Total Number of DVDs: 312
Last Updated: 26 May 2008

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About a Boy

Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Sharon Small
Genre: Art House & International
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 7.4 (30,799 votes)
Duration: 102
Release: Jan 2003
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780783268644
Purchased On:
Summary: A box-office smash in England, "About a Boy" went on to charm the world as another fine adaptation (following "High Fidelity") of a popular Nick Hornby novel. While "High Fidelity" transplanted its London charm to Chicago, this irresistible comedy was directed by Americans Chris and Paul Weitz ("American Pie") with its British pedigree intact. Better yet, Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Will, a self-absorbed trust-fund slacker who tries to improve his romantic odds by preying on desperate single mothers. His cynical strategy backfires when he recruits the misfit son (Nicholas Hoult) of a suicidal mother (Toni Collette) to pose as his own son, thus proving his parental prowess to his latest single-mom target (Rachel Weisz). The kid has a warming effect on this ultimate cad, and what could have been a sappy tearjerker turns into a subtle, frequently hilarious portrait of familial quirks and elevated self-esteem. From start to finish, it's a genuine treat. "--Jeff Shannon"


 

Accepted

Director: Steve Pink
Starring: Justin Long, Jonah Hill, Adam Herschman, Columbus Short, Maria Thayer
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.3 (9,424 votes)
Duration: 93
Release: Nov 2006
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0025192885327
Purchased On:
Summary: Justin Long has been hovering on the edges of movies like "The Break-Up" and "Dodgeball", providing little comic bursts that are often funnier than the rest of the movie. In "Accepted", Long plays Bartleby Gaines, a fast-talking slacker who, when he gets rejected by every college he applied to, invents a phony college to get his parents off his back. Unfortunately, the website his best friend creates is too effective--hundreds of other rejects apply and are accepted. Instead of revealing the hoax, Gaines decides to forge ahead and let the students create their own curriculum, little suspecting that their school is obstructing the expansion plans of the nearby snobbish college. "Accepted" is much better than you might expect, given the low bar set by most campus comedies; it aims for, and sometimes achieves, the blend of slapstick and social satire that "Animal House" embodied. Long proves to be a charming leading man without losing his quirky comic sense and the supporting cast is consistently entertaining, particularly stand-up comedian Lewis Black, who delivers a variety of sardonic rants about society. "Accepted"'s critique of conformism is glib--you wish they'd given it a little more bite--but it's still valid and a pleasant sliver of substance in an otherwise vapid genre. "--Bret Fetzer"


 

Aeon Flux

Director: Karyn Kusama
Starring: Charlize Theron, Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 5.5 (18,648 votes)
Duration: 93
Release: Apr 2006
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0097363337348
Purchased On:
Summary: Like the animated series it's based on, "Aeon Flux" is the kind of sci-fi that's best appreciated by the MTV generation. It's a serious attempt at stylized, futuristic action/adventure (the title character, played by Charlize Theron, is essentially a female James Bond for the cyberpunk era) and taken for what it is, it's not all that bad. The action takes place in the year 2415, four centuries after a virus nearly decimated the human race, leaving only five million survivors in a utopian city called Bregna. Aeon belongs to the Monicans, a secret rebel resistance force that is struggling to destroy the Goodchild regime led by its namesake, Trevor Goodchild (Martin Csokas), the ruler of Bregna and a descendant of the man who found a cure for the deadly virus. As instructed by the Handler (Frances McDormand, gamely playing along in ridiculous sci-fi regalia), Aeon is assigned to assassinate Goodchild, but there are deeper secrets to be discovered, and conspiracies to be foiled. This leads director Karyn Kusama (who fared much better with her debut feature "Girlfight") to indulge in all sorts of routine action and fast-paced gunplay, but the elusive pleasures of "Aeon Flux" are mostly found in the sleek athleticism of Theron and costar Sophie Okonedo (as a fellow Monican), who commit themselves 100% to roles that are dramatically flat yet physically dynamic. Other highlights include Aeon's high-tech gadgetry (including an eyeball that doubles as a microsocope) and the amusing sight of Pete Postlethwaite in a costume resembling a construction-site disposal tube, but "Flux" fans may wonder what happened to the surreal, chromium sheen future that gave the MTV series its visionary appeal. As a live-action feature, "Aeon Flux" is a miscalculated exercise in cheesy style and dour tone, but it's entertaining enough to earn a small cadre of admirers. "--Jeff Shannon"


 

