ElasticDog’s DVD Library

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

Title : # | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y

Page Number: 9 / 25

Director: Danny Leiner
Starring: John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula Garcés, Neil Patrick Harris, David Krumholtz
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 7.1 (23,615 votes)
Duration: 90
Release: Jan 2005
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780780649620
Purchased On:

Summary: From the director of "Dude, Where's My Car?" comes another crazed tale of two friends on a perilous quest--in this case, to eat burgers at the fast food restaurant White Castle. The pair--repressed Harold (John Cho, "Better Luck Tomorrow") and freewheeling Kumar (Kal Penn, "Love Don't Cost a Thing")--get extremely high and set off on the road, only to be sidetracked by skateboarding hooligans, racist cops, an inbred tow truck driver, and Neil Patrick Harris--yes, Doogie Howser, M.D. The humor is all over the map, and it would be nice if there were one female character who wasn't a caricature, but "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" has a loose, gregarious charm, and the movie's canniness about the cliches of the buddy-movie genre give it a sneaky subversive feel--just the fact that neither of the heroes is white puts a different spin on just about every circumstance. Surprisingly clever, cheerfully stupid. "--Bret Fetzer"

Hero

Director: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Daoming Chen
Genre: Action & Adventure
Rated: PG-13

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 8.0 (48,876 votes)
Duration: 99
Release: Nov 2004
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0786936259223
Purchased On:

Summary: Master filmmaker Quentin Tarantino presents HERO -- starring martial arts legend Jet Li in a visually stunning martial arts epic where a fearless warrior rises up to defy an empire and unite a nation! With supernatural skill ... and no fear ... a nameless soldier (Jet Li) embarks on a mission of revenge against the fearsome army that massacred his people. Now, to achieve the justice he seeks, he must take on the empire's most ruthless assassins and reach the enemy he has sworn to defeat! Acclaimed by critics and honored with numerous awards, HERO was nominated for both an Oscar® (2002 Best Foreign Language Film)and Golden Globe!

High Fidelity

Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Jack Black, Lisa Bonet
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 7.6 (44,656 votes)
Duration: 114
Release: Sep 2000
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0717951009944
Purchased On:

Summary: Transplanted from England to the not-so-mean streets of Chicago, the screen adaptation of Nick Hornby's cult-classic novel "High Fidelity" emerges unscathed from its Americanization, idiosyncrasies intact, thanks to John Cusack's inimitable charm and a nimble, nifty screenplay (cowritten by Cusack). Early-thirtysomething Rob Gordon (Cusack) is a slacker who owns a vintage record shop, a massive collection of LPs, and innumerable top-five lists in his head. At the opening of the film, Rob recounts directly to the audience his all-time top-five breakups--which doesn't include his recent falling out with his girlfriend Laura (Iben Hjejle), who has just moved out of their apartment. Thunderstruck and obsessed with Laura's desertion (but loath to admit it), Rob begins a quest to confront the women who instigated the aforementioned top-five breakups to find out just what he did wrong.
Low on plot and high on self-discovery, "High Fidelity" takes a good 30 minutes or so to find its groove (not unlike Cusack's "Grosse Pointe Blank"), but once it does, it settles into it comfortably and builds a surprisingly touching momentum. Rob is basically a grown-up version of Cusack's character in "Say Anything" (who was told "Don't be a guy--be a man!"), and if you like Cusack's brand of smart-alecky romanticism, you'll automatically be won over (if you can handle Cusack's almost-nonstop talking to the camera). Still, it's hard not to be moved by Rob's plight. At the beginning of the film he and his coworkers at the record store (played hilariously by Jack Black and Todd Louiso) seem like overgrown boys in their secret clubhouse; by the end, they've grown up considerably, with a clear-eyed view of life. Ably directed by Stephen Frears ("Dangerous Liaisons"), "High Fidelity" features a notable supporting cast of the women in Rob's life, including the striking, Danish-born Hjejle, Lisa Bonet as a sultry singer-songwriter, and the triumphant triumvirate of Lili Taylor, Joelle Carter, and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Rob's ex-girlfriends. With brief cameos by Tim Robbins as Laura's new, New Age boyfriend and Bruce Springsteen as himself. "--Mark Englehart"

