DVD
Masthead created by Good & Associates
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Guide to
Home Video
Releases: July Release Calendar
DVD Releases
Movies are rated on a scale of one to five, with five
denoting a classic. For more information on how we rate, check out our
Rentability Index.
Back to
Calendar Index.
- July 6
-
Butterfly Effect, The
Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) has lost
track of time. From an early age, crucial moments of his life have disappeared
into a black hole of forgetting, his boyhood marred by a series of terrifying
events he can't remember. What remains is the ghost of memory and the broken
lives of his childhood friends, Kayleigh (Amy Smart), Lenny (Elden Henson) and
Tommy (William Lee Scott). Throughout his childhood, Evan was under the care of
a psychologist who encouraged him to keep a journal, detailing the events of his
day-to-day life. Now in college, Evan reads from one of those journals and finds
himself thrust inexplicably back in time. Evan comes to realize the notebooks he
keeps under his bed are a vehicle, a way to return to the past to reclaim his
memories. But these recollections only leave Evan feeling responsible for the
damaged lives of his friends, especially Kayleigh, the childhood sweetheart he
still loves. Determined to do something now that he was incapable of doing then,
Evan purposely travels back in time, his present-day mind occupying his
childhood body, in an attempt to re-write history and spare his friends and
loved ones these traumatic experiences. By altering the events of the past, Evan
hopes to transform the present. But every time Evan changes something in the
past, he returns to the present to find his actions have unexpected and
disastrous consequences. Try as he might, he can't seem to create a reality that
allows he and Kayleigh to live "happily ever after."
Director: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber. Stars: Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters,
Amy Smart, Elden Henson, William Lee Scott, John Patrick Amedori, Irene
Gorovaia, Kevin Schmidt, Jesse James. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: R, 113 min.,
Sci Fi thriller, Box office gross: $57.384 million, New Line, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
My Voyage to Italy
Martin Scorsese directs and narrates this
remarkable in-depth look at the careers of great Italian filmmakers and their
profound influence on him. In this fascinating, entertaining and personal film,
Scorsese takes the viewer on a thrilling journey through the classics of Italian
cinema, from the gritty neo-realism of post-WWII Italy through its transition
into opulent period drama and surrealist fantasy. Illuminated by insightful
movie clips and his own impassioned commentary, Scorsese's deeply personal
observations offer not only an absorbing lesson in the history of Italian film,
but in how Mr. Scorsese's cinematic heroes connect with contemporary filmmaking.
The famed directors and their works featured include: Giovanni Pastrone:
"Cabiria"; Alessandro Blasetti: "1860," "La Corona di Ferro (The Iron Crown),"
"Fabiola"; Roberto Rossellini: "Roma Citte Aperta (Open City)," "Paise
(Paisan)," "Germania Anno Zero (Germany, Year Zero)," "Il Miracolo (The
Miracle)," "Stromboli," "Terra di Dio Francesco Giullare di Dio (The Flowers of
St. Francis)," "Viaggio in Italia (Voyage To Italy)"; Luchino Visconti:
"Ossessione," "Giorni di Gloria," "La Terra Trema," "Senso"; Vittorio De Sica:
"Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief)," "Sciuscie (Shoeshine)," "Umberto D.,"
"L'Oro di Napoli (The Gold of Naples)"; Federico Fellini: "I Vitelloni," "La
Dolce Vita," "Otto e Mezzo (8 1/2)"; Michelangelo Antonioni: "L'Avventura,"
"L'elisse (Eclipse)." Two-disc DVD for $29.99.
Director: Martin Scorsese. 1999, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 246 min.,
Documentary, Miramax, No VHS SRP.
DVD: Only.
-
Monsieur Ibrahim
Powerful, critically-acclaimed story of two
people -- an elderly Muslim shopkeeper and a young Jewish boy -- from seemingly
wholly opposite cultures who form a special bond of friendship and together
confront life's painful and joyful rites of passage. During the early 1960s,
Paris, like much of Europe, was an explosion of life. As the old gave way to the
new, everything was in flux and the city was filled with an energy that promised
cultural shifts and social change. Against this background, in a working class
neighborhood, two unlikely characters -- a young Jew and an elderly Muslim --
begin a friendship. When we meet Momo, he is in effect an orphan even though he
lives with his father, a man slowly retreating into a crippling depression. His
only friends are the street whores who treat him with genuine affection. Momo
buys his groceries at the neighborhood shop, a crowded dark space owned and run
by Ibrahim, a silent exotic looking man who sees and knows more then he lets on.
