Director: Paul Feig
Genre: Drama
Studio: Lions Gate
Rated: PG

I Am David is adapted from Anne Holm's internationally acclaimed novel North to Freedom. It is the story of a 12-year-old boy, David, who escapes a Communist concentration camp with little more than a compass, a sealed letter, a loaf of bread, and instructions to carry the letter to Copenhagen, Denmark. David is thrust into the free world for the first time in his young life as he travels across Europe. It is a spiritual voyage of discovery, where David slowly loses his instinctual mistrust of humanity and begins to smile, share, trust and ultimately, love. I Am David addresses the cruelties, politics, and suffering of warfare while celebrating the resilience of youth and the unbreakable spirit of a child.

Director: Christoph Hochhäusler
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Tla
Rated: Unrated

In this startling, darkly funny coming-of-age drama, a disaffected teenager embarks on a life of his own brand of crime. The handsome Armin (Constantin von Jascheroff) is fresh out of college and unemployed. Unable to take the pressure from his parents, he sends an anonymous confession to the local newspaper after he sees a charred car wreck by the highway. He quickly spins into further acts of rebellion, like writing pornographic graffiti on a bathroom wall and fantasizing about committing violent crimes and having forced sex with a gang of leather-clad motorcyclists. But is it really all fantasy and lies, or is there a danger lurking below Armin's innocent surface?

Director: Francis Lawrence
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Warner Home Video
Rated: PG-13

Will Smith stars in the third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic science-fiction novel about a lone human survivor in a post-apocalyptic world dominated by vampires. This new version somewhat alters Matheson’s central hook, i.e., the startling idea that an ordinary man, Robert Neville, spends his days roaming a desolated city and his nights in a house sealed off from longtime neighbors who have become bloodsucking fiends. In the new film, Smith’s Neville is a military scientist charged with finding a cure for a virus that turns people into crazed, hairless, flesh-eating zombies. Failing to complete his work in time--and after enduring a personal tragedy--Neville finds himself alone in Manhattan, his natural immunity to the virus keeping him alive. With an expressive German shepherd his only companion, Neville is a hunter-gatherer in sunlight, hiding from the mutants at night in his Washington Square town house and methodically conducting experiments in his ceaseless quest to conquer the disease.
The film’s first half almost suggests that "I Am Legend" could be one of the finest movies of 2007. Director Francis Lawrence’s extraordinary, computer-generated images of a decaying New York City reveal weeds growing through the cracks of familiar streets that are also overrun by deer and prowled by lions. It’s impossible not to be fascinated by such a realistically altered cityscape, reverting to a natural environment, through which Smith moves with a weirdly enviable freedom, offset by his wariness over whatever is lurking in the dark of bank vaults and parking garages. Lawrence and screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman wisely build suspense by withholding images of the monsters until a peak scene of horror well into the story. It must be said, however, that the computer-enhanced creatures don’t look half as interesting as they might have had the filmmakers adhered more to Matheson’s vampire-nightmare vision. "I Am Legend" is ultimately noteworthy for Smith’s remarkable performance as a man so lonely he talks to mannequins in the shops he frequents. The film’s latter half goes too far in portraying Smith’s Neville as a pitiable man with a messianic mission, but this lapse into bathos does nothing to take away from the visual and dramatic accomplishments of its first hour. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Billy O'Brien
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Studio: Floodland Pictures
Rated: Not Rated

In a small Midwestern town, a troubled teen with homicidal tendencies must hunt down and destroy a supernatural killer while keeping his own inner demons at bay.

Director: D.J. Caruso
Studio: Touchstone Pictures/ DreamWorks
Rated: PG-13

Three are dead. Who is Number four? From Director D.J. Caruso (Disturbia), producer Michael Bay (Transformers) and the Emmy-winning writers of TV's Smallville, comes this gripping, action-packed thriller. John Smith (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen masking his true identity to elude a deadly enemy sent to destroy him. Living with his guardian (Timothy Olyphant) in the small town he now calls home, John encounters unexpected life-changing events - his first love (Dianna Agron, TV's Glee), powerful new abilities and a secret connection to the others who share his incredible destiny. Complete with deleted scenes and more, I Am Number Four is an explosive suspense-filled ride that will take you to the edge of your seat and beyond.

Director: Mike Norris
Studio: 2nd Fiddle Entertainment

An unforgiving sun, a parched earth, and a failed economy have left a small Texas town desolate. For ten years Promise, Texas has known nothing but one curse after another. It's barren, broken, and dying, leaving a town full of despair. When a couple finds a boy walking along a dusty road, alone in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but a mat tucked under his arm, they pick him up in hopes of helping him. What they don't realize is that he has come to help them and the residents of Promise. No one knows who he is or where he came from. Some think he's an answer to prayer. Others think he's a runaway or a false prophet. And the only thing this boy will say about himself is that he's here to help. The town's sheriff, Brody, is determined to uncover the truth. But Brody has his own problems trying to hold a dying town together. Miracle after miracle takes place and the residents of Promise embrace the boy. But when the beloved town doctor dies, it is time for the truth to be revealed. ...

