|
The Girlfriend Experience
BR
- In the weeks leading up to the
2008 presidential election, Chelsea is an ultra high-end
Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients:
companionship and conversation -- "the girlfriend experience."
Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control -- she
feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her
own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend who
accepts her lifestyle. But when you're in the business of
meeting people, you never know who you're going to meet.
Blu-ray
Release date: September 29th, 2009
Louisiana Hussy - A woman who appears to be ill shows up in a
small town and is taken in by the residents. She winds up
pitting a pair of brothers against each other, having an affair
with one on the day of his marriage and trying to seduce the
other one as well. DVD Release Date: April 28th, 2009
The Black Shield of Falworth
BR
- Available for the first time
anywhere in the world in glorious 1080p HD and in its original
aspect ratio, The Black Shield of Falworth, starring TONY CURTIS
& JANET LEIGH was Universal-International's first feature in
CinemaScope. In one of his earliest and most dashing
performances, a young Tony Curtis pursues his real-life bride
Janet Leigh, while defending the British throne in this
swashbuckling saga filled with jousts, jests and medieval super
heroics. The setting is England in the reign of King Henry IV,
Miles (Curtis) is a headstrong, handsome peasant determined to
learn the name of his slain father and discover his true
heritage. His fiery ambition and swift sword lead him to the
majestic MacWorth castle. There he must compete for both
knighthood as well as the hand of the fair Lady Anne (Leigh),
but her love is claimed by the evil, conniving Sir Walter
Blount.
Blu-ray Release date: September 21st, 2009
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
BR
- Snow White's escape from
the evil Queen's plan leads her deep into the forest and to a
small cottage where she meets, in one of the most famous scenes
in motion picture history, the Seven Dwarfs. Once "off to work"
they go, the wicked Queen persuades Snow White to take a bite of
a poisonous apple that places a powerful sleeping curse on the
young beauty. Heartbroken, the dwarfs make a glass coffin for
their friend, because she is too beautiful to bury. Only when a
handsome Prince -- who had previously fallen in love with Snow
White -- finds her and kisses her, does she awaken, "to live
happily ever after."
Blu-ray Release Date: October 6th, 2009
The Dark Crystal
BR
- What’s exhilarating about “Crystal” is
that Henson and his collaborators (including co-director Frank
Oz) were manufacturing a fairy tale from their own creative
well. While influenced by the great fantasy works of the world,
Henson paved his own road here; he made certain every corner of
the frame was bestowed with a mysterious creature or laborious
design effort that created a consuming three-dimensional depth.
Honestly, I’ve never seen such extraordinary effort placed into
a feature-film before, and the way Henson and Oz take their time
to let the details marry the film’s glacial, dreamy pace is
endlessly impressive. It’s a directorial job of pure faith, and
a design accomplishment (courtesy of wizard Brian Froud) that’s
heart-stopping every inch of the way.
Blu-ray Release Date:
September 29th, 2009
Kramer vs. Kramer
BR
- The plot is pretty straightforward and
not unfamiliar to some of us: Ted (Hoffman) has just been given
an ad man’s dream account and comes home to his wife, Joanna (Streep),
to share the good news. He’s so excited he can barely decipher
her words “I’m leaving you.” No ultimatum. Just the last in a
series of last straws. He has ignored her as a person for the
last time. But it’s not just Ted she leaves, it is also their
son Billy (Henry) who’s on the verge of entering the first
grade. Joanna feels she is in no emotional shape to attend to
the needs of a young child. For that matter, neither is Ted, but
he buckles down to the task with attendant exasperation, comedy,
and little resistance.
Blu-ray Release date: February 17th, 2009
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
BR
- Michael Rooker is
unforgettable as Henry, a soft-spoken loner with a cool exterior
masking an inner rage that boils at blast furnace intensity.
When fellow ex-con Otis invites Henry to move into his Chicago
apartment, he becomes a willing participant in Henry's
senseless, random killing sprees. Meanwhile, Otis' unsuspecting
sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold) is smitten with Henry, whose broken
childhood mirrors her own. Masterfully directed by John
McNaughton, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is a chilling
character study of a mass murderer that continues to shock and
disturb twenty years after its debut.
Blu-ray Release date:
September 29th, 2009
Observe and Report
BR
- At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of
security Ronnie Barnhardt patrols his jurisdiction with an iron
fist, combating skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional
unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his
flashlight for a badge and a gun. His delusions of grandeur are
put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven to
protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the
opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement
talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will
earn a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his
elusive dream girl Brandi, the hot make-up counter clerk who
won't give him the time of day.
Blu-ray Release date: September
22nd, 2009
Nightmares
BR
- American actress in Australia Helen (Jenny
Neumann, HELL NIGHT) auditions for a Victorian stage comedy by a
vitriolic director (Max Phipps, THIRST). Her relationship with
one of her co-stars (Gary Sweet) is hampered by her traumatic
memories of seeing her mother killed when she was a child. When
someone starts slashing through the cast with shards of broken
glass, is it Helen or one of her melodramatic castmates.
Scripted and edited by the late Colin Eggleston (LONG WEEKEND,
FANTASM RIDES AGAIN), there is really no suspense to be had in
the rather obvious script but we do get some vintage Australian
sexploitation levels of nudity and some fairly brutal slashings.
