New Releases on DVD June 2009

Bangkok Dangerous

A hitman in Bangkok pulls off a series of jobs, falls for a local woman and bonds with his errand boy. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Charlie Young, Shahkrit Yamnarm, Panward Hemmanee. Based on the 1999 film by Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang. Rated R

Bedtime Stories

A hotel handyman’s life is changed forever when the bedtime stories he tells his niece and nephew start to mysteriously come true. Cast: Adam Sandler, Keri Russell, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Richard Griffiths, Jonathan Pryce, Courteney Cox, Lucy Lawless, Teresa Palmer. Rated PG

Dark Matter

Elite local patron, Joanna Silver, welcomes Liu Xing, a Chinese student, to Valley State University. He enters the university with dreams of fame and a Nobel Prize. Cultural differences and school politics threaten his ambitions and result in unimaginable violence. Cast: Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn, Meryl Streep. (2007) Rated R

Faith Like Potatoes

A farmer moves his family to South Africa and suffers a series of seemingly insurmountable losses. Through unlikely friendships and much needed divine intervention, he discovers his life’s true purpose and it sustains his unwavering belief in the power of faith. Cast: Hamilton Dhlamini, Jeanne Wilhelm. Based on the autobiography of Angus Buchan. Rated PG

He’s Just Not That Into You

A hardline advice guy falls for a woman who seeks him out because she can’t figure out the men in her life. Cast: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin Connolly, Bradley Cooper, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kris Kristofferson, Justin Long. Based on the book by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. Rated PG-13

Hotel for Dogs

When foster children Andi and Bruce need somewhere to hide their dog, they transform an abandoned hotel into a place where no stray gets turned away. Cast: Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, Kyla Pratt, Lisa Kudrow, Kevin Dillon, Don Cheadle. Based on the book by Lois Duncan. Rated PG

Incendiary

A young wife and mother suffers a devastating loss when London is rocked by a shocking terrorist bombing in this dramatic thriller. Wracked with guilt over an extramarital affair, and trying to piece her shattered life back together, she becomes embroiled in the police investigation of the attack, and discovers that the authorities will do anything to cover up the terrifying truth behind it. Cast: Michelle Williams, Ewan McGregor, Matthew Macfadyen. Rated R

Last Chance Harvey

In London for his daughter’s wedding, a rumpled man finds his romantic spirits lifted by a new woman in his life. Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, Kathy Baker, James Brolin, Richard Schiff. Rated PG-13

New in Town

A Miami businesswoman adjusts to her new life in a tiny Minnesota town. Cast: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick, Jr., J.K. Simmons, Frances Conroy, Siobhan Fallon Hogan. Rated PG

Nothing But the Truth

In Washington, D.C., a reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source. Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, Noah Wyle. Rated R 

Paul Blart Mall Cop

Mall security guard Paul Blart has always had dreams of becoming a state trooper. While nobody takes his present job seriously, all that changes when a team of thugs raids his mall. CastL Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O’Donnell, Bobby Cannavale, Stephen Rannazzisi, Shirley Knight. Rated PG

Personal Effects

Ashton Kutcher stars as a broken man who sets off on a vengeance-filled search for his sister’s murderer, only to fall into the arms of a gorgeous older woman who may share the same torment. Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Spencer Hudson. Rated R

Smother

A thirtysomething unemployed man finds himself pressured by his wife to have a baby while his mother has decided to move in with the couple. Cast: Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler. Rated PG-13

Taken

A former spy relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter who has been forced into the slave trade. Cast: Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Leland Orser, Jon Gries, David Warshofsky, Katie Cassidy, Holly Valance, Famke Janssen. Rated PG-13

The Tale of Despereaux

Once upon a time in the far away kingdom of Dor lived a brave and virtuous mouse with comically oversized ears who dreamt of becoming a knight. Banished from his home for having such lofty ambitions, Despereaux sets off on an amazing adventure with his good-hearted rat friend Roscuro. The two go on a very noble quest to rescue an endangered princess and save an entire kingdom from darkness. Voices: Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Jenins, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, William H. Macy, Tracy Ullman, Emma Watson, Sigourney Weaver. Based on the book by Kate DiCamillo. Rated G

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Explores the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their slaves, the Lycans. Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux. Rated R

Valkyrie

Based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg and his assassination plot targeting Adolf Hitler. Cast: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp. Rated PG-13

The Wedding Weekend

When a group of college band mates reunite 15 years after graduation to sing at a friend’s wedding, they take a break from their less than perfect lives to spend a long weekend at a cozy Hamptons beach house with their spouses, children, friends and one sexy Swedish nanny in tow. Cast: David Alan Basch, Chris Bowers, Samrat Chakrabarti, Alexander Chaplin, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Feuerstein, David Harbour, Elizabeth Reaser, Reg Rogers, Molly Shannon, Liz Stauber, Camilla Thorsson.  Rated R

What Doesn’t Kill You

Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.  Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Ethan Hawke, Amanda Peet.  Rated R

While She Was Out

A suburban housewife is forced to fend for herself when she becomes stranded in a desolate forest with four murderous thugs. What starts off as a quick trip to the mall ends in the woods with a fight for her life. All she has is a toolbox and her will to survive. Cast: Kim Basinger, Luke Haas, Craig Sheffer. Rated R

New DVDs: Made for TV and Feature Length Films June 2009

Always

A legendary pilot with a passion for daredevil fighting sacrifices himself to save his best friend and then help his lover move on with her life. Cast: Holly Hunter, Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman, Brad Johnson, Audrey Hepburn. (1989) Rated PG

Armageddon

The U.S. government calls upon an oil-well driller and his colorful crew to save the world by flying to an asteroid that’s on a collision course for earth and setting off a nuclear bomb to divert it. Cast: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, Keith David, Owen Wilson, William Fichtner, Steve Buscemi. (1998) PG-13

Boston Legal: Season Five

In its fifth and final season, Boston Legal tackles some of today’s most inflammatory an sometimes irreverent social and moral issues.  Cast: James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen, and John Larroquette.  Not Rated

 

Brothers And Sisters: The Complete First Season

Though they live very different and conflicting lives, the Walkers find unity under the family roof. Relationships bend but never break as they strive to find their own identities and embrace each other’s differences. Cast: Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin, Balthazar Getty, Patricia Wettig. (2006-2007) TV-14

Brothers And Sisters: The Complete Second Season

Sarah and Saul try to save the family company, while Tommy goes into business with Holly. Sarah and Joe divorce, Kitty and Robert get married. Cast: Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Rob Lowe, Balthazar Getty, Patricia Wettig. (2007-2008)  TV-PG

Burn Notice: Season One

Covert intelligence operative Michael Westen has been punched, kicked, choked and shot. Now he’s being burned, and someone’s going to pay. When Michael receives a “burn notice,” blacklisting him from the intelligence community and compromising his very identity, he must track down a faceless nemesis without getting himself killed in the process. Meanwhile, Michael is forced to double as a private investigator on the dangerous streets of Miami in order to survive. Cast: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Sharon Gless. Originally broadcast by USA in 2007. Not rated

Captains and the Kings

Joseph Armagh is a poor Irish immigrant who is determined to create a better life for his family. He arrives in America in the mid-19th century. Through personal struggle, heartache and perseverance, he becomes one the the wealthest and most powerful men in the country. Cast: Richard Jordan, Perry King, Patty Duke Astin, Ray Bolger, Blair Brown, Charles Durning, Henry Fonda, Beverly D’Angelo, Jane Seymour. Based on the novel by Taylor Caldwell. (1976) Not Rated

Citizen Kane

The story of the rise and fall of a great man as the result of his accumulation of wealth and subsequent isolation from the world. Loosely based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Cast: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Paul Stewart, George Coulouris; Host, David McCullough. (1941) Not Rated.

Coming Home

England between the wars is the starting place for this epic tale of love, friendship and the discovery of womanhood. Judith Dunbar is left behind at boarding school by her parents and sister, who are posted overseas in the days leading up to World War II. She comes of age in a time of turbulence and danger, but finds comfort in the wealthy Carey-Lewis family, whose estate on the Cornish coast, Nancherrow, becomes her surrogate home. Cast: Peter O’Toole, Joanna Lumley, Emily Mortimer, Penelope Keith, David McCallum, Susan Hampshire, Katie Ryder Richardson, George Asprey, Paul Bettany.  Based on the novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. (1998) Not Rated

East of Eden

The 1981 adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel about two American brothers who battle like Cain and Abel over the same woman. Cast: Jane Seymour, Warren Oates, Timothy Bottoms, Bruce Boxleitner, Hart Bochner, Sam Bottoms, Lloyd Bridges, Howard Duff, Anne Baxter, Karen Allen.  Not Rated

e2 Design: Season Three

Brad Pitt narrates this PBS series highlighting new and environmentally friendly urban planning and design. Features include: Cairo’s Al-Azhar Park–a 500-year-old dump-turned “urban lung”–now provides vital green space and a source of civic pride. Melbourne’s cityscape was transformed, first in the pursuit of livability, then sustainability. World-class architect Renzo Piano draws on nature to create a structure that redefines a natural history museum for the 21st century. After Hurricane Katrina, the residents of New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward banded together to rebuild their devastated community from the ground up. The partners of 2012 Architecture in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, are making surplus superfluous, reusing everything from I-beams and wood floors to car tires.

e2 Transport

Global in scope and comprised of six 30-minute chapters filmed in HD, this PBS series examines sustainable transportation alternatives with potentially far-reaching effects. This ongoing series explores real solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges, presented with a combination of compelling storytelling, proactive cinematography and emotive original music.