Director: Xavier Dolan
Genre: Drama, TV Movie
Studio: Mifilifilms
Rated: Not Rated

Teenager Hubert haughtily regards his mother with contempt, and only sees her tacky sweaters and kitsch decorations. In addition to these irritating surface details, there is also his parent's cherished mechanisms of manipulation and guilt. Confused by this love/hate relationship that obsesses him more and more each day, Hubert drifts through the mysteries of adolescence - artistic discoveries, illicit experiences, the opening-up to friendship, and ostracism. The turbulent relationship between mother and son unfolds with a compelling combination of savage fury and melting affection. The stunning, semi-autobiographical directing debut of 20-year-old actor Xavier Dolan.

Director: Adam Goldberg
Genre: Drama
Studio: Velocity / Thinkfilm
Rated: R

Filmed like an art-house project, "I Love Your Work" offers thoughtful insight to fame from both the celebrity's and the fan's points of view. When you're a celebrity, every fan is a potential stalker. Or at least that's how movie star Gray Evans (Giovanni Ribisi) sees it. An A-list actor married to a sex symbol, Gray wants to see things clearly in black and white. But his world is a cloudy haze of gray. Are his flashbacks of a comely girlfriend (Christina Ricci) hallucinations or memories of a simpler, happier time? Are his encounters with a stoic fan (Jason Lee) the prelude to his demise, or the manifestation of his paranoia? Director Adam Goldberg doesn't make this clear, but that's also clearly his intent. The drama offers a charismatic performance by Franka Potente ("Run Lola Run", "The Bourne Identity") as Gray's frustrated wife. But Ribisi--at his twitchiest--is an unconvincing movie star, appearing more like a run-down wannabe than a full-fledged insider. "I Love Your Work"? Not so much. "--Jae-Ha Kim"

Director: Herbert Wise
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Image Entertainment
Rated: NR

This superbly acted, mordantly funny romp through 70 years or so of Roman history is one of the best-loved miniseries ever made, and deservedly so. Derek Jacobi plays Roman Emperor Claudius, who reflects in old age on his life and his remarkable family, giving us a history lesson that's unlike anything you learned in school.
The story begins in 24 B.C. during the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome's first emperor, and ends in A.D. 54 with Nero on the throne. In between, "I, Claudius" details the scheming, murder, madness, and lust that passed for politics in the early years of the Pax Romana. The biggest worm in the Roman apple is Augustus's wife, Livia (the superb Siân Phillips), whose single-minded pursuit of power shapes the destiny of the Empire. With a carefully planted rumor here and a poisoned fig there, she gradually maneuvers her son, Tiberius, toward the throne, creating an atmosphere of suspicion and treachery that starts Rome on its helter-skelter slide into bloody chaos. Phillips somehow makes us understand this extraordinarily wicked woman. As she ages and her carefully wrought webs begin to unravel, it becomes clear that Livia has been as thoroughly poisoned by her own ambition as her victims were by her carefully prepared meals.
Further acting honors go to George Baker as Tiberius, who resists but eventually succumbs to the destiny forced upon him by his mother, and to John Hurt as a hilarious and absolutely terrifying Caligula. In one breathtakingly tense scene, the mad Emperor performs a dance in drag, then asks Claudius to critique it, perfectly capturing the horror of a world where one wrong word means death, or worse. Jacobi is the perfect Claudius, hiding his intelligence behind a crippling stammer and shuffling around the edges of events--until he finds himself pulled to the very center. His wry comments give shape to the tangled story of his family and help the audience make sense of a dauntingly complex cast of characters.
"I, Claudius" might seem a little studio-bound to viewers brought up on more recent big-budget costume dramas, but the topnotch cast and the incident-filled plot are more than enough to hold the attention through almost 11 hours of gripping, deliciously wicked Roman follies. This boxed set also includes a documentary entitled "The Epic That Never Was," about Alexander Korda's failed attempt to film "I, Claudius" in 1937. The film, directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Charles Laughton as Claudius and Merle Oberon as Messalina, was abandoned unfinished, and it remains one of Hollywood's great lost movies. "--Simon Leake"

Director: Alex Proyas
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13

As paranoid cop Del Spooner, Will Smith ("Independence Day", "Men in Black") displays both his trademark quips and some impressive pectoral muscles in "I, Robot". Only Spooner suspects that the robots that provide the near future with menial labor are going to turn on mankind--he's just not sure how. When a leading roboticist dies suspiciously, Spooner pursues a trail that may prove his suspicions. Don't expect much of a connection to Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction stories; "I, Robot", the action movie, isn't prepared for any ruminations on the significance of artificial intelligence. This likable, efficient movie won't break any new ground, but it does have an idea or two to accompany its jolts and thrills, which puts it ahead of most recent action flicks. Also featuring Bridget Moynahan ("The Sum of All Fears"), Bruce Greenwood ("The Sweet Hereafter"), and James Cromwell ("Babe", "LA Confidential"). "--Bret Fetzer"

Director: Richie Mehta
Studio: Well Go USA
Rated: Unrated

After the disappearance of an accomplished physicist (Rufus Sewell), his son Erol (Haley Joel Osment) and wife Marika (Gillian Anderson) struggle to cope. Years later, now a young scientist himself, Erol discovers a formula that could kill him, throw him into the unknown...or bring his family back together.
DVD EXTRAS
Behind the Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Trailer

Director: Bob Clark (III)
Genre: Drama
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Rated: NR