After his father abandons Momo, Ibrahim becomes the one grownup in Momo's life.
Together they begin a journey that will change their lives forever. The film was
a 2004 Golden Globe Nominee for Best Foreign Film, won a 2004 National Board of
Review award for best foreign film and nabbed a Best Actor Award at the 2004
Venice Film Festival for Sharif. 15-year old Pierre Boulanger made his film
debut here and won a Best Actor award at the 2003 Chicago International Film
Festival. In French and Turkish with English subtitles.
Director: Francois Dupeyron. Stars: Omar Sharif, Pierre Boulanger. 2003, CC,
MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Drama, Box office gross: $2.040 million, Columbia
TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 13
-
Barbarian Invasions, The
Director-writer Denys Arcand's sequel
to his 1986 "The Decline of the American Empire." A moving and entertaining
story about the humor, hope and unspoken bonds that hold family and friends
together. This witty and tender film tells the emotional story of a father and
son who think they have nothing in common, but learn that they both share an
insatiable appetite for life. It's has been years since Sebastien (Stephane
Rousseau), a wealthy London investment banker, has been home to visit his
parents in Canada. He has been avoiding a run-in with his father, Remy (Remy
Girard), a spirited and lustful professor of history who long ago divorced
Sebastien's loving mother Louise (Dorothee Berryman.) But when a crisis calls
Sebastien home to Quebec, father and son must confront one another at last. To
Sebastien, his father Remy is unreasonable and cold. To Remy, his son Sebastien
is a symbol of the coming "barbarian invasions," of all the negative changes in
the world. But desperate to bring his father some kind of happiness, Sebastien
pours his energy into an all-consuming mission: to reunite the "merry band" that
marked Remy's complicated past -- friends, colleagues and former mistresses
included. In the process, Sebastien discovers more about his father than he ever
imagined, more about what he wants and hope for in his own life, and more about
the pleasures of wine, women, conversation and the love and compassion of good
friends. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language; Marie-Josee
Croze won the 2003 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award for the role of a
young drug addict who offers unusual assistance to Remy. French with English
subtitles.
Director: Denys Arcand. Stars: Stephane Rousseau, Remy Girard, Dorothee
Berryman, Marie-Josee Croze. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Drama, Box
office gross: $1.649 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination
London
Frankie Muniz returns as
super-cool teen spy Cody Banks in this family comedy sequel. In Cody's new
adventure, a rogue CIA agent (and Cody's own instructor) has stolen a top secret
mind-control device from the U.S. government. With worldwide security at stake,
Cody has to go undercover in London to get it back. In hot water right away,
Cody is forced to pose as a student at an elite music boarding school and keep
the other kids from discovering his true identity, all the while infiltrating
covert hideouts, tracking his target -- and practicing the clarinet. To help him
on his mission, Cody is assigned a new handler: a wisecracking CIA reject named
Derek (Anthony Anderson) who's desperately trying to get back into the Agency's
good graces. He's supposed to be posing as the boarding school chef, but
unfortunately he has no idea how to cook. As things get more difficult, the duo
finds surprise help from a fellow student named Emily (Hannah Spearritt), a hip,
beautiful British Secret Service counterpart to Cody's CIA teen. Together they
journey above, below, and around London to retrieve the mind-control device and
keep from getting caught.
Director: Kevin Allen. Stars: Frankie Muniz, Anthony Anderson, Hannah Spearritt.
