12.14.09 | Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This WeekPrint this Post
New DVD Releases for this week include Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock, Disney's animated hit, G-Force and one of this year's funniest movies, The Hangover; see Mike Tyson in a whole new light. And if raunchy, outrageous comedy is your thing, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard won't disappoint. Documentaries and Foreign films round out the slate of this week's new releases, including a vintage rarity: a pre-Stalin Soviet Union silent movie where Westerners are shown as the "terrorists" against the U.S.S.R. -- using germ warfare, no less!
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The Hangover (2009)
Three guys (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis) wake up in Las Vegas the morning after their buddy's bachelor party to realize that one of them is missing a tooth, there's a baby and a tiger in their room, they've acquired a police car, and the groom-to-be is nowhere to be found. With no memory of the night before, the trio embarks on a hilarious journey to piece together what happened to them and find their missing friend. Raunchy comic romp also stars Heather Graham, and Mike Tyson as himself.
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Brad Pitt stars as a U.S. Army officer who leads a group of Jewish-American soldiers on a mission: kill as many Nazis as possible. When it's learned that Hitler will be attending a film premiere in occupied Paris, Pitt's team hatches a plan to take him out while a young Frenchwoman (Melanie Laurent) plots to burn the theater down to exact revenge against the German colonel (Christoph Waltz) who slaughtered her fa mily. Eli Roth and Mike Myers co-star in Quentin Tarantino's WWII actioner.
G-Force (2009)
In this Walt Disney animated and live-action mix of fun, G-Force is an elite group of highly trained FBI operatives--who are also guinea pigs. When the government shuts their unit down, team leader Darwin, martial artist Juarez, weapons expert Blaster, and cyber-savvy mole Speckles wind up in a pet store. Now, they'll have to take it upon themselves to stop an electronics magnate from using ordinary household appliances to take over the world. Thrilling blend of live-action and CGI features the voices of Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage, Tracy Morgan, Jon Favreau.
Taking Woodstock (2009)
Director Ang Lee's poignant seriocomedy tells the true story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), a struggling interior designer who played a pivotal role in the staging of 1969's Woodstock Festival. Hoping to drum up business for his parents' troubled Bethel, New York, motel, Elliot and local farmer Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy) champion the concert's cause, unexpectedly linking themselves to a generation-defining cultural phenomenon. Liev Schreiber, Emile Hirsch, Imelda Staunton co-star.
The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)
A slick, veteran used-car salesman-for-hire (Jeremy Piven) is recruited by a desperate lot owner (James Brolin) to help save his failing business from being taken over by a greedy rival (Alan Thicke). Now Piven and his band of hucksters (David Koechner, Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn) will employ every dirty trick at their disposal in order to sell 200 cars over the 4th of July weekend. Ed Helms, Jordana Spiro, Ken Jeong also star in this raunchy, outrageous comedy.
The Other Man (2008)
Married couple Peter (Liam Neeson) and Lisa (Laura Linney) appear to enjoy the perfect relationship--until she goes mysteriously missing, and Peter discovers evidence of a torrid affair with another man (Antonio Banderas). Introducing himself to the "other man" without revealing his identity, Peter instigates a game of cat and mouse that quickly turns dangerous. Nail-biting drama co-stars Romola Garai, Amanda Drew.
Best Of The B's Collection 1
Jack Nicholson stars as a troubled youth who races cars and tangles with the cops in "The Wild Ride" (1960), a cult hit about rebel 1960s teens. With Georgianna Carter, Carol Bigby. Next, "The Winner" (1969) from director Jack Hill ("Spider Baby") tells the tale of a stock-car driver whose ambitions go too far when he decides to run other drivers into accidents so he can swipe their women. Richard Davalos, Ellen McRae (Burstyn), and Sid Haig star. AKA: "Pit Stop." a biker named Mother reunites with his old gang, the "Naked Angels" (1969), and sets out for revenge against a rival crew. All-out chopper action with Michael Greene, Richard Rust, Jennifer Gan; look for future filmmaker Penelope Spheeris in an early onscreen role. "A howling hellcat humping a hot steel hog on a roaring rampage of revenge!'" Dixie Peabody hits the road to get even with her brother's killers in "Bury Me an Angel" (1971), the first biker film directed by a woman (Barbara Peeters). With TV's "Grizzly Adams," Dan Haggerty. Four-disc set also includes "The Fast and the Furious" (1955), "T-Bird Gang," and "Angels Hard as They Come."
Dominick Dunne: After The Party (Collector's Edition) (2008)
Regarded as both god and gadfly, Vanity Fair's investigative scribe Dominick Dunne used his talents to become one of the foremost chroniclers of 20th-century celebrity. This documentary portrait of Dunne (which centers on his coverage of the 2007 Phil Spector murder trial) features Dunne himself offering anecdotes about his colorful life, plus insights offered by Hollywood icons and the literary elite. AKA: "Celebrity: Dominick Dunne."
Herb And Dorothy (2008)
20th Century Boys 1: Beginning Of The End (2008)
In 1997 Japan, humble grocery manager Kenji (Toshiaki Karasawa) is swept into an epic adventure after a former classmate dies, unleashing a chain of events that eerily echo the fanciful predictions he and his boyhood friends made in a work of fiction decades earlier. Will their youthful writings help them save the world from a menacing cult? Based on the popular manga; Toshiaki Karasawa, Etsushi Toyokawa, Takako Tokiwa co-star. In Japanese with English subtitles.
The Headless Woman (La Mujer Sin Cabeza) (2008)
Struck by amnesia after a mysterious car accident, middle-aged Veronica (Maria Onetto) grapples to function anew in the world around her. Uncertain as to what--or who--she hit with her car while distracted, Veronica is deeply haunted by the sense that her transgression has opened a weird crack in the cohesion of the universe. Mesmerizing drama from Argentina co-stars Claudia Cantero, Daniel Genoud. In Spanish with English subtitles.
The Girl From Monaco (2008)
A powerful French defense lawyer (Fabrice Luchini) is lured from Paris to Monaco to work on the case of a rich widow (Stephane Audran) charged with the murder of her husband. The attorney is soon distracted from his briefs by a seductive young television reporter (Louise Bourgoin) with lust--and maybe more--on her mind. Sexy and comic drama co-stars Roschdy Zem, Gilles Cohen. In French with English subtitles.
Miss Mend (1926)
This three-part serial from pre-Stalin Soviet Union aimed to replicate the cliffhanger thrills of American chapter plays while simultaneously casting Westerners as the evildoers who are plotting a terrorist attack against the U.S.S.R. using germ warfare! It's up to three intrepid news reporters and a secretary to save their comrades from utter disaster! Natalya Glan, Boris Barnet, and Vladimir Fogel star. Silent with music score.
Cake Boss (2009)
Study the fine art of cake baking with master baker Buddy Valastro, a Hoboken, New Jersey, chef recognized as one of the most accomplished cake artists in the nation. This reality program from the Learning Channel follows Buddy as he oversees a family-run culinary operation questing for sweet perfection. All 13 episodes from the first season are presented in a two-disc set.
The Sherlock Holmes Collection
For the final season of the BBC's 1964-68 popular "Sherlock Holmes" series, Peter Cushing replaced Douglas Wilmer in the title role, with Nigel Stock co-starring as Dr. Watson. This three-disc set features the show's only six surviving episodes: "A Study in Scarlet," "The Boscombe Valley Mystery," the two-part "The Hound of the Baskervilles," "The Sign of Four," and "The Blue Carbuncle."
For details and availability of more of this week’s new releases, click here
