Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Week of March 30th

18th & 19th Century England

With Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, Guy Ritchie brings us Sherlock Holmes this week, parlaying the adventures of the famous sleuth into summer blockbuster fare. As the pair close Watson's final case, ending in the arrest and hanging of the murderous Lord Blackthorn (Mark Strong), Watson leaves to be married and Holmes slinks into his vices. When Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) offers Holmes a new case, all of the clues point to Blackthorn plotting from beyond the grave... so Watson's final case is re-opened, and the reunited duo have to explain supernatural mysteries and resurrections that seem unsolvable by Holmes' means of reason and logic. With Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Caught and sentenced to death for grave robbing, Arthur Blake (Dominic Monaghan) spends his final night telling the tale of his sordid history to an interested priest (Ron Perlman) in I Sell the Dead. Though his story begins as a boy, when Larry Fessenden takes him on as an apprentice, the priest is more interested in his later career, as the graverobbers expanded into more unusual corpses, and he starts to tell the tales of vampires, zombies, and the other usual corpses that led them both to their last days.

1961

Written by Nick Hornby and set in England in the early 60s, An Education is the coming of age story of Jenny Mellor (Carey Mulligan), and the two paths she sees open to her: the first is to study the cello, English literature, French, and Latin, and attend Oxford; the second is offered by David (Peter Sarsgaard), the charming older man who offers her parties, art, music and trips to Paris. While her father (Alfred Molina) only wants her to be provided for and well connected, Jenny is torn between the fate of her Cambridge educated (but boring) teacher (Olivia Williams) and the high society (but dishonorable) life of the ignorant and ditzy Helen (Rosamund Pike), the consort of David's unsavory business partner (Dominic Cooper).

How to spell "Sequel"

Continuing the story from the first Alvin & the Chipmunks, Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel reunites Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gruber, and Jesse McCartney)... though Dave (Jason Lee) gets injured and sets the trio loose on L.A. The chipmunks think their stardom will give them the run of the town, but their old manager (David Cross) finds a way to top them and get his revenge: the Chipettes (Amy Poehler, Anna Faris, and Christina Applegate). On DVD and Blu Ray.

Cultural Uprisings

The origin story of the RAF, Germany's anti-imperialist group that fought against what they saw as a growing fascist state in the 1970s, The Baader Meinhof Complex dramatizes the group's beginnings in 1969, as Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Andreas Baader (Mortiz Bleibtreu) rebelled against a conservative government, declaring that the country's attempt at denazification had failed, and attacked the financial, police, and military institutions in Germany throughout the 70s and 80s. With Narja Uhl.

The documentary Rhyme & Reason is a historical overview of hip hop, featuring almost every star (rappers, MCs, beatboxers, breakers, artists) in the movement. The film recounts the birth of the movement in the Bronx, to the development of gangsta' rap, and the development of the culture as a money maker for major record labels.

Compassion via fisticuffs

Stuntwoman Diana Lee Inosanto, with countless stunt credits (including Sarah Michelle Gellar's body double in Buffy the Vampire Slayer), writes, directs, and stars in The Sensei. Set in the height of the AIDS panic in a small town in 1985, she is snubbed by her martial artist family because of her gender. When her family's school refuses to help a harassed and abused gay student defend himself, she sees the same kind of prejudice that influenced her own life, and helps the boy to defend himself, body and soul, against an intolerant town.

Mourning the death of his friend and failing at school, Yosuke stops when he sees the beautiful Eri sitting alone, but when he stops to talk to he, she's attacked by a giant, supernatural, chainsaw wielding monster in Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge. Fascinated by Eri, Yosuke accompanies her, night after night, as she travels to fight the same monster over and over again... but if the monster only battles Eri, and neither ever seems to win or lose, the mystery soon becomes about why she chooses to seek out a neverending battle with an indestructible monster.

