This week brings zombies and romantic comedies to the small screen!
Fans of Jennifer Lopez are in for a treat this week, as her latest romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan, hits home video. The movie stars Lopez as a woman who is tired of being single and childless. She creates a plan to remedy her situation, only to have it all go wrong. Lopez found decent success at the box office with The Back-up Plan and it is sure to be a hit on home video.
Also releasing this week is George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead. The latest zombie movie from the godfather of all things zombies found moderate success at the box office during its very limited run, with critics of the movie not too impressed. But what zombie movies are made for critics? Fans of the genre will certainly want to give this one a rent.
The straight-to-video release of Dorian Gray hits home this week as well, and is the infamous story of a wealthy man who trades immortality with a portrait of himself. The portrait secretly ages as Gray does not, and Gray must protect his secret at all costs. The original story was told by author Oscar Wilde and first appeared in publication back in 1890.
Also releasing this week is the Australian feature The Square, a suspenseful tale about affairs, money, and murder. The movie had a massive following when it released in foreign markets two years ago, and had a brief run in theaters in the United States earlier this year. Fans of thrillers and suspense will certainly want to give it a rent, but the movie doesn't require multiple viewings or a purchase.
This week, the Terry Gilliam masterpiece Time Bandits finally hits Blu-Ray. The movie released in 1981 and has had a huge cult following ever since. Gilliam's visual style and flare will make this classic movie worth owning on Blu-Ray, especially for fans of the technology.
The Best
The Back-up Plan
Buy/Rent/Skip: Skip
A single woman opts for artificial insemination after dating for years and failing to find the right guy, only to see the man of her dreams breeze into her life just as she learns she's pregnant. Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is well aware that her biological clock is ticking, but she just can't find the type of guy she'd want to settle down and start a family with. Eventually, she makes the decision to become a single mother. The very same day that Zoe is artificially inseminated, however, she meets Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), a single charmer whom she thinks would make...(Read Full Synopsis)
Director: Alan Poul
Starring: Jennifer Lopez
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including references, some crude material and language.
Official Website: http://www.theback-upplan.com/
(Click poster for movie trailer, full cast, plot summary, and more..)
Survival of the Dead
Buy/Rent/Skip: Rent
Filmmaker George A. Romero unleashes the sixth film in his Dead Series with this gut-munching shocker surrounding a clash of ideals between two factions of inhabitants on a remote island after a zombie outbreak. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Director: George A Romero
Starring: Alan Van Sprang
MPAA Rating: Rated R for strong zombie violence/gore, language and brief sexuality.
Official Website: http://magnetreleasing.com/survivalofthedead/
(Click poster for movie trailer, full cast, plot summary, and more..)
The Rest
Dorian Gray
A vain London playboy offers his soul in exchange for eternal beauty in this adaptation of the chilling tale by author Oscar Wilde. Seduced into the decadent world of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth), handsome young aristocrat Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) becomes obsessed with maintaining his youthful appearance, and commissions a special portrait that will weather the winds of time while he remains forever young. When Gray's obsession spirals out of control, his desperate attempts to safeguard his secret turn his once-privileged life into a living hell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Reviews
(Click poster for movie trailer, full cast, plot summary, and more..)
The Square
Temptation turns a man's life upside down in this noir-influenced thriller from Australia. Ray Yale (David Roberts) is a construction worker who is married to Martha (Lucy Bell) and is helping to build an upscale resort hotel just outside Sydney. Ray isn't entirely happy in his marriage, and his roving eye has become focused on Carla (Claire van der Boom), a hairdresser who lives next door. Carla is married to a low-level mobster, Greg (Anthony Hayes), but she craves excitement and is soon having a torrid affair with Ray. Carla knows that Greg has a large bundle of cash hidden in their home, and she hatches a scheme she shares with Ray...(Read Full Synopsis)
(Click poster for movie trailer, full cast, plot summary, and more..)
Time Bandits
A young boy joins a group of renegade dwarves on an unpredictable journey through time in this humorous fantasy. Monty Python animator Terry Gilliam mostly achieves a tricky balancing act in his second feature as sole director, creating a dark, irreverent comedy disguised as a family adventure. Particularly amusing are the boy's encounters with various historical figures, including an entertainment-starved Napoleon (Ian Holm), a powerful Agamemnon (Sean Connery), and a surprisingly stuffy Robin Hood, embodied by Gilliam's Python cohort John Cleese. Episodic by nature, the film is less successful when dealing with the larger narrative, which concerns the pursuit of the dwarves...(Read Full Synopsis)
(Click poster for movie trailer, full cast, plot summary, and more..)
Recent DVD and Blu-ray Releases
August 17th - The Last Song and more...
August 10th - Date Night and more...
August 3rd - Kick-Ass and more...
July 27th - Clash of the Titans and more...
July 20th - Cop Out and more...