2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 90 min., Teen action, Box office gross: $23.222
million, MGM, $22.98 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Dreamers, The
Left alone in Paris while their parents are on
holiday, Isabelle (Eva Green) and her brother Theo (Louis Garrel) invite Matthew
(Michael Pitt), a young American student, to stay at their apartment. Here they
make their own rules as they experiment with their emotions and sexuality while
playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games. Set against the turbulent
political backdrop of France in the spring of 1968 when the voice of youth was
reverberating around Europe, the film is a story of self-discovery as the three
students test each other to see just how far they will go. In NC-17 and R-rated
editions.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci. Stars: Michael Pitt, Eva Green, Louis Garrel,
Anna Chancellor, Robin Renucci. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: NC-17 and R, 115 and
112 min., Erotic drama, Box office gross: $2.492 million, Fox, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Never Die Alone
Based on legendary street novelist Donald
Goines' book of the same name, this film noir tale is about King David (DMX), a
hard-boiled, stylish criminal who returns to his hometown seeking redemption and
finding only violent death. King David's final moments are spent with Paul
(David Arquette), an aspiring journalist who knows him for just a few minutes
but is changed forever by their meeting. King David -- half preacher, half
Satan, and all street smarts -- gives to Paul an audiotape featuring the story
of his recent exploits, leaving behind a riveting, poetic sermon on villainy and
its consequences. The tapes reveal that the cycle of violence and retribution
King David's actions spawned have come back on him full circle, as he suspected
they might all along.
Director: Ernest Dickerson. Stars: DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy. 2004,
CC, MPAA rating: R, 89 min., Crime Thriller, Box office gross: $5.573 million,
Fox, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Un deux trois soleil
The dreamlike tale of Victorine, a young
girl growing up in the slums of Marseilles with her alcoholic father (Marcello
Mastroianni), and her crazy mother. Bizarre and surreal at the same time,
reminiscent of Bunuel and Fellini, "Un, deux, trois, soleil" is innovative,
outrageous, and a triumph for Mastroianni, in one of his most unusual roles. In
French with English subtitles
Director: Bertrand Blier. Stars: Olivier Martinez, Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk
Grinberg. 1993, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 104 min., Drama, Home Vision, No VHS
SRP.
DVD: Only.
-
Against the Ropes
Inspired by the true story of Jackie Kallen,
the most successful female manager in boxing history. Kallen (Meg Ryan) is an
up-and-coming boxing promoter who has grown up with a love of the sport running
through her veins. Determined to become the first lady of boxing, she comes
across talented boxer Luther Shaw (Omar Epps) in a brawl -- and she knows that
he's a champion in the raw. Determined to follow her heart, she becomes Luther's
manager and convinces him that he can fight his way out of a thug's life.
Together with veteran trainer Felix (Charles S. Dutton, who also directed),
Jackie and Luther discover they need each other to realize their dreams and take
the boxing world by storm. The film was delayed for a year -- first when the war
in Iraq superseded Paramount's marketing program, then again when "In the Cut,"
starring Ryan, was released. Unfortunately, it wasn't worth the wait: this
typical boxing saga is altogether uninteresting and loaded with trite dialogue.
Director: Charles S. Dutton. Stars: Meg Ryan, Omar Epps, Timothy Daly, Tony
Shalhoub, Charles S. Dutton. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 110 min., Drama,
Box office gross: $5.881 million, Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 20
-
Human Stain, The
Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Philip
Roth's best-selling novel. This moody romantic thriller is the story of Coleman
Silk, who throughout his life has been a master of deception and
self-reinvention. As a promising college student (Wentworth Miller), Coleman's
first love, Steena (Jacinda Barrett), is shattered by a secret. Years later, as
an esteemed professor (Anthony Hopkins), his career is ruined by false
accusations of racism, the shock of which gives his wife a fatal heart attack.
Now, as he embarks on a scandalous affair with the mysterious Faunia (Nicole
Kidman), Coleman experiences an erotic reawakening that carries him back to the
past. But with his resurrected passion also comes the threat of danger from
Faunia's ex-husband (Ed Harris), and Coleman is faced with the imperative to
expose his true identity before it's too late. A hot performance by Kidman and
as-always journeyman performances by Hopkins and Harris keep the film afloat.