Forever Young

Mel Gibson is a test pilot in 1939 who puts off proposing to his sweetheart until it’s too late volunteers for a cryogenics experiment, reawakening in 1992. Cast: Elijah Wood, Isabel Glasser, George Wendt, Joe Morton, Jamie Lee Curtis. (1992) Rated PG

Inspector Alleyn Mysteries: Set 2

Inspector Roderick Alleyn is a Scotland Yard detective whose aristocratic breeding gives him access to the elite and their crimes.  Cast: Patrick Malahide, William Simons, Belinda Lang. Based on the books by Ngaio Marsh. (1992-1993) Not Rated

Jaws

The story of a killer shark that has taken over the waters near a seaside community, and the three men who set out to kill it. Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton.  Based on the novel by Peter Benchley. (1975) Rated PG

The Last Templar

An archaeologist discovers that a missing ancient decoder is linked to the Knights Templar, and together with the help of a FBI agent, tries to find the stolen artifact before it falls into the wrong hands. Cast: Mira Sorvino, Victor Garber, Anthony Lemke, Danny Blanco Hall, Kenneth Welsh, Omar Sharif, Scott Foley. Based on the book by Raymond Khoury. Made for TV in 2009. Not rated.

Love Takes Wing

The next chapter in the Love Series continues, as Dr. Belinda Davis leaves small-town life for the big city. Based on the book by Janette Oke. Cast: Sarah Jones, Haylie Duff, Jordan Bridges, Patrick Duffy, Cloris Leachman. Originally broadcast by The Hallmark Channel Apr. 4, 2009.  Not Rated

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Four

Ian McShane is back as Lovejoy, a loveable rogue and an antiques dealer with an amazing talent for spotting hidden treasures. When not looking for the odd collectible, Lovejoy spends most of his time using his con-artist skills to help out the less fortunate. His partners in crime are wealthy Lady Jane, his dim assistant Eric, and the genially intoxicated Tinker. (1995) Not Rated

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Five

A stolen Bacchus, china geese, dodgy Gillray prints, and very good fake porcelain – all very nice hauls for Lovejoy in spite of murder threats, kidnappings, and burglaries. But nothing compares to a night with beautiful auctioneer Charlotte! Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury. Originally released on BBC in 1996. Not Rated

Maverick

Comedy about a handsome gambler, a charming lady scam artist and a lawman, all headed for a poker tournament held on a river boat with a $500,000 pot for the winner. Cast: Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene, James Coburn, Alfred Molina. (1994) Rated PG.

Memphis Belle

Tells the tale of the Memphis Belle, an American B-17 during World War II. Cast: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Harry Connick, Jr., Reed Edward Diamond, Courtney Gains, Neil Giuntoli, John Lithgow. (1990) Rated PG-13

Midsomer Murders: Set Twelve

The cozy villages of Midsomer County reveal their most sinister secrets in these contemporary British television mysteries. Inspired by the novels of Caroline Graham, modern master of the English village mystery, the series stars John Nettles  as the unflappable Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby with Jason Hughes  as his earnest, efficient protégé, Detective Constable Ben Jones. Guest stars include Richard McCabe, Clare Holman, Peter Capaldi, Saskia Wickham, Dominic Jephcott, Siobhan Redmond, Juliet Aubrey, John Shrapnel, and Guy Henry. Not Rated

Murder Most English

Clad in tweed and puffing on a pipe, Detective Inspector Purbright pursues the evildoers of Flaxborough with a doggedness that belies his polite conversation and mild manner. Assisted by the ever cheerful Detective Sergeant Love and the sometimes helpful Chief Constable Chubb, Purbright serenely polices the clean but mean streets of Flaxborough.  Cast: Anton Rodgers, Christopher Timothy, Moray Watson.  Based on the series of detective novels by Colin Watson. (1977) Not Rated

The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All

Lucy Marsden, a simple Southern girl, is thrown into adulthood when she marries a Civil War veteran haunted by nightmares of the war. Years later she looks back on the events of a life filled with drama, pain, joy, hardship and triumph. Cast: Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, Cicely Tyson, Anne Bancroft, Blythe Danner, E.G. Marshall, Gwen Verdon. Based on the novel by Allan Gurganus. (1994) Not Rated

Once Around

The oldest daughter of a close-knit Italian-American family falls in love with an abrasive, obnoxious but forcefully charming businessman. He almost demolishes her family while winning her heart, but they all learn how to balance her happiness with the family’s survival. Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, Danny Aiello, Laura San Giacomo, Gena Rowlands. (1991) Rated R

Only You

A young woman flies to Italy with her best friend in search of the man she believes she’s destined to marry. Cast: Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey, Jr., Bonnie Hunt, Joaquim De Almeida, Fisher Stevens. (1994) Rated PG

Project Runway: Season 4

Supermodel and host Heidi Klum and fashion’s favorite mentor Tim Gunn are back with season 4 of Project runway. This season, Project runway catwalks its way deeper into pop culture popularity with its most glamorous panel of celebrity judges including Victoria Beckham and Sarah Jessica Parker and the most quotable contestant to date, Christian Siriano. (2007) Audience Rating: TV-14

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries: Set 3

Best-selling crime writer Ruth Rendell (Baroness Rendell of Babergh) explores the motives for murder across England’s many landscapes, from rock-strewn moors to suburban estates. Set 3 includes five complex psychological crime dramas based on her novels and seen on public television. Includes Episodes: Includes: Going Wrong, Harm Done, The Fallen Curtain, The Lake of Darkness, and You Can’t Be Too Careful.  Not Rated

The Ruth Rendell Mysteries: Set 4

Inspector Wexford delves into two harrowing murder cases. Simisola: a haunting case of multiple murder and racism. Road Rage: a deadly tale of eco-terrorism, out-of-control anger, and kidnapping. Cast: George Baker, Christopher Ravenscroft, Louie Ramsay. Based on the novels by Ruth Rendell. (1995-1998) Not Rated

She Stoops to Conquer

Kate is a well-bred lass who passes herself off as a barmaid in order to win the heart of her stuffy suitor. Full of mistaken identities and multiple deceptions, the play pokes fun at the various masks we all wear in different social situations. Along the way, each person learns much about the nature of true love. Cast: Mark Dexter, Susannah Fielding, Polly Hemingway, Ian Redford, Miles Jupp, Roy Marsden.  Based on the play by Oliver Goldsmith. (2008 television mini-series) Not Rated

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking

When the murder of a penniless shopgirl is linked to the body of debutante Lady Alice Burnham, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes immediately begins to piece together the clues. Cast:Rupert Everett, Ian Hart. (2004) Not rated

Taking Chance

Kevin Bacon is featured in this HBO film about the remarkable true story of one soldier’s death in battle, another soldier’s journey of discovery and a nation’s reverence and gratitude toward its war dead. After hearing of the heroic death of a young Marine in Iraq, veteran officer Lt. Colonel Michael Strobl volunteers to escort the remains of Lance Corporal Chance Phelps back to his hometown in Wyoming. As Strobl crosses America’s heartland, he will find himself on an unexpectedly emotional journey into the soul of a country mourning not only Chance, but all of our country’s fallen heroes. Rated TV-PG.

The Three Musketeers

Three loyal swordsmen and an eager recruit battle enormous odds in their attempt to defeat an evil royal advisor and a seductive envoy plotting to overthrow the King of France. Cast: Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O’Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry, Rebecca De Mornay.  Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas. (1993) Rated PG

True Blood: Season One

This quirky HBO TV series based on the novels by Charlaine Harris stars Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress who lives in a small, Louisiana town that just happens to be cohabitated by both humans and vampires. Cast: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Chris Bauer, Nelsan Ellis, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston. (2008) Rated TV-MA.

24 Season 7

Set in Washington, D.C. for the first time, the season opens four years after Season Six with CTU dismantled and Jack on trial for all his ‘misconduct’ at CTU. Jack’s day takes an unexpected turn when someone threatens the government and his expertise is needed again. Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub.  Not Rated

Walker Texas Ranger: The First Season

The complete first season of the television series about Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, bringing justice to the bad guys with his partner James Trivette, friend and ex-Ranger C. D. Parker, and County Assistant District Attorney Alex Cahill. Cast: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard, Jr., Noble Willingham, Sheree J. Wilson. (1993-1994) Not rated.

Walker Texas Ranger: The Second Season

A veteran lawman with a two-fisted sense of justice tackles the most hardened criminals. Cast: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard, Jr., Noble Willingham, Sherre J. Wilson. (1994-1995) Not Rated

Walker Texas Ranger: The Third Season

Martial artist and Texas Ranger Cordell Walker, one of the last old-fashioned heroes of the West, is a protective friend but a relentless foe who will stop at nothing to bring a criminal to justice. Walker works on instinct, often drawing on the traditions of his Native American ancestors. His partner, James Trivette, has a more modern approach to crime-solving. C.D. Parker, a retired Ranger, and Alex Cahill, the county assistant district attorney who shares a mutual attraction with Walker, support the Rangers in their battle to serve justice. Cast: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard, Jr., Sheree J. Wilson, Noble Willingham. (1995-1996) Not Rated

Walker Texas Ranger: The Fourth Season

Cordell Walker is a Texas Ranger who commands with his kick instead of a gun. Joining Walker on his high-octane adventures are his partner, Ranger James Trivette, Assistant District Attorney Alex Cahill, and his best friend, retired Ranger C.D. Parker. This season, they throw down with a cop killer, track a cannibalistic thief through the wilderness, and face off with old adversaries. Cast: Chuck Norris, Clarence Gilyard, Jr., Sheree J. Wilson, Noble Willingham. (1996-1997) Not Rated

Zorba the Greek

When he hires an eccentric stranger named Zorba to work in a mine he has inherited on Crete, Basil, a timid English writer, finds himself drawn into a world far more exciting and dangerous than any he has known. Cast: Anthony Quinn, Alan Bates, Irene Papas. Based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis. (1964) Not Rated

New Releases on DVD May 2009

Bride Wars

Two best friends become rivals when they schedule their respective weddings on the same day. Cast: Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Kristen Johnston, Bryan Greenberg, Candice Bergen. Rated PG

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Benjamin Button is a not-so-ordinary man who began his life under unusual circumstances. Born in his eighties at the end of World War I, Benjamin ages backwards. Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Julia Ormond, Jason Flemying, Elias Koteas, Tilda Swinton.Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Rated PG-13

