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CINEMAN VIDEO FOR 26-JUN-2009

DVD GUIDE FOR TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

*BY CINEMAN SYNDICATE*

Mini Reviews of movies available on DVD

NEW RELEASES -

DARK STREETS

"The Cotton Club" collides with "The Hudsucker Proxy" in a noir nightmare triggered by Glenn M. Stewart's little-seen stage musical set in 1930s New York. The roster of RandB artists heard on the soundtrack is impressive; the movie is not. Stylized to a fault, the tale of a nightclub owner (Mann) tested by a criminal conspiracy and a femme fatale strains to evoke menace. Any pleasurable notes get squelched by clanging dialogue and remedial direction. The movie doesn't do right by the genre or the blues musicians of New Orleans, to whom it was dedicated in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (R) BORING MUSICAL DRAMA Dir-Rachel Samuels Lead-Gabriel Mann RT-83 mins.

THE EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS

The Ivy League experience of young Mr. Banks (Eisenberg) is disrupted by the arrival of a childhood friend (Jason Ritter) who can't control his temper or his partying ways. Set in the 1980s, this coming-of-age drama by Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst (made before his regrettable sports flick "The Longshots") is good at evoking sympathy for rascals and regular guys, but doesn't know what to do with those feelings. The nuanced takes on class division in Peter Elkoff's script aren't sufficient to bridge the gap and strong performances by Ritter and Eva Amurri, as the rich girl Charlie pines for, go untapped. (R) FAIR DRAMA Dir-Fred Durst Lead-Jesse Eisenberg RT-101 mins.

JONAS BROTHERS: THE 3-D CONCERT EXPERIENCE

The Jonas Brothers conquer Madison Square Garden in a 3-D concert film that will likely rock the socks off female tweeners. In between consistently raucous tunes, the movie offers up bland behind-the-scenes footage, while during the numbers a raft of computer-generated objects fly at the screen in gimmicky 3-D fashion. The three siblings display a genuine knack for larger-than-life showmanship. Still, no amount of enthusiasm on their parts can change the eeriness of seeing young girls weeping and hyperventilating over the focus-tested moppets, who have a look and sound so pre-manufactured, you can almost hear the crinkle of their cellophane wrapping. (G) FAIR DOCUMENTARY Dir-Bruce Hendricks RT-75 mins.

STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN-LI

The latest take-off on the influential video game is a flaming ball of moldy martial arts chi that no gamer, let alone movie lover, could go gaga over. Kristin Kreuk never looks comfortable as the mixed-race beauty whose father is abducted in Hong Kong. Years later, Chun-Li abandons her career as a concert pianist to avenge him, saving Bangkok's slum-dwellers from a dastardly crime boss (Neal McDonough) in the process. The story is ragged, the acting horrible and the dialogue canned, which wouldn't matter if the fight choreography and action scenes measured up. With Chris Klein and Michael Clarke Duncan. (PG-13) POOR ACTION Dir-Andrzej Bartkowiak Lead- Kristin Kreuk RT-96 mins.

12 ROUNDS

With nary a nod to plausibility and caring not one whit that you'll recognize the parts scavenged from far superior flicks, this dull excuse for entertainment plays more like the blueprint for a movie than a movie itself. Surely wrestling star Cena, a humorless hulk, is standing in for someone more charismatic (maybe Hugh Jackman or Matt Damon) as the New Orleans cop pitted against the bad guy who's kidnapped his wife (Ashley Scott)? Surely Aidan Gillen, as the terrorist/international arms dealer, will be replaced in the real movie by an actor who can be deliciously over-the-top evil instead of merely cartoonish: perhaps Alan Rickman? (PG-13) BORING ACTION Dir-Renny Harlin Lead-John Cena RT-108 mins.

TWO LOVERS

No actor of his generation does emotional torment better. No peer is so raw or so true. Joaquin Phoenix stars in James Gray's incisive, understated romance playing a bi-polar broken heart on two legs. Leonard lives with his parents (Isabella Rossellini and Moni Monoshov) in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. He works in his father's dry cleaners and snaps the occasional arty photo, but hasn't felt alive since his fianc� dumped him. Until he meets messed-up neighbor Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) and sensuously caring Sandra (Vinessa Shaw). Leonard's simple story unfolds with psychological plausibility and beautifully controlled intensity, resulting in the epitome of a well-observed film. (R) GREAT DRAMA Dir-James Gray Lead-Joaquin Phoenix RT-108 mins.

