DVD's Summer 2011
The Beaver Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster Plagued by his own demons, Walter Black was once a successful toy executive and family man who now suffers from depression. No matter what he tries, Walter can't seem to get himself back on track...until a beaver hand puppet enters his life.
Biutiful Hanaa Bouchaib, Javier Bardem. A man on the wrong side of the law struggles to provide for his children on the dangerous streets of Barcelona. As fate encircles him, he learns to accept the realities of life, whether good, bad, or biutiful. Based on a story by Alejandro González Iñárritu.
Blue Valentine John Doman, Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling. An honest, moving and uninhibited love story about a young married couple who have grown apart, takes one night away from their daughter to try to save their relationship. (Note: provocative scenes alternately intimate and intense.).
Casino Jack Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston, Jon Lovitz. High-rolling excess and outrageous escapades are all in a day's work for Jack Abramoff as he goes to outrageous lengths to promote the Indian gambling industry, earning him the nickname 'Casino Jack.' Jack and his womanizing protégé Michael Scanlon enlist a dimwitted business partner for an illegal scheme; they find themselves ensnared in a web of greed and murder.
The Company Men Alan Cumming, Anthony LaPaglia, Denis Leary, Sigourney Weaver. After helping a Russian dancer defect to the United States, an English teacher becomes a C.I.A. agent and for his first mission he is sent to Cuba. There he "starts" the Bay of Pigs invasion, but not before trying to kill Castro first. His next mission is to gather intelligence from a country who didn't know its own name - Vietman.
The Conspirator James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood. The film covers the events in Washington after Abraham Lincoln's assassination as seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State.
Due Date Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx. Expectant first-time father Peter Highman looks forward to his new child's due date five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at his wife's side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when an encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan on a cross-country trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, many friendships and Peter's last nerve.
Exporting Raymond Phil Rosenthal, considered an expert in his country having created one of the most popular television shows of all time, travels to a foreign land to help people who don't seem to want his help. Rosenthal joins forces with Hollywood studio Sony Pictures Television to recreate "Everybody Loves Raymond" for Russian TV audiences as "Everybody Loves Kostya," and finds himself lost in Moscow, lost in his mission, lost in translation. Documentary
Jane Eyre Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench. Another recreation of the novel by Charlotte Bronte.
Limitless Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel. Eddie Morra, a burnt-out writer, discovers a top-secret pill that unlocks 100% of his brain's capacity. He instantly acquires mind-bending talents and mesmerizing visions that bring him big money, beautiful women, and limitless success.
The Lincoln Lawyer Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe. Michael 'Mick' Haller is a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter-variety criminals, Mick unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime. Based on the book by Michael Connelly.
Miral Hiam Abbass, Freida Pinto. From the director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly comes Miral, a story of four women whose lives intertwine in the starkly human search for justice, hope and reconciliation amid a world overshadowed by conflict, rage and war in the war-torn Jerusalem of 1948 when an orphanage for refugee children quickly becomes home to 2000 orphans. In 1988 one of the children is 17 year old Miral who arrived at the orphanage 10 years earlier, following her mother's tragic death. On the cusp of the Intifada resistance, Miral is assigned to teach at a refugee camp where she falls for a fervent political activist and finds herself in a personal battle that mirrors the greater dilemma around her.
Morning Glory Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton. For Becky, running a TV show in New York City was the big break she dreamed of, until star co-anchors Mike and Colleen declare an all-out, on-air war. Making the show work with its cast of eccentric characters and outrageous story angles will take a major miracle, but Becky is ready to rise and outshine.
The Music Never Stopped J.K. Simmons, Lou Taylor Pucci. An overly critical father gets a unique opportunity to reconnect with his estranged son, if he can only embrace the music that once divided them in this uplifting family drama inspired by Dr. Oliver Sacks' case study "The Last Hippie."
Nova: Japan’s Killer QuakeThe Other Woman Natalie Portman, Lisa Kudrow. A woman whose marriage began as an extramarital affair tries to forge a bond with her stepson after her infant daughter dies unexpectedly.
Phil Ochs: There but for Fortune Over the course of a meteoric music career that spanned two turbulent decades, Phil Ochs sought the bright lights of fame and social justice in equal measure. From youthful idealism to rage to pessimism, the arc of Ochs's life paralleled that of the times, and the anger, satire, and righteous indignation that drove his music also drove him to dark despair. A timely and relevant tribute to an unlikely American hero.
Poetry Jeong-hie Yun, Kim Hi-Ra. A sixty-something woman, faced with a crippling medical diagnosis and the discovery of a heinous family crime, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class. Lee Chang-dong's follow-up to his acclaimed Secret Sunshine is a masterful study of the subtle empowerment - and moral compass - of an elderly woman.
The Resident Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Juliet, a beautiful doctor, has found the perfect New York apartment to start a new life after separating from her husband. It's got spacious rooms, a spectacular view, and a handy, handsome landlord. But there are secrets behind every wall and terror in every room as Juliet gets the unnerving feeling that she is not alone.
The Royal Wedding: William and CatherineSome Mother’s Son Helen Mirren, Fionnula Flanaghan, Aidan Gillen. Based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike in a Britain prison, in which IRA prisoner Bobby Sands led a protest against the treatment of IRA prisoners as criminals rather than as prisoners of the war.
Source Code Jake Gyllenhaal, Jeffrey Wright, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga. When Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of an experimental government program called the 'Source Code' that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last eight minutes of his life. Armed with the task of identifying the bomber of a Chicago commuter train, Colter must relive the incident over and over again, gathering clues until he can solve the mystery and prevent an even deadlier second terrorist attack.
