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1/1/08 V12.1

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
For Tuesday, January 1 -- Monday, January 7

Resident Evil: Extinction
The third and final installment of the $100 million Resident Evil trilogy, based on the wildly popular video game series. This futuristic thriller picks up where the last film left off. Alice (Milla Jovovich), now in hiding in the Nevada desert, once again joins forces with Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and L.J. (Mike Epps), along with new survivors Claire (Ali Larter), K-Mart (Spencer Locke ) and Nurse Betty (Ashanti) to try to eliminate the deadly T-Virus that threatens to make every human being undead ... and to seek justice. Since being captured by the Umbrella Corporation, Alice has been subjected to biogenic experimentation and becomes genetically altered, with super-human strengths, senses and dexterity. The group of survivors have taken to the road ... traversing the empty desert highways in an armored convoy. What they seek is more of their kind -- the living, the uninfected. What they find is the other constant presence in the desert: the Undead -- and they'll need dozens of guns, thousands of bullets and a pair of flamethrowers to protect themselves. Hidden beneath an abandoned Nevada radio tower are the sleek offices and research facilities of the Umbrella Corporation. With access to Umbrella's constant real-time satellite surveillance, Dr. Isaacs (Iain Glen) can keep constant tabs on the convoy ... but he's searching for the one person who not only is the key to a cure, but everything Umbrella's experiments have been leading up to ... Alice. Mutating by the minute, and under constant threat of betrayal by her own Umbrella-engineered DNA, Alice has been shadowing the convoy, standing by to protect them, hoping to somehow usher them to safety. The convoy decides to head north to Alaska -- their last, best hope for refuge from the Undead -- but first they will have to make a pit-stop in Las Vegas to refuel......and stay out of Umbrella's sightlines if they ever hope to reach it. Not only is Umbrella looking for Alice, but she is also looking for them ... and she won't stop until they're shut down forever. Vitals: Director: Russell Mulcahy. Stars: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Christopher Egan. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $49.962 million, Sony.

September Dawn
Based on the true story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre -- the brutal murder of 120 men, women and children on September 11, 1857 as their wagon train passed through Utah on its way to California. The question of whether the attack was carried out by local Paiute Indians or by a renegade sect of the Mormon Church remains unresolved to this day. This film explores what might have happened. When the California-bound group of Arkansas emigrants arrives near Cedar City to stop before completing the last leg of their journey, Mormon Bishop and General Jacob Samuelson (Jon Voight) allows the settlers to rest in the nearby Mountain Meadows for two weeks, but secretly instructs his sons Jonathan (Trent Ford) to keep a close watch. Jonathan soon falls in love with an angelic member of the wagon train, the minister's daughter Emily (Tamara Hope), and is horrified when he discovers that his father thinks the settlers are enemies of the church and is planning on attacking them. While Jonathan makes plans to escape with Emily, his father sets in motion a chain of events, fueled by revenge and fanaticism, and under the guidance of Brigham Young (Terence Stamp), that culminates in a violent and tragic ambush. Vitals: Director: Christopher Cain. Stars: Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Gries, Taylor Handley, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain, Terence Stamp. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.066 million, Sony.

Shoot 'Em Up
Clive Owen stars as Mr. Smith, the angriest, most hardboiled man in the world, who finds himself entrusted to protect the most innocent thing of all -- a newborn child. When Smith delivers the baby in the middle of a gunfight, he soon discovers that the infant is the target of a shadowy force that has sent a team of mysterious and endless assailants, led by Hertz (Paul Giamatti), to erase all traces of the child. Amid a hail of bullets and facing every conceivable permutation of gunfight, Smith teams up with a prostitute named DQ (Monica Bellucci) to solve the mystery of why the baby's life is being threatened -- before this makeshift family all ends up on the wrong side of a bullet. Vitals: Director: Michael Davis. Stars: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 86 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $12.730 million, New Line.

War
After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue (Jet Li), FBI agent Jack Crawford (Jason Statham) vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner's death. But Rogue proves untraceable until three years later when he resurfaces to ignite a bloody turf war between Chinese mob leader Chang (John Lone) and Japanese Yakuza boss Shiro (Ryo Ishibashi). Eager to capture Rogue once and for all, Crawford leads his team of crime specialists headlong into the conflict. But Crawford's thirst for vengeance jeopardizes his professional judgment, and as the violence escalates, Crawford finally comes face to face with his enemy to discover that nothing about Rogue or his plan is quite what it seems. Vitals: Director: Philip G. Atwell. Stars: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Ryo Ishibashi 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $22.466 million, Lionsgate.


