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12/23/08 V12.50

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ONVIDEO'S WEEKLY GUIDE TO HOME VIDEO RELEASES


For Tuesday, December 23 -- Monday, December 29

Eagle Eye High-tech, race-against-time thriller. A copy shop clerk (Shia LaBeouf) and a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) meet after receiving phone calls from an anonymous woman instructing them to do exactly as she says, or else. The two strangers face dire consequences and are forced into a series of heart-stopping situations by someone who seems to see every move they make. Using cell phones, LED signs, television screens and other commonplace technology to pass on instructions, the mystery woman ensnares the unwitting pair in a vast and unthinkable plot. As the situation escalates and they become the nation's most wanted fugitives, these two ordinary people must work together to discover who is manipulating them and why. By the time they discover her frightening identity, they have become her unwitting accomplices in a diabolical assassination plot. Vitals: Director: D.J. Caruso. Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 117 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $99.740 million, Paramount.

Duchess, The A young noblewoman marries into one of Britain's most powerful families and becomes Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, the toast of London. One of history's most beguiling leading ladies, Georgiana Spencer (Keira Knightley) was married at 17 to the wealthy and influential William Cavendish (Ralph Fiennes), the fifth Duke of Devonshire -- and into a lavish world filled with shocking deceptions, decadent scandals and stifling demands of duty. As Duchess of Devonshire, she first indulged her considerable energy in high society -- outshining most of the aristocratic men around her with her incredible wit -- only to become one of the most impassioned political voices in all of 18th century Britain. Beloved by a nation but betrayed by her husband, Georgiana's charisma, political savvy and distinct flair for fashion would make her the "It Girl" of her era ... but a chance for personal happiness would remain elusive until she dared to discover love on her own terms. Vitals: Director: Saul Dibb. Stars: Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 109 min., Drama, Box office gross: $13.670 million, Paramount.

Ghost Town Ricky Gervais is Bertram Pincus, a New York City dentist with the people skills of a barracuda. When a routine surgery goes awry, Pincus is pronounced dead, but miraculously revived seven minutes later. The ill-mannered Manhattanite suffers only one lasting after-effect: the ability to see and speak with the dead. When word gets out in the spirit community, Pincus is irritated to discover he's the go-to-guy for every phantom with unfinished business in the city. At the forefront of the ghostly mob is recently deceased Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear), who is determined to stop the remarriage of his widow, Gwen (Tea Leoni). Things get sticky when the prickly and romantically inexperienced Pincus becomes smitten with Gwen and tries to woo her away from her dead betrothed. Vitals: Director: David Koepp. Stars: Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 102 min., Drama, Box office gross: $13.214 million, Paramount.


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NEWS

Top 10 Time Again:
This, of course, is the season for top 10 lists. Before you get sick of them, here's a sampling so far. What are the Top 10 Horror DVDs of 2008? According to Glenn Abel, the bleary-eyed L.A. entertainment writer and Webmaster of the great DVD blog DVD Spin Doctor: (in ascending order) "Black House," "The Mummy" (1932), "Sublime," "Rogue," "Brotherhood of the Wolf," "Dark City," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "The Orphanage," "Psycho" and "Vampyr." For Glenn's adroit analysis, jump on over to The DVD Spin Doctor.

Venerable Rolling Stone Magazine chimes in with their top DVDs of the year (compiled by film critic Peter Travers): "The Dark Knight," "WALL-E," "Godfather Trilogy," "Iron Man," "Shine a Light," "Wanted," "Man on Wire," "Hancock," "Bottle Rocket," "Dr. No (Bond on Blu-ray)," "Journey to the Center of the earth" and "Cool hand Luke." Check out Travers' comments at The Top 12 DVDs of 2008.

Amazon has put together their "Best of the Year: Top 100 Customer Picks," with "Dark Knight," "John Adams" and "Stargate" leading the list. For more info, jump on over to Amazon's list, which includes both DVD and Blu-ray and reflects the best sellers of the year.