Although the horrors of WWII are far removed from the Pacific Coast community where adolescent Duke Cooper (Trevor Morgan) and his three best chums play soldier, experiment with swearing, and earnestly patrol the beach for Japanese submarines, the realities of the war are about to come crashing down around them. Not when a Japanese soldier, stranded and wounded when his sub quickly dived, washes ashore; his capture by the foursome merely allows for more playtime and thoughts of becoming heroes. It's coming because Duke's older brother is on some island awaiting combat and the black sedans with military tags have already begun rolling through town to deliver their grim announcements. And Duke's Japanese American pal Willie Tanaka (Yuki Tokuhiro), all three feet and 55 pounds of him, has suddenly become a threat to national security, so he, his mother, and grandfather are soon to be shipped away to an internment camp. For a children's film, these are strong, potent themes to discuss; unfortunately any kid will be put off by "I'll Remember April"'s obviousness and condescending tone in a heartbeat. The script by Mark Sanderson assumes its audience needs every point spelled out twice: Duke and his friends (among them Haley Joel Osment, top-billed on the video box despite a smallish role) have the strange habit of repeating ad infinitum their conclusions about the unfairness of it all. Composer Paul Zaza apparently finds that insufficient, since his score hammers home each preprogrammed emotion without mercy. Director Bob Clark has made wonderful movies ("A Christmas Story", "Murder by Decree") and awful ones ("Porky's", "Rhinestone"); this one falls somewhere in between, sincere and blessed with a clutch of good child actors, but crassly manipulative and too intent on educating its audience to realize it is talking down to them instead. "--Bruce Reid"

Director: Gabriele Salvatores
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Miramax
Rated: R

Miramax Home Entertainment presents I'M NOT SCARED, the suspenseful and compelling thriller about a young boy who discovers a shocking secret. This masterfully crafted, haunting film is directed by Gabriele Salvatores, director of the Academy Award(R) winning film "Mediterraneo" (Best Foreign Language Film, 1991). In I'M NOT SCARED, something sinister is lurking under the surface of 10-year old Michele's (Guiseppe Cristiano) idyllic summer. While the days in his remote southern Italian village are filled with the familiar routines of childhood, a chance discovery leads to a shocking revelation. Now, suddenly beyond the point-of-no-return, Michele digs further to find that even his own parents may be involved in a monstrous crime..

Director: Zackary Adler
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: PG-13

We saw this film at Tribeca. Set in a small town, Reed Fish is about to get married to Alexis Bledel but then comes Skyler Fisk, his high school girlfriend. Martial artist DJ Qualls is Schuyler Fisk's brother and owns the town grocery store. Katey Segal plays Reed's mother and the town's mayor. Chris Parnell is a bartender friend of Reed's father.

The cast is well picked, the scenery is beautiful and Skuyler's music is amazing. Actually all of the songs were great.

Director: James Mangold
Genre: Horror
Studio: Sony Pictures Home E
Rated: R

With an ace up its sleeve, "Identity" does for schizophrenia what "The Silence of the Lambs" did for fava beans and a nice chianti. On the proverbial dark and stormy night, this anxiety-laced thriller offers a tasty blend of "And Then There Were None" and "Psycho", with a dash of "Sybil" for extra spice and psychosis. Things go from bad to worse when 10 unrelated travelers converge at an isolated motel and proceed to die, one by one, with no apparent connection... until they discover the common detail that's drawn them into this nightmare of relentless trauma. Even as it flunks Abnormal Psychology 101, Michael Cooney's screenplay offers meaty material for a superior ensemble cast including John Cusack and Rebecca DeMornay (who wins the Janet Leigh prize in a bitchy comeback role). Director James Mangold pivots the action around one character (played by his "Heavy" star, Pruitt Taylor Vince, in eye-twitching cuckoo mode), and half the fun of "Identity" comes from deciphering who's who, what's what, and who'll be the next to die. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Rodman Flender
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Studio: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
Rated: R

Anton is a teenage stoner who, one Halloween season, realizes two days after the fact that his parents have been beheaded. He is even more disturbed to learn that the culprit may be his recently demon-possessed hand. With the help of some fellow young drug abusers, some sharp objects (used to disembody several body parts), and a demon hunter (Viveca A. Fox), he may possibly restore some normalcy to his life.



Muze/MTS Inc.

Director: R.J. Cutler
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Rated: PG-13

If I stay

Director: Burr Steers
Genre: Comedy
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Rated: R

Many movies strive to capture the confused, yearning spirit of "The Graduate" or "The Catcher in the Rye"; "Igby Goes Down" succeeds. Igby (Kieran Culkin) is a teen struggling to find any purpose or meaning to his life; surrounding him are his tyrant mother Mimi (Susan Sarandon), schizophrenic father Jason (Bill Pullman), wealthy and deceitful godfather D.H. (Jeff Goldblum), and cold brother Oliver (Ryan Phillippe)--all of whom have their own problems. While evading being sent to yet another boarding school, Igby seeks solace with two women: Rachel (Amanda Peet), a drug-addicted dancer who's D.H.'s mistress, and Sookie (Claire Danes), a college student who becomes perhaps his only friend. Culkin carries the film, ably supported by the superb cast; script, direction, and performances are razor sharp. "Igby Goes Down" doesn't let anyone--including Igby--off the hook for their cruelty, hypocrisy, or lack of empathy. "--Bret Fetzer"

Director: Greg MacGillivray
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Rated: NR

From the makers of Everest comes a powerful and cautionary film about the threat to one of America's most iconic landscapes. "Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk" follows the great Colorado River as it reveals the most pressing environmental story of our time--the world's growing shortage of fresh water.

