OnVideo Guide to Home Video Releases: August Calendar of Releases

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Guide to Home Video Releases:
August Release Calendar


DVD Releases

Movies are rated on a scale of one to five, with five denoting a classic. For more information on how we rate, check out our
Rentability Index.

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August 7

  • Disturbia After his father's accidental death, Kale (Shia LaBeouf) remains withdrawn and troubled. When he lashes out at a well-intentioned but insensitive teacher, he finds himself under a court-ordered house arrest. His mother continues to cope, working extra shifts to support herself and her son, as she tries in vain to understand the changes in his personality. The walls of his house begin to close in on Kale as he takes chances to extend the boundaries both physical and emotional -- of his confinement. His interests turn outside the windows of his suburban home toward those of his neighbors, including a mutual attraction to the new girl next door (Sarah Roemer). Together, they begin to suspect that another neighbor is a serial killer. Are their suspicions merely the product of Kale's cabin fever and vivid imagination? Or have they unwittingly stumbled across a crime that could cost them their lives? Vitals: Director: D.J. Caruso. Stars: Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Morse. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 104 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $74.943 million, Paramount. 2 stars

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  • Are We Done Yet? Sequel to the family comedy "Are We There Yet?" Now married to Suzanne (Nia Long), Nick Persons (Ice Cube) has bought a quiet suburban house to escape the rat race of the big city and to provide more space for his new wife and kids Lindsey and Kevin (Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden). But when his new home quickly becomes a costly "fixer upper" and he finds himself at the mercy of an eccentric contractor (John C. McGinley), Nick's suburban dream soon becomes a riotous nightmare. More importantly, as much effort as the house will require, the Persons are going to find that it will take even more work to make the house a home. Vitals: Director: Steve Carr. Stars: Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley, Aleisha Allen, Philip Daniel Bolden. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 92 min., Drama, Box office gross: $48.321 million, Sony. 2 stars

  • I Think I Love My Wife Comedy about a man with the perfect marriage -- his wife is beautiful, intelligent and a fantastic mother to his children -- but there's just one little problem: he's bored out of his suburban businessman's mind. Despite having it all, Richard Cooper can't help but fantasize about having nearly ever woman he sees. Still, it's only fantasy. Then, one fateful day, an alluring, free-spirited, not to mention stunning, old friend suddenly appears at his office door, putting him to the ultimate test. Just how much is Cooper willing to risk when temptation comes after him? Written, produced and directed by Chris Rock; loosely based on the 1972 Eric Rohmer moral tale "Chloe in the Afternoon." Vitals: Director: Chris Rock. Stars: Chris Rock, Kerry Washington, Gina Torres, Steve Buscemi, Edward Herrmann. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 94 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $12.550 million, Fox. 2 stars

  • TMNT The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the big screen in this CGI action adventure. After the defeat of their old arch nemesis, The Shredder, the Turtles have grown apart as a family. Struggling to keep them together, their rat sensei, Master Splinter (Mako), becomes worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Tech-industrialist Maximillian J. Winters (Patrick Stewart) is raising up an army of ancient monsters, and only one super-ninja fighting team can stop them -- Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor), Michelangelo (Mikey Kelley), Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield) and Raphael (Nolan North). With the help of old allies April O'Neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Casey Jones (Chris Evans), the Turtles are in for the fight of their lives as they once again must face the mysterious Foot Clan, who have put their own ninja skills behind Winters' endeavors. Vitals: Director: Kevin Munroe. Stars: Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mako, Kevin Smith, Patrick Stewart, Laurence Fishburne, Ziyi Zhang, James Arnold Taylor, Mikey Kelley, Mitchell Whitfield, Nolan North. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 87 min., Animated Action, Box office gross: $53.273 million, Warner. 2 stars

  • Unaccompanied Minors It's Christmas Eve and five kids have just been snowed in at the airport -- and there isn't a parent in sight. The comedy follows awkward Spencer (Dyllan Christopher), rich-girl Grace (Gina Mantegna), tomboy Donna (Quinn Shephard), geeky Charlie (Tyler James Williams) and bashful Beef (Brett Kelly) as they try to outwit a disgruntled airport official (Lewis Black) and reunite with their families. Using "borrowed" golf-carts, a canoe on a snow hill and the help of a reluctant flight attendant (Wilmer Valderrama), these kids are about to prove the holidays aren't about where you are, but who you're with. Vitals: Director: Paul Feig. Stars: Lewis Black, Wilmer Valderrama, Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $16.647 million, Warner. 2 stars

