TBD on Ning
New DVD Releases for the week of January 12th
Hurt Locker
Based on the personal wartime experiences of journalist Mark Boal (who adapted his experiences with a bomb squad into a fact-based, yet fictional story), director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War-set action thriller. The Hurt Locker presents the conflict in the Middle East from the perspective of those who witnessed the fighting firsthand -- the soldiers. As an elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team tactfully navigates the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from incoming bombs and sharp-shooting snipers. In Baghdad, roadside bombs are a common danger. The Army is working to make the city a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, so when it comes to dismantling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crew is always on their game. But protecting the public isn't easy when there's no room for error, and every second spent dismantling a bomb is another second spent flirting with death. Now, as three fearless bomb technicians take on the most dangerous job in Baghdad, it's only a matter of time before one of them gets sent to "the hurt locker." Jeremy Renner, Guy Pearce, and Ralph Fiennes star.
Breaking Nikki
When a call girl agrees to pose as a john's ex-wife, she becomes caught-up in a sick revenge fantasy that quickly turns deadly.
Schoolgirl Hitchhikers
This was the first of several sex films made by cult director Jean Rollin (using the pseudonym "Michel Gentil") to finance his oddball horror movies. It's standard stuff, with the only point of interest being the energetic painter-turned-actress Joelle Coeur, who would later provide the erotic highlights of such Rollin efforts as Les Demoniaques. Rollin completists and sex-film collectors will be entertained, but casual viewers are likely to find it no more appealing than hundreds of other such films churned out in the '70s and '80s.
Moon
An astronaut miner extracting the precious moon gas that promises to reverse the Earth's energy crisis nears the end of his three-year contract, and makes an ominous discovery in this psychological scifi film starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. For three long years, Sam Bell has dutifully harvested Helium 3 for Lunar, a company that claims it holds the key to solving humankind's energy crisis. As Sam's contract comes to an end, the lonely astronaut looks forward to returning to his wife and daughter down on Earth, where he will retire early and attempt to make up for lost time. His work on the Selene moon base has been enlightening -- the solitude helping him to reflect on the past and overcome some serious anger issues -- but the isolation is starting to make Sam uneasy. With only two weeks to go before he begins his journey back to Earth, Sam starts feeling strange: he's having inexplicable visions, and hearing impossible sounds. Then, when a routine extraction goes horribly awry, it becomes apparent that Lunar hasn't been entirely straightforward with Sam about their plans for replacing him. The new recruit seems strangely familiar, and before Sam returns to Earth, he will grapple with the realization that the life he has created may not be entirely his own. Up there, hundreds of thousands of miles from home, it appears that Sam's contract isn't the only thing about to expire.
Deep in the Valley
Albino Alligator screenwriter Christian Forte pulls double duty as writer and director of this fantasy comedy concerning two friends who enter a mysterious video booth and find themselves suddenly transported to an alternate dimension in which the entire world has taken on the traits of an adult film. Chris Pratt and Brendan Hines star in a film featuring Denise Richards, Scott Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Chris McDonald.
Fiend
An emotionally disturbed cult member loses grip on his sanity and sets off on a killing spree.
Halloween II
Filmmaker Rob Zombie returns to Haddonfield for this Dimension Films sequel that finds the murderous psychopath Michael Myers (once again played by Tyler Mane) out on the loose again. Zombie writes and directs, with Malek Akkad handling producing duties.
Brothers Bloom
When the younger of two notorious sibling con artists announces a plan to go legit, his brother implores him to carry out one last swindle in the eagerly anticipated sophomore feature from Brick writer/director Rian Johnson. Tired of a life on the run, a confidence man who has dedicated his life to the art of the grift decides to call it quits. Despite his plans to leave his criminal past behind, however, the reluctant scammer finds that his brother has masterminded one last scheme to claim the wealth of an eccentric millionaire (Rachel Weisz). With the opportunity to make enough money so that he would be able to live comfortably even if his legitimate endeavors fail, the heretofore unrepentant con man finds it increasingly difficult to refuse his sibling's potentially profitable endeavor.
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
A debt collector for the mob (Academy Award-winner (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) finds his fate taking a series of treacherous turns after his powerful boss and mentor (Miguel Ferrer) is caught in a dangerous double cross with the most dangerous drug dealer around (Academy Award-nominee Harvey Keitel) in this crime thriller from writer/director Franck Khalfoun (P2).