Buzzin' the 'B's:
Due this week: "Resident Evil: Degeneration" (2008), a CG-animated sequel set seven years after the Raccoon City incident that launched the franchise: a horde of zombies is unleashed at a major U.S. airport and special agents are sent to combat the rampage in classic, high octane "Resident Evil" style; from Sony ... Seven must be the lucky number for horror sequels: In "Pulse 3" (2008), seven years after "Pulse 2" the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely void of electronics. The clusters of human survivors live together in refugee camps as the phantoms have taken over the cities ... until teenager Justine escapes to the city and opens a working laptop, unleahing death and destruction. Stars Jamie Bamber of "Battlestar Galactica" fame; from The Weinstein Co./Genius Products ... "Savage Grace" (2008), starring Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane and Hugh Dancy, is the true story of the Baekeland family -- the inventors of Bakelite -- and their descent into sexual obsession and murder. The journey is told though the dramatization of the shocking Barbara Daly Baekeland murder case, which happened in a posh London flat in 1972; from Genius Products.

For the Family:
"Beethoven's Big Break" (2008), starring Jonathan Silverman, Moises Arias, Stephen Tobolowsky, Eddie Griffin and Jennifer Finnigan, is another direct-to-video sequel featuring the misadventures of the loveable St. Bernard. Here Beethoven and his family crash Tinseltown when a Hollywood animal handler adopts the larger-than-life dog.


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THIS WEEK'S DVD RELEASES:

Baghead (2008) Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller. Writers-directors-brothers and independent film favorites Mark and Jay Duplass ("The Puffy Chair") are back with a quirky little film which gently satirizes horror films, would-be actors and filmmakers -- and people who try to disguise themselves by putting bags over their heads. Four struggling actors retreat to a cabin in the mountains to write a screenplay which would make them all stars. Problem is: What happens when their story idea -- a horror flick about a group of friends tormented by a villain with a bag over his head -- starts to come true? Extras: Commentary by Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, "Mark and Jay Duplass Answer Questions They've Already Answered" featurette, "Baghead Scares." (Sony).

Beethoven's Big Break (2008) Jonathan Silverman, Moises Arias, Stephen Tobolowsky, Eddie Griffin, Jennifer Finnigan. Another direct-to-video sequel featuring the misadventures of the loveable St. Bernard; here Beethoven and his family crash Tinseltown when a Hollywood animal handler adopts the larger-than-life dog. Extras: Commentary, deleted scenes, gag reel, behind-the-scene featurettes. (Universal).

The Duchess (2008) Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling. Extras: "How Far She Went" behind-the-scenes featurette, "Georgiana In Her Own Words" featurette, "Costume Diary." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Paramount).

Eagle Eye  (2008) Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Bob Thornton, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis. Available as a single-disc DVD, two-disc Special Edition DVD, and Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Deleted scenes, alternate ending, "Asymmetrical Warfare: The Making of Eagle Eye," "Eagle Eye on Location: Washington D.C.," "Is My Cell Phone Spying on Me?" featurette on the balance between modern technology and privacy, "Shall We Play a Game?" conversation with "War Games" director John Badham, Gag Reel, Photo Gallery. (Paramount).

Ghost Town (2008) Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni. Extras: Commentary by director David Koepp and Ricky Gervais, three featurettes: "Making Ghost Town," "Ghostly Effects" and "Some People Can Do It." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Paramount).

Pulse 3  (2008) Jamie Bamber, Boti Bliss, Noureen DeWulf, David Pitt, Laura Cayouette, Courtney Shay Young, Georgina Rylance, Brittany Renee Finamore. Seven years after "Pulse 2" the survivors on Earth have settled into a primitive lifestyle completely void of electronics. The clusters of human survivors live together in refugee camps as the phantoms have taken over the cities ... until teenager Justine escapes to the city and opens a working laptop, unleashing death and destruction. Extras: Commentary, behind-the-scenes featurette. (The Weinstein Co./Genius Products).

Savage Grace  (2008) Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Hugh Dancy. The true story of the Baekeland family -- the inventors of Bakelite -- and their descent into sexual obsession and murder. The journey is told though the dramatization of the shocking Barbara Daly Baekeland murder case, which happened in a posh London flat in 1972. (Genius Products).

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) Voices of Alyson Court, Paul Mercier. CG-animated sequel. Seven years after the Raccoon City incident, a horde of zombies is unleashed at a major U.S. airport. Special agents Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy quickly arrive on the scene to combat the zombie rampage in classic, high octane "Resident Evil" style. Extras: "The Generation of Degeneration" featurette, character profiles, voice bloopers, faux Leon interview. (Sony).

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

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