Video Releases

Releasing January 1

Resident Evil: Extinction

This futuristic thriller picks up where the last film left off. Alice, now in hiding in the Nevada desert, once again joins forces with Carlos Olivera and L.J. along with new survivors Claire, K-Mart and Nurse Betty to try to eliminate the deadly T-Virus that threatens to make every human being undead … and to seek justice. Since being captured by the Umbrella Corporation, Alice has been subjected to biogenic experimentation and becomes genetically altered, with super-human strengths, senses and dexterity. The group of survivors have taken to the road … traversing the empty desert highways in an armored convoy. What they seek is more of their kind — the living, the uninfected. What they find is the other constant presence in the desert: the Undead — and they’ll need dozens of guns, thousands of bullets and a pair of flamethrowers to protect themselves. Director: Russell Mulcahy. Stars: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Ali Larter, Spencer Locke, Iain Glen, Ashanti, Christopher Egan. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Science Fiction, Sony.

War

War After his partner is brutally murdered by the infamous assassin Rogue, FBI agent Jack Crawford vows to find the elusive killer and personally avenge his partner’s death. But Rogue proves untraceable until three years later when he resurfaces to ignite a bloody turf war between Chinese mob leader Chang and Japanese Yakuza boss Shiro. Eager to capture Rogue once and for all, Crawford leads his team of crime specialists headlong into the conflict. But Crawford’s thirst for vengeance jeopardizes his professional judgment, and as the violence escalates, Crawford finally comes face to face with his enemy to discover that nothing about Rogue or his plan is quite what it seems. Director: Philip G. Atwell. Stars: Jet Li, Jason Statham, John Lone, Ryo Ishibashi 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 103 min., Action Thriller, Lionsgate.

Releasing January 2

September Dawn

Based on the true story of the Mountain Meadows Massacre — the brutal murder of 120 men, women and children on September 11, 1857 as their wagon train passed through Utah on its way to California. The question of whether the attack was carried out by local Paiute Indians or by a renegade sect of the Mormon Church remains unresolved to this day. This film explores what might have happened. Director: Christopher Cain. Stars: Jon Voight, Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Gries, Taylor Handley, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain, Terence Stamp. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Drama, Sony.

Shoot ‘Em Up

Up Clive Owen stars as Mr. Smith, the angriest, most hardboiled man in the world, who finds himself entrusted to protect the most innocent thing of all — a newborn child. When Smith delivers the baby in the middle of a gunfight, he soon discovers that the infant is the target of a shadowy force that has sent a team of mysterious and endless assailants, led by Hertz, to erase all traces of the child. Amid a hail of bullets and facing every conceivable permutation of gunfight, Smith teams up with a prostitute named DQ to solve the mystery of why the baby’s life is being threatened — before this makeshift family all ends up on the wrong side of a bullet. Director: Michael Davis. Stars: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 86 min., Action Thriller, New Line.

Releasing January 8

The Invasion

Third remake of the seminal 1950s cold war thriller “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” here gussied up for the 21st century. A massive explosion lights up the skies from Dallas to Washington, shattering the space shuttle Patriot into pieces that rain down across the U.S. The authorities are quick to seize control of the situation, but stories emerge about a strange substance found clinging to the wreckage — something that withstood the extreme cold of space and searing heat of reentry to get here. And the first to come in contact with it are the first to change. DC psychiatrist Carol Bennell doesn’t connect what happened to the shuttle with the bizarre occurrences that seem to accelerate around her: Doing everything in her power to stay awake, Carol embarks on a desperate journey into a changed world to stay alive long enough to find her son. To hide among them, she will have to remain calm … betray no emotion … and, most of all, not fall asleep. Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel. Stars: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 99 min., Science Fiction, Warner.

3:10 to Yuma

In Arizona in the late 1800’s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the “3:10 to Yuma,” a train that will take the killer to trial. On the trail, Evans and Wade, each from very different worlds, begin to earn each other’s respect. But with Wade’s outfit on their trail — and dangers at every turn — the mission soon becomes a violent, impossible journey toward each man’s destiny. Remake of the 1957 Western staring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. Director: James Mangold. Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Gretchen Mol, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Vinessa Shaw. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R,117 min., Western, Lionsgate.

