Tuesday, May 29, 2007

July, 2007 Hidden Gems

Screen Media's "Disappearances" Stars Kris Kristofferson, Gary Farmer, William Sanderson, Luis Guzman, Genevieve Bujold. Forced to smuggle whiskey in an attempt to save his family, a father and his son emabark on an unforgettable trip. This treachorous journey throuh the wilderness will lead them to discover a haunted and elusive past. It's a Western-type adventure taking place in New England and Canada.


Anchor Bay's "Jam" Stars Jonathon Silverman, Alex Rocco, William Forsythe, Amanda Detmer, Dan Byrd, Dan Byrd, Christopher Amitrano. A traffic accident on a rural mountain road becomes a life changing experience for fifteen diverse people. Sometimes humorous ... sometimes poignant. The plots intertwine in complicated and profound ways.


Tuesday, April 17, 2007

June, 2007 Hidden Gems

Anchor Bay's "Inside Out" - Stars Eriq La Salle, Steven Weber, Russell Wong, Nia peeples, Tyler Posey, Kate Walsh, Tim Maculan. A suburban homeowner becomes obsessed with the secretive family next door. Norman discovers he has new neighbors when he hears them moving into a nearby house during the dark of the night. While Norman soon learns that Dr. Peoples is a psychiatrist, he can't figure out much else about him, beyond the fact he only mows his lawn in the middle of the night. Eager to uncover the enigma of the folks next door, Norman becomes friendly with Maria, the Doctor's wife, and reaches out to their phobic son, Obert, but Dr. Peoples himself remains a mystery. As time goes on, Norman also discovers he's not the only one in the neighborhood eager to know more about the mysterious arrivals.

Genius Product's "Ruffian" - starring Sam Shepard, Christine Belford, Marian Guyot, Dennis O'Neill, Nicholas Pryor, Frank Whaley. The emotionally charged and heartbreaking story of the legendary "Queen of the Fillies" is splendidly told in this exciting sports biodrama. With two undefeated seasons of record-breaking wins behind her, Ruffian prepares for a grueling showdown with Kentucky Derby-winner Foolish pride at Belmont in 1975. The race takes a shocking turn witnessed by millions of thunderstruck racing enthusiasts.

Magnolia's "The Prisoner: or How I Planned To Kill Tony Blair." Powerful documentary. A freedom-loving Iraqui journalist is mistaken as Tony Blair's would-be assasin and sent to Abu Gahraib prison where he discovers the true meaning of liberation.





Echo Bridge's "The Derby Stallion" - Stars Zac Efron, William K. Moses, Tonja Walker, Bill Cobbs. Fifteen year old Patrick doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, and the pressure put on him by his Dad, an ex-professional baseball player isn't helping. Then Patrick meets Houston Jones, a misunderstood horse trainer who convinces him to train for a famous Derby Cup. But can Patrick convince his parents to help him compete, beat out the rich town bully, and somehow find the champion within him?

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

May, 2007 Hidden Gem Titles

Vivendi's "RAIN" - stars Brooklyn Sudano, Faye Dunaway, Robert Loggia, and Khandi Alexander. Based on a book by V.C. Andrews. Streets 5-8-2007. "RAIN" is the story of a 19-year old African-American girl, who lives in the inner city projects with her younger sister, Beneadra; her older brother, Roy; and her mother, Latisha. When her sister becomes involved with gang members, she is drugged at a party, and then becomes the subject of sexually explicit photos that are used for blackmail. Rain tries to intervene , but is unsuccessful, and ultimately witnesses her sister's murder, thus becoming a threat to the gang leader. In order to protect rain, her mother secretly contacts what turms out to be Rain's real mother, who happens to be white. A meeting is arranged, and Rain discovers her true roots. She is the secret child of a bi-racial union and was put up for adoption. Rain's biological mother reluctantly agrees to protect her, and Rain is placed in the home of her grandmother, a wealthy white woman. While their relationship is initially uneasy, it ultimately turns loving, and as a result of her grandmother's assistance, Rain is placed in a private boarding school for the gifted, which culminates in her emergence as a talented singer and musician.

