Archive for August, 2008

Redbelt

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Dvd release date: 08/26/2008

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen
Director: David Mamet
Category: Drama
Rated: R

Set on the westside of the Los Angeles fight world, a scene inhabited by bouncers, cagefighters, cops and special forces types “Redbelt” is the story of Mike Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a Jiu-jitsu master who has avoided the prize fighting circuit, choosing to instead pursue a life of honor and education by operating a self-defense studio with a samurai’s code. Terry and his wife Sondra (Sonia Braga) struggle to keep the business running to make ends meet. An accident on a dark, rainy night, between an off duty officer (Max Martini) and a distraught laywer (Emily Mortimer) puts in motion a series of events that will change Terry’s life dramatically introducing him to a world of promoters (Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna) and movie star Chet Frank (Tim Allen). In order to pay off his debts and regain his honor, Terry must step into the ring for the first time in his life. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: *** (out of four)
New York Post: *** (out of four)
Rolling Stone: *** (out of four)
USA Today: *** (out of four)

Overall: *** (out of four)

What Happens in Vegas

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

Dvd release date: 08/26/2008

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ashton Kutcher
Director: Tom Vaughan
Category: Comedy
Rated: PG-13

Two strangers awaken together to discover they’ve gotten married following a night of debauchery in Sin City, and one of them has won a huge jackpot after playing the other’s quarter. The newlyweds devise ever-escalating schemes to undermine each other and get their hands on the money – only to find themselves falling in love amid the mutual backstabbing. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: *1/2 (out of four)
New York Post: *1/2 (out of four)
USA Today: ** (out of four)

Overall: *1/2 (out of four)

Street Kings

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Dvd release date: 08/19/2008

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker
Director: David Ayer
Category: Action & Adventure
Rated: R

Gripping performances by Keanu Reeves, Academy Award(R) Winner Forest Whitaker and an all-star supporting cast power this action-packed crime thriller, in which a veteran cop finds himself ensnared in a deadly web of conspiracy and betrayal. Reeves stars as Tom Ludlow, a hard-nosed detective with a talent for delivering brutal street justice. When evidence implicates him in the murder of a fellow officer, the violence around Ludlow explodes as he realizes his own life is in danger and he can trust no one. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: ** (out of four)
New York Post: **1/2 (out of four)
Rolling Stone: ** (out of four)
USA Today: *1/2 (out of four)

Overall: ** (out of four)

Smart People

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Dvd release date: 08/12/2008

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Thomas Haden Church
Director: Noam Murro
Category: Independent
Rated: R

Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant – but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he’s as downright flummoxed as the next guy. His collegiate son won’t confide in him, his teenaged daughter is an acid-tongued overachiever who follows all too closely in dad’s misery-loving footsteps, and his adopted, preposterously ne’er-do-well brother has perfected the art of freeloading. A widower who can’t seem to find passion in anything anymore, not even the Victorian Literature in which he’s an expert, it seems Lawrence is sleepwalking through a very stunted middle age. When his brother shows up unexpectedly for an extended stay at just about the same time as he accidentally encounters his former student Janet, the circumstances cause him to stir from his deep, deep freeze, with often comical, sometimes heartbreaking, consequences for himself and everyone around him. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: ** (out of four)
New York Post: *** (out of four)
USA Today: **1/2 (out of four)

Overall: **1/2 (out of four)

The Counterfeiters

Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Dvd release date: 08/05/2008

Starring: Karl Markovics, Au gust Diehl
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Category: Foreign
Rated: R

“The Counterfeiters” is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon “Sally” Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. When thrown into a concentration camp, Salomon must decide whether his actions, which could prolong the war and risk the lives of fellow prisoners, are ultimately the right ones. (Publisher)

Summary of critic reviews:

Chicago Tribune: ***1/2 (out of four)
USA Today: *** (out of four)

Overall: ***1/2 (out of four)