South Riding David Morrissey, Anna Maxwell Martin. A PBS miniseries based on Winifred Holtby's novel about a fiery young headmistress Sarah Burton brings her modern ideas to the conservative girls' school in depression-era Yorkshire, sparking conflict — and attraction — with Robert Carne, a stubborn, brooding landowner mired in a troubled past. Sarah inspires her girls to think for themselves, trying to craft a bright future for Lydia Holly, a gifted scholarship student from the squalid slums. Outside of school, she finds an ally in Joe Astell, an advocate of progress and of Sarah. But nothing is so simple in the South Riding, where corruption can taint the greater good and passion can subvert political ideals.
The Tempest Alfred Molina, Helen Mirren, Chris Cooper. This modern retelling of William Shakespeare's final masterpiece is an exciting, mystical, and magical fantasy. Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge.
Unknown January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Liam Neeson, Frank Langella Dr. Martin Harris awakens after a car accident in Berlin to discover that his wife suddenly doesn't recognize him and another man has assumed his identity. He turns to an unlikely ally, plunging furtherto a deadly mystery that has him questioning his sanity, his identity, and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth.
Wildest Dream George Mallory was obsessed with becoming the first person to conquer the untouched Mount Everest. He was last seen 800 feet below the summit in 1924, before the clouds rolled in and he disappeared into legend. His death stunned the world. Seventy years later, climber Conrad Anker's life became intertwined with Mallory's, when he found his frozen body with all his belongings intact. The only thing missing was a photograph of his wife, Ruth, which Mallory had promised to place on the summit. Featured voices: Natasha Richardson, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson.
Winter in Wartime Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick van Wageningen. In Nazi-occupied Holland
a thirteen-year-old Michiel is drawn into the Resistance when he aids a wounded British paratrooper. Wartime's harsh reality encroaches on childhood innocence as Michiel confronts good and evil, courage and duplicity, and his own burden of responsibility
hton Meester, Andi MacDowell, is loosely based on the book Headhunters by Jules Bass about four middle-aged 
women from New Jersey who are bored and looking for husbands and decide to vacation in Monte Carlo posing as wealthy women. Wearing rented designer clothes and jewels, they enter the world of the rich and famous and are immediately surrounded by 4 handsome, suave men. Predictably the men are looking the same thing. In the film,however, the characters are 18-year old girls sent to Europe as a graduation gift. The trip soon proves to be disastrous when one of the girls is mistaken for a British socialite and whisked off to Monte Carlo for a charity ball, auction, and the chance for international romance. However, when a million-dollar necklace goes missing, they must scramble to find it before the auction is ruined and their identities are exposed. 
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan written by Lisa See opens July 15 and stars Bing Bing, Gianna Jun, Vivian Wu, Hugh Jackman. A beautiful book with rich images that tells the story of Lily and Snow Flower and their lives in 19th-century rural China exposing the practice of foot-binding and how women communicated through nu shu, a secret language that helped them deal with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women. While marriage drew them apart, the women remained close exchanging messages written on a fan. In the end, Lily who is 80, has outlived her dear friend, her husband and her children and quietly watches the next generation of women in her home struggle to maintain the intimacy of childhood friendships in the face of demanding careers, complicated love lives, and a relentlessly evolving Shanghai.
ars Kristin Scott Thomas, Aidan Quinn Melusine Mayance. The story is told in two time frames. In present day, an American-born journalist is working on a magazine story about the 1942 Paris roundups and deportations of thousands of Jewish families and discovers Sarah, whose family was among those deported to the camps. During this period, the Vichy government, collaborating with the Nazis, arrested 77,000 Jews sending them to the atrocious Velodrome d'Hiver detention facility in Paris then on to Auschwitz. Both the book and the film, through the story of Sarah and her brother Thomas, exposes this little know event called Vel’ d’Hiv Police Roundup. 
ant of the Apes, originally written by Pierre Boulle, has been re-released as a film with yet another twist. We all remember the 1968 film staring Charlton Heston about a space ship that landed on a planet inhabited by apes.. The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, scheduled to open Aug 5, stars James Franco and John Lithgow. This version centers around a medical team working on a cure for Alzheimer's. Their first test subject Caesar, a lab ape, undergoes the "cure" that genetically modifies his way of thinking creating a new breed of ape with human-like intelligence. Caesar learns rapidly, but human authority continues to be his nemesis. Breaking free, Caesar releases the cure to the other apes. Millions of apes begin to rally and revolute and soon war breaks out between humans and apes. There is only one who is able to stop the revolution. This is not quite how the original book and film went but it is a modern twist on an old classic.
Help written by Kathryn Stockett, due out Aug 12, stars Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Mary Steenburgen, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Cicely Tyson and Sissy Spacek. This long await film adapted from the novel is set in Mississippi during the 1960s. When a southern society girl returns home from college determined to become a writer, she turns her friends' lives as well as the town upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families thereby exposing the unspoken code of rules and behavior of the old south. 
s out Aug 10 starring Anne Hathaway. Patricia Clarkson, Jim Sturgess. Nichols wrote both the book and the film script about a young couple who spend their college graduation night together, and over the next two decades, key moments of their relationship are experienced over several July 15ths. This long timeline allows us to explore various different pop-culture eras and the thrust of the book is similar to When Harry Met Sally. A working-class girl of principle and ambition dreams of making the world a better place while the wealthy charmer dreams that the world will be his playground. Through friendship and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears they realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along.
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