ZODIAC
Release Date: July 24
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny
Director: David Fincher
Length: 158 minutes
I the late ’60s a serial killer dubbed the Zodiac terrorized Northern California. Much like the Son of Sam a decade later, he sent taunting letters and cryptic messages to the press. He was never caught. The films stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Robert Graysmith, who was a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle at the time and who later wrote the true-crime book “Zodiac,” which is the basis for the movie.
“Zodiac” is highlighted by fine performances, especially from Robert Downey Jr. as Paul Avery, the alcoholic reporter for the Chronicle. But the movie suffers from a lack of focus. For about the first two hours, the film follows the investigation of the Zodiac murders. The purported lead character, Graysmith, merely “looms” around the action and has nothing of significance to do. The killings stop and the investigation goes nowhere. Enter Graysmith and the second part of this unintentional double feature. Graysmith, obsessed with the case, begins his own investigation, which leads him to write his true crime book. I found myself uninterested after the first investigation and couldn’t wait for the second one to end.
URCHIN From first-time director John Harlacher, “Urchin” is an urban fantasy that follows the quest of a homeless boy from the underground world of Scum City. | $17.99
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Season 2) This six-disc set collects all the second season episodes of the Linda Hamilton – Ron Perlman fantasy series. | $32.99
THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2 More gratuitous violence from those cannibal mutants in the desert. | $18.99
GUNSMOKE (Season 1) The classic and long-running TV Western “Gunsmoke” hits DVD in this six-disc, 39-episode set from Paramount Home Video. | $26.99
DEAD SILENCE
Release Date: June 26
Starring: Ryan Kwaten, Donnie Wahlberg
Director: James Wan
Length: 91 minutes
Plot holes sink what could have been a classic ghost tale. After his wife is murdered, Jamie Ashen (Ryan Kwaten) returns to his spooky and fog-drenched hometown, where he uncovers the mystery of Mary Shaw, a dead ventriloquist who sought to create the perfect doll. Donnie Wahlberg co-stars as the incredulous cop who suspects Jamie of murdering his wife, and who, for some reason, constantly shaves his face with an electric razor. Kwaten is uninteresting but Wahlberg and his electic razor add some personality. There are plenty of creepy moments, most of which come via doll heads slowly turning or the face of Mary Shaw in the shadows. But there are plenty of cliches and lazy storytelling, too. The pulse-pounding ending almost makes up for the rest of the film. I expected more, though, from the writing and directing team (Leigh Whannell and James Wan) of “Saw.” If you don’t ask too many nagging questions, you’ll get sufficiently creeped out and probably leave the lights on for the next few nights.
DVD GOODIES
Included are an alternate beginning and an alternate ending, which, after you watch it, will make you understand why they didn’t use it; deleted scenes; and a making-of featurette.
THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN This two-disc set contains all the episodes from the first Superman animated TV series. Circa 1966. JUNE 26 | $19.99
BLACK SNAKE MOAN Samuel L. Jackson chains Christina Ricci to a radiator in this tale of the blues and redemption. Read Blogzarro’s review here. JUNE 26 | $17.99
SHOOTER Donnie’s little brother Mark Wahlberg stars as a marksman framed for the assassination of the president. JUNE 26 | $17.99
STANDING STILL The tale of a young couple the night before their wedding. Starring Amy Adams and Adam Garcia. JUNE 26 | $17.99
BLACK SNAKE MOAN
Release Date: June 26
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake
Director: Craig Brewer
Length: 115 minutes
Under the surface of “Black Snake Moan”‘s exploitative scenario — a bitter bluesman imprisoning a scantily clad woman by chaining her to a radiator — there’s a smart movie. Though, it seems writer/director Craig Brewer (“Hustle and Flow”) wasn’t sure whether to make his film an all-out ode to the trashy movies of the ’70s or a serious drama about redemption. Jackson stars as Lazarus, a former bluesman and current farmer who finds the town hussy, Rae (Christina Ricci), beaten and left unconscious on the road near his home. Tormented by his wife’s recent betrayal, he decides to nurse Rae back to health and exorcise her sexual demons. Ricci spends most of the film crawling and strutting around in her panties. Jackson is his usual mofo-swearing self. But the cast members turn in strong performances, saving “Black Snake Moan” from being a completely ridiculous movie. Despite its flaws, it’s an interesting and unique movie, full of sex and the blues, and if you ever wanted to see Christina Ricci in panties and chains this is the perfect opportunity.
