April 2005 DVD & Blu-rays

Based on Rosamond Lehman's book, "The Echoing Grove", "The Heart of Me" stars Olivia Williams and Helena Bonham Carter as sisters who become closer after the unexpected occurs in their lives. Paul Bettany plays a husband of one of the sisters who is having an affair with the other sister.

A wine tasting road trip to salute Jack's final days as a bachelor careens woefully sideways as he and Miles hit the gas en route to mid-life crises. The comically mismatched pair, who share little more than their history and a heady blend of failed potential and fading youth, soon find themselves drowning in wine and women. Emerging from a haze of pinot noir, wistful yearnings and trepidation about the future, the two inevitably collide with reality.

This is the story of a 12-year-old boy, David (Ben Tibber), who travels across Europe by himself in 1952 after escaping from the Communist concentration camp in Bulgaria where he's spent most of his life. Advised and helped by a fellow inmate, Johannes (James Caviezel), David makes his way out of the camp with only a loaf of bread, a compass to guide him and a letter he's been told to deliver to Copenhagen, Denmark. Not even knowing where Denmark is, David must first make his way from Bulgaria to Italy...

In "Spanglish", the beautifully observed comedy/drama from acclaimed multiple Oscar-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks ("As Good As It Gets", "Terms of Endearment"), Flor (Paz Vega), a beautiful, native Mexican woman becomes the housekeeper for the affluent, yet troubled, Clasky family (headed by Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni). The result is a wittily perceptive collision of cultures and values, and a refreshingly honest look at such life-altering commitments as marriage, parenting and devotion to family.

"Alias" Jennifer Garner returns as Elektra, who after recovering from the mortal wounds she suffered in "Daredevil", becomes the world's most dangerous assassin. When she gets her latest assignment, Elektra makes a decision that can take her life in a new direction—or destroy her.

The killer doll is back! Glen is the orphan doll offspring of the irrepressible devilish-doll-come-to-life Chucky and his equally twisted bride Tiffany. When production starts on a movie detailing the urban legend of his parents' lethal exploits, Glen heads for Hollywood where he brings his bloodthirsty parents back from the dead. The family dynamics are far from perfect as Chucky and Tiffany go Hollywood and get rolling on a new spree of murderous mayhem—much to gentle Glen's horror. Chucky can't believe that his child doesn't want to walk in his murdering footsteps, and star-struck Tiffany can't believe that the movie will star her favorite actress, Jennifer Tilly, who soon becomes an unwitting hostess to this new family in more ways than one.

Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his crew, having successfully stolen $150 million Las Vegas casinos in the first film, jet to Europe with three new heists planned, including swiping Rembrandt's Nightwatch from a gallery in Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the casino mogul whose money Ocean and company made off with, and his hitmen are in hot pursuit.

Ten years ago, some of the worst atrocities in the history of mankind took place in the country of Rwanda; and in an era of high-speed communication and round-the-clock news, the events went almost unnoticed by the rest of the world. In only three months, almost 1 million people were brutally murdered. In the face of these unspeakable actions, inspired by his love for his family, an ordinary man summons extraordinary courage to save the lives of over a thousand helpless refugees by granting them shelter in the hotel he manages.

Walter, a convicted sex offender, is trying to put his life back together. He lands a steady job, he sees an earnest therapist, and he spends time with his sympathetic brother-in-law. Still, he cannot escape his past--his sister shuns him, and he lives in fear of being discovered. Walter finds unexpected comfort in Vicki, a tough-talking woman who doesn't judge him for his history, but even her love is not enough to keep the demons away. As he discovers, it is hard to resist old temptations.

Tracks the tumultuous rise of two talented musicians, Anton Newcombe, leader of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Courtney Taylor, leader of the Dandy Warhols, and dissects their star-crossed friendship and bitter rivalry. Both are hell-bent on staging a self-proclaimed revolution of the music industry. Through their loves and obsessions, gigs and recordings, arrests and death threats, uppers and downers, and ultimately to their chance at a piece of the profit-driven music business. How each handles his stab at "success" is where the relationship frays and burns.

This is the story of two men, one of whom is a film director, in Spain who meet again 20 years after they attended a Catholic school together as children during the time of Franco's rule. The film will flash back to extended sequences from their youths, and will also include a movie-within-the-movie sequence.

