of respect. In Sling Blade he was all too believable as a complete son of a bitch. Where did a non actor get those kind of chops? In fact he is so good at playing an evil character it’s shocking. When Carl finally lays into him to put an end to it you want to stand up and cheer.

Nest of Vipers (Night of the Serpent)

Directed by Giulio Petroni

Italy, 1969

Though Giulio Petroni has only rather few titles to his name when compared with his prolific, and better known, counterparts, the Italian director does have the bragging rights of working with both Lee Van Cleef (Death Rides a Horse, 1967) and Orson Welles (Tepepa, 1969).

It’s Petroni’s Nest of Vipers, recently released alongside Pierro Pierotti’s less successful Tails You Lose (1969), by Wild East Productions, that showcases the director’s talent for complex plotting and atmospheric set pieces.

Similar to the earlier Ringo series by Duccio Tessari, and to the now time-honored traditions of Leone and Corbucci, the structure of Nest of Vipers pits the outsider (here, and often, the“gringo”) versus a band of outlaws, where a largely unassuming and tight-knit community is caught in between and unawares.

Luke Askew, probably best known for roles in Easy Rider and Cool Hand Luke,...

Disco legend Donna Summer has passed away at age 63, from what news reports say was a battle with lung cancer.

TMZ reported that Summer was private about her illness, and that there may have been a connection between debris from 9/11 and her lung cancer:

TMZ has learned ... Donna died from lung cancer. Several sources are telling us Donna believed she contracted it by inhaling toxic particles after the 9/11 attack in New York City.

However, there are very few details about Summer's cancer, or if there were any complications that were involved with her death.

The family of the "She Works Hard for the Money" singer issued a statement, Afp reported, which said: "While we grieve her passing, we are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy. Words truly can't express how much we appreciate your prayers and love for our family at this sensitive time."

Lung cancer is the No.

DVD Playhouse – May 2012

By Allen Gardner

Shame (20th Century Fox) Director Steve McQueen’s harrowing portrait of a Manhattan sex addict (Michael Fassbender, in the year’s most riveting performance) whose psyche goes into overload when his equally-troubled sister (Carey Mulligan) visits unexpectedly. Exquisitely-made on every level, save for the screenplay, which makes its point after about thirty minutes. While it tries hard to be a modern-day Last Tango in Paris, this fatal flaw makes it fall somewhat short. The much- ballyhooed sex scenes and frontal nudity are the least-interesting things about the film, incidentally, which is still a must-see for discriminating adults who seek out challenging material. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Featurettes. Widescreen. Dolby and DTS-hd 5.1 surround.

Being John Malkovich (Criterion) Spike Jonze’s madcap film of Charlie Kaufman’s script, regarding a socially-disenfranchised puppeteer (John Cusack) who finds a portal into the mind of actor...

Well we're back again with the bumper crop of must-have DVDs and Blu-rays for the month of May – from historic Italian epics to underground American sensations to a chilly, expressionistic film noir to movies where Raquel Welch plays a Vegas showgirl fleeing a murderer – we’ve got them all hear for you. So look on below to see what's worth your money this month....

"1900" (1976) Blu-ray

Why You Should Care: At the time of its release, Bernardo Bertolucci's historical epic was said to be the most expensive (requiring the financial commitment of three major studios – 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and United Artists) and ambitious ever mounted in Italy. It's a tale of two friends (played by Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu), born on the same day at the dawn of the 20th century, and the way that their lives crisscross, intersect, and diverge wildly over the rocky course of history.

The Terracotta Far East Film Festival is on in London through the weekend, presenting, as Electric Sheep notes in the introduction to its newish issue, "the UK premiere of Sion Sono's Himizu [review: John Bleasdale], using a comic to tackle the fallout from Fukushima." Es takes "a look at manga adaptations with Takashi Miike's stylized, violent high school movie Crows Zero [comic strip review: Joe Morgan] and Toshiya Fujita's 70s revenge tale Lady Snowblood: Blizzard from the Netherworld [review: Virginie Sélavy]."