August 14

  • Wild Hogs Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy hit the road in this comedy-adventure about a group of middle-aged friends who decide to rev up their routine suburban lives with a freewheeling motorcycle trip. Taking a long dreamed-of breather from their stressful jobs and family responsibilities, they can t wait to feel the freedom of the open road. When this mis-matched foursome, who have grown far more used to the couch than the saddle, set out for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, they encounter a world that holds far more than they ever bargained for. The trip begins to challenge their wits and their luck, especially during a chance run-in with the Del Fuegos, a real-life biker gang who are less than amused with their novice approach. As they go looking for adventure, the four men soon find that they've embarked on a journey they will never forget. Vitals: Director: Walt Becker. Stars: Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy, Ray Liotta, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Durand, Jill Hennessy. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 99 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $165.788 million, Disney. 3 stars

  • Lookout, The Crime-thriller about a night janitor who, in the wake of a traumatic car accident, suffers from a leaky memory and an unreliable sense of self that makes even everyday situations challenging ... and changes everything when he finds himself swept up in a bold, multi-million dollar bank heist. Chris Pratt was once a Golden Boy athletic hero in his small Midwestern town. Chris had it all -- a beautiful girlfriend, a well-heeled family and a shining future. But after a serious accident, Chris found himself in a strange new world where the most basic things seemed to fall through holes in his memory and nothing quite made sense. Unable to make it on his own, he lives with his mentor in navigating this surreal life -- the wisecracking, fiercely independent blind man, Lewis (Jeff Daniels). For a job, Chris sweeps the floor at the bank, waiting for his halted life to come unstuck. Things suddenly shift when he meets Gary Spargo (Matthew Goode), an old school acquaintance and street philosopher who begins to revive Chris' shattered confidence, even helping him find a girlfriend -- albeit a stripper named Luvlee Lemons (Isla Fisher). But Gary has bigger plans, and when he recruits Chris into his grand plan to rob the bank where he works, Chris appears to be in way over his damaged head. As the bank heist unravels into chaos, both Chris' uncertain future and, even more importantly, Lewis' survival are on the line. Now, it is up to this young outcast who can't always think straight to figure out how to outwit and take down his manipulators ... his own way. Vitals: Director: Scott Frank. Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino, Matthew Goode, Aaron Berg, Kalyn Bomback, Alex Borstein, Paul Christie, Jeff Daniels, Sergio Di Zio, Morgan Kelly, Suzanne Kelly, Tracy McMahon, Toni Reimer, Janaya Stephens, Laura Vandervoort, Courtney-Jane White. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $4.587 million, Miramax. 3 stars

  • Fracture When a meticulous structural engineer is found innocent of the attempted murder of his wife, the young district attorney who is prosecuting him becomes a crusader for justice. When Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) discovers that his beautiful younger wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz), is having an affair, he plans her murder...the perfect murder. Among the cops arriving at the crime scene is Detective Rob Nunally (Billy Burke), the only officer permitted entry to the house. Surprisingly, Crawford readily admits to shooting his wife, but Nunally is too stunned to pay close attention when he recognizes his lover, whose true identity he never knew, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Although Jennifer was shot at point blank range, Nunally realizes she isn't dead. Crawford is immediately arrested and arraigned after confessing -- a seemingly slam-dunk case for hot shot assistant district attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), who has one foot out the door of the District Attorney's (David Strathairn) office on his way to a lucrative job in high-stakes corporate law. But nothing is as simple as it seems, including this case. Will the lure of power and a love affair with a sexy, ambitious attorney (Rosamund Pike) at his new firm overpower Willy's fierce drive to win, or worse, quash his code of ethics? In a tense duel of intellect and strategy, Crawford and Willy both learn that a "fracture" can be found in every ostensibly perfect facade. Vitals: Director: Gregory Hoblit. Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Billy Burke, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davitz, Valerie Dillman. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $26.728 million, New Line. 2 stars

  • Vacancy When David (Wilson) and Amy Fox's (Beckinsale) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they are forced to spend the night at the only motel around, with only the TV to entertain them ... until they discover that the low-budget slasher videos they find in their room were all filmed in the very room they're sitting in. With hidden cameras now aimed at them ... trapping them in rooms, crawlspaces, underground tunnels ... and filming their every move, David and Amy must struggle to get out alive before they end up the next victims on tape. Vitals: Director: Nimrod Antal. Stars: Luke Wilson, Kate Beckinsale, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 80 min., Horror Thriller, Box office gross: $18.986, million, Sony. 2 stars