The Day the Earth Stood Still

An otherworldly being’s arrival on Earth triggers an unstoppable series of events that threaten all of mankind. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates. Based on the 1951 screenplay by Edmund H. North. Contains the 1951 film version as well. Rated PG-13

The Family That Preys

Working-class Alice and wealthy Charlotte are friends and mothers who have supported each other through all that their families have gone through over the years. Unfortunately, their families are now embroiled in a new turmoil –with each other. Can the two women save their children from the dark secrets and dirty deeds that threaten to destroy them all? Cast: Alfre Woodard, Sanaa Lathan, Rockmond Dunbar, KaDee Strickland, Cole Hauser, Taraji P. Henson, Robin Givens, Tyler Perry, Kathy Bates. Rated PG-13

Frost Nixon

Richard Nixon is the disgraced president with a legacy to save. David Frost is a jet-setting television personality with a name to make. This is the legendary battle between the two men and the historic encounter that changed both their lives. Cast: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Kevin Bacon, Rebecca Hall, Toby Jones, Matthew Macfadyen, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell. Based on the stage play by Peter Morgan. Rated R

Lost in Austen

Amanda Price is a devoted Jane Austen fan; often immersing herself into a world of dashing gents, elegant corsets and picturesque manor houses. Unsatisfied with her life and relationship in modern day London, Amanda’s ordinary existence is changed forever when she discovers Elizabeth Bennet alive in her bathroom and ends up replacing her in the very real fictional world of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Cast: Jemima Rooper, Alex Kingston, Elliot Cowan, Hugh Bonneville, Gemma Arterton, Lindsay Duncan. Not Rated

The Marriage Counselor

Tyler Perry transforms the art of marriage, life, and family with a fun and fulfilling onstage experience. Includes original songs by Perry. Cast: Tamar Davis, Palmer Williams Jr., Tony Grant, Myra Beasley, Brandi Milton. Not Rated

Max Payne

Max Payne, an undercover DEA agent, is framed for the murder of a fellow agent and seeks to avenge the Mafia slayings of his wife and child. Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Beau Bridges, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Olga Kurylenko. Rated PG-13

Meet Dave

A crew of miniature aliens operate a spaceship that has a human form.  Cast: Eddie Murphy, Elizabeth Banks, Gabrielle Union, Scott Caan, Ed Helms, Kevin Hart. Rated PG

My Best Friend’s Girl

Tank Tuner, the Romeo of raunch, who learned behaving badly from his oversexed father, is a world-class jerk that other guys hire to show their girlfriends how much worse it could be without them. But Tank has finally crossed the wrong girl … Alexis. She is his best friend’s girl and the one girl who might be crazy as he is. Cast: Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Lizzy Caplan, Alec Baldwin.  Rated  R

Seven Pounds

Tim Thomas is searching for a way to redeem his heavy conscience. He discovers he has the power to change the circumstances of seven strangers who deserve a second chance, but when one of them captures his heart, he must decide if he should reveal his dark secret. Cast: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, Woody Harrelson. Rated PG-13

Traitor

When straight-arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton investigates a dangerous international conspiracy responsible for a prison break in Yeman, a bombing in Nice and a raid in London, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn. Cast: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Said Taghmaoui, Neal McDonough, Alyy Khan, Jeff Daniels. Rated PG-13

Yes Man

Carl Allen signs up for a self-help program based on one simple principle: say yes to everything … and anything. Unleashing the power of ‘yes’ transforms Carl’s life in amazing and unexpected ways, but he soon discovers that embracing every opportunity might just become too much of a good thing. Cast: Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Terence Stamp. Rated PG-13

New Releases on DVD April 2009

Doubt

Set in 1964,at the St. Nicholas in the Bronx. Father Flynn is a charismatic priest who is trying to upend the schools’ strict customs, which have long been fiercely guarded by Sister Aloysius Beauvier. The Sister is the iron-gloved principal who believes in the power of fear and discipline. With the winds of political change, the school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. But when Sister James shares with Sister Aloysius her suspicion that Father Flynn is paying too much personal attention to Donald, Sister Aloysius sets off on a personal crusade to unearth the truth and to expunge Flynn from the school. Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis. Based on the stage play by John Patrick Shanley. Rated PG-13

Marley & Me

A family learns important life lessons from their adorable, but naughty and neurotic dog. Based on the memoir by John Grogan. Cast: Owen Wilson, Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane, Alan Arkin. Rated PG

Pineapple Express

Dale Denton is a lazy stoner who is the sole witness to a murder by an evil drug lord and a corrupt cop. Marked for death, Denton runs for his life, dragging his dazed dealer and his supplier with him on a hilarious adventure. Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez, Danny R. McBride.
Rated R

The Reader

Set in Post-WWII, Germany, Michael Berg is a teenager who becomes ill and is helped home by Hanna, a stranger twice his age. Michael recovers from scarlet fever and seeks out Hanna to thank her. The two are quickly drawn into a passionate but secretive affair. Michael discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical relationship deepens. Hanna is enthralled as Michael reads to her from different works of literature. Despite their intense bond, Hanna mysteriously disappears one day and Michael is left confused and heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael is a law student observing the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to find Hanna back in his life, only this time as a defendant in the courtroom. As Hanna’s past is revealed, Michael uncovers a deep secret that will impact both of their lives Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Kate Winslet, David Kross, Lena Olin, Bruno Ganz. Based on the novel by Bernhard Schlink. Rated R

Role Models

Danny and Wheeler are two salesmen who trash a company truck while on an energy drink-fueled bender. Upon their arrest, the court gives them a choice – the two can either do hard time or serve 150 hours of community service in a mentorship program. After one day with the kids, however, jail doesn’t look half bad. Cast: Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch, Elizabeth Banks.  Rated R

Slum Dog Millionaire

Jamal Malik is an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’ When the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up. Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan. Based on the novel  “Q & A” by Vikas Swarup. Rated R

The Spirit

Denny Colt is a rookie cop who returns from the dead as The Spirit. He is a hero whose mission is to fight against the bad forces that lurk in the shadows of Central City. The Octopus kills anyone unfortunate enough to see his face. He has other plans for the city. He wants to wipe out the entire city. The Spirit tracks this cold hearted killer from the city’s rundown warehouses, through damp catacombs, to the windswept waterfront. He does this all the while facing a bevy of beautiful women who either want to seduce, love or kill the masked crusader.  Cast: Gabriel Macht, Eva Mendes, Sarah Paulson, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, with Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson.  Based on the comic book series by Will Eisner.  Rated PG-13

The Wrestler

A professional wrestler makes his way through the independent circuit, trying to get back in the game for one final showdown with his former rival. Cast: Mickey Rourke, Marissa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Wass Stevens, Judah Friedlander, Ernest Miller. Rated R

New DVDs: Made for TV and Feature Length Films May 2009

Affairs of the Heart

Romantic tales from the late Victorian high society of love and loss. These unfold from the country houses of England to the drawing rooms of New York, from the palazzos of Venice to the art studios of London. Scoundrels and schemers collide with ingénues and admirers in the terribly intricate affairs of the heart. Cast: Lynn Farleigh, Anna Calder-Marshall, Margaret Tyzack, Diana Rigg, Rosalind Ayres, Gayle Hunnicutt, Pamela Brown, Faith Brook, Anton Rodgers. Based on works by Henry James. (1974) Not Rated

Bernadette

In February of 1858, at the Massabielle grotto, 14-year old Bernadette, sees a light she later distinguishes as a beautiful young woman. The girl converses with the woman over the next few months. Crowds follow her and people are cured by the waters from a spring Bernadette has cleared. Secular authorities are threatened by the popular gatherings and subject the girl to police inquiry and medical review.  Cast: Sydney Penny, Roland Lesaffre and Michele Simonnet. Shot on location in France, this is the film that was chosen to be shown daily at the shrine in Lourdes. Not Rated

Berkeley Square

Three young nannies grow to be close friends as they manage the unpredictable road to love and happiness in the posh world of turn-of-the-century, upper-crust London. Cast: Clare Wilkie, Victoria Smurfit, Tabitha Wady. A BBC-TV production. (1998) Not Rated

Big Love: The Complete First Season

A polygamist and independent businessman lives in Salt Lake CIty with his three wives and seven children. He faces many challenges in meeting the emotional, romantic, and financial needs of his wives. Cast: Bill Paxton, Bruce Dern, Chloe Sevigny, Harry Dean Stanton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ginnifer Goodwin. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2006. Rating: TV-MA.

Big Love: The Complete Second Season

Season two finds the modern-day polygamist Bill Henrickson and his three wives struggling to pick up the pieces after first wife Barb’s outing at the Beehive Mother of the Year Ceremony. Second wife Nicki, learning that it was her father, Roman Grant, Prophet of the Fundamentalist Juniper Creek compound, who betrayed them, battles conflicting family loyalties. And third wife Margene, newly pregnant, fights for a bigger piece of the family pie with an eye toward bringing a new wife and confidante into the fold. Cast: Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin, Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, Shawn Doyle, Melora Walters, Joel McKinnon Miller, Daveigh Chase, Jolean Wejbe, Grace Zabriskie, Matt Ross, Harry Dean Stanton. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2007.  Rating: TV-MA.