Hiroyuki Okiura's A Letter to Momo, seven years in the making, opens in Japan next week after a run through the festival circuit and, in the Japan Times, Mark Schilling gives it four out of five stars: "Hayao Miyazaki is the obvious point of comparison, but unlike many of Miyazaki's more fanciful landscapes, Okiura's port is vividly, recognizably real — so much so that you can almost smell the salt in the water and feel the warmth of the stones.

Character actor Luke Askew has passed away at the age of 80.

He died at his Lake Oswego, Oregon home after a long battle with ill health on 29 March.

Francis Luke Askew first attended the University of Georgia and honed his acting skills in several Off-Broadway plays.

He later made his feature film debut alongside Michael Caine and Faye Dunaway in Hurry Sundown and he subsequently played a sadistic prison guard in Paul Newman's Cool Hand Luke.

He also took on the role of Sergeant Provo in John Wayne's The Green Berets but Askew is perhaps best known for portraying the wayward stranger who led Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper to a hippie commune in 1969 classic Easy Rider.

Askew additionally appeared in several hit TV shows throughout his career, including Walker, Texas Ranger, MacGyver, The Six Million Dollar Man, Everwood, and most recently Big Love.

He may be best known as the hitchhiker who took Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda to the hippy commune in Easy Rider (1969) or as “Boss Paul” in Cool Hand Luke (1967) but my favorite Luke Askew moment was when, as the scary “Automatic Slim”, he shoved William Devane’s hand down the garbage disposal in Rolling Thunder (1976). Tall, intense, and imposing, Askew was often cast as villains and in westerns such as Will Penney (1968), Pat Garret And Billy The Kid, and The Culpepper Cattle Company (both 1973). Askew did a ton of TV work including a most recent stint as Hollis Green on Big Love. I don’t recall him ever in a leading role but he was a familiar, dependable character actor who I always enjoyed seeing on screen. Askew died at his home in Oregon last Monday at age 80 and I have not yet heard the cause of death.

Well, three weeks into January and the DVD and Blu-ray releases are heating up, with some of last summers biggest movies finally hitting the home formats, and some classic re-releases… Here’s the weeks highlights:

Grown Ups (DVD & Blu-ray)

In the tradition of The Big Chill, five childhood friends (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade and Rob Schneider) reunite after 30 years to attend the funeral of their beloved youth basketball coach over the Fourth of July weekend. They all stay at the late coach’s lake house with their families in tow. Comedy ensues as they relive old times, tease each other, and try to show their kids how to have fun the old fashion way. The hilarious reunion shows them not only how different their lives have become, but how much they still have in common.

The Switch (DVD & Blu-ray)

Seven years after the birth of his son,...

Bob Rafelson started a production company called Raybert (a combination of his name and producer Bert Schneider) when he was working on the Monkees television show. But Rafelson had cinematic aspirations, and so he took the Monkees to the big screen and started a production company with Bert and Steven Blauner called Bbs. Between Raybert and Bbs they made seven films: The Monkees’ feature film Head; Dennis Hopper’s seminal biker movie Easy Rider, Rafelson’s masterpiece Five Easy Pieces, Jack Nicholson’s directorial debut Drive, He Said, Henry Jaglom’s first film A Safe Place, Peter Bogdanovich’s career starting film about small town sexuality The Last Picture Show, and Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens. Seven film in four years, with regulars Karen Black, Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Ellen Burstyn, and stars like Peter Fonda, Cybil Shepherd, Jeff Bridges, and Orson Welles, made during one of the...

DVD Playhouse—November 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Watchmen—The Ultimate Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...

