More new movies on DVD for December, 2006.
December 19, 2006
Invincible
Mark Wahlberg and Greg Kinnear star in this feel-good sports drama based on a true story. It's 1976, and 30-year-old Vince Papale (Wahlberg) is a down-on-his-luck bartender. In pro football, the Philadelphia Eagles haven't been doing well either, and they're hoping new coach Dick Vermeil (Kinnear) can turn things around. When Vermeil opens tryouts to all comers, Papale surprises everyone by making the team and playing quite a bit. Also, he gets into a romance with an attractive woman (Elizabeth Banks).
Lady in the Water
Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this gloomy drama with fantasy elements stars Paul Giamatti. Cleveland Heep (Giamatti) manages a Philadelphia apartment complex, where he finds a sea nymph living in the swimming pool. She refers to herself as a narf, and her name is Story (Bryce Dallas Howard). Story has come from the Blue World to carry out a mission, and Heep and some of the complex's quirky tenants try to help her. But there's a scrunt, a dangerous wolf-like creature, that's out to get Story.
Little Miss Sunshine
Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Alan Arkin play members of a dysfunctional family in this comedy. Richard (Kinnear) is a motivational speaker with a program called "Refuse to Lose." He resides in Albuquerque with his wife Sheryl (Collette) and their two kids. Living with them are Grandpa (Arkin) and Sheryl's suicidal brother (Carell), a Proust scholar. The story centers around the family traveling via VW bus to Redondo Beach, Calif., where the seven-year-old daughter competes in a beauty pageant.
Step Up
Dance is the focus of this musical romantic drama set in Baltimore. After low-class, street-tough Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) vandalizes the Maryland School of the Arts, his punishment includes janitorial duties there. Then he meets career-driven dance student Nora Clark (Jenna Dewan), who's preparing her senior performance. When her dance partner injures his ankle, Tyler offers to help Nora, thus beginning an unlikely relationship with her. One of the students at the school is played by R&B singer Mario.
December 26, 2006
The Black Dahlia
Directed by Brian De Palma, this crime drama adapted from James Ellroy's novel stars Josh Hartnett, Scartlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. Set in the 1940s, the story follows what happens to L.A. policeman Bucky Bleichert (Hartnett) as he investigates the brutal murder of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short. Bleichert's journey involves another L.A. cop (Eckhart), a damaged blonde (Johansson), and a wealthy, decadent woman (Swank). Everything takes place in an atmosphere of sleaze and corruption.
The Descent
In this horror movie, six attractive, physically fit outdoorswomen go to a remote location in the Appalachian Mountains and set out to explore an uncharted cave system. When the women are deep inside, passageways collapse, and they can no longer get out by backtracking. As they search for an exit from the dark maze, they are stunned to encounter hungry humanoid predators with keen hearing and the ability to move quickly in the caves. Caught up in a grim fight for survival, the women grow increasingly desperate.
Jackass Number Two
The MTV series Jackass (2000-2002) gave rise to Jackass: The Movie (2002), which was followed by the feature length sequel Jackass Number Two (2006). These are gross-out comedies consisting of daredevils like Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius and Bam Margera doing outrageously tasteless stunts and gags. Vomiting plays a prominent role in the skits, many of which are too obscene to be described in polite society. But if you want to see a guy attach a leech to his eyeball, this is your movie.
More December DVD Releases on the Previous Page
