June video releases

Releasing June 3

Meet the Spartans

Spoof follows the journey of Leonidas, the King of Sparta. When his kingdom is challenged by the powerful Xerxes, Leonidas must recruit some of his strongest soldiers; which unfortunately leaves him with 13 of the not-so-finest. Armed with nothing but leather underwear and a flowing red cape, Leonidas leads his ragtag army to defend their homeland, delivering send-ups of such motion pictures as “Ghost Rider,” “Transformers,” “Spider-Man 3” and “Casino Royale,” as well as leaving no stone unturned by tackling such pop culture television staples as “American Idol,” “Dancing With the Stars,” “Ugly Betty” and “Deal or No Deal.” Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer. Stars: Diedrich Bader, Kevin Sorbo, Method Man, Ken Davitian, Jim Piddock, Sean Maguire, Greg Ellis, Crista Flanagan, Nicole Parker, Emily Wilson. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 84 min., Comedy, Fox.

Semi-Pro

Will Ferrell-driven comedy set in 1976 against the backdrop of the maverick American Basketball Association – a fast-paced, wild and crazy basketball league that rivaled the NBA and made a name for itself with innovations like the three-point shot and slam dunk contest. Ferrell plays Jackie Moon, a one-hit wonder who used the profits from the success of his chart-topping song “Love Me Sexy” to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. But Moon’s franchise, the Flint Michigan Tropics, is the worst team in the league and in danger of folding when the ABA announces its plans to merge with the NBA. If they want to survive, Jackie and the Tropics must now do the seemingly impossible – win. Director: Kent Alterman. Stars: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Will Arnett, Jay Phillips, Josh Braaten, Rob Corddry, DeRay Davis, Maura Tierney, Jackie Earle Haley. 2007, CC, MPAA rating: R, 90 min., Comedy, New Line.

The Eye

Horror thriller about a cornea transplant recipient who sees disturbing images in the mirror that send her on a quest to find out what happened to the eye’s previous owner. Sydney Wells is an accomplished, independent, Los Angeles-based concert violinist. Blind since a childhood tragedy, she undergoes a double corneal transplant, a surgery she has waited her whole life to have, and her sight is restored. After the surgery, neural ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Faulkner helps Sydney with the difficult adjustment, and with the support of her older sister Helen, Sydney learns to see again. But Sydney’s happiness is short-lived as unexplainable shadowy and frightening images start to haunt her. Are they a passing aftermath of her surgery, Sydney’s mind adjusting to sight, a product of her imagination, or something horrifyingly real? As Sydney’s family and friends begin to doubt her sanity, Sydney is soon convinced that her anonymous eye donor has somehow opened the door to a terrifying world only she can now see. Director: David Moreau, Xavier Palud. Stars: Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, Parker Posey, Francois Chau, Tamlyn Tomita. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG013, 97 min., Horror Thriller, ,Lionsgate.

Releasing June 10

Jumper

Hopin’ sci fi story about a young man with the uncanny ability to transport himself anywhere in the world in the blink of an eye. David Rice has grown up with a mysterious power of which many have dreamed. He is completely and utterly mobile, able to zap through wormholes in the space-time fabric to any city, any building, any place at all that his mind desires. In the blink of an eye, he can “jump” from one side of the earth to the other and back again – he can tour 20 different sunsets in one night, he can have breakfast on the Egyptian Sphinx, spend the day surfing in Australia, then pop over to Paris for dinner and enjoy dessert in Japan. He can pass through walls and locked bank safes and enter the most forbidden chambers. So far, he has used his powers to run away from his past, to take advantage of unlimited wealth, to remain fiercely independent. He’s never known limits or boundaries or consequences. But when David discovers another young man like himself, a fiery, globetrotting rebel named Griffin, the truth of his existence begins to dawn. He is not just a lone freak of nature, but part of a long line of genetic anomalies known as Jumpers, none of whom are safe. Now, David has been identified by the secret organization sworn to kill all Jumpers. Director: Doug Liman. Stars: Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Bilson, Jamie Bell, Max Thieriot, Shawn Roberts, AnnaSophia Robb. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 88 min., Science Fiction, Fox.