The true story of golf's 1913 U.S. Open is full of the stuff inspiring movies are made of: underdog triumph, the breaking of class barriers, a down-to-the-wire showdown. In his first nonfiction book, "The Greatest Game Ever Played", writer-producer Mark Frost exhumed the event that once riveted the nation -- an unlikely match between a 20-year-old amateur and the game's reigning champ. He adapts the tale to the big screen with economy but not without conceding to certain rules of the genre; there's a familiarity to the saga as it hits predictable plot points. Still, actor-turned-helmer Bill Paxton has fashioned solid family entertainment in this well-cast feature, which in turn should provide solid boxoffice returns.

If the film makes its points early and sets out on an obvious trajectory, Paxton's love of the game is evident throughout. He and cinematographer Shane Hurlbut inject pizzazz into the proceedings with ball's-p.o.v. shots and telescoping effects. Although the story can't escape a certain sentimentality, Paxton leavens the inspirational element with admirable dramatic restraint, particularly in the two central performances.

Shia LaBeouf is full of quiet determination as Brookline, Mass., boy Francis Ouimet. He's been obsessed with golf since he began caddying at a tender age at the country club across the street from his working-class parents' home. From his Irish mother (Marnie McPhail) he receives undying encouragement, while his wary French father (Elias Koteas, bringing an affecting complexity to what could have been a by-the-numbers role) sees only heartbreak ahead for a poor boy dabbling in a gentleman's game.

But with the support and coaching of golfer Hastings (Justin Ashforth) and pro-shop expert Campbell (Luke Askew), Francis makes his way onto the green as a player, nabbing amateur titles until he finds himself squaring off in the U.S. Open against world-class players. Further bending the game's etiquette, circumstances leave Francis with a 10-year-old caddie, Eddie (Josh Flitter), who's not much taller than the bag. Eddie feeds Francis wisdom and rhyming pep talks with the delivery of a pintsize Borscht Belt comedian.

If the heart of the story is Francis' pairing with the spunky Eddie, its soul is the unspoken connection between him and his chief competition, Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane), the British superstar of the game. Despite his professional status, Vardon feels he is the working-class outsider among the moneyed elite. The specter of a crucial moment from his Isle of Jersey childhood, hauntingly depicted in the film's prologue, arises to unnerve him during crucial moments at the tee. With his doleful gaze and self-contained intensity, the estimable Dillane movingly conveys Harry's profound pleasure in Francis' performance.

The fine supporting cast includes Stephen Marcus as Harry's no-nonsense colleague; Peter Firth as the hissable Lord Northcliffe, sponsor of Harry and Ted's stateside expedition; George Asprey as Britain's top amateur, a snob of the first order with a mean talent for smoke rings; Michael Weaver as the defending U.S. champion, a man of frothing nationalistic fervor; Robin Wilcock as the Brit journalist who loves the story; and Peyton List as the Smith girl who takes an interest in Francis, in a subplot that feels tacked-on.

Turn-of-the-century period detail is strong, the Quebec locations striking. A lovely conceit strips away the crowds and noise and leaves Vardon alone on a pristine landscape, while a sequence of rain-soaked golfing benefits from Elliot Graham's dynamic editing. Brian Tyler contributes a rousing, if insistent, score, and opera star Dawn Upshaw appears onscreen to trill a composition by Joe Jackson.

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED

Buena Vista Pictures/Walt Disney Pictures

A Morra Brezner Steinberg Tenenbaum production

Credits:

Director: Bill Paxton

Screenwriter: Mark Frost

Producers: Larry Brezner, Mark Frost, David Blocker

Executive producer: David Steinberg

Director of photography: Shane Hurlbut

Production designer: Francois Seguin

Music: Brian Tyler

Costume designer: Renee April

Editor: Elliot Graham

Cast:

Francis Ouimet: Shia LaBeouf

Harry Vardon: Stephen Dillane

Lord Northcliffe: Peter Firth

Arthur Ouimet: Elias Koteas

Ted Ray: Stephen Marcus

Eddie Lowery: Josh Flitter

Ted Hastings: Justin Ashforth

Stedman Comstock: Len Cariou

Sarah Wallis: Peyton List

Alec Campbell: Luke Askew

Bernard Darwin: Robin Wilcock

John McDermott: Michael Weaver

Mary Ouimet: Marnie McPhail

Wilfred Reid: George Asprey

Soprano: Dawn Upshaw

Running time -- 120 minutes

MPAA rating: PG...

