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4/15/08 V12.16
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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES
For Tuesday, April 15 -- Monday, April 22
Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem
Picking up after the events of the 2004 blockbuster "Alien vs. Predator," the Predator gives birth to a crossbreed 'PredAlien' shortly before its ship crashes into a small Colorado town. Caught in between the invasion of the Aliens and a new ruthless and methodical Predator, a group of townspeople must join forces to stop the infestation before the military obliterates the town to contain the outbreak. Vitals: Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause. Stars: David Paetkau, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Reiko Aylesworth, Sam Trammell, Shareeka Epps, Steven Pasquale. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $41.564 million, Fox.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Master filmmaker Sidney Lumet directs this absorbing suspense thriller about a family facing the worst enemy of all -- itself. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Andy, an overextended broker who lures his younger brother, Hank (Ethan Hawke), into a larcenous scheme: the pair will rob a suburban mom-and-pop jewelry store that appears to be the quintessential easy target. The problem is, the store owners are Andy and Hank's actual mom and pop and, when the seemingly perfect crime goes awry, the damage lands right at their doorstep. Marisa Tomei plays Hoffman's trophy wife, who is having a clandestine affair with Hawke, and the stellar cast also includes Albert Finney as the family patriarch who pursues justice at all costs, completely unaware that the culprits he is hunting are his own sons. A classy, classic heist-gone-wrong drama in the tradition of "The Killing" and Lumet's own "The Anderson Tapes," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" is smart enough to know that we often have the most to fear from those who are near and dear. Vitals: Director: Sidney Lumet. Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 117 min., Drama, Box office gross: $6.806 million, ThinkFilm.
Juno
Ellen Page stars as the title character, a whip-smart teen confronting an unplanned pregnancy by her classmate Bleeker (Michael Cera). With the help of her hot best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), Juno finds her unborn child a "perfect" set of parents: an affluent suburban couple, Mark and Vanessa (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), longing to adopt. Luckily, Juno has the total support of her parents (JK Simmons and Allison Janney) as she faces some tough decisions, flirts with adulthood and ultimately figures out where she belongs. Vitals: Director: Jason Reitman. Stars: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Rainn Wilson, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 92 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $117.506 million, Fox.
Lars and the Real Girl
Ryan Gosling stars as Lars Lindstrom, a loveable introvert whose emotional baggage has kept him from fully embracing life. After years of solitude, Lars buys a life-size sex doll on the Internet and falls in love with her, telling people it's his girlfriend. Lars' brother and sister-in-law Karin and Gus consult the town's family physician, Dr. Dagmar Berman, who advises them to go along with it. Lars is experiencing a delusion and in order to help him through this crisis, they and the townsfolk need to get onboard. After some persuasion and appeal to their love and concern for Lars, Gus and Karin enlist their cooperation. Soon Bianca is attending church, modeling at the local dress shop, volunteering at the hospital and accompanying Lars to his first ever social events. Surprisingly to those around her, Bianca weaves her way into the hearts of everyone she meets, filling voids they didn't know they had. Vitals: Director: Craig Gillespie. Stars: Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson, Nancy Beatty, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Karen Robinson. 2007, CC, MPAA rating:PG-13, 106 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $5.928 million, MGM.
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NEWS
Director Allen Baron's New York City noir "Blast of Silence" (1961) is a sensational surprise. This low-budget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in Manhattan during Christmastime follows its stripped-down narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living. In a new, restored digital transfer from The Criterion Collection.
From TV to Video:
"Alien Nation: Ultimate Movie Collection" is a three-disc set with all five post-series TV movies: "Alien Nation: Dark Horizon" (1994), "Alien Nation: Body and Soul" (1995), "Alien Nation: Millennium" (1996), "Alien Nation: The Enemy Within" (1996) and "Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy" (1997); $49.98 from Fox ... "The Ambassador: Series Two" (1998) is a three-disc set with seven episodes of the U.K. series about the female ambassador to Ireland who diplomatically solves problems ranging from territorial disputes and kidnapping to cults, sabotage and murder, from BFS Entertainment ... "American Dad Volume Three," a three-disc set with 18 episodes from Season Two and Three, $39.98 from Fox ... "Clive Cussler's The Sea Hunters, Set 2" includes six episodes of the underwater documentary series, including "The Search for Andrea Gail" (the boat immortalized in "The Perfect Storm"), "Catherine the Great's Treasure Ship," "The Search for the SS Alabama" (a Confederate vessel sunk during the Civil War); more. $39.99 from Acorn Media ... "College Hill: Interns" (2007), a two-disc set of the BET realty-TV show, $19.99 from Paramount ... "Melrose Place: The Fourth Season" (1995-96), a nine-disc set with 32 episodes, $61.99 from Paramount ... The 2007 U.K. version of "A Room With a View," starring Elaine Cassidy, Laurence Fox and Rafe Spall, from WGBH Boston Video ... "A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila," a three-disc set with 11 uncensored episodes, $39.99 from Paramount.