Brown Is the New Green: George Lopez and the American Dream

This PBS film examining how efforts to profit from Hispanic American culture have contributed to the shaping of its contemporary identity. The documentary’s focal point is comedian George Lopez, an icon and advocate for Hispanic Americans’ move into the mainstream. Features conversations with members of the Hispanic American youth market. Also includes interviews with Lopez and other Hispanic Americans. Not Rated

City Lights

A tramp wins the love of a blind flower girl and attempts to obtain money from a millionaire to help her regain her sight. Cast: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers, Allan Garcia, Hank Mann. Originally released as a motion picture in 1931. Rated G

Crazy Mama

A celebration of ’50s America, following three women and the men they pick up on an absurd crime spree. Cast: Cloris Leachman, Stuart Whitman, Ann Sothern, Jim Backus, Tisha Sterling, Donny Most, Linda Purl, Bryan Englund, Merie Earle. (1975) Rated PG

Down from the Mountain

A documentary about the musical artists who performed the songs in the Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou? Performers include: The Cox family, Fairfield four, Emmylou Harris, John Hartford, Chris Thomas King, Alison Krauss, David Rawlings, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley, The Whites. (2000) Rated G

e Squared: Energy

A six-part PBS Home Video film featuring people and places around the globe where efforts are being made to improve our environment for the future. Contents: Harvesting the Wind, Energy for a Developing World, Paving the Way, Growing Energy, State of Resolve, and  Coal & Nuclear: Problem or Solution? Narrated by Morgan Freeman. (2007) Rated TVG

Ellis Island

In this History Channel documentary narrated by Mandy Patinkin, immigrants of every ethnic background recall their extraordinary adventures, historians explore the sometimes insensitive national policies, and the Ellis Island Oral History Project reveals what the immigration experience was actually like. Features rare photographs and film. Not Rated

Heroes: Season Two

Season Two finds Hiro (Masi Oka) transported to 17th-century Japan and surrounded by samurai warriors — just in time for a solar eclipse. Can he fight his way back to the 21st century? Cast: Hayden Panettiere, Jack Coleman, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Masi Oka, James Kyson Lee, Milo Ventimiglia, Greg Grunberg, Ali Larter, Adrian Pasdar, Zachary Quinto. Originally broadcast by NBC during the 2007 season. Not Rated.

Hill Street Blues: The Complete First Season

Follow the lives of cops at an urban police station, from the traffic cops to the police chief himself, as they hit the streets of the city. Originally broadcast on television during the Winter 1981 season. Cast: Daniel J. Travanti, Barbara Babcock, Taurean Blacque, Michael Clohessy, Jon Cypher, Charles Haid, Veronica Hamel, Mimi Kuzyk, Kiel Martin, Michael Conrad, Robert Hirschfeld, Barbara Bosson. Not rated.

Hill Street Blues: The Complete Second Season

A very realistic view into the lives of the dedicated cops and detectives of an urban police station. Originally broadcast on television during the 1981-1982 season. Created by Steven Bochco. Cast Daniel J. Travanti, Veronica Hamel, Bruce Weitz, Charles Haid, Betty Thomas, James Sikking. Not rated.

How I Met Your Mother: Season Three

Thirty-year-old Ted is still looking for Miss Right, but his road to domestic bliss is improbably paved with punk rock girls, tattoos, adult video expos and an epic St. Patrick’s Day bender. Meanwhile, as Marshall and Lily adjust to the quirks of married life, the outrageously incorrigible Barney commits a major violation of “The Bro Code.” Cast: Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Cobie Smulders. Originally broadcast on television during the 2007-2008 season.  TV rating: G

In Treatment

Paul is a therapist who exhibits great insight and confidence when treating his patients. But Paul suffers crippling insecurities and is counseled by his own therapist, Gina. Adding to his list of growing concerns, his wife, Kate, who is overcome with feelings of neglect and resents competing for his attention. Paul’s patients undergoing treatment include: a young doctor who is in love with Paul; a Navy pilot who is reevaluating his life after a failed mission in Iraq; a teenage gymnast with suicidal tendencies; and a passionate couple who are troubled in all other areas of their lives. Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Forbes, Melissa George, Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska, John Charles, Embeth Davidtz. Originally broadcast on HBO in 2008. TV-MA

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

On a deadly mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by—and falls in love with—Simone, a dazzling French woman who harbors a terrifying secret. Cast: Noah Wyle, Bruce Davison, Stana Katic, Jane Curtin, Bob Newhart.  Based on characters created by David Titcher. Not Rated

Lion of the Desert

In the war waged by Bedouin patriots to combat Benito Mussolini’s Italian colonization in Libya, Omar Mukhtar, the Bedouin resistance guerrilla leader, has committed himself to a war that cannot be won in his lifetime. Cast: Oliver Reed, Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, John Gielgud, Irene Papas. (1979) Rated PG

Master of the Game

Sydney Sheldon’s lavish international saga spans a century and focuses on the Blackwell family’s rise to wealth, from 1890s South Africa where the family’s fortune is made in diamonds to the primary story of iron-willed Kate Blackwell, the driven, power-hungry head of the family’s embattled corporate empire. Cast: Fernando Allende, Dyan Cannon, David Birney, Harry Hamlin, Leslie Caron. (1984) Not Rated

Nashville

This Robert Altman film interweaves the stories of 24 characters over 5 days during a political rally in the capital of country music. Cast: Henry Gibson, Lily Tomlin, Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Barbara Harris, Karen Black. (1975) Rated R

The Passion of Bernadette

The saint of Lourdes enters the convent and endures various trials. Through it all, Bernadette trusts in God and remembers the Virgin Mary’s words to her: “I cannot promise you happiness in this life, only the next.” Based on actual testimony taken from the canonization investigation. Cast: Sydney Penny, Emmanuelle Riva, Catherine de Seynes, Malka Ribowska. (1989) Sequel to: Bernadette. Not Rated

The Riches: Season 2

The Malloys are consummate con artists who are posing as a wealthy suburban family. They are stealing the American dream, but their elaborate ruse may be stealing their very souls. Facing near-certain detection, the family is torn asunder as Dahlia and the children hit the open road, and embattled patriarch Wayne remains in Eden Falls, desperately scheming to pull off one last impossible con. Cast: Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver, Shannon Marie Woodward, Noel Fisher, Aidan Mitchell, Todd Stashwick, Gregg Henry. Originally broadcast on television in 2008. Not rated.

Shane

A drifter and retired gunfighter assists a homestead family terrorized by an aging cattleman and his hired gun. Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan. (1952) Not Rated

Shirley Valentine

An English housewife, bored with her life, goes on a vacation with a friend to Greece and finds that there’s more to life than just dishes and laundry when she has a fling with a handsome man. Cast: Pauline Collins, Tom Conti, Julia McKenzie, Alison Steadman, Joanna Lumley, Sylvia Syms, Bernard Hill, George Costigan, Anna Keaveney, Tracie Bennett. (1989) Rated R

Sister Wendy: The Complete Collection

A collection of Sister Wendy’s art programs. Sister Wendy travels to museums in England and Europe and discusses some of the world’s finest art. Contents: Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting, Sister Wendy’s Grand Tour, Sister Wendy’s Odyssey, and Sister Wendy’s Pains of Glass. Hosted by Wendy Beckett. Originally produced for television broadcast in 1992-1996. Not Rated

Some Like It Hot

When two unemployed musicians accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, they trade in their union suits for flapper frocks and flee to Miami disguised as female musicians in an all-girl jazz band. Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft, Pat O’Brien, Joe E. Brown.  (1959)  Not Rated

Sunset Boulevard

The story of an aging film queen who prepares for her grand comeback to stardom. Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper. (1950) Not Rated

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season One

Sarah and her son John, tired of running from the agents sent from the future to kill them, try to stop the formation of the agency in the present, with the help of a girl with a mysterious link to the future. Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Richard T. Jones. Based on the world created in the motion picture written by James Cameron and William Wisher. Not rated.

Weeds: Season One

After her husband’s unexpected death and subsequent financial woes, suburban mom Nancy Botwin embraces a new profession: the neighborhood pot dealer. As it seems like everyone secretly wants what she’s selling, even city councilman Doug Wilson, Nancy is faced with keeping her family life in check and her enterprise a secret from her best friend/PTA president, Celia Hodes. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Romany Malco, Tonye Patano. Originally broadcast on the Showtime Channel in 2005.  Rated TV-MA

Weeds: Season Two

Nancy Botwin is a soccer mom who had to learn how to deal – pot, that is – after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbors in this suburban utopia isn’t easy. She is joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they face life’s ups and downs – because even in paradise, nobody’s perfect. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon, Romany Malco, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Andy Milder, Justin Kirk.  Originally broadcast on Showtime television in 2006.  Rated TV-MA

Weeds: Season Three

America’s favorite pot-dealing, single soccer mom, Nancy Botwin, is more addictive than ever in the third season. But, when an offbeat way to make ends meet grows into a mini-empire, the mother of all dealers finds she may be in over her head –and on the verge of taking everyone one else with her. Cast: Mary-Louise Parker, Elizabeth Perkins, Kevin Nealon, Romany Malco, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould, Andy Milder, Justin Kirk. Originally broadcast on Showtime in 2007. Rated TV-MA

The Widowing of Mrs. Holroyd

When Lizzie Holroyd falls in love with another man, she wishes her boorish husband dead, a wish that comes horribly true. Cast: Zoë Wanamaker, Stephen Dillane, and Colin Firth.  Originally broadcast on BBC Television in 1988.  Not Rated

Wuthering Heights

Set against the stark beauty of the English moor, the mysterious gypsy boy Heathcliff, who has been adopted by the Earnshaw family, discovers his soul mate in his stepsister Cathy. As a man unable to have the love of his life, he seeks vengeance against anyone who comes between them. Cast: Tom Hardy, Charlotte Riley, Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Lancashire, Burn Gorman, Rosalind Halstead. Based on the novel by Emily Brontë. Originally released as a television motion picture in 2008. Not rated.

Made for TV & Feature Films on DVD March 2009

All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series 3 Collection

The BBC-TV series, based on the books by James Herriot, continues the story of a Yorkshire veterinarian in a country practice. Cast: Robert Hardy, Christopher Timothy, Peter Davison, Carol Drinkwater. (1979-1980)

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete First Season

Physicists Leonard and Sheldon understand everything from the inescapable gravitational pull of a black hole to the intricate structure of the atom. But take those atoms and assemble them into a woman, and their comprehension comes to a grinding halt. And when Penny, a woman with all those atoms in all the right places, moves in across the hall, Leonard and Sheldon’s universe begins to expand in ways they never could have imagined. Cast: Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar. Originally broadcast on television during the 2007-2008 season.   Not Rated

The Biggest Loser Workout: Weight Loss Yoga

Viewers can get with the program and achieve pound-shedding results in just 6-8 weeks with the transforming power of yoga with instructor, Bob Harper.