Hart Sharp's "THE TIGER AND THE SNOW" - stars Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi and Jean Reno. Streets 5-8-2007. "THE TIGER AND THE SNOW" is about a Roman poet and lecturer named Attilio who feels compelled to head to Baghdad when he discovers the woman he loves, Vittoria, has been seriously injured during a bomb explosion. Moving heaven and earth, he manages to get to Iraq, and through a combination of luck and pig-headedness, and inspired by his passionate love of Vittoria, he finds the hospital where Vittoria has been taken. Unconscious, and more dead than alive, the woman of his dreams is in need of a drug that will relieve the pressure of the cerebral edema that is killing her. Given that there is nothing immediately available, Attilio goes off into the city in search of the drug - to find only abandoned pharmacies and ruins. Refusing to abandon hope, Attilio must confront the horrors of war to save the love of his life.

Liongate's "RESISTANCE" - stars Bill Paxton and Julia Ormond. Streets 5-29-2007. After an American fight pilot is shot down over occupied Belgium in 1944, he falls in love with the beautiful wife of resistance fighter. But when the affair is uncovered and made public among the Belgium villagers, he is forced to make a choice that will not only change their lives, but also the course of World War II.

Echo Bridge's "MEMORY" - stars Billy Zane, Dennis Hopper, Ann-Margaret, and Tricia Helfer. Streets 5-22-2007.
Imagine accidentally ingesting a strange powder and being haunted by nightmarish visions - memories of a shadowy predator who abducts young girls. That's what happened to Dr. Taylor Briggs when he is exposed to a mysterious drug while lecturing in Brazil. Foreced to relive the dark, twisted memories of a killer, Dr. Briggs embarks upon a lone journey to unlock the mystery of a past that is not his own - and find a killer who's horrifying work may not be over. A mind-bending, psychological thrill-ride, "MEMORY" will make you question everything you experience - right up to a surprise twist ending that will rock the very core of your reality.

Vivendi's "MY BROTHER" - stars Vanessa Williams, Nashawn Kearse, and Tatum O'Neal. Streets 5-29-2007.
"MY BROTHER" is an inner-city story of two brothers. isaiah and James, who is developmentally disabled. Their mother finds herself in a tragic situation: Dying of tuberculosis, she desparately tries to get her two boys adopted togehter. Finding that only isaiah can be adopted, she teaches them to form an unbreakable bond beyond her passing. Her prayers are answered as they overcome impossible odds, working togehter to deal with life's violent and dangerous obstacles.

Monday, February 19, 2007

April, 2007 Hidden Gem Titles

Wolfe's "3 Needles" - starring Lucy Liu, Shawn Ashmore, Stochard Channing, Chloe Sevigny, Olympia Dukakis. "3 Needles" tells the moving story of how the harshest tragedy can sometimes bring out the best in people, and is a tale of bittersweet hope and of finding redemption in the unlikeliest of places. Im China, Ping is a pregnant young woman running a black market blood collection scam that creates a mini-epidemic in a rural village. In Montreal, Denys is a porn actor hiding his positive HIV status in order to continue working and supporting his mother, who herself goes to extreme lengths to provide for the family's future. And, in Africa, Sister Clara is a young novice nun driven to convert the rapidly dying Africans to Catholicism before it's too latewho makes a desperate bargain with a corrupt plantation owner to help prevent the spread of HIV in the region.

Echo Bridge's "Third Wish" - starring Jenna Mattison, Sean maguire, Armand Assante, Betty White. A rags to riches story for Maggie Malone, an aspiring writer who finds a First Edition copy of Great Expectations in the bookstore she works in. The seemingly magical book grants her three wishes, or so Maggie thinks. The true magic is being orchestrated by a mysterious benefactor from maggie's past. A handsome Oxford lawyer is her guide thru a Cinderella like transformation that in the end makes her believe in love and the fairytales she writes about. Truly a feel good magical tale.

Genius' "Bottom Feeder" Stars Tom Sizemore, Amber Cull, Wendy Anderson, Joe Dinicol, and Martin Roach. Streets 4-3-2007. Oozing with slick gyesome creature effects,Sizemore stars as a maintenace worker who, along with his crew, is hunted and terrorized by an indestructible monster mistakenly created by the military.

Vivendi's "L.A. Dicks" - starsAnthony Guidera, Dean Aliota, Sarah Wynter, and
Michael Madsen. Streets 4-10-2007. Welcome to the twisted and comedic
underground world of L.A. private detectives. In between pitching their cases to
studio executives in hopes of getting a movie deal and competing against rival
detectives. Jude and Harold find themselves undercover at a psychic parlor.
When the psychic gives them a surprising reading about their own lives, their universe is turned upside down as the cryptic predictions unfold.