DVD Releases: April 29, 2008

27 Dresses

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Malin Akerman, Edward Burns, Melora Hardin

Synopsis: Jane is idealistic, romantic and completely selfless–a perennial bridesmaid whose own happy ending is nowhere in sight. But when younger sister Tess captures the heart of Jane’s boss–with whom she is secretly in love–Jane begins to reexamine her “always-a-bridesmaid…” lifestyle.

Kevin Doyle (James Marsden) discovers that Jane has been in 7 weddings that year and, as he is the writer of the local newpaper’s “Commitments” section (under his full name Malcolm Doyle) he asks his editor if he could write a feature story on Jane (Heigl) for the front page of the section in the hopes that, if it is good enough, he can get out of the “taffeta ghetto.”

Will Jane find true love and break her “always-a-bridesmaid” streak?

The Golden Compass

Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Adaptation

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Sam Elliott, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Kathy Bates, Freddie Highmore, Kristin Scott Thomas

Synopsis: THE GOLDEN COMPASS is an adaptation of the first book in the beloved but controversial fantasy series by Phillip Pullman. The story opens with Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) an orphan girl who lives in an alternate world that is similar to earth, but where people’s souls exist outside of their bodies in animal form. The people are ruled by a shadowy and oppressive council known as the Magisterium, which is doing it’s best to keep everyone from getting information about what is called “Dust.” Lyra’s Uncle Asriel (Daniel Craig) has been researching Dust, and he has seen to it that Lyra is given safe shelter at Jordan College. But when the visiting Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) arrives, she asks Lyra to accompany her on a trip to the North to meet the Panserbjorne, a race of armored bears. Before Lyra leaves, the Headmaster gives her a golden compass, a device which only she can read, and from which she can intuit the truth. Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter, but when she learns that her friends have been kidnapped by “Gobblers,” she heads out to find them, and soon joins forces with the nomadic Gyptians, some witches, and an armored bear called Iorek Byrnison (voice by Ian McKellen). Lyra finds her friends, and so discovers the evil plans the Magisterium has cooked up for the world’s children. By the film’s end, she has vowed to track down her Uncle Asriel, and to discover the true power of Dust. Hollywood had a tricky time of taming this tale, as Pullman’s books portray religion - the Catholic Church in particular - in a less than flattering light. The film version carefully steers clear of these themes, and instead puts its enormous budget into creating visually stunning effects. While fans of the books may find fault with this streamlined version, children are sure to revel in the many talking animals and whimsical airships.

How She Move

Genre: Art/Foreign, Drama and Musical/Performing Arts

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Rutina Wesley, Dwain Murphy, Tracey Armstrong, Cle Bennett (II), Romina D’Ugo

Synopsis: A gifted student, Raya Green, is forced to leave her prestigious private school and return to her old neighbourhood when her parents can no longer afford her tuition, following the tragic death of her sister. Determined to return to her private school, Seaton, Raya endures life at the local high school, suffering the bitterness of her old friend Michelle and her crew and soon finds herself drawn back into a world she knows well — the world of Step dancing. When Raya realizes she could win some serious prize money (and her ticket back to Seaton) at a fierce Step competition, she convinces the charismatic Bishop to let her join his crew, the Jane Street Junta. As she gets caught up in her desire to win and to escape, Raya struggles with the loss of her sister, her parents pressure on her to succeed, and most of all with herself.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Genre: Art/Foreign, Drama, Adaptation and Biopic

Rating: PG-13

Actors/Actresses: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Anne Consigny, Emma De Caunes, Max von Sydow

Synopsis: Celebrated painter and filmmaker Julian Schnabel’s third feature finds him reaching new artistic heights with this audacious and personal biopic, based on the best-selling memoir of the same name. The film tells the remarkable tale of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), the world-renowned editor of French ELLE magazine, who suffered a stroke and was paralyzed by the inexplicable “locked in” syndrome at the age of 43. Bauby’s only way of communicating with the outside world was by blinking with one eye, and after several dedicated helpers–a string of impossibly beautiful women (Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josee Croze, Olatz Lopez Garamendia, Anne Consigny)–helped him to speak through this seemingly irrelevant gesture, he began to produce the words that would form his memoir. Along the way, as he swam in and out of consciousness, memories from his past swelled into the present, resulting in a cinematic experience that is at once heartbreaking and hopeful. Schnabel somehow manages to convey Bauby’s internal life with remarkable clarity, employing first-person perspective, striking cinematography (by the always great Janusz Kaminski), and Amalric’s pained, life-affirming monologues. The result is a wholly original experience, a painful and tender portrait of a life that is made all the more exhilarating because of its close proximity to death.