Having impressively proved himself a capable actor, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam adds director-screenwriter-producer-composer to his resume, and the resulting "South of Heaven, West of Hell" would suggest a case of wearing at least one Stetson too many.

A subversive Gothic western starring Yoakam and a bunch of his Hollywood buddies, the picture, which actually is much closer to hell than its directions would imply, is an interminable, annoying mess of fractured cowboy-movie cliches.

Although Yoakam and co-screenwriter Stan Bertheaud must have had a hoot cramming in all the frat boy perversity -- castration, rape, incest and pedophilia rank high on its top 10 list -- it all comes across as the kind of indulgence that gives vanity projects a bad name.

Yoakam has cast himself as Valentine Casey, a marshal with an uncertain past who finds himself biding time in some kind of existential purgatory resembling a desolate New Mexico town called Los Tragos.

Part of that past resurfaces when the murderous, inbred Henry Gang, presided over by Bible-thumping Leland (Luke Askew), rides into town. Apparently way back when, after Val's own family died during an influenza outbreak, Leland raised Val as his own. Now Leland and his boys, including Vince Vaughn and Paul Reubens, have returned with larceny on their minds. Though Val sticks to his guns, the Henry Gang proceeds to slaughter everything around him that tries to block their path to the bank vault.

Cut to nine months later, where we find Val in the Arizona desert breaking wild horses and meeting up with Adalyne Dunfries (Bridget Fonda), the daughter of the local hotel and saloon owner who has returned to town accompanied by the odd Brigadier Smalls Billy Bob Thornton with long golden hair).

Just when it looks like Val and Adalyne are about to have a thing going, who else but the Henry Gang comes in and gums up the works, precipitating a protracted fight to the finish.

While Yoakam underplays his part to the point of catatonia, the rest of his cast, also including Bud Cort, Peter Fonda and Michael Jeter, go in the opposite direction in some kind of contest to determine who can be the most irritating. Jeter's the clear winner as the screeching Uncle Jude.

To his credit, director of photography James Glennon ("El Norte", "Election") mines plenty of atmospheric value for the low-budget buck, but there ain't enough purdy sunsets in the world to compensate for this long-winded, one-trick pony of a home movie.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL

Trimark

Director: Dwight Yoakam

Producers: Gray Frederickson, Darris Hatch

Screenwriters: Dwight Yoakam, Stan Bertheaud

Story: Dwight Yoakam, Dennis Hackin, Otto Felix

Director of photography: James Glennon

Production designer: Siobhan Roome

Editor: Robert Ferretti

Costume designer: Le Dawson

Music: Dwight Yoakam

Color/stereo

Cast:

Valentine Casey: Dwight Yoakam

Taylor: Vince Vaughn

Brigadier Smalls: Billy Bob Thornton

Adalyne Dunfries: Bridget Fonda

Shoshonee Bill: Peter Fonda

Arvid: Paul Reubens

Agent Otts: Bud Cort

Doc Angus Dunfries: Bo Hopkins

Leland: Luke Askew

Uncle Jude: Michael Jeter

Running time -- 131 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

Having impressively proved himself a capable actor, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam adds director-screenwriter-producer-composer to his resume, and the resulting "South of Heaven, West of Hell" would suggest a case of wearing at least one Stetson too many.

A subversive Gothic western starring Yoakam and a bunch of his Hollywood buddies, the picture, which actually is much closer to hell than its directions would imply, is an interminable, annoying mess of fractured cowboy-movie cliches.

Although Yoakam and co-screenwriter Stan Bertheaud must have had a hoot cramming in all the frat boy perversity -- castration, rape, incest and pedophilia rank high on its top 10 list -- it all comes across as the kind of indulgence that gives vanity projects a bad name.

