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Here's a selection of new movies on DVD for December 2007.
The Nanny Diaries DVD
Scarlett Johansson stars in this comedy based on the best-selling novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. In the movie, Annie (Johansson) has just graduated college. Her mom, a New Jersey nurse, wants Annie to pursue a career in finance, but Annie is uncertain what she wants to do. In Manhattan's Central Park, she encounters a preschool boy and takes a job as his live-in nanny. She refers to his well-to-do parents as Mr. and Mrs. X (Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney). Annie becomes attracted to a handsome neighbor she calls Harvard Hottie (Chris Evans).
This is the third in the series of action-adventure movies based on a Disney theme-park ride. It follows Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom are all back. The new film picks up where Dead Man's Chest left off with Capt. Jack Sparrow (Depp) in Davy Jones's Locker. Will Turner (Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) set out to rescue Sparrow, and there's a new character, a pirate captain played by Chow Yun-Fat.
Superbad DVD
Judd Apatow produced and Seth Rogen co-wrote this foul-mouthed, raunchy, sweet-natured comedy, which is about teenagers. As best friends Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) near high school graduation, they fixate on the idea of losing their virginity. Invited to a party, they decide the only hope they have of achieving their goal is to get some girls drunk there. However, Seth and Evan aren't old enough to buy booze, and they enlist the aid of a nerdy kid called Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Fogell has a fake I.D., although it gives his name as McLovin.
December 11, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum DVD
Matt Damon is back as Jason Bourne, the former assassin with a memory problem, in this action thriller, the follow-up to The Bourne Identity (2002) and The Bourne Supremacy (2004). Picking up sometime after Supremacy left off, Ultimatum still has Bourne trying to unravel the mystery of his past while avoiding being killed. This time around he goes to Turin, Paris, London, Madrid, Tangier and New York. Actresses Joan Allen and Julia Stiles are back, as is director Paul Greengrass. New to the cast are David Strathairn, Scott Glenn, Paddy Considine and Albert Finney.
Bugs! DVD
Originally released in IMAX theaters in 2003, this nature documentary narrated by Judi Dench is about various insects in the lush Borneo rain forest. But the focus is on the life cycles of two particular bugs: Papilio, a caterpillar that transforms into a butterfly, and Hierodula, a praying mantis that stalks prey and mates with a female twice his size. However, other insects are also shown, including leafcutter ants and a pair of dueling rhinoceros beetles. The film is a presentation of the pest control company Terminix.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD
This is the fifth in the series of films that began with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in 2001, and it is expected there will be two more after this one. All the key actors are back, including Daniel Radcliffe as the title character, Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson as Hermione. Harry continues to be attracted to Cho Chang (Katie Leung), but there's still big trouble with the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes). At Hogwarts, a new character, Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), joins the faculty and takes power away from Dumbledore (Michael Gambon).
December 18, 2007
Balls of Fury DVD
Ping-Pong is featured in this silly comedy that spoofs martial-arts movies. As a kid, Randy Daytona is a world-class table tennis player who suffers a humiliating loss to Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon) in the 1988 Olympics. Nineteen years later Randy (Dan Fogler) makes a living putting on shows in Reno when he is recruited by an FBI agent (George Lopez) to infiltrate a tournament run by the diabolical Feng (Christopher Walken). But Randy has gotten rusty, and he must first undergo rigorous training with characters played by James Hong and Maggie Q.
Halloween DVD
Rob Zombie wrote and directed this horror film, a remake of John Carpenter's 1978 slasher movie. Malcolm McDowell is in the Donald Pleasance role, and Scout Taylor-Compton takes the part played by Jamie Lee Curtis. The story is the same: At age 10, Michael Myers murders several people in Haddonfield, Illinois, spends years in a psychiatric institution, then escapes and returns to his hometown, where he goes on another killing spree. But the new film spends much more time on Myers's childhood than the original. Tyler Mane plays the adult Myers in the remake.
The Simpsons Movie DVD
An animated comedy, this feature film was spun off the TV show The Simpsons that has been running since 1989. All the major characters, including Homer (voice of Dan Castellaneta), his wife Marge (voice of Julie Kavner), and their children Bart (voice of Nancy Cartwright) and Lisa (voice of Yeardley Smith), are brought over from the TV series. In the movie, Homer does something that contributes to a huge environmental problem in Springfield, and everyone turns on the Simpsons. The film contains a skateboarding sequence that fans will be talking about for years.
Stardust DVD
Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro and Peter O'Toole are among the big-name actors appearing in this whimsical fantasy based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. In the mythical realm of Stormhold, a star falls and takes the form of a woman called Yvaine (Danes), and various entities seek her. One is the young man Tristan (Charlie Cox), another is the witch Lamia (Pfeiffer), and a third is the King of Stormhold (O'Toole). Another character is the cross-dressing Capt. Shakespeare (De Niro). Also appearing in the movie are Sienna Miller, Ricky Gervais and Rupert Everett.
Underdog DVD
Based on the TV cartoon series that ran from 1964 to 1973, this is a live-action comedy with talking dogs, their mouths moving by way of computer animation. The central character is a beagle (voice of Jason Lee) that gets transformed into a superhero as a result of an experiment by a mad scientist. Some nice people give the beagle a good home and name him Shoeshine, but it turns out he can talk and fly, and the dog becomes a crime fighter. But Shoeshine is attracted to the cute spaniel Polly (voice of Amy Adams), and he must battle the bully Riff Raff (voice of Brad Garrett).
December 23, 2007
Eastern Promises DVD
Directed by David Cronenberg, this violent crime thriller stars Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts. At a London hospital, Anna (Watts) is a midwife who delivers a baby where the teenage mother dies during childbirth. The mother leaves behind a diary, and Anna uses it to try to find the baby's relatives. Her search leads her to a restaurateur (Armin Mueller-Stahl) who is a Russian mob boss. The restaurateur's driver Nikolai (Mortensen) turns out to be another key character in the story. In the climactic scene, a naked, tattooed Nikolai gets into a vicious fight in a steam room.
The Kingdom DVD
Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper star in this thriller set in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where terrorists attack American oil company workers and their families. Without U.S. government approval, a four-person team of FBI agents (Foxx, Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) flies to Riyadh to investigate. The Americans are unwelcome and find themselves entangled in bureaucratic and diplomatic red tape. However, the FBI team eventually gains the cooperation of a key Saudi, Col. Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom), leading to a showdown with the terrorists.
Rush Hour 3 DVD
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return in this action comedy, the follow-up to Rush Hour (1998) and Rush Hour 2 (2001). This time around the film begins in L.A., where Chinese Inspector Lee (Chan) is guarding an ambassador when there is an assassination attempt. Lee then teams up with his old pal, LAPD detective Carter (Tucker), and they go after the perpetrators. The pursuit soon leads to Paris, where Lee and Carter chase around from the sewers to the Folies Bergère to the Eiffel Tower. Among those appearing in the movie are Max von Sydow and 7-foot-9 Sun Ming Ming.