[X]David Cross:
Mr. Show, Arrested Development
[X]Jason Lee:
Dreamcatcher, The Incredibles
[X]Justin Long:
Jeepers Creepers, Strange Wilderness
[X]Jesse McCartney:
Pizza, Horton Hears a Who
[X]Christina Applegate:
Anchorman, The Rocker
[X]Martina Gedeck:
The Good Shepherd, The Lives of Others
[X]Mortiz Bleibtreu:
Speed Racer, The Walker
[X]Narja Uhl:
What To Do In Case of Fire, Cherry Blossoms
[X]Nick Hornby:
About a Boy, High Fidelity
[X]Carey Mulligan:
Brothers, Public Enemies
[X]Peter Sarsgaard:
Garden State, Elegy
[X]Olivia Williams:
Rushmore, Flashbacks of a Fool
[X]Alfred Molina:
Chocolat, Silk
[X]Dominic Cooper:
The Duchess, History Boys
[X]Rosamund Pike:
Surrogates, The Libertine
[X]Dominic Monaghan:
The Lord of the Rings, Lost
[X]Larry Fessenden:
Session 9, The Brave One
[X]Ron Perlman:
The Devil's Tomb, City of Lost Children
[X]Louis Mandylor:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Necessary Roughness
[X]Guy Ritchie:
Snatch, RocknRolla
[X]Robert Downey Jr:
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, Chaplain
[X]Jude Law:
Gattaca, Breaking & Entering
[X]Rachel McAdams:
Red Eye, The Lucky Ones
[X]Mark Strong:
Sunshine, Stardust
[X]Eddie Marsan:
21 Grams, Hancock

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Week of March 23rd

Saturday, March 20th

Though new releases are usually released on Tuesdays, the new movie in the Twilight saga arrived on the new release wall this Saturday. New Moon continues the story of Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward's (Robert Pattinson) romance, as Edward and his family leave Forks, WA, abandoning Bella in hopes of keeping her safe. Heartbroken, Bella begins to live more and more recklessly, all the while growing closer to Jacob (Taylor Lautner)... but her relationships with both boys have dangers, both obvious and hidden, and she once again finds her life and love in peril. On DVD and Blu Ray.
[X]Kristen Stewart:
Adventureland, In the Land of Women
[X]Taylor Lautner:
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Cheaper by the Dozen 2

Family

Sandra Bullock won a Best Actress Oscar this year for her role in The Blind Side. Based on actual events, she plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, who became a foster mother to the 17-year-old Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron). Leigh Anne and her husband (Tim McGraw) pave the way for Oher's rise to fame in the NFL, helping him with his grades, and making him feel like he's part of a real family. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Wes Anderson's first PG film is and adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved Fantastic Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a natural at stealing chickens and evading predators, but pulling "one last job" means breaking a promise to his wife (Meryl Streep) and putting his whole community in danger. With a huge cast of characters, Fantastic Mr. Fox interweaves the lives of the Fox family and their entire underground community as they declare war on a trio of nasty farmers (led by Michael Gambon) in a game of one-upsmanship that includes knockout blueberries, rabid dogs, explosive cider, and a vicious rat security guard (Willem Dafoe). With Jason Schwartzman. On DVD and Blu Ray.


The third Free Willy sequel, Free Willy: Escape From Pirate Bay, where a young girl travels to South Africa to stay with her grandfather (Beau Bridges) and finds a baby orca. She names the whale Willy and begins a journey to find Willy's family before the world can take advantage of him. With Mike Falkow.



Ewan McGregor is a reporter who teams up with Jedi warrior Lynn Cassady (George Clooney) in order to get into Iraq in The Men Who Stare at Goats. As Lynn wanders through his mission in the desert, he recounts his history in an experimental Army unit led by Jeff Bridges, where troops attempted to pass through walls, read minds, and turn invisible. Their journey through Iraq might be based on a transcendent vision, and Lynn will only know his objective when he finds it, but the entire adventure is bound to make an amazing story. With Kevin Spacey. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Action director John Woo's first film since 2003 is the epic Red Cliff, starring Tony Leung as a heroic warrior in third century China. Released as both a 4-hour international version and a 2 1/2 hour overseas theatrical version, the story includes the massive battles that shaped the Eastern Han Dynasty, the movements of the leaders, empowers, and generals, and the larger stories of the smaller players on the battlefield. With Takeshi Kaneshiro and Zhao Wei. On DVD and Blu Ray.