Alpha Dog

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Starring: Bruce Willis, Matthew Barry, Emile Hirsch, Fernando Vargas, Vincent Kartheiser
Genre: Drama
Rated: R
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.8 (12,425 votes)
Duration: 118
Release: May 2007
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0025193250520
Purchased On:
Summary: With harrowing intensity, "Alpha Dog" dramatizes one of the most tragically notorious murders in recent history. Ripped from the headlines, writer-director Nick Cassavetes' flawed but riveting crime drama (a polar opposite to his previous film, the romantic hit "The Notebook") is based on the real-life case of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer in California's San Gabriel Valley who, in 2000, became one of the youngest men to appear on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Names and details have been changed, but the criminal circumstances remain the same: With family links to organized crime, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) is on the warpath against Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a sleazebag addict who owes him money. Fate intervenes when Johnny and his stoner pals including Frankie (Justin Timberlake) encounter Jake's 15-year-old half-brother Zack (Anton Yelchin) and hold him as collateral until Jake pays his debts. What begins as a casual, seemingly harmless situation escalates into a crisis of capital crime, as "Alpha Dog" employs split-screen, docudrama, and mock-documentary interviews to chronicle a tragic tailspin of reckless events and lawless behavior.
Cassavetes himself became part of the real-life drama when prosecutors (hoping to locate then-fugitive Jesse James Hollywood, who was captured in 2005) gave him legally controversial access to their case files. "Alpha Dog" clearly benefits from this inside information, and while the film's grueling depiction of underage squalor (including rampant drug and alcohol abuse) is inevitably off-putting and at least partially exploitative, there's no denying that Cassavetes has worked wonders with a well-chosen ensemble cast including Timberlake, who contrasts his music-industry stardom with a convincing performance as a likable, not-too-bright party animal who quickly gets in over his head. The film is ultimately compromised by Cassavetes' ambitious attempt to cover too much dramatic territory, but like his father John before him, he demonstrates a remarkable skill with actors (including Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, and Harry Dean Stanton in supporting roles), and "Alpha Dog" is full of powerful, dangerous moments that aren't easily forgotten. "--Jeff Shannon"


 

American Beauty

Director: Sam Mendes
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari
Genre: Art House & International
Rated: R
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 8.5 (176,371 votes)
Duration: 122
Release: Oct 2000
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780783241234
Purchased On:
Summary: From its first gliding aerial shot of a generic suburban street, "American Beauty" moves with a mesmerizing confidence and acuity epitomized by Kevin Spacey's calm narration. Spacey is Lester Burnham, a harried Everyman whose midlife awakening is the spine of the story, and his very first lines hook us with their teasing fatalism--like "Sunset Boulevard"'s Joe Gillis, Burnham tells us his story from beyond the grave.
It's an audacious start for a film that justifies that audacity. Weaving social satire, domestic tragedy, and whodunit into a single package, Alan Ball's first theatrical script dares to blur generic lines and keep us off balance, winking seamlessly from dark, scabrous comedy to deeply moving drama. The Burnham family joins the cinematic short list of great dysfunctional American families, as Lester is pitted against his manic, materialistic realtor wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening, making the most of a mostly unsympathetic role) and his sullen, contemptuous teenaged daughter, Jane (Thora Birch, utterly convincing in her edgy balance of self-absorption and wistful longing). Into their lives come two catalytic outsiders. A young cheerleader (Mena Suvari) jolts Lester into a sexual epiphany that blooms into a second adolescence. And an eerily calm young neighbor (Wes Bentley) transforms both Lester and Jane with his canny influence.
Credit another big-screen newcomer, English theatrical director Sam Mendes, with expertly juggling these potentially disjunctive elements into a superb ensemble piece that achieves a stylized pace without lapsing into transparent self-indulgence. Mendes has shrewdly insured his success with a solid crew of stage veterans, yet he's also made an inspired discovery in Bentley, whose Ricky Fitts becomes a fulcrum for both plot and theme. Cinematographer Conrad Hall's sumptuous visual design further elevates the film, infusing the beige interiors of the Burnhams' lives with vivid bursts of deep crimson, the color of roses--and of blood. "--Sam Sutherland"


 

