A Sneak Peek at What's Coming Next Week
Down to Earth
Tagline: "A story of premature reincarnation."
Length: 87 minutesMPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, sexual humor and some drug references
Chris Rock stars in this comedy based on the 1978 movie Heaven Can Wait. Lance Barton (Rock), a young black man who aspires to be a stand-up comic, is called to heaven by mistake. Upon discovering the error, the angels return Lance to earth, but the only body available for Lance to occupy is that of millionaire Charles Wellington, an older white man. Most of the film’s humor then derives from the older, white Wellington behaving like the younger, black Lance, particularly when Lance (in Wellington’s body) becomes smitten with an attractive young activist played by Regina King.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Malena
Tagline: "A world at war. A young man coming of age. And the woman who changed his life forever."
Length: 92 minutesMPAA Rating: R for sexuality/nudity, language and some violence
From writer-director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) comes the Italian-language film Malena, a reminisce by an older man of his boyhood in a small town in Sicily in the early 1940s. Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is a teenage boy who becomes obsessed with a sexy-looking schoolteacher named Malena Scordia (Monica Bellucci). The early part of the movie lightheartedly shows how every male in town is captivated by Malena, whose husband is overseas in the military. But when Malena’s husband is killed in the war, the film takes a dark turn, and Malena is eventually forced to trade on her ability to attract men just to survive.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Monkeybone
Tagline: "If It Yells, If It Swings, It's Got To Be Monkeybone!"
Length: 92 minutesMPAA Rating: PG-13 for crude humor and some nudity
This comedy, which relies heavily on special effects and bizarre images, stars Brendan Fraser, Bridget Fonda, and Whoopi Goldberg. Fraser plays Stu Miley, a cartoonist who has created a popular simian character named Monkeybone. Miley falls into a coma after an automobile accident, and in his mind descends to a weird nether world. While Miley’s girlfriend (Fonda) tries to help him recover, he must contend with the denizens of that nether world, which include the cartoon character Monkeybone come to life (voice of John Turturro) and Death (Goldberg).
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
Thirteen Days
Tagline: "You'll Never Believe How Close We Came."
Length: 145 minutesMPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language
Starring Kevin Costner, Thirteen Days is a well-crafted docudrama about the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. The story is told as seen through the eyes of Kenny O’Donnell (Costner), a trusted assistant to President John F. Kennedy (Bruce Greenwood) and close friend of the President’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (Steven Culp). When the White House learns that the Soviet Union has installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, the Kennedy administration tries to intimidate the Soviets into removing them. As tension mounts between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., the lives of millions hang in the balance.
Formats Available: DVD, VHS
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