Breaking Point
A disgraced criminal defense attorney uncovers evidence of corruption within the police department while attempting a career comeback in this crime drama from director Jeff Celentano (Under the Hula Moon, Say It in Russian). Before his career was sidelined by drug addiction and a family tragedy, Steven Luisi (Tom Berenger) defended some of the worst criminals in the city. These days he's sober and determined to get his career back on track. When Luisi catches wind of a sordid, well-publicized murder case, he decides to pursue it despite the knowledge that it may steer him down a dark path. Before long Luisi has formed a partnership with Richard "Beanz" Allen (Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones). A former star athlete who has since fallen back to the streets, Beanz has all the dirt on local drug dealer/gang leader Al Bowen (Busta Rhymes). But in order to bring Bowen to justice and expose his connection to the police department, Luisi will have to open himself up to some intense scrutiny. As the stakes get higher, Luisi and his unlikely ally take their fight for truth and justice from the streets to the courtroom.
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
Get an all-access pass behind the scenes of the presidency as filmmakers trace the political journey of Barack Obama from his days as a Chicago senator to his current status as Commander in Chief. Explore the grass roots effort to get him elected by witnessing his landmark first victory in Iowa and following him on the road during the punishing primary campaign. Later, Obama is sworn into the presidency at the historical inauguration that named him the first African American president in the history of the United States.
I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Bad taste slasher-movies never had it so good. In this horror/comedy movie, the film's hero purchases an antique motorcycle. Somehow, the bike gets a taste for blood, and behaves in every respect just like a traditional vampire (shunning crucifixes, etc.). It also has a taste for human and animal flesh, and is given to dismembering its victims.
The Moment After
In the aftermath of the Rapture, two FBI agents embark on a frantic search for answers in this Christian-themed thriller starring David White and Kevin Downes. A mass disappearance has sent the world spiraling into confusion and turmoil, and as FBI agents Adam Riley (White) and Charles Baker (Downes) set out to seek answers, they soon discover that the world has become a very different place than it was just a few hours prior. For Agent Baker it's just another day on the job, but Agent Riley the mission is personal. When a mysterious man named Jacob Krause (Brad Heller) appears to begin organizing a para-military organization for an unknown conflict, both agents begin to suspect that Krause may hold the answers to the greatest mystery ever to befall mankind.
Burning Plain
Charlize Theron top-lines the romanticensembleThe Burning Plain, written and directed by Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. 2929 Production's film tells the tale of a web of interconnecting love stories, with Theron playing Sylvia, a woman with a troubled past who tries to reconcile with her parents.
Superheroes
The Thin Red Line star Dash Mihok takes the lead in director Alan Brown's small-scale anti-war drama following a young Iraq War veteran whose psychological scars run far deeper than his still-tender shrapnel wounds. Ben (Mihik) has just gotten back from Iraq, though it will be some time before his brain catches up with his body. Hoping that by opening up to other veterans he will be able to leave his traumatic past behind and move forward with life, the shell-shocked Ben starts attending group therapy sessions videotaped by naïve young filmmaker Nick ($Spenser Treat Clark}). But while the talkative Nick and the withdrawn Ben are without question polar opposites, a connection is formed and Nick ultimately accompanies Ben to an isolated country home where the haunted veteran plans to convalesce. Over the course of their time together, Ben learns the importance of reaching out for new friendships as Nick discovers the value of human connections. But can their blossoming friendship survive as Ben does his best to contend with some of the most difficult issues he's ever faced?
Departures
Director Yojiro Takita and writer Kundo Koyama examine the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a "Nokanashi" or "encoffineer" (the Japanese equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a talented musician, but when his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, Daigo answers a classified ad for a company called "Departures," mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life. But while Daigo's wife and friends universally despise his new line of work, he takes a great amount of pride in the fact that he is helping to ensure that the dead receive a proper send-off from this state of being.
