| June DVD Releases | |
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Here's a selection of new movies on DVD for June 2008.
June 3, 2008
The Eye
Jessica Alba stars in this horror movie, a remake of a Hong Kong film by the Pang brothers. Sydney Wells (Alba) is a concert violinist who was blinded in an accident when she was five years old. She gets a cornea transplant, and her vision begins to return, but she sees strange and disturbing things. At first, her sister (Parker Posey) believes Sydney is simply having trouble adjusting, as does Dr. Paul Faulkner (Alessandro Nivola). But when it starts to seem as though her problems may have something to do with the eye donor, Sydney and Faulkner go to Mexico to investigate.
Meet the Spartans
A parody of the film 300, this comedy was written and directed by the same team that did Date Movie and Epic Movie. Here, Leonidas (Sean Maguire), king of Sparta, leads 13 men against the large invading army of Xerxes (Ken Davitian from Borat). The scantily clad, campy Spartan soldiers do things like skip and sing "I Will Survive." Meanwhile, back in Sparta, sexy Queen Margo (Carmen Electra) does what she can to support her husband. The film, which is awash in product promotion, features celebrity look-alikes and references to other recent movies and TV shows.
Semi-Pro
Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson star in this sports comedy set in the world of professional basketball. It's 1976, and Jackie Moon (Ferrell) is the owner of the Flint (Michigan) Tropics, a struggling American Basketball Association team. Jackie also coaches, plays forward and does goofy stunts to try to boost attendance. He also acquires Ed Monix (Harrelson), an over-the-hill veteran player. There is already one really good player (André Benjamin of OutKast) on the Tropics, and eventually the team improves. Will Arnett is amusing as the team's sportscaster.
June 10, 2008
The Bucket List
Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman star in this feel-good movie directed by Rob Reiner. Edward Cole (Nicholson) is a billionaire who meets auto mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman) while both are in the hospital. Both men are given only Junes to live, but Carter has a list of things he'd like to do before he kicks the bucket. Financed by Edward, the two oldsters go skydiving, drive race cars and embark on a trip that takes them to the south of France, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the Himalayas. Along the way, both men resolve issues and change each other.
This action sci-fi movie is about someone capable of teleportation. As a teenager, David Rice discovers his power to instantly relocate himself from one place to another. As an adult, David (Hayden Christensen) teleports into bank vaults and takes money to pay for his globetrotting lifestyle. But a nemesis arises in the person of Roland (a white-haired Samuel L. Jackson). Roland is a paladin, that is, someone who tries to kill jumpers like David. In fact, according to Griffin (Jamie Bell), another jumper, there is a centuries-old war going on between paladins and jumpers.
The Other Boleyn Girl
Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana star in this historical drama adapted from Philippa Gregory's novel. The story is about the Boleyn sisters, Anne (Portman) and Mary (Johansson), both of whom end up at the court of King Henry VIII (Bana) in 16th-century England. The sisters' father tries to advance the family status by pairing Anne with Henry, but the king is attracted to Mary, and the two eventually become lovers. Nevertheless, it ultimately turns out to be Anne that Henry marries. The king's actions are driven in large part by his need to produce a male heir.
June 17, 2008
Fool's Gold
Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are paired in this action romance. Ben "Finn" Finnegan (McConaughey) is a treasure hunter whose wife Tess (Hudson) is on the verge of divorcing him. Finn believes he knows how to find a Spanish galleon laden with valuables, and he gets financial backing from the wealthy Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland). Soon Nigel, his good-looking daughter (Alexis Dziena), Finn and Tess are on a quest to locate the galleon off the Florida coast. But there are complications because of a violent gangster, leading to a perilous showdown.
Under the Same Moon
This Sundance crowd-pleaser is a largely Spanish-language drama about a cute kid trying to reunite with his mother. Little Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) stays with his grandmother in Mexico while his mother Rosario (Kate del Castillo) does menial work in L.A. and sends money back to them. But when the grandmother dies, Carlitos sets out on his own to make his way to his mother. It turns out to be a difficult, but adventure-filled journey for the boy, and meanwhile Rosario struggles with living as an illegal immigrant. America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) appears in a small role.
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
This is a Martin Lawrence comedy, but here he's supported by a talented cast. Roscoe Jenkins (Lawrence) is a successful L.A. daytime TV talk show host who hasn't visited his family in Georgia for nine years. But for his parents' 50th wedding anniversary, he goes with his fiancée (Joy Bryant) back to his ancestral home. It turns out to be a rambunctious homecoming as they interact with Papa Jenkins (James Earl Jones), Roscoe's sister (Mo'Nique), his cousin (Mike Epps) and an adopted brother (Cedric the Entertainer). A comic highlight is two dogs having sex.
June 24, 2008
10,000 BC
Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) directed this action-adventure movie set 12,000 years ago. The film features a saber-toothed tiger, wooly mammoths and man-eating ratite birds. The hero is D'Leh (Steven Strait) of the Yagahl tribe. One day slave traders kidnap his beloved Evolet (Camilla Belle), and he goes on a long journey to try to rescue her. Along the way, many other people join the trek, which ends up in a city where a large pyramid is being built and Evolet is about to be sacrificed. This all leads to a climactic battle.
Definitely, Maybe
Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz are in the attractive cast of this romantic dramedy. Advertising exec Will Hayes (Reynolds) is about to get divorced and tells a story to his young daughter (Abigail Breslin): he recounts three previous romantic relationships, and she is to try to guess which of the women he married. There's his college sweetheart (Banks) and two very different women (Fisher and Weisz) he meets in New York while working on the 1992 Bill Clinton presidential campaign. Derek Luke and Kevin Kline also appear in the movie.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
Based on a best-selling series of children's books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, this is a family movie about kids and magical creatures. Young Jared (Freddie Highmore), his identical twin Simon (also Freddie Highmore) and their older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger) move with their newly divorced mom (Mary-Louise Parker) to a creepy old Victorian mansion out in the country. The house was once the residence of Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn). But the property is inhabited by goblins, sprites, fairies, griffins and the like, and the kids have lots of adventures.