02.15.10 | Jerry Frebowitz | New Releases This WeekPrint this Post
New DVD Releases for this week include Gerard Butler in the riveting crime thriller, Law Abiding Citizen and there's lots of laughs in Black Dynamite, a send-up of the 1970's blaxploitation movies -- and Josh Brolin doesn't know whether to laugh or cry in the comic drama, Women In Trouble. Also truth seems like fiction in the gruesome thriller, Freeway Killer and the life story of fashion icon Coco Chanel is played out by Audrey Tautou and Marie Gillain -- truth be told, it's all been done before but this new French drama, Coco Before Chanel is a crowd pleaser. Clint Eastwood fans will be glad to see Clint get his due in the new Warner Brothers box set, Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years which, as expected, contains lots of "good stuff." TV shows are newly released this week like Buddy Ebson's Barnaby Jones and Chuck Connors' Branded plus a very fine Italian feature film release from 1975, Profumo Di Donna, is sure to please movie enthusiasts who haven't had the pleasure of seeing the original version of Al Pacino's Scent Of A Woman.
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Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
When Philadelphia family man Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) learns that the D.A. (Jamie Foxx) has cut a deal allowing one of the two killers who murdered his wife and child to escape the death penalty, he launches an ingenious and ruthless campaign of revenge. When Shelton's crimes continue even after he is incarcerated, the police grow baffled even as they desperately try to stop the bloodletting. Explosive thriller co-stars Colm Meaney, Viola Davis Bruce McGill (article).
Black Dynamite (2009)
Hilarious, pitch-perfect send-up of the blaxploitation genre is set in 1972 and stars Michael Jai White (article) (who also co-wrote) as former CIA operative Black Dynamite. Back on the job after the mob kills his brother, Black Dynamite is not only out for revenge but he must also rid the local orphanages of heroin and stop the supply of some sub-par malt liquor. Salli Richardson, Tommy Davidson, and Arsenio Hall also star.
Hunger (2008)
Residing in Northern Ireland's infamous Long Kesh prison because of his involvement with the IRA, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) chooses the path of martyrdom in 1981, beginning a hunger strike to protest his and others' mistreatment at the hands of their British captors. His punishing (and highly publicized) act is mesmerizingly dramatized in director/co-writer Steve McQueen's fact-based drama. With Stuart Graham, Liam Cunningham.
Women In Trouble (2009)
Porn star Electra Luxx (Carla Gugino) gets a shock when she discovers she's pregnant with the child of a British drummer (Josh Brolin), but her womanly woes are only one part of this wild ensemble dramedy in which an assortment of other ladies--Elizabeth Berkeley, Connie Britton, and Adrianne Palicki among them--grapple with their own challenges. Simon Baker, Joseph Gordon-Levitt co-star.
Remarkable Power (2008)
Talk show host Kevin Nealon is hit by twin crises: the axing of his long-running program and the discovery of his wife's affair with a pro basketball player. He hatches a bizarre scheme that involves a sleazy detective, a woman who posts accident victim photos online, a self-help guru, Russian mobsters, and assorted others to solve both problems in this quirky mystery/comedy. Tom Arnold, Kip Pardue, Christopher Titus, and Nora Zehetner also star.
Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009)
Fear-filled follow-up to the 2003 shocker opens with that film's sole survivor (Rider Strong) trying to warn others about the flesh-consuming virus. But when a nearby bottling plant ships contaminated water bottles to the local high school--where the students are getting ready for prom night--the stage is set for oozing, disintegrating, all-out grossness (sounds like my senior prom!). Noah Segan, Alexi Wasser, Larry Fessenden, Judah Friedlander also star.
Coco Before Chanel (2009)
The early years of the woman who would become an icon of 20th-century couture are depicted in this French biodrama. Left by their father in a convent orphanage after their mother's death, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (Audrey Tautou) and her sister Adrienne (Marie Gillain) would become cabaret singers and costume designers, while a series of relationships with wealthy men would provide Coco with the freedom to pursue her dreams of a career in fashion. Alessandro Nivola, Benoit Poelvoorde also star.
