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Guide to Home Video Releases: June 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. June 5 Messengers, The The Solomon family leaves the fast-paced life of Chicago for the secluded world of a North Dakota farm, determined to rectify their failing marriage. Amidst the tranquil sway of the farm's field of sunflowers, their daughter Jess, 16, soon realizes how terrifying seclusion can be when she and her brother Ben, 3, begin seeing ominous apparitions invisible to everyone else. When those specters become violent, Jess' sanity is questioned -- a double jeopardy for the tormented teen. Her troublesome past comes face to face with the past of those who once lived in the house, a perilous confrontation that leaves her believability in question with those she desperately tries to warn before it is too late. Vitals: Director: Oxide Pang, Danny Pang. Stars: Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 84 min., Horror, Box office gross: $35.374 million, Sony. Advertisement Norbit Norbit (Eddie Murphy) has never had it easy. As a baby, he was abandoned on the steps of a Chinese restaurant/orphanage and raised by Mr. Wong (Eddie Murphy). Things get worse when he's forced into a relationship by the mean, junk food-chugging queen, Rasputia (Eddie Murphy). Just when Norbit's hanging by his last thread, his childhood sweetheart, Kate (Thandie Newton), moves back to town, and Norbit hopes to change his life. With the reawakening of his feelings for Kate, Norbit gains a newfound assertiveness, rejecting the role of downtrodden, exploited milquetoast in favor of the crusading hero who knows how to dress sharp, please the ladies and ride a bike. Vitals: Director: Brian Robbins. Stars: Eddie Murphy, Thandie Newton, Eddie Griffin, Terry Crews, Clifton Powell, Cuba Gooding, Jr. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 102 min., Drama, Box office gross: $94.570 million, Paramount. June 12 Ghost Rider Based on Marvel Comic's popular series. Long ago, superstar motorcycle stunt rider Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) made a deal with the devil to protect the ones he loved most: his father and his childhood sweetheart, Roxanne (Eva Mendes). Now, the devil has come for his due. By day, Johnny is a die-hard stunt rider. At night, in the presence of evil, he becomes the Ghost Rider, a bounty hunter of rogue demons. Forced to do the devil's bidding, Johnny is determined to confront his fate and use his curse and powers to defend the innocent. Vitals: Director: Mark Steven Johnson. Stars: Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Wes Bentley, Eva Mendes, Matt Long, Sam Elliott, Peter Fonda, Donal Logue. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 110 min., Fantasy Thriller, Box office gross: $ 114.231 million, Sony. Breach Inspired by the real-life story of Robert Hanssen Iand the greatest security breach in U.S. history., "Breach" follows the search for an elusive mole in the top echelons of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is dragged from the obscurity of a low-level FBI surveillance job to work directly with one of the most powerful and trusted men at the agency. O'Neill has been handpicked to assist veteran operative Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper) in a new division created to protect all classified FBI intelligence. The idealistic young man is dismayed to discover that his new boss is the subject of long-term, top-secret investigation and that he is expected to infiltrate Hanssen's treasonous operation. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse, O'Neill must outwit Hanssen at his own game or watch Hanssen destroy him, his family and the nation they are both sworn to serve. Vitals: Director: Billy Ray. Stars: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Laura Linney, Caroline Dhavernas, Gary Cole, Dennis Haysbert, Kathleen Quinlan, Bruce Davison. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 111 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $32.791 million, Universal. Primeval A disgraced TV reporter (Dominic Purcell) travels to Africa with the hopes of launching a career comeback on the scaly back of Gustave, a 20-foot-long crocodile with 300 kills on his resume. With his cameraman, another reporter and an ill-tempered local guide, the newsman finds more than he bargained for: not only is the croc elusive, but the crew encounter the wrath of a local warlord. Vitals: Director: Michael Katleman. Stars: Dominic Purcell, Orlando Jones, Brooke Langton, Jurgen Prochnow. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 93 min., Horror, Box office gross: $10.596 million, Buena Vista. Blood and Chocolate Story of a young girl caught between two worlds -- a human world by day and the life of a werewolf by night. As a young girl living in the remote mountains of Colorado, Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) watched helplessly as her family was murdered by a pack of angry men for the secret they carried in their blood. Vivian survived the attack by running into the woods and changing into a wolf. Ten years later, Vivian is living a relatively safe and normal life in Bucharest, Romania. Vivian spends her days working in a chocolate shop and nights trawling the city's underground clubs, fending off the reckless antics of her cousin Rafe, and his gang of delinquents he refers to as "The Five." Vivian's life begins to unravel when she has a chance encounter with Aiden (Hugh Dancy), an artist researching Bucharest' ancient art and relics for his next graphic novel. Aiden pursues Vivian until she relents and begins to see him, but she can't bring herself to tell him the truth -- and lives in fear of showing him who she really is. Even though Vivian has sworn never to kill, she is as much an animal as she is human, and her love for Aiden threatens to cast him to the very wolves who saved her life and who are waiting for their chance to hunt him as prey. Vitals: Director: Katja von Garnier. Stars: Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy, Olivier Martinez, Katja Riemann, Bryan Dick. