New Line Platinum Series

Secondhand Lions (New Line Platinum Series)

This comedic and touching family film follows the adventures of a shy young boy (Haley Joel Osment) who is sent to spend the summer with his eccentric uncles (Michael Caine Robert Duvall). At first shocked by his uncles' unconventional behavior that includes ordering African lions through the mail the boy soon becomes enthralled with unraveling the mystery that has followed the uncles for years. Hearing tales of their exotic adventures involving kidnapped princesses Arabian sheiks and lost treasure not only brings him closer to his uncles but also teaches him what it means to believe in something... whether it's true or not.Running Time: 109 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY UPC: 794043690426

If you can get past its thick layer of syrup and molasses, Secondhand Lions reveals itself as a thoroughly decent family film that anyone can enjoy. It gets a little sappy sometimes, but there's something to be said for a movie in which Michael Caine and Robert Duvall play eccentric old brothers who take the easy approach to fishing: instead of a peaceful rod and reel, they use 12-gauge shotguns. When 14-year-old Walter (Haley Joel Osment, teetering on puberty) spends an eventful summer with his great-uncles on their vast Texas farmland (he's been dumped there by his delinquent mom, played by Kyra Sedgwick), he soon discovers they've lived lives full of adventure, excitement, passion, and mystery. Either that or they're old-time bank robbers with a long criminal record, and writer-director Tim McCanlies (who invested similar warmth into The Iron Giant) does a nice job of concealing the truth until the very end. Full of enriching lessons and homespun humor, Secondhand Lions has more substance than most family films. If you enjoyed Holes, you'll probably enjoy this movie, too. --Jeff Shannon

The Notebook (New Line Platinum Series)

Behind every great love is a great story. Two teenagers from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love during one summer together but are tragically forced apart. When they reunite 7 years later their passionate romance is rekindled forcing one of them to choose between true love and class order.Running Time: 124 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 794043749728

When you consider that old-fashioned tearjerkers are an endangered species in Hollywood, a movie like The Notebook can be embraced without apology. Yes, it's syrupy sweet and clogged with clichés, and one can only marvel at the irony of Nick Cassavetes directing a weeper that his late father John--whose own films were devoid of saccharine sentiment--would have sneered at. Still, this touchingly impassioned and great-looking adaptation of the popular Nicholas Sparks novel has much to recommend, including appealing young costars (Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams) and appealing old costars (James Garner and Gena Rowlands, the director's mother) playing the same loving couple in (respectively) early 1940s and present-day North Carolina. He was poor, she was rich, and you can guess the rest; decades later, he's unabashedly devoted, and she's drifting into the memory-loss of senile dementia. How their love endured is the story preserved in the titular notebook that he reads to her in their twilight years. The movie's open to ridicule, but as a delicate tearjerker it works just fine. Message in a Bottle and A Walk to Remember were also based on Sparks novels, suggesting a triple-feature that hopeless romantics will cherish. --Jeff Shannon

The Golden Compass (New Line Platinum Series Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)

In a parallel universe where witches rule the skies and armoured bears are the bravest warriors young Lyra Belacqua journeys from her home among the scholars at Oxford to the far North to save her best friend. Based on the first book in the Carnegie Medal-winning series His Dark Materials.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY UPC: 794043120435 Manufacturer No: 1000038167

A fantasy epic with more than a passing resemblance to the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia film franchises, The Golden Compass takes place in an alternate universe where each human's soul is embodied in a companion animal called a daemon. Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards), an orphan who's lived most of her life among the scholars at Oxford, is intrigued when her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), announces his plans to travel north to investigate the source of some mysterious particles called Dust. Lyra has little hope of following her uncle until a mysterious woman named Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman, at her most icily beautiful) asks Lyra to travel north as her personal assistant. All is not as it seems, however, and the disappearance of Lyra's friend Roger (Ben Walker) sets her on a dizzying adventure. She does have an alethiometer, or golden compass, that can help her see the truth, and a number of companions, including her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimion (voiced by Freddie Highmore of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), polar-bear warrior Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen), Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), and witch queen Serafina Pekkala (Craig's Casino Royale co-star, Eva Green). Even before its release, The Golden Compass was the subject of controversy over its perceived anti-religious themes. While it does involve an oppressive institution called the Magisterium, it's not overtly religious, particularly to a young viewer. The movie's PG-13 rating should be taken seriously, however. Suitable for an older audience than Narnia (though younger than The Lord of the Rings), it deals with complex concepts, violence (though largely bloodless) and implied death, children and animals in peril, and an unrelentingly ominous and unsettling mood.