Pretty Ugly People
Longtime friendships are put to the ultimate test when a dying woman summons her best friends from college into the wilderness for a four-day camping trip, and everyone quickly discovers that they haven't exactly been told the whole truth about her current condition. Lucy (Missi Pyle) has always been obese, and now that her health has taken a turn for the worse, she wants to spend her last days with the estranged college social group that helped her through one of the most difficult periods of her entire life. Upon learning that Lucy is on her deathbed, her loyal friends all rush to Montana in order to be by her side for one last weekend together. Immediately upon arriving, however, it's glaringly obvious to all of Lucy's friends that something isn't right. Her condition is a far cry from what she made it out to be in her desperate messages, and as tensions begin to rise Lucy realizes that the people standing before her today simply aren't the same people whom she remembered so fondly from college. With no modern conveniences to fall back on as the reunited group begins an arduous four-day hike into the wilderness, everyone's deepest fears and demons gradually claw their way to the surface, leaving Lucy to wonder whether her "final wish" was truly the brilliant idea she initially thought it to be.
Fame
This remake of the '80s classic focuses on a group of young students attending a high school for the performing arts. Classmates study various aspects of performance, from dance to songwriting to acting, all of them hoping for the chance to one day become stars. Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth portray the instructors, with a host of newcomers toplining the production as the students.
In Praise of Older Women
In Hungary, 12-year-old Andras Vadya supported himself during World War II by serving as a pimp for prostitutes. Once the war is over, he tries his hand at a number of different jobs, but has a sexual fixation on "older" women. Andras (Tom Berenger) tells the story of seven of his affairs. One affair, when he was still a quite young man, was with Bobbie (Susan Strasberg), a woman whose anti-communist views put her in danger in postwar Hungary. In Praise of Older Women features many sexual scenes and situations.
In The Loop
The run-up to war makes for curious rivalries and uneasy alliances in this political satire from director and co-screenwriter Armando Iannucci. Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) is a minor minister of international development with the British government who, in the midst of a radio interview, casually tells a reporter "war is unforeseeable." However, the prime minister is being pressured to commit British troops to support American forces in the Middle East, and communications director Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) goes into a tirade when the press turns Foster's passing comment into a major news story. Foster becomes an unwitting media figure, and he and his personal communications director, Judy (Gina McKee), are joined by political damage control expert Toby (Chris Addison) as they're sent to Washington, D.C., to meet with American political and military leaders. Despite Judy's and Toby's help, Foster displays a stubborn inability to say what he's supposed to, and he finds himself caught in the middle between pro-war factions -- including diplomat Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) and State Department official Linton Barwick (David Rasche) -- and those who oppose the conflict, including Pentagon attaché General Miller (James Gandolfini) and activist Liza (Anna Chlumsky). As if matters weren't already complicated enough, Liza used to date Toby when they were college students, and Gen. Miller was once involved with Clarke, adding bitter romantic history to an already rocky playing field. In the Loop received its North American premiere at the ~2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Theory of Everything
A family man experiencing an existential crisis sets out on the road in search of his birth father, who as fate would have it is on a life-altering quest of his own, in director David de Vos' tale of two men's search for God in a world fallen to pieces. His marriage in shambles and his bank account drained to the last dollar, Doug Holloway (de Vos) decides to seek clarity in the quest for his biological father - noted physicist Dr. Eugene Holland (Victor Lundin). A renowned genius who has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease, Dr. Holland is determined to prove the elusive "Theory of Everything" by discovering the formula that will prove the existence of God before he loses his ability to reason. When the two men finally come together, their separate missions merge as they reconnect with family and seek comfort and hope in the glory of God.
Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad By Myself
A hard-living nightclub singer discovers the importance of family with the help of a handsome Mexican immigrant in this inspirationalcomedy drama from writer/director Tyler Perry. When pistol-packing granny Madea (Perry) awakens to the sound of her home being ransacked by wayward teen Jennifer (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her two younger brothers, she promptly marches the troubled kids over their aunt April's house. But despite being the only relative the kids can turn to, April (Taraji P. Henson) is hardly a role model; a self-destructive songbird with a serious drinking problem, she spends her nights at the club and relies on her married boyfriend, Raymond, to pay the bills. Suddenly, into April's life wanders Sandino (Adam Rodriguez), a hard-luck immigrant in search of some honest work. Before long, Sandino has moved into April's basement room, and formed a solid connection with the kids. The closer April and Sandino grow, the more April begins to recognize the importance of faith and family. When the time comes to say goodbye to her old ways and start a new life, the wounded chanteuse realizes that she may have finally found the true love that's always eluded her.
