| Recommended February DVD Releases | |
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Here's a selection of new movies on DVD for February 2008.
February 5, 2008
No recommendations.Gone Baby Gone
Adapted from Dennis Lehane's novel, this crime drama marks the directorial debut of Ben Affleck and stars his younger brother Casey. The story is set in Boston, and the main characters are Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) and Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), who live together and run a private detective agency together. When a four-year-old girl disappears and the police, led by Capt. Doyle (Morgan Freeman), don't seem to be making much progress on the case, the girl's aunt and uncle hire Kenzie and Gennaro to investigate. Ed Harris also appears in the movie.
February 19, 2008
American Gangster
Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe star in this crime drama directed by Ridley Scott. Washington portrays a fictional version of Frank Lucas, a real-life Harlem drug lord circa 1970. Lucas becomes a highly successful businessman by getting heroin from Southeast Asia and selling a high-quality product in New York. Crowe plays incorruptible Jersey cop Richie Roberts, who switches over to the feds in a dogged attempt to stem the flood of narcotics. Lucas's and Roberts' stories unfold in parallel, and meanwhile there's trouble from a corrupt NYPD cop (Josh Brolin).
Lust, Caution
Ang Lee directed this Chinese-language period drama based on a short story by Eileen Chang. The film takes place during World War II, primarily in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, where Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) is head of the secret service of the collaborationist Chinese government. The resistance targets Yee for assassination, and an attractive, patriotic young woman going by the name Mrs. Mak (newcomer Tang Wei) takes on the mission of seducing Yee to set him up. The heart of the tale is the complex relationship that develops between Mak and Yee.
Michael Clayton
George Clooney stars as the title character in this legal thriller. An attorney at a prestigious New York law firm, Clayton is talented at handling messy situations. After Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), the firm's lawyer representing agrichemical giant U/North in a class action suit, has a nervous breakdown, Clayton gets involved in the case. A major problem he faces is that U/North's chief counsel Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) will stop at nothing to protect her company. Even though Clayton is used to working in gray areas, he is soon plunged into a crisis of conscience.
February 26, 2008
Beowulf
While the narrative is based on the Old English heroic epic poem, this action-adventure movie looks a lot like a video game and uses performance capture like The Polar Express. Beowulf takes place in the sixth century, and Ray Winstone plays the title character. Beowulf first goes to Denmark, ruled by King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins), and there battles the hideous monster Grendel (Crispin Glover). Next, Beowulf gets entangled with Grendel's seductive mother (Angelina Jolie), then he returns to Geatland (now southern Sweden), where he fights a mighty dragon.
The Darjeeling Limited
Directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou), this seriocomedy stars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman. The story is about the estranged Whitman brothers — Francis (Wilson), Peter (Brody) and Jack (Schwartzman) — who take a long train trip across India together in an attempt at reconciliation. Along the way, they have quirky adventures as they try to come to terms with their differences, and Francis wants them to visit their mom (Anjelica Huston), a nun in a Himalayan convent.