Bill Maher: The Decider Live!

In an all-new solo HBO comedy special, Bill Maher offers his candid opinions on a wide range of social and political issues including sex, drugs, Iraq, immigrantion, President Bush, and much more.  Rating: TVMA

Catch-22

The story of a group of fliers in the Mediterranean during World War II. Cast: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jack Gilford, Buck Henry, Bob Newhart, Anthony Perkins, Paula Prentiss, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Orson Welles. Based on the novel by Joseph Heller. (1970) Rated R

Facing the Giants

A high school football coach with a history of losing games faces not only the pressures from a group of fathers wanting him fired, but also the possibility that his wife can never have children. Only after an unexpected visitor challenges him to trust in the power of faith does he find the strength to persevere. Cast: James Blackwell, Bailey Cave, Shannen Fields, Tracy Goode, Alex Kendrick, Jim McBride, Jason McLeod, Mark Richt. (2006) Rated PG

Hedda Gabler

In this classic from Henrik Ibsen, Hedda has just come back from her honeymoon, married to boring but reliable academic George Tesman. Refusing to tie herself down in life and name, Hedda is banking on George being appointed a professorship to secure a better life for the young couple. However, the arrival of cleaned up ex-lover Eilert threatens to destroy everything. Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Michael Regrave, Ralph Richardson, Trevor Howard, Dilys Hamlett, Ursula Jeans. Originally produced for television in 1962.  Not rated.

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Two

Season two continues the adventures of Lovejoy, who careens through another assortment of close shaves with his right-hand man Tinkerdill and scrappy sidekick Eric. Things get off to a rough start when Lovejoy is wrongly convicted of dealing in stolen goods, but that is just a small change in plans. When he emerges from prison, Lovejoy will have his hands full dealing with disappearing bridegrooms, cursed Inca statues, secretive artists and a divine tea bowl. But first, he’ll have to find the blackguard that nearly beat him at his own game. Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury. (1991) Not Rated

Lovejoy: The Complete Season Three

The world’s quirkiest crime-solving antiques hero is back! Much to Lovejoy’s annoyance, he’s not the only one on a never-ending quest for wealth and valuables. However, while he proves unstoppable in the face of sinister Italians, vengeful customers and even Eric’s vintage motorbikes, can he manage to escape the snares of love? Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury. (1992) Not Rated.

MI-5: Volume 6

Having survived the bombing of the Thames Barrier, Adam and Ros recover to find London facing an even greater threat. While attempting to thwart an attack that could jeopardize a historic peace accord, the team unwittingly unleashes a deadly virus. Cast: Rupert Penry-Jones, Peter Firth, Hermione Norris, Miranda Raison, Raza Jaffrey. Originally broadcast by BBC1 in 2007. Not rated

The Murdoch Mysteries Movie Collection

Set in the 1890s, the sophisticated and sly Detective William Murdoch (Peter Outerbridge) investigates murders against the seedy backdrop of a debauched world where no one trusts the police and everyone seems sinister.  Considered a CSI in the 1890s, Murdoch Mysteries are gripping thrillers based on Maureen Jennings s bestselling mystery novels about a cop years ahead of his time. Cast: Peter Outerbridge, Keeley Hawes, Colm Meaney. (2008) Not Rated

Oliver Twist

This gripping tale of Charles Dickens’ classic remains faithful to the spirit of the novel while delivering a modern, thrilling, tragic, and occasionally comic edge. Cast: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okonedo, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Edward Fox, Anna Massey, Morven Christie, Sarah Lancashire, Gregor Fisher, Rob Brydon, John Sessions. A BBC-TV and WGBH 2007 production.  Not rated.

This American Life Season: Season 1

Join host Ira Glass and his company, as they bring a different theme to life each week, in the format of the popular Chicago radio show by the same name.  Based on the radio program on NPR.  Originally broadcast as a television program on Showtime in 2007.  Not rated.

This American Life: Season 2

Join host Ira Glass and his company, as they bring a different theme to life each week, in the format of the popular Chicago radio show by the same name.  Based on the radio program on NPR.  Segments originally produced in 2008.  Not Rated.

To the Manor Born: The Complete Collection

This BBC TV series from 1979-1980, follows the hilarious misadventures of the uppercrust but impoverished Audrey Forbes-Hamilton, once Lady of Grantley Manor, and Richard Devere, the mysterious “common” millionaire who buys her ancestral Estate. Penelope Keith, Peter Bowles, Angela Thorne. The Included in the collection is the 2007 Silver Anniversary Special, which fast-forwards 25 years to Audrey and Richard’s plans for their silver-anniversary celebration.

The Winds of War

Set against the backdrop of world events that led to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Naval officer, Victor “Pug” Henry, and his family learn to navigate the waters of dangerous times in the late 1930s. While Germany expands and proceeds to seize several border countries, Italy attempts to establish a Fascist Colonial Empire under Mussolini and Japan prepares for a major battle with China. Meanwhile, the Henry clan finds itself drawn into the center of the conflict as they deal with the drama, romance, tragedy and heroism that lead to America’s involvement in World War II. Cast Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Jan-Michael Vincent, John Houseman, Polly Bergen, Lisa Eilbacher, David Dukes, Victoria Tennant, Topol. Originally aired as a television mini series in 1983. Based on the novel by Herman Wouk.  Not rated.

DVDs New Releases March 2009

Australia

Australia, 1940s. An English aristocrat inherits a large ranch. English cattle barons plot to take her land and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover to protect her ranch. Together they experience four life-altering years, a love affair and the bombing of Darwin during World War II. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Bryan Brown. Rated PG-13

Body of Lies

The CIA’s hunt is on for the mastermind of a wave of terrorist attacks. Roger Ferris is the agency’s man on the ground, while on the other end of that real-time link is the CIA’s Ed Hoffman, strategizing events from thousands of miles away. Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong, Golshifteh Farahani, Oscar Isaac, Simon McBurney. Based on the novel by David Ignatius. Rated R

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Poland, World War II. Innocent and naive 8-year-old Bruno is bored and restless in his new home. Ignoring his mother, he sets off on an adventure in the woods. He comes across a high fence which separates him from the people he can see through it. Soon he meets a young boy in striped pajamas, and a surprising friendship develops. Cast: Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend. Based on the book by John Boyne. Rated PG-13

Cadillac Records

Chronicles the rise of Leonard Chess’ Chess Records and its recording artists like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon and Etta James. Cast: Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Gabrielle Union, Columbus Short, Cedric the Entertainer, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Eamonn Walker, Mos Def, Beyoncé Knowles. Rated R

Elegy

Respected cultural critic and author David Kepesh is a middle-aged college professor who, for years, has lived in a state of “emancipated manhood.” He has had many romantic conquests, but few lasting commitments. This all changes when a beautiful, stunning young student enters his life and captivates him to the point of obsession. Cast: Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, Peter Sarsgaard, Patricia Clarkson, Dennis Hopper.Based on the novel “The Dying Animal” by Philip Roth. Rated R

Flash of Genius

Based on the true story of Robert Kearns. The Kearns’ were a typical 1960s Detroit family. Bob is a college professor and part-time inventor. When Bob invents a device that would eventually be used by every car in the world, the Kearns’ think they have struck gold. But their aspirations are dashed after the auto giants, who originally embraced Bob’s creation, unceremoniously shuns him. Ignored, threatened and then buried in years of litigation, Bob is haunted by what was done to his family and their future. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life’s work, or anyone else’s for that matter, should be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit. He and his family pay the toll for refusing to compromise his dignity. Cast: Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham,Dermot Mulroney. Rated PG-13

Frozen River

Set  in the days before Christmas near a little-known border crossing on the Mohawk reservation between New York State and Quebec. Ray, a white woman and Lila, a Mohawk are both single mothers, both earning minimum wage and facing desperate circumstances, are drawn by the lure of fast money into the world of border smuggling across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River. New York State Trooper Finnerty ultimately brings the two to justice. Cast: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone Junior. Rated R

Happy-Go-Lucky

Poppy is a life-loving and irrepressibly cheerful primary school teacher. She is thirty years old, single, and infinitely optimistic and accepting. She lives with her best friend and flatmate Zoe in London. She is tested by a repressed driving instructor with anger problems, and, in turn, she decides to test him. She has exciting flamenco lessons, an encounter with a homeless man, an argument with her pregnant sister, and a love-affair with the social worker guiding one of her students. Cast: Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Stanley Townsend, Kate O’Flynn, Caroline Martin, Oliver Maltman, Sarah Niles, Samuel Roukin, Karina Fernandez, Nonso Anozie. Rated R

I’ve Loved You So Long

A shell-shocked Juliette is released from prison after serving 15 years for murdering her young son. After being banished from her family, she is now reunited with her younger sister, Lea. Together, the sisters embark on a painful but redemptive journey back from life’s darkest edge. Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grévill, Frédéric Pierrot.  French dialogue, English subtitles.  Rated PG-13

Lakeview Terrace

When a newlywed couple becomes the target of their neighbor, a stern police officer who disapproves of their relationship, they decide to fight back. Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Jay Fernandez. Rated PG-13

Milk

His life changed history. His courage changed lives. Harvey Milk is a middle-aged New Yorker who, after moving to San Francisco, became a Gay Rights activist and city politician. On his third attempt, he was elected to San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors in 1977. His election makes him the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. The following year, both he and the city’s mayor, George Moscone, were shot to death by former city supervisor, Dan White, who blamed his former colleagues for denying White’s attempt to rescind his resignation from the board. Based on the inspiring true story of Harvey Milk. Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco. Rated R

Quantum of Solace

Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal.Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench. Rated PG-13

Rachel Getting Married

In and out of rehab for the past 10 years, Kym Buchman returns to the family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel. She brings with her a long history of personal crisis and family conflict. The wedding party, friends and relatives have gathered for an idyllic weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym’s passion for the dramatic incites tension in the family. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin, Tunde Adebimpe, Mather Zickel, Anna Deavere Smith, Anisa George, Robyn Hitchcock, Sister Carol East, Debra Winger. Rated R

Twilight

Isabella Swan moves to gloomy Forks, Washington to live with her father. She begins her junior year in high school and becomes fascinated by Edward Cullen. He holds a dark secret which is only known by his family. To Edward, Bella is what he has waited 90 years for, a true soul mate. But he knows the further they progress in their relationship the more he is putting Bella and those close to her at risk. Edward tries to warn Bella that she should leave him, but she refuses. A new vampire finds it a challenge to hunt Bella down for her irresistible blood. Now, the game is on and James will not stop until she is killed. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli.  Based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Rated PG-13

When Did You Last See Your Father?

