Bovie Movie

An effort to circumvent global catastrophe becomes a disaster in its own right in this science fiction thriller. In the year 2050, Earth is on the verge of ecological disaster, and the Mars Terraforming Project has been created in hopes of making our neighboring planet habitable so that a colony of Earthlings might begin a new civilization there. But the project goes awry, and Commander Kate Bowman (Carrie-Anne Moss) is put in charge of a rescue mission to set the system back on its feet. Bringing along astronaut Robby Gallagher (Val Kilmer) and scientists Dr. Quinn Burchenal (Tom Sizemore) and Dr. Bud Chantillas (Terrence Stamp), Bowman and her crew set out for Mars, but disaster strikes and the landing craft crashes into the red planet. The crew is stranded without communications as Bowman struggles to find a way to get them home; to make matters worse, the robot that was designed to serve and protect them has gone haywire, and is now attempting to hunt them down as prey. Red Planet was originally to have been released as Mars, but the producers changed the title to avoid confusion with Mission to Mars, released earlier the same year.

A free-spirited art student and a roguish poet find their addiction to each other taking a back seat to their taste for heroin in director Neil Armfield’s intensely personal tale of recreational drug use gone bad. When Candy (Abbie Cornish) and Dan (Heath Ledger) first fell in love, they both thought they had found all they ever needed in life. Despite financial hardships, the pair sustained themselves on the vibrant life force that burned blindingly bright as it promised an invincible future. Their intoxicating romance a blissful altered state of which heroin played only a minor role in the beginning, Candy and Dan soon decide to strengthen their bond by marrying and starting a family. Their manufactured Eden gradually becomes an uncontrollable inferno, however, as Candy’s parents slowly pull away due to the pain of witnessing their daughter’s slow slide into oblivion, and even chemistry professor Casper (Geoffrey Rush), who was at first complicit in their experimentation, admits that Candy and Dan’s blind devotion to the drug is now forever ingrained into their commitment to one and other. As the marriage deteriorates right along with Candy’s increasingly fragile mental state, Dan must make the difficult decision to either rescue her or pull away in hopes that the clarity of separation will finally empower her to break free of the addiction that binds her.

Director Alister Grierson teams with screenwriter John Lonie for this Aussie war drama exploring the fate of a missing patrol of Australian soldiers in World War II-era New Guinea. As Japanese troops continue their advance towards Port Moresby with an eye on invading Australia next, the task of defending the treacherous Kokoda Trail is left to uninitiated volunteers (derisively known as “chocos”) due to the fact that the big guns are on deployment elsewhere. When the ramshackle platoon receives confirmation of the impending assault and their supply lines are cut off without warning, mud-caked “choco” Jack Scholt (Jack Finsterer), his brother Max (Simon Stone), die-hard Darko (Travis McMahon), and skittish Johnno (Tom Budge) all prepare for the worst. Their ranks fast thinning thanks to the deadly accurate sharp shooting of an unseen enemy, the hardened Aussie soldiers do their best to protect the homeland or die trying.

Two low-level American crooks head to Australia, where they match wits with a kangaroo (who appears to have an intellectual edge on his pursuers) in this broad comedy. Charlie Carbone (Jerry O’Connell) is a hairdresser from Brooklyn whose best friend, Louis Booker (Anthony Anderson), scrapes together a living moving stolen merchandise. Charlie’s stepfather, Sal Maggio (Christopher Walken), is a crime kingpin who has loaned Charlie a lot of money and wants to know when he’ll get it back; Sal’s not especially fond of Louis, especially after he and Charlie accidentally lead the police to a storehouse of burgled goods owned by Sal. Charlie owes Sal a big favor, and Sal wants Charlie and Louis out of his hair for a while, so Sal sends them to Australia, where they’re to deliver a large amount of cash to a mysterious Mr. Smith (Marton Csokas). En route to their meeting in the outback, Charlie and Louis accidentally run over a kangaroo, and the half-bright tourists decide to dress the dead marsupial in sunglasses and Louis’ favorite jacket for snapshots. However, the animal wasn’t as dead as they imagined, and it soon hops away, shortly after Louis realizes the payment to Mr. Smith was in the pocket. Now Louis and Charlie are out to find the fast-moving critter, with the help of Jessie (Estella Warren), a wildlife expert; Mr. Jimmy (David Ngoombujarra), a wilderness guide; and Blue (Bill Hunter), a pilot familiar with the outback.

What if virtual reality wasn’t just for fun, but was being used to imprison you? That’s the dilemma that faces mild-mannered computer jockey Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) in The Matrix. It’s the year 1999, and Anderson (hacker alias: Neo) works in a cubicle, manning a computer and doing a little hacking on the side. It’s through this latter activity that Thomas makes the acquaintance of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), who has some interesting news for Mr. Anderson — none of what’s going on around him is real. The year is actually closer to 2199, and it seems Thomas, like most people, is a victim of The Matrix, a massive artificial intelligence system that has tapped into people’s minds and created the illusion of a real world, while using their brains and bodies for energy, tossing them away like spent batteries when they’re through. Morpheus, however, is convinced Neo is “The One” who can crack open The Matrix and bring his people to both physical and psychological freedom. The Matrix is the second feature film from the sibling writer/director team of Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, who made an impressive debut with the stylish erotic crime thriller Bound.

