New DVD Releases – February 2008

Across the Universe
Moving from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village and beyond, the film follows the story of star-crossed lovers Jude and Lucy. Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson. Rated PG-13

American Gangster
A NYC detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, who is smuggling the herion into the country in the coffins of dead soldiers returning from Vietnam. Featuring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, Armand Assante, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, RZA. Rated R

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Robert Ford joins Jesse James’s gang, only to become resentful of the legendary outlaw and hatch a plan to kill the fastest gun in the West. Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider, Jeremy Renner, Zooey Deschanel, Sam Rockwell. Rated R

Becoming Jane
The true and surprising story of Jane Austen’s early years Her own experiences in love and romance shape the stories she writes later in life. Cast: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell, Maggie Smith. Rated PG

Beowulf
The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, and later, Grendel’s mother, who begins killing out of revenge for her son. Cast: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman, Angelina Jolie. Rated PG-13

The Brave One
A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge. Cast: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt, Mary Steenburgen. Rated R

Daddy Day Camp
When the pair of fathers/pals, Charlie Hinton and Phil Ryerson, expand their childcare magic to Camp Driftwood — serving up sports, crafts and teaching the kids a thing or two about nature, they discover the camp has everything it needs except a plan to put the bullies of rival Camp Canola to shame. With some quick thinking, teamwork, a secret weapon and some off-the-wall crazy antics, the dads and kids soon become united to remedy the situation. Cast: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant, Tamala Jones, Paul Rae, Brian Doyle-Murray. Rated PG

The Darjeeling Limited
Three brothers trying to bond and find themselves on a trip through India end up stranded and alone in the desert. Cast: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Anjelica Huston. Rated R

The Dog Problem
After a year in therapy, a down-on-his-luck writer (Giovanni Ribisi) buys a dog in an effort to cheer himself up. But his four-legged friend brings him nothing but trouble. Then the dog goes missing and a comedy of errors ensues. Rated R

Eastern Promises
The film follows the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai, who is tied to one of London’s most notorious organized crime families. Cast: Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. Rated R

Elizabeth: the Golden Age
An exploration of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and the adventurer Sir Walter Raleigh. Cast: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Clive Owen, Rhys Ifans, Jordi Molla, Abbie Cornish, Samantha Morton. Rated PG-13

Eye of the Dolphin
After the death of her mother, Alyssa moves to the Bahamas with her father, where she learns she can talk to the dolphins. When her father’s research facility is in danger of closing, it is up to Alyssa and her gift to save it. Rated PG-13

Feast of Love
A meditation on love and its various incarnations, set within a community of friends in Oregon. Cast: Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke, Selma Blair, Toby Hemingway, Jane Alexander, Fred Ward. Rated R

Game Plan
A professional football player (The Rock) discovers he has a seven-year-old daughter. Cast: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Morris Chestnut. Rated PG

Gone Baby Gone
The kidnapping of a four-year-old girl draws two private investigators into the seedy underbelly of Boston. Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan, Titus Welliver. Rated R

The Heartbreak Kid
A newlywed man who believes he’s just married the perfect woman encounters another lady on his honeymoon. Cast: Ben Stiller, Michelle Monaghan, Malin Akerman, Jerry Stiller, Rob Corddry, Carlos Mencia, Scott Wilson, Danny McBride. Rated R

The Hunting Party
A young American journalist, cameraman and a discredited journalist go to the Balkans in search of a notorious war criminal in Bosnia. Cast: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard. Rated R

In the Valley of Elah
A couple work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son’s disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq. Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin. Rated R

The Jane Austen Book Club
Six people start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships resemble 21st century versions of her novels. Cast: Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Marc Blucas, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Kevin Zegers, Lynn Redgrave. Rated PG-13

The King of California
An unstable dad (Michael Douglas) who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) that there’s gold buried under suburbia. Rated PG-13

The Kingdom
A team of elite FBI agents are sent to Saudi Arabia to solve a brutal mass murder and find a killer before he strikes again. Cast: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Jeremy Piven, Danny Huston, Richard Jenkins. Rated R

The Martian Child
David is a widowed science fiction writer who adopts Dennis, a young boy who claims to be a Martian. David believes the child acts strangely in order to process the difficulty he has had in his young life, but soon both David and his sister, Liz, begin to wonder if the boy might be telling the truth. Cast: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Joan Cusack. Rated PG

Michael Clayton
Burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer, his divorce, a failed business venture, and mounting debt have left Michael Clayton inextricably tied to his job. Cast: George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Michael O’Keefe. Rated R

The Nanny Diaries
A New York University student becomes a nanny to a family who turns out to be the family from hell. Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Alicia Keys, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Paul Giamatti. Rated PG

No Reservations
The life of a master chef changes when she becomes the guardian of her young niece and gains a new sous chef in her kitchen. Based on the German film Mostly Martha. Cast: Catherine Zeta-Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin, Patricia Clarkson. Rated PG

Offside
As citizens of Iran, female sports fans are barred from attending public sports matches. This comedy-drama follows the struggles of a group of young women and girls who dress in drag to get into stadiums and watch their favorite teams play. In Persian, English subtitles. Rated PG

Paris, je taime
The world’s top directors and some of America’s top stars create a panoramic portrait of Paris. Find yourself transported by these sexy, romantic, haunting, dramatic, and beautiful stories. Rated R

Rendition
When an Egyptian terror suspect goes missing on his way to Washington, D.C., his American wife and a CIA analyst find themselves struggling to secure his release. Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin, Meryl Streep. Rated R

Silk
Herve Joncour’s (Michael Pitt) devotion to his beautiful bride (Keira Knightley) is tested by dangerous trade missions in search of silkworms for his town’s survival. In the Far East he becomes torn by the temptation of a local warlord’s sensuous concubine and his love for Helene. Rated R

Snow Buddies
The talking puppies are back, and this time they venture to the frosty arctic and team up with new friends in an exciting dogsled race across Alaska. Rated G

Solstice
Following a setup lifted from every slasher film, five students head off to celebrate “Senior Week” at a spooky old house in the Louisiana woods. Rated PG-13

Sydney White
A retelling of Snow White featuring college freshman (Amanda Bynes) as she makes her way through the Greek system. Rated PG-13

Two Days in Paris
A couple tries to rekindle their relationship with a visit to Paris, home to many of her ex-boyfriends. Cast: Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Daniel Brühl, Marie Pillet, Albert Delpy, Alexia Landeau, Adam Jodorowsky, Alex Nahon. In English and French, with English & Spanish subtitles. Rated R

We Own the Night
A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hit men. Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Robert Duvall. Rated R