Director: Robert Benton. Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary
Sinise, Wentworth Miller. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Drama, Box
office gross: $5.381 million, Miramax, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Confessions of a Teenage Drama
Queen
Comedy with attitude tells
the story of a teenager plucked from the city she loves and plunked down in the
wilds of suburban New Jersey. Clothes. Music. Friends. Each is a minefield in
every teenager's daily battle -- one wrong step and kaboom. Is it any wonder
that the smallest decisions are played out with the highest drama? Such is life
for Lola Cep (Lindsay Lohan). Lola feels her life is simply not worth living
when she moves with her family from every single thing on the planet that she
loves (read: the Big Apple) and is plopped down in the middle of the cultural
wasteland that is suburban New Jersey. As she juggles making new friends at a
new school while standing up to a new rival, Lola finds it hard enough just to
live her life, let alone remember how important it is to live her dream. So much
drama. So little time!
Director: Sara Sugarman. Stars: Lindsay Lohan, Adam Garcia, Glenne Headley,
Alison Pill, Eli Marienthal, Carol Kane. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 90 min.,
Comedy, Box office gross: $28.695 million, Buena Vista, $24.99 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Starsky & Hutch
The cult TV series makes it to the big screen.
Detective David Starsky (Ben Stiller) is the most dedicated undercover cop
working the mean streets of Bay City, California. Maniacally devoted to his job,
when he's on duty no crime goes unpunished -- and he's always on duty. Detective
Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) is having career issues of his own -- he's
a good cop, but his hazardously laidback personality and desire for a quick buck
don't always get the job done. As soon as the two mismatched crime fighters
unhappily begin their first day on the beat as a team, a "floater" turns up on
the Bay City coastline. With the help of Hutch's dynamite, street-savvy
informant Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg), the two begin to unravel the mysterious
murder case. All signs seem to point at wealthy businessman Reese Feldman (Vince
Vaughn), but Starsky and Hutch just can't seem to make a case against him. The
unlikely duo will use their canniest undercover skills, hardcore street smarts
and striking good looks to solve the crime and make sure the criminal does the
time.
Director: Todd Phillips. Stars: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Snoop
Dogg, Juliette Lewis. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Action, Box
office gross: $87.127 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Seaside (Bord de Mer)
Winner of the Cannes Camera d'Or (Best
First Feature) and starring Bulle Ogier, "Seaside" explores a year in the lives
of the inhabitants of Cayeux, a small beach town in France. As the seasons
change and tourists come and go, the town's residents stay -- falling in and out
of love, working at unfulfilling jobs, gambling away savings, and dreaming of
escape. Inspired by the visual poetry of Edward Hopper, first-time director
Julie Lopes-Curval has created a small masterpiece -- a delicate, unsentimental
ensemble film that evokes comparison to Eric Rohmer's work. Lopes-Curval uses
her camera like a paintbrush to reveal the predictable parameters and rhythms of
small-time life. In French with English subtitles.
Director: Julie Lopes-Curval. Stars: Bulle Ogier, Helene Fillieres, Ludmila
Mikael, Jonathan Zaccao. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 90 min., Drama, Box
office gross: $0.013 million, First Run Features.
DVD: Only.
-
Big Bounce, The
Comedy caper based on the novel by legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard. Owen
Wilson plays Jack Ryan, a likeable drifter whose talents lie just outside the
law. Hoping a change of scenery will bring him luck, Jack heads for Hawaii.
There on the exotic North Shore of Oahu, he soon discovers that whether he is
looking for a new con or a little romance, temptation is everywhere. Jack takes
a job working construction for Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise), a shady real estate
developer who is building a resort despite protests by local Hawaiians. Almost
immediately, Jack has a run-in with Ray Ritchie's foreman, Lou Harris (Vinnie
Jones), and cold-cocks him across the jaw with a Louisville Slugger. Bob Jr.
(Charlie Sheen), Ritchie's right-hand man, warns Jack to get off the island if
he knows what's good for him. Jack happily ignores Bob Jr. Impressed with Jack's
knockout ability, North Shore District Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman)
offers Jack a job while taking an unusually keen interest in Jack's past crimes
and uncertain future. Enter Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), a thrill-loving local who
specializes in good looks and petty crime. When Nancy tries to seduce Jack into
helping her double-cross Ray Ritchie and steal $200,000 of his payoff money,
Jack is intrigued, but hesitant. This could be the perfect score, or the perfect
setup.