American History X

Director: Tony Kaye
Starring: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Avery Brooks, Jennifer Lien
Genre: Drama
Rated: R
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 8.5 (115,494 votes)
Duration: 119
Release: Apr 1999
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9786305313687
Purchased On:
Summary: Perhaps the highest compliment you can pay to Edward Norton is that his Oscar-nominated performance in "American History X" nearly convinces you that there is a shred of logic in the tenets of white supremacy. If that statement doesn't horrify you, it should; Norton is so fully immersed in his role as a neo-Nazi skinhead that his character's eloquent defense of racism is disturbingly persuasive--at least on the surface. Looking lean and mean with a swastika tattoo and a mind full of hate, Derek Vinyard (Norton) has inherited racism from his father, and that learning has been intensified through his service to Cameron (Stacy Keach), a grown-up thug playing tyrant and teacher to a growing band of disenfranchised teens from Venice Beach, California, all hungry for an ideology that fuels their brooding alienation.
The film's basic message--that hate is learned and can be unlearned--is expressed through Derek's kid brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), whose sibling hero-worship increases after Derek is imprisoned (or, in Danny's mind, martyred) for the killing of two black men. Lacking Derek's gift of rebel rhetoric, Danny is easily swayed into the violent, hateful lifestyle that Derek disowns during his thoughtful time in prison. Once released, Derek struggles to save his brother from a violent fate, and "American History X" partially suffers from a mix of intense emotions, awkward sentiment, and predictably inevitable plotting. And yet British director Tony Kaye (who would later protest against Norton's creative intervention during post-production) manages to juggle these qualities--and a compelling clash of visual styles--to considerable effect. No matter how strained their collaboration may have been, both Kaye and Norton can be proud to have created a film that addresses the issue of racism with dramatically forceful impact. "--Jeff Shannon"


 

American Pie

Director: Weitz, Chris
Starring: Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Alyson Hannigan, Shannon Elizabeth
Genre: Comedy
Rated: Unrated
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.8 (65,078 votes)
Duration: 96
Release: Dec 1999
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780783239989
Purchased On:
Summary: Anyone who's watched just about any teenage film knows that the greatest evil in this world isn't chemical warfare, ethnic cleansing, or even the nuclear bomb. The worst crime known to man? Why, virginity, of course. As we've learned from countless films--from "Summer of '42" to "Risky Business"--virginity is a criminal burden that one must shed oneself of as quickly as possible. And while many of these films have given the topic a bad name, "American Pie" quietly sweeps in and gives sex some of its dignity back. Dignity, you may say? How can a film that highlights intercourse with fruit pies, premature ejaculation broadcasted across the Internet, and the gratuitous "gross-out" shots restore the dignity of a genre that's been encumbered with such heavyweights as "Porky's" and "Losin' It"? The plot may be typical, with four high school friends swearing to "score" by prom, yet the film rises above the muck with its superior cast, successful and sweet humor, and some actually rather retro values about the meaning and importance of sex. Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, and Eddie Kaye Thomas make up the odd quartet of pals determined to woo, lie, and beg their way to manhood. The young women they pursue are wary girlfriend Vicky (Tara Reid), choir girl Heather (Mena Suvari), band geek Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), and just about any other female who is willing and able. Natasha Lyonne as Jessica, playing a similar role as in "Slums of Beverly Hills", is the general adviser to the crowd (when Vicky tells her "I want it to be the right time, the right place," Jessica responds, "It's not a space shuttle launch, it's "sex""). The comedic timing hits the mark--especially in the deliberately awkward scenes between Jim (Biggs) and his father (Eugene Levy). And, of course, lessons are learned in this genuinely funny film, which will probably please the adult crowd even more than it will the teenage one. "--Jenny Brown"


 

American Pie 2

Director: James B. Rogers
Starring: Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas
Genre: Comedy
Rated: Unrated
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.2 (38,537 votes)
Duration: 111
Release: Jan 2002
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780783266169
Purchased On:
Summary: To the horror of prudes everywhere, "American Pie 2" is even funnier than its popular predecessor, pushing the R rating with such unabashed ribaldry that you'll either be appalled or surprised by its defiant celebration of the young-adult male libido. Females will be equally shocked or delighted, because like "American Pie" this appealing, character-based comedy puts the women in control while offering a front-row view of horny guys in all their dubious glory. Which is to say, "American Pie" is mostly about sex--or, to be more specific, breasts, genitalia, "potential" lesbianism, blue silicone sex toys, crude methods of seduction, "the rule of three" (just watch the movie), a shower of "champagne," phone sex, tantric sex, and, oh yeah... superglue.
In the case of college freshman Jim (Jason Biggs), performance anxiety plagues his upcoming reunion with sexy Czech exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), but his buddies from "American Pie" have a solution: rent a Lake Michigan beach house for the summer, throw wild parties to lure the local "hotties," and score big-time. "Beach Party" this ain't: blessed with a complete cast reunion from "AP1" (including Eugene Levy as Jim's dad), this sequel is anything but innocent, and with the exception of drugs (which are conspicuously absent), pretty much anything goes. The gags are almost nonstop, and director J.B. Rogers (recovering from his debut debacle "Say It Isn't So") handles them with laudable precision, allowing his young cast (particularly Biggs, who epitomizes comedic good sportsmanship) to run with lines that most people wouldn't dare utter aloud. The result is a liberating and eminently good-natured comedy that needn't apologize for its one-track mind. "--Jeff Shannon"