A History of Violence

Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes
Genre: Action & Adventure
Rated: R

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 7.5 (41,470 votes)
Duration: 96
Release: Mar 2006
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0794043100956
Purchased On:

Summary: On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct "A History of Violence", but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that "A History of Violence" stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is "A History of Violence" that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. "--Jeff Shannon"

On the DVD
On a single disc and with little fanfare, this DVD makes an excellent case for the best extras of the year. Dive into the one-hour-long documentary and learn more about moviemaking than on many a double-disc. The secret lies in director David Cronenberg's (and his usual crew) folksy casualness in showing off the craft, be it makeup (green screens were used), directing (Cronenberg doesn't storyboard), or art direction (the diner set). It also is very funny to hear about "fish Fridays" and how Maria Bello's Uncle Pete became an influence. Even the infamous sex-on-the-staircase scene is diagnosed with candor as stars Viggo Mortensen and Bello act as if there is no backstage camera. There's only one deleted scene, but it's uncommonly deconstructed on why it was filmed and why it was cut (it's a very Cronenbergian dream sequence). A short bit on Cannes is also a delight. So much is here that Cronenberg's smart commentary track is nearly superfluous. Isn't that a nice surprise? "--Doug Thomas"

Hitch

Director: Andy Tennant
Starring: Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta, Julie Ann Emery
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 6.8 (30,948 votes)
Duration: 118
Release: Jun 2005
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0043396112353
Purchased On:

Summary: Will Smith's easygoing charm makes "Hitch" the kind of pleasant, uplifting romantic comedy that you could recommend to almost anyone--especially if there's romance in the air. As suave Manhattan dating consultant Alex "Hitch" Hitchens, Smith plays up the smoother, sophisticated side of his established screen persona as he mentors a pudgy accountant (Kevin James) on the lessons of love. The joke, of course, is that Hitch's own love life is a mess, and as he coaches James toward romance with a rich, powerful, and seemingly inaccessible beauty named Allegra (Amber Valetta), he's trying too hard to impress a savvy gossip columnist (Eva Mendes) with whom he's fallen in love. Through mistaken identities and mismatched couples, director Andy Tennant brings the same light touch that made Drew Barrymore's "Ever After" so effortlessly engaging. As romantic comedies go, "Hitch" doesn't offer any big surprises, but as a date movie it gets the job done with amiable ease and style. "--Jeff Shannon"

Hotel Rwanda

Director: Terry George
Starring: Xolani Mali, Don Cheadle, Desmond Dube, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Tony Kgoroge
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 8.4 (43,674 votes)
Duration: 122
Release: Apr 2005
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 9780792866862
Purchased On:

Summary: Solidly built around a subtle yet commanding performance by Don Cheadle, "Hotel Rwanda" emerged as one of the most highly-praised dramas of 2004. In a role that demands his quietly riveting presence in nearly every scene, Cheadle plays real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager in the Rwandan capital of Kigali who in 1994 saved 1,200 Rwandan "guests" from certain death during the genocidal clash between tribal Hutus, who slaughtered a million victims, and the horrified Tutsis, who found safe haven or died. Giving his best performance since his breakthrough role in "Devil in a Blue Dress", Cheadle plays Rusesabagina as he really was during the ensuing chaos: "an expert in situational ethics" (as described by critic Roger Ebert), doing what he morally "had" to do, at great risk and potential sacrifice, with an understanding that wartime negotiations are largely a game of subterfuge, cooperation, and clever bribery. Aided by a United Nations official (Nick Nolte), he worked a saintly miracle, and director Terry George ("Some Mother's Son") brings formidable social conscience to bear on a true story you won't soon forget. "--Jeff Shannon"

House of Flying Daggers

Director: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang, Dandan Song, Hongfei Zhao
Genre: Action & Adventure
Rated: PG-13

My Rating:

IMDB Rating: 7.6 (24,212 votes)
Duration: 119
Release: Apr 2005
# of Discs: 1
UPC: 0043396091788
Purchased On:

Summary: No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like "Raise the Red Lantern" or "Hero", though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. "House of Flying Daggers" is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, "Hero", sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; "House of Flying Daggers" finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. "--Bret Fetzer"

Created using DVDpedia