Join environmental advocates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis as they set out with their daughters, traveling deep into the Grand Canyon and down the river that runs through it. Your pulse will quicken as you are invited to join this thrilling ride downriver through raging rapids and breathtaking canyons. With stunning photography and sweeping aerial shots the renowned filmmakers capture all the majesty of the Colorado and The Grand Canyon in the largest film format ever made.

Narrated by Academy Award-winning filmmaker, actor and noted environmentalist Robert Redford. Featuring the songs and music from the Grammy Award-winning Dave Matthews Band. This film will leave you with a deeper respect for rivers and water everywhere and the realization of how ordinary people can make a difference for our parched planet.

Originally conceived, photographed and released in ultra high-resolution IMAX® 3D process. The 3D image is optimized for home viewing by scanning the original 15/70 image at an 8K resolution for the 3D Blu-ray release. This 3D Blu-ray will play on a standard Blu-ray player.

Director: Toni Myers
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Studio: Imax
Rated: NR

Leonardo DiCaprio narrates this spellbinding (if rather brief) look at some unprecedented photos of the farthest reaches of our galaxy, as well as the people responsible for taking off the lens cap. Focusing on the 2009 flight of the shuttle "Atlantis", the film follows the dangerous final mission to repair the Hubble telescope, a process that required split-second timing, some hastily improvised fixes, and the very real risk of suit ruptures. Originally displayed in 3-D IMAX (with much of the footage shot by the astronauts), this loses remarkably little in the transition to home theaters, with a dazzling presentation that stretches the current limits of high-def television screens and subwoofers. (Viewers with sensitive pets might want to get them out of the room before the launch cycle starts.) While the 40-minute running time may leave viewers wanting more about the specifics of the mission, this demo-quality disc offers a succession of amazing images, whether it be an entrancing glimpse beyond the edges of the universe, a speculative look at the creation of infant solar systems, or the somehow equally gorgeous sight of a weary astronaut rolling a perfect zero-g burrito. "--Andrew Wright"

Rated: Unrated

A regular family - Maria (Naomi Watts), Henry (Ewan McGregor) and their three kids - travel to Thailand to spend Christmas. They get an upgrade to a villa on the coastline. After settling in and exchanging gifts, they go to the pool, like so many other tourists. A perfect paradise vacation until a distant noise becomes a roar. There is no time to escape from the tsunami; Maria and her eldest are swept one way, Henry and the youngest another. Who will survive, and what will become of them? Written by Ronaldo Ferreira

Director: Gary Fleder
Genre: Drama
Studio: Dimension
Rated: R

Based on a short story by sci-fi master Philip K. Dick, "Impostor" holds considerable appeal for genre enthusiasts, who will instantly recognize trace elements of the Dick-based "Total Recall" and "Blade Runner". Fortunately, derivative plotting doesn't detract from director Gary Fleder's capable handling of briskly paced action involving Spencer Olham (Gary Sinise), a weapons designer suspected of being an alien robot with an assassin's agenda. The year is 2079; Earth is at war with an alien race called the Centauri, and its dome-sealed cities are intensely monitored by the Earth Security Agency. A high-tech chase ensues between Olham and his ESA pursuer (Vincent D'Onofrio), testing the bond of trust between Olham and his physician wife (Madeleine Stowe). This marital subplot gives the film's twist ending additional impact, and Dick's recurring themes of lost identity and drug-altered reality are handled with adequate sophistication, while cool gadgetry and sharp visual effects compensate for the plot holes. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Paul Weitz
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: PG-13

Nowadays it's rare to find a movie that pays attention to human weakness as well as strength, and that sees a whole person as having both. When a sports magazine gets bought by a media conglomerate, an ad sales executive named Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid, "The Rookie") finds himself playing second-in-command to Carter Duryea, a hotshot barely half his age (Topher Grace, "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!") whose marriage has just fallen apart. One evening Carter invites himself over to Dan's house to escape his loneliness, where he meets Dan's daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson, "Lost in Translation"). The two strike immediate sparks and when they run into each other later in the city, a relationship begins--which they discreetly keep from Dan. But the heart of the movie is not in its plot, but in the way that Dan responds to the news that his wife is pregnant, or how Carter tries to fortify his self-image with a new car. These aren't jokes; the actors inhabit these moments fully and turn them into psychological events. Quaid plays Dan as a simple man, but his straightforwardness feels genuine (rather than a failure of the writer's imagination). Grace and Johansson have terrific chemistry as lovers, but so do Grace and Quaid, both as rivals and as a substitute father and son. "In Good Company" isn't likely to win any awards, but it's honest and honorable; there's a core of truth to its characters and their problems aren't resolved too neatly. Sometimes, that's worth watching. "--Bret Fetzer"