DVD GOODIES
Commentary by writer/director Craig Brewer; deleted scenes; and the featurettes “Conflicted: The Making of Black Snake Moan,” “Rooted in the Blues,” and “The Black Snake Moan,” a look at the title blues song.
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT (Special Edition) “The Manhattan Project” is the story of an overachieving high school student (Christopher Collet) who decides to show just how dangerously easy it is to construct a nuclear device. The bright teenager has high hopes of winning first prize at the science fair. Using his mother’s relationship with a government official (John Lithgow) to sneak into a secret facility and steal plutonium, he winds up creating a fully functional A-Bomb. When the government finds out about the device, they put in motion a series of events that threatens the nuclear annihilation of everyone within a 10-mile radius. This thrilling drama, first released in 1986, is packed with special features — including filmmaker audio commentary, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb: The Making of The Manhattan Project” featurette, “Home Made Apocalypse” featurette, interviews with scientists at Jet Propulsion Laboratories and an ’80s trivia subtitle track. JUNE 19 | $14.99
RENO 911: MIAMI The wacky TV cops from Comedy Central’s “Reno 911″ hit the big screen, where they must save the day after a terrorist attack disrupts a national police convention in Miami Beach during spring break. JUNE 19 | $16.99
THE BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA Two fifth-graders become friends and create the fantasy world Terabithia. Starring AnnaSophia Robb, Josh Hutcherson, and Zooey Deschanel. Based on the book by Katherine Paterson. JUNE 19 | $15.99
THE ABANDONED An American woman returns to her birthplace in Russia, seeking answers to her mysterious past and finds plenty of ghosts. Read Blogzarro’s review here. JUNE 19 | $26.09
THE ABANDONED
Release Date: June 19
Starring: Anastasia Hille, Karel Roden
Director: Nacho Cerdà
Length: 94 minutes
Price: $26.09
You need to stick with “The Abandoned.” It’s a slow-moving horror-thriller that builds tension and chills as it moves along. Part of After Dark’s “8 Films to Die For” festival, “The Abandoned” is about an American woman who returns to her birthplace in Russia, seeking answers to her mysterious past. While there, she meets a man who claims to be her twin brother and together they encounter ghosts and the horrible events that led to their home being abandonded and uninhabited for the last 40 years. The movie works more on a psychological level and doesn’t focus much on the blood and gore as most horror movies do today, which is refreshing. It delivers the creeps the good ol’ fashioned way.
DVD GOODIES
Includes the featurette “The Making of The Abandoned.”
Not long into the movie, you realize the filmmakers squandered a golden opportunity. I got a thrill when I noticed that the cops investigating Richard Speck’s murders were played by Andrew “Wishmaster” Divoff and Tony “Candyman” Todd. So, I’m thinking, The movie I want to see is “Wishmaster Vs. Candyman.” Okay, I got that off my chest… “Chicago Massacre: Richard Speck” is the tale of a drifter (Corin Nemic) responsible for one of the worst mass murders in history. Speck beat, raped, stabbed, and shot a group of student nurses in one night of brutality in 1966. Nemic (“Parker Lewis Can’t Lose”) does an admirable job playing the psycho Speck and it’s always cool to listen to Divoff talk. But I’d only recommend the movie to fans of such low-budget serial killer flicks as “Ed Gein” or “Dahmer.” DVD special features include audio commentary with director Michael Feifer and Corin Nemic as well as a stills gallery. Currently available | $19.99
GHOST RIDER Nicloas Cage stars as Johnny Blaze, a stunt cylist who makes a pack to save a loved one and ends up as the Ghost Rider. Also starring Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Donal Logue. JUNE 12 | $22.99
HELLBOY: BLOOD AND IRON Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien battle demons in the second animated movie based on Mike Mignola‘s comic. Featuring the voices of Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt. JUNE 12 | $14.99
BREACH The story of FBI agent Eric O’Neill (Ryan Phillippe), whose first assignment is to spy on his boss, Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper). Based on a true story. JUNE 12 | $16.99
HIGHLANDER – THE SEARCH FOR VENGEANCE
Release Date: June 5
Starring: Alistair Abell
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Length: 85 minutes
There can be only one, huh? The makers of Highlander never took that line seriously as they’ve churned out four movies, two TV series, numerous novels, comic books, and a 1994 animated series. Now, the Highlander franchise heads into the world of anime with mixed results.
