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Happenings

film

Reviewed by Mike Szymanski


DVD RELEASES

January through March 2008 release . . .




AMERICAN GANGSTER, Season 1
BET Entertainment

Inevitably to coincide with Denzel Washington's film of the same name, this series shows a whole lot of underworld criminals, and as they show on the cover the DVD, it looks like most of them are black. But, there's good and bad in the two-disc docu-drama that includes interviews with actor Ving Rhames, politician Maxine Waters and Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard Parks as well as they tell the stories of Harlem drug kingpin and black mafia leader Leroy Nicky Barnes, L.A.'s reigning crack king "Freeway" Ricky Ross and many others. Not Rated.



SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE
THINKFilm

Sophie Okonedo, Mark Strong, Adrian Lester, Ewan McGregor, Polly Walker, Gina McKee & Hiran Desilva Thenabadu

This British romantic comedy shows the lives of seven couples spending a sunny afternoon in Hampstead Heath. In a lot of ways, it shows how happily integrated some neighborhoods of England are, with Ewan McGregor, for example, playing part of a gay couple, and Hotel Rwanda's Sophie Okonedo living next to some of the haughty British snobs. The DVD has a "making-of" feature and trailers. Rated PG-13



CRISS ANGEL: MINDFREAK, Season 3
A & E Entertainment

Nothing will freak your family out more than sitting down and watching this super-illusionist out-beat Houdini at some of his own tricks. What's great is that this likable long-haired mystifier brings along his friends like rapper Flavor Flav and singer Mandy Moore to prove how really cool he is. This version not only shows his unbreakable side, like how he is holed up in a block of cement over Times Square, but it shows his sensitive side too, as he shows kids from Make-A-Wish how to handle pain. He also shows how to do some of the tricks, too, and debunks frauds in a segment called "Suckers." Rated PG



SHOWSTOPPERS
Warner. Home Video

Faune Chambers, Tamala Jones, Clifton Powell & Fredro Starr

Non-stop music and competition chronicles the history of African American sororities and fraternities. Directed by All Starz Live's Barry Bowles, the focus is on the girls of Lambda sorority and their captain Destiny who is determined to take them to the top, with some new pyrotechnics. A lot like Stomp the Yard, this also shows a bit of history with a mini-documentary about the more than two million African American girls in traditional Greek sororities and their real-life competitions. Rated PG



30 DAYS OF NIGHT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Josh Hartnett, Manu Bennett, Ben Foster, Chic Littlewood, Melissa George & Danny Huston

From producers Sam Raimi (director, Spider-Man trilogy) and Robert Tapert (producer, The Evil Dead series) and director David Slade (Hard Candy), comes a frightening story of a small band of humans against blood-thirsty vampires in a frozen Alaskan town. This graphic novel comes to film has a DVD filled with eight featurettes, including “Blood, Guts and the Nasty #@$&!” that reveals secrets behind the spine-chilling visual effects and “Building Barrow,” a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the hard-scrabble Alaskan town where the story is set, a history of vampires in film, and much more. The Blu-ray High-DefTM includes an enhanced photo gallery, 30 Images of Night, a Graphic Novel-to-Film Comparison available only on the Blu-ray Disc. Rated R



CAPTAIN N AND THE NEW SUPER MARIO WORLD
Shout! Factory

A two-disc set of the first 1991 animated series to include the characters of Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and the rest. This final season of the original cartoon pits the Forces of Chaos against Princess Lana, Mega Man, Gameboy and others in a battle for the safety of the universe. This is the series of characters that have launched the dozens of games that kids now play obsessively. Rated G



GABRIEL
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Andy Whitfield, Samantha Noble, Erika Heynatz, Michael Piccirilli, Dwaine Stevenson & Valentino del Toro

There is a struggle between Arc and Fallen angels for control of Purgatory and its population of re-born souls. At present, darkness rules and Gabriel (Whitfield), the last of the seven Arcs sent to return light to the city, must assume human form for the first time. Purgatory's underworld is dangerous and seedy, and Gabriel must hide his powers in order to survive.† In the darkest place of the human soul, this lone arc angel's battle with his human feelings and emotions will prove as perilous as facing the Fallen angels. Three making-of featurettes are included, as well as deleted scenes and commentary. Rated R



