New Releases on DVD – June 2008

Adrift in Manhattan
A beautiful and mysterious doctor crosses paths with a young photographer who has become infatuated with her, and a patient that’s going blind, on a New York subway. Cast: Heather Graham, Victor Rasuk, Dominic Chianese, Erika Michels, Marlene Forté, Elizabeth Peña, William Baldwin. Rated R

Awake
When failed anesthesia leaves a rich young tycoon alert but immobilized during open-heart surgery, he overhears a devious plot to have killed him. Cast: Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Lena Olin, Arliss Howard, Terrence Howard. Rated R

Believe in Me
Coach Clay Driscoll is a small town basketball coach who seems to have everything going against him. A team he doesn’t want. A town that doesn’t support girl’s sports and small town politics that threaten to undermine any chance he has of winning. But his pride and his “girls” refuse to let him quit. Both the young women and their hard-headed coach fight for equality and a share of the dream, taking on the town prejudice and their own self-doubt. Based on the true story of Jim Keith and the Lady Cyclones. Cast: Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis, Bruce Dern, Bob Gunton, Heather Matarazzo. Based on the book Brief Garland by Harold Keith. Rated PG

Bella An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when a series of events unfold that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she’s unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down– until a simple gesture of kindness brings them both together, turning an ordinary day into an unforgettable experience. Cast: Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy Blanchard, Manny Perez, Angelica Aragon, Jaime Tirelli, Ali Landry. Rated PG-13

The Bucket List
Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common, except they both have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to make a Bucket List of all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow. Rated PG-13

Closure
Driving back from a posh party at a country estate, Alice and Adam find themselves brutally assaulted by a group of hunters. Physically and emotionally devasted by the attack, the tables suddenly turn when Alice and Adam discover the identity of their attackers. Now it’s time to exact the ultimate revenge. Cast: Gillian Anderson, Danny Dyer, Anthony Calf, Ralph Brown. Rated R

December Boys
In the late 1960s, four orphan boys go for a holiday by the sea on the South Australian coast. Since they share the same birth month, the orphanage calls them December boys. But these teens–Maps, Spit, Spark and Misty–have much more in common. With no hopes of ever joining a family, they form their own familial bonds. Then the unexpected news comes that a young couple may adopt one of them, and the long-time pals suddenly share something else: a rivalry to be the chosen one. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser, Jack Thompson. Based on the novel by Michael Noonan. Rated PG-13

Dedication
Henry is a misanthropic, emotionally complex children’s book author who is forced to team up with a beautiful illustrator after his best friend and creative collaborator passes away. As Henry struggles with letting go of the ghosts of love and life, he discovers that sometimes you have to take a gamble at life to find love. Cast: Billy Crudup, Mandy Moore, Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban, Dianne Wiest, Bobby Cannavale, Martin Freeman. Rated R

Final Season
In the small town of Norway, Iowa, the high school baseball team is led by legendary Coach Jim Van Scoyoc who has won 19 State Championships. But the small town heroes are dealt a series of unexpected blows that threaten to rob them of their 20th championship win. Talk of a school merger gets serious and Coach Scoyoc is fired. He is replaced by his 24-year-old assistant coach, Kent Stock. Failure seems inevitable. Based on the true story of Kent Stock. Cast: Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook, James Gammon, Dayton Callie, Marshall Bell, Larry Miller, Danielle Savre, Brett Claywell, Angela Paton, Lucinda Jenney,Tom Arnold, Michael Angarano. Rated PG

First Sunday
Best friends and criminals Durell Washington and LeeJohn are two thieves who haven’t got a prayer. Sentenced to 5,000 hours of community service, Durell’s life quickly goes from bad to worse. Realizing that the Lord helps those who help themselves, he eventually decides to help himself to the neighborhood church’s building fund. Accompanied by LeeJohn, the two down-on-their-luck men are dismayed to discover the cash has already been stolen, so they hold the congregation hostage in a Hail Mary attempt to learn who amongst the righteous has already run away with their loot. Cast: Loretta Devine, Michael Beach, Keith David, Regina Hall, Malinda Williams, Ice Cube,Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan. Rated PG-13

Full of It
17-year-old Sam may be the new kid at school, but he’s got a sure-fire scheme to fast-track his popularity: he’s going to lie his butt off. Claiming to drive a Prosche, date a movie star and have a rock star for a dad, Sam soon finds himself loved by everyone. But when Sam’s outlandish fictions mysteriously turn into outrageous facts, he begins to discover that having all your dreams come true can turn into a total nightmare. Cast: Ryan Pinkston, Kate Mara, Craig Kilborn, John Carroll Lynch, Cynthia Stevenson, Teri Polo. Rated PG-13