Buzzin' the 'B's:
Based on the popular "Dungeon Siege" video game series "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale"
(2008) follows a hardworking family man who becomes a reluctant warrior
after an evil sorcerer sends an army of murderous beasts to ransack his
peaceful village and capture his wife. Stars Jason Statham, Leelee
Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Matthew Lillard, Burt Reynolds,
Will Sanderson, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Brian J. White, Kristanna
Loken and Gabrielle Rose, from Fox ... In the thriller "Border Lost"
(2008), starring Chris Cleveland, Kelly Noonan, Emilio Roso, David
Schultz and Marian Zapico, three U.S. border agents decide to take the
law into their own hands, from Allumination FilmWorks ... "Inside"
(2007) is an ultra-violent, horrifying French thriller about a pregnant
woman terrorized by a raging psychopath, from The Weinstein
Company/Genius Products ... In "Loch Ness Terror" (2007), the residents of Lake Superior are falling prey to a Loch Ness monster, from Sony ... In "Impulse"
(2008), starring Angus Macfadyen and Willa Ford, a beautiful ad
executive believes she has finally managed to unleash her husband's
wild side in bed -- only to discover that her erotic game of
role-playing leads to a dangerous game of seduction, from Sony.
"The Pied Piper of Hutzovina" (2008) In the summer of 2004, on a car journey in Eastern Europe, Pavla Fleischer met and fell in love with Eugene Hutz, lead singer of the New York-based Gypsy Punk band Gogol Bordello; this film is her documentary that follows Eugene and Pavla on their subsequent road trip through Eugene's' home country, Ukraine; $19.95 from Arts Alliance America ... "The Final Season" (2005), starring Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold and Michael Angarano, follows a small-town high school team from Norway, Iowa (population 586) that lives and breathes American's favorite pastime -- baseball -- and has won 19 State Championships ... until a series of unexpected blows threaten to rob them of their 20th championship win. Based on a true story; from Fox ... A frustrated and underappreciated actor who still lives with his mother overeats to deal with his problems in "I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With" (2006), starring Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, Amy Sedaris, Gina Gershon, Bonnie Hunt, Dan Castellaneta and Richard Kind, from Genius Products.
For the Family:
"Classical Baby: (I'm Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show"
features the hallmark animation of HBO Family's Peabody and Emmy
Award-winning "Classical Baby" franchise. This edition presents the
diaper-clad "conductor" now as a young boy reading lines from timeless
treasures from the world of poetry, including classics by William
Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Barrett
Browning and Langston Hughes; $9.97 from HBO Video ... "SpongeBob SquarePants: Pest of The West" includes seven SpongeBob episodes, $16.99 from (Nickelodeon/Paramount).
Special Interest:
"A Global Warning?" is a History
Channel documentary that surveys the frontline of scientific research
and climatic impact to look at global warming; $24.95 from A&E Home
Video ... "How the Earth Was Made" is a History
Channel documentary that reveals the entire 4.5 billion-year journey of
our planet, $24.95 from A&E Home Video ... "The Canine Conspiracy/The Cat Connection" is a pair of Discovery Channel documentaries on the origin of domestic dogs and cats; $9.98 from Warner ... "Diana: Queen of Hearts"
(1998) is a documentary that celebrates Princess Diana's life and
legacy while avoiding scandal and gossip; $9.95 from Genius Products
... In "War/Dance"
(2007), three children living in a displacement camp in northern Uganda
compete in their country's national music and dance festival; the film
was an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature; from
ThinkFilm.
