New Releases on DVD – July 2008

The Air I Breathe
In this powerful film, four very different people teetering on the edge of desperation are unexpectedly linked by their destinies. In search for happiness in a gritty urban world, brought to life are the stories of a clairvoyant gangster, a rising pop star, an unlikely bank robber and a doctor desperate to save the love of his life. Cast: Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy, Brendan Fraser, Andy Garcia, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Clark Gregg, Emile Hirsch, Forest Whitaker. Rated R

The Bank Job
Based on the greatest heist in British history, small-time crook Terry Leather takes on a bank heist when an old friend offers him an inside track to the vault. Along with his hastily assembled team of low-rung criminals, Terry finds himself the target of ruthless mobsters, the police, government officials at the highest level, and even the royal family. Cast: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows. Rated R

Bonneville
Faced with the decision of a lifetime, Arvilla Holden hijacks her two best friends and sets off in a vintage ’66 Bonneville convertible across the great American West to deliver her husband’s ashes to her step-daughter. What begins as a simple road trip for the trio, will end up becoming a chance to rediscover themselves, their friendship, the importance of promises and always living life to the fullest. Cast: Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, Christine Baranski, Victor Rasuk, Tom Skerritt. Rated PG

Cassandra’s Dream
When a gambling debt and an expensive courtship place working-class brothers in a financial bind, a rich uncle offers them an out in exchange for committing murder. Cast: Hayley Atwell, Colin Farrell, Sally Hawkins, Ewan McGregor, Tom Wilkinson. Rated PG-13

Charlie Bartlett
When Charlie Bartlett moves to town, his honest charm and likability gives him the position as the resident ‘psychiatrist’ among Western Summit High’s students. Along with fellow student Murphy Bivens, Charlie dishes out advice and the occasional prescription to other students in need. Along the way, he decides to take some of his own advice. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Robert Downey Jr., Tyler Hilton. Rated R

City of Men
Growing up in a culture of violence, Acerola and Laranjinha have become as close as brothers. When they find themselves on opposite sides of a gang war, the lifelong friends are forced to confront a shocking secret from their shared past. In Portuguese with optional English subtitles. Cast: Darlan Cunha, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Rodrigo dos Santos, Camila Monteiro, Naima Silva, Eduardo BR, Luciano Vidigal, Pedro Henrique Vítor, Vinicius Oliveira. Rated R

Cleaner
Single father and former cop Tom Carver has an unusual job– he cleans up crime scenes. But when he’s called in to sterilize a wealthy suburban residence after a brutal shooting, Carver is shocked to learn that he may have unknowingly erased crucial evidence, entangling himself in a dirty criminal cover up. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Eva Mendes. Rated R

Definitely, Maybe
A political consultant tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his 11-year-old daughter. Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Derek Luke, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz. Rated PG-13

Drillbit Taylor
Ryan, Wade and Emmit attend their first day of high school and immediately meet up with Filkins, the school bully who comes off like a little Hannibal Lecter. Before they become completely engulfed in Filkins’ reign of terror, they seek out some protection by placing an ad in Soldier of fortune magazine. Their best response and the cheapest comes from Drillbit Taylor, a down-on-his-luck soldier of furtune who lives a homeless existence on the beach. He enrolls them in a sort of physical and mental training, steeling them, and possibly himself, for the ultimate clash against the forces keeping them down. Cast: Owen Wilson, Leslie Mann, Danny McBride, Josh Peck. Rated PG-13

Flawless
Laura Quinn is an executive at the London Diamond Corporation who finds herself routinely stifled on the corporate ladder. Hobbs is an equally overlooked nighttime janitor with an intimate knowledge of the security system. Hobbs has a score to settle with the Corporation. Sensing Laura’s frustration, Hobbs convinces her to help him pull off an ingenious heist. Cast: Demi Moore, Michael Caine, Lambert Wilson, Joss Ackland. Rated PG-13

Flock
Erroll Babbage has spent his career tracking sex offenders, due to his abusive behavior against the sex offenders that he monitor’s, he is forced to an early retirement and has to spend his last eighteen days training his replacement Allison Lowry. When he links one of his deranged parolees to the disappearance of a local girl, he and his new partner must scour the S&M underground to find her before it’s too late. Cast: Richard Gere, Claire Danes, KaDee Strickland. Rated R

