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by Ivana Redwine

Here's a selection of new movies on DVD for July, 2005.

July 5, 2005

"Bride and Prejudice"
Directed by Gurinder Chadha ("Bend It Like Beckham") and starring the beautiful Aishwarya Rai, this film features Bollywood-like musical numbers. Set in the 21st century, the movie is loosely based on Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" with Austen's Lizzie Bennet renamed Lalita Bakshi (Rai). Although Lalita and wealthy American businessman Will Darcy (Martin Henderson) clash at first, they eventually gradually fall for each other.

"Dear Frankie"
Set in Glasgow, this drama centers around a nine-year-old deaf boy named Frankie. Frankie's mom (Emily Mortimer) fled the boy's abusive father years ago and led her son to believe his dad is always away at sea. When Frankie learns the Accra, the ship his father is supposed to be aboard, will call at Glasgow, the boy begs to see his dad. Frankie's mom arranges for a stranger (Gerard Butler) to pose as the boy's father, and the film chronicles how things work out.

"Hide and Seek"
Robert De Niro and child actress Dakota Fanning are the stars of this thriller. After his wife's suicide, David Callaway (De Niro) and his young daughter Emily (Fanning) move to a big house in the country. There Callaway befriends a local woman (Elisabeth Shue), while Emily comes up with an apparently imaginary friend called Charlie. Soon creepy things begin happening around the house, and Emily blames them on Charlie, leading to a twist ending.

July 12, 2005

"Million Dollar Baby"
This drama won four Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actress (Hilary Swank), Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman), and Best Director (Clint Eastwood). Eastwood also stars as Frankie, the owner of a gym that's seen better days. There Scrap (Freeman) ekes out a living, and Frankie takes on the task of training Maggie (Swank), a waitress who sees boxing as her only hope for making something of her life. The movie achieves great emotional power through close observation of these three characters and their world.

"A Very Long Engagement"
This French-language drama stars the same lead actress and has the same director as "Amélie" (2001). "A Very Long Engagement" is set in 1920 France. Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) has been told her boyfriend died in World War I, but information comes to light that leads her to believe he may still be alive. She embarks upon a quest to find out what happened to him and doggedly pursues her investigation, refusing to give up hope they can be reunited.

July 19, 2005

"Constantine"
Keanu Reeves stars as a character named John Constantine in this rather strange movie about the supernatural based on the "Hellblazer" graphic novels. Constantine, who is terminally ill from smoking, fears being consigned to Hell because he tried to take his own life. Now he tracks down Satan's minions on Earth and sends them back to the everlasting fire, hoping he can find a way to eternal salvation. The film is remarkable for its visuals.

"Ice Princess"
Michelle Trachtenberg, Kim Cattrall, and Joan Cusack star in this lighthearted figure-skating movie. Casey (Trachtenberg), a high school student who's good at physics, conducts research on the movements of ice skaters. But along the way, she begins participating in the sport and gets coaching from a former Olympics-caliber competitor (Cattrall). However, Casey's change of focus from academics to skating does not meet with the approval of her mother (Cusack).

"Man of the House"
Tommy Lee Jones stars in this action comedy about a tough Texas Ranger and five sexy college cheerleaders. When the cheerleaders see the murder of a government witness, Roland Sharp (Jones) is assigned to protect them. He moves in with the girls, and although he doesn't get along with them at first, they eventually help him with his daughter. Cedric the Entertainer appears in the film, and Anne Archer plays a professor who becomes Jones's love interest.

July 26, 2005

"King's Ransom"
This comedy stars Anthony Anderson as wealthy Chicago businessman Malcolm King. To keep a big chunk of his money out of the hands of his estranged wife, King hatches a plot to make it look as though he's been kidnapped, and he'll collect the ransom. Not only does this plan go awry, but King becomes the target of three other overlapping kidnapping schemes. Joining Anderson in the high jinx are Jay Mohr, Donald Faison, Regina Hall, and Kellita Smith.

"The Upside of Anger"
Joan Allen and Kevin Costner star in this unconventional drama. Allen plays Terry Wolfmeyer, who is angry because her husband has run off with a younger woman, leaving her alone to deal with their four daughters. Terry's neighbor is Denny Davies (Costner), a former baseball star who is none too happy these days as the host of a radio show. Terry and Denny start out as nothing more than drinking buddies, but as time goes by, they become lovers.

"xXx: State of the Union"
This action movie is the sequel to "xXx" (2002), but Vin Diesel does not return. Instead, Ice Cube plays an action hero serving the same function as Diesel's character did in the original. This time around the treasonous American Secretary of Defense (Willem Dafoe) attempts to take over the U.S. via a coup d'état. But a national security agent (Samuel L. Jackson) springs Darius Stone (Ice Cube) from prison to lead a bunch of street warriors against the bad guys.

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