Despite a few changes and rearrangements, the overall plot of the movie is remarkably faithful to its source material, the first installment of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. It doesn't finish the book, however, and--much like The Fellowship of the Ring did--leaves the viewer hanging in anticipation of the next film, The Subtle Knife, due in 2009. So even though The Golden Compass is impressive--especially with its spot-on cast and terrific visual effects--we probably won't know its full emotional impact until the story is complete. --David Horiuchi

Love and Basketball (New Line Platinum Series)

Gina Prince-Bythewood, a former college athlete, puts a spin on this one-on-one tale of Love and Basketball. Sanaa Lathan (The Best Man) is the fiercely driven, hot-tempered Monica, a tomboy who gives her all for basketball. Omar Epps (The Mod Squad) is Quincy, an NBA player's son who has pro dreams of his own. Next-door neighbors since first grade, they start as rivals (she flabbergasts the boy by outplaying him in a game of driveway pickup) and age into best friends and lovers. The romantic complications follow a familiar game plan, but the film throws a fascinating spotlight onto the contrast between men's and women's basketball. While Quincy plays college ball on huge courts to cheering, sold-out crowds, we see Monica's sweat, tears, and sheer physical dedication in front of tiny audiences in small gyms and second-rate auditoriums.

The story is pointedly set in the late 1980s, years before the establishment of the WNBA, so Monica's prospects for pro ball lie exclusively in Europe, while Quincy steps into the pros at home. It's a pleasure to see a character as passionate and fully developed as Monica, and Lathan gives a fiery portrayal (she had never played ball before the film, but you'd never tell from her performance). Prince-Bythewood favors her struggle over Quincy's and opens our eyes to her unique challenges with a sharp, savvy contrast. Alfre Woodard costars as Monica's harping mom (always trying to get her to be more ladylike) and Dennis Haysbert is Quincy's philandering father. Hoops fan Spike Lee produced. --Sean Axmaker

From the playground to the pro leagues, Monica and Qunicy taught each other how to play the game. Now, their commitment to the sport will force them to make a choice between each other and the game...between family and team...between "Love & Basketball." DVD Features: Two Original Documentaries, Deleted Scenes, Blooper Reel, Three Feature Length Commentaries, Music Video, DVD-ROM Content Including Screenplay And Original Theatrical Web Site, 127 Minutes

Wedding Crashers - Unrated (Widescreen New Line Platinum Series)

The comedic adventures of a pair of seasoned wedding crashers comes to a halt when one of them falls in love.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: WILSON/VAUGHN/WALKEN
Title: WEDDING CRASHERS
Street Release Date: 08/29/2006
Domestic
Genre: COMEDY VIDEO

With Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as a pair of brazen wedding crashers, this buddy/romantic comedy milks a few big laughs from its foolproof premise. Under the direction of David Dobkin (who previously worked with Wilson on Shanghai Knights), the movie ranges from bawdy romp to mushy romance, and that tonal identity crisis curtails the overall hilarity. But when the well-teamed costars are firing on all pistons with fast-paced dialogue and manic situations, belly laughs are delivered at a steady clip. Things get complicated when the guys infiltrate the family of the Treasury Secretary (Christopher Walken), resulting in a romantic pair-off between Vaughn and the congressman's oversexed daughter Gloria (Isla Fisher) while Wilson sincerely woos another daughter, Claire (Rachel McAdams), who's unhappily engaged to an Ivy League cheater (Bradley Cooper). Walken is more or less wasted in his role, but Jane Seymour and Henry Gibson make amusing appearances, and a surprise guest arrives late in the game for some over-the-top scene-stealing. It's all a bit uneven, but McAdams (considered by some to be "the next Julia Roberts") is a pure delight, and with enough laughs to make it easily recommended, Wedding Crashers will likely find its place on DVD shelves alongside other flawed but enjoyable R-rated comedies that embrace a naughtier, nastier brand of humor with no need for apologies. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
The "Uncorked" edition of Wedding Crashers adds about 8 minutes of footage to the theatrical release. Of chief interest are extended beach and bathroom scenes between Vince Vaughn and Isla Fisher, and Vaughn's extended confession to Father O'Neil (Henry Gibson), but there are also new scenes featuring Keir O'Donnell as the eccentric Todd and Ellen Albertini Dow as the potty-mouthed grandmother. This edition is billed as unrated because it wasn't resubmitted to the MPAA, but the sexier bathroom scene and coarser confession aren't particularly raunchier than the original film, and there's no additional nudity. You can watch the Uncorked edition once to see the new footage, but for subsequent viewings you'll probably choose to stick with the theatrical release, which is also included on the DVD.