Death Sentence

Nick Hume is a mild-mannered executive with a loving family and a perfect life, until one gruesome night when his teenage son is senselessly murdered during a gas station holdup. Transformed by grief and not satisfied with courtroom justice, Nick takes the law into his own hands-and wages an all-out war against a gang of vicious street thugs. Director: James Wan. Stars: Kevin Bacon, Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Preston, Jordan Garrett, Stuart Lafferty, Aisha Tyler, John Goodman. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Thriller, Fox.

Sunshine

JIn the year 2057, the sun is dying and mankind with it . . . but even the coldest reaches of space burn with the heat of humanity’s will to survive. Earth’s last hope rests with a courageous crew of eight men and women on a mission to ignite the fading star with a massive nuclear weapon. Deep into their voyage, far out of radio contact with Earth, the lonely, restless crew hears a distress beacon from the Icarus I, the ship which disappeared without a trace on the same mission seven years earlier. But when an attempt at rescue throws the Icarus II into jeopardy, the increasingly desperate crew soon find themselves literally gripped in the shadow of the Sun, fighting for their lives, their sanity, and the future of us all. Director: Danny Boyle. Stars: Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Science Fiction, Fox.

Releasing January 15

Mr. Woodcock

A self-help author returns to his hometown only to discover that his mother has fallen in love with his old high school nemesis, Mr. Woodcock — the gruff, no-nonsense gym teacher who had put him through years of mental and physical humiliation. Determined to prevent history from repeating itself, John sets out to stop his mother from marrying the man who had made life miserable for him and his classmates. Director: Craig Gillespie. Stars: Seann William Scott, Billy Bob Thornton, Susan Sarandon, Ethan Suplee, Amy Poehler, Emily Wagner, Evan Helmuth. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 87 min., Comedy, New Line.

Releasing January 29

Rocket Science

Hal Hefner is an ordinary, shy 15 year-old boy who’s struggling to make it through high school. On top of his parents’ recent divorce and an obsessive-compulsive, kleptomaniac older brother, Hal has a stuttering problem. In spite of this speech impediment, the high school debate team star, Ginny Ryerson, invites Hal to join the team. Stumbling his way to the championship, Hal falls in love, gains confidence and ultimately, realizes that love and life should not be rocket science. Director: Jeffrey Blitz. Stars: Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Vincent Piazza, Nicholas D’Agosto, Aaron Yoo. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 101 min., Comedy, HBO Video.

Daddy Day Camp

Sequel to “Daddy Day Care.” Charlie Hinton, the owner of the successful Daddy Day Care business, and his partner Phil are presented with a dilemma when their seven-year-old sons, Ben and Max, want to spend the summer at Camp Canola — a camp run by Charlie’s boyhood rival, Lance. Rather than send Ben and Max to Lance’s camp, Charlie and Phil impulsively buy the neglected, neighboring Camp Driftwood and attempt to run it themselves. The camp, however, is rundown and dilapidated, and the men discover that they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. After numerous disasters, Charlie reluctantly enlists the help of his military-trained father, Buck, who helps Charlie and Phil teach the kids the outdoor skills needed at camp and train for the inter-camp Olympiad against Camp Canola. Director: Fred Savage. Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae, Lochlyn Munro, Richard Gant, Brian Doyle-Murray, Tamala Jones. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 89 min., Comedy, Sony.

Feel the Noise

After a run-in with local thugs, aspiring Harlem rapper Rob flees to a place and a father he never knew, and finds his salvation in Reggaeton, a spicy blend of hip-hop, reggae and Latin beats. Puerto Rico, the spiritual home of Reggaeton, inspires Rob and his half-brother Javi to pursue their dream of becoming Reggaeton stars. Together with a dancer named C.C. , they learn what it means to stay true to themselves and each other, while overcoming obstacles in love, greed and pride, all culminating in an explosive performance at New York’s Puerto Rican Day Parade. Director: Alejandro Chomski. Stars: Omarion Grandberry, Giancarlo Esposito, Victor Rasuk, Zulay Henao. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Music Drama, Sony.