June
1, 2004 - New DVD
Releases
"The
Company" DVD
Robert Altman directed this ensemble drama about life in a somewhat fictionalized
version of the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet. The movie mostly centers around rehearsals
and performances of the dance troupe, which is under an artistic director called
Mr. A (Malcolm McDowell). One of the principal characters is Ry (Neve Campbell),
a promising young dancer, and her romantic relationship with a chef (James Franco)
is a key story thread.
"Monster"
DVD
Charlize
Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in this drama,
which is based on a true story. Theron plays Aileen Wuornos, a Florida woman executed
in 2002 for committing half a dozen murders. The movie chronicles Aileen's lesbian
relationship with Selby Wall (Christina Ricci). Desperate to support herself and
her young lover, Aileen went back into prostitution and began murdering the johns.
June
8, 2004 - New DVD
Releases
"City
of God" DVD
Nominated
for four Academy Awards (Best Director, Cinematography, Editing, Adapted Screenplay),
this Portuguese-language drama is about youth gangs in Rio de Janeiro. A narrator
known as Rocket recounts his experiences in a Rio slum called Cidade de Deus (City
of God) during the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. It's an unsettling tale of poverty,
kids, guns, and drugs, but Rocket manages to find a niche for himself as a photographer.
"Mystic
River" DVD
Sean
Penn and Tim Robbins won Academy Awards for their performances in this drama,
which was also an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Penn, Robbins, and Kevin Bacon
play men who were childhood friends, but have gone their separate ways. But the
three are brought back together when Penn's character's daughter is murdered,
Robbins' character comes home bloody, and Bacon's character is a police detective
investigating the crime.
June
15 , 2004 - New DVD
Releases
"Spartan"
DVD
Written
and directed by David Mamet, this is a suspense thriller starring Val Kilmer.
Robert Scott (Kilmer) is a veteran agent for some top-secret U.S. government organization.
When the daughter of the American President is kidnapped, Scott is assigned to
go anywhere and use any means necessary to get her back. He is assisted in that
mission by a young agent played by Derek Luke. The movie has a labyrinthine plot
and stylized Mamet dialogue.
"The
Station Agent" DVD
This
quirky independent film was a hit at Sundance and is well-liked by critics. The
central character is a dwarf named Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) who inherits
an abandoned train station in rural New Jersey. Fin moves into the station, and
he meets a guy (Bobby Cannavale) who operates a coffee truck and a grieving artist
(Patricia Clarkson). The intersections of the lives of these people turns out
to be beneficial to all three of them.
"Teacher's
Pet" DVD
Derived from a TV cartoon series, this is a Disney children's animated movie.
Spot (voice of Nathan Lane), a dog who yearns to be a boy, goes to Dr. Krank (voice
of Kelsey Grammer), a mad scientist who is experimenting with turning animals
into humans. Krank transforms Spot, but because of the difference between dog
years and human years, the canine becomes a middle-aged man. Other voices heard
include Paul Reubens and Megan Mullally.
"Touching
the Void" DVD
A harrowing real-life mountain climbing incident is at the center of this
British semidocumentary film. In 1985 Joe Simpson and Simon Yates scaled a 21,000-foot
peak in the Peruvian Andes. But Simpson broke his leg, and their battle for survival
turned out to be an extreme ordeal. The movie shows actors and their climbing
doubles recreating the incident, and there are interviews with the real Simpson
and Yates years afterward.
"Tupac:
Resurrection" DVD
This
documentary is about the life of hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur, who was gunned down
at age 25 in 1996. Documentarian Lauren Lazin uses sound recordings from Tupac's
many interviews so that the story is narrated in the gangsta rapper's own voice.
The film tells of Tupac's Black Panther mom, his attendance at a performing arts
high school, his move to California, his multiple run-ins with the law, and his
rise to fame and financial success.
June
22, 2004 - New DVD
Releases
"Bad
Santa" DVD
Billy
Bob Thornton stars as the title character in this dark comedy. Each Christmas
season, the alcoholic, foul-mouthed Willie (Thornton) and the dwarf Marcus (Tony
Cox) surface in a different city, where they take jobs in a department store.
Willie works as Santa and Marcus as his elf, which gets them inside the store
so they can later rob its safe. The movie catches up with them in Phoenix, where
Willie meets a woman with a Santa fetish.
June
29, 2004 - New DVD
Releases
"Barbershop
2: Back in Business" DVD
This comedy is the sequel to "Barbershop" (2002) and again stars
Ice Cube as Calvin Palmer, owner and operator of an old-fashioned barbershop in
Chicago. Also reprising their roles are Cedric the Entertainer, Sean Patrick Thomas,
Eve, Troy Garity, Michael Ealy, and Leonard Earl Howze. This time around, gentrification
threatens to close Calvin's barbershop. Queen Latifah appears in "Barbershop
2," setting up the spinoff movie "Beauty Shop."
"Cold
Mountain" DVD
Nicole
Kidman and Jude Law star in this historical drama that was nominated for seven
Academy Awards and won one (Renée Zellweger for Best Supporting Actress).
In Cold Mountain, North Carolina, Ada (Kidman) and Inman (Law) fall for each other.
But Civil War comes, and Inman goes off to battle. With the help of Ruby (Zellweger),
Ada struggles to run her farm. Meanwhile, Inman deserts and undertakes a long
trek back to her..