Director: George Armitage. Stars: Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, Sara Foster, Charlie Sheen, Gary Sinise. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 89 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $6.471 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on
Journalism
"Outfoxed" examines
how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race
to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox
News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the
public's right to know. The film explores Murdoch's burgeoning kingdom and the
impact on society when a broad swath of media is controlled by one person. Media
experts, including Walter Cronkite, Jeff Cohen (FAIR) Bob McChesney (Free
Press), Chellie Pingree (Common Cause), Jeff Chester (Center for Digital
Democracy) and David Brock (Media Matters) provide context and guidance for the
story of Fox News and its effect on society. This documentary also reveals the
secrets of Former Fox news producers, reporters, bookers and writers who expose
what it's like to work for Fox News. These former Fox employees talk about how
they were forced to push a "right-wing" point of view or risk their jobs. Some
have even chosen to remain anonymous in order to protect their current
livelihoods. As one employee said "There's no sense of integrity as far as
having a line that can't be crossed." Director-producer Robert Greenwald has
produced and/or directed 53 television movies, miniseries and features.
2004, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 77 min., Documentary, Robert Greenwald Prods., $9.95 VHS or DVD plus $3.50 shipping from
www.outfoxed.org.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Out of Reach
The movie follows Billy-Ray Lancing (Steven Seagal), a government agent-turned-survivalist from Northern Alaska who works on a wildlife refuge and sponsors a young girl named Irina in the international foster program run by
Faisal (Matt Schulze). Lancing uncovers that the foster program is really a human trafficking operation, disguised as Irina's orphanage
and financed by honest and unknowing well-intentioned Samaritans. Lancing heads overseas to find the girl and shut down the operation.
Director: Po-Chih Leong. Stars: Steven Seagal, Matt Schulze, Nick Brimble, Robbie Gee, Ida Nowakowska. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: R, Action thriller, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
- July 27
-
Hellboy
From writer/director Guillermo del Toro ("Blade II,"
"The Devil's Backbone") comes "Hellboy," a supernatural action-adventure based
on Mike Mignola's acclaimed Dark Horse Comics series of the same name. Born in
the flames of hell 60 years ago during World War II, Hellboy (Ron Perlman) was
brought to Earth by evil madman Grigori Rasputin (Karel Roden) to perpetrate
evil. Destined to be a harbinger of the apocalypse, Hellboy was rescued by
Allied Forces led by Professor Broom (John Hurt), founder of the clandestine
B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense), who raised him like a son
and developed his extraordinary paranormal gifts. Despite his dark origins,
Hellboy becomes an unlikely champion of good, battling the evil forces that
threaten our world. At the B.P.R.D., Hellboy becomes part of an unlikely family
that includes the telepathic "Mer-Man" Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) and Liz Sherman
(Selma Blair), who is pyro-kinetic. Hidden from the very society they are
assigned to protect, they stand as a key line of defense against Rasputin -- who
seeks to reclaim Hellboy to the dark side and use his powers to bring about
Armageddon. As Broom says of the B.P.R.D., "Make no mistake about it, there are
things out there that go bump in the night. We're the ones who bump back."
Director: Guillermo del Toro. Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Jeffrey Tambor,
Karel Roden, Rupert Evans, John Hurt. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 121
min., Action, Box office gross: $58.576 million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP,
Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Whole Ten Yards, The
Retired hitman Jimmy "The Tulip" Tudeski
(Bruce Willis) is living the quiet life in a beachfront bungalow in Mexico,
miles away from his former life. Thanks to falsified dental records supplied by
onetime neighbor and friend Nicholas "Oz" Oseransky, D.D.S. (Matthew Perry),
Jimmy faked his own death and has taken up a new line of work befitting his
newfound domestic tranquility: cleaning the house and perfecting his culinary
skills with his wife Jill (Amanda Peet), a novice assassin who has yet to pull
off a clean hit. Suddenly, an uninvited and most unwelcome connection to their
past shows up on the Tudeski's doorstep. It's Oz, breathless and desperate,
begging them to help rescue his wife, Cynthia (Natasha Henstridge), from the
Hungarian mob. Now Jimmy, Oz and Jill will have to go the whole nine yards --
and then some -- to manage the mounting Mafioso mayhem, in this misguided sequel
to the 2000 hit comedy "The Whole Nine Yards."