Bonus features consist of two very good commentary tracks, one by director David Dobkin and another by Vaughn and Owen Wilson. Dobkin's is more technically informative, and he specifically discusses why the added scenes were originally cut. Vaughn and Wilson are a little more subdued than might be expected, but they share some laughs, recall some material that was left out, and wander into irrelevant territory such as football and Wilson's dog. Other features include four deleted scenes with optional commentary by Dobkin, and two featurettes covering the making of the film (including the logistics of staging five different weddings, and interviews with the "magic and balloon consultant") and Vaughn and Wilson's meandering discussion of "the rules" of wedding crashing. For a more organized recap, there's a 24-screen text-only list of all the rules. The opening menu is clever, but slow to load after you've watched it the first time. --David Horiuchi

Vince Vaughn's Movies	Why We Love Rachel McAdams	Owen Wilson's Movies
The Soundtrack	The Return of Crass Comedy	The 40-Year-Old Virgin

A History of Violence (New Line Platinum Series)

A quiet man's family life threatens to fall apart when an act of self-defense thrusts him into the spotlight.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 14-MAR-2006
Media Type: DVD

On the surface, David Cronenberg may seem an unlikely candidate to direct A History of Violence, but dig deeper and you'll see that he's the right man for the job. As an intellectual seeker of meaning and an avowed believer in Darwinian survival of the fittest, Cronenberg knows that the story of mild-mannered small-town diner proprietor Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is in fact a multilayered examination of inbred human behavior, beginning when Tom's skillful killing of two would-be robbers draws unwanted attention to his idyllic family life in rural Indiana. He's got a loving wife (Maria Bello) and young daughter (Heidi Hayes) who are about to learn things about Tom they hadn't suspected, and a teenage son (Ashton Holmes) who has inherited his father's most prominent survival trait, manifesting itself in ways he never expected. By the time Tom has come into contact with a scarred villain (Ed Harris) and connections that lead him to a half-crazy kingpin (William Hurt, in a spectacular cameo), Cronenberg has plumbed the dark depths of human nature so skillfully that A History of Violence stands well above the graphic novel that inspired it (indeed, Cronenberg was unaware of the source material behind Josh Olson's chilling adaptation). With hard-hitting violence that's as sudden as it is graphically authentic, this is A History of Violence that's worthy of serious study and widespread acclaim. --Jeff Shannon

On the DVD
On a single disc and with little fanfare, this DVD makes an excellent case for the best extras of the year. Dive into the one-hour-long documentary and learn more about moviemaking than on many a double-disc. The secret lies in director David Cronenberg's (and his usual crew) folksy casualness in showing off the craft, be it makeup (green screens were used), directing (Cronenberg doesn't storyboard), or art direction (the diner set). It also is very funny to hear about "fish Fridays" and how Maria Bello's Uncle Pete became an influence. Even the infamous sex-on-the-staircase scene is diagnosed with candor as stars Viggo Mortensen and Bello act as if there is no backstage camera. There's only one deleted scene, but it's uncommonly deconstructed on why it was filmed and why it was cut (it's a very Cronenbergian dream sequence). A short bit on Cannes is also a delight. So much is here that Cronenberg's smart commentary track is nearly superfluous. Isn't that a nice surprise? --Doug Thomas

More to Explore

The Graphic Novel	Other Graphic Novels that Inspired Movies	David Cronenberg Essentials
Why We Love Maria Bello	The work of Viggo Mortensen	The work of William Hurt

Stills from A History of Violence

Viggo Mortensoe as Tom Stall	Ashton Holmes as Jack Stall and Kyle Schmid as Bobby Jordan
William Hurt as Richie Cusack	Ed Harris as Carl Fogarty and Viggo Mortensen as Tom Stall
Maria Bello as Edie Stall	Director David Cronenberg

Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)

Following a bloody civil war young Ofelia enters a world of unimaginable cruelty when she moves in with her new stepfather a tyrannical military officer. Armed with only her imagination Ofelia discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother. But soon the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur and before Ofelia can turn back she finds herself at the center of a ferocious battle between good and evil.Running Time: 119 min.System Requirements:Runtime: 112 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 794043108877 Manufacturer No: N10887

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Jorge Luis Borges, and Guillermo del Toro's own unlimited imagination, Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale for adults. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) may only be 12, but the worlds she inhabits, both above and below ground, are dark as anything del Toro has conjured. Set in rural Spain, circa 1944, Ofelia and her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil, Belle Epoque), have just moved into an abandoned mill with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López, With a Friend like Harry). Carmen is pregnant with his son. Other than her sickly mother and kindly housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú, Y Tu Mamá También), the dreamy Ofelia is on her own. Vidal, an exceedingly cruel man, couldn't be bothered. He has informers to torture. Ofelia soon finds that an entire universe exists below the mill. Her guide is the persuasive Faun (Doug Jones, Mimic). As her mother grows weaker, Ofelia spends more and more time in the satyr's labyrinth. He offers to help her out of her predicament if she'll complete three treacherous tasks. Ofelia is willing to try, but does this alternate reality really exist or is it all in her head? Del Toro leaves that up to the viewer to decide in a beautiful, yet brutal twin to The Devil's Backbone, which was also haunted by the ghost of Franco. Though it lacks the humor of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth represents Guillermo Del Toro at the top of his considerable game. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Life as a House (New Line Platinum Series)

