DVD Releases
Big movies coming to the small screen
By Marni Weisz
SPOTLIGHT
JUNO
After discovering that she’s preggers, 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) heads for the abortion clinic to take care of the problem. But when confronted by an earnest classmate who explains that her fetus already has fingernails, Juno can’t go through with the procedure and decides to give the baby up for adoption.
She chooses a well off, seemingly polished and prepped couple (Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner) from the Penny Saver, and gets to know them — perhaps too well — in the months leading up to the baby’s arrival.
Halifax native Page earned an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of smart-mouthed Juno, and fellow Canadian Michael Cera topped off a fantastic year (which included a starring role in Superbad) with an adorable turn as her befuddled, sort-of boyfriend Paulie Bleeker.
Montreal-born director Jason Reitman shot the film in British Columbia using a script by first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody, who — the media likes to point out — happens to be a former stripper.
The single-disc DVD is packed with 11 deleted scenes, director commentary, gag reel, screen tests and something called “Cast & Crew Jam,” while a two-disc set will get you all that plus four featurettes: “Way Beyond Our Maturity Level,” “Diablo Cody is Totally Boss,” “Jason Reitman for Shizz” and “Honest to Blog! Creating Juno”
Released April 15
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April 1
SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Stars: Johnny Depp, Alan Rickman
Director: Tim Burton (Corpse Bride)
Story: Years ago, innocent barber Benjamin Barker (Depp) was
sent to jail so the judge (Rickman) could put the moves on his wife.
Now returned to London under the pseudonym Sweeney Todd, Barker’s out
for revenge and doesn’t care how many throats he has to slit to get it.
DVD Extras: “Burton + Depp + Carter = Todd”
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AUGUST RUSH
Stars: Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell
Director: Kirsten Sheridan (Disco Pigs)
Story: To avoid going to a foster home, wee Evan Taylor (Highmore) runs away from his orphanage. Once on the street he picks up a guitar, realizes his uncanny talent, and connects with an eccentric manager of young buskers (Robin Williams). But all Evan really wants is to track down his musical parents (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Russell). And he hopes the power of his music will be enough to find them.
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS
Stars: Jason Lee, David Cross
Director: Tim Hill (Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties)
Story: Finding a trio of stowaway chipmunks in your muffin basket is usually a bad thing. But not for Dave Seville (Lee) who discovers the rodents in his basket can not only talk, but sing. So he signs them up with a tour promoter (Cross) and takes them on the road.
DVD Extras: “Munkumentary,” two behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring the Chipmunks history and music
April 8
LIONS FOR LAMBS
Stars: Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep
Director: Robert Redford (Quiz Show)
Story: A Republican senator (Cruise) lectures a journalist (Streep) about how the U.S. can win the war in the Middle East. Meanwhile, two soldiers in Afghanistan are stuck in a firefight while trying to carry out the senator’s plan.
DVD Extras: “The Making of Lions for Lambs,” “Script to Screen,” “United Artists Legacy”
THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia)
Story: Oil prospector Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) gets a tip about a town where the oil is so plentiful it seeps up through the ground. He buys up all their land and sucks it dry, with only a smarmy young preacher (Dano) to stand in his way.
DVD Extras: “The Story of Petroleum,” “Dailies Gone Wild”
April 15
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Stars: Ryan Gosling, Paul Schneider
Director: Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock)
Story: When lonely Lars (Gosling) orders a life-sized rubber doll off the web and behaves like she’s his girlfriend, his brother (Schneider) is not amused.
IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE
Stars: Jason Statham, Claire Forlani
Director: Uwe Boll (BloodRayne)
Story: An epic tale about a peasant (Statham) battling the orc-like Krugs who kidnapped his wife (Forlani) and killed his son.
April 22
THE SAVAGES
Stars: Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Director: Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills)
Story: Estranged siblings (Hoffman, Linney) reunite when their father develops dementia.
April 29
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Dakota Blue Richards
Director: Chris Weitz (About a Boy)
Story: Schoolgirl Lyra (Richards) heads to the far north to save a kidnapped friend.