When Dallas FBI Agent Thomas Mackelway violates serial killer Raymond Starkey's civil rights during an unorthodox arrest, Starkey goes free and Mackelway is demoted to a remote branch of the agency in Albuquerque. His first day on the job, Mackelway investigates the murder of a traveling salesman Harold Speck, which turns out to be the first of three seemingly random killings. Or perhaps they are not random at all; the last to die is Mackelway's nemesis, Raymond Starkey. The assignment consumes him. His past mistakes haunt him. His head throbs constantly as he tries to find the link between the victims that will lead him to their killer. The case becomes increasingly gruesome and patently personal. This does not go unnoticed by his unflappable partner Fran Kulok, who knows of Mackelway's past and the demons that afflict him. Like Mackelway, she becomes drawn into the labyrinth of chilling clues, all of which point to the enigmatic Benjamin O'Ryan. O'Ryan clearly has a connection to the murders, a connection he flaunts; quite possibly, he may also harbor a sinister link to Mackelway.

A young man who thought himself already in love with a nice girl is drawn into a literary drama when he is captured by a deep and stimulating love affair.

John C. Reilly ("Chicago"), Diego Luna ("Y Tu Mama Tambien") and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Secretary") star in a contemporary caper movie set in Los Angeles. It's the story of an extremely odd couple: a young Latino man who will do anything for his family (Luna) and a 30-something scheming white guy who will do anything to his family (Reilly). One wants to save his father. The other wants to get rich, in any way possible. So when they come across one of the most valuable pieces of currency in U.S. history, they're suddenly stuck together, and that's just . . . criminal. All they have to do is sell it, which is where the real problems begin. And of course the only way out is family: the one person who can help them, hates them: the schemer's sister (Gyllenhaal).

A chronicle of the true story of Kurt Gerron, a well known and beloved German-Jewish actor, director and cabaret star in Berlin in the 1920's and '30's. Among his greatest accomplishments, he co-starred with the legendary Marlene Dietrich in the film classic, "The Blue Angel." He also sang "Mack The Knife" in the original production of "Threepenny Opera." Ultimately, Gerron was captured and sent to a concentration camp, where he was ordered to both write and direct a pro-Nazi propaganda film.

Anna is a young widow who is finally getting on with her life after the death of her husband, Sean. Now engaged to be married, Anna meets a ten-year-old boy who tells her he is Sean reincarnated. Though his story is both unsettling and absurd, Anna can't get the boy out of her mind. And much to the concern of her fiancée, her increased contact with him leads her to question the choices she has made in her life.

At night and on weekends, four men in a suburban garage have built a cottage industry of error-checking devices. But, they know that there is something more. There is some idea, some mechanism, some accidental side effect that is standing between them and a pure leap of innovation. And so, through trial and error they are building the device that is missing most. However, two of these men find the device and immediately realize that it is too valuable to market. The limit of their trust in each other is strained when they are faced with the question, If you always want what you can't have, what do you want when you can have anything?

"House of Flying Daggers" is set in the year 859AD as China's once flourishing Tang Dynasty is in decline. Unrest is raging throughout the land, and the corrupt government is locked in battle with rebel armies that are forming in protest. The largest, and most prestigious of these is the "House of Flying Daggers", which is growing ever more powerful under a mysterious new leader. Two local captains, Leo (Lau) and Jin (Kaneshiro) are ordered to capture the new leader and the two hatch an elaborate plan. Captain Jin will pretend to be a lone warrior called Wind and rescue the beautiful, blind revolutionary Mei (Ziyi), from prison, earning her trust and escorting her to the secret headquarters of the House of Flying Daggers. The plan works, but to their surprise, Jin and Mei fall deeply in love on their long journey to the House. Danger lurks in the forest surrounding them, and the wind is still, as if sensing the tension in the air. What lies ahead for Jin and Mei, these star-crossed lovers? If this is true love, then why are there plots in their heads, and secrets in their hearts?

The supernatural thriller takes place on Halloween in 1969, following 21-year-old New England college student Alan Parker (Jonathan Jackson). Distraught that his girlfriend (Erika Christensen) has broken up with him, he attempts suicide but fails and then learns that his beloved mother (Barbara Hershey) has had a stroke. Hitchhiking through rural Maine to visit her bedside, the young man is picked up by a mysterious driver (David Arquette) who carries his own haunting secrets.

Upon hearing of her mother's death, jaded teenage loner Purslane Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) returns to New Orleans for the first time in years, ready to reclaim her childhood home. Expecting to find her late mother's house abandoned, Pursy is shocked to discover that it is inhabited by two of her mother's friends: Bobby Long (John Travolta), a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht). These broken men, whose lives took a wrong turn years before, have been firmly rooted in the dilapidated house for years, encouraged only by Lawson's faltering ambitions to write a novel about Bobby Long's life. Having no intention of leaving, Pursy, Bobby Long and Lawson are all forced to live together. Yet as time passes, their tenuous, makeshift arrangement unearths a series of buried personal secrets that challenges their bonds, and reveals just how inextricably their lives are intertwined.

