Here's a selection of new movies on DVD for February 2007.
February 6, 2007
Flags of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood directed this powerful World War II drama. In 1945, American forces landed at Iwo Jima to take control of the island from entrenched, resolute Japanese defenders. Amid heavy casualties, a photo was snapped of Old Glory being raised on a hilltop. The image quickly became a symbol of hope for Americans, and a War Bond drive was built around three of the men who put that flag up. The film explores the gap between the public's perception of war and that of those who do the fighting.
The Grudge 2
This horror movie is the sequel to The Grudge (2004), which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar. This time around Gellar returns only briefly as Karen, and the focus of the film is Karen's sister Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn, TV's Joan of Arcadia). In Tokyo, Aubrey teams up with a journalist (Edison Chen), and they try to get to the bottom of some spooky occurrences. Meanwhile, three Tokyo schoolgirls go to a haunted house and have encounters with vengeful spirits. Also, the curse somehow spreads to people living in Chicago apartments.
Hollywoodland
This drama takes a fictionalized look at the real-life death of actor George Reeves. In the 1950s, Reeves became famous playing the title character in the popular TV series The Adventures of Superman, so it was big news when he was found dead of a gunshot. In the movie, private detective Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) deals with problems in his own life as he investigates the death of Reeves (Ben Affleck). He discovers Reeves had an affair with Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), wife of an MGM executive (Bob Hoskins).
February 13, 2007
The Departed
Martin Scorsese directed this character-driven crime drama that stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. Frank Costello (Nicholson) is a Boston mob boss the state police want to bring down. They give trooper Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) an elaborate cover, and he infiltrates Costello's inner circle. But Costello has a dirty cop, Colin Sullivan (Damon), looking out for his interests. The narrative engine is the conflict between Costigan and Sullivan, which is resolved in a climactic showdown.
Half Nelson
Ryan Gosling gives a terrific performance in this non-formulaic, hard-hitting drama. Dan Dunne (Gosling) is an idealistic, gifted white teacher at a shabby Brooklyn public junior high school. But he has a drug problem, and one day he's found under the influence by Drey (Shareeka Epps), a 13-year-old female African-American student. This leads to a friendship between Dan and Drey that is problematic. A third important character is the drug dealer Frank (Anthony Mackie), who has a peculiar relationship with Drey's family.
Marie Antoinette
Based on the book by Antonia Fraser, Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this biopic that stars Kirsten Dunst as the title character. The movie is about the two decades Marie Antoinette spent at Versailles and features extensive location shooting at the famous palace. Brought from Austria at age 14, she married the heir to the French throne and became queen at about 19. After reigning 15 years, she and the king were forced out of Versailles by an angry mob. The film is a study of royal court life before the Revolution.
School for Scoundrels
Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder star in this comedy, which is a remake of a 1960 British movie based on a book by Stephen Potter. Roger (Heder) is a wimpy guy who has a crush on his good-looking neighbor Amanda (Jacinda Barrett), but he's afraid to ask her out. He joins a class taught by Dr. P (Thornton) that is supposed to teach the students how to build up self-confidence. But when Dr. P starts to make advances toward Amanda, this spurs Roger into getting into a one-upmanship contest with his instructor.
More February DVD Releases on the Next Page