Legendary anime director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (“Ninja Scroll,” “Neo-Tokyo”) re-imagines the Highlander legend in the direct-to-DVD movie “Highlander – The Search for Vengeance.” The story follows Colin (not Connor) MacLeod of the clan MacLeod from the 2nd century, where he fights the Immortal Roman bad guy Marcus to the late 22nd century, where he fights Marcus, the Immortal leader of post-apocalyptic New York City. For 2,000 years the Highlander has been fruitlessly seeking revenge on Marcus for killing his wife, but once he hooks up with Dahlia, a woman very reminiscent of his dead wife, it looks like he might have a chance.
There are plenty of superficial similarities to the original “Highlander” movie. Like the original, the movie interweaves the Highlander’s past with his present. There’s a spirit who guides MacLeod, reminiscent of the character Ramirez, played by Sean Connery in the first film. But “The Search for Vengeance” (written by David Abramowitz) doesn’t add anything new to the Highlander mythos. In fact, there’s a bunch of stuff missing. The line “There can be only one” is often repeated, but its significance is never explained. In the original the Immortals fight each other for a “prize.” The last Immortal with his head still intact wins. Yet there’s no competition or prize in this story. So why can there be only one? Other key Highlander concepts aren’t explained either, like the Immortals, the Quickening, or the beheadings. It should leave non-Highlander fans scratching their heads. Also, there’s no music by Queen, which is a disappointment when I watch any movie, but particularly Highlander flicks.
It’s not all bad, though. There are some amazing (and violent) scenes and visuals, especially the swordfights. And I always love when cartoon characters curse and get naked. Not as bad as “Highlander: The Quickening” but certainly not as good as “Highlander,” “The Search for Vengeance” is an uneven but still enjoyable addition to the saga of that sword-wielding Scotsman we all love.
DVD GOODIES
Contains the featurettes “East Meets West: Filmmakers Crossing Borders” and “A Talk With Kawajiri,” as well as trailers and production stills. PRICE: $12.99
NORBIT Eddie Murphy plays three characters in this wacky movie about a loser who’s terrorized by his monstrous wife. Read Blogzarro’s review here. JUNE 5 | $16.99
THE MESSENGERS A family moves into a spooky house on a sunflower farm. Starring Kristin Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, and John Corbett. JUNE 5 | $17.99
THE FANTASTIC FOUR – EXTENDED CUT This two-disc special edition adds 20 minutes of footage to the 2005 superhero movie. Also includes a 100-minute making-of documentary and a look at this summer’s sequel. JUNE 5 | $16.99
THE DEAD ZONE (Season 5) The three-disc set contains all 11 episodes of the USA Network series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, a man who awakens from a coma and learns he has psychic abilities. JUNE 5 | $22.99
SURF SCHOOL (Unrated) Teen comedy featuring the ultimate Cinderella story, killer waves, lessons on the psychedelic ways of the ’60s and plenty of sexy unrated footage to make even the most randy boy have a wipeout! Starring Harland Williams. JULY 17 | $18.99
THE LONG WEEKEND Overworked advertising executive Ed Waxman (Brendan Fehr) has just 48 hours to come up with a great new ad campaign or he’ll be fired. However, his babe-magnet brother, Cooper (Chris Klein) has another idea — get his stressed out brother lucky with the ladies. With hope and luck on their side, maybe — just maybe — he’ll be able to save his job and have sex, all in the course of one outrageous weekend. JULY 24 | $24.29