Goya’s Ghosts
Told through the eyes of celebrated Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Set against political turmoil at the end of the Spanish Inquisition and start of the invasion of Spain by Napoleon’s army. Captures the essence and beauty of Goya’s work which is best known for both the colorful depictions of the royal court and its people, and his grim depictions of the brutality of war and life in 18th century Spain. When Goya’s beautiful muse is accused of being a heretic, the renowned painter must convince his old friend Lorenzo, a power-hungry monk and leader of the Spanish Inquisition, to spare her life. Cast: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, Randy Quaid, Jose Luis Gomez, Michael Lonsdale. Rated R

Grace is Gone
Stanley Phillips is a sad, disconnected man unable to tell his young daughters that their mother, a soldier, has died in Iraq. Instead, he takes the girls on a road trip, where their innocent charm helps him rediscover a healing joy he thought he’d lost forever. Cast: John Cusack, Alessandro Nivola. Rated PG-13

The Hard Easy
Paul and Roger both owe a lot of money with no way to pay it back, and the clock is ticking. When they each get a chance to join a different gang of thieves for a heist that will square their debts, what choice do they possibly have? Cast: Henry Thomas, Vera Farmiga, David Boreanaz, Bruce Dern, Peter Weller, Nick Lachey, Elimu Nelson, Rae Allen, Michael Fairman, Gary Busey. Based on a story by Jon Lindstrom. Rated: R

He Was a Quiet Man
He seemed like such a nice guy. He pretty much kept to himself. An office worker inadvertently becomes a hero after he saves a woman’s life. Cast: Christian Slater, Elisha Cuthbert, William H. Macy, Sascha Knopf, John Gulager, Jamison Jones. Not rated.

I Could Never Be Your Woman
Rosie is an older, divorced professional who has had little luck in love. She finally finds a fitting companion in the form of Adam, a much younger man. As her relationship threatens to move beyond something simply physical, her teenage daughter, Izzie, begins to wonder if the strange tingling sensation that she feels when she is in the company of a handsome local boy could possibly be what adults refer to as ‘love.’ Of course anything is possible with Mother Nature up to her old mischief, and with higher powers at play there’s no telling what will come of these relationships. Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Rudd, Jon Lovitz, Fred Willard, Saoirse Ronan, Tracey Ullman. Rated PG-13

I’m Not There
Six different characters recreate different stages in the career of Bob Dylan –with each emboding part of his legend: from Greenwich Village folk singer to electric guitar trailblazer to born-again preacher. Cast: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Charlotte Gainsbourg, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams. Rated R

In the Name of the King
When a bloodthirsty legion of half-man/half-beast Krugs rampages through his village, one man picks up a sword and undertakes a quest of vengeance and honor. Haunted by the memory of his son’s death and the kidnapping of his wife by the Krugs, Farmer ignites a duty-call for others to join his crusade to stop the campaign of terror waged by an evil sorcerer whose ruthless quest for the crown could spell doom for the entire Kingdom. Cast: Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Kristanna Loken, Matthew Lillard, Brian White, Ray Liotta, Burt Reynolds. Based on the Dungeon Siege game designed by Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games. Rated PG-13.

The Inner Life of Martin Frost
After working for three years on a novel, writer Martin Frost borrows the empty country house of friends for a long-needed rest. No sooner does he arrive, however, than an idea for a story comes to him. When he wakes the next morning, eager to begin his new tale, he is shocked to discover a young woman sleeping next to him in bed – the attractive, effervescent Claire. Presumably the niece of his hosts, she wittily overcomes Martin’s initial resistance to her and the two of them fall in love. But is Claire really the person she claims to be? Cast: David Thewlis, Irène Jacob, Michael Imperioli, Sophie Auster. Not Rated

Margot at the Wedding
When Margot and her son, Claude, come to attend the wedding of her sister, Pauline, it seems as if a family rift is being mended. Despite their best efforts, Margot and Pauline revert to their most dysfunctional selves. It does not help that Pauline’s fiancé is woefully depressed and Margot’s lover is as narcissistic as she is. Margot’s estranged husband can’t seem to recognize that Margot cringes at his every effort at reconciliation. Margot and Claude have both a loving and poisonous relationship and she begins to pull Claude down with her as she sinks in self-absorption. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black, John Turturro, Ciarán Hinds.
Rated R

