New DVDs
The Celebration, shot with a small video camera and transferred to 35mm film, concerns a black-tie birthday gathering for a family patriarch, Helge (Henning Moritzen), which erodes into a battle after long-suppressed secrets are revealed and the chance to settle old scores presents itself. Among the grievances are an accusation of incest and the responsibility for the death of a child--gruesome stuff, but Vinterberg doesn't characterize the partying crowd's reaction in quite the way one might have expected. In fact, the whole of The Celebration is about unexpected perspectives and vantage points emerging from out of nowhere, largely due to Vinterberg's free hand at editing the film in such a way as to yank truth from every corner.
Harold & Kumar go to White Castle
Rated R.
John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula GarceĢs, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Reynolds, Fred Willard.
Two twenty-somthing stoner roommates, one a Korean-American investment banker, Harold and the other, an Indian-American medical school candidate, Kumar, go through a life changing journey. They are on a quest to satisfy their cravings for burgers and spend the night roaming the state of New Jersey in search of White Castle hamburgers running into one screwy obstacle after another.
Rated R for strong graphic violence, language and some drug use.
Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Ben Foster, Jonathan Tucker, Marshall Allman, Michelle Horn, Jimmy Bennett, Tina Lifford, Kim Coates.
An ex-LAPD cop turned small town sheriff finds himself in the middle of a hostage situation. A cop has been shot, and a man and his two kids are being held hostage. While he is dealing with this, his family is kidnapped.
MPAA rating: R; for language including some sexual references.
John Travolta, Scarlett Johansson, Gabriel Macht, Deborah Kara Unger.
An estranged teenage girl returns to her family home only to discover she has an unexpected roommate; her late mother's lover, a boozy academic who's slowly drinking himself to death.
Rated PG-13. Violence. Some disturbing images. Thematic material and language.
Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman.
Frankie Dunn is a former boxing manager, who initially refuses to train Maggie due to her gender and age. With her talent and his coaching the spirited young fighter rises through the ranks of women's boxing, the pair form a touching bond in the process.
MPAA rating: PG13.
In German with optional English subtitles.
Katja Riemann, Maria Schrader, Martin Feifel, Jurgen Vogel, Fedja van Huet.
After the death of her father, Hannah becomes concerned with the strange behavior of her mother. As her mother's troubled childhood is revealed, Hannah realizes how little she ever knew.
Rated R. Zombie violence/gore and language.
Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Nick Frost, Dylan Moran, Billy Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Jessica Stevenson.
There comes a day in every man's life when he has to get off the couch... and kill some zombies. When flesh eating zombies go on the hunt for a bite to eat, it is up to slacker Shaun and his best pal Ed to save their friends and family from becoming the next entree.
Un long dimanche de fiancailles = a very long engagement
MPAA rating: R; for violence and sexuality.
French dialogue, English, French or Spanish subtitles; closed-captioned.
Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Pierre Becker, Dominique Bettenfeld, Clovis Cornillac, Marion Cotillard, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Julie Depardieu, Tcheky Karyo, Jodie Foster.
Mathilde is waiting desperately for her fiance to return from the war. When bad news arrives she refuses to believe he is dead. Instead, she begins her own investigation into his infantry, hiring a private detective and piecing together his war stories.