by Ivana Redwine

Watch movie trailers for this month's new movies on DVD and video. In addition, you can check DVD release dates and look over plot summaries for the movies that interest you.

August 5, 2003

“Agent Cody Banks” (2003)

Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff star in this spy movie aimed at children. At age 15, Cody Banks (Muniz) is already an agent for the CIA, but he’s still awkward around girls. Yet he’s assigned the task of getting close to the teenage daughter (Duff) of the inventor of a process that has both good and evil applications. When villains threaten to get hold of the process, it’s up to Cody to thwart them, and we’re rooting for him to win the girl’s heart, too.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Full-Screen and Widescreen Anamorphic Formats

Take a look at movie trailers for "Agent Cody Banks."

“Bringing Down the House” (2003)

This comedy stars Steve Martin and Queen Latifah and has Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart, and Betty White in supporting roles. Pete (Martin) is a tax attorney who uses the Internet to set up a blind date. His date turns out to be Charlene (Latifah), a woman convicted of armed robbery who desperately needs legal assistance. A number of complications develop, but Pete and Charlene are ultimately able to help each other.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Available in Widescreen and Full-Screen Formats
Commentary With director Adam Shankman, Writer Jason Filardi, and Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah Music Video "Better Than the Rest"

Take a look at a movie trailer for "Bringing Down the House."

“What a Girl Wants” (2003)

Aimed primarily at girls, this comedy stars Amanda Bynes of Nickelodeon channel fame. Daphne (Bynes), an American teenager who doesn’t know her father, lives simply with her free-spirited single mom in Manhattan. When Daphne travels to London to meet her wealthy dad, who’s a staid English lord, a great deal of culture clash must be overcome. “What a Girl Wants” is a remake of “The Reluctant Debutante” (1958).

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen

Take a look at a movie trailer for "What a Girl Wants."

August 12, 2003

“Cradle 2 the Grave” (2003)

Jet Li and DMX star in this action movie that combines martial arts with hip-hop. Jet Li plays Su, a Taiwanese government agent whose efforts to track down some rare black diamonds bring him to L.A. There he teams up with jewel thief Tony Fait (DMX) in an attempt to retrieve the diamonds as well as rescue Fait’s kidnapped daughter. Other performers in the movie include Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, Tom Arnold, and Kelly Hu.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen

Take a look at a movie trailer for “Cradle 2 the Grave.”

“Head of State” (2003)

Chris Rock co-wrote, directed, and stars in this comedy. Rock portrays Mays Gilliam, an obscure African-American alderman in Washington, D.C. But when the presidential candidate of a major political party dies only days before a national election, Gilliam replaces him on the ticket. The odds of Gilliam being elected are long, but his plainspoken style catches on, and his brother (Bernie Mac) becomes his vice-presidential running mate.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Available in Widescreen and Full-Screen Editions

Take a look at movie trailers for “Head of State.”

“House of 1000 Corpses” (2003)

This horror film is written and directed by Rob Zombie, best known as a heavy-metal rocker. The movie is more or less an homage to “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974). In “House of 1000 Corpses,” four college-age kids are on a road trip when they pick up a hitchhiker, who takes them to the rural house where she lives with other weird people. Her clan turns out to be psychotic and sadistic, and there’s torture, mayhem, and murder aplenty.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Closed-Captioned

Take a look at movie trailers for “House of 1000 Corpses.”

“The Hunted” (2003)

Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro, this action thriller was directed by William Friedkin. After trained assassin Hallam (Del Toro) serves in Kosovo, he returns to Oregon, where he goes on a killing spree. Bonham (Jones) is a retired military trainer who takes on the task of tracking Hallam down. Most of the movie is a prolonged chase that includes exciting hand-to-hand combat between the two men.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Available in Widesreen and Full-Screen Editions

Take a look a movie trailer for “The Hunted.”

“The Lizzie McGuire Movie” (2003)

Aimed at girls, this movie is based on the Disney Channel TV show, and the title character is played by Hilary Duff. In the film, the teenage Lizzie McGuire (Duff) takes a trip to Rome, where she meets Paolo, a teenage Italian pop singer. Lizzie falls for Paolo, and he talks her into impersonating his former singing partner Isabella, who has split with him. Lizzie begins rehearsing with Paolo, but can she be ready in time for the big show?

Selected DVD Special Features:

Full-screen and Widescreen Anamorphic Formats

Music Video

Take a look at movie trailers for “The Lizzie McGuire Movie.”

August 19, 2003

“Bowling for Columbine” (2002)

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, this sometimes funny Michael Moore movie takes an idiosyncratic look at guns and violence in the U.S. The title comes from the 1999 massacre in Colorado at Columbine High School, where the shooters were supposed to be in bowling class. Moore speaks with two of the Columbine victims and talks about guns with various people, including Marilyn Manson and Charlton Heston.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen Anamorphic Format

Please note: no movie trailer available for this title.

"Chicago” (2003)

Winner of six Academy Awards including Best Picture, “Chicago” is a musical starring Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. The movie is based on Bob Fosse’s 1970s stage production. Zellweger and Zeta-Jones play song-and-dance women charged with committing murders in Prohibition-era Chicago, and Gere plays a high-powered defense lawyer. Queen Latifah has a notable supporting role as a prison matron.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen

Take a look at a movie trailer for "Chicago.”

“The Good Thief” (2003)

Starring Nick Nolte and written and directed by Neil Jordan, this crime drama is a remake of the French film “Bob le flambeur” (1955). In “The Good Thief,” Bob (Nolte) is a gambler, heroin addict, and retired thief living on the French Riviera. When Bob hits bottom, he teams up with others in a scheme to steal valuable paintings from a casino. This is a caper movie, but Nolte gives a memorable performance as the charismatic Bob.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Full-Screen and Widescreen Anamorphic Formats

Take a look at a movie trailer for “The Good Thief.”

August 26, 2003

“Chasing Papi” (2003)

This is a lightweight English-language comedy whose stars (Roselyn Sanchez, Sofia Vergara, Jaci Velasquez, and Eduardo Verastegui) are better known in the Spanish-speaking world. Papi (Verastegui) is a handsome L.A. resident who has one girlfriend (Sanchez) in Chicago, another (Vergara) in Miami,and a third (Velasquez) in New York. But things get complicated when the three good-looking women figure out what’s going on.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen

Take a look at a movie trailer for “Chasing Papi.”

“The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (2002)

This is the second installment in a single long story that spans three films based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Many find it worthwhile to review “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) before tackling “The Two Towers.” This time around, Frodo (Elijah Wood), accompanied by Sam, continues his quest to destroy a magic Ring. Meanwhile, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) leads the way in an epic battle against evil forces.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Widescreen Anamorphic Format

Two-Disc DVD Set

Featurettes

Take a look at a movie trailer for “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”

“Raising Victor Vargas” (2003)

This warmhearted coming-of-age movie has found favor with critics. Made with little-known actors, the English-language film is the feature-length debut of writer-director Peter Follett. The main character is a teenager named Victor Vargas, who lives in poverty in Lower Manhattan with his grandmother and his two younger siblings. Victor has his first romance with a pretty girl named Judy, but all this is handled in a fresh and satisfying way.

Selected DVD Special Features:

Closed-Captioned

Take a look at movie trailers for “Raising Victor Vargas.”

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