Passing Strange
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee turns his camera toward the stage for this filmed performance of the acclaimed Broadway musical by singer/songwriter Stew and his creative partner Heidi Rodewald. Developed at the Sundance Theater Lab, the story follows a young black man from Los Angeles as he attempts to make sense of the conflicted cultural signals constantly bombarding him from all sides. Raised in a religious household somewhere south of Interstate 10, the frustrated adolescent feels suffocated by his mother's fixation on family ties, her unwavering devotion to the church, and her unapologetically bourgeois aspirations in life. He longs to experience something "real" in life, ultimately making the decision to follow in the footsteps of James Baldwin and Josephine Baker by traveling to Europe and exploring the world. From outrageous Amsterdam to ultra-militant Berlin, the impressionable wanderer experiences misadventures with sex, drugs, politics, and art as his eyes are opened ever wider to the world around him.
Appeared
Neon Flesh director Paco Cabezas weaves this dark tale of family secrets concerning a brother and sister who make a sinister discovery during a trip back to Argentina to turn off their estranged father's life-support system. Realizing that neither seems able to recall any discernable details regarding their childhood, the siblings embark on a road trip to Tierra del Fuego in hopes of finding their childhood home. Once there, they discover a mysterious diary that opens the door to a horrifying parallel world. Now, before they can save themselves, the terrified siblings must first confront and correct their grim past.
Hunchback of the Morgue
One of the more notorious Spanish exercises in gory horror, this film from Basque director Javier Aguirre stars Jacinto Molina (aka "Paul Naschy") as a hunchbacked Swiss morgue attendant named Gotho. He's in love with a woman who dies of tuberculosis, causing Gotho to grab an axe and chop up some medical students who want to dissect her then hide her body in a dank crypt. A hallucination scene featuring the woman's body being eaten by rats while Gotho beats and burns them featured real rats, who bit Molina several times. Eventually, Gotho strikes a bargain with mad scientist Alberto Dalbes, who agrees to raise the hunchback's beloved from the dead in exchange for fresh corpses from the morgue to feed his monstrous blob-like creation. Rossana Yanni appears as an imprisoned psychiatrist, and the film co-stars Maria Perschy and Vic Winner.
Based on the personal wartime experiences of journalist Mark Boal (who adapted his experiences with a bomb squad into a fact-based, yet fictional story), director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War-set action thriller. The Hurt Locker presents the conflict in the Middle East from the perspective of those who witnessed the fighting firsthand -- the soldiers. As an elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team tactfully navigates the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from incoming bombs and sharp-shooting snipers. In Baghdad, roadside bombs are a common danger. The Army is working to make the city a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, so when it comes to dismantling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crew is always on their game. But protecting the public isn't easy when there's no room for error, and every second spent dismantling a bomb is another second spent flirting with death. Now, as three fearless bomb technicians take on the most dangerous job in Baghdad, it's only a matter of time before one of them gets sent to "the hurt locker." Jeremy Renner, Guy Pearce, and Ralph Fiennes star.
Breaking Nikki
When a call girl agrees to pose as a john's ex-wife, she becomes caught-up in a sick revenge fantasy that quickly turns deadly.
Schoolgirl Hitchhikers
This was the first of several sex films made by cult director Jean Rollin (using the pseudonym "Michel Gentil") to finance his oddball horror movies. It's standard stuff, with the only point of interest being the energetic painter-turned-actress Joelle Coeur, who would later provide the erotic highlights of such Rollin efforts as Les Demoniaques. Rollin completists and sex-film collectors will be entertained, but casual viewers are likely to find it no more appealing than hundreds of other such films churned out in the '70s and '80s.
Moon
An astronaut miner extracting the precious moon gas that promises to reverse the Earth's energy crisis nears the end of his three-year contract, and makes an ominous discovery in this psychological scifi film starring Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey. For three long years, Sam Bell has dutifully harvested Helium 3 for Lunar, a company that claims it holds the key to solving humankind's energy crisis. As Sam's contract comes to an end, the lonely astronaut looks forward to returning to his wife and daughter down on Earth, where he will retire early and attempt to make up for lost time. His work on the Selene moon base has been enlightening -- the solitude helping him to reflect on the past and overcome some serious anger issues -- but the isolation is starting to make Sam uneasy. With only two weeks to go before he begins his journey back to Earth, Sam starts feeling strange: he's having inexplicable visions, and hearing impossible sounds. Then, when a routine extraction goes horribly awry, it becomes apparent that Lunar hasn't been entirely straightforward with Sam about their plans for replacing him. The new recruit seems strangely familiar, and before Sam returns to Earth, he will grapple with the realization that the life he has created may not be entirely his own. Up there, hundreds of thousands of miles from home, it appears that Sam's contract isn't the only thing about to expire.