Moving McAllister
Rick Robinson is a ladder-climbing law intern from Miami with four days until the bar exam. He ends up in a rundown truck headed to L.A. with his boss’s possessions and niece. Amidst hitch-hikers, breakdowns, and assorted local yokels, Rick finds love. Cast: Ben Gourley, Mila Kunis, Jon Heder, Rutger Hauer. Rated: PG13

Music Within
Based on the incredible true-life story of Richard Pimentel, deafened by a bomb blast in Vietnam, Richard returns home and discovers his life’s calling: helping others with disabilities, including his fellow veterans. Along with his best friend Art, a wheelchair-bound rebel with a wicked wit, Richard fights for the rights of those whose voices can’t always be heard. Cast: Ron Livingston, Melissa George, Michael Sheen, Yul Vazquez, Rebecca DeMornay, Hector Elizondo.
Rated R

Nancy Drew
Nancy is an iconic girl detective with a passion for mystery and all things old, but she is about to experience a serious case of culture shock as she heads to Hollywood on an extended business trip with her father, Carson Drew. Having promised him that she has given up sleuthing in favor of becoming a “normal” teenager, Nancy tries her best to resist the lure of the age-old mystery of famous actress Dehlia Draycott’s death, and living in Dehlia’s old mansion full of clues proves too powerful a force for Nancy to resist. Cast: Emma Roberts, Josh Flitter, Max Thieriot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tate Donovan. Based on the books by Carolyn Keene. Rated PG

The Other Boleyn Girl
Anne Boleyn is a doe-eyed vixen who is ordered by her power-hungry uncle to bewitch King Henry VIII. Her shy sister Mary has always been in Anne’s shadow. Anne is prettier, more accomplished, and desired by many men. So when the King picks Mary as his mistress, Anne turns on her sister and schemes to become not only the King’s consort, but his new queen. Though the Boleyn girls’ mother points out that her ‘daughters are being traded like cattle for the advancement of men,’ it is Anne who ultimately throws her slight weight around to bully Henry into doing her bidding. Cast: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johnasson, Eric Bana, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, David Morrissey. Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory.
Rated PG-13

Radiant City
A Canadian family struggles with existential despair, exacerbated by the drabness of their suburban locale in this faux-documentary. Not Rated

Right at Your Door
Multiple dirty bombs are detonated, spreading deadly toxic ash across Los Angeles. The city is under siege and martial law is in effect. Brad and Lexi struggle to survive with little supplies, limited time, and no information. Cast: Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane. Rating: R

Romance and Cigarettes
From writer/director John Turturro and the Coen Brothers comes an off-beat, down and dirty musical. When Kitty discovers Nick is having an affair with the sultry seductress Tula, their rocky relationship gets a whole lot rockier. Nick finds himself facing a full-scale revolt from his daughters at home, and Kitty enlists her oddball cousin Bo to track down Tula. Deals with love and hate, life and death, and romance and cigarettes. Cast: James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Bobby Cannavale, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Aida Turturro, Christopher Walken. Rated R

September Dawn
As a wagon train of westward-bound settlers makes its way across southern Utah in 1857, a confrontation with a congregation of Mormons soon leads to deadly consequences for all involved. Based on the true story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Cast: Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Gries, Taylor Handley, Huntley Ritter, Krisinda Cain, Shaun Johnston, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain, Terence Stamp. Rated R

Slipstream
Aging screenwriter, Felix Bonhoeffer, has lived h is life in two states of existence: reality and his own interior world. While working on a murder mystery screenplay, he becomes baffled as his characters start appearing in his life, and his life starts slipping into his characters. Soon, he is thrown into a vortex where dreams, time and reality collide in an increasingly whirling slipstream. Cast: Stella Arroyave, Michael Clarke Duncan, Fionnula Flanagan, Gavin Grazer, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Lawford, Bill Lucking, Camryn Manheim, Kevin McCarthy, S. Epatha Merkerson, Lisa Pepper, Christian Slater, Jeffrey Tambor, Aaron Tucker, John Turturro. Rated R

Southland Tales
This is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster. Box Santaros is an action star who’s stricken with amnesia. His life intertwines with Krysta Now, an adult film star developing her own reality television project, and Ronald Taverner, a Hermosa Beach police officer who holds the key to a vast conspiracy. Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nora Dunn, Christopher Lambert, John Larroquette, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore, Holmes Osborne, Cheri Oteri, Amy Poehler, Lou Taylor Pucci, Miranda Richardson, Wallace Shawn, Kevin Smith, Justin Timberlake. Rated R

