Best DVD & Blu-rays Released August 2011
On this Page:
August 2 • August 9 • August 16 • August 23 • August 30
Soul Surfer
A competitive teen surfer is attacked by a shark but she survives the loss of her left arm and returns to surfing.
AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Sean McNamara, Helen Hunt, Michel Shane, Roy Hofstetter, Seth Goldberg, Deborah Schwartz
Conan The Barbarian
A new take on the Robert E. Howard-created character. Conan rises above all other heroes in the fictitious Hyborian age, taking place around 12,000 years ago.
Jason Momoa, Boaz Davidson, Henry Winterstern, Rachel Nichols, Ron Perlman, Said Taghmaoui, Marcus Nispel, Avi Lerner
The Perfect Game
In 1957, former baseball player Cesar Faz returns home to Mexico as he is defeated by the racism of the Major Leagues. He coaches a local youth league team, leading them all the way to the Little League World Series.
William Dear, David Salzberg, W. William Winokur, Mark W. Koch, Daniel de Liege, Christian Tureaud, Clifton Collins Jr., Cheech Marin
Last Night
A married couple is apart for a night while the husband takes a business trip with a colleague to whom he's attracted. While he's resisting temptation, his wife encounters her past love.
Scott Adsit, Keira Knightley, Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, Massy Tadjedin, Nick Wechsler, Guillaume Canet, Griffin Dunne
The Music Never Stopped
Chronicles the journey of a father and son adjusting to cerebral trauma and a lifetime of missed opportunities.
Jim Kohlberg, J.K. Simmons, Cara Seymour, Julia Ormond, Lou Taylor Pucci
Exporting Raymond
Follows Phil Rosenthal as he travels to Russia to meet about doing a local version of "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Phil Rosenthal
Carbon Nation
An optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that shows tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national and energy security and promotes health and a clean environment.
Peter Byck
A Screaming Man
Adam, a former swimming champion in his sixties, is a pool attendant at a hotel in Chad. When the hotel gets taken over by new Chinese owners, he is forced to give up his job to his son, Abdel, leaving Adam humiliated and resentful. Meanwhile the country is in the throes of a civil war. Rebel forces are attacking the government and the authorities demand the people contribute to the "war effort" with money or volunteers old enough to fight. Adam is constantly harassed for his contribution, but he is penniless. In a moment of weakness, Adam makes a decision that he will forever regret.
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Stake Land
When an epidemic of vampirism strikes, humans find themselves on the run from vicious, feral beasts. Cities are tombs and survivors cling together in rural pockets, fearful of nightfall. When his family is slaughtered, young Martin (Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of a grizzled, wayward hunter (Nick Damici) whose new prey are the undead.
Simply known as Mister, the vampire stalker takes Martin on a journey through the locked-down towns of America’s heartland, searching for a better place while taking down any bloodsuckers that cross their path. Along the way they recruit fellow travellers, including a nun (Kelly McGillis) who is caught in a crisis of faith when her followers turn into ravenous beasts. This ragtag family unit cautiously moves north, avoiding major thoroughfares that have been seized by The Brethren, a fundamentalist militia headed by Jebedia Loven (Michael Cerveris) that sees the plague as the Lord’s work.
Jim Mickle, Nick Damici, Connor Paolo, Danielle Harris, Kelly McGillis, Sean Nelson, Michael Cerveris
Cold Weather
Doug (Cris Lankenau) has just moved back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, to move in with his sister (Trieste KellyDunn), hoping for another chance at jumpstarting their grown up lives. When Doug’s ex-girlfriend comes to town unexpectedly, only to disappear shortly after, Doug, Gail, and their new friend Carlos (Raul Castillo) appoint themselves as detectives in what they see as a real life Sherlock Holmes situation.
Aaron Katz, Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, Cris Lankenau, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Raul Castillo
My Dog Tulip
Based on the 1956 British novel by J.R. Ackerley, "My Dog Tulip" follows a 14-year friendship between Ackerley and his German Shepherd, Tulip, after the writer rescued the dog.
Isabella Rossellini, Paul Fierlinger, Sandra Fierlinger, Norman Twain, Howard Kaminsky, Frank Pellegrino, Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave
Heavy Times
Out of boredom and peer pressure, three best friends (Dan, Mark, and Hugh) go to visit Dan's sister for dinner. Soon after meeting Dan's brother-in-law Rick, the trio finds themselves miles from home and far outside their comfort zone. What started off as an innocent trip spirals into an outrageous series of events none of them were prepared for.
Benjamin Mark, Ryan McKenna, Jay Brunner, Adam Lauver
Quarantine 2: Terminal
The "Quarantine" sequel spreads the infection to an airport.