Director: Howard Deutch. Stars: Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet,
Natasha Henstridge, Kevin Pollak. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 99 min.,
Comedy Thriller, Box office gross: $15.857 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Good bye, Lenin!
Winner of six European film awards including
the 2004 Golden Globe nominee for best foreign language film. The German
smash-hit screwball comedy of totalitarian proportions about an East German
woman who awakens from a coma after the fall of communism and her devoted son
who goes through desperate lengths to make her believe nothing has changed.
October 1989 was a bad time to fall into a coma if you lived in East Germany --
and this is precisely what happens to Alex's proudly socialist mother. Alex has
a big problem on his hands when she suddenly awakens eight months later. Her
heart is so weak that any shock might kill her. And what could be more shocking
than the fall of the Berlin Wall and the triumph of capitalism in her beloved
East Germany? To save his mother, Alex transforms the family apartment into an
island of the past, a kind of socialist-era museum where his mother is lovingly
duped into believing that nothing has changed. What begins as a little white lie
turns into a major scam as Alex's sister and selected neighbors are recruited to
maintain the elaborate ruse -- and keep her believing that Lenin really did
triumph after all. In German with English subtitles.
Director: Wolfgang Becker. Stars: Daniel Brfuhl, Katrin Sass, Chulpan Khamatova,
Maria Simon, Florian Lukas. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: R, 121 min., Comedy, Box
office gross: $3.738 million, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone
Complex
Manga Entertainment and
Bandai Entertainment have teamed on a new 26 episode sci-fi series: "Ghost
in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex," created by the revered animators at Japan's
Production I.G ("Kill Bill," "Ghost in the Shell"). Directed by Kenji Kamiyama
("Blood: The Last Vampire," "Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade") with music by Yoko Kanno
("Cowboy Bebop"), the series continues the story of the acclaimed anime feature
film "Ghost in the Shell" that was based on the popular manga by Japanese comic
book artist Shirow Masamune.
The anime series continues the story of female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi and
her fellow police officers of Section 9, who hunt down a host of criminals in
both the real and online worlds. In the first four episodes Kusanagi and Section
9 must resolve a hostage crisis, hunt down a runaway state-of-the-art killing
machine, solve a mystery behind recent android suicides and investigate a high
level conspiracy involving a mysterious computer hacker. Set in the not too
distant future where technology plays a key role in everyday life, "Ghost in the
Shell: Stand Alone Complex" uses the latest in full digital animation.
"GITS: SAC Volume 1" features the first four 30-minute episodes of the series.
The complete series will be released bi-monthly during the next year and
presented on seven DVD volumes along with a subsequent U.S. cable television
broadcast on Cartoon Network, tentatively scheduled this September.
Director: Kenji Kamiyama. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 120 min.,
Anime, Manga/Bandai/Anchor Bay.
DVD: Only.
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My Father and I
Forty-year-old Jean-Luc is a successful
gerontologist living in the wealthy Parisian suburb of Versailles with his
beautiful wife Isa. On the surface, Jean-Luc appears to have everything one
could want from life. But the unexpected arrival of his long-estranged father
promises to shatter his facade. The old man views his son's life and world with
a detachment that verges on cruelty, and it isn't long before he profoundly
disrupts the fragile and truly imperfect bourgeois lives of Jean-Luc and those
around him. In the face of a father who charms, disgusts and rejects him,
Jean-Luc can no longer avoid confronting his own past. Secrets are revealed, and
the crisis triggered by his mysterious father alters things forever. In French
with English subtitles.
Director: Anne Fontain. Stars: Michel Bouquet, Charles Berling, Natacha Regnier,
Amira Casar, Stephane Guillon. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 100 min., Drama,
New Yorker, $24.95 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
-
La Balance
When a police informant is gunned down, a determined
vice cop must recruit a new stool pigeon -- one that can finally take down the
unassailable mob boss. The line between the cops and gangsters becomes blurred
as Dede (Philippe Leotard), a charismatic pimp, is forced to rat out his former
boss and nemesis, the elusive Massina. Considered the French "Dirty Harry." In
French with English subtitles.