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 98 min., Fantasy thriller, Box office gross: $3.517 million, Sony. Daddy's Little Girls A single father, Monty (Idris Elba) is a garage mechanic who lives in a poor neighborhood and struggles to make ends meet as he raises his three young daughters on his own. But when the courts award custody of his daughters to his corrupt, drug-dealing ex-wife Jennifer (Tasha Smith), Monty desperately tries to win them back, enlisting the help of Julia (Gabrielle Union), a beautiful -- and hard-nosed -- attorney he meets during his short stint as a chauffeur. While Monty and the Ivy-League-educated Julia couldn't be less alike, an unexpected romance blossoms ... and it soon begins to feel like true love. But in order for their relationship to survive, the couple must reconcile their two very different worlds -- and overcome the forces that threaten to tear Monty's family apart. Vitals: Director: Tyler Perry. Stars: Gabrielle Union, Idris Elba, Tasha Smith, Gary Sturgis, Tracee Ellis Ross, Lou Gossett, Jr., Malinda Williams, Terri J. Vaughn, Cassie Davis, Juanita Jennings, LaVan Davis. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 100 min., Drama, Box office gross: $31.068 million, Lionsgate. Days of Glory (Indigenes) World War II film tells the tale of a group of African soldiers who join the French in their fight against the Nazis. Although they passionately battle to defend the motherland, a place they've never been, they face inequality and daily humiliation within the French army. These heroes that history forgot won battles throughout Europe before finding themselves alone to defend a small village against a German battalion. The film is credited with motivating the French government to fully recognize not only Algerian soldiers but all foreign soldiers who fought for France during World War II by granting them full benefit and pension plans. Nominated for best foreign-film Oscar. In French with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Rachid Bouchareb. Stars: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem, Bernard Blancan, Matthieu Simonet. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 118 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.179 million, The Weinstein Company/IFC Films/Genius Products. June 19 Reno 911!: Miami -- The Movie The brave men and women of the Washoe County Sheriff's Department -- the thin khaki line that keeps Reno, Nevada on the straight and narrow -- star in their first feature film, based on the hit Comedy Central television series. The deputies of the Reno Sheriffs Department attend a law enforcement convention in Miami Beach, where the motley crew is charged with protecting the city after bioterrorists attack the convention. Vitals: Director: Ben Garant. Stars: Carlos Alazraqui, Mary Birdsong, Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Niecy Nash, Cedric Yarbrough, Terry Swarsden, Paul Rudd, David Wain, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Nick Swardson, Joe Lo Truglio, Paul Reubens, David Koechner. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 84 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $20.339 million, Fox. Bridge to Terabithia Based on the popular Newbery Award-winning novel. Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is an outsider at school and even in his own family. Jess has trained all summer to become the fastest kid in his middle school class, but his goal is unexpectedly thwarted by the new girl in school, Leslie Burke (Annasophia Robb), who competes in the "boys only" race and wins. Despite their awkward introduction, the two outsiders quickly become best friends. Leslie loves to tell stories of fantasy and magic. Jess loves to draw, but until he met Leslie, it was something he kept to himself. Leslie opens a new world of imagination for Jess. Together, they create the secret kingdom of Terabithia, a magical place only accessible by swinging on an old rope over a stream in the woods near their homes. There, the friends rule the kingdom, fight the Dark Master and his creatures and plot against the school bullies. Thanks to his friendship with Leslie, Jess is changed for good. Brimming with fantastical creatures, palaces and beautiful forests, the world of Terabithia is brought to life by the Academy Award-winning visual effects wizards at Weta Digital (the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "King Kong"). Vitals: Director: Gabor Csupo. Stars: Josh Hutcherson, Anna Sophia Robb, Zooey Deschanel, Robert Patrick. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 95 min., Fantasy, Box office gross: $81.243 million, Disney. Miss Potter A biodrama about the life of famed children's book author, Beatrix Potter. Potter (Renee Zellweger) was a literary phenomenon of the early 20th Century. At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Potter became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude, against the tide. She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago, and since their publication they have never been out of print. Set in the high summer days of late Victorian and Edwardian England, during which Potter developed her natural skills as artist and storyteller. When she finally published her debut book, "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," she became a writing celebrity. It also lead to a courtship and her first love with publisher Norman Warne, played by Ewan McGregor. Their relationship and his marriage proposal in July, 1905, was to change Beatrix's life forever. It was a love which she could not announce -- or even talk about. In high-society London, her parents had insisted she keep it from friends and neighbors. They considered her proposed wedding a mismatch. Potter allowed herself to be persuaded to leave her fiance and London. It was supposed to be a time for reflection and calm. But, instead, she faced tragedy and loneliness and returned, with a different outlook. She became a woman of strong views and independence. She also built up a farming dynasty in the Lake District -- a dynasty over which she took charge long after her writing career virtually ended in 1913. It established her as a woman ahead of her time. Despite becoming the world's most successful children's writer and a wealthy landowner and prize-winning farmer, she never forgot her first love. Vitals: Director: Chris Noonan. Stars: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson, Barbara Flynn, Bill Paterson, Lloyd Owen. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 92 min., Biodrama, Box office gross: $2.655 million, The Weinstein Company. June 26 Black Snake Moan When ex-blues musician Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) finds the town nymphomaniac Rae (Christina Ricci) left for dead on the side of the road, he vows to nurse her back to health ... and cure her of her wickedness. Until then, she'll be chained to the immovable radiator in his home. But Lazarus has demons of his own: his wife has just left him for his own brother. While Lazarus and Rae struggle to fix their broken lives, the situation threatens to explode as Rae's boyfriend Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) -- a roughneck soldier just back from Iraq -- comes searching for his missing lover. From the director of "Hustle & Flow." Vitals: Director: Craig Brewer. Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 115 min., Drama, Box office gross: $9.373 million, Paramount. Dead Silence Every town has its own ghost story -- a local folktale that's whispered around campfires or an incantation chanted by nervous kids at a sleepover that can summon the victim of a brutal murder. And when those kids get old enough, they share the tale with the next generation, passing along the legacy of terror and keeping alive that town's own myth of massacre and the ghosts it leaves behind. Except, in some towns, those scary stories aren't just imaginative tales told to amuse adults and terrify children. Sometimes, they're real. In Ravens Fair, the story is about Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist who went mad in the 1940s. Accused of the kidnapping and murder of a young boy who labeled her a fraud, she was hunted down by angry townspeople who -- in the ultimate act of revenge -- cut out her tongue and killed her. They buried her along with her "children," a handmade collection of vaudeville dolls, and assumed they had silenced her forever. Since that time, Ravens Fair has been plagued by mysterious deaths. The ghastly dolls from Mary Shaw's collection have gone missing from the grave and reappeared over the decades in the most unlikely of places. Far from the pall of their cursed hometown, newlyweds Jamie and Lisa Ashen thought they had established a fresh start. But when his wife is grotesquely killed in their apartment, Jamie cautiously returns to Ravens Fair for the funeral, intent on unraveling the mystery of Lisa's untimely death. Jamie must dig into the town's bloody past to find out who killed his wife and why. All the while, he is doggedly pursued by a detective who doesn't believe a word of Jamie's alibi. As he uncovers the legend of Mary Shaw, the town's wayward son must unlock the story of her curse. Vitals: Director: James Wan. Stars: Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Bob Gunton. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Horror, Box office gross: $ 15.474 million, Universal. Shooter Based on Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact," the thirller centers on an ace marksman (Mark Wahlberg) -- living in self-exile in the Arkansas wilderness after causing the death of an innocent person -- who is persuaded by his former associates that they need his help to prevent an assassination. Subsequently double-crossed and framed for the presidential assassination he was trying to prevent, he is forced to go on the run while trying to track down the real killer and discover the truth about who betrayed him. Vitals: Director: Antoine Fuqua. Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Danny Glover, Kate Mara, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra, Rade Sherbedgia, Ned Beatty. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 124 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $ 46.221 million, Paramount. Pride Based on a the true story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who founded and coached a blackn swim team in one of Philadelphia's roughest neighborhoods. The year is 1973, and college-educated Jim Ellis can't find a job. Driven by his love of competitive swimming, Jim refurbishes an abandoned recreational pool in a down-at-its-heels Philadelphia neighborhood with the help of its custodian Elston (Bernie Mac). But when the pool is marked for demolition, Jim fights back -- by starting the city's first black swim team. Recruiting teens from the streets, Jim struggles to transform a motley team of novices into capable swimmers -- all in time for the upcoming state championships. But as racism, violence and an unsympathetic city official threaten to tear the team apart, Jim must do everything he can to convince his swimmers that victory, both in and out of the pool, is within their reach. Vitals: Director: Sunu Gonera. Stars: Terrence Howard, Bernie Mac, Tom Arnold, Regine Nehy, Kevin Phillips, Nate Parkert, Kimberly Elise. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 104 min., Drama, Box office gross: $ 7.036 million, Lionsgate. All DVDs are screened on a reference system consisting of a Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, 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 2007 Releases February 2007 Releases March 2007 Releases April 2007 Releases May 2007 Releases July 2007 Releases August 2007 Releases | Contents/Site Map | Home | Resources | Sell-Through | Reviews | Links | E-mail: mail@onvideo.org © 1996 -- 2007 OnVideo. All rights reserved May 25, 2007