 

Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.7 (37,613 votes)
Duration: 98
Release: Dec 2004
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9781417033751
Purchased On:
Summary: Will Farrell followed up his star-making vehicle "Elf", which matched his fine-tuned comic obliviousness to a sweet sincerity, with a more arrogant variation on the same character: Ron Burgundy, a macho, narcissistic news anchor from the 1970s. Along with his news posse--roving reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd, "Clueless"), sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner), and dim-bulb weatherman Brick Tamland (Steve Carell, "Bruce Almighty")--Burgundy rules the roost in San Diego, fawned upon by groupies and supported by a weary producer (Fred Willard, "Best In Show") who tolerates Burgundy's ego because of good ratings. But when Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate, "View from the Top") arrives with ambitions to become an anchor herself, she threatens the male-dominated newsroom. "Anchorman" has plenty of funny material, but it's as if Farrell couldn't decide what he really wanted to mock, and so took smart-ass cracks at everything in sight. Still, there are moments of inspired delirium. "--Bret Fetzer"


 

The Animatrix

Director: Peter Chung, Shinichirô Watanabe, Kôji Morimoto
Starring: Akio Ôtsuka, Clayton Watson, Pamela Adlon, Hedy Burress, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson
Genre: Anime & Manga
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 7.4 (12,357 votes)
Duration: 89
Release: Jun 2003
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780790772295
Purchased On:
Summary: "Matrix" writer-directors Larry and Andy Wachowski commissioned seven artists from Japan, America and Korea to make nine short films set in the world of their feature trilogy. Some of the top anime directors contributed to this anthology, including Yoshiaki Kawajiri ("Ninja Scroll"), Koji Morimoto ("Robot Carnival"), and Shinchiro Watanabe ("Cowboy Bebop"). Some of the films tie directly into the narrative of the live-action movies. Drawn in a style reminiscent of Jean "Moebius" Giraud, Mahiro Maeda's "The Second Renaissance" (Part I & Part II) depicts the human-machine wars that caused the enslavement of humanity and the creation of the Matrix. The duel between two flamboyantly costumed Kabuki warriors in Kawajiri's "Program" is an expanded version of the cybernetic training Neo (Keanu Reeves) undergoes in the first "Matrix" film. Watanabe evokes the look of old newspaper photographs in "A Detective Story," which falls outside the storyline of the features. Fast-paced, violent and grim, "The Animatrix" is an uneven but intriguing compilation that represents a new level in the ongoing cross-pollination between Japanese animation and American live action. (Not rated, suitable for ages 16 and older: considerable violence, violence against women, grotesque imagery, brief nudity, alcohol use) "--Charles Solomon"


 

Antitrust

Director: Peter Howitt
Starring: Ryan Phillippe, Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tim Robbins, Douglas McFerran
Genre: Action & Adventure
Rated: PG-13
My Rating:
IMDB Rating: 6.0 (11,065 votes)
Duration: 108
Release: May 2001
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780792849940
Purchased On:
Summary: The term "suspension of disbelief" was invented for the idea that Ryan Phillippe could be a computer genius. As Milo, a slacker brainiac recruited by smilingly ominous software giant Gary Winston (Tim Robbins) to help build a global communications system, Phillippe still looks like a million bucks. He is also still doing the clenched, pouty grown-up voice that he always uses to show that he means business in this acting stuff (he's nothing if not earnest), and a pair of designer glasses completes the transformation. He's well matched in "Antitrust" by Claire Forlani, who, in turn, spends time pursing her lips and squinting her dewy eyes as Milo's troubled girlfriend, an artist who proves to be a liability when Milo discovers that Winston is killing off clever competitors like a dot-com führer. Robbins, looking like David Letterman, seems willing to either take his role dead seriously or goof around a bit, but director Peter Howitt doesn't know how to play any of it (the actor was better used as a grinning madman in another flawed paranoid thriller, the underseen "Arlington Road"). Without any underlying menace or enough satirical bite to keep it interesting, the whole thing slips by passively in a mindless matinee kind of way until the over-the-top finale. Production designer Catherine Hardwicke has had some big, glossy fun creating Winston's campus and ornate private kingdom, and there's the cheapest of kicks in seeing Robbins's Bill Gates taken down publicly, but the film is definitely junior league. "--Steve Wiecking"


 


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