John Pogue, Josh Cooke, Mercedes Masohn
YellowBrickRoad
In the Fall of 1940, the entire population of Friar, NH abandoned their homes and walked up an ancient trail, never to be seen alive again. Their fates have remained a mystery for over 70 years, until a team of researchers discover the trailhead and attempt to track the path the doomed citizens of Friar took.
Andy Mitton, Lee Wilkof, Jesse Holland, Cassidy Freeman, Anessa Ramsey
Mars Needs Moms!
Milo doesn’t get it: What’s the big deal about moms? They’re just slavedriving broccoli bullies. Yet they are worshipped the world over! Perhaps even the galaxy over—because here come Martians and they’re after one thing only: moms. Milo’s mom in particular. Who better to drive them to soccer practice and to pizza parties? That’s quite a long way to come for a mom—could it be that Milo has been overlooking something special?
Seth Green, Joan Cusack, Robert Zemeckis, Simon Wells, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Wendy Wells, Dan Fogler
Jumping the Broom
Two African-American families from divergent backgrounds come together for a wedding on Martha’s Vineyard.
Angela Bassett, Julie Bowen, Curtis Wallace, Elizabeth Hunter, Arlene Gibbs, Mike Epps, Salim Akil, Tracey Edmonds
Paul
After visiting Comic-Con, two British slackers go on a road trip to Area 51, where they encounter a small alien named Paul, who enlists them to help him find his way home.
Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Nick Frost, Tim Bevan, Seth Rogen, Jane Lynch, Blythe Danner, Greg Mottola
Your Highness
An arrogant, lazy prince must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom.
James Franco, Justin Theroux, Scott Bernstein, Danny R. McBride, Natalie Portman, Toby Jones, David Gordon Green, Scott Stuber
Super
The story centers on an average guy who takes on the pseudo-superhero alter ego of the Crimson Bolt, after watching his wife fall under the spell of a charming drug dealer. Lacking super powers, he compensates by swinging a trusty wrench.
Ellen Page, Michael Rooker, James Gunn, Kevin Bacon, Ted Hope, Rainn Wilson, Liv Tyler, Nathan Fillion
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff's career spanned an incredible nine of moving picture's first ten decades and his work behind the camera altered the look of films forever through his use of Technicolor photography. Craig McCall's film about the legendary cinematographer reveals a unique figure in British and international cinema.
Craig McCall
The Last Godfather
Story centers on a Mafia boss who trains his mentally impaired son as his successor.
Shim Hyung-rae, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Harvey Keitel, Jason Mewes
Tactical Force
A training exercise for the LAPD SWAT team goes terribly wrong.
Dallas Sonnier, Steve Austin, Jack Heller, Adamo P. Cultraro, Jack Nasser, Michael Jai White, Joseph Nasser
Double Dhamaal
The four good-for-nothing jokers from Dhamaal - Roy, Manav, Adi and Boman are back and so is their old arch enemy - the corrupt Inspector Kabir. The four madcaps are green with envy and decide that come what may, by hook or by crook they will share Kabir's good fortune.
Indra Kumar
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil
"Hood vs. Evil" will find a teen Red training in a distant land with a mysterious, covert group called Sisters of the Hood. She is then called upon by Nicky Flippers—head of the Happily Ever After Agency—who teams her with the Wolf to investigate the disappearance of Hansel and Gretel. The character of Granny, and the rest of the "Hoodwinked" gang, also return and are joined by new characters.
Joan Cusack, Cory Edwards, Tony Leech, Andy Dick, Martin Short, Todd Edwards, David K. Lovegren, Maurice Kanbar
Priest
The vampire western concerns a warrior priest who disobeys church law by teaming with a young sheriff and a priestess to track down a band of renegade vampires who have kidnapped his niece.
Karl Urban, Paul Bettany, Cory Goodman, Maggie Q, Glenn S. Gainor, Scott Stewart, Michael De Luca, Sam Raimi
The Conspirator
The story of Mary Surratt, alleged conspirator of Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.
Robin Wright, Justin Long, Robert Redford, James Solomon, James McAvoy, Kevin Kline, Greg Shapiro, Web Stone
Something Borrowed
A Manhattan attorney becomes involved with her best friend's fiance following her 30th birthday.
Kate Hudson, John Krasinski, Molly Smith, Steve Howey, Ellen H. Schwartz, Luke Greenfield, Hilary Swank, Aaron Lubin
Jane Eyre
The story follows a governess who softens the heart of her surly employer Mr. Rochester, only to discover that he's hiding a terrible secret.
Sally Hawkins, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Alison Owen, Paul Trijbits, Moira Buffini, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench
That's What I Am
Andy Nichol, a happy 12-year-old with friends, a paper route, and a crush, idolizes his favorite teacher, Mr. Simon. However, when Mr. Simon pairs Andy with Big Red, the frequently bullied school outcast, for a lengthy English assignment, Andy fears being relegated to geek status. While navigating the ups and down of 8th grade, Andy learns to appreciate Big Red’s quiet dignity and compassion, stands up to a bully, and helps Big Red repair a fractured friendship.
Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, Randy Orton, Mike Pavone, Chase Ellison, Daniel Roebuck, Molly Parker, Mia Rose Frampton
Meet Monica Velour
A young man travels cross-country to meet his dream woman, a 1980s cinema siren who is now a 50-year-old single mother in the middle of a child custody battle.
Kim Cattrall, Keith Bearden, Keith David, Sam McMurray, Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy
The Grace Card
When Mac McDonald loses his son in an accident, the ensuing 17 years of bitterness and pain erodes his love for his family and leaves him angry with God ... and just about everyone else. Mac's rage stonewalls his career in the police department and makes for a combustible situation when he's partnered with Sam Wright, a rising star on the force-who happens to be a part-time pastor and a loving family man. Can they somehow join forces to help one another when it's impossible for either of them to look past their differences-especially the most obvious one?
Louis Gossett Jr., Howard Klausner, Joy Moore, David G. Evans, John Saunders, John Nasraway, Michael Joiner, Michael Higgenbottom
No Eres Tú, Soy Yo
Javier wishes for one thing in life: be happy with Maria, but soon after the wedding, destiny changes their plans.
Alejandro Springall, Eugenio Derbez, Alejandra Barros
The Bang Bang Club
Four combat photographers capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa.
Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Phillippe, Steven Silver, Malin Akerman, Patrick Lyster
The Best and The Brightest
The film centers on New York neophytes Jeff (Neil Patrick Harris) and Samantha (Bonnie Somerville) as they attempt to navigate the cutthroat waters of elite New York City kindergarten schools.
Neil Patrick Harris, Bonnie Somerville, Jenna Stern, Josh Shelov, Michael Jaeger, Amy Sedaris, Peter Serafinowicz, Christopher McDonald
Troll Hunter
Focuses on a group of students who discover what they believe is a government conspiracy to keep the existence of trolls in the north of Norway hidden from the general public.
Andre Ovredal, John M. Jacobsen, Otto Jespersen, Tomas Alf Larsen, Hans Morten Hansen
Sympathy for Delicious
A paralyzed DJ, "Delicious" Dean O'Dwyer, struggling to survive in his wheelchair on the streets of Los Angeles, turns to faith-healing and mysteriously acquires the ability to cure the sick -- although not himself. A Jesuit priest tries to help him come to terms with the limits of his gift, while a rock singer in a band tries to exploit the suddenly famous healer.
Juliette Lewis, Matthew Weaver, Andrea Sperling, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Thornton, Orlando Bloom, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
Road to Nowhere
A noirish tale of a young filmmaker who becomes enmeshed in a criminal scheme while making a movie on location.
Monte Hellman, Steven Gaydos, Dominique Swain, Shannyn Sossamon, John Diehl, Waylon Payne, Tygh Runyan
POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Morgan Spurlock examines the world of advertising by making a film financed entirely by product placement.
Keith Calder, Morgan Spurlock, Jeremy Chilnick
The Beaver
A man walks around with a beaver puppet on his hand, treating it as something close to a human creature with human feelings.
Mel Gibson, Steve Golin, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Keith Redmon, Kyle Killen, Michelle Ang, Jennifer Lawrence
Hostage
Bruce Willis stars as an LAPD hostage negotiator, who withdraws to the countryside to become chief of a two-man police department after a bloody standoff. Instead of achieving a sense of peace in the small town, he finds himself embroiled in negotiations to save his wife and daughter. Messner will play an FBI operative who comes onto the crime scene to work with Willis' character and retrieve computer disks.
Bruce Willis, Rumer Willis, Ben Foster, Mark Gordon, Doug Richardson, Jonathan Tucker, Florent Siri, Arnold Rifkin
Henry's Crime
The film is a romantic comedy in which Keanu Reeves will play a big-hearted man who is falsely accused of robbing a bank in Buffalo.
Keanu Reeves, Lemore Syvan, Malcolm Venville, Stephen Hamel, Sacha Gervasi, Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Peter Stormare
Secret Sunshine
A mother moves with her son to the birthplace of dead husband. As she tries establish a new beginning, another tragedy overturns her life.
Chang-dong Lee
Win Win
A light-hearted comedy about how a rough-and-tumble runaway changes the lives of a suburban New Jersey family and turns around the luck of a high school wrestling team.