Yoakam has cast himself as Valentine Casey, a marshal with an uncertain past who finds himself biding time in some kind of existential purgatory resembling a desolate New Mexico town called Los Tragos.

Part of that past resurfaces when the murderous, inbred Henry Gang, presided over by Bible-thumping Leland (Luke Askew), rides into town. Apparently way back when, after Val's own family died during an influenza outbreak, Leland raised Val as his own. Now Leland and his boys, including Vince Vaughn and Paul Reubens, have returned with larceny on their minds. Though Val sticks to his guns, the Henry Gang proceeds to slaughter everything around him that tries to block their path to the bank vault.

Cut to nine months later, where we find Val in the Arizona desert breaking wild horses and meeting up with Adalyne Dunfries (Bridget Fonda), the daughter of the local hotel and saloon owner who has returned to town accompanied by the odd Brigadier Smalls Billy Bob Thornton with long golden hair).

Just when it looks like Val and Adalyne are about to have a thing going, who else but the Henry Gang comes in and gums up the works, precipitating a protracted fight to the finish.

While Yoakam underplays his part to the point of catatonia, the rest of his cast, also including Bud Cort, Peter Fonda and Michael Jeter, go in the opposite direction in some kind of contest to determine who can be the most irritating. Jeter's the clear winner as the screeching Uncle Jude.

To his credit, director of photography James Glennon ("El Norte", "Election") mines plenty of atmospheric value for the low-budget buck, but there ain't enough purdy sunsets in the world to compensate for this long-winded, one-trick pony of a home movie.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL

Trimark

Director: Dwight Yoakam

Producers: Gray Frederickson, Darris Hatch

Screenwriters: Dwight Yoakam, Stan Bertheaud

Story: Dwight Yoakam, Dennis Hackin, Otto Felix

Director of photography: James Glennon

Production designer: Siobhan Roome

Editor: Robert Ferretti

Costume designer: Le Dawson

Music: Dwight Yoakam

Color/stereo

Cast:

Valentine Casey: Dwight Yoakam

Taylor: Vince Vaughn

Brigadier Smalls: Billy Bob Thornton

Adalyne Dunfries: Bridget Fonda

Shoshonee Bill: Peter Fonda

Arvid: Paul Reubens

Agent Otts: Bud Cort

Doc Angus Dunfries: Bo Hopkins

Leland: Luke Askew

Uncle Jude: Michael Jeter

Running time -- 131 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

Having impressively proved himself a capable actor, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam adds director-screenwriter-producer-composer to his resume, and the resulting "South of Heaven, West of Hell" would suggest a case of wearing at least one Stetson too many.

A subversive Gothic western starring Yoakam and a bunch of his Hollywood buddies, the picture, which actually is much closer to hell than its directions would imply, is an interminable, annoying mess of fractured cowboy-movie cliches.

Although Yoakam and co-screenwriter Stan Bertheaud must have had a hoot cramming in all the frat boy perversity -- castration, rape, incest and pedophilia rank high on its top 10 list -- it all comes across as the kind of indulgence that gives vanity projects a bad name.

Yoakam has cast himself as Valentine Casey, a marshal with an uncertain past who finds himself biding time in some kind of existential purgatory resembling a desolate New Mexico town called Los Tragos.

Part of that past resurfaces when the murderous, inbred Henry Gang, presided over by Bible-thumping Leland (Luke Askew), rides into town. Apparently way back when, after Val's own family died during an influenza outbreak, Leland raised Val as his own. Now Leland and his boys, including Vince Vaughn and Paul Reubens, have returned with larceny on their minds. Though Val sticks to his guns, the Henry Gang proceeds to slaughter everything around him that tries to block their path to the bank vault.

Cut to nine months later, where we find Val in the Arizona desert breaking wild horses and meeting up with Adalyne Dunfries (Bridget Fonda), the daughter of the local hotel and saloon owner who has returned to town accompanied by the odd Brigadier Smalls Billy Bob Thornton with long golden hair).