  • Inland Empire A woman gets mixed up in a mystery landing her in trouble in the Inland Empire near Los Angeles. Filmed entirely in digital video. A surreal visual voyage, "Inland Empire" was shot in Los Angeles and Poland. It features some of Poland's biggest film stars and took more than two years to complete. Lynch worked from a script that he developed during shooting. Vitals: Director: David Lynch. Stars: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux, Harry Dean Stanton, Peter J. Lucas, Karolina Gruszka, Jan Hencz, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Grace Zabriskie, Diane Ladd, Julia Ormond, Ian Abercrombie. 2006, CC, MPAA rating: R, 172 min., Mystery, Box office gross: $.517 million, Rhino Entertainment. 3 stars

  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters Action-adventure "epic" that tackles the mysterious circumstances that brought Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shake together. An immortal piece of exercise equipment threatens the balance of galactic peace, and it is up to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force to run away from it. Complicating matters, the Plutonians team up with the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past for ultimate control of the deadly device. Vitals: Director: Matt Maiellaro, Dave Willis. Stars: Voices of Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, Carey Means. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 87 min., Animated, Box office gross: $5.518 million, Warner. 2 stars

August 21

  • Perfect Stranger Rowena Price (Halle Berry) is an investigative reporter who has perfected the art of exposing other people's secrets. So when childhood friend Grace Clayton, who was having an affair with married advertising executive Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis), turns up murdered, Rowena is determined to find the truth. Thanks to her associate, tech-savvy Miles Haley (Giovanni Ribisi), Rowena gains access to Grace's e-mail and learns that Grace was threatening to go to Hill's wife. Armed with that knowledge, Rowena goes undercover and becomes the perfect stranger -- first as a temp, Katherine, in Hill's advertising agency, and then as Rocketgirl aka Veronica, another one of his online paramours. She watches the unsuspecting Hill from all sides, taking note of his wife doing the same. This is a man with an appetite for power, a weakness for women, and a wife on alert. But in exposing Hill's secrets Rowena unwittingly discovers a connection between Grace and two significant people in her life; her boyfriend, Cameron (Gary Dourdan) and her best friend, Miles, leaving her feeling confused, betrayed, and with no one to trust on her journey. The closer Rowena gets to the truth, the more she finds that things may not be what they seem. Vitals: Director: James Foley. Stars: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi, Gary Dourdan, Patti D'Arbanville, Clea Lewis. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 109 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $23.705, million, Sony. 2 stars

  • Lives of Others, The Winner of this year's best foreign-language Oscar. At once a political thriller and human drama, "The Lives of Others" begins in East Berlin in 1984, five years before Glasnost and the fall of the Berlin Wall and ultimately takes us to 1991, in what is now the reunited Germany. At its peak, the former East German government (known as the GDR, German Democratic Republic) ensured its claim to power with a ruthless system of control and surveillance via the Stasi, it's all-powerful secret police with its vast network of informers that at one time numbered 200,000 out of a population of 17 million. The goal was to know everything about "the lives of others." The film traces the gradual disillusionment of Captain Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a highly skilled officer who works for the Stasi. His mission is to spy on a celebrated writer and actress couple, Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). The "operation" is backed by the highest political circles. What starts out as a routine investigation, however, changes drastically for the agent. What Wiesler doesn't anticipate, however, is that submerging oneself into the world of the target also changes the surveillance agent. He begins to be drawn into their world, which puts his own position as an impartial agent of the GDR into question. The immersion in the lives of others -- in love, literature, free thinking and speech -- makes Wiesler acutely aware of the meagerness of his own existence and opens to him a completely new way of life which he has ever more trouble resisting. But the system, once started, cannot be stopped. A dangerous game has begun. In German with English subtitles. The film set a record in 2006 for getting the most nominations (11) for the German Film Awards ever, going on to win seven. We agree with Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times when he said in his review: "A potent narrative about the transformative effect of involvement in other people's stories, 'Lives' turns its own story into a python-tight embrace of nuanced tension and emotional connection. It convincingly demonstrates that when done right, moral and political quandaries can be the most intensely dramatic dilemmas of all." Vitals: Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Stars: Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Muehe, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 137 min., Drama, Box office gross: $10.508 million, Sony. 4 stars

  • Broken English In a startling mature and nuanced performance, Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a thirtysomething Manhattanite who is cynical about love and relationships. Nora plugs away at her job in a posh downtown hotel and can't help but wonder what it is she has to do to find a relationship as ideal as her friend Audrey's (Drea De Matteo) "perfect marriage." It doesn't help that her overbearing mother (Gena Rowlands) takes every opportunity to remind Nora that she's still unattached. After a series of disastrous first dates, she meets Julien (Melvil Poupaud), a seemingly devil-may-care Frenchman with a passion for living. Expecting another disastrous ending, Nora tries to avoid making the same mistakes. She finds herself in Paris looking to break old patterns. Inevitably, Nora has to look inward before she can find a new outlook on life and most importantly, love. Vitals: Director: Zoe Cassavetes. Stars: Parker Posey, Melvil Poupaud, Drea de Matteo, Justin Theroux, Peter Bogdanovich, Gena Rowlands. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 97 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $.490 million, Magnolia. 3 stars