Favorite son Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is shipped off to Afghanistan shortly after his black sheep brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) is released from prison in Brothers. When Sam is shot down and considered dead, Tommy tries to redeem himself by helping his brother's wife (Natalie Portman) and two little girls, and living up to the expectations of their parents (Sam Shepard and Mare Winningham). When Sam turns up alive, he comes home distant, paranoid, and suspecting the worst of his wife and Tommy. With Clifton Collins Jr.



New this week to Reckless Video's TV New Releases are the 3rd season of the acclaimed drama Mad Men, as well as The Prisoner miniseries, based on the British 60s series, where people are kept on mysterious island without explanation.
out explanation.

[X]Sandra Bullock:
Forces of Nature, All About Steve
[X]Tim McGraw:
Flicka, Four Christmases
[X]Quinton Aaron:
Be Kind, Rewind
[X]Jake Gyllenhaal:
Donnie Darko, Zodiac
[X]Natalie Portman:
Garden State, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium
[X]Tobey Maguire:
Pleasantville, Spider-Man
[X]Clifton Collins Jr:
Mindhunters, Boondock Saints II
[X]Bailee Madison:
Look, Phoebe in Wonderland
[X]Sam Shepard:
Felon, Thunderheart
[X]Mare Winningham:
Turner & Hooch, Swing Vote
[X]Wes Anderson:
The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
[X]Roald Dahl:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda
[X]Meryl Streep:
Dark Matter, Death Becomes Her
[X]Jason Schwartzman:
Rushmore, Funny People
[X]Michael Gambon:
Sleepy Hollow, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
[X]Willem Dafoe:
Inside Man, The Loveless
[X]Beau Bridges:
Jerry Maguire, Max Payne
[X]Mike Falkow:
Smokin Aces, The House Bunny
[X]Jeff Bridges:
The Fisher King, Iron Man
[X]Kevin Spacey:
Swimming with Sharks, Moon
[X]John Woo:
Hard Boiled, Face/Off
[X]Tony Leung:
Hero, Infernal Affairs
[X]Takeshi Kaneshiro:
The Returner, Chungking Express
[X]Zhao Wei:
So Close, Shaolin Soccer

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Week of March 16th

Disney (et al)

The Princess and the Frog is Disney's newest offering, starring Anika Noni Rose as a waitress working two jobs in New Orleans, hoping to save enough money to open her own restaurant. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she meets a prince (Bruno Campos) who ran afoul of a voodoo priest (Keith David) and has been turned into a frog. Any girl who knows anything about fairytales knows how to handle a frog prince... but the world isn't a storybook, and she might have a harder time dealing with princes and spells than she thought. On DVD and Blu Ray.

In the sleek and shiny future, a scientist (Nicolas Cage) rebuilds his lost son as a robot in Astro Boy. The young and innocent robot (Freddie Highmore) ends up on an adventure away from his father/creator, meeting a group of orphans and being taken in by their Fagin-like father figure (Nathan Lane). Astro's new family has a lot of use for a powerful (and naive) robot, but so does the military, who wants Astro's power and technology. With Bill Nighy.

Providing the first use of the word "tweenertainment" on the Reckless Video website, Bandslam follows Will (Gaelan Connell), an awkward teen, to New Jersey when his mom (Lisa Kudrow) relocates for a new job. With a fresh start in a new school, he befriends a standoffish bookworm but is fascinated by Vanessa Hudgens, an ex-cheerleader who's fronting a rock band with a lot to learn. Now Will has to keep his friendships alive while "managing" the band, getting them to win the school's battle-of-the-bands: Bandslam.



