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by Ivana Redwine

Let's take a look at the selection of new DVDs and videos for January.

"American Wedding"


This comedy is the third in a series, following "American Pie" (1999) and "American Pie 2" (2001), and Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Eugene Levy, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Thomas Ian Nicholas are back. This time around, Jim (Biggs) and Michelle (Hannigan) are getting married. But there are complications involving Stifler (Scott) and some funny stuff with Jim's dad (Levy) and Michelle's dad (Fred Willard).

January 6, 2004

"Out of Time"


In this suspense thriller, Denzel Washington plays Matt Lee Whitlock, who heads up law enforcement in the Florida town of Banyan Key. Matt illegally gives his ailing girlfriend (Sanaa Lathan) confiscated money so she can get treatment, then she and her husband turn up dead. Now a murder suspect, Matt goes on the lam. Meanwhile his estranged wife (Eva Mendes), who also works in law enforcement, leads the effort to track him down.

"Underworld"


Vampires and lycans—a lycan is a form of werewolf—are at war with each other in this glam-action horror movie. Leather-clad death agent Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is a vampire warrior who plays a key role in the attacks on the lycans. After learning lycans have kidnapped human medical intern Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman), she ignores the orders of her vampire superior Kraven and brings the powerful vampire Viktor out of hibernation.

"Uptown Girls"


Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning star in this comedy-drama. Spoiled 22-year-old Molly (Murphy) lives the party life on her inheritance from her late rock-star dad. Then Molly's accountant absconds with all her money, and for the first time in her life she must work. She becomes the nanny to 8-year-old Ray (Fanning), a stern little girl who seems prematurely old. The story then is that Molly and Ray must teach each other how to act their age.

January 13, 2004

"Freddy vs. Jason"


This horror movie features both Freddy Krueger from the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series and Jason Voorhees from the "Friday the 13th" series. Freddy (Robert Englund) is being forgotten, so he gets Jason (Ken Kirzinger) to go on a rampage. Freddy's plan works: Jason's slayings awaken memories, allowing Freddy to resume his serial killing ways. But it leads to a climactic battle between the two seemingly unstoppable slashers.

"Johnny English"


Rowan Atkinson stars as the title character in this comedy, a spoof of the spy genre. Johnny English is a bumbling employee of the British Secret Service who is assigned to protect the Crown Jewels. This pits English against the evil Pascal Sauvage (John Malkovich), who is not only after the jewels, but aims to get himself crowned King of England. The movie's humor relies on a combination of pratfalls, sight gags, and understatement.

"Swimming Pool"


François Ozon directed and co-wrote this English-language psychological thriller. Charlotte Rampling plays a 50-something British mystery writer who goes to France to the country house of her publisher (Charles Dance) to work on a novel. But the writer's solitude is shattered by the publisher's sexy daughter (Ludivine Sagnier), who revels in nudity and brings home various men. Eventually there's a dead body, and the movie has a big twist.

January 20, 2004

"Cabin Fever"


This horror film is about five friends who have just finished college and travel to a backwoods cabin to spend a week together before entering the work force. They clash with the locals, and soon one of the college kids contracts a contagious and deadly flesh-eating infection (sort of like a cross between necrotizing fasciitis and Ebola). As the friends fight for survival, they must struggle with the disease, the unwelcoming locals, and each other.

"Once Upon a Time in Mexico"


Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Johnny Depp star in this action-adventure film that was written, directed, shot, edited, and scored by Robert Rodriguez. The movie continues the series begun by "El Mariachi" (1992) and "Desperado" (1995). This time around, El Mariachi (Banderas) is out to thwart some evil men who are plotting a coup d'état against the Mexican government. Also appearing in the film are Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Willem Dafoe, Rubén Blades, and Cheech Marin.

"Open Range"


Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, and Annette Bening star in this traditional Western set in the 1880s. Boss Spearman (Duvall) heads up a small group of cattlemen, one of whom is Charley Waite (Costner), as they move a herd across open range. Charley meets a good woman (Bening), and they begin to fall for each other. But a powerful rancher's hired thugs threaten Boss and Charley, and they must ready themselves for the climactic gun battle.

"Spellbound"


Not to be confused with Hitchcock's 1945 classic film with the same title, this "Spellbound" is a documentary about competitors in the U.S. 1999 National Spelling Bee. The film follows eight kids, all about 13 years old, as they go from their homes to the finals in Washington, D.C., where they compete on ESPN. The socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds are varied, and tension mounts as they spell obscure words like "cabotinage."

January 27, 2004

"Capturing the Friedmans"


This is a documentary about the strange case of the Friedmans of Great Neck, NY. In the 1980s, Arnold Friedman, his wife, and their three children seemed a typical American family until child pornography was found in their home. Then Arnold and one of his sons were alleged to have molested a number of boys. Through footage from the 1980s and interviews conducted years later, this fascinating documentary shows that truth can be elusive.

"Grind"


The title of this movie alludes to the use of the word "grind" as a verb meaning to scrape one or both axles of a skateboard on a curb, railing, or other surface. The film chronicles the fictional adventures of four young guys (Mike Vogel, Vince Vieluf, Adam Brody, and Joey Kern) as they travel around, trying to break into professional skateboarding. Along the way they meet well-known skaters and encounter nubile young women.

"House of the Dead"


This horror movie is based on a video game. Five Seattle college kids set out to go to a rave on an island, but they miss the boat. Then the kids pay an old salt called Captain Kirk (ha!) to transport them in his vessel, but when they reach the party area, it's deserted. Soon they are attacked by zombies, who have already finished off most of the partygoers. Using Kirk's cache of contraband weapons, the few human survivors battle hordes of zombies.

"Le Divorce"


Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts star in this Merchant-Ivory comedy of manners adapted from Diane Johnson's novel. The story is about a California woman (Hudson) who goes to Paris to see her sister (Watts), whose husband is intent on divorcing her. But the sisters get caught up in situations that highlight American and French cultural differences. Also in the movie are Leslie Caron, Thierry Lhermitte, Glenn Close, and Stockard Channing.

"Radio"


Inspired by real-life events, this feel-good drama stars Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris. Harris plays Harold Jones, the high school coach in a small South Carolina town obsessed with football. After Jones' players taunt a mentally retarded man nicknamed Radio (Gooding), the coach embarks on a project to make him team mascot. The coach's efforts meet with resistance, but the results are ultimately good for Radio, the town, and Coach Jones himself.

"The Secret Lives of Dentists"


Based on Jane Smiley's novella "The Age of Grief," this offbeat little film is a domestic comedy that stars Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, and Denis Leary. David Hurst (Scott), a dentist, loves his wife Dana (Davis), who is also a dentist. But David suspects Dana of unfaithfulness, and he struggles with how to deal with the situation. The movie often goes inside David's head, where Slater (Leary), a disagreeable patient, sneeringly delivers advice.

"Thirteen"


This hard-hitting drama captures the alienation of 13-year-old girls. At the beginning of the movie, Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is an unpopular girl who's a good student. But she comes under the influence of Evie (Nikki Reed) and gets into shoplifting, drugs, and sexual experimentation. Tracy and Evie even try to initiate a three-way with a neighbor. Meanwhile, Tracy's mom (Holly Hunter) attempts to cope with her rebellious daughter.

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