Freeway Killer (2009)
Like Ted Bundy before him, mass murderer William Bonin (Scott Leet) possessed the charm and intelligence to elude the grasp of law enforcement while picking up unsuspecting victims along the road. As victims meet grotesque ends after being sexually assaulted, however, police at last begin to put together the pieces of the perverse puzzle. Violent, fact-based thriller co-stars Cole Williams, Michael Rooker.
20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009)
It's 15 years after the cataclysms of the first film, and the world has fallen under the rule of Friend and his cult. Kanna, the schoolgirl niece of the missing Kenji, is marked by the cult as a potential adversary and sent to a re-education facility. Will she find a way to continue in her uncle and his friends' footsteps and manage to defeat Friend? Airi Taira, Toshiaki Karasawa star.
Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years
Nineteen-disc set includes "Where Eagles Dare," "Kelly's Heroes," "Dirty Harry," "Magnum Force," "The Enforcer" (1976), "The Outlaw Josey Wales," "The Gauntlet," "Every Which Way but Loose," "Bronco Billy," "Any Which Way You Can," "Honkytonk Man," "Firefox," "Sudden Impact," "City Heat," "Tightrope," "Pale Rider," "Heartbreak Ridge," "Bird," "The Dead Pool," "Pink Cadillac," "White Hunter, Black Heart," "The Rookie" (1990), "Unforgiven" (1992), "A Perfect World," "The Bridges of Madison County," "Absolute Power," "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," "True Crime" (1999), "Space Cowboys," "Blood Work," "Mystic River," "Million Dollar Baby," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Gran Torino," and the documentary "The Eastwood Factor," plus a collectible book, rare correspondences and photos, and hours of special features.
Profumo Di Donna (Scent Of A Woman) (1975)
Entertaining Italian comedy, later remade by Hollywood with Al Pacino, boasts an award-winning performance by Vittorio Gassman as a blinded ex-army captain who, accompanied by a young private, sets out to seduce beautiful women with his sharpened remaining senses. Alessandro Momo co-stars.
Georges Melies: Encore
The cinematic spectacles of renowned French filmmaker Georges Melies are showcased in this stunning new compilation of 26 short films. Polished with new music and sound, this collection includes "The Haunted Castle" (1897), "An Hallucinated Alchemist" (1897), "The Last Cartridges" (1897), "Sea Fighting in Greece" (1897), "The Cook's Secret" (1903), "The Wandering Jew" 1904), "The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship" (1906), and more.
Barnaby Jones: The First Season(1973)
Debuting as a mid-season replacement in the winter of 1973, this CBS detective series would go on to enjoy a successful seven-year run. Buddy Ebsen starred as Barnaby Jones, a retired private investigator who passed his business along to his son Hal. But when Hal is murdered while working on a case, Barnaby teams with daughter-in-law Betty (Lee Meriwether) and goes back on the job. All 13 episodes from the first season have been collected in a four-disc set.
Branded: The Complete Series
Chuck Connors was "scorned as the one who ran" in this 1965-66 frontier drama as Jason McCord, a decorated 1870s Cavalry officer wrongly accused of cowardice as the sole survivor of a battle with Indians. Drummed out of the army, McCord wanders the plains, helping people in need and trying to clear his name. All 48 episodes of the series are featured in a six-disc set.
Head Case: The Complete Series
Her methods might be unconventional, but L.A. therapist Dr. Elizabeth Goode (Alexandra Wentworth) achieves unconventional success, which is what makes her the "it girl" for troubled heavy hitters in the entertainment, sports, and music industries.You won't believe who winds up on her couch in this offbeat, hilarious cable series! All 28 episodes and mini-episodes of the series are featured in a four-disc set.
For details and availability of more of this week’s new releases, click here
Law Abiding Citizen was superb! Gerard Butler was amazing and the movie was cleverly done. I rooted for Gerard Butler's character and I booed everytime Foxx came on the scene; talk about an unlikeable character. He sucked as a husband, a father (big time) and was everything you hate about a DA. After viewing 6 new movies that were completely worthless, this movie was a pleasure to watch.