Video releases 05/04
Billie
The Last Samurai:(3 stars) Set in Japan during the 1870s, this martial arts
epic tells the story of Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), a respected
American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's
first army in the art of modern warfare. As the Emperor attempts to eradicate
the ancient Imperial Samurai warriors in preparation for more Westernized and
trade-friendly government policies, Algren finds himself unexpectedly impressed
and influenced by his encounters with the Samurai, which places him at the
center of a struggle between two eras and two worlds, with only his own sense
of honor to guide him. Director: Edward Zwick. Stars: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe,
William Atherton, Chad Lindberg, Masato Harada, Ray Goodshall Sr., Billy
Connolly, Tony Goldwyn. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 154 min., Action, Box office
gross: $105.600 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVDyes
Girl With a Pearl Earring: (3 stars) Delft, Holland, 1665. After her father, a
tile painter, is blinded in a kiln explosion, seventeen-year-old Griet
(Scarlett Johansson) must work to support her family. She becomes a maid in the
house of Johannes Vermeer and gradually attracts the master painter's
attention. Though worlds apart in upbringing, education and social standing,
Vermeer recognizes Griet's intuitive understanding of color and light and
slowly draws her into the mysterious world of his paintings. Vermeer is a
perfectionist, often taking months to finish a painting. His shrewd
mother-in-law, Maria Thins, struggles to maintain the family's lavish lifestyle
on the income from his painstakingly meager output. Seeing that Griet inspires
Vermeer, she takes the dangerous decision to allow their clandestine
relationship to develop. Plunged into a chaotic Catholic household run by
Vermeer's volatile wife Catharina, surrounded by an ever-increasing brood of
children, Griet is increasingly at risk of exposure or worse. Alone and
unprotected, Griet contends with the attentions of Pieter, a local butcher boy,
and Vermeer's patron, the wealthy and lascivious Master van Ruijven, who is
frustrated that his money does not buy him control over the artist. While Griet
falls increasingly under Vermeer's spell, she cannot be sure of his feelings
for her. The Machiavellian van Ruijven, sensing the intimacy between master and
maid, gleefully contrives a commission for Vermeer to paint Griet alone. The
result will be one of the greatest paintings ever created, but at what cost?
Director: Peter Webber. Stars: Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkerson,
Judy Parfitt, Cillian Murphy. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Drama, Box
office gross: $10.428 million, Lions Gate, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD:yes
Calendar Girls: (3 stars) Critically acclaimed comedy inspired by the
remarkable true story of a group of ordinary women who changed the world one
month at a time by taking it all off for a good cause. The Women's Institute in
Great Britain encourages the ancient skills of jammaking, flower pressing,
knitting and baking. But when a friend's husband dies of leukemia, Chris (Helen
Mirren) enlists the support of her fellow members in a fund-raising initiative
for the local hospital. They decide to take the annual WI calendar, normally
featuring landscapes or flowers, and create something a little different.
Behind the baked goods, the apple pressing and the flower arranging, the women
are completely nude. Before they know it, the women are hitting the headlines,
while they get up the nerve to bare it all. Amidst the hype, the friendship
between Chris and Annie is put to the test. Director: Nigel Cole. Stars: Helen
Mirren, Julie Walters, John Alderton, Linda Bassett, Annette Crosbie, Philip
Glenister, Ciaran Hinds, Celia Imrie, Geraldine James, Penelope Wilton. 2003,
CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 108 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $21.529 million,
Buena Vista, $24.99 VHS SRP. DVD: yes
The Triplets of Belleville: (3 stars) Wildly inventive, visionary and
sophisticated animated film that caught the world's attention with its classic,
visually-stunning style, eccentric satirical humor, rich imagination crowded
with colorful characters and inspired musical score when it premiered at last
year's Festival de Cannes. Voted Best Picture on more than 50 Year's Best
critics' lists including The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, plus
numerous worldwide accolades including two Academy Award nominations for Best
Animated Feature and Best Original Song. Adopted by his grandmother, Madame
Souza, Champion is a lonely little boy. Noticing that this lad is never happier
than on a bicycle, Madame Souza puts him through a rigorous training process.
Years go by and Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now he is ready to enter
the world-famous cycling race, the Tour de France. However, during this cycling
contest two mysterious, square-shouldered henchmen kidnap Champion. Madame
Souza and her faithful dog Bruno set out to rescue him. Their quest takes them
across the ocean to the teeming metropolis of Belleville, where they encounter
the renowned "Triplets of Belleville," three eccentric female music-hall divas
from the 30's who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing.
Thanks to Bruno's brilliant sense of smell, the motley sleuths are soon on to
Champion's trail, following the clues to an underground betting parlor -- now
the chase is on. Director: Sylvain Chomet. Voices of Michele Caucheteux,
Jean-Claude Donda, Monica Viegas, Michel Robin. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13,
81 min., Animated, Box office gross: $3.000 million, Columbia Tritar, No VHS
SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: yes
Chasing Liberty: (2 stars) Eighteen-year-old Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) just
wants the American dream: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the
very least, she wants the freedom to live like any other teenager. But as the
only child of the President of the United States, every detail of Anna's life
is constantly monitored by the media, the public and her very protective
parents -- backed up by a battalion of Secret Service agents dedicated to
safeguard her from danger, including the perils of first dates. While on a
diplomatic trip to Europe with her parents, Anna exacts a promise from her
father for a rare evening out alone, unescorted by the usual security detail.