Deep in the Valley
Albino Alligator screenwriter Christian Forte pulls double duty as writer and director of this fantasy comedy concerning two friends who enter a mysterious video booth and find themselves suddenly transported to an alternate dimension in which the entire world has taken on the traits of an adult film. Chris Pratt and Brendan Hines star in a film featuring Denise Richards, Scott Caan, Tracy Morgan, and Chris McDonald.
Fiend
An emotionally disturbed cult member loses grip on his sanity and sets off on a killing spree.
Halloween II
Filmmaker Rob Zombie returns to Haddonfield for this Dimension Films sequel that finds the murderous psychopath Michael Myers (once again played by Tyler Mane) out on the loose again. Zombie writes and directs, with Malek Akkad handling producing duties.
Brothers Bloom
When the younger of two notorious sibling con artists announces a plan to go legit, his brother implores him to carry out one last swindle in the eagerly anticipated sophomore feature from Brick writer/director Rian Johnson. Tired of a life on the run, a confidence man who has dedicated his life to the art of the grift decides to call it quits. Despite his plans to leave his criminal past behind, however, the reluctant scammer finds that his brother has masterminded one last scheme to claim the wealth of an eccentric millionaire (Rachel Weisz). With the opportunity to make enough money so that he would be able to live comfortably even if his legitimate endeavors fail, the heretofore unrepentant con man finds it increasingly difficult to refuse his sibling's potentially profitable endeavor.
Wrong Turn at Tahoe
A debt collector for the mob (Academy Award-winner (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) finds his fate taking a series of treacherous turns after his powerful boss and mentor (Miguel Ferrer) is caught in a dangerous double cross with the most dangerous drug dealer around (Academy Award-nominee Harvey Keitel) in this crime thriller from writer/director Franck Khalfoun (P2).
Breaking Point
A disgraced criminal defense attorney uncovers evidence of corruption within the police department while attempting a career comeback in this crime drama from director Jeff Celentano (Under the Hula Moon, Say It in Russian). Before his career was sidelined by drug addiction and a family tragedy, Steven Luisi (Tom Berenger) defended some of the worst criminals in the city. These days he's sober and determined to get his career back on track. When Luisi catches wind of a sordid, well-publicized murder case, he decides to pursue it despite the knowledge that it may steer him down a dark path. Before long Luisi has formed a partnership with Richard "Beanz" Allen (Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones). A former star athlete who has since fallen back to the streets, Beanz has all the dirt on local drug dealer/gang leader Al Bowen (Busta Rhymes). But in order to bring Bowen to justice and expose his connection to the police department, Luisi will have to open himself up to some intense scrutiny. As the stakes get higher, Luisi and his unlikely ally take their fight for truth and justice from the streets to the courtroom.
By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
Get an all-access pass behind the scenes of the presidency as filmmakers trace the political journey of Barack Obama from his days as a Chicago senator to his current status as Commander in Chief. Explore the grass roots effort to get him elected by witnessing his landmark first victory in Iowa and following him on the road during the punishing primary campaign. Later, Obama is sworn into the presidency at the historical inauguration that named him the first African American president in the history of the United States.
I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Bad taste slasher-movies never had it so good. In this horror/comedy movie, the film's hero purchases an antique motorcycle. Somehow, the bike gets a taste for blood, and behaves in every respect just like a traditional vampire (shunning crucifixes, etc.). It also has a taste for human and animal flesh, and is given to dismembering its victims.
The Moment After
In the aftermath of the Rapture, two FBI agents embark on a frantic search for answers in this Christian-themed thriller starring David White and Kevin Downes. A mass disappearance has sent the world spiraling into confusion and turmoil, and as FBI agents Adam Riley (White) and Charles Baker (Downes) set out to seek answers, they soon discover that the world has become a very different place than it was just a few hours prior. For Agent Baker it's just another day on the job, but Agent Riley the mission is personal. When a mysterious man named Jacob Krause (Brad Heller) appears to begin organizing a para-military organization for an unknown conflict, both agents begin to suspect that Krause may hold the answers to the greatest mystery ever to befall mankind.
Burning Plain
Charlize Theron top-lines the romanticensembleThe Burning Plain, written and directed by Babel screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga. 2929 Production's film tells the tale of a web of interconnecting love stories, with Theron playing Sylvia, a woman with a troubled past who tries to reconcile with her parents.