Director: Todd Field
Genre: Drama
Studio: Miramax
Rated: R

When a film with such emotional resonance and visual poise as "In the Bedroom" makes it to the screen, it seems an unexpected gift meant to remind us of the medium's possibility for sensitivity and epiphany. First-time director Todd Field, who adapted the film from a story by Andre Dubus with screenwriter Rob Festinger, quietly observes the loss, rage, and inexorable desire for revenge that follows the murder of a 21-year-old son. The film opens with Frank (Nick Stahl), back from college for the summer, taking up with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), a slightly older, sexually alluring woman with two boys and an estranged husband prone to violence. It is the tender portrayal of love between Frank and his parents, even as Frank and Natalie's relationship reveals the prejudices of all involved, that makes the subsequent anguish of the film so acute. Matt and Ruth Fowler (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek), middle-class denizens of a Maine lobster town where everyone knows each other, toil through weeks of devastation and blame following Frank's murder before their outrage obliterates all else. Field's exact handling of jealousy, class division, and grief is abetted by career-highlight performances from Wilkinson and Spacek. "In the Bedroom" is, along with "You Can Count On Me", one of the best American dramas to grace the new millennium so far. "--Fionn Meade"

Director: Patrick Wang
Studio: In the Family LLC

In a heartfelt story woven around child custody, two-Dad families, loss, interracial relations, the American South, and the human side of the law, the nature of what it means to be in a family is explored with ambitious and rewarding nuance.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Simple Expressions of Absolute Values, video essay by Kevin B. Lee | The Mirror to Nature, video essay by H.P. Mendoza | A Tour of the Cutting Room Floor and Sculpting a Scene, video essays by Patrick Wang | Behind the Scenes video | Theatrical trailer | On the feature: Subtitles for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing | Optional 5.1 audio | Booklet: Essays by Godfrey Cheshire, Michael Guillén, Dave Boyle and Brian Hu

Director: Ben Taylor
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Wolfe Video
Rated: NR

Phillip Kirsch (hulking Ed Corbin) is having a bad day: he's a closeted undercover cop in Atlanta who has fallen for Oliver (Dane Ritter), a clean-cut male prostitute who is the prime suspect in a murder and narcotics case. What's a guy to do? Writer-director Ben Taylor's amusingly awful, deadly earnest drama would have us believe that, of course, Kirsch supplies an alibi for the troubled hunk and they both learn to love while dodging his superiors and the real killer. The laughable police practices here seem gleaned from bad TV--cops pass manila folders around and mutter things like "Good work, kid"--and the hustler bar where Oliver spends his evenings is even more of a hoot. Phillip is first smitten after watching Oliver sway awkwardly near the club's jukebox, a solitary tear running down his face. "Being in love," we are told, "is not much fun." There's not much flesh here, dammit, but there's a bit of accidental fun. On DVD, you can watch all this in letterbox format, with deluded commentary from Taylor himself. "--Steve Wiecking"

Director: Ron Howard
Genre: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Studio: Village Roadshow Pictures
Rated: PG-13

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

Director: Andrew Niccol
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: PG-13

As a storyteller, Andrew Niccol tends to think big, tackling heady subjects such as genetic predestination ("Gattaca"), the nature of reality ("The Truman Show"), and celebrity in the cyber age ("S1m0ne"). "In Time", Niccol's first film since 2005's "Lord of War", has a typically gigantic premise--a world where everyone over 25 years old must pay for every continued second of their existence--but stumbles in the execution. While the ideas are exceedingly clever, the telling isn't especially witty. Justin Timberlake stars as a goodhearted but desperate minimum-wager trapped in a society where the rich are essentially immortal and the poor see their lifespan shorten with every purchase. (A cup of coffee costs 4 minutes, taking the bus also takes 30 minutes off of your life, and so on.) After being gifted with a century by a mysterious benefactor, he begins a romance with a beautiful socialite (Amanda Seyfried), whose father holds the key to the entire monetary system. Matters are complicated with the introduction of a relentless time cop (Cillian Murphy) with his own motivations for restoring the unnatural balance of things. Niccol has fun laying out the aspects of a world where even the elderly are genetically frozen at age 25 (the scenes where Timberlake interacts with his mother, played by a disturbingly spry Olivia Wilde, are an unsavory hoot), but has difficulty translating the ingenuity of his concept to a compelling narrative, which rapidly devolves into a mix of uninspired chase scenes and a succession of time-related puns that would have trouble passing muster on a Laffy Taffy wrapper. (The bad guys threaten to clean Timberlake's clock. Repeatedly.) While science fiction aficionados will find much to chew on in Niccol's askew reality, "In Time" never quite hits the marks that its own ideas suggest. As a film, it's more fun to think about than watch. "--Andrew Wright"

Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Warner Home Video
Rated: PG-13

Science-fiction features often involve time travel or strange worlds. In Christopher Nolan's heist thriller "Inception", the concepts converge through the realm of dreams. With his trusty associate, Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a fine foil), Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio, in a role that recalls "Shutter Island") steals ideas for clients from the minds of competitors. Fallen on hard times, he's become estranged from his family and hopes one last extraction will set things right. Along comes Saito (Ken Watanabe, "Batman Begins"), who hires Cobb to plant an idea in the mind of energy magnate Fischer (Cillian Murphy, another "Batman" vet). Less experienced with the art of inception, Cobb ropes in an architecture student (Ellen Page), a chemist (Dileep Rao), and a forger (Tom Hardy) for assistance. During their preparations, Page's Ariadne stumbles upon a secret that may jeopardize the entire operation: Cobb is losing the ability to control his subconscious (Marion Cotillard plays a figure from his past). Until this point, the scenario can be confusing, since the action begins inside a dream before returning to reality. Then, after the team gets to Fischer, three dream states play out at once, resulting in four narratives, including events in the real world. It all makes sense within the rules Nolan establishes, but the impatient may find themselves much like Guy Pearce in "Memento": completely confused. If "Inception" doesn't hit the same heights as "The Dark Knight", Nolan's finest film to date, it's a gravity-defying spectacular to rival "Dark City" and "The Matrix". "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Director: Bill Bixby, Jack Colvin, Patrick Boyriven, Mark A. Burley, Barry Crane, Ray Danton, Kenneth Gilbert, Jeffrey Hayden, Kenneth Johnson, L.Q. Jones, Harvey S. Laidman, John Liberti, Bernard McEveety (II), John McPherson, Richard Milton, James D. Parriott, Joseph Pevney, Michael Preece, Michael Vejar
Genre: Kids & Family
Studio: Universal Studios
Rated: NR

