Birthday Girl (DVD)
At a London airport, shy bank clerk John (Ben Chaplin) watches passengers arriving from an international flight. He`s waiting for his mail order bride to arrive from Russia. When she finally appears, she`s not exactly what John had in mind--tall, thin, and gangly, with scruffy hair and rings around her eyes, Nadia (Nicole Kidman) seems worn, apprehensive, and tired. As he drives her home, John discovers she can`t speak a word of English, but she does smoke prodigiously. He makes repeated calls to the agency that arranged the marriage, leaving messages that a mistake has been made. But although Nadia doesn`t know any English, John soon discovers that she knows all about sex. He changes his mind about sending her back.
The opening of director Jez Butterworth`s BIRTHDAY GIRL is amusing and raunchy. But the film takes off in another direction when, on Nadia`s birthday, two boisterous Russians (exuberantly played by French actors Vincent Cassel and Matthieu Kassovitz) arrive and take over John`s home. The clever, twisting narrative that follows is, by turns, surprising, funny, and suspenseful. Chaplin`s thoughtful performance counterbalances Kidman`s troubled volatile heroine, who is not who she seems to be.R"
Director: Jez Butterworth
ACTORS: Nicole Kidman, Ben Chaplin, Vincent Cassel, Mathieu Kassovitz
Android Kikaider Vol. 2: Conflicting Hearts (DVD)
Dark is a sinister organization that launches a wave of audacious attacks in an attempt to gain world domination. Commanded by the evil Professor Gill, masked androids and fearsome Destructoid monsters terrorize innocent victims and wreak havoc throughout Japan. To counteract this menace, Dr. Komyoji creates Kikaider, an android meant to protect Komyoji along with his wife and children. In these episodes, Jiro, on the run from the police and from Mitsuko and Masaru meets a young woman who forces him to question his actions. Confused by his feelings for Mitsuko, Jiro wonders if it`s possible for robots to fall in love.NR"
Robert De Niro DVD Collection (DVD) 5-Disc Boxed Set Contains Special Edition DVD`s of ANALYZE THIS, A BRONX TALE, GOODFELLAS, HEAT, and WAG THE DOG. See individual titles for contributors and notes.
Contains Special Edition DVD`s of ANALYZE THIS, A BRONX TALE, GOODFELLAS, HEAT, and WAG THE DOG. See individual titles for contributors and notes.
R"
ACTORS: Robert De Niro
Angels Don`t Sleep Here (DVD)
A forensic pathologist named Michael Daniels returns to his hometown upon receiving news of his twin brother`s sudden disappearance. Driven by intense determination, he uses his forensic knowledge and police resources to embark on a private investigation. Meanwhile, he becomes romantically involved with his brother`s childhood girlfriend Kate, a district attorney whom offers to help in the investigation while busy herself with the preparations of a corruption case against her father, the town Mayor. The pair discover the twin is still alive and Michael suspects that he is stalking him and Kate, but local detective Russell Stark (Robert Patrick) isn`t buying his story. When an unknown murderer assassinates Kate`s father, Michael believes his brother may be to blame while it seems everyone else suspects him, leaving Michael with the task of simultaneously proving his innocence and his brother`s existence.NR"
Director: Paul Cade
ACTORS: Robert Patrick, Susan Allison, Dana Ashbrook, Gary Farmer, Roy Scheider
St. Ives (DVD)
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, French officer Viscount Jacques St. Ives (Jean-Marc Barr) is captured by the British and sent as a prisoner to Scotland. There he begins to fall in love with local beauty Flora (Anna Friel), who is also being courted by an English officer. Flora helps St. Ives to escape and find his missing grandfather. ST. IVES, based on a novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a fascinating romantic adventure.R"
Director: Harry Hook
ACTORS: Jean-Marc Barr, Anna Friel, Miranda Richardson, Richard E. Grant, Tim Dutton
