thePULSEPulse DVDs
January 4
American Wedding [R/UR]
Jim (Jason Biggs) proposes to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) in this second sequel to the 1999 hit. Unspeakably raunchy, but what fun would it be if it wasn’t? Available in R-rated and unrated versions.
Tremors 4:The Legend Begins [PG-13]
Cable network Sci-Fi may have canceled the series after one season, but franchise creator S.S. Wilson takes on this prequel, which takes place in Texas in 1889.
January 6
Out of Time [PG-13]
Denzel Washington stars as a Florida sheriff who becomes part of one of his own murder investigations. Mystery mavens might find the denouement a bit obvious, but it is all quite thoughtfully executed, with stalwart Washington carrying the film nicely.
Uptown Girls [PG-13]
When the spoiled daughter of a dead rock star (Brittany Murphy of 8 Mile) goes broke and must play nanny to a spoiled ice princess (Dakota Fanning of “Taken”), you just know by the end of the movie that they are each going to have learned some Big Important Lesson about themselves and others. A bit cloying, but still sweet.
January 13
And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen [R]
French veteran Claude Lelouch’s odd caper about two amnesiacs (Jeremy Irons and Patricia Kaas) whose lives intersect, is very character-driven and quite restrained, and is certainly worth a look.
Bring it on again [PG-13]
This direct-to-video sassiness, about a ragtag group of college cheerleaders who form their own squad, is a sequel to the 2000 hit, minus the star power.
Buffalo Soldiers [R]
Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator) plays a soldier stationed in Germany just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in this dark comedy, which went largely unseen during its very limited theatrical run last year due to its portrayal of the U.S. military in an favorable light.
Curb your enthusiasm: Series One [NR]
Seinfeld fans, rejoice Ñ that series’ co-creator, Larry David, unleashes his wicked wit in the first season of the popular HBO series.
Freddy vs. Jason [R]
Two killers in a steel cage match! Who wins? Who cares! Schlock at its best.
Johnny English [PG]
“Mr. Bean” star Rowan Atkinson is the world’s most inept spy in this slapstick extravaganza.
Microcosmos [G]
The secret lives of insects come alive before your eyes in this meticulous and loving portrait of that unseen world. Genuinely intimate and trippy.
Stark Raving Mad [R]
Quentin Tarantino’s A Band Apart produced this dark crime caper about man (Seann William Scott of The Rundown) out for revenge against the guy who killed his brother.
Swimming Pool [R]
Franois Ozon’s latest puts the “psychological” back in “psychological thriller”, and features the super-sexy double threat of Charlotte Rampling and Ludivine Sagnier, to boot.
January 20
Cabin Fever [R]
Local boy Eli Roth’s wonderfully demented tongue-in-cheek horror offering (and Boston Film Festival entry) is like 28 Days Later…only funny! Don’t watch over dinner!
Jeremiah: Season one [NR]
Showtime’s largely unwatched post-apocalyptic adventure series has been called “Route 66 for the End Times”, and stars TV cast-offs Luke Perry and Malcolm Jamal-Warner wandering a teenage wasteland…literally, as all adults have been wiped out by a plague. Armageddon slumber party, everyone!
Manny & Lo [R]
Lost In Translation star Scarlett Johansson was 11 when she made this decent indie drama in 1996, about a pregnant teen (Aleksa Palladino) and her sister (Johansson) on-the-run.
Once Upon A Time in Mexico [R]
Indie darling Robert Rodriguez’s high-octane follow-up to El Mariachi (1993) and Desperado (1995) stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp and living god Danny Trejo (who is also Rodriguez’s cousin).
Open Range [R]
For the most part, Kevin Costner’s attempt at the sort of Western movie greatness that earned Clint Eastwood a Best Director Oscar for Unforgiven (1992) is pretty solid, even if it is a bit imitative.
Overnight Delivery [PG-13]
College hero Kevin Smith wrote an early draft of this script, and though he has all but disowned the somewhat amusing 1996 road comedy, which stars Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon and bears a striking resemblance to the far raunchier Road Trip (2000). See Smith in Comic Book: The Movie, coming next week.
Spellbound [G]
Nowhere nearly as disturbing as the parents who pimp their children into beauty pageants are those in this surprisingly engaging documentary about eight bright kids who claw their way into the finals of the National Spelling Bee.
January 27
The Critic: The Complete Series [NR]
Movie fans will surely dig this animated, gag-rife look at the movies from “Simpsons” producer Steve Tompkins about a lonely movie critic (and social retard) voiced by Jon Lovitz.
Le Divorce [PG-13]
Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts star in this stellar dramatic ensemble comedy directed by veteran Robert Altman.
Radio [PG]
Fact-based drama about James Robert “Radio” Kennedy, a severely retarded man (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.) who, with the help of compassionate Georgia high school football coach Harold Jones (Ed Harris), finds his place in the sun. Treacly but easy to like.
The Secret Lives of Dentists
Campbell Scott and Hope Davis, as a suburban couple in turmoil, sublimely communicate the everyday pain and pathos of Jane Smiley’s Everyfamily (the film is an adaptation of her novella, The Age of Grief), from fleeting glances exchanged across the dinner table to perfectly timed uncomfortable silences.
Thirteen [R]
Catherine Hardwicke’s potent and acclaimed arthouse drama about a wayward teen (Evan Rachel Wood) was written by an actual 13-year-old girl, shining co-star Nikki Reed.