Nimrod Antal's Armored finds Iraq veteran Ty (Columbus Short) a new job at an armored car company, teaming up with seasoned veteran Mike (Matt Dillon) transporting huge sums of money. Ty goes along with Mike's plan to rob their own truck until something goes wrong, and Ty locks himself in the car... with the money. Now Mike has to break into their own armored car and handle the Ty situation, along with his team, including the professional Jean Reno, the trigger-happy Laurence Fishburn, the morally troubled Amaury Nolasco, and the skittish Skeet Ulrich. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Korean pop star Rain is a rogue ninja in Ninja Assassin, defying his master (Sho Kosugi) and fighting against the assassins that he once considered family. He teams up with a Europol agent (Naomie Harris) and helps her uncover the secret clan behind unsolvable political assassinations, against the will of her boss (Ben Miles). The hyper-violent battle between good and evil that ensues plays almost like an American version of Japanese splatter films like Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police.

A group of junkies try to pull off a new kind of heist in 1983 in High Life: they'll pose as repair men and rob an ATM. Led by Timothy Olyphant, the team of the thuggish Stephen McIntyre, the charming Rossif Sutherland, and the tech savvy Joe Anderson try to pull off a precision heist, but their volatile mix of conflicting personalities and controlled substances make them less than reliable.

Expanding on the idea of movies like Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project (incorporating "real" footage), The Fourth Kind stars Milla Jovovich as a doctor in therapy with Elias Koteas, trying to remember the details surrounding her husband's death. Living in Nome, Alaska, she begins to investigate other cases of memory loss, and though the local sheriff (Will Patton) questions her judgment and her sanity, she starts to suspect that her interviewees may have been victims of alien abduction.


Reuniting director Pedro Almodovar with actress Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces combines the style of classic film noir with Almodovar's signature, colorful look. Using flashbacks, the film bounces between present day and the early 90's, narrated by the blind writer who exists in the center of a story of love, jealousy, lust for power, and guilt.

Julianne Nicholson is a graduate student interviewing a series of subjects in Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, John Krasinski's directorial debut. Splitting time between her interviews (including Timothy Hutton, Corey Stoll, and Chris Messina) and the life outside her thesis project, her experience with the men in her life becomes colored by her recent breakup.

Set over several months in the French capital, Paris intertwines the stories of Romain Duris, a dancer in need of a heart transplant, Juliette Binoche, a social worker and single mother, Fabrice Luchini, an academic and expert on the history of Paris, Albert Dupontel, a motorcycle enthusiast and market vendor, Melanie Laurent, a student who begins receiving mysterious messages, and many more players. As each of their stories unfold, they color the details of the other characters' stories, eventually fleshing out the complete story.

Matthew Broderick is the world's unhappiest man in Wonderful World: a former children's folk singer who seems to hate everyone. When his only friend, his Senegalese roommate Ibou (Michael K. Williams), takes ill and Ibou's sister (Sanaa Lathan) shows up to help out, the apartment is strangely less negative, and could change all of their lives.

Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are an estranged New York power couple in Did You Hear about the Morgans?, but when they witness a murder, the two of them are sent into the Witness Protection Program... which will keep them safe from the killer, but not from each other. Moved to Wyoming and taken in by Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen, they're strangers in a strange land of rodeos and small town values, but time together might remind them of why they were together in the first place.


New this week to Reckless Video's TV New Releases are the 2nd Season of Breaking Bad, the 8th Season of the OCD PI procedural Monk, BBC's Wild China, and the 17th collection of Mystery Science Theater 3000, with The Crawling Eye, The Beatniks, Blood Waters of Dr. Z, and The Final Sacrifice (featuring the legendary Zap Rowsdower).