Just when it looks like Val and Adalyne are about to have a thing going, who else but the Henry Gang comes in and gums up the works, precipitating a protracted fight to the finish.

While Yoakam underplays his part to the point of catatonia, the rest of his cast, also including Bud Cort, Peter Fonda and Michael Jeter, go in the opposite direction in some kind of contest to determine who can be the most irritating. Jeter's the clear winner as the screeching Uncle Jude.

To his credit, director of photography James Glennon ("El Norte", "Election") mines plenty of atmospheric value for the low-budget buck, but there ain't enough purdy sunsets in the world to compensate for this long-winded, one-trick pony of a home movie.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL

Trimark

Director: Dwight Yoakam

Producers: Gray Frederickson, Darris Hatch

Screenwriters: Dwight Yoakam, Stan Bertheaud

Story: Dwight Yoakam, Dennis Hackin, Otto Felix

Director of photography: James Glennon

Production designer: Siobhan Roome

Editor: Robert Ferretti

Costume designer: Le Dawson

Music: Dwight Yoakam

Color/stereo

Cast:

Valentine Casey: Dwight Yoakam

Taylor: Vince Vaughn

Brigadier Smalls: Billy Bob Thornton

Adalyne Dunfries: Bridget Fonda

Shoshonee Bill: Peter Fonda

Arvid: Paul Reubens

Agent Otts: Bud Cort

Doc Angus Dunfries: Bo Hopkins

Leland: Luke Askew

Uncle Jude: Michael Jeter

Running time -- 131 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

Having impressively proved himself a capable actor, country singer-songwriter Dwight Yoakam adds director-screenwriter-producer-composer to his resume, and the resulting "South of Heaven, West of Hell" would suggest a case of wearing at least one Stetson too many.

A subversive Gothic western starring Yoakam and a bunch of his Hollywood buddies, the picture, which actually is much closer to hell than its directions would imply, is an interminable, annoying mess of fractured cowboy-movie cliches.

Although Yoakam and co-screenwriter Stan Bertheaud must have had a hoot cramming in all the frat boy perversity -- castration, rape, incest and pedophilia rank high on its top 10 list -- it all comes across as the kind of indulgence that gives vanity projects a bad name.

Yoakam has cast himself as Valentine Casey, a marshal with an uncertain past who finds himself biding time in some kind of existential purgatory resembling a desolate New Mexico town called Los Tragos.

Part of that past resurfaces when the murderous, inbred Henry Gang, presided over by Bible-thumping Leland (Luke Askew), rides into town. Apparently way back when, after Val's own family died during an influenza outbreak, Leland raised Val as his own. Now Leland and his boys, including Vince Vaughn and Paul Reubens, have returned with larceny on their minds. Though Val sticks to his guns, the Henry Gang proceeds to slaughter everything around him that tries to block their path to the bank vault.

Cut to nine months later, where we find Val in the Arizona desert breaking wild horses and meeting up with Adalyne Dunfries (Bridget Fonda), the daughter of the local hotel and saloon owner who has returned to town accompanied by the odd Brigadier Smalls Billy Bob Thornton with long golden hair).

Just when it looks like Val and Adalyne are about to have a thing going, who else but the Henry Gang comes in and gums up the works, precipitating a protracted fight to the finish.

While Yoakam underplays his part to the point of catatonia, the rest of his cast, also including Bud Cort, Peter Fonda and Michael Jeter, go in the opposite direction in some kind of contest to determine who can be the most irritating. Jeter's the clear winner as the screeching Uncle Jude.

To his credit, director of photography James Glennon ("El Norte", "Election") mines plenty of atmospheric value for the low-budget buck, but there ain't enough purdy sunsets in the world to compensate for this long-winded, one-trick pony of a home movie.