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NEWS

From the Big Screen:
Due this week: "Resident Evil: Extinction," starring Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps and Ali Larter; "September Dawn," starring Jon Voight, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain and Terence Stamp; "Shoot 'Em Up" starring Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Monica Bellucci; and "War" starring Jet Li and Jason Statham. For more releases this week, see our "Weekly Guide to Home Video Releases."

From TV to Video:
Due this week: "The Tudors: The Complete First Season" (2007), a four-disc set with 10 episodes, $42.99 from Paramount ... "Weird Science: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2," a four-disc set with 26 episodes, $44.95 from A&E Home Video.

Buzzin' the 'B's:
In "Solstice" (2007), a young girl uncovers a disturbing secret about her twin sister, who committed suicide and who may well be trying to communicate with her as summer solstice draws near, the one time when our world and the next are closest; stars Elisabeth Harnois, Shawn Ashmore, Tyler Hoechlin, Amanda Seyfried, Matt O'Leary, Hilarie Burton, R. Lee Ermey and Jenna Hildebrand; from Weinstein Co./Genius products.

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THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

Weekly listings of DVD releases can now be viewed on mobile
devices at www.tagtag.com/onvideo

Indie Sex (2007) Two-disc set. Aired as a miniseries event on IFCtv in August 2007 and garnered the highest ratings in the channel's history. Explores how independent films have provided a forum to discover society's deepest and darkest sexual fantasies played out on the big screen. The series is divided into three parts: "Censored," a look at the history of censorship from the silent era to the rise of the production code in the 1930s to today's more permissive outlook; "Teens," which depicts the evolution of the teen genre from Frankie and Annette beach romps in the 1960s to "Risky Business" and "Porky's" to today's more provocative fare like "Thirteen"; and "Extremes," a walk on the wild side of fetishism from Bettie Page bondage photos in the 1950s to today's boundary-pushing films like "Short Bus." Features Dita Von Teese, John Waters, Tatum O'Neal, Rosanna Arquette, Piper Perabo, Ally Sheedy and Peter Sarsgaard. $29.95. Extras: "Director's Cut Taboos," extended stag film, "Sex in Cinema Milestones." (Genius Products).

Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Christopher Egan. Extras: Deleted scenes; sneak peek at "Resident Evil: Degeneration," the first Resident Evil CGI feature film; filmmakers' commentary; making-of featurettes: "Alice Vision: Preproduction," "The Big Bang: 'ing Resident Evil: Extinction," "Bigger, Faster, Stronger: The Undead Evolve," "Vegas Visual Effects: Miniatures." Available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).

September Dawn (2007) Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Gries, Taylor Handley, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain, Terence Stamp. Extras: Two featurettes: "True Events: A Historical Perspective" and "Descendants: Remembering the Tragedy." (Sony).

Shoot 'Em Up (2007) Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk. Extras: "Ballet of Bullets: The Making of Shoot 'Em Up," deleted scenes, animatics, more. (New Line).

Solstice (2007) Elisabeth Harnois, Shawn Ashmore, Tyler Hoechlin, Amanda Seyfried, Matt O'Leary, Hilarie Burton, R. Lee Ermey, Jenna Hildebrand. A young girl uncovers a disturbing secret about her twin sister, who committed suicide and who may well be trying to communicate with her as summer solstice draws near, the one time when our world and the next are closest. (Weinstein Co.,/Genius products).

The Tudors: The Complete First Season (2007) Four-disc set with 10 episodes, $42.99. (Paramount).

War (2007) Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Ryo Ishibashi. Extras: "The Action of War" nine-part behind-the-scenes featurette, commentary by director Philip G. Atwell, commentary by writers Lee Anthony Smith and Gregory J. Bradley, "Scoring War" featurette, audio trivia track, gag reel, deleted/extended scenes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Lionsgate).

Weird Science: The Complete Seasons 1 & 2. Four-disc set with 26 episodes, $44.95. Extras: Interactive trivia, cast commentary. (A&E Home Video).

For more DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>

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ISSN 1094-3676

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