February 2003 DVD & Blu-rays

With Reese Witherspoon • Patrick Dempsey • Ethan Embry • Rhona Mitra • Joshua Lucas • Mary Kay Place • Fred Ward • Andy Tennant

In this romantic comedy, a New York fashion designer suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But her past holds many secrets, including the redneck husband she married in high school, who refuses to divorce her. Bound and determined to end their contentious relationship once and for all, she sneaks back home to Alabama to confront her past, only to discover that you can take the girl out of the South, but you can never take the South out of the girl.

With Gwyneth Paltrow • Aaron Eckhart • Jennifer Ehle • Toby Stephens • Lena Headey • Jeremy Northam • Graham Crowden • Trevor Eve • Neil LaBute

Maud Bailey (Gwyneth Paltrow), a brilliant English academic given to doing things by the book, is researching the life and work of poet Christabel LeMotte (Jennifer Ehle). Roland Mitchell (Aaron Eckhart) is an upstart American scholar in London on a fellowship to study the great Randolph Henry Ash (Jeremy Northam), now best known for a collection of rapturous, late-life poems dedicated to his wife. When Maud and Roland discover a cache of love letters that appear to be from Ash to LaMotte, they follow a trail of clues across England to the Continent, echoing the journey of the impassioned couple a century earlier.

With Queen Latifah • Sanaa Lathan • Peter Heller • Taye Diggs • Michael Elliot • Mos Def • Boris Kodjoe • Nicole Ari Parker • Rick Famuyiwa • Trish Hofmann • Magic Johnson

Dre and Sidney can attribute their friendship and the launch of their careers to a single childhood moment - the day they discovered hip-hop on a New York street corner. Now some 15 years later, she is a revered music critic who leaves her L.A. Times music review gig to edit New York hip-hop magazine XXL, while he is a successful, though unfulfilled New York music executive. Dre and Sidney should be perfect for each other, except that Dre's about to get married and Sidney begins to be wooed by a handsome basketball player. Still, as they lay down the tracks toward their futures, hip-hop isn't the only thing that keeps them coming back to that moment on the corner...

With Danny Trejo • Carla Gugino • Bill Paxton • Steve Buscemi • Robert Rodriguez • Alexa Vega • Elizabeth Avellan • Ricardo Montalban • Daryl Sabara

With Connie Nielsen • Robin Williams • Gary Cole • Michael Vartan • Christine Vachon • Eriq LaSalle • Dylan Smith • Mark Romanek • Pamela Koffler • Stan Wlodkowski

Robin Williams portrays Sy Parrish, a lonely photo technician at the local SavMart one-hour photo counter who develops an unsettling obsession with long time customers, the Yorkin family, with whom he invents a familial connection.

With Robert De Niro • James Franco • William Forsythe • Eliza Dushku • George Dzundza • Patti LuPone • Michael Caton-Jones • Matthew Baer • Brad Grey • Elie Samaha • Ken Hixon

New York City homicide detective Vincent LaMarca has forged a long and distinguished career in law enforcement, making a name for himself as a man intensely committed to his work. But on his latest case, the stakes are higher for Vincent - the suspect he's investigating is his own son, Joey. Vincent and Joey have been painfully estranged ever since Vincent divorced Joey's mother and left the decaying boardwalks of Long Beach, Long Island for the anonymity of Manhattan and a successful career with the NYPD. He lives his life in solitude, keeping his girlfriend at arm's length; the closest relationship he maintains is with his partner, Reg - and Vincent makes sure that friendship stops at the precinct door. As long as Vincent lives in the protection of the present, he doesn't have to deal with the pain of his past - or his sorrow over his broken relationship with Joey. But this murder investigation is drawing Vincent home to Long Beach, the self-proclaimed "City by the Sea," where the past has been waiting for him to return. The agonizing memory that has tortured him all his life - the death of his father, a convicted murderer who was executed when Vincent was just a boy - still plagues him. In the course of the investigation, he discovers that his own unresolved pain and failures as a father have deeply influenced Joey's life, and the destructive choices he has made. As a cop, Vincent must bring a criminal to justice; as a father he must find a way to save his son. Now he will put his life on the line in order to do right by both his family and his profession.