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THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:
Aliens vs. Predator -- Requiem (2007) David Paetkau, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis, Reiko Aylesworth, Sam Trammell, Shareeka Epps, Steven Pasquale. In single disc rated theatrical, in single disc unrated theatrical, extreme unrated two-disc special edition, and Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Single discs: Commentary by directors Colin and Greg Strause and producer John Davis, commentary by creature effects designers/creators Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis. Extreme unrated adds 10 minutes of never-before-seen gruesome footage; five behind-the-scene featurettes: "Prepare for War: The Making of AVP-R," "Fight to the Finish: The Making of AVP-R," "AVP-R: The Nightmare Returns -- Creating the Aliens," "Crossbreed: The PredAlien" and "Building the Predator Homeworld"; still design galleries. (Fox).
The Ambassador: Series Two (1998) Three-disc set with seven episodes of the U.K. series about the female ambassador to Ireland who diplomatically solves problems ranging from territorial disputes and kidnapping to cults, sabotage and murder. Stars Pauline Collins. (BFS Entertainment).
American Dad Volume Three. Three-disc set with 18 episodes from Season Two and Three, $39.98. Extras: Unrated audio, commentary, deleted scenes. (Fox).
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) Dir.: Sidney Lumet; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei. Extras: Commentary by Lumet, Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, "Directed by Sidney Lumet: How The Devil Was Made" featurette. (ThinkFilm).
Blast of Silence (1961) Allen Baron, Molly McCarthy, Larry Tucker, Peter Clume, Danny Meehan, Lionel Stander. Allen Baron's New York City noir is a sensational surprise. This low-budget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in Manhattan during Christmastime follows its stripped-down narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living. New, restored digital transfer. Extras: "Requiem for a Killer: The Making of Blast of Silence" (2007), rare on-set Polaroids, locations revisited in 2008, plus an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty and a four-page graphic-novel adaptation of the film by award-winning artist Sean Phillips. (The Criterion Collection).
Border Lost (2008) Chris Cleveland, Kelly Noonan, Emilio Roso, David Schultz, Marian Zapico. Three U.S. border agents decide to take the law into their own hands. (Allumination FilmWorks).
The Canine Conspiracy/The Cat Connection. Pair of Discovery Channel documentaries on the origin of domestic dogs and cats; $9.98. (Warner).
Classical Baby: (I'm Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show. Featuring the hallmark animation of HBO Family's Peabody and Emmy Award-winning "Classical Baby" franchise, "Classical Baby: (I'm Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show" presents the diaper-clad "conductor" now as a young boy reading lines from timeless treasures from the world of poetry, including classics by William Shakespeare, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Langston Hughes. With an all-star cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Geoffrey Wright, Andy Garcia and John Lithgow; $9.97. (HBO Video).
Clive Cussler's The Sea Hunters, Set 2. Six episodes of the underwater documentary series, including "The Search for Andrea Gail" (the boat immortalized in "The Perfect Storm"), "Catherine the Great's Treasure Ship," "The Search for the SS Alabama" (a Confederate vessel sunk during the Civil War); more. $39.99. Extras: Extra footage for each episode. (Acorn Media).
College Hill: Interns (2007) Two-disc set of the BET realty-TV show, $19.99. Extras: Cast audition reel, reject reel. (Paramount).
Diana: Queen of Hearts (1998 -- TV) Documentary celebrates Princess Diana's life and legacy, avoiding scandal and gossip; $9.95. (Genius Products).
The Final Season (2005) Sean Astin, Powers Boothe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Tom Arnold, Michael Angarano. Follows a small-town high school team from Norway, Iowa (population 586) that lives and breathes American's favorite pastime - baseball - and 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. Based on a true story. Extras: Commentary by director David Mickey Evans, Sean Astin, executive producer Carl Borack and producer Michael Wasserman; commentary by producer Tony Wilson and real life coaches Kent Stock and Jim Van Scoyoc; "The Making of The Final Season" featurette; "The Real Season: The Spirit of Norway" featurette. (Fox).
A Global Warning? History Channel documentary surveys the frontline of scientific research and climatic impact to look at global warming; $24.95. (A&E Home Video).
How the Earth Was Made. History Channel documentary reveals the entire 4.5 billion-year journey of our planet, $24.95. (A&E Home Video).
I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006) Jeff Garlin, Sarah Silverman, Amy Sedaris, Gina Gershon, Bonnie Hunt, Dan Castellaneta, Richard Kind. A frustrated and underappreciated actor who still lives with his mother overeats to deal with his problems. Extras: Commentary by writer-director Jeff Garlin, deleted scenes. (Genius Products).
