To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Annie's hit debut on Broadway, we present the classic movie version of the beloved musical, now digitally remastered and featuring the original theatrical trailer. Annie is the story of a plucky, red-haired girl who dreams of life outside her dreary orphanage. One day, Annie (Aileen Quinn) is chosen to stay for one week with the famous billionaire "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney). One week turns into many and the only person standing in the way of Annie's fun is Miss Hannigan, the gin-soaked ruler of the orphanage (played to hilarious perfection by Carol Burnett). Will Miss Hannigan's zany attempts to kidnap the irrepressible Annie succeed? Enjoy all the unforgettable songs, including "It's A Hard Knock Life" and "Tomorrow."
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Charmless and dull, this adaptation of the Broadway hit stars Aileen Quinn as the depression-era moppet, Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks, Carol Burnett as the cruel headmistress at an orphanage, and Tim Curry as a villain. The film never gets its legs, and there is no sense of setting; it's almost as if the whole thing is happening in a void. John Huston nominally directed--no doubt to make money between his smaller, cheaper masterpieces--but one would have thought he would invest something of himself in here. --Tom Keogh
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25 stories from the hottest female writers on the scene
Too tired to doll up and head out for a night on the town? (It happens to the best of us.) Just dip into this year's must-read collection for a Girls' Night Out to remember and indulge in tales of reunions and weddings, sisters and friends, endings and beginnings . . . No waiting in line, no wardrobe malfunctions, no jockeying for position as you try to catch the bartender's eye. With a lineup of fantastic writers like Meg Cabot (The Boy Next Door), Emily Giffin (Something Borrowed), Kristin Gore (Sammy's Hill0, Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (The Nanny Diaries), Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (The Dirty Girls Social Club) and Lolly Winston (Good Grief), you'll be hanging with the VIPS all night long!
Net proceeds to benefit War Child and No Strings
Other fabulous writers featured: Jessica Adams, Cecelia Ahern, Maggie Alderson, Tilly Bagshawe, Elizabeth Buchan, Laura Caldwell, Lynda Curnyn, Kathleen DeMarco, Nicki Earls, Imogen Edwards-Jones, Robyn Harding, Lauren Henderson, Marian Keyes, Chris Manby, Carole Matthews, Anna Maxted, Lynn Messina, Sarah Mlynowski, Pamela Ribon.
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One of the sweetest films to emerge from Europe in the 1990s, Alain Berliner's Ma Vie en Rose is the story of an innocent little boy, Ludovic (played with noncloying directness by Georges Du Fresne), who wants to be a girl. Convinced that he's the product of misplaced chromosomes (he imagines the mix-up in one of many delightful daydream sequences), he sets about righting the mistake by wearing dresses and high heels and experimenting with lipstick and makeup. The otherwise friendly suburban neighborhood becomes horrified by the gender confusion, though tellingly the cruelest blows come not from the teasing classmates but intolerant adults: one scene recalls the torch-and-pitchfork angry villagers from a Frankenstein movie. Ludo tries hard to be butch, but he can't deny his nature, especially when he meets a kindred spirit: a little girl who gladly trades her dress for his pants and shirt. This bittersweet mix of innocent fantasy and childhood cruelty has its moments of sadness and crushing misunderstandings, but the overall tone is loving, filled with tenderness and culminating in acceptance and togetherness. As the family stumbles and struggles to come to terms with Ludo, they find something special within him, an innocent conviction so powerful and pure that it's infectious. Ludo may not grow up to become a girl as he hopes, but his belief is so strong it's hard to deny him the possibility. This films reminds us that, to a child, anything is possible. --Sean Axmaker
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