  • Ultimate Gift, The When his wealthy grandfather dies, trust fund baby Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) anticipates a big inheritance. Instead, his grandfather has devised a crash course on life: 12 gifts designed to challenge Jason in improbable ways, sending him on a journey of self-discovery and forcing him to determine what is most important in life: money or happiness. Based on the inspirational novel by best-selling author Jim Stovall. Vitals: Director: Michael O. Sajbel. Stars: James Garner, Brian Dennehy, Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin, Lee Meriwether. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 114 min., Drama, Box office gross: $3.257 million, Fox. 2 stars

  • Ex, The (aka Fast Track) Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) and his wife Sofia (Amanda Peet) are in for some major changes now that they have a newborn. As a lawyer, Sofia has always provided a comfortable living while Tom has contributed love, support and the occasional paycheck. When Sofia decides to be a stay-at-home mom all that changes. Tom moves the family to Ohio to work for his father-in-law (Charles Grodin). His boss, Chip (Jason Bateman), happens to still carry a torch for Sofia from their high school days. Chip will stop at nothing to see Tom defeated while no one but Tom can see Chip for the evil genius he is. Through it all Tom's esteem is depleted, his manhood challenged (by a surprisingly large adversary) and he's watching his family slip away. Vitals: Director: Jesse Peretz. Stars: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow, Lucian Maisel, Donal Logue. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Romantic Comedy, Box office gross: $3.054 million, Weinstein Company/Genius Products. 2 stars

  • Redline Auto/actioner about cars, women, gambling. Real stars are the producer's Phantom Rolls Royce, Lamborghini Murcielago, Enzo Ferrari, Ferrari F430, Ferrari Scaglietti Mercedes SLR McLaren. Vitals: Director: Andy Cheng. Stars: Angus Macfadyen, Nathan Phillips, Eddie Griffin, Nadia Bjorlin, Kevin Levrone, Wyclef Jean. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Action, Box office gross: $6.877 million, The Weinstein Co./Genius Products. 2 stars

August 28

  • Blades of Glory When rival figure skaters Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) go ballistic in an embarrassing, no-holds-barred fight at the World Championships, they are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the sport for life. Now, three-and-a-half years on, they've found a loophole that will allow them to compete: if they can put aside their differences, they can skate together -- in pairs' figure skating. Vitals: Director: Josh Gordon, Will Speck. Stars: Will Ferrell, Jon Heder, Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, William Fichtner, Craig T. Nelson. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 93 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $ 116.366 million, Paramount. 3 stars

  • Kickin' It Old Skool It's 1986, when greed is good, legwarmers are great and break-dancing is the greatest! But, right in the middle of a break dancing contest, Justin Schumacher (Jamie Kennedy) hits his head so hard he winds up in a coma! When he wakes up 20 years later, his poodle haircut is out of style, the woman of his dreams (Maria Menounos) is engaged to his worst rival, and his parents are drowning in his medical bills. Now Justin must jump-start his break dancing career in order to regain a normal life -- and his girlfriend. Vitals: Director: Harvey Glazer. Stars: Jamie Kennedy, Maria Menounos, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Michael Rosenbaum, Christopher McDonald, Debra Jo Rupp. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 108 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $4.454 million, Fox. 2 stars

  • Year of the Dog Peggy and Pencil are inseparable companions. They sleep together, eat together, and even take in Friday night movies together. Life is uncomplicated and safe, and although Pencil is a Beagle, Peggy is happily entrenched in a satisfying relationship of co-dependency with her beloved pet. But with love comes loss, and Peggy's world comes crashing down when Pencil meets a mysterious demise in a neighbor's yard. Left to pick-up the pieces of her shattered life, Peggy embarks on a personal journey to fill the void. Friends, family and co-workers try to distract Peggy from her misery with their own obsessive quests for happiness, but in the end, she emerges from her loss with a new found sense of her place in the world and what it takes to make her happy. Vitals: Director: Mike White. Stars: Molly Shannon, Peter Sarsgaard, Laura Dern, John C. Reilly, Regina King, Tom McCarthy, Josh Pais. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min., Comedy-Drama, Box office gross: $1.538 million, Paramount. 2 stars


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All DVDs are screened on a reference system consisting of a Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Disc Player w/SACD & DVD-Audio, a Rotel RSX-972 Surround Sound Receiver, and Phase Technology 1.1 (front), 33.1 (center), and 50 (rear) speakers and Power 10 subwoofer.

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August 15, 2007