Superheroes
The Thin Red Line star Dash Mihok takes the lead in director Alan Brown's small-scale anti-war drama following a young Iraq War veteran whose psychological scars run far deeper than his still-tender shrapnel wounds. Ben (Mihik) has just gotten back from Iraq, though it will be some time before his brain catches up with his body. Hoping that by opening up to other veterans he will be able to leave his traumatic past behind and move forward with life, the shell-shocked Ben starts attending group therapy sessions videotaped by naïve young filmmaker Nick ($Spenser Treat Clark}). But while the talkative Nick and the withdrawn Ben are without question polar opposites, a connection is formed and Nick ultimately accompanies Ben to an isolated country home where the haunted veteran plans to convalesce. Over the course of their time together, Ben learns the importance of reaching out for new friendships as Nick discovers the value of human connections. But can their blossoming friendship survive as Ben does his best to contend with some of the most difficult issues he's ever faced?
Departures
Director Yojiro Takita and writer Kundo Koyama examine the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a "Nokanashi" or "encoffineer" (the Japanese equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a talented musician, but when his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, Daigo answers a classified ad for a company called "Departures," mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life. But while Daigo's wife and friends universally despise his new line of work, he takes a great amount of pride in the fact that he is helping to ensure that the dead receive a proper send-off from this state of being.
Pretty Ugly People
Longtime friendships are put to the ultimate test when a dying woman summons her best friends from college into the wilderness for a four-day camping trip, and everyone quickly discovers that they haven't exactly been told the whole truth about her current condition. Lucy (Missi Pyle) has always been obese, and now that her health has taken a turn for the worse, she wants to spend her last days with the estranged college social group that helped her through one of the most difficult periods of her entire life. Upon learning that Lucy is on her deathbed, her loyal friends all rush to Montana in order to be by her side for one last weekend together. Immediately upon arriving, however, it's glaringly obvious to all of Lucy's friends that something isn't right. Her condition is a far cry from what she made it out to be in her desperate messages, and as tensions begin to rise Lucy realizes that the people standing before her today simply aren't the same people whom she remembered so fondly from college. With no modern conveniences to fall back on as the reunited group begins an arduous four-day hike into the wilderness, everyone's deepest fears and demons gradually claw their way to the surface, leaving Lucy to wonder whether her "final wish" was truly the brilliant idea she initially thought it to be.
Fame
This remake of the '80s classic focuses on a group of young students attending a high school for the performing arts. Classmates study various aspects of performance, from dance to songwriting to acting, all of them hoping for the chance to one day become stars. Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally, and Bebe Neuwirth portray the instructors, with a host of newcomers toplining the production as the students.
In Praise of Older Women
In Hungary, 12-year-old Andras Vadya supported himself during World War II by serving as a pimp for prostitutes. Once the war is over, he tries his hand at a number of different jobs, but has a sexual fixation on "older" women. Andras (Tom Berenger) tells the story of seven of his affairs. One affair, when he was still a quite young man, was with Bobbie (Susan Strasberg), a woman whose anti-communist views put her in danger in postwar Hungary. In Praise of Older Women features many sexual scenes and situations.
In The Loop
The run-up to war makes for curious rivalries and uneasy alliances in this political satire from director and co-screenwriter Armando Iannucci. Simon Foster (Tom Hollander) is a minor minister of international development with the British government who, in the midst of a radio interview, casually tells a reporter "war is unforeseeable." However, the prime minister is being pressured to commit British troops to support American forces in the Middle East, and communications director Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) goes into a tirade when the press turns Foster's passing comment into a major news story. Foster becomes an unwitting media figure, and he and his personal communications director, Judy (Gina McKee), are joined by political damage control expert Toby (Chris Addison) as they're sent to Washington, D.C., to meet with American political and military leaders. Despite Judy's and Toby's help, Foster displays a stubborn inability to say what he's supposed to, and he finds himself caught in the middle between pro-war factions -- including diplomat Karen Clarke (Mimi Kennedy) and State Department official Linton Barwick (David Rasche) -- and those who oppose the conflict, including Pentagon attaché General Miller (James Gandolfini) and activist Liza (Anna Chlumsky). As if matters weren't already complicated enough, Liza used to date Toby when they were college students, and Gen. Miller was once involved with Clarke, adding bitter romantic history to an already rocky playing field. In the Loop received its North American premiere at the ~2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Theory of Everything
A family man experiencing an existential crisis sets out on the road in search of his birth father, who as fate would have it is on a life-altering quest of his own, in director David de Vos' tale of two men's search for God in a world fallen to pieces. His marriage in shambles and his bank account drained to the last dollar, Doug Holloway (de Vos) decides to seek clarity in the quest for his biological father - noted physicist Dr. Eugene Holland (Victor Lundin). A renowned genius who has recently been diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease, Dr. Holland is determined to prove the elusive "Theory of Everything" by discovering the formula that will prove the existence of God before he loses his ability to reason. When the two men finally come together, their separate missions merge as they reconnect with family and seek comfort and hope in the glory of God.
Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad By Myself
A hard-living nightclub singer discovers the importance of family with the help of a handsome Mexican immigrant in this inspirationalcomedy drama from writer/director Tyler Perry. When pistol-packing granny Madea (Perry) awakens to the sound of her home being ransacked by wayward teen Jennifer (Hope Olaide Wilson) and her two younger brothers, she promptly marches the troubled kids over their aunt April's house. But despite being the only relative the kids can turn to, April (Taraji P. Henson) is hardly a role model; a self-destructive songbird with a serious drinking problem, she spends her nights at the club and relies on her married boyfriend, Raymond, to pay the bills. Suddenly, into April's life wanders Sandino (Adam Rodriguez), a hard-luck immigrant in search of some honest work. Before long, Sandino has moved into April's basement room, and formed a solid connection with the kids. The closer April and Sandino grow, the more April begins to recognize the importance of faith and family. When the time comes to say goodbye to her old ways and start a new life, the wounded chanteuse realizes that she may have finally found the true love that's always eluded her.
Passing Strange
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Lee turns his camera toward the stage for this filmed performance of the acclaimed Broadway musical by singer/songwriter Stew and his creative partner Heidi Rodewald. Developed at the Sundance Theater Lab, the story follows a young black man from Los Angeles as he attempts to make sense of the conflicted cultural signals constantly bombarding him from all sides. Raised in a religious household somewhere south of Interstate 10, the frustrated adolescent feels suffocated by his mother's fixation on family ties, her unwavering devotion to the church, and her unapologetically bourgeois aspirations in life. He longs to experience something "real" in life, ultimately making the decision to follow in the footsteps of James Baldwin and Josephine Baker by traveling to Europe and exploring the world. From outrageous Amsterdam to ultra-militant Berlin, the impressionable wanderer experiences misadventures with sex, drugs, politics, and art as his eyes are opened ever wider to the world around him.
Appeared
Neon Flesh director Paco Cabezas weaves this dark tale of family secrets concerning a brother and sister who make a sinister discovery during a trip back to Argentina to turn off their estranged father's life-support system. Realizing that neither seems able to recall any discernable details regarding their childhood, the siblings embark on a road trip to Tierra del Fuego in hopes of finding their childhood home. Once there, they discover a mysterious diary that opens the door to a horrifying parallel world. Now, before they can save themselves, the terrified siblings must first confront and correct their grim past.
Hunchback of the Morgue
One of the more notorious Spanish exercises in gory horror, this film from Basque director Javier Aguirre stars Jacinto Molina (aka "Paul Naschy") as a hunchbacked Swiss morgue attendant named Gotho. He's in love with a woman who dies of tuberculosis, causing Gotho to grab an axe and chop up some medical students who want to dissect her then hide her body in a dank crypt. A hallucination scene featuring the woman's body being eaten by rats while Gotho beats and burns them featured real rats, who bit Molina several times. Eventually, Gotho strikes a bargain with mad scientist Alberto Dalbes, who agrees to raise the hunchback's beloved from the dead in exchange for fresh corpses from the morgue to feed his monstrous blob-like creation. Rossana Yanni appears as an imprisoned psychiatrist, and the film co-stars Maria Perschy and Vic Winner.
Tags: 12th, dvd, january, new, releases
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Permalink Reply by Maxim Oleksyn on
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Hurt Locker is an excellent movie. If you haven't seen it, now is the time.
When you do, comment here!
Vampire Motorcycle is only for b-movie/gore fans only. I personally loved it! LOL!!!
Let this be no baring on Hurt Locker. I can like both genres! -
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