When a 40-year-old writer visits his dying father, he begins to relive the memories of his past and is forced to realize that his once “immortal, invincible and infallible” father is human after all. Cast: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Sarah Lancashire, Elaine Cassidy, Claire Skinner, Matthew Beard. Based on the book by Blake Morrison. Rated PG-13

New Releases on DVD February 2009

Appaloosa

Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by a young widow who arrives on the scene with only a dollar and keen sense of survival. Cast: Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons, Timothy Spall, Lance Henriksen. Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker.  Rated R

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Chloe is a pampered Beverly Hills chihuahua who, while on vacation in Mexico with her owner’s niece, Rachel, gets lost. She must rely on her new friends to help her get back home before she is caught by a dognapper who wants to ransom her. In the meantime, Papi, a male chihuahua who is in love with Chloe goes in pursuit of her. Papi’s owner is a handsome young gardener for Rachel’s aunt Viv. He slowly develops a romantic interest in Rachel. Chloe befriends Delgado, a lonely German Shepherd, who travels with her and protects her from Diablo, the evil Doberman, who wants to return her and her diamond collar to the dognapper. Voices: Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Drew Barrymore, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Edward James Olmos, Luis Guzmán. Rated PG

The Changeling

Set in a working-class suburb Los Angeles, 1928. Christine says goodbye to her son, Walter, and departs for work. Arriving home, Christine discovers that Walter is nowhere to be found. Christine launches a desperate a search for her son. Then, a boy claiming to be Christine’s son appears out of thin air. Knowing the boy is not hers, Christine invites the child to stay in her home. Christine cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Los Angeles police force at every turn. The police slander Christine and paint her as an unfit mother. Christine challenges the system and the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb. Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich. Rated R

City of Ember

For centuries, the residents of the underground City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights and quiet contentment. But when the City’s massive power generator begins to fail, the streetlamps fade – along with the hopes of the townspeople. Now it will be up to two courageous teenagers to follow a trail of clues left by the ancient builders to find the way out of Ember before their world is plunged into complete darkness. Cast: David Ryall, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, B.J. Hogg, Toby Jones. Based on the book by Jeanne Duprau. Rated PG

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Aspiring super-villain Dr. Horrible wants to join the Evil League of Evil and win the girl of his dreams, but his nemesis, Captain Hammer, stops him at every turn in this complete three-part musical from Joss Whedon. Cast: Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day. Not Rated

Eagle Eye

Jerry and Rachel are two strangers who have been ripped from their ordinary lives when they are “activated” as part of a high-tech assassination plot. Through blistering chases and shocking twists they try to escape –but where can they go when the enemy is everywhere? Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Michael Chiklis, Anthony Mackie, Billy Bob Thornton. Rated PG-13

Fireproof

Lt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter’s adage: Never leave your partner behind – it’s a natural instinct. But when it comes to marriage, it’s another story. After a decade of marriage, Caleb and Catherine have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. As the two prepare for divorce, Caleb’s dad asks his son to try The Love Dare experiment. While hoping the experiment has nothing to do with his parents’ newfound faith, Caleb commits to the challenge. Now he will have to attempt to love his wife while avoiding God’s love for him. He will need to be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person who is no longer receptive to his love. Cast: Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel. Rated PG

Ghost Town

Bertram Pincus is an irritable, cranky Manhattan dentist who develops the unwelcome ability to see annoying dead people. When a smooth-talking ghost traps Bertram into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen, they become entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter! Cast: Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni, Greg Kinnear, Billy Campbell, Kristen Wiig, Dana Ivey. Rated: PG-13

High School Musical 3: Senior Year

Troy, Gabriella, Chad and Sharpay are getting ready to graduate from high school. As college approaches, the senior are struggling with the idea of being separated from one another. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their experiences, hopes and fears about their future. Cast: Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman. Rated G

Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa

In this Dreamworks animated feature, follow Central Park Zoo animals, including, Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo, along with the psychotic penguins, the monkeys, and the lemur leaders as they unexpectedly are now stranded in the middle of Africa. While Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria are rather happy with their new environment, they quickly realize that it’s not all that it seems. Meanwhile, the penguins attempt to repair the plane that they accidentally destroyed.  Rated PG

Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist

Nick knows exactly how long it has been since Tris broke up with him – three weeks, two days, and 23 hours. Now she is at his gig, with a new guy. Nick can’t understand how she could have moved on so fast. But that night, Nick meets Norah. They have nothing in common except their taste in music. This begins the night of Nick, Norah and Manhattan. Now, this chance meeting turned into a crusdade to find a legendary rock band’s secret show, ends up being a first date and a night that will change their lives forever. Cast: Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, Ari Graynor, Aaron Yoo, Jay Baruchel.  Rated PG-13

Nights in Rodanthe

Paul is a surgeon who long ago traded his family for career. Adrienne is a devoted mother trying to move on after her husband’s infidelity. At a remote inn in the Outer Banks, the pair expect to do some serious soul-searching, but an approaching storm forces them to turn to each other. Cast: Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Scott Glenn, Christopher Meloni, Viola Davis. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. Rated PG-13

Pride and Glory

Centers on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family’s moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal that happens to involve his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora’s Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy, but the entire NYPD. Cast: Colin Farrell, Edward Norton, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Jennifer Ehle. Rated R

Religulous

Comedian and TV host Bill Maher takes a pilgrimage across the globe on a mind-opening journey into the ultimate taboo: questioning religion. Rated R

Savage Grace

A dramatization of the true story of a young woman who married into a wealthy family whose extremely close relationship with her son turns into a deadly tragedy. Cast: Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne. Based on the book by Natalie Robins & Steven M.L. Aronson.  Not Rated

The Secret Life of Bees

Lily Owens is a young girl who lives on the peach farm that her abusive father owns. Rosaleen is a black woman hired by Lily’s father to be a stand in mother for Lilly. Rosaleen insults some of the biggest racists in their town. Lily and Rosaleen run away to a town Lily believes that her mother once lived in. They go to live with the three Boatwright sisters on their honey farm. She finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping. Cast: Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo. Based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd. Rated PG-13

Swing Vote

When twelve-year-old Molly encourages her apathetic father to get involved, she sets off a chain of events on election day that ends with the presidential race coming down to one vote–her dad’s. Cast: Kevin Costner, Paula Patton, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez, Madeline Carroll. Rated PG-13

Towelhead

Follows the life of Jasira, a 13-year-old Arab-American girl, as she navigates the confusing and frightening path of adolescence and her own sexual awakening after moving to suburban Houston with her strict father. Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Peter Macdissi, Summer Bishil. Based on the novel by Alicia Erian. Rated R

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky and Cristina are two young American women spending a summer in Spain when they meet a charming guy and his beautiful but volatile ex-wife. Soon, smoldering sparks begin to fly in hilarious fashion when they all become romantically entangled. Cast: Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penélope Cruz, Kevin Dunn, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Messina. Rated PG-13

W

A look at the life of the George W. Bush. Cast: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Toby Jones, Stacy Keach, Bruce McGill, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright. Rated: PG-13

Made for TV and Feature Length Films on DVD 2/09

Avalon

The story of several generations of a family, from the arrival of immigrant Sam Krichinsky in the suburb of Baltimore called Avalon, down through his children and grandchildren. The family goes from poverty to prosperity and the world changes around them, but their love and humor hold the family together. Cast: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elizabeth Perkins, Joan Plowright, Aidan Quinn, Leo Fuchs, Eve Gordon, Lou Jacobi, Kevin Pollak, Israel Rubinek. (1990)  Rated PG.

Beulah Land

This mini-series centers around the Kendrick family, owners of Beulah Land, and those connected to the plantation by history and fate. It follows Beulah Land from its height of splendor through its destruction in the Civil War and to its rebuilding. Cast: Leslie Ann Warren, Michael Sarrazin, Eddie Albert, Hope Lange, Paul Rudd. Based on the novel by Lonnie Coleman. (1980) Not rated

Buffalo Soldiers

A fact-based story about the all-black U.S. Cavalry Troop H, which protected the Western territories in post-Civil War times. The story focuses on the troops’ attempts to capture an Apache warrior, Vittorio, who slaughters the settlers in New Mexico. The film examines the racial tensions that existed between the black soldiers and some of the white soldiers, and the truths about the Indian invaders. Cast: Danny Glover, Bob Gunton, Carl Lumbly, Glynn Turman, Mykelti Williamson. (Made for TV 1997)  Rated G.

The Cheap Detective

Neil Simon wrote this tale of a worldly, cynical gumshoe who takes on San Francisco, thugs, crooks, Nazis, femme fatales and the Golden Gate Bridge in this tribute to Bogie and the Hammett/Chandler school of hard-boiled detectives. Cast: Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar, Stockard Channing, James Coco, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, Paul Williams, Nicol Williamson. (1978) Rated PG

Getting Started in Signing

Presents beginner-level instruction in American Sign Language.

Hanover Street

An American bomber pilot falls in love with a British nurse, and then must escort her husband on a mission behind enemy lines. Cast: Harrison Ford, Lesley-Anne Down, Christopher Plummer, Alec McCowen, Richard Masur, Michael Sacks. (1979) Rated PG

In His Father’s Shoes

After his father’s death a young boy is able to travel back in time wearing his father’s shoes and learns of his father’s childhood. Cast: Louis Gossett Jr., Robert Richard, Barbara Eve Harris. (1997) Rated PG

Jakob the Liar

In Nazi-occupied Poland a poor Jewish cafe owner invents fictitious news bulletins about Allied advances against the Nazis. These lies keep hope and humor alive among the ghetto inhabitants. Cast: Robin Williams, Alan Arkin, Michael Jeter, Armin Mueller0Stahl, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban. (2000) Rated PG-13.