[X]Nimrod Antal:
Kontroll, Vacancy
[X]Matt Dillon:
Albino Alligator, Old Dogs
[X]Jean Reno:
The Da Vinci Code, The Professional
[X]Laurence Fishburn:
The Matrix, Apocalypse Now
[X]Amaury Nolasco:
Prison Break, 2 Fast 2 Furious
[X]Skeet Ulrich:
As Good As It Gets, Scream
[X]Columbus Short:
Quarantine, This Christmas

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Week of March 9th

Oscar Winners

Here's the quick fix on this year's Oscar Winners, and where you can find them at Reckless Video.
Best Picture The Hurt Locker
Director Kathryn Bigelow
The Hurt Locker
Lead Actor Jeff Bridges
Crazy Heart
(no release date yet)
Lead Actress Sandra Bullock
The Blind Side
Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz
Inglorious Basterds
Supporting Actress Mo'Nique
Precious
Animated Feature Up
Documentary Feature The Cove

Life, and what you make of it

Mo'Nique won a Supporting Actress Oscar this week for her role as the dysfunctional mother of her pregnant teenage daughter in Precious. Precious' life is unbearably hard, but her pregnancy leads to her suspension from school and her beginning to attend an alternative school, where her new teacher (Paula Patton) inspires her to try for a better life, and a social worker (Mariah Carey) attempts to help with the tragedy of her home life. Throughout her heartbreaking drama, Precious must choose between the life she's always known and an untested future where she may be loved and appreciated. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Up in the Air is Oscar nominee Jason Reitman's newest film, where companies hire George Clooney to fly out to fire their employees face-to-face. He lives his life free of attachments, spending most of his time on planes, and most of his relationships are casual and temporary. His ideal life is threatened when his boss (Jason Bateman) orders him to train Anna Kendrick, a young hire who's developed a way to fire people over the internet. With his lifestyle in danger, he has to decide whether or not to spend his life with one carry on bag and re-evaluate his on-the-road relationship with Vera Farmiga. With Melanie Lynskey. On DVD and Blu Ray.

A journalist (James Caviezel) stranded in Iraq is approached by Shohreh Aghdashloo who tells the story of her niece in The Stoning of Soraya M. Soraya (Mozhan Marno) had become an inconvenience to her husband (Navid Negahban), who found a way to be free of her without refunding her dowry money: he accuses her of adultery, punishable by death. Her aunt sends the story of Soraya's cruel fate out into the world.

Filming documentary-style, a man behind a camera has fifteen hours to get his brother (Shawn Andrews) into rehab in Fix. Making a documentary with his girlfriend (Olivia Wilde) about the victims of drum abuse, the three end up making a very different kind of movie, led on a wild ride from the slums of LA to the mansions of Hollywood.

Tales

An alien descends on an unsuspecting community in Planet 51... but in this case, the alien is an American astronaut (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson). Though the planet is inhabited by green creatures with antennae, they live very 1950's suburban American lives. Two teenage friends (Justin Long and Sean William Scott) discover that the man from NASA isn't an alien invader and stop a paranoid general (Gary Oldman) from taking drastic measures against an invasion from Earth. With Jessica Biel.

Lasse Hallstrom's Hachi: A Dog's Tale stars Richard Gere as Parker Wilson, who finds a puppy and brings the dog home. Though his wife (Joan Allen) initially objects to Hachi, the family grows to love to dog, who meets Parker at the train station every day as he returns home from work. The story of Hachi and the family is told in hindsight, as their daughter (Sarah Roemer) recalls their powerful connection with their adopted puppy.




From the director of Wild Hogs, Disney's Old Dogs stars John Travolta and Robin Williams as friends who take on the care of 7-year-old twins at the request of their mother (Kelly Preston). Since they have no idea how to deal with kids, the men embark on a series of comic misadventures while trying to keep their lives in order, but eventually learn the meaning of family. With Seth Green and Bernie Mac.

The newest Barbie movie is Barbie: A Mermaid Tale, in which Barbie discovers she's a mermaid, and has to go on an undersea adventure with her dolphin friends to rescue her mother.


The two new documentaries this week are Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, with Moore confronting Wall Street and the banking industry in the wake of the housing crisis and the economic bailout, and Joe Berlinger's Crude, about the long term lawsuit against Chevron that threatens the lives of 30,000 people living in the Ecuadorian rainforest.


