January 2005
Listed chronologically by release date.

Assault on Precinct 13 (France USA 2005)
Director: Jean-Francois Richet
Release Date: 01/04/2005
Ethan Hawke (Jake Roenick), Laurence Fishburne (Marion Bishop), Maria Bello (Alex Sabian), Drea de Matteo (Iris Ferri), John Leguizamo (Beck), Aisha Hinds (Anna), Currie Graham (Michael Kahane), Gabriel Byrne (Marcus Duvall), Fulvio Cecere (Ray Ray), Kim Coates (), Brian Dennehy (),

Straight to DVD for this remake of John Carpenter's brilliant thriller. Plot changes now mean that the baddies lay seige to the cop station to eliminate a gang boss (Larry Fishburne). I'm looking forward to this one.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (USA 2004)
Director: Michael Gondry
Release Date: 01/04/2005
Price: 27.98
Jim Carrey (Joel Barish), Kate Winslet (Clementine Kruczynski), Gerry Robert Byrne (Train Conductor), Elijah Wood (Patrick), Thomas Jay Ryan (Frank), Mark Ruffalo (Stan), Jane Adams (Carrie), David Cross (Rob), Kirsten Dunst (Mary), Tom Wilkinson (Dr. Howard Mierzwiak),

Ever tried to get that certain someone OUT of your mind forever? You have to admire it for being clever, and Winslet is outstanding. Truly amazing bits of imagery. Now in a two disc loaded edition (Glad I waited).

Four Rooms (USA 1995)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Release Date: 01/04/2005
Price: 14.99
MPAA Rating: R
Antonio Banderas (father), Jennifer Beals (Angela), Lawrence Bender (long hair yuppy scum), Paul Calderon (Norman (segment "The Man from Holly), Sammi Davis (Jezebel), Valeria Golino (Athena), Kathy Griffin (Betty), Salma Hayek (TV Dancing Girl), Marc Lawrence (Sam, the bellhop), Madonna (Elspeth), David Proval (Sigfried (segment "The Wrong Man")),

Short linked vignette films from Quentin Tarantino, Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell and Robert Rodriguez. Occasionally cute, but overall disappointing.

Mansfield Park (UK 1999)
Director: Patricia Rozema
Release Date: 01/04/2005
Price: 14.99
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Hannah Taylor Gordon (Young Fanny), Talya Gordon (Young Susan), Lindsay Duncan (Mrs. Price/Lady Bertram), Bruce Byron (Carriage Driver), James Purefoy (Tom Bertram), Sheila Gish (Mrs Norris), Harold Pinter (Sir Thomas Bertram), Elizabeth Eaton (Young Maria), Elizabeth Earl (Young Julia), Philip Sarson (Young Edmund), Amelia Warner (Teenage Fanny),

Excellent Jane Austen adaptation from the always reliable Patricia Rozema, featuring a perfect cast.

Troy (USA 2004)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Release Date: 01/04/2005
Price: 29.95
MPAA Rating: R
Julian Glover (Triopas), Brian Cox (Agamemnon), Nathan Jones (Boagrius), Adoni Maropis (Agamemnon's Officer), Jacob Smith (Messenger Boy), Brad Pitt (Achilles), John Shrapnel (Nestor), Brendan Gleeson (Menelaus), Diane Kruger (Helen), Eric Bana (Hector), Orlando Bloom (Paris),

Brad Pitt buffs up to play Homerian hero, Achilles. Didn't make many friends at the cinema, but I think this will prove popular on DVD. Definitely spectacular, if occasionally awkward.

Ivanhoe (USA UK 1952)
Director: Richard Thorpe
Release Date: 01/11/2005
Price: 19.97
MPAA Rating: NR
Robert Taylor (Ivanhoe), Elizabeth Taylor (Rebecca), Joan Fontaine (Rowena), George Sanders (De Bois-Guilbert), Emlyn Williams (Wamba (Ivanhoe's squire)), Robert Douglas (Sir Hugh De Bracey), Finlay Currie (Cedric), Felix Aylmer (Isaac), Francis De Wolff (Font De Boeuf), Norman Wooland (King Richard the Lionhearted), Basil Sydney (Waldemar Fitzurse),

Diverting version of the oft filmed Sir Walter Scott tale. Doesn't stick in the mind the way The Adventures of Robin Hood does (the stories overlap). Not Rated but would be G methinks.

Village (USA 2004)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Release Date: 01/11/2005
Price: 29.99
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Bryce Dallas Howard (Ivy Walker), Joaquin Phoenix (Lucius Hunt), Adrien Brody (Noah Percy), William Hurt (Edward Walker), Sigourney Weaver (Alice Hunt), Brendan Gleeson (August Nicholson), Cherry Jones (Mrs Clack), Celia Weston (Vivian Percy), John Christopher Jones (Robert Percy), Frank Collinson (Victor), Jayne Atkinson (Tabitha Walker),

Another of Shyamalan's extended Twilight Zone episodes, quite enjoyable if a little anti-climactic, boasts a couple of nice chills. Better than "Signs" methinks.