Melanie Lynskey, Jeffrey Tambor, Paul Giamatti, Joe Tiboni, Tom McCarthy, Mary Jane Skalski, Lisa Maria Falcone, Amy Ryan
The High Cost of Living
The story on the burgeoning relationship between an unlikely pair. Nathalie (Isabelle Blais) is expecting her first child and Henry (Zach Braff) is on his way to his next drug deal. Their paths fatefully collide one night in an event that will irrevocably change their lives.
Deborah Chow, Zach Braff, Isabelle Blais, Patrick Labbe
The Chameleon
The reunion of a young man and his family after being positively identified in an unsolved missing-persons case. The reunion turns bittersweet when suspicions arise about whether he really is their son.
Ram Bergman, Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl, Jean Paul Salome, Bill Perkins, Cooper Richey, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Pierre Kubel
Super Hybrid
While on a sailing trip, vacationing college students come across what appears to be an abandoned trawler. They soon discover it is the nest of a mutant creature, born of environmental abuse, who "fishes" for humans in the open water.
Kirk D'Amico, Eric Valette, Alex Leung, Neal Marshall Stevens, Shannon Beckner, Oded Fehr, Ryan Kennedy, Melanie Papalia
Cold Fish
In the film, Shamoto’s teenage daughter is caught stealing, a generous stranger and his wife offer a solution – have the girl work at their tropical fish store. Too good to be true? You bet! Shamoto soon discovers the horrific truth about the seemingly perfect couple and their brutal business.
Sion Sono
My Dog Tulip
Based on the 1956 British novel by J.R. Ackerley, "My Dog Tulip" follows a 14-year friendship between Ackerley and his German Shepherd, Tulip, after the writer rescued the dog.
Isabella Rossellini, Paul Fierlinger, Sandra Fierlinger, Norman Twain, Howard Kaminsky, Frank Pellegrino, Christopher Plummer, Lynn Redgrave
Neds
In 1970s Glasgow, a bright boy named John sees very few options in his life. With no one willing to give him a chance, he descends into a life of crime.
Peter Mullan, Conor McCarron, Louise Goodall, Gregg Forrest, Joe Szula, Gary Milligan, Richard Mack, Marianna Palka
The Bleeding House
Meet the Smiths - parents, Marilyn and Matt, and teens, Gloria, 16, and Quentin, 18 - a family full of secrets who keep themselves to themselves living on a back road outside a small Midwestern town. In this tightly wound and visceral horror/thriller, their lives are turned upside down when a sweet-talking Texan arrives on their doorstep on a mission for retribution. Will he succeed in his goal to bleed them of their sins or will the family's haunted past prove to be even more deadly than he bargained for?
Philip Gelatt, Patrick Breen, Alexandra Chando, Betsy Aidem, Richard Bekins, Charlie Hewson, Nina Lisandrello
Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family
Based on Tyler Perry's play of the same name. Shirley learns that she has terminal cancer and only a few weeks to live so she decides to get her family together to tell them the news.
Tyler Perry, Isaiah Mustafa, Loretta Devine, Bow Wow
The Perfect Host
A criminal on the run cons his way into the wrong dinner party where the host is anything but ordinary.
David Hyde Pierce, Helen Reddy, Nick Tomnay, Clayne Crawford, Nathaniel Parker, Megahn Perry
Bereavement
In 1989, six year old Martin Bristoll was kidnapped from his backyard swing in Minersville Pennsylvania. Graham Sutter, a psychotic recluse, kept Martin imprisoned on his derelict pig farm, forcing him to witness and participate in unspeakable horrors.
Stevan Mena
Forks Over Knives
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
Lee Fulkerson
The 5th Quarter
After Luke Abbate is killed in a car crash, his family donates his organs to five people. His brother, Wake Forest Junior Jon Abbate, begins to honor his brother by holding up five fingers just before the fourth quarter while his parents do the same while sitting in the 5th section of the stadium. News spreads, opposing players and fans begin to do the same and the team goes on to win a record of 11 games and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
Aidan Quinn, Ryan Merriman, Rick Bieber, Andie MacDowell, Michael Harding, Stacy Earl, Alan Cohen
In a Better World
Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness. Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian's mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death. Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy.
Susanne Bier, Anders Thomas Jensen
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Follows Earth Liberation Front group member Daniel McGowan, who in December 2005, was arrested by Federal agents and faced life in prison.
Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman
Skateland
Shiloh Fernandez will play Ritchie Wheeler, a teen forced out of a job when his small-town roller rink shuts down. He faces tough decisions about his future, his parents' divorce and complicated relationships with friends Brent (Heath Freeman) and Kenny (Taylor Handley), his sister Mary (Haley Ramm) and Brent's sister Michelle (Ashely Greene). James LeGros plays Brent and Michelle's father.
Heath Freeman, James LeGros, Ashley Greene, Justin Gilley, Victor Moyers, Nicholas Jayanty, Haley Ramm, Anthony Burns