Lovejoy: the Complete First Season

Lovejoy, an antiques dealer and part-time detective, scours the murky salesrooms, auction halls and stately homes of Britain, always on the lookout for a find. And if the antiques business isn’t exciting enough, Lovejoy has a particular weakness for a good sob story or a pretty face, either of which is enough to send him off in pursuit of villains and to help victims recover their property. Whether it’s a priceless old master or a pretty young lady, his love of beauty is sure to land him in trouble wherever he goes. Cast: Ian McShane, Phyllis Logan, Dudley Sutton, Chris Jury.  Note Originally broadcast on BBC television in 1986. Not Rated

Miss Evers’ Boys

In 1932, Nurse Eunice Evers is invited to work with doctors on the “Tuskegee Experiment” to study the effects of syphilis. She is faced with a terrible dilemma when she learns the patients are denied treatment that could cure them. Cast: Alfre Woodard, Laurence Fishburne, Craig Sheffer, Joe Morton, Obba Babatundé, E.G. Marshall, Ossie Davis. Based on the play by David Feldshuh. (1997) Rated PG

Mississippi Masala

In this exotic and erotic interracial love story, an African American businessman falls for a beautiful Indian immigrant, only to encounter shock and outrage from both families. Cast: Denzel Washington, Roshan Seth, Sarita Choudhury, Charles S. Dutton, Joe Seneca, Sharmila Tagore, Ranjit Chowdhry. (1991) Rated R

The Mists of Avalon

Follows the women of Avalon from their childhoods through the ultimate fulfillment of their destinies in the battle between Christianity and Paganism that threatens to bring down Arthur’s kingdom. Cast: Anjelica Huston, Julianna Margulies, Joan Allen, Samantha Mathis, Caroline Goodall, Edward Atterton, Michael Vartan, Michael Byrne, Hans Matheson. Based on the novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
(2001) Not Rated

Nightjohn

The story of a young slave girl and the man who, at great risk to each other, teaches her to read, opening up a whole new world for her. Cast: Beau Bridges, Carl Lumbly, Lorraine Toussaint, Bill Cobbs, Kathleen York, Gabriel Casseus, Tom Nowicki, Joel Thomas Traywick, Allison Jones. Based on the book by Gary Paulsen. (1996)  Rated PG-13

Race to Freedom

The story of four slaves who escape from a cotton plantation in the South and travel along a clandestine network of escape routes to freedom in Canada. Cast: Janet Bailey, Michael Riley, Dawnn Lewis, Ron White, Glynn Turman, Courtney B. Vance, Tim Reid. (1994)  Not Rated

Robin Hood: Season One

Robin of Locksley heads home from the Crusades to find his people starving and brutalized under the tyrannical rule of the new Sheriff. Along with trusty companion Much, trickster Allan A. Dale and passionate Will Scarlett, Robin teams up with forest outlaws Little John and Roy, leading his gang to help Nottingham’s poor. Robin’s ally in Nottingham is Marian, the sweetheart he left behind when he left for the Crusades. The state of England is rotten and Robin and the gang will learn that doing good deeds in Nottingham is a dangerous business indeed. Cast: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Keith Allen, Sam Troughton, Gordon Kennedy, Harry Lloyd, Joe Armstrong, Anjali Jay, Michael Elwyn, William Beck. (2006) Not Rated

Robin Hood: Season Two

The world is changing rapidly. The Sheriff of Nottingham has forged a pact with the black knights to kill King Richard. But first, the sheriff wants Robin dead more than ever and sets about catching him with the help of his sister and others. Marian and Edward are placed under house arrest in the castle after Gisborne burns their home to the ground. Now with Marian as castle spy, Robin and his gang can continue to help the people of Nottingham and stay one step ahead of the sheriff and Gisborne. As events begin to turn in favor of the sheriff, suspicion of a spy within Robin’s gang becomes evident. Could this change the dynamic of the gang or tear them apart for good? Cast: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Keith Allen, Sam Troughton, Gordon Kennedy, Harry Lloyd, Joe Armstrong, Anjali Jay, Michael Elwyn. Originally broadcast on BBC television in 2007. Not Rated

Selma Lord Selma

Set in 1965, during the turbulent early days of the right-to-vote movement. The story of a young schoolgirl in Selma, Alabama, who is inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to resist the degradation that her fellow African-Americans are suffering. Based on the book by Sheyann Webb and Rachel West Nelson. Cast: Mackenzie Astin, Jurnee Smollett, Clifton Powell. (1999) Rated TV-PG

Ten Days that Unexpectedly Changed America

Ten acclaimed documentary filmmakers offer a fresh, compelling look at 10 pivotal moments in American history and their often unforeseen repercussions. Episodes include: Massacre at Mystic; Shays’ Rebellion, America’s First Civil War; Gold Rush; Antietam; The Homestead Strike; Murder at the Fair, the Assassination of President McKinley; Scopes, the Battle over America’s Soul; Einstein’s Letter; When America Was Rocked; Freedom Summer. Narrators, Jeffrey Wright, Martin Sheen, Terry Kinney, Campbell Scott, Joe Morton. Originally Broadcast on The History Channel. (2006) Not Rated

The Trouble with Angels

Two mischievous students turn convent school upside down with their pranks. Their graduation is both a relief and a celebration for the Mother Superior. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, June Harding, Binnie Barnes, Gypsy Rose Lee, Camilla Sparv, Mary Wickes, Jim Boles. (1966) Rated PG

The Tuskegee Airmen

A history of the pilots who faced discrimination in their effort to fly combat aircraft for their country during World War II. Originally broadcast on PBS in 2003.  Narrator, Ossie Davis. Not Rated

The Vicar of Dibley: The Immaculate Collection

The sleepy English village of Dibley is plunged into an uproar when its new vicar turns out to be a woman. And not just any woman, but the unconventional Geraldine Granger who brings her own earthy spirit and humor to the pulpit. Cast: Dawn French, Gary Waldhorn, James Fleet, Emma Chambers, Liz Smith, John Bluthal, Trevor Peacock, Roger Lloyd Pack, Richard Armitage. Originally broadcast by BBC1 1994-2000. Not Rated

Where Angels Go…Trouble Follows

Comedic drama centering around nuns in a convent and the conflict between the traditional, rigid values of the Roman Catholic church and the liberalism of the 1960s. Cast: Rosalind Russell, Stella Stevens, Binnie Barnes, Susan St. James, Mary Wickes, Dolores Sutton, Milton Berle, Arthur Godfrey, Van Johnson, Robert Taylor. Sequel to The trouble with Angels. (1968) Rated G

Words by Heart

A drama focused on the hardships endured by a black family living in the Midwest in the 20th century. With social progress still decades away, the family experiences open prejudice nearly everywhere they turn. Cast: Charlotte Rae, Robert Hooks, Alfre Woodard, Fran Robinson, Leo Geter, Rance Howard, Bobby Jacoby, Bill Zuckert. Based on the book by Ovida Sebestyen. (1988) Not Rated

Made for TV & Feature Length Films on DVD 1/09

All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series 4

The true-life adventures of veterinarian James Herriot in rural England. Cast: Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, Lynda Bellingham and John McGlynn. Based on the books by James Herriot. Not Rated.

All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series Six

The heart-warming tales of James Herriot, his wife Helen and his volatile but warm-hearted partner, Siegfried Farnon continues. Based on James Herriot’s popular autobiographical books. Cast: Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, Lynda Bellingham. Not Rated

All Creatures Great & Small: The Complete Series 7

The true-life adventures of veterinarian James Herriot in rural England. Cast: Christopher Timothy, Robert Hardy, Peter Davison, Lynda Bellingham and John McGlynn. Based on the books by James Herriot. Not Rated.

Another Country

An elderly, exiled British spy remembers his days at an English boarding school in the 1930s. In school, he fell in love with a male classmate, explored his homosexuality and was exposed to Marxist ideas, both contributing to his activities as a spy. Cast: Cary Elwes, Colin Firth, Rupert Everett. (1984) Not Rated

A Bridge too Far

A dramatization of the 1944 Battle of Arnhem, tracing the failed Operation Market Garden in which Allied soldiers struggled to disable the German forces from behind enemy lines in Holland. Cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Kruger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O’Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell, Liv Ullmann. Based on the book by Cornelius Ryan. (1977) Rated PG

Champagne Charlie

Founder of the greatest Champagne dynasties of the world, Charles Heidsieck falls in love with Southern belle Pauline. Cast: Hugh Grant, Megan Gallagher, Megan Follows. Based on the book by Joseph Henriot. (1989) Not Rated

The Decades Collection 1900 -1909

The dawn of the 20th century brought with it stunning new technology–technology that would change the world–and public personalities that were larger than life. Relive the heady days at the birth of the modern age, and discover its more sobering moments, with this exceptional compilation of documentaries. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Murder at the Fair: the Assassination of President McKinley : September 6, 1901 (10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America) ; The Panama Canal (Modern Marvels) ; Theodore Roosevelt: Roughrider to Rushmore (Biography) ; The Technology of Kitty Hawk (Modern Marvels) — Disc 2: San Francisco Earthquake (Mega Disasters) — The Model T (Automobiles)

The Decades Collection 1910 – 1919

In the teens, a nation still recovering from its own growing pains was thrust onto the world stage and began its rise to the status of superpower. In this collection you’ll discover the genesis of World War I and the reality of life in the trenches; walk the decks of the ‘unsinkable’ Titanic; witness the demise of a 300-year dynasty; and experience much more of this formative decade. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: WWI: the Death of Glory ; World War I (Foot Soldier); Secrets of the Romanovs (Ancient Mysteries) — Disc 2: Titanic: 90 Years Below; Albert Einstein (Biography) ; Vladimir Ilyich Lenin: Voice of the Revolution (Biography) ; Titanic Tech (Modern Marvels)

The Decades Collection 1920 – 1929

Following a decade of worldwide terror and deprivation, the Roaring Twenties were a swinging time of flappers, bathtub gin and high spirits. It was an exhilarating period when we could achieve anything, from flying across oceans, to discovering the mysteries of the past, to unlocking the secrets of life itself. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Rumrunners, Moonshiners, and Bootleggers; Ku Klux Klan: a Secret History — Disc 2: Charles Lindbergh: against the Wind (Biography) ; Howard Carter: Triumph and Treasure (Biography) ; The Monkey Trial (In Search of History) ; F. Scott Fitzgerald: the Great American Dreamer (Biography).

