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Dvd release date: 01/12/2009

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Benedict Wong
Director: Duncan Jones
Category: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Rated: R

It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Sam can send and receive. Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year-old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks. Finally, he will leave the isolation of “Sarang,” the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond “GERTY,” the base’s well-intentioned, but rather uncomplicated computer. Suddenly, Sam’s health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover. After returning to the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam realized that he is fighting the clock to discover what’s going on and where he fits into company plans. (Publisher)

Summary of critic

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

Overall: *** (out of four)

Dvd release date: 01/12/2009

Starring: Kherington Payne, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle
Director: Kevin Tancharoen
Category: Music & Musicals
Rated: PG

“Fame” soars even higher with the Extended Dance Edition of the film, featuring over 15 minutes of thrilling dance footage you couldn’t see in theaters! Passions will be tested. Hearts will be broken. Talent, dedication and hard work will triumph! “Fame” is the inspiring story of a group of dancers, singers, musicians and actors at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, and their spirited drive to live out their dreams of stardom. In an incredibly competitive atmosphere, each student must shine amidst the tumult of school work, deep friendships, budding romance and self-discovery. Debbie Allen, Charles S. Dutton, Kelsey Grammer, Megan Mullally and Bebe Neuwirth co-star along side a group of gifted young performers in this soaring reinvention of the Oscar winning hit film.(Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 01/12/2009

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Mackie
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Category: Thrillers
Rated: R

When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James’ true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever in a movie that the NY Daily News says “deserves to stand as one of the defining films of the decade”. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 01/05/2009

Starring: Bill Hader, Bruce Campbell
Director: Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
Category: Children & Family
Rated: PG

“Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs” tells the story of an eccentric wannabe scientist, Flint Lockwood. His latest contraption is a miraculous device designed to solve the world hunger crisis. But when Flint bites off more than he can chew, he sets in motion a global disaster of epic proportions. Based on the #1 best-selling book by Judi and Ron Barrett. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

Overall: *** (out of four)

Dvd release date: 12/29/2009

Starring: Alan Oppenheimer, Tom Kane
Director: Shane Acker
Category: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Rated:  PG-13

From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton (“The Nightmare Before Christmas”), Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) and Academy Award nominated director Shane Acker comes this visually stunning and original epic adventure. In the final days of humanity, a dedicated scientist gives the spark of life to nine of his creations. The world has turned into an unrecognizable landscape of machines and spare parts, but this group of nine finds that if they band together, their small community might just be able to change the course of history. Featuring the voice talents of Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly and Crispin Glover, it’s a thrilling, suspenseful story critics call, “richly imaginative.” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone).  (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 12/29/2009

Starring: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried
Director: Karyn Kusama
Category: Horror
Rated: R

Sexy temptress Megan Fox is hotter than hell as Jennifer, a gorgeous, seductive cheerleader who takes evil to a whole new level after she’s possessed by a sinister demon. Steamy action and gore galore ensue as the male student body succumbs to Jennifer’s insatiable appetite for human flesh. Now it’s up to her best friend (Amanda Seyfried) to stop Jennifer’s reign of terror before it’s too late. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 12/22/2009

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Director: Marc Webb
Category: Comedy
Rated: PG-13

This is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing narrator of “500 Days Of Summer”, and with that the film takes off at breakneck speed into a year-and-a-half of one young man’s no-holds-barred love affair. Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the boy, still believes, even in this cynical modern world, in the the notion of transforming, cosmically destined, lightning-strikes-once kind of love. Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the girl, doesn’t. Not at all. But that doesn’t stop Tom from going after her, again and again, like a modern Don Quixote, with all his might and courage. Suddenly, Tom is in love not just with a lovely, witty, intelligent woman – not that he minds any of that – but with the very idea of Summer, the very idea of a love that still has the power to shock the heart and stop the world. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 12/22/2009

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church
Director: Phil Traill
Category: Comedy
Rated: PG-13

Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock) is a cruciverbalist – a crossword puzzle constructor. Her brain spins at warp speed with an endless stream of arcane information. She can come up with the perfect word – and dozens with the same meaning – at a moment’s notice, but “normal” behavior eludes her. Take, for example, the fact that she lives with eccentric parents. Or her inability to engage in social intercourse without dropping a litany of twenty-dollar words and unleashing a tsunami of trivia. Then, there’s the matter of her omnipresent fire-engine-red go-go boots. For Mary, nothing is typical, especially relationships. When she is set up on a blind date with handsome cable-news cameraman Steve (Bradley Cooper), Mary thinks the chemistry is undeniable – that Steve is “the one.” Steve, on the other hand, thinks Mary is crazy. Mary, who just knows she’s found her soul mate, decides to do anything and go anywhere to be with him. Mary’s escalating infatuation with Steve, is encouraged by the self-serving actions of news reporter Hartman Hughes (Thomas Haden Church), who enjoys torturing his insolent cameraman at every opportunity. With Mary never far behind and Hartman urging her on, Steve becomes increasingly unhinged. But when Mary becomes embroiled in the news story of the year, Steve and Hartman begin to see things differently. Despite the media storm surrounding her, Mary with her upbeat unaffected manner brings together a small community of new friends. And all who encounter her will realize that sometimes the ones who don’t fit in are the ones who really stand out. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

Chicago Tribune: *1/2 (out of four)
New York Post: no stars (out of four)
USA Today: *1/2 (out of four)

Overall: * (out of four)

Dvd release date: 12/22/2009

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Category: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Rated: R

Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA. The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most vauluable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: “District 9″. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

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

Dvd release date: 12/22/2009

Starring: Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis
Director: Mike Judge
Category: Comedy
Rated: R

The creator of “Office Space”, writer-director Mike Judge (“Beavis And Butt-head”), moves from cubicles to the assembly line with “Extract” – his outrageous return to workplace comedy, featuring a hilarious ensemble cast of quirky characters. About to sell his successful flavor extract company, life is almost sweet for Joel (Jason Bateman) until a freak on-the-job accident happens. Add to that his bored wife (Kristen Wiig), his laid-back, stoner best friend (Ben Affleck), a sexy con artist (Mila Kunis) who blows into town with dollar signs in her bedroom eyes, and a dumb gigolo – and life as he knows it turns sour. Filled with laugh-out-loud one-liners and raunchy comedy, “Extract” is 100% pure hilarity. (Publisher)

Summary of critic ratings:

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

Overall: *** (out of four)