The follow-up to the cult hit, Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day reunites Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus as the Saints as they come out of hiding and return to Boston when they're framed for murdering a neighborhood priest. Teaming up with Clifton Collins Jr, the boys kill their way through a wide assortment of criminals to get to the truth, until their vendetta grows so infamous their father (Billy Connolly) can't ignore the bloodshed. On DVD and Blu Ray.

The second season of In Plain Sight is new this week to Reckless Video's TV New Releases.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Week of March 2nd

Not just kids stuff

Ponyo is Hayao Miyazaki's newest film, about a fish-girl who escapes her father's underwater castle to see more of the world... discovering humans and making friends. When her father finds her and takes her home, she's changed: she wishes she was human, and she wants to be called Ponyo, the name her human friend gave her... so Ponyo begins the kind of quest that only Miyazaki can film, beautifully animated, and full of magic, innocence and wonder. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Spike Jonze's first PG-rated movie is Where the Wild Things Are, adapted from the beloved children's book, about an angry boy named Max. Though he occasionally acts out, Max becomes a "wild thing" when his mother (Catherine Keener) won't play with him, and sails away to an island where he can be king of the wild things. The creatures of the island have a lot in common with the 9-year-old, including the tantrum prone Carol (James Gandolfini) and the easily bullied Alexander (Paul Dano), but an island that can have a wild rumpus can be a scary place for a boy, too. With Mark Ruffalo, Catherine O'Hara, Forest Whitaker, and Chris Cooper. On DVD and Blu Ray.

The sequel to the 2006 animated movie, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey continues George's story as he befriends Kayla, a baby elephant in a circus. George and The Man In The Yellow Hat travel across the country as they try and reunite Kayla with her family in California.

 

The Ultimate Disaster

Roland Emmerich satisfies his penchant for destroying landmarks by wiping out the entire planet in 2012. When a geologist (Chiwetel Ejiofor) uncovers a phenomenon that will destroy the world with storms and floods, the governments begin working on a solution, but the public is kept in the dark. John Cusack is camping with his children when he meets a conspiracy theorist (Woody Harrelson) who tells him the end is nigh: now he has to get his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and race to safety as the world falls apart, slowly at first, and then in a series of epic disasters. With Oliver Platt. On DVD and Blu Ray.


Drama

After years settled down as a housewife, Pippa (Robin Wright Penn) begins to buckle under her suburban life with her aging husband (Alan Arkin) in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Showing her past as she leaves her dysfunctional family (Tom Guinee and Maria Bello) to move in with her aunt (Robin Weigert) and her aunt's girlfriend (Julianne Moore) who exposes her to an uninhibited, darker world... a past that colors her present, which collides with younger, even more dysfunctional members of her new life. With Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. On DVD and Blu Ray.

 

Comedy

Jared Hess's Gentlemen Broncos stars Michael Angarano as a teenage novelist who attends a writer's convention, only to have his story stolen by a legendary science fiction writer (Jermaine Clement) who has run out of ideas. As the wronged unknown fights against the famous writer, the hero (Sam Rockwell) of their stories shifts between their realities, eventually being adapted into a zero-budget film.

Loosely adapted from the anecdotal book, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell stars Jesse Bradford and Matt Czuchry as a pair of unrestrained friends who crash a bachelor party. They shanghai the groom (Geoff Stults) and launch a night of wild debauchery... and they attempt to make up for destroying the wedding by providing a series of sex-comedy romp antics.

Playing over-the-top with another exploitation genre, Bitch Slap aims to do for the "girls with guns" rebel fugitives what Black Dynamite did for blaxploitation. With a setup that would make Russ Meyer proud, Bitch Slap offers up girls, guns, violence, skin, and an over-the-top scheme that might leave reality behind altogether.


New this week to Reckless Video's TV New Releases are the first three seasons of the comedy-procedural Psych and the 2nd series of BBC's Pie in the Sky. We also have the SyFy miniseries Alice, a twist on the Wonderland mythology where 150 years have passed since Alice last visited the kingdom.