With Lesley Manville • James Corden • Kathryn Hunter • Sam Kelly • Mike Leigh • Timothy Spall • Ruth Sheen • Marion Bailey • Paul Jesson

Set in a London working-class housing estate over a long weekend, it tells the story of Penny's love for her partner, taxi-driver Phil, has run dry. He is a gentle, philosophical guy and she works on the checkout at a supermarket. Their daughter Rachel cleans a home for elderly people, and their son Rory is unemployed and aggressive. The joy has gone out of Phil and Penny's life, but when an unexpected tragedy occurs, they are brought together to rediscover their love.

With Jessica Biel • James Van Der Beek • Ian Somerhalder • Kate Bosworth • Joel Michaely • Thomas Ian Nicholas • Shannyn Sossamon • Kip Pardue • Clifton Collins • Faye Dunaway • Fred Savage • Eric Stoltz • Swoosie Kurtz • Roger Avary

Set in an affluent New England liberal arts college in the 1980's, an emerging sexual triangle emerges between Sean Bateman, who deals drugs on the side, Paul Owen, who's bisexual, and Paul's ex-girlfriend, Lauren.

With Vin Diesel • John Malkovich • Seth Green • Andrew Davoli • Barry Pepper • John Liddle • Dennis Hopper • Tom Noonan • Ceciley Jenkins • Nicholas Pasco • Brian Koppelman • David Levien

The film follows four sons of well-known Brooklyn-based mobsters and their desperate fight to retrieve a bag of cash in a small Montana town ruled by a corrupt sheriff. As they unite to find the money, they come face-to-face with the bloodshed and betrayal that is their birthright.

With Zoe Saldana • Dean Winters • Schooly-D • Rashaan Nall • Mpho Koaho • Nelly • Sam Jones III

Director Rich Murray puts the Philadelphia hip-hop scene on the map with "Snipes", an urban crime thriller that breathes fresh life into the genre. Erik (Sam Jones III) is an ambitious teenager who spends more time posting flyers for his favorite rapper, Prolifik (Nelly), than sitting in the classroom. When he and his best friend stumble across a dead body one night, they trigger a series of tragic events. It turns out Prolifik, as well as the master tapes for his new record, have been kidnapped by a gang of thugs who want Bobby Starr (Dean Winters), the ruthless president of Prolifik's label, to dish out a meaty ransom. If he doesn't, they promise to make sure Bobby's uncle and chief investor, the dangerous Johnny Marandino (Frank Vincent), knows just how carelessly Bobby has been spending his money. Through a misunderstanding, Erik becomes the target of Bobby Starr, as well as the kidnappers. Fearful for his own life, as well as his father's, Erik must find a way to get his hands on the master tapes, before Bobby Starr gets his hands on him. Murray's energizing film boasts credible performances¯especially from rap superstar Nelly¯and a pulsating hip-hop soundtrack.

This film screened in April 2002 in New York City as part of the Gen Art Film Festival.

With Ben Kingsley • Sissy Spacek • Alexis Bledel • William Hurt • Victor Garber • Jonathan Jackson • Amy Irving • Scott Bairstow • Jay Russell

Alexis Bledel (TV's 'Gilmore Girls') plays a free-spirited 15-year-od in a stuffy Victorian household who stumbles on the Tucks, a Based on the award-winning book by Natalie Babbitt, Walt Disney Pictures' "Tuck Everlasting" captures the story of Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel), a teenage girl on the cusp of maturity. Winnie longs for a life outside the control of her domineering mother (Amy Irving), and when lost in the woods near her home, she happens upon Jesse Tuck (Jonathan Jackson), a boy unlike any she's ever met before. He and his family (William Hurt, Sissy Spacek, Scott Bairstow) are kind and generous, and they immediately take her in as one of their own. However, the Tucks hold a powerful secret, and with the mysterious Man in the Yellow Suit (Ben Kingsley) tracking them down, they fear that the world as they know it could end. Ultimately, Winnie must decide whether to return to her life or stay with her beloved Jesse and his family forever.