SOUTH OF HEAVEN, WEST OF HELL

Trimark

Director: Dwight Yoakam

Producers: Gray Frederickson, Darris Hatch

Screenwriters: Dwight Yoakam, Stan Bertheaud

Story: Dwight Yoakam, Dennis Hackin, Otto Felix

Director of photography: James Glennon

Production designer: Siobhan Roome

Editor: Robert Ferretti

Costume designer: Le Dawson

Music: Dwight Yoakam

Color/stereo

Cast:

Valentine Casey: Dwight Yoakam

Taylor: Vince Vaughn

Brigadier Smalls: Billy Bob Thornton

Adalyne Dunfries: Bridget Fonda

Shoshonee Bill: Peter Fonda

Arvid: Paul Reubens

Agent Otts: Bud Cort

Doc Angus Dunfries: Bo Hopkins

Leland: Luke Askew

Uncle Jude: Michael Jeter

Running time -- 131 minutes

MPAA rating: R...

The world of nomadic con men has always proved irresistible to moviemakers, and "Traveller" is but the latest example of this cinematic fascination.

A tale of Irish gypsies who roam the Deep South perpetrating frauds large and small, Jack Green's directorial debut is an entertaining if not particularly weighty comedy-thriller that benefits from the presence of the ingratiating Bill Paxton in the central role.

Like the character he plays, the actor -- who also co-produced -- works his way into your good graces and compels you to forgo any logical objections.

Paxton is Bokky, a typical member of the Travellers, as gypsies are called in England. His specialty is a scam involving fake home repairs. One day, while Bokky is hanging out with the group's leader Boss Jack (Luke Askew), a young man approaches them. Pat Mark Wahlberg) is the son of a recently deceased former Traveller who was cast out of the group for marrying an outsider. He has come to bury his father and wants to learn the ways of the tribe. Boss Jack is resistant, but Bokky agrees to take him under his wing and teach him the ways of the con.

One of their first adventures involves the swindling of an attractive young bartender, Jean (Julianna Margulies), but Bokky finds himself smitten with her and returns her money. The pair develop a relationship, and Bokky thinks about going straight.

Naturally, he must pull one last big heist, the targets of which are a gangster and his vicious henchmen. For this scam, Bokky and Pat are joined by the hard-boiled veteran, Double D (James Gammon).

"Traveller" is entertaining enough on its own terms, but it fails to achieve any real depth or consistency in its tone and quality. Jim McGlynn's screenplay seems seriously underdeveloped, especially in terms of the various subplots, and turns particularly sloppy and unconvincing in its depiction of the final sting and the bloody aftermath. Dramatic motivations are at a minimum, and the romantic relationships that develop between Bokky and Jean, as well as with Pat and Boss Jack's young daughter, are unconvincingly rendered.

Still, there are some amusing anecdotes, and Paxton is so inherently likable as Bokky that you somehow don't mind the fact that the character spends his time cheating hard-working people out of their money. Margulies combines sexiness and sensitivity as his romantic foil, and Wahlberg transmits his usual brand of youthful cockiness. Gammon, the veteran actor with the voice of a muffled foghorn, is a delight and garners most of the film's laughs.

Green, who has had a distinguished career as a cinematographer (eight Clint Eastwood films including "Unforgiven"), makes a fine directorial debut, beautifully capturing the ambiance of the Travellers' distinctive subculture. The film's atmosphere is greatly enhanced by the musical soundtrack, which includes Randy Travis' terrific cover version of "King of the Road" during the opening credits.

TRAVELLER

October Films

Director Jack Green

Screenplay Jim McGlynn

Producers Bill Paxton, Brian Swardstrom,

Mickey Liddell, David Blocker

Executive producer Robert Mickelson,

Rick King

Editor Michael Ruscio

Music Andy Paley

Color/stereo

Cast:

Bokky Bill Paxton

Pat Mark Wahlberg

Jean Julianna Margulies

Double D James Gammon

Boss Jack Luke Askew

Kate Nikki Deloach

Running time -- 100 minutes

MPAA rating: R...