Fool’s Gold
A recently-divorced couple bicker and banter their way through an adventure packed undersea hunt as they search for the gold (and the diamonds, emeralds and rubies). Finn, in love with his ex-wife and in deep with gangster Bigg Bunny, has been searching for eight years when he gets a clue about the whereabouts of the Queen’s Dowry, a fabulous fortune that mysteriously disappeared in the Caribbean in 1715. Now, all he has to do is get the gold, get the girl and get going before Bigg Bunny gets him. Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner, Alexis Dziena, Kevin Hart, Ray Winstone. Rated PG-13

In Bruges
After finishing a big job, hit men Ray and Ken have been ordered to cool their heels in the storybook city of Bruges, Belgium. But since hit men make the worst tourists, they soon find themselves in a life-and-death struggle of comic proportions against one very angry crime boss.
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Jérémie Rénier. Rated R

Introducing the Dwights
Shy, warm-hearted, good-looking Tim Dwight has two women crazy about him. One is a dream girl named Jill. The other is his mum, Jean, a bawdy aging comedienne who doesn’t realize she’s past her sell-by date for a big break. As Jean tries to make it in show biz, she also struggles to hold her family, including Tim and his disabled brother Mark, together. Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Khan Chittenden, Emma Booth, Richard Wilson, Frankie J. Holden, Rebecca Gibney, Philip Quast, Katie Wall. Rated R

Ira & Abby
A sweet, hilarious romantic comedy that examines the issues of marriage, monogamy and whether ‘I do’ is the only path to life-long love and happiness. Cast: Jennifer Westfeldt, Chris Messina, Frances Conroy, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, Jason Alexander, Chris Parnell, Darrell Hammond. Rated R

Jumper
David is a Jumper who can teleport himself anywhere in the world, which creates a fun and exciting life. Things turn deadly when David finds himself pursued by a secret organization sworn to kill Jumpers. He forms an uneasy alliance with another Jumper and becomes a player in a war that has been raging for thousands of years. Cast: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Diane Lane, Jamie Bell, Rachel Bilson, Michael Rooker, Annasophia Robb, Max Thieriot. Based on the novel by Steven Gould. Rated PG-13

Justice League: The New Frontier
The epic tale of the founding of the Justice League. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all here, and so are Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and The Flash – whose incredible origins will be told for the very first time. Voices: David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, John Heard, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan, Phil, Morris, Kyra Sedgwick, Brooke Shields, Jeremy Sisto. Based on the graphic novel by Darwyn Cooke. Rated PG-13

The Last Time
In the cutthroat world of New York City business sales, Ted Riker is the undisputed king. He’s bitter, cynical and ruthless – the exact opposite of Jamie, his naïve new sales partner from the Midwest. As Jamie fails time after time, he tries to befriend Ted and introduces him to his beautiful fiancée, Belisa. She awakens something in Ted. Ted has to decide to follow his heart, or go on to break Jamie’s. With Jamie increasingly on edge, that could be an extremely dangerous idea. Cast: Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, Amber Valletta, Daniel Stern, Neal McDonough, Michael C. Hagerty, Michael Lerner. Rated R

Meet Bill
By all appearances Bill’s life is perfect– a perfect mess, that is. His wife is having an affair with the local news anchor and he is stuck in a dead-end job at his father-in-law’s bank. Bill sees no escape from his miserable life until he becomes a mentor to a self-assured teen who is determined to help Bill reinvent his life by setting him up with a sexy lingerie saleswoman who promises to spice things up. Together, the trio confronts Bill’s hapless life with humor and energy while forcing him to capture his dream of becoming his own man. Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Jessica Alba, Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant, Logan Lerman. Rated R

My Blueberry Nights
Jeremy, a big-hearted owner of a small New York diner, tries to soothe Elizabeth’s jilted heart with his blueberry pie. But only after going on a year-long cross-country odyssey does she realize love was right at her doorstep all along. Cast: Norah Jones, Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman. Rated PG-13