Three brothers who would argue that crime does pay have a hard time getting their fair share of the proceeds in this witty action thriller from Australia. Dale Twentyman (Guy Pearce) and his brothers, Mal (Damien Richardson) and Shane (Joel Edgerton), are serving time together in prison for robbery. Dale is the brains and the cool head of the group, Mal is the eager-to-please nice guy, and Shane is something of a loose cannon. Dale and his siblings are eager to get out of jail, and their lawyer, Frank Malone (Robert Taylor), has pulled a deal that could pare some time off their sentences, though the arrangement is strictly off the books. Mick Kelly (Vince Colosimo) and Jack O’Riordan (Paul Sonkkila) are a pair of crooked police detectives who have arranged with Malone to give the Twentyman brothers day passes from jail in order to pull bank robberies, with the siblings’ share held in escrow until they’re released. Dale thinks something a bit off in this operation, and his suspicions are confirmed when Malone tells the brothers after they’re granted their early release that they won’t get their money until they pull one last job — an ambitious robbery at a Melbourne race track on the day of the nation’s biggest horse race. Dale is convinced he smells a rat — especially since he has good reason to suspect that Malone is having an affair with his wife, Carol (Rachel Griffiths). The Hard Word marked the directorial debut for writer/director Scott Roberts.

Almost 50 years after Walt Disney brought James M. Barrie’s classic children’s tale Peter Pan to the screen in one of the best-loved animated features, the studio that bears his name revisits the story of the magical boy who doesn’t grow up in this sequel. In London during World War II, Wendy (voice of Kath Soucie) comforts her children with stories about her youthful adventures with Peter Pan (voice of Blayne Weaver) in the fantastic world of Neverland. Young Danny (voice of Andrew McDonough) loves the stories and believes that they’re real, but his older sister, Jane (voice of Harriet Owen), isn’t so certain. Jane soon discovers her mother is indeed telling the truth when she’s kidnapped by the evil Captain Hook (voice of Corey Burton) and spirited away to his lair in Neverland. Hook is still trying to capture his nemesis, Peter Pan, after all these years, and is certain he’ll come to the rescue of his old friend, Wendy; however, Hook realizes too late that he’s carried away Wendy’s daughter instead. Peter comes to the aid of young Jane, but as they do battle with Hook, he realizes it will take some work before Jane will fit in with the Lost Boys. Return to Neverland includes original songs from Jonatha Brooke and They Might Be Giants.

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this continuation of the icon’s film legacy that picks up after the events of the first two Christopher Reeve films. Some time has passed since the events of Superman II and the world has gotten used to life without Superman (Brandon Routh) ever since his puzzling disappearance years earlier. Upon his return, he finds a Metropolis that doesn’t need him anymore, while Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with another young suitor Richard White (James Marsden) in the meantime. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and restore the life that was once his. Directed by Bryan Singer from a script by the writing team of X-Men 2, Superman Returns marks a return to the screen for the man in tights, whose production history has seen many failed attempts including a famous near-miss from Tim Burton and Kevin Smith with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, along with another from director McG and writer J.J. Abrams (Lost). Singer eventually won the prestigious gig when he pitched the idea to not tackle the origin story again, but continue with director Richard Donner’s original vision.

Tense thrills and action mix in the gritty suspense drama Don't Say a Word starring Michael Douglas and Brittany Murphy. Fox has done a very good job on this 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. All aspects of this transfer look very good, from the evenly saturated color schemes to the deep, dark black levels. No edge enhancement, shimmer, or digital artifacting is spotted anywhere on this disc. The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 in English (as well as 2.0 in French) and DTS Surround in English. Both the DTS and Dolby 5.1 soundtracks are full and bombastic with surround sounds utilized during much of the film. All aspects of these tracks are clear and free of any excessive hiss or distortion. Also included on this disc are English subtitles. This edition of Don't Say a Word is chock-full of extra features. Starting off the disc are two commentaries: one feature-length commentary with director Gary Felder; and a second with actors Michael Douglas, Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Oliver Platt, and Brittany Murphy. While the director's commentary is insightful and runs the length of the film, the actor's commentaries are broken up in sections so each actor can give some information about their character or thoughts on the film separately. Taken as a whole, these commentary tracks are very thorough and informative. Next up are three sections: "Preproduction," "Production," and "Post-production." In the "Preproduction" section there is a screen test for actress Brittany Murphy and two insightful storyboard-to-scene comparisons. In the "Production" section is a featurette called "You Are There" which takes a behind-the-scenes look at three separate sequences narrated by the director. Also included are some screening room dailies which show how a scene is comprised of multiple takes or shots, and a set tour with production designer Nelson Coates that features Coates walking the viewer through many of the sets used in the film. In the "Post-production" section, there is an interview with director Gary Felder discussing filmmaking and what works best as a director, "Thriller Themes" which is a short spot about the music in the film (featuring composer Mark Isham in a few brief scenes), and "Inside a Scene: Trench Sequence," a feature that looks at how the end scenes was filmed and why the use of computer graphics was necessary. Also included on this disc are some deleted scenes which don't add much to the proceedings, a short making-of featurette that includes many clips from the film, and some vital statistics on the cast and crew. Finally, there is a DVD trailer for the Michael Douglas drama Wall Street. Strangely, there is no theatrical trailer available for Don't Say a Word anywhere on this disc. This DVD is filled to the brim with special features and should leave fans speechless.

Rod Steiger, Ned Beatty and Ed Lauter provide formidable “cast insurance” in the moody low-budgeter Black Water. Beatty’s casting is particularly apropos, since the film bears traces of Deliverance. A man from the city decides to unwind by taking a fishing trip in Tennessee. He has barely unpacked his tackle box before a group of inbred goons accuse him of committing a particularly heinous murder. Black Water is based on Minnie, a novel by Hans Werner Kettenbach.