A respectable tearjerker, Life as a House is a welcome throwback to angst-ridden family dramas like Ordinary People and Terms of Endearment. It falls short of those modern classics, but you'll probably still need Kleenex if you appreciate Kevin Kline's underrated dramatic skills. As the title suggests, Kline's project is a broad metaphor for repairing damaged lives from the foundation up. Playing an architect with terminal cancer, he gives an Oscar^®-caliber performance, reaching out to his estranged, nihilistic son (future Star Wars star Hayden Christensen) and ex-wife (Kristin Scott-Thomas) as he wrecks and rebuilds the Malibu cliff-top home that contained his most painful memories. Director Irwin Winkler's flair with actors helps to minimize lapses in a script (by As Good As It Gets scribe Mark Andrus) that occasionally borders on maudlin. Overall, this is a fine reminder that Hollywood hasn't lost its soul to action and special effects. --Jeff Shannon

Friday (New Line Platinum Series)

A youth tries to survive life in L.A.'s hip-hoppin' South Central 'hood. Includes two music videos from the #1 hit soundtrack. Starring Chris Tucker and Ice Cube.Running Time: 91 min.System Requirements:Starring: Ice Cube Anna Marie Horsford Regina King Tiny "Zeus" Lister Jr. Nia Long Bernie Mac Chris Tucker and John Witherspoon. Directed By: F. Gary Gray. Running Time: 89 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 794043468025

Friday is the rarest specimen of African American cinema: a 'hood movie refreshingly free of the semiseriousness and moralism of shoot 'em up soaps such as Boyz N the Hood, yet still true to the inner-city experience.

Scripted by rapper Ice Cube, Friday is a no-frills tale of a typical day in the life of a pair of African American youth in South Central. Cube plays Craig, a frustrated teen who endures the ultimate humiliation: getting fired on his day off. Then unknown Chris Tucker plays Smokey, a marijuana-worshipping homeboy whose love for the green stuff lands him in predicament after predicament.

Sitting on the stoop of Craig's rundown home, the two hilariously confront a kaleidoscopic array of gangbangers, weed dealers, crack heads, prostitutes, scheming girlfriends, and neighborhood bullies--all of whom, it should be noted, come off as sympathetic even as they are being caricatured, a true achievement in the crass, "booty call" environment of '90s African American comedy. --Ethan Brown

Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery (New Line Platinum Series)

If you don't think Austin Powers is one of the funniest movies of the 1990s, maybe you should be packed into a cryogenic time-chamber and sent back to the decade whence you came. Perhaps it was the 1960s--the shag-a-delic decade when London hipster Austin Powers scored with gorgeous chicks as a fashion photographer by day, crime-fighting international man of mystery by night. Yeah, baby, yeah! But when Powers's arch nemesis, Dr. Evil, puts himself into a deep-freeze and travels via time-machine to the late 1990s, Powers must follow him and foil Evil's nefarious scheme of global domination. Mike Myers plays dual roles as Powers and Dr. Evil, with Elizabeth Hurley as his present-day sidekick and karate- kicking paramour. A hilarious spoof of '60s spy movies, this colorful comedy actually gets funnier with successive viewings, making it a perfect home video for gloomy days and randy nights. Oh, behave! --Jeff Shannon

It's a smashing shagadelic party as Mike Myers (Wayne's World 1 & 2 So I Married an Axe Murderer) and Elizabeth Hurley (Dangerous Ground) star in a non-stop hilarious comedy adventure. Frozen in the 60's secret agent Austin Powers (Myers) is thawed back into action to once again battle his archenemy Dr. Evil. With his sexy sidekick Ms. Kensington (Hurley) Austin must stop Dr. Evil's outrageous plot to control the world. But first this time-warped swinger must get hip quick and discover that there's no free love in the 90's! An all-star supporting cast including Michael York Robert Wagner Mimi Rogers and Carrie Fisher make Austin Powers a wacky far-out trip you won't forget.Running Time: 90 min.System Requirements:Starring: Mike Myers Elizabeth Hurley Michael York and Robert Wagner Director: M. Jay Roach Produced by Demi Moore Mike Myers Jennif; written by Mike Myers; running time of 90 minutes; Closed Captioned. Copyright: 1997 New Line Audio Commentary Cast/Crew Bios Interactive Menus Additional Footage Video Format: Widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio Standard 1.33:1 (4.3) Enhanced for 16x9 TVs Subtitles: French English Track Info: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround French: Dolby Digital StereoFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 794043457722 Manufacturer No: N4577