Now that Greg Focker is in with his soon-to-be in-laws, Jack and Dina Byrnes, it looks like smooth sailing for him and his fiancée, Pam. But that's before Pam's parents meet Greg's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker. The hyper-relaxed Fockers and the tightly-wound Byrneses are woefully mismatched from the start, and no matter how hard Greg and Pam try, there is just no bringing their families together.

Focuses on Filomena Capadscio, the matriarch of a family who is abruptly visited by tragedy. Filomena's husband and two sons are brutally murdered by the sons of Firmino Santos Guerra. Thirty years earlier, Filomena had been engaged to Santos Guerra but left him before their wedding to marry his rival Borges Capadscio. The result of this union filled Santos Guerra with rage and promise to someday exact revenge on the newly married couple. Filomena buries her husband and sons and begins to set plans to have revenge against the Santos Guerra family. She brings together her three daughters (Maria Francisca, Maria Rosa and Maria Pia) and sends them off into the backlands of Brazil to locate and hire three ruthless killers. Maria Francisca has to find the gunman known as Zi das Cobras, who has not spoken to a woman since the death of his mother. Maria Rosa looks for Chief Tensrio, a backwoods cop who is also a knife specialist, and convince him to break the laws he defends. Maria Pia goes off in search of Jesulino Cruz, also known as "The Devil's Horse," but there is a slight obstacle in her path: this killer is locked up in prison."

Deep in a remote desert, vampire leaders are resurrecting Dracula, the horrific creature who spawned their race. Now known as Drake, this awesome vampire has unique powers that allow him to exist in daylight. To make things even more difficult for Blade, the vampiric leadership launches a smear campaign against him, targeting him as a murderous monster and sending the FBI after him. After Blade and his mentor, Whistler, have an explosive showdown with FBI agent Cumberland and his men, it's evident that the Daywalker will need some assistance. Blade reluctantly teams up with the Nightstalkers, a group of human vampire hunters led by Whistler's beautiful daughter, Abigail, and the wisecracking Hannibal King. While their blind scientist Sommerfield works on creating a final solution for the vampire problem, the Nightstalkers launch a relentless series of battles against Dracula's gang of the undead, led by the powerful vampire Danica Talos and her fanged acolytes Asher and Grimwood. Ultimately, Blade finds himself taking on the greatest vampire of all time, as his own fate and that of humanity hang in the balance.

Three weeks ago, just before the lunar eclipse, American teenager Regina and her family moved into a charming old house in the remote Spanish countryside. Since then, nothing has been the same. Day by day, a strange force seems to be pulling the family apart and Regina is the only one brave enough to search for answers. However, she is about to discover the answers to all her questions lie deep within the walls of their new home: something has been waiting here for her family's arrival; something ancient and wicked; something looking for retribution; a force as bottomless and hungry as the dark itself. Now, darkness is closing in on Regina's family, and she's their only chance for survival.

Meticulously depicts the disintegration of Samuel Bicke (Sean Penn), a failed salesman and ineffectual would-be assassin. Unwillingly separated from his beautiful wife, Marie (Naomi Watts), Samuel is a meek and earnest everyman who grows increasingly embittered as mounting disappointment and rejection dash his dreams one by one. On the brink of a nervous collapse, he yearns for the success he sees in others, unable to understand why it cannot also be his. Inspired by real-life events, The Assassination of Richard Nixon tells the story of Samuel's breakdown and his subsequent attempt to assassinate the president – an endeavour which, like everything in his life, is inevitably doomed to failure. With the noise of Watergate providing a constant blaring background to the dissolution of his marriage and the loss of his job, Bicke loses his tenuous grip on reality. His desire to lash out at the government for his personal anguish drives him to conceal a gun under an orthopaedic leg brace. His intention: to hijack a plane and fly it into the White House.

Based on the bestselling book series by Daniel Handler, the "Snicket" saga revolves around a pint-sized trio of orphans named Sunny, Klaus and Violet who find themselves fobbed off on a series of odd people, including Lemony Snicket, who narrates each of what has grown to a series of eight books since Handler debuted the first title in 1999. The recurring bad guy is a distant family relative named Count Olaf, who initially takes in the kids but clearly is trying to separate them from a family inheritance.