Universal's "Incredible Hulk" DVD will satisfy fans of the CBS television series by offering the two-hour 1978 pilot, as well as the feature-length second-season opener, "Married," and a commentary track by series creator Kenneth Johnson. In bringing the Hulk to TV, Johnson decided to focus on its human alter ego, scientist Bruce Banner (here renamed David), rather than its rampages. In the pilot, Banner (Bill Bixby) is haunted by the death of his wife and unleashes his untapped rage in the form of a monstrous creature (Lou Ferrigno) after experimenting with radiation. And in "Married," Banner falls for a researcher (Mariette Hartley in an Emmy-winning performance) who attempts to cure his "hulk-outs." Johnson's solid scripting and direction and fine performances from the leads made the series a critical and audience favorite during its network run, and the DVD--deceptive cover art aside (which features images from the 2003 Hulk theatrical feature)--should again please longtime fans and novice viewers alike. "--Paul Gaita"

Director: Roland Emmerich
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Studio: Centropolis Entertainment
Rated: PG

Two decades after the freak alien invasion that nearly destroyed mankind a new threat emerges. This Alien mothership is more than twice the size as the last one and once again, the world's armies must band together to save the world. Do they have enough firepower or will this battle change and will aliens take over?

Director: Ron Howard
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Rated: PG-13

Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest bestseller in Dan Brown's (Da Vinci Code) billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, Inferno, which finds the famous symbologist (again played by Tom Hanks) on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world's population.

Director: Enzo G. Castellari
Studio: Severin Films
Rated: R

INGLORIOUS BASTARDS is much more than just the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's new movie. This 1978 international smash remains perhaps the biggest and most badass war movie in EuroCult history! Exploitation legends Bo (WALKING TALL, KILL BILL) Svenson and Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson star as the leaders of a gang of condemned criminals who escape from an Allied prison convoy with a plan to blast their way to the Swiss border, only to find themselves 'volunteering' for a suicide mission deep inside Nazi occupied France. Academy Award(r) nominee Ian Bannen (FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX, BRAVEHEART) co-stars in this explosive action epic from director Enzo Castellari (EAGLES OVER LONDON), now fully restored in High Definition Blu-Ray for the first time ever in America!
EXTRAS:
"A Conversation with Quentin Tarantino and Enzo G. Castellari"
"Train Kept A Rollin"
"Back To The War Zone"
"Inglorious Reunion at The New Beverly"
"Enzo's 70th Birthday in L.A."
Audio Commentary with Director Enzo Castellari
U.S., Italian, and German Theatrical Trailers

Director: James Wan
Studio: Film District
Rated: PG-13

From the makers of Paranormal Activity, "Insidious" is the terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

Director: Christopher Nolan
Genre: Horror
Studio: Warner Home Video
Rated: R

As a more conventional follow-up to his innovative thriller "Memento", Christopher Nolan's "Insomnia" offers ample proof that his skills are genuine. A superbly crafted remake of the 1997 Norwegian thriller, this moody police procedural is transplanted to a remote Alaskan town, where a veteran Los Angeles detective (Al Pacino) arrives to investigate the murder of a teenaged girl. Professional tragedy collides with psychological turmoil as the detective suffers from sleeplessness under the region's perpetual daylight, and a local rookie cop (Hilary Swank) begins to suspect that truths are being hidden as the disturbing case unfolds. While the Alaskan setting intensifies the atmospheric mystery, Pacino's bleary-eyed disorientation adds a rich layer to his character's erratic behavior, and the casting of Robin Williams as the killer was a risk that pays off nicely. In many respects better than the original, "Insomnia" is a Hollywood remake that's refreshingly free of compromise. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: David Kellogg
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Rated: PG

Strictly for kids, this 1999 live-action feature version of the popular cartoon series seems long even at 80 minutes. As a video, it's easier to take and appreciate for what works best in the story: the special effects. Matthew Broderick plays the security guard who is physically transformed into a multi-use cyborg with a zillion attachments, from stilts to helicopter blades to skis. A crimefighter in raincoat and fedora, and equipped with a nifty Gadgetmobile, the hero investigates the death of a man linked to the villainous Sanford Scolex (Rupert Everett). Scolex, who blames Gadget for having to wear a prosthetic hand, develops an evil robot twin of the good inspector, causing much mischief and giving Broderick an opportunity to poke fun at his own performance of the virtuous Inspector. The action is shaky, the script plods along, and the effects soon take over; Everett has to go to the extremes of hamminess just to be seen above it. But children of a certain age will almost certainly engage with the more clever stuff and forgive the rest. "--Tom Keogh"

Director: Robert Schwentke
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Studio: Red Wagon Entertainment
Rated: PG-13