Carrie (USA 1952)
Director: William Wyler
Release Date: 01/18/2005
Price: 14.99
MPAA Rating: NR
Laurence Olivier (George Hurstwood), Jennifer Jones (Carrie Meeber), Miriam Hopkins (Julie Hurstwood), Eddie Albert (Charles Drouet), Basil Ruysdael (Mr. Fitzgerald), Ray Teal (Allan), Barry Kelley (Slawson), Sara Berner (Mrs Oransky), William Reynolds (George Hurstwood, Jr.), Mary Murphy (Jessica Hurstwood), Herry Hayden (O'Brien),

No telekinetic teenagers here. Olivier shines in this tale of romance, riches to rags. Not my thing though. Not rated, but nothing objectionable.

Catwoman (USA 2004)
Director: Pitof
Release Date: 01/18/2005
Price: 27.95
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Halle Berry (Patience Phillips/Catwoman), Benjamin Bratt (Tom Lone), Sharon Stone (Laurel Hedare), Lambert Wilson (George Hedare), Frances Conroy (Ophelia),

Oh, dear. Did anything go right for this hairball of a movie? All it has going for it is the costume. Even the irresistible possibility of Stone and Berry trading scratches is flubbed. Even the cover art looks as though Ms. Berry might be taunting Monty Python Knights in a French accent.

Forgotten (USA 2004)
Director: Joseph Ruben
Release Date: 01/18/2005
Price: 28.95
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Julianne Moore (Telly Paretta), Christopher Kovaleski (Sam), Matthew Pleszewicz (Sam aged 5), Anthony Edwards (Jim Paretta), Jessica Hecht (Eliot), Linus Roache (a friendly man), Gary Sinise (Dr Jack Munce),

A woman mourns a child that everyone says never existed. Initally intriguing mystery gradually loses its way. Nice try.

Intelligence Men (UK 1966)
Director: Robert Asher
Release Date: 01/18/2005
Price: 24.99
MPAA Rating: NR
Eric Morecambe (Eric Morecambe), Ernie Wise (Ernie Sage), William Franklyn (Colonel Grant), April Olrich (Madame Petrovna), Gloria Paul (Gina Carlotti), Richard Vernon (Sir Edward Seabrook), Terence Alexander (Reed), Johnny Briggs (Boy in cinema), Peter Bull (Phillipe), Elizabeth Counsell (Girl in cucaracha), Tutte Lemkow (Seedy Sohlect Agent),

Never expected to see this released. Morecambe and Wise are a British institution along the lines of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Their vaudeville style never really carried to the movies well. Interesting to see William Franklyn before his acting talents were lost to a long running series of commercials.

Alien 5: Alien vs. Predator (USA 2004)
Director: Paul Anderson
Release Date: 01/25/2005
Price: 29.98
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Sanaa Lathan (Alexa 'Lex' Woods), Raoul Bova (Sebastian Wells), Lance Henriksen (Charles Bishop Weyland), Ewen Bremner (Graham Miller), Colin Salmon (Max Stafford), Tommy Flanagan (Verheiden), Joseph Rye (Connors), Agathe De La Boulaye (Adele Rousseau), Carsten Norgaard (Quinn), Sam Troughton (Thomas), Petr Jakl (Stone),

Efficient, but not-quite-gripping enough title bout between familiar slimy beasties with a few token humans thrown in. Simultaneously better and worse than one expected...better than the title would have you believe but fallls short of at least three and maybe four of the preceding films...

Backbeat (UK 1994)
Director: Iain Softley
Release Date: 01/25/2005
Price: 19.98
MPAA Rating: R
Stephen Dorff (Stuart Sutcliffe), Ian Hart (John Lennon), Gary Bakewell (Paul McCartney), Chris O'Neill (George Harrison), Sheryl Lee (Astrid Kirchherr), Scot Williams (Pete Best), Paul Humpeletz (Bruno), Wolf Kahler (Bert Kaempfert), Gertan Klauber (Pimp), Albert Welling (Doctor), Finola Geraghty (Model),

Excellent telling of tale of the early fab four who were actually the fab five at that point in time. Story focuses on the ill-fated Stu Sutcliffe. Good recreation captures the energy and sound of a phenomena in the making. Elusive DVD, much promised in the past.

S.S. Experiment (Italy 1976)
Director: Sergio Garrone
Release Date: 01/25/2005
Price: 14.95
MPAA Rating: NR
Mirsha Carven (), Giorgio Cerioni (), Paola Corazzi (), Almina De Sanzio (), Matilde Dell'Aglio (), Attilio Dottesio (), Agnes Kalpagos (), Giovanna Mainardi (), Patrizia Melega (), Serafino Profumo (), Maurizio Reti (),

Poor taste, badly made Euro trash sleaze. I haven't made up my mind if this is the notorious and much banned SS Experiment Camp, I shall pretend it is.

Sex Mission (Poland 1984)
Director: Juliusz Machulski
Release Date: 01/25/2005
Price: 29.95
MPAA Rating: NR
Olgierd Lukaszewicz (Albert), Boguslawa Pawelec (Emma), Hanna Stankowna (Tekla), Bozena Stryjkowna (Lamia), Jerzy Stuhr (Maks), Beata Tyszkiewicz (Berna),

Wacky and endearing Polish Sci-fi sex comedy(!) Was quite refreshing at the London Film Festival in its day.