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by
Ivana Redwine
Let's take a look at the best new DVDs for March, 2004.
March
2, 2004 -
Recommended DVD Releases "School
of Rock"
Jack Black stars in this rock 'n' roll comedy that appeals to viewers
over a wide age range. Black portrays down-on-his-luck rocker Dewey Finn, who
fakes his way into substitute teaching fifth-graders. He abandons the regular
curriculum and teaches nothing but rock 'n' roll. Musically inclined students
play instruments, while others do lighting, costumes, etc. But Dewey's day of
reckoning looms, and it all comes down to a Battle of the Bands. March
9, 2004 -
Recommended DVD Releases "Croupier"
This 1998 film finally comes out on DVD. A casino-based thriller, the
movie's strengths are atmosphere and character. The title character is Jack Manfred
(Clive Owen), an aspiring writer who narrates this tale while he's employed at
a posh London casino. Jack gets romantically involved with two women and is pulled
into a risky scheme by a third. But in his cool, detached way, he's always trying
to figure out the odds.
March
16, 2004 -
Recommended DVD Releases "21
Grams"
Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, and Benicio Del Toro star in this powerful
drama directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu ("Amores
perros"). The film intercuts three intertwined stories, unfolding them out
of chronological order. An accident links the lives of a college professor (Penn),
a former party girl (Watts), and a born-again ex-con (Del Toro). The title comes
from the claim that when you die, your body loses 21 grams, the weight of the
soul. March
23, 2004 -
Recommended DVD Releases "Dirty
Pretty Things"
This drama centers around illegal immigrants who perform menial labor at one of
London's luxury hotels. One of the key characters is Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor),
a Nigerian man who drives a taxi by day and works at the hotel at night. Another
key character is Senay (Audrey Tautou), a chambermaid who comes from Turkey. Okwe
and Senay uncover a human organ black market operation and try to deal with that
while avoiding immigration officials. "The
Magdalene Sisters"
This docudrama chronicles a dark chapter in Ireland's history. For decades, Irish
women were used as slave labor in the so-called Magdalene laundries, run by the
Sisters of Mercy and producing a stream of income for the Catholic Church. The
movie focuses on a few of the tens of thousands of victims, including: (1) a girl
who had a child out of wedlock; (2) a girl who shamed her family by being raped;
and (3) a girl who was too flirtatious. "The
Rundown"
The Rock stars in this lighthearted action movie, which also features
Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, and Christopher Walken. Beck (The Rock) travels
to the Amazon jungle to bring back Travis (Scott), who has gotten himself in trouble
there. Travis is after a legendary gold relic, as is Mariana (Dawson). But the
evil Hatcher (Walken) is pursuing his own agenda, and everyone gets caught up
in a series of perilous adventures and action sequences. "Shattered
Glass"
In the 1990s, the highly regarded magazine "The New Republic"
was publishing some fascinating articles, including more than two dozen by a hot
young journalist named Stephen Glass. But eventually an editor at the magazine
named Chuck Lane discovered that Glass was falsifying much of the information
he presented as factual. This movie dramatizes that story, with Hayden Christensen
playing Glass and Peter Sarsgaard as Lane. March
30, 2004 -
Recommended DVD Releases "House
of Sand and Fog"
Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley star in this powerful drama set in California.
While Kathy Nicolo (Connelly) is distraught over a marital breakup, she fails
to respond to tax bills on her family home, and it is auctioned off. The buyer
is Iranian exile Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley), who needs the property to preserve
his dignity. Kathy and Behrani both claim the house, but the legal system moves
slowly, leading to tragedy. "Something's
Gotta Give"
Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are paired in this romantic comedy that
was written and directed by Nancy Meyers. Sixty-something Harry (Nicholson), who
has dated only 20-something women for decades, goes to a beach house with nubile
Marin (Amanda Peet). Marin's middle-aged mom Erica (Keaton) shows up there, Harry
has a heart attack, and he and Erica spend time together while he convalesces,
falling in love along the way. More
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