Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, "A Single Man" is the story of George Falconer, a 52-year-old British college professor (Colin Firth) who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as he moves through a single day, where a series of events and encounters ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley (Julianne Moore), a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George's, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who is coming to terms with his true nature, "stalks" George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. "A Single Man" is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.
Vitals: Director: Tom Ford. Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode,, Ginnifer Goodwin,, Nicholas Hoult, Lee Pace.
2009, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Drama, Box office gross: $9.166 million, The Weinstein Co./Sony. Watch "A Single Man" trailer
Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist and a tattooed, ruthless computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander, to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost 40 years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves. Highest grossing Swedish film in history. In Swedish with English subtitles. Adapted from the first part of deceased mystery writer Stieg Larsson's "Millenium Series" trilogy. The second film in the series, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," will be released theatrically July 9. An American remake, written by Steve Zallian and directed by David Fincher, is due in 2012. Vitals: Director: Niels Arden Oplev. Stars: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Haber, Sven-Bertil Taube.
2009, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 152 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $10.057 million, Music Box Films.
Crime drama follows three conflicted New York City police officers whose lives are dramatically transformed by their involvement in a massive drug operation over the course of one chaotic week. Burned-out veteran Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is just one week away from his pension and a fishing cabin in Connecticut. Narcotics officer Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) has discovered there's no line he won't cross to provide a better life for his long-suffering wife and seven children. And Clarence "Tango" Butler (Don Cheadle) has been undercover so long his loyalties have started to shift from his fellow police officers to his prison buddy Caz (Wesley Snipes), one of Brooklyn's most infamous drug dealers. With personal and work pressures bearing down on them, each man faces daily tests of judgment and honor. When NYPD's Operation Clean Up targets the notoriously drug-ridden BK housing project, all three officers find themselves swept away by the violence and corruption of Brooklyn's gritty 65th Precinct and its most treacherous criminals. During seven fateful days, Eddie, Sal and Tango find themselves hurtling inextricably toward the same fatal crime scene and a shattering collision with destiny. Vitals: Director: Antoine Fuqua. Stars: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Will Patton, Lili Taylor, Brian F. O'Byrne, Shannon Kane, Ellen Barkin.
2010, CC, MPAA rating: R, 140 min., Crime Drama, Box office gross: $27.062 million, Anchor Bay.
All DVD Releases
Bitten
(2008) Jason Mewes, Erica Cox. A lovelorn paramedic rescues a woman left for dead after a deadly assault and takes her home to mend after she refuses to go to the hospital. As he begins to fall for her, one thing gets in the way: she appears to be a vampire. Syfy channel thriller. (Vivendi Entertainment/RHI Entertainment).
Brooklyn's Finest
(2010) Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, Will Patton, Lili Taylor, Brian F. O'Byrne, Shannon Kane, Ellen Barkin. Extras: Commentary by director Antoine Fuqua; "Chaos & Conflict: The Life of a New York Cop"; "Boyz N the Real Hood"; "An Eye for Detail" director featurette; "From the MTA to the WGA" writer featurette; deleted scenes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds "Three Cops and a Dealer" character profile, digital copy. (Anchor Bay).
Classic Doctor Who
Five classic Doctor Who adventures: "The Time Monster" (the Jon Pertwee years 1970-1974), "The Space Museum/The Chase" (the William Hartnell years 1963-66), "Underworld" and "The Horns of Nimon" (the Tom Baker years 1974-1981); $24.98 each. (BBC/Warner).
Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II
Sony and Martin Scorsese's non-profit film preservation organization, The Film Foundation, partner once again to bring five more noir films to DVD for the first time, fully-restored and re-mastered. In this second volume, renowned directors Fritz Lang, Phil Karlson and Irving Lerner are joined by Jacques Tourneur and Richard Quine to take viewers on a dark journey among low-lifes and mobsters, cops and gun molls, and the dim-witted, hapless pawns who forever changed the landscape of cinema, and whose doomed paths are as disturbing today as when they were first committed to film. Fritz Lang's "Human Desire" (1954), starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Broderick Crawford; "Pushover" (1954), starring Fred MacMurray, Kim Novak, E.G. Marshall, Philip Carey and Dorothy Malone; Jacques Tourneur's "Nightfall" (1957), starring Brian Keith, Aldo Ray and Anne Bancroft; "The Brothers Rico" (1957), starring Richard Conti, Dianne Foster and James Darren; and "City of Fear" (1958), starring Vince Edwards. Extras: Featurettes: "Martin Scorsese on The Brothers Rico," "Pulp Paranoia" with Christopher Nolan, "Terror and Desire" with Emily Mortimer, original theatrical trailers. Five-disc set, $59.95. Read more about "Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II." (Sony).
Dark Blue: The Complete First Season
(2009) All 10 episodes available via disc-on-demand only at WBshop.com (www.wbshop) and the TNT store (http://shop.tnt.tv/) for $29.95 SRP. (Warner).
Dragnet 1968: Season 2
(1968) Six-disc set with 28 episodes, $44.99. Extras: "Jack Webb -- The Man Behind Badge 714": A discussion with Peggy Webber, Tom Williams, Jackie Loughery, Herb Ellis and more; "Dragnet 1966" pilot movie; vintage "Dragnet" 1969 trailer; commemorative booklet. (Shout! Factory).
ER: The Complete Thirteenth Season
(2006-07) Six-disc set with 23 episodes, $49.98. Extras: "Outpatient Outtakes": Unaired scenes. (Warner).
Everybody Loves Raymond: Seasons 8 & 9
(2003-05) Nine-disc set with 38 episodes, $27.98. (HBO)
Eyeborgs
(2009) Adrian Paul, Megan Blake, Luke Eberl. In the near future, robotic cameras -- Eyeborgs -- created to protect citizens from terrorism instead seemingly are involved in a series of odd murders, leading an agent for the Department of Homeland Security to investigate links between the Eyeborg computer network and a presidential assassination plot. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Image Entertainment).
Gamera vs. Barugon -- Special Edition
(1966) Second film in the original series. Widescreen presentation of the original movie from an all-new HD master. Extras: Collectible reversible cover, booklet featuring an essay by actor Kojiro Hongo, commentary, publicity galleries, more. (Shout! Factory).
Get Smart: Seasons 3-4
(1967-69) Eight-disc set with 52 episodes, $27.98. (HBO).
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
(2010) Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre, Peter Haber, Sven-Bertil Taube Extras: Interview with Noomi Rapace, interview with director Niels Arden Oplev, "The Vanger Family Tree." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Music Box Films).
Have Gun Will Travel: The Fourth Season, Volume 2
(1961) Three-disc set with 19 episodes, $39.99. (Paramount).
Life on Mars: The Complete UK Collection
(2006-07) Eight-disc set with all 18 episodes, $79.99. Extras: Commentaries, two documentaries, three featurettes, outtakes, more. (Acorn Media).
Return to Lonesome Dove
(1993) Jon Voight, Barbara Hershey, Reese Witherspoon, Rick Schroder, Louis Gossett Jr. Two-disc set of Larry McMurtry's adventure that follows three ex-Texas Rangers through riotous battles, deadly gunfights, soaring triumphs and shattered dreams. (Vivendi Entertainment).
Rhoda: Season 3
(1976-77) Four-disc set with 24 episodes, $29.93. (Vivendi).
A Single Man
(2009) Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode,, Ginnifer Goodwin,, Nicholas Hoult, Lee Pace. Extras: Commentary by writer-director Tom Ford, making-of featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds movieIQ+sync and BD-Live that connects to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie. (Sony).
Touching Evil: The Complete Collection
(1997-99) Five-disc set with all 16 episodes of the U.K. series that inspired the 2004 U.S. series starring Jeffrey Donovan, Vera Farmiga and Bradley Cooper. $79.99. (Acorn Media).