Impulse (2008) Angus Macfadyen, Willa Ford. A beautiful ad executive believes she has finally managed to unleash her husband's wild side in bed -- only to discover that her erotic game of role-playing leads to a dangerous game of seduction. (Sony).
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2008) Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, John Rhys-Davies, Ray Liotta, Matthew Lillard, Burt Reynolds, Will Sanderson, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Brian J. White, Kristanna Loken, Gabrielle Rose. Based on the popular "Dungeon Siege" video game series, the story follows a hardworking family man who becomes a reluctant warrior after an evil sorcerer sends an army of murderous beasts to ransack his peaceful village and capture his wife. Extras: Deleted/extended scenes, behind-the-scenes featurette. (Fox).
Inside (2007 -- France) Beatrice Dalle, Alysson Paradis, Nathalie Roussel, Francois-Regis Marchasson. Ultra-violent, horrifying thriller about a pregnant woman, still grieving over her recently deceased husband and alone on the eve of her delivery, who is terrorized by a raging psychopath determined to retrieve the baby from her womb by any means necessary. (The Weinstein Company/Genius Products).
Juno (2007) Director: Jason Reitman; Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Rainn Wilson, Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner. Extras: Commentary by Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, deleted scenes, gag reels, four featurettes: "Way Beyond 'Our' Maturity Level: Juno -- Leah - Bleeker," "Diablo Cody Is Totally Boss," "Jason Reitman for Shizz," "Honest to Blog! Creating Juno," cast and crew jam, screen tests. (Fox).
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner, Patricia Clarkson, Nancy Beatty, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Karen Robinson. Extras: "Just Like All the Other Actors" and "The Real Story of Lars and the Real Girl" featurettes, deleted scene. (MGM).
Loch Ness Terror (2007) Brian Krause. Somehow the residents of Lake Superior are falling prey to the Loch Ness monster. Extras: "The Making of Loch Ness Terror" featurette. (Sony).
Mannequin/Mannequin 2: On the Move. Double bill with "Mannequin" (1987) starring Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Gett, James Spader and "Mannequin 2" (1991) starring Kristy Swanson and William Ragsdale. (MGM).
Melrose Place: The Fourth Season (1995-96)) Nine-disc set with 32 episodes, $61.99. (Paramount).
A Passage to India (1984) Dir.: David Lean; Judy Davis, Victor Banerjee, Peggy Ashcroft, James Fox, Alec Guinness. Two-disc collector's edition. Extras: Commentary by producer Richard Goodwin, "E.M. Forster: A Profile of an Author" featurette, "An Epic Takes Shape" featurette, "An Indian Affair" production featurette, "Only Connect: A Vision of India" post-production featurette, "Casting a Classic" featurette, "David Lean: Shooting with the Master," "Reflections of David Lean" featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).
The Pied Piper of Hutzovina (2008) In the summer of 2004, on a car journey in Eastern Europe, Pavla Fleischer met and fell in love with Eugene Hutz, lead singer of the New York-based Gypsy Punk band Gogol Bordello. Captivated by his energy and his musical verve, and desperate to get to know him better, she decided to make a film about him. The Pied Piper of Hutzovina follows Eugene and Pavla on their subsequent road trip through Eugene's' home country, Ukraine. The film is the story of two people traveling together on two very different courses. Her aim is to rediscover a forgotten romance; his is to rediscover his roots. She hopes to find love on the road; he hopes to find musical inspiration from the gypsy culture he is determined to preserve. $19.95. (Arts Alliance America).
A Room With a View (2007 -- U.K. TV) Elaine Cassidy, Laurence Fox, Rafe Spall. (WGBH Boston Video).
A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila. Three-disc set with 11 uncensored episodes, $39.99. Extras: Deleted scenes. (Paramount).
SpongeBob SquarePants: Pest of The West. Seven SpongeBob episodes, $16.99. (Nickelodeon/Paramount).
War/Dance(2007) Three children living in a displacement camp in northern Uganda compete in their country's national music and dance festival. Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature. (ThinkFilm).
For more
DVD info, check out our DVD calendar pages at
<http://www.onvideo.org/calendar/cal_dvd.htm>
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