Attempts at red herrings fail and even two years after HALLOWEEN
the steadicam roamings of the killer's POV seem obligatory (s/he
takes forever to creep up on victimes). DVD Release Date: August
28th, 2009
Labyrinth
BR
- Luckily for the audience, a huge portion of both
duties are handled by David Bowie, who is perhaps better-suited
than most rock stars to blending in with puppets and goblins.
Bowie plays Jarreth, the Goblin King, who kidnaps Toby, the baby
brother of petulant teenager Sarah (Jennifer Connelly). Though
he does so in an appropriately villainous manner, Jarreth is
actually fulfilling Sarah's direct (if heedless) wish to be
released from her responsibilities via goblin-related
intervention. Immediately repentant, she must retrieve her
brother by traveling through a shifting maze, theoretically
leading to the Escher-inspired goblin castle at the center (babynappings
aside, life must be good under Jarreth's rule; I always thought
goblins lived in caves or under bridges).
Blu-ray Release date: September
22nd, 2009
Fall of the Roman Empire
BR
- In an era when "Spartacus",
"Cleopatra" or "Ben-Hur" were blossoming on the big screen,
Anthony Mann's swan song epic "The Fall of the Roman Empire"
seems sadly forgotten. With dynamic Ultra Panavision 70
cinematography and production on a grand scale (At 1312 by 754
ft., the Roman Forum still holds the record as the largest
outdoor set ever built for a film!) it remains a quiet giant.
Modern day audiences should immediately notice the similarities
to Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" with the same historical
references, time-frame and characters (Lucilla, Marcus Aurelius,
Timonides and Commodus) - the forest battle with the barbarians
is particularly reminiscent and it's easily noticed that the
dubious 2000 Oscar winner exists only after standing on the
shoulders of this better acted but less effects-stacked drama.
For its anonymity "The Fall of the Roman Empire" remains a
wonderful surprise filling the screen with visions of pure
Hollywood over-production where its slight lack of narrative
bonding is highlighted by its grandiose style and noble
charisma.
Blu-ray Release Date: August 21st, 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
BR
- Their very differentness from
everyone else sets them apart, and it is not a difference that
makes them feel any better about themselves. Even their
remarkable ability to regenerate tissue, making them more or
less immortal, offers them no solace, no respite fro their pain.
On the contrary, while they slice and dice their way through
every war the U.S has engaged in from our own Civil War to Iraq,
they have problems with authority disproportionate to their
ability to withstand punishment, even in front of a firing
squad. Victor (Lief Schreiber) feels it most. His rage is
boundless, his eagerness to kill is little more than an excuse
to murder, even in war.
Blu-ray Release date: September 15th,
2009
Monsters vs. Aliens
BR
- When Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon)
is unexpectedly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk,
she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall and is
instantly labeled a “Monster” named Ginormica. The military
jumps into action, and she is captured by General W.R. Monger
(Kiefer Sutherland) and held in a secret government compound
filled with other “monsters” like herself. This ragtag group
consists of the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach P.H.D.
(Hugh Laurie); the macho half-ape-half-fish The Missing Link
(Will Arnett); the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B. (Seth
Rogen); and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their
confinement time is cut short however, when a mysterious alien
robot lands on Earth and the motley crew of Monsters is called
into action to save the world from imminent destruction.
Blu-ray
Release date: September 29th, 2009
Import Export
BR
- It’s cold and gray. Wintertime. People are
freezing. That’s how it is here in Austria. That’s how it is
there in the Ukraine. Two different worlds that are increasingly
coming to resemble each other. The East looks like the West, the
West like the East. In this atmosphere two stories take place
that at first glance appear unrelated. One is an import story.
It begins in the Ukraine and leads to Austria. The other is an
export story; it begins in Austria and ends in the Ukraine.
Blu-ray Release Date: October 5th, 2009
Star Trek: First Contact
BR
- "Star Trek: First Contact'' is one
of the best of the eight "Star Trek'' films: Certainly the best
in its technical credits, and among the best in the ingenuity of
its plot. I would rank it beside ``Star Trek IV: The Voyage
Home'' (1986), the one where the fate of Earth depended on the
song of the humpback whale. This time, in a screenplay that
could have been confusing but moves confidently between
different levels of the story, the crew of the Enterprise
follows the evil Borgs back in time to the day before mankind
made its first flight at warp speed.
Blu-ray Release date:
September 22nd, 2009
Iron Monkey
BR
- Iron Monkey suffers also in that it is
presented here only in the cut Miramax provided for its North
American distribution. The balance between comedy and violence
is made to be more agreeable to Western audiences – the ones who
can't or won't read subtitles, we must presume. (On the other
hand, I'm no fan of undercranking, which the original version
suffers from during some of the fight scenes.) And a new music
score was also composed. OK, this isn't a case like the
seriously truncated Seven Samurai with which many Americans
first became acquainted, but to not have both versions is a
missed opportunity as well as, I want to believe, a
miscalculation. It would be nice if this collection of Blu-rays,
especially the Chinese movies, is not purchased in huge numbers
but, instead, rented; and that the distributor will learn the
right message from this.
Blu-ray
Release date: September 15th,
2009
|