Director: Bob Swaim. Stars: Nathalie Baye, Philippe Leotard. 1982, CC, MPAA
rating: NR, 100 min., Thriller, Home Vision, No VHS SRP.
DVD: Only.
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Masques
Philippe Noiret delivers a brilliant performance as a TV
game show host turned killer. Roland Wolf is writing a book on the life of TV
personality Christian Legagneur (Noiret) -- or is he? He spends a weekend doing
research for his project, where he meets Legagneur's oddball friends and his
juvenile charge who suffers from a mysterious ailment. A deadly game of cat and
mouse, the film will keep you guessing from first frame to last. In French with
English subtitles.
Director: Claude Chabrol. Stars: Anne Brochet, Philippe Noiret. 1987, CC,
MPAA rating: NR, 96 min., Thriller, Home Vision, No VHS SRP.
DVD: Only.
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La Ceremonie
A shocking and unforgettable thriller. Catherine
(Jacqueline Bisset) hires the illiterate Sophie (Sondrine Bonnaire) as her maid.
But Sophie soon falls under the influence of the mysterious Jeanne (Isabelle
Huppert), and the stage is set for a tale of murder, violence and betrayal. One
of Claude Chabrol's most acclaimed films, and winner of numerous international
awards. In French with English subtitles.
Director: Claude Chabrol. Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset. 1995,
CC, MPAA rating: NR, 102 min., Thriller, Home Vision, No VHS SRP.
DVD: Only.
-
Story of Women
From acclaimed director Claude Chabrol comes the
compelling true story of working-class housewife Marie (Isabelle Huppert), who
performs illegal abortions in France during World War II, evading the Nazis, and
betraying those she loves. Brought to life by Chabrol on actual locations,
"Story of Women" is an honest, original, and utterly absorbing film, which won
Isabelle Huppert Best Actress honors at the Venice Film Festival. In French with
English subtitles.
Director: Claude Chabrol. Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Francois Cluzet, Nils
Tavernier. 1988, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 108 min., Drama, Home Vision, No VHS
SRP.
DVD: Only.
-
Ned Kelly
The true story of Irish-Australian legend Edward "Ned" Kelly, a farm-boy-turned-rebel in 19th century Australia who became a populist hero by fighting corrupt authorities oppressing his people. With their distinctive armor, Ned
Kelly and his legendary gang became icons in Australian popular culture, featured in films, books, and paintings. In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia was still largely untamed. The former penal colony's first-generation Irish immigrant population lived in
poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned (Heath Ledger) is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-up charge of stealing a horse.
Emerging a few years later, in 1874, Ned is hardened but vows to stay straight. But the British colonial system and its Victorian English enforcers remain prejudiced against Australia's working people, and the struggling Kelly family is no exception. When, in 1878, a
bullying police officer is rebuffed by Ned's younger sister Kate and targets the family for harassment, Ned and his mother are unjustly charged with attempted murder. While hiding in the bush, he forms a loyal gang that includes his best friend and first lieutenant Joe
Byrne (Orlando Bloom), and they blaze a trail through the Outback, robbing banks to fund themselves as well as to recover immigrants' land deeds, and giving police the runaround. To the masses, Ned is a hero. To lawmen and the establishment, he is the most wanted
man in Australia. $8,000 is offered for his capture -- at the time, the highest reward the world had known. When the authorities bring in the formidable Superintendent Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush), and an army of police, with carte blanche to capture and/or kill the
outlaws, Ned strategizes a risky showdown at the Glenrowan Inn. It is this event which will seal his fate --
and his legend.
Director: Gregor Jordan. Stars: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Joel Edgerton, Laurence Kinlan, Philip Barantini, Kerry Condon, Kris McQuade. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Western, Box office gross: $0.074 million,
Universal, $22.98 VHS SRP.
DVD: Day & Date.
All DVDs are screened on a reference system consisting of a
Rotel RDV-1060 DVD Audio/Video Player, a
Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center),
and 50 (rear) speakers and Power 10 subwoofer.
January 2004 Releases
February 2004 Releases
March 2004 Releases
April 2004 Releases
May 2004 Releases
June 2004 Releases
August 2004 Releases
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November 2004 Releases
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June 14, 2004
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