But when over-protective Dad has a last-minute change of heart and reneges,
Anna decides it's time to take matters into her own hands, ditches the agents
and goes on the run. In her wild escape, incognito Anna meets charming Brit Ben
Calder (Matthew Goode), who aids her European getaway. Reveling in her newfound
independence, Anna decides to take Europe by storm, accompanied by Ben and
always a step ahead of her zealous bodyguards. As her impromptu European
adventure takes her farther away from a life of protocol and draws her closer
to her dashing young traveling companion, she dreads the day she has to tell
Ben who she really is and go back home. But Ben has a secret of his own -- he's
really a secret service agent. For Many Moore fans only. Director: Andy Cadiff.
Stars: Mandy Moore, Matthew Goode, Jeremy Piven, Annabelle Sciorra, Caroline
Goodall, Mark Harmon. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 111 min., Romantic-Comedy,
Box office gross: $12.189 million, Warner, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD:
yes
Elephant: (3 stars) Winner of the Palme d'Or and Best Director prizes at the
2003 Festival de Cannes, Gus Van Sant's realistic drama takes us inside an
American high school on one ordinary day that rapidly turns tragic. As the
story unfolds, the kids go about their day, filled with classwork, football,
gossip and socializing. With each student, we see high school through a
different experience, a new lens. And as these experiences range from friendly
and innocent to traumatic and disturbing, young lives shift from light to
darkness with surreal speed. A controversial look at the Columbine tragedy.
Director: Gus Van Sant. Stars: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias
McConnell, Jordan Taylor, Carrie Finklea, Nicole George, Brittany Mountain.
2003, CC, MPAA rating: R, 81 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.227 million,
HBO, $19.95 VHS SRP. DVD: yes
Peter Pan: (2 stars) For the first time, a boy -- Jeremy Sumpter -- stars in
the title role, opposite Jason Isaacs as Captain James Hook. The story begins
on a chilly night in buttoned-up Edwardian London as Wendy Darling (Rachel
Hurd-Wood) mesmerizes her younger brothers with tales of swordplay,
swashbuckling and Captain Hook, the legendary pirate who fears nothing but a
ticking clock. But a clock is ticking for Wendy, too. Her father has decreed
that it's time for her to grow up. After tonight, no more stories. She's to be
groomed for womanhood and marriage by strict Aunt Millicent (Lynn Redgrave).
Unknown to the Darlings, Peter Pan loves Wendy's stories, too, and travels a
great distance to hear them. His appearance in their nursery that night, along
with a jealous little fairy called Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier), triggers an
awfully big adventure for Wendy and her brothers. Following him out the window
like a small flock of birds, the children swoop over London's moonlit rooftops,
through a galaxy of radiant planets and stars, to the magical Neverland, where
they begin an exhilarating new life free of grown-up rules with Peter and the
Lost Boys in their secret underground home. Confronting depraved pirates,
malicious mermaids, a monstrous crocodile and, worst of all, the vicious steel
claw dangling from Hook's right arm, Wendy and her brothers find out what
they're made of. And the ongoing battle between Peter and Hook escalates to a
thrilling climax, played out against the fantastical backdrop of the enchanted
world of Neverland. Director: P.J. Hogan. Stars: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter,
Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, Olivia Williams, Harry Newell,
Freddie Popplewell, Ludivine Sagnier. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 113 min.,
Family, Box office gross: $48.000 million, Universal, $24.98 VHS SRP. DVD: yes
Tomorrow: (3 stars) Poignant tale based on the short story by William Faulkner
and scripted by Horton Foote. Robert Duvall, in one of his best performances
ever, plays Jackson Fentry, a young man who leaves his father's farm to work at
a local sawmill. He rescues a young pregnant woman who has been abandoned by
her husband and family, and the two fall in love. Shot in black and white to
convey the feel of the Depression-era South. Director: Joseph Anthony. Stars:
Robert Duvall, Olga Berlin, Sudie Bond. 1972, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 103 min.,
Drama, Home Vision Entertainment. DVD: Only.
The Missing Gun: A mile-a-minute action-thriller that played the 2003 Sundance
Film Festival. Artistically cutting-edge, the film marked the first time a
feature was ever digitally produced in mainland China. Its frantic pace,
wall-to-wall action and oddball cast of characters have earned writer- director
Lu Chuan the title of "the Chinese Guy Ritchie." A quirky tale about an
exemplary small-town cop, an honest but distracted family man whose stability
vanishes when he awakes following a drunken wedding celebration to the
horrifying reality that his service weapon is missing. Facing dismissal and
utter humiliation, he sets out to track down the gun and traces a path through
a tangle of quirky characters until suddenly things turn tragic as his first
love turns up murdered and the fatal bullet appears to be from his gun. This
bittersweet story is about one man's quest for redemption and incorporates
moments of black comedy, murder mystery and a paranoid odyssey backed by a
frenzied pace and high-energy music. In China, the only thing more dangerous
than having a gun it losing it. Director: Lu Chuan. Stars: Wen Jiang, Shi
Liang, Jing Ning, Liu Xiaoning. 2003, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 90 min.,
Action-Thriller, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: yes
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