One choice can transform you-or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships. Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Lions Gate
Rated: R

This sleek, stylish thriller suggests that luck is a quality we possess, like strength or intelligence, but the more fortunate among us can steal the luck of those less charmed. When a bank robber named Tomas is the only survivor of a plane wreck, the luckless Federico thinks he's found the man who can defeat the Jew--the luckiest man alive, a Holocaust survivor who sits at the apex of a weird, underground world of increasingly dangerous gambles. But on their trail is a police detective named Sara who's pretty lucky herself--and as she learns more about how luck works, she begins to suspect she survived a car crash because she stole the luck of her husband and child, both of whom died. The stealthy story is packed with eerie visuals and charismatic performances, including Max von Sydow (truly one of the greatest actors alive) as the Jew. "--Bret Fetzer"

Director: Andrew Lauer
Genre: Horror
Rated: R

A group of four teenage friends become trapped in a Mexican border tunnel where they fall prey, one-by one, to tortured ghosts who haunt it.

Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13

With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rated: R

The Interview

Director: Sean Penn
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R

A superb cast and an even-handed treatment of a true story buoy "Into the Wild", Sean Penn's screen adaptation of Jon Krakauer's bestselling book. Emile Hirsch stars as Christopher McCandless, scion of a prosperous but troubled family who, after graduating from Atlanta's Emory University in the early 1990s, decides to chuck it all and become a self-styled "aesthetic voyager" in search of "ultimate freedom." He certainly doesn't do it halfway: after donating his substantial savings account to charity and literally torching the rest of his cash, McCandless changes his name (to "Alexander Supertramp"), abandons his family (William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden as his bickering, clueless parents and Jena Malone as his baffled but loving sister, who relates much of the backstory in voice-over), and hits the road, bound for the Alaskan bush and determined not to be found. For the next two years he lives the life of a vagabond, working a few odd jobs, kayaking through the Grand Canyon into Mexico, landing on L.A.'s Skid Row, and turning his back on everyone who tried to befriends him (including Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker as two kindly, middle-aged hippies and Hal Holbrook in a deeply affecting performance as an old widower who tries to take "Alex" under his wing). Penn, who directed and wrote the screenplay, alternates these interludes with scenes depicting McCandless' Alaskan idyll--which soon turns out be not so idyllic after all. Settling into an abandoned school bus, he manages to sustain himself for a while, shooting small game (and one very large moose), reading, and recording his existential musings on paper. But when the harsh realities of life in the wilderness set in, our boy finds himself well out of his depth, not just ill-prepared for the rigors of day to day survival but realizing the importance of the very thing he wanted to escape--namely, human relationships. It'd be easy to either idealize McCandless as a genuinely free spirit, unencumbered by the societal strictures that tie the rest of us down, or else dismiss him as a hopelessly callow naïf, a fool whose disdain for practical realities ultimately doomed him. "Into the Wild" does neither, for the most part telling the tale with an admirable lack of cheap sentiment and leaving us to decide for ourselves. "--Sam Graham"

Director: David S. Goyer
Genre: Drama
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Rated: PG-13

A "Sixth Sense" wannabe for teenagers, "The Invisible" is a loosely adapted remake of the 2002 Swedish thriller "Den Osynlige", and begins with a promising supernatural scenario: When wealthy teenager Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) is nearly beaten to death by his sullen, alienated classmate Annie Newton (Margarita Levieva) and her tough-punk friends, he's left for dead and his disappearance draws the attention of local detectives while his widowed mother (Marcia Gay Harden) remains in a grieving state of shock. But Nick isn't dead yet, and now his invisible spirit is roaming among the living, struggling to prevent his own death while fixed in a state of metaphysical limbo. Can he be seen and heard by some people, but not others? Even though he's essentially a ghost, can he influence the physical world around him? Can he lead police to discover his near-dead body? Can he save Annie from the fate that awaits her? These are questions that "The Invisible" struggles to answer in a muddled, inconsistent screenplay that fails to play by its own rules--it's just one unconvincing scene after another, devoid of suspense or supernatural thrills. It's anyone's guess why director David S. Goyer (a successful screenwriter whose credits include "Blade" and "Batman Begins") was drawn to this weakly plotted story, which is derivative, illogical, and overly melodramatic. That may explain why "The Invisible" vanished after its brief theatrical release, destined for a long shelf-life on DVD. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen
Studio: Universal Music Enterprises
Rated: NR

FLIGHT 666 documents the first leg of Maiden's legendary SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME WORLD TOUR which took them 50,000 miles round the planet playing 23 concerts on five continents in just 45 days. One of the stars of the movie is the band's customized Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which carried the band, all their crew and 12 tons of stage equipment and was piloted by Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, a fully qualified and active Airline Captain with Astraeus Airlines.
Taking you on a visual global tour from Mumbai to Sydney, Tokyo to L.A., Mexico City to Costa Rica, Bogota to Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Santiago to New York and Toronto and places in-between, you travel with the band and crew on the plane, to and from shows, in the bar and during leisure time, while experiencing the exhaustion and fan pandemonium that comes with such a mission.
As a very special bonus for the fans, Maiden have included a second disc of the entire set from the 2008 segment of this tour with the DVD. Sixteen songs from sixteen different cities in eleven countries around the world, for the first time ever encompassing such varied places and cultures in one concert.