Suburban Girl
Moving from the suburbs to the glittering metropolis of New York City, Brett is a naive associate book editor embarking on her first big job. Overwhelmed by the demands of her new position, she meets literary star Archie Knox and begins to gain confidence as he introduces her to a glamorous new world. Torn between her old boyfriend, career aspirations and romance, will Brett realize her dreams in the big city? Cast: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alec Baldwin, Maggie Grace, James Naughton, Chris Carmack. Adapted from “The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing” by Melissa Bank. Rated PG-13

Sunshine
It is the year 2057, the sun is dying and mankind faces extinction. Earth’s last hope rests with a courageous crew of eight men and women on a mission to ignite the fading star with a massive nuclear weapon. Deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission begins to unravel and they find themselves fighting not only for their lives, but for the future of us all.
Cast: Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh. Rated R

The Ten
No one will ever mistake Jeff Reigert for Moses, but like Moses, it is Jeff’s job to introduce the world to the Ten Commandments. However, Jeff is not exactly the picture of virtue. In fact, Jeff is surrounded by gigantic replicas of the famous stone tablets. He is so busy juggling his wife Gretchen and his girlfriend, that he can barely get through a single commandment without breaking one himself. Cast: Adam Brody, Bobby Cannavale, Rob Corddry, Famke Janssen, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Joe Lo Truglio, Oliver Platt, Winona Ryder, Ron Silver, Jessica Alba. Rated R

Tideland
After her mother dies from a heroin overdose, Jeliza-Rose is taken from the big city to live in a rural farmhouse with her father. She tries to settle into a new life in a house her father had purchased for his now-deceased mother. Jeliza-Rose’s attempts to deal with her life change, but the result is her increasingly odd behavior. Jeliza-Rose begins to communicate with her bodiless Barbie doll heads and Dell, a neighborhood woman who always wears a beekeeper’s veil. Cast: Jodelle Ferland, Brendan Fletcher, Janet McTeer, Jennifer Tilly, Jeff Bridges. Based on the novel by Mitch Cullin. Rated R

Trade
When 13-year-old Adriana is kidnapped by sex traffickers in Mexico, her 17-year-old brother, Jorge, sets off on a desperate mission to save her. As Jorge dodges overwhelming obstacles to track the girl’s abductors, he meets Ray, a Texas cop whose own family loss leads him to become an ally. Cast: Kevin Kline, Cesar Ramos, Alicja Bachleda, Paulina Gaitan. Rated R

Untraceable
Jennifer Marsh is an FBI secret service agent who gets caught up in a very personal and deadly cat-and-mouse game with a serial killer. The killer knows that people are drawn to the curious and the dark side of things. They will log onto an ‘untraceable’ website where the killer conducts violent and painful murders live on the internet. The more people who log on and enter the website, the quicker and more violently the victim dies. Cast: Diane Lane, Billy Burke, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Mary Beth Hurt. Rated R

War
After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue, FBI agent Jack Crawford vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner’s death. But Crawford’s obsession with vengeance jeopardizes his professional judgment, and as the violence escalates, he finds himself in the middle of a conflict between two rival Asian gangs. Cast: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Devon Aoki, Luis Guzmán, Saul Rubinek, Ryo Ishibashi, Sung Kang, Mathew St. Patrick, Nadine Velazquez. Rated R

Why Did I Get Married
On vacation at a secluded cabin in the snowcapped mountains of Colorado, eight married college friends have gathered for their annual seven-day reunion. Over the weekend, when dirty laundry is aired, husbands and wives take an intimate look at their lives while struggling with issues of commitment, betrayal, and forgiveness as they seek a way forward. Cast: Tyler Perry, Janet Jackson, Jill Scott, Malik Yoba, Richard T. Jones, Michael Jai White, Lamman Rucker, Sharon Leal, Tasha Smith, Denise Boutte. Rated PG-13

Youth without Youth
Romania is on the brink of war with Germany and linguistics professor Dominic Matei has little left to live for. On Easter Day 1938, he crosses the street and is struck by a bolt of lightning. Badly burned and nearly dead, he amazes the doctors by healing in only a short time. He defies science and ages in reverse from 70 to 40. There seems to be no limit to the wonder and love he can find in his new youth. He pursues lost dreams, endless knowledge and the secrets of life until his secret is discovered. Now he must use his increased intelligence to keep his powerful secret safe from the wicked powers that would use it for evil. Cast: Tim Roth, Alexandra Maria Lara, Bruno Ganz, André M. Hennicke. Based upon the writing of Mircea Eliade. RatedR