TOP DVD RENTALS -

GRAN TORINO

Clint Eastwood is the Joe Paterno of filmmaking: an icon whose retirement is probably overdue. He said he's contemplating quitting acting but the box-office success of this project, in which he portrays a septuagenarian Dirty Harry, might banish such thoughts. Along with directing (and singing over the end credits), Clint snarls as racist Korean War vet Walt Kowalski. After the Hmong boy next door tries to boost his vintage 1972 Gran Torino, Walt protects him from a local gang. The movie's a hoot, and Clint's performance is too tongue-and-cheek and the supporting acting too awful for its message of tolerance to be taken seriously. (R) FAIR DRAMA Dir-Clint Eastwood Lead-Clint Eastwood RT-116 mins.

TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL

Madea heads to the Big House in writer/director/actor Perry's latest. And unless you want to incur the wrath of his felonious matriarch, you best heed the movie's message of forgiveness and go with the flow - despite slapdash production values and signs the mold is starting to crack. While scofflaw Madea fails to control her anger, two assistant district attorneys (Derek Luke and Ion Overman) have their relationship tested by a prostitute. Viola Davis lends gravitas portraying a minister who helps ladies of the night turn their lives around, but Madea preaching self-reliance in the slammer proves to be more impactful. (PG-13) FAIR COMEDY-DRAMA Dir-Tyler Perry Lead-Derek Luke RT-103 mins.

FRIDAY THE 13th

To borrow the subtitle of the sixth "Friday the 13th" installment, "Jason lives" courtesy of director Marcus Nispel's franchise reboot, which crams components of the first three "Friday" films into one predictably terrifying package. Taken as a stand-alone feature, this remake is a sufficiently scary crowd-rouser that knows when to linger and when to spring from the shadows. At the same time, it delivers all the sordid things we've come to expect from the 29-year-old franchise: rowdy and careless drug abuse, gratuitous nudity, and creative kills administered by Jason's shock-and-gore tactics. Apparently, when it comes to Crystal Lake, you can go home again. (R) FAIR HORROR Dir-Marcus Nispel Lead-Jared Padalecki RT-90 mins.

THE INTERNATIONAL

The villain in this non-pandering thriller is a nefarious Luxembourg bank that, for reasons that go unexplained, serves as Moby Dick to an Interpol agent's Captain Ahab. Clive Owen plays the obsessive investigator and Naomi Watts is the assistant district attorney from Manhattan he's working with. Although the plot's connective tissue is thin and much of the dialogue abstract, the architectural settings are dazzling and the tense atmosphere keeps you glued. Proving that a movie's tactile qualities trump theoretical musings, the best scene by far is pure action -- a long gun battle inside New York's Guggenheim Museum. It's one you won't soon forget. (R) GOOD THRILLER Dir-Tom Tykwer Lead-Clive Owen RT-116 mins.

PAUL BLART: MALL COP

Although never riotously funny, this slapstick comedy has ample heart in the plus-size form of Kevin James' dedicated security guard. A lovable loser, Paul Blart derails a gang of scruffy, acrobatic thieves when they take hostages in a New Jersey mall on the busiest shopping day of the year. He wins the girl (Jayma Mays) and the respect of his detractors in the process. Adept at physical comedy, James, who co-wrote the script, emerges the king of his retail domain. Suitable for family viewing, the movie's self-deprecating humor is tame enough to affirm a positive message about our society's obsession with weight. (PG) FAIR COMEDY Dir-Steve Carr Lead-Kevin James RT-91 mins.

DVD TOP TITLES

For the week ending JUNE 21, 2009

TOP RENTALS - Last Week

1. GRAN TORINO (WB) - 1

2. TYLER PERRY'S MADEA GOES TO JAIL (LG) - New

3. FRIDAY THE 13th (WB) - New

4. THE INTERNATIONAL (SONY) - 2

5. PAUL BLART: MALL COP (SONY) - 4

6. HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (WB) - 3

7. DEFIANCE (PAR) - 5

8. TAKEN (FOX) - 6

9. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (PAR) - 9

10. NEW IN TOWN (LG) - 8

CINEMAN SYNDICATE LLC VIA ACCUWEATHER

COPYRIGHT 2009 BY CINEMAN SYNDICATE LLC

JPM 9:15 AM 6/26/2009

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