Director: Jon Favreau
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13

Suit up for action with Robert Downey Jr. in the ultimate adventure movie you’ve been waiting for, "Iron Man"! When jet-setting genius-industrialist Tony Stark is captured in enemy territory, he builds a high-tech suit of armor to escape. Now, he’s on a mission to save the world as a hero who’s built, not born, to be unlike any other. Co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges, it’s a fantastic, high-flying journey that is "hugely entertaining" (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal).

Director: Jon Favreau
Genre: Action
Studio: Marvel Studios
Rated: PG-13

With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to let go of his invention, Stark, along with Pepper Potts, and James "Rhodey" Rhodes at his side, must forge new alliances - and confront powerful enemies.

Director: Shane Black
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Rated: PG-13

Tony Stark/Iron Man
Eccentric genius, billionaire, philanthropist Tony Stark is the armored super-hero known as Iron Man. Decompressing from his heroic, near-self-sacrificial action as iron Man that saved New York City from annihilation, Tony finds himself unable to sleep and plagued by worry and trepidation. When his world is destroyed and those closest to him threatened, Tony must find a way to save them and in the process find him again.

Pepper Potts
Pepper has progressed from Tony Stark's assistant to the head of Stark Industries, pausing along the way to fall in love with Tony as well. Bright, loyal and honest, Pepper understands Tony Stark more than anyone and sometimes that can be both a worrisome and dangerous thing.

Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes / Iron Patriot
Rhodey is the Liaison between Stark Industries and the U.S. Air Force. He is one of Tony Stark's few trusted friends and most of the time has the patience to deal with the impulsive genius. Rhodey has a new suit of War Machine armor in a red, silver, and blue patriotic design. When suited up, Rhodey becomes Iron Patriot.

The Mandarin
Mandarin is the sinister head of the terrorist organization known as The Ten Rings, from which all the actors of extreme terrorism plaguing the world appear to emanate. Although he is reclusive, Mandarin wields great power and makes his presence known by striking fear in the government and the populace through his brazen plans of attack.

Director: Gaspar Noé
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Lions Gate
Rated: Unrated

"Irreversible" begins with the closing credits running backwards before the film begins (or ends) with Marcus (Vincent Cassell) and Pierre (Albert Dupontel) being escorted out of a gay S&M club by the cops, Marcus with his arm broken and Pierre in handcuffs. The "story" proceeds to unwind in a series of single-take scenes that unfold "Memento"-style, with each scene giving more context to what we have seen previously. Each scenario depicts actions, dialogue, incident, behavior, and circumstances that the lead characters might have wished didn't happen, ranging from extreme violence through awkward social situations to mild embarrassment. The central character (and possible dreamer of this whole what-if story) emerges as Alex (Monica Bellucci), who suffers the worst in a very hard-to-watch rape sequence in an underpass. Semi-improvised, the scenes all have attack and power as themes, with later/earlier conversational sequences that suggest life isn't all sexual assaults in the dark, showing equal cinematic imagination with the horrors. Arguably, this is not a film most would subject themselves to twice, but it is something that stays in the mind for days after viewing, sparking far more ideas and emotions than most wallow-in-nastiness pictures. "--Kim Newman"

Director: Michael Bay
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Rated: PG-13

When you add up all the best things about "The Island", you might just conclude that there's hope yet for Hollywood's most critically reviled hit-maker, Michael Bay. Recruited by Steven Spielberg to direct this lavish and often breathtaking sci-fi action thriller, Bay rises to the occasion with an ambitious production that is, by his standards (and compared to Bay's earlier hits like "The Rock" and "Armageddon"), surprisingly intelligent as it explores the repercussions of cloning in a sealed-off society where humans are cultivated for spare parts, surrogate parenthood, and full-body replacements for wealthy clientele. But when two of the clones (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johanssen) begin to question their fate and the motives of their keepers, they escape into the real world and "The Island" becomes just another Michael Bay action extravaganza, albeit an impressively exciting one. With elaborate chase scenes and a high-tech feast of CGI to dazzle the eye, "The Island" recycles much of the plot from 1979's "Clonus" while borrowing elements from "Logan's Run", "Gattaca" and "Minority Report", and while it's not as smartly conceived as those earlier films, there's no denying that, in many ways, it's Bay's best film to date. "--Jeff Shannon"

Director: Herbert J. Leder
Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi
Studio: Gold Star Films Ltd.
Rated: Unrated

After one of their store houses burnt down, museum director Grove and his assistant Pimm find everything destroyed - only one statue withstood the fire mysteriously undamaged. Suddenly Grove is lying dead on the ground - killed by the statue? Pimm finds out that the cursed statue has been created by Rabbi Loew in 16th century and will withstand every human attempt to destroy it. Pimm decides to use it to his own advantage...

Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Studio: Focus Features
Rated: PG-13

Craig is a high-school junior, in the gifted program, infatuated with his best friend's girl. When he realizes he's suicidal, he checks himself into the psychiatric ward of a hospital, thinking they'll do an observation, help him, and send him home in time for school the next day. Once in, however, he must stay for a week; the juvenile ward is being renovated, so he's in with adults as well as a few youths. Bobby, a man with a young daughter, shows him around; Craig notices Noelle, about his age. He tries to keep his friends from finding out where he is. Little things: he draws, goes to therapy, sings, helps Bobby rehearse an interview. Is this the stuff of insight?