HAIRSPRAY
New Line Home Video

John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Zac Efron, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer, Elijah Kelley, Christopher Walken & Amanda Bynes

Brilliant director Adam Shankman, who made Vin Diesel believable in a kid's movie (The Pacifier) has taken John Waters' bizarre story of Baltimore racial inequality and turned it into the feel-good film of the year. Travolta reprises the drag role of Divine as the agoraphobic mom, but it's Latifah who steals the show as Motormouth Maybelle and Elijah Kelley as the smooth-dancing Seaweed. This is a perfect film to show kids what discrimination was really like in grandpa's days, and what some people did about it-and set to music. The DVD contains five deleted scenes and some hysterical behind-the-scenes outtakes. Rated PG



SOUTHLAND TALES
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Bai Ling, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Seann William Scott, Mandy Moore & Justin Timberlake

From acclaimed writer/director Richard Kelly, the visionary creator behind the modern classic Donnie Darko, comes another exercise in mind-bending cool. Getting mixed reviews, the futuristic film is a dark comedy about the absurdities of political extremes that bring about the end of the world in the near future on an Independence Day in Los Angeles. Featuring an all-star ensemble cast, the DVD set includes a making-of featurette “USIDent TV: Surveilling the Southland,” and interviews with Kelly and the cast. Audiences will also get a chance to expand the film's unique experience with the never-before-seen animated short, “This is the Way the World Ends,” written and directed by Kelly. Rated R



SCRAPBOOKS FROM AFRICA AND BEYOND
Palm Pictures

A definitive portrayal of Peter Beard, including his professional career, personal adventures and iconic photographs showing his trips to Africa in 1955 and 1960. He worked with Andy Warhol, Andrew Wyeth, Terry Southern, Truman Capote and Francis Bacon and then in 1996 he was trampled by an elephant. Not rated



BOOGEYMAN 2: UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Tobin Bell, Danielle Savre, Jarron Bailey & Renee O'Connor

A sequel to the creepy original, this stars Tobin Bell from the Saw series with first-time director Jeff Betancourt at the helm. Bonus materials include the featurette "Bringing Fear to Life: Makeup Effects from Storyboards to Screen" and two separate commentary tracks. The story is about a young woman with a long-term phobia of the bogeyman who checks herself into a mental hospital with the hopes of overcoming her fears. Rated PG-13



MEDABOTS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Shout! Factory

A four-disc set of Medabots, where kids have the ultimate power. The supercharged robots are fueled with artificial intelligence and a specialized arsenal of high-powered weapons. The Medabots compete against each other in exciting Robattles, with the winners acquiring Medaparts from the defeated Medabot. But more than anything else, these challenges are about courage and mind power, where the soul of the Medafighter and Medabot combine to emerge victorious. Rated G



LIVING & DYING
HBO Home Video

Jordana Spiro, Arnold Vosloo, Bai Ling, Michael Madsen & Edward Furlong

A bank robbery goes dreadfully wrong when the team of hold-up men and women get holed up in a cafÈ where two murderers end up taking over their hostage situation. With some intriguing twists in tone and plot, this ensemble cast follows a bloody and brutal story in a decent film that was never released theatrically. Rated R



DRAGONLANCE: DRAGONS OF AUTUMN TWILIGHT
Paramount Home Entertainment

The voices of Kiefer Sutherland, Lucy Lawless, Dee Bradley Baker, Michael Rosenbaum, Jentle Phoenix & Michelle Trachtenberg

In the world of Krynn, a group of adventurers seek out the existence of true gods and go on an excursion. This animated tale is based on the best-selling novel about the gods they find in the form of a barbarian woman carrying a blue crystal staff that wields tremendous power. The novel turned into a franchise that includes more than 75 role-playing adventures, six computer games and more than 150 novels. Rated PG-13



THREE CAN PLAY THAT GAME
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Vivica A. Fox, Jason George, Jazsmin Lewis, Kellita Smith, Terri J. Vaughn & Tony Rock

A charming follow-up to the romantic comedy Two Can Play That Game, Fox portrays a relationship expert who uses her knowledge of men to help women find their true loves. Rated R



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