The Decades Collection 1930 – 1939

Today we are still feeling the effects of the Great Depression and Prohibition. The 30s, with its gangsters and work projects, breadlines and escapist pursuits (superhero comics, color movies, thoroughbred racing) was a formative period for our country. With mounting global tensions and domestic despair, the roar of the 20s faded quickly. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: The Great Depression: Part 1: The Great Shake-up ; Part 2: Face the Music ; Part 3: Striking Back ; Part 4: Desperate Measures – Disc 2: The True Story of Seabiscuit ; The Empire State Building (Modern Marvels) ; Al Capone: Scarface (Biography) ; Love & Death: the Story of Bonnie and Clyde (Biography).

The Decades Collection 1940 -1949

The forties dawned with Nazi forces in Poland. It was clear from the beginning that trouble lay ahead. This sweeping DVD presentation captures the figures that steered the globe through these turbulent waters, including Churchill, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Hirohito and others. It also offers matchless documentaries of the landmark moments of American involvement in WWII: Pear Harbor and D-Day. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Pacific: the Lost Evidence: Pearl Harbor; D-Day: the Lost Evidence; Churchill and the President (History Undercover) – Disc 2: Hirohito (Biography) ; Tokyo Rose: Victim of Propaganda (Biography) ; Evita: the Woman behind the Myth (Biography) ; Mahatma Ghandi: Pilgrim of Peace (Biography).

The Decades Collection 1950 – 1959

It was the age of hip-swingers, jet-fighters, and Ike-likers. It saw the end of the scourge of polio and the dawn of the scourge of McCarthyism. Much of what we nostalgically revere – the foundations of our pop culture – arose in the fifties. This DVD collection explores the boom-time of the post-war decade when the sky was the limit and the Cold War chilled the planet. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Korea: the Forgotten War (Parts 1 & 2) ; The Search for the Polio Vaccine (Modern Marvels) ; Eisenhower: Supreme Commander in Chief (Biography) — Disc 2: When America Was Rocked: September 9, 1956 (10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America) ; McCarthy Reconsidered (20th Century) ; Elizabeth: the Reluctant Monarch (Biography) ; The Hollywood Censorship Wars (Time Machine).

The Decades Collection 1960 – 1969

Depending on whom you ask, the sixties was all about love, civil rights, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, decadence, repression, or something else completely. It was many things to many people, and was, unquestionably, a turning point in our national experience. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Voices of Civil Rights (Save Our History) ; The JFK Assassination (Investigating History) ; Martin Luther King Jr: The Man and the Dream (Biography) ; Malcolm X (Biography) – Disc 2: October Fury (History Undercover) ; Apollo 11 (Modern Marvels) ; Bay of Pigs Declassified (History Undercover) ; Getting High: a History of LSD (History’s Mysteries).

The Decades Collection 1970 – 1979

Just outside the mesmerizing glint of the disco ball, the Seventies seem like a time of madness: war raged in Southeast Asia, America’s president was crooked, Olympic athletes were slain, cult members drank poisoned punch, and the Son of Sam stalked the night. It was, in retrospect, a terrifying time only slightly ameliorated by the distractions of a decadent nightlife culture and over-the-top pop icons. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Vietnam: a Soldier’s Diary (20th Century with Mike Wallace) ; Richard Nixon: Man and President (Biography) ; Revenge! (History Undercover) — Disc 2: David Berkowitz: Son of Sam (Biography) ; Ayatollah Khomeini: Holy Terror (Biography) ; Bruce Lee: the Immortal Dragon (Biography) ; Jim Jones: Journey into Madness (Biography).

The Decades Collection 1980 – 1989

The decade that gave us the “yuppie” was all about big business, big government and big changes. The balance in global dominance shifted as the superpowers – China, the USSR, the U.S., and England – realigned and either asserted themselves or faded away. Our world changed forever during these fateful ten years, and this captivating two-disc set clarifies the major events – and major players – that shaped our globe. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: The Iran-Contra Scandal (20th Century with Mike Wallace) ; Democracy Crushed: Tiananmen Square (20th century) ; Ronald Reagan: a Legacy Remembered — Disc 2: The Rise and Fall of the Wall (Declassified) ; The John Lennon Assassination (American Justice) ; Mikhail Gorbachev: a Man Who Changed the World — The Falklands Campaign (Greatest Raids).

The Decades Collection 1990 -1999

Still perfectly clear in the rear view mirror, the nineties loom in our collective memory. This revealing DVD collection remembers events eerily similar to our current situation: a war in Iraq, domestic terrorism, and deadly school shootings. The set also covers the touchstone trials of the decade, if not the century: O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton. All segments previously aired as episodes of various programs on The History Channel. Contents Disc 1: Conspiracy: Oklahoma City Bombing; Columbine: Understanding Why (Investigative Reports) ; Attack at Waco (American Justice) ; 1993 World Trade Center Bombing (Minute by Minute) — Disc 2: Trial of O.J. Simpson: Anatomy of a Murder (20th Century) ; Desert Storm: the Ultimate War; The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton (20th Century).

Gattaca

In a society ruled by a genetically elite overclass, Vincent is an “In-Valid,” who assumes the identity of an elite in order to travel into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. A week before his mission, he is implicated in a murder and his cover slowly unravels under the scrutiny of an investigator and the woman he loves. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Loren Dean, Gore Vidal, Ernest Borgnine, Blair Underwood, Xander Berkley, Tony Shalhoub, Jayne Brook. (1997) Rated PG-13

A Gentleman’s Game

At twelve-years-old, Timmy shows the early promise of a champion in the making. When his father sends him to caddy at a local country club, he finds a world where privilege meets the working class. With the help of a golf teacher with a broken past, he learns more than just technique and sportsmanship. Cast: Mason Gamble, Dylan Baker, Philip Baker Hall, Gary Sinise, Justin Goncalves, Henry Simmons II, Linda Emond, David Zayas, Ellen Muth. Based on the novel by Tom Coyne. (2001) Rated R

Good Neighbors

A couple decides to live off the land of their suburban London home to the annoyance of their neighbors. Cast: Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington, and Penelope Keith. Originally broadcast on BBC-TV in 1975-1977. Not rated.

The Lords of Flatbush

A group of kids in 1950s Brooklyn form a gang and do everything together. While this makes things easier, they eventually have to face new problems. Cast: Perry King, Sylvester Stallone, Paul Mace, Henry Winkler, Susan Blakely, Renée Paris, Maria Smith. (1974) Rated PG

The Mary Tyler Moore Show: The Complete Fourth Season

Join Mary and the rest of the crew from the WJM-TV newsroom for another season of the classic sitcom. This time around Mary deals with more adventures, both in the newsroom and with her romantic life. Cast: Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, Gavin MacLeod, Ted Knight, Betty White, Cloris Leachman. Originally broadcast on television in 1973-1974.

Onegin

After inheriting his uncle’s country estate, playboy Evgeny Onegin travels there and meets a beautiful, passionate young girl, Tatyana. But their relationship sparks a series of events so horrifying they threaten to destroy everything the two have ever known. Based on the novel by Alexander Pushkin. Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler. (1998) Rated R

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Neal Page (Steve Martin) wants to fly home to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Del Griffith (John Candy) leads Page on a hilarious, cross-country, wild goose chase that keeps him from tasting his turkey. (1987) Rated R

Possession

A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell. Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey, Toby Stephens. Based on the novel by A.S. Byatt. (2002) Rated PG-13

The Presidents

This History Channel documentary is an eight-part survey of the personal lives and legacies of the remarkable men who have presided over the Oval Office. From George Washington to George W. Bush, series gathers together vivid snapshots of all 43 Commanders in Chief who have guided America throughout its history–their powerful personalities, weaknesses, and major achievements or historical insignificance. Based on the book To the Best of My Ability, edited by James McPherson. The set features rare and unseen photographs and footage, unexpected insight and trivia from journalists, scholars, and politicians such as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Wesley Clark, Bob Dole, and former President Jimmy Carter. Narrated by Edward Herrmann. Includes a feature-length Bonus Program “All The Presidents’ Wives”. Not Rated

The Prince of Tides

A disillusioned Southern coach reveals his tortured childhood in order to help his troubled, suicidal sister, and discovers the healing powers of love and forgiveness. Cast: Barbra Streisand, Nick Nolte, Blythe Danner, Kate Nelligan, Jeroen Krabbé, Melinda Dillon, Jason Gould. Based on the book by Pat Conroy. (1991) Rated R

Sally Hemings: an American Scandal

The story of the mulatto woman who had an affair with President Thomas Jefferson for nearly 40 years. Cast: Sam Neill, Carmen Ejogo, Mario Van Peebles, Mare Winningham, Diahann Carroll. (2000) Not Rated

The Tudors: Season 2

After failing to have his marriage to Katherine annulled, Henry appoints himself the head of the Church of England. Anne Boleyn insists that Henry remove the Queen from the picture. A royal visit to France finally prompts Anne to consummate her relationship with Henry. After failed attempts to have his marriage annulled, Henry’s patience finally wears out and he marries Anne in secret. The king and new queen are disappointed that their first child is a girl, whom they christen Elizabeth. Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Henry Cavill, Natalie Dormer, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Nick Dunning, James Frain, Jamie Thomas King, Hans Matheson, Peter O’Toole, Jeremy Northam. Showtime Production. Not Rated