DVD Releases: April 1, 2008

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Genre: Drama, Musical/Performing Arts, Thriller and Adaptation

Rating: R

Actors/Actresses: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall

Synopsis: After hard years in exile for a crime he didn’t commit, Benjamin Barker now Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of the evil Judge Turpin. In his anger, Sweeney goes on a murderous rampage on all London, with the help of Mrs. Lovett, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims in with a charming smile before casually ending their life with a flick of his razor across their neck. But not one man killed, nor ten thousands men can satisfy Sweeney’s lust for revenge on those who’ve caused his years of pain.

Victorian England is the setting for this harrowing melodrama. Backstory: Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) was living a simple, happy life as a barber with his wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly) and their baby daughter when the lust of Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman) ruined their lives. The judge had Barker deported to Australia on a trumped-up charge, then raped Lucy, who poisoned herself in despair. Their daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) became the ward of Judge Turpin.

Many years later Barker, now calling himself Sweeney Todd, returns illegally to England with the help of a young sailor named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower). He visits the pie shop of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), an old friend who recognizes him and tells him what happened to Lucy and Johanna. Then she takes him up to the room he used to rent above her shop, where she has hidden his razors under a floorboard. He’s profoundly happy to have them back and decides to reopen his barbershop.

On a stroll through the market, Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett stop to watch Signor Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), a mountebank barber and hair tonic salesman. Mr. Todd challenges Signor Pirelli to a shaving competition, to be judged by Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall). (The beadle is Judge Turpin’s sidekick.) Mr. Todd wins handily and encourages the beadle to patronize his “tonsorial parlor.”

However Signor Pirelli, who once worked for Benjamin Barker, recognizes the man and his razors. He has blackmail in mind: in exchange for half of Mr. Todd’s earnings, Signor Pirelli will refrain from exposing Todd’s identity to the authorities. Mr. Todd, enraged, kills Pirelli. Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett decide to use the body to make meat pies. Mrs. Lovett appropriates Pirelli’s purse and hires Pirelli’s servant, the boy Toby (Ed Sanders), to help her in the pie shop.

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Genre: Comedy, Kids/Family

Rating: PG

Actors/Actresses: Jason Lee, Cameron Richardson, Jane Lynch, David Cross, Justin Long

Synopsis: In a tree farm, three musically inclined chipmunks, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, find their tree cut down and sent to Los Angeles. Once there, they meet the frustrated songwriter David Seville, and despite a poor house wrecking first impression, they impress him with their singing talent. Seeing the opportunity for success, both human and chipmunks make a pact for them to sing his songs. While that ambition proves a frustrating struggle with the difficult trio, the dream does come true after all. However, that success presents its own trials as their unscrupulous record executive, Ian Hawke, plans to break up this family to exploit the boys. Can Dave and the Chipmunks discover what they really value amid the superficial glamor around them?

Kingdom of Heaven

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama

Rating: R

Actors/Actresses: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson

Synopsis: During the Crusades–the world shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East–a blacksmith named Balian has lost his family and nearly his faith. The religious wars raging in the far-off Holy Land seem remote to him, yet he is pulled into that immense drama. Amid the pageantry and intrigues of medieval Jerusalem he falls in love, grows into a leader, and ultimately uses all his courage and skill to defend the city against staggering odds. Destiny comes seeking Balian in the form of a great knight, Godfrey of Ibelin, a Crusader briefly home to France from fighting in the East. Revealing himself as Balian’s father, Godfrey shows him the true meaning of knighthood and takes him on a journey across continents to the fabled Holy City. In Jerusalem at that moment–between the Second and Third Crusades–a fragile peace prevails, through the efforts of its enlightened Christian king, Baldwin IV, aided by his advisor Tiberias, and the military restraint of the legendary Muslim leader Saladin. But Baldwin’s days are numbered, and strains of fanaticism, greed, and jealousy among the Crusaders threaten to shatter the truce. King Baldwin’s vision of peace–a “kingdom of heaven”–is shared by a handful of knights, including Godfrey of Ibelin, who swear to uphold it with their lives and honor. As Godfrey passes his sword to his son, he also passes on that sacred oath: to protect the helpless, safeguard the peace, and work toward harmony between religions and cultures, so that a kingdom of heaven can flourish on earth. Balian takes the sword and steps into history.

The Day After Tomorrow

Genre: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok, Jay O. Sanders

Synopsis: This movie takes a big-budget, special-effects-filled look at what the world would look like if the greenhouse effect and global warming continued at such levels that they resulted in worldwide catastrophe and disaster, including multiple hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, floods and the beginning of the next Ice Age.

What if we are on the brink of a new Ice Age? This is the question that haunts climatologist Jack Hall. Hall’s research indicates that global warming could trigger an abrupt and catastrophic shift in the planet’s climate. While Jack warns the White House of the impending climate shift, his 17 year-old son Sam finds himself trapped in New York City where he and some friends have been competing in a high school academic competition. He must now cope with the severe flooding and plummeting temperatures in Manhattan. Having taken refuge inside the Manhattan Public Library, Sam manages to reach his father by phone. Jack only has time for one warning: stay inside at all costs. As full-scale, massive evacuations to the south begin, Jack heads north to New York City to save Sam. But not even Jack is prepared for what is about to happen–to him, to his son, and to his planet.

The House of the Dead

Genre: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Suspense/Horror, Thriller and Adaptation

Rating: R

Actors/Actresses: Michael Ecklund, Enuka Okuma, David Palffy, William Sanderson, Jurgen Prochnow

Synopsis: This film is a prequel to all of the The House of the Dead video games. Set on an island off the coast, a techno rave party attracts a diverse group of college coeds and a Coast Guard officer. Soon, they discover that their X-laced escapades are to be interrupted by zombies and monsters that attack them on the ground, from the air, and in the sea, ruled by an evil entity in the House of the Dead.