Penelope
Penelope is a lonely heiress who has spent her entire life trying to break a strange family curse that left her with a nose of pig. When she meets a charming aristocrat who seems to see beyond her physical appearance, penelope begins to learn that loving herself if more important than breaking the curse. Cast: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Catherine O’Hara, Reese Witherspoon, Peter Dinklage, Richard E. Grant. Rated PG

Rails & Ties
After a train collides with a car, an unlikely bond is forged between the train engineer and a boy riding in the car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden. Rated PG-13

Saving Sarah Cain
Sarah Cain is a sweet, successful, somewhat self-absorbed city girl through and through. But when the untimely death of her sister draws her to Amish country for a funeral, she makes a discovery that will change her life–she is now the legal guardian to five Amish nieces and nephews. Cast: Lisa Pepper, Tess Harper, Elliott Gould, Tom Tate, Abigail Mason, Soren Fulton, Jennifer O’Dell, Danielle Chuchran, Tanner Maguire, Bailee Maidson, David Clennon. Based on the book The redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis. Rated PG

Semi-Pro
1970s, Flint, Michigan. Jackie Moon is a former pop sensation who somehow made enough money from a couple of hit records to buy Flint’s semi-pro basketball team, the Tropics. The team consists of a bunch of disorganized losers with one genuine talent named Coffee Black. Despite knowing little about the game, Jackie is the Tropics’ coach as well as a player. His greater love involves coming up with bizarre marketing stunts to draw in an audience. His stunts include wrestling a bear and attempting a motorcycle jump over a line of cheerleaders. When the league plans to merge with the NBA and in order to survive, the Tropics must do the seemingly impossible – win. The Tropics look like they might be shut down so Jackie desperately agrees to let washed-up veteran player Monix take over coaching. Cast: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Will Arnett, David Koechner. Rated R

The Spiderwick Chronicles
The moment the Grace family moves into the dilapidated Spiderwick Estate, strange things begin to happen. As curious Jared investigates, he discovers Arthur Spiderwick’s field guide and the unbelievable truth of the Spiderwick Estate. Cast: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn. Based on the book by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black. Rated PG

Stop-Loss
Following his tour of duty in Iraq, Brandon King faces an unexpected challenge that puts him at odds with some of his fellow soldiers. Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish, Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ciaran Hinds, Timothy Olyphant, Victor Rasuk, Rob Brown. Rated R

10,000 B.C.
In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter D’Leh finds his heart’s passion in the beautiful Evolet. But when a band of mysterious warlords raid their village and kidnaps Evolet, D’Leh leads a small group of hunters to save her. As they venture into unknown lands for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their own and that mankind’s reach is far greater than they ever knew. At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who have been attacked by the slave raiders. Soon the small band has turned into army. At a massive temple, the band will take their stand against a tyrannical god who has brutally enslaved their own. It is here that D’Leh finally comes to understand that he has been called to save not only Evolet but all of civilization. Cast: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis. Rated PG-13

21
Inspired by the true story of MIT students who mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Looking for a way to pay for tuition, Ben Campbell finds himself quietly recruited by MIT’s most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the aid of a brilliant statistics professor and armed with fake IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in breaking the impenetrable casinos. Now, his challenge is keeping the numbers straight and staying one step ahead of the casinos before it all spirals out of control. Cast: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Spacey. Based on the book: Bringing Down the House, by Ben Mezrich. Rated PG-13

Vantage Point
U.S. president Ashton is in Salamanca, Spain to announce plans for a major global summit on terrorism. As he stands behind the podium in front of a loudly cheering crowd, he is shot twice. This is followed minutes later by a small explosion and then a massive blast. Secret Service agents Barnes, Taylor, and Holden immediately jump into action, trying to find the terrorists responsible amid all the chaos. First, the events are seen through the eyes of television news producer Rex Brooks. Then, the assassination attempt is replayed from seven different points of view. Each perspective reveals a few more clues. Cast: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt. Rated PG-13

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacat ion! It’s one predicament after another when big-city attitude and small-town values collide. Cast: Martin Lawrence, Margaret Avery, Joy Bryant, Louis C.K., Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Mo’Nique, Nicole Ari Parker, Cedric the Entertainer, James Earl Jones. Rated PG-13