The Bucket List

Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing everything they ever wanted to do before they “kick the bucket” and an unrealized need to come to terms with who they are. Together they embark on the road trip of a lifetime, becoming friends along the way and learning to live life to the fullest. Each adventure adds another check to their list, all done with insight and humor. Director: Rob Reiner. Stars: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 97 min., Comedy, Warner.

The Other Boleyn Girl

A sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in 16th century English history. The two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family’s blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII. While both women eventually share the king’s bed, only one will ascend to the throne for a brief and turbulent reign that ends tragically with a swing of the executioner’s sword. Director: Justin Chadwick. Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas, Mark Rylance, David Morrissey. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 115 min., Drama, Sony.

Funny Games

Michael Haneke remakes his own 1997 German horror-thriller about two psychopaths who kidnap a mother, father and son in their vacation cabin and make them play sadistic games. Director: Michael Haneke. Stars: Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, Michael Pitt, Brady Corbet, Devon Gearhart. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: R, 111 min., Thriller, Warner.

Releasing June 17

Fool’s Gold

Action comedy reteams Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson as married treasure hunters whose eight-year search for booty leaves them broke and out of gas. Ben “Finn” Finnegan is a good-natured, surf bum-turned-treasure hunter who is obsessed with finding the legendary 18th century Queen’s Dowry – 40 chests of exotic treasure that was lost at sea in 1715. In his quest, Finn has sunk everything he has, including his marriage to Tess Finnegan and his more-rusty-than-trusty salvage boat, “Booty Calls.” Just as Tess has begun to rebuild her life, working aboard a mega-yacht owned by billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, Finn discovers a vital clue to the treasure’s whereabouts. Certain that his luck will change with the newfound information, Finn maneuvers himself aboard Nigel’s yacht and, using his good-natured charm, convinces the tycoon and his Blackberry-wielding, celebutante daughter, Gemma, to join him in the pursuit of the Spanish treasure. Director: Andy Tennant. Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland, Ewen Bremner, Alexis Dziena, Kevin Hart, Ray Winstone. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 112 min., Comedy, Warner.

Be Kind Rewind

A man whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend’s video store, which is on the verge of going out of business. I In order to keep the store’s one loyal customer, an elderly lady with a tenuous grasp on reality, the pair re-create a long line of films including “The Lion King,” “Rush Hour,” “Ghostbusters,” “When We Were Kings,” “Driving Miss Daisy” and “Robocop,” putting themselves and their townspeople into it. Director: Michel Gondry. Stars: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz, Arjay Smith, Paul Dinello, Marcus Carl Franklin, P.J. Byrne, Chandler Parker. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13,101 min., Comedy, Warner.

Releasing June 24

10,000 B.C.

Prehistoric odyssey into a mythical age of prophesies and gods, when spirits ruled the land and mighty mammoths shook the earth. In a remote mountain tribe, the young hunter D’Leh has found his heart’s passion – the beautiful Evolet. But when a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D’Leh leads a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end of the world to save her. As they venture into unknown lands for the first time, the group discovers there are civilizations beyond their own and that mankind’s reach is far greater than they ever knew. At each encounter the group is joined by other tribes who have been attacked by the slave raiders, turning D’Leh’s once-small band into an army. Director: Roland Emmerich. Stars: Steven Strait, Camilla Belle, Cliff Curtis, Omar Sharif, Reece Ritchie, Suri van Sornsen. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 109 min., Action Adventure, Warner.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

When the three Grace children – troubled Jared; his bookish twin, Simon; and their sister, Mallory, a fencing jock – move to the ancient Spiderwick mansion, they are at first none-too-enchanted by the rundown Victorian … until they discover a Brownie, an enchanted creature, living in the walls. They soon find a book – “Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You” – that will open their eyes to the invisible, odd, and sometimes dangerous world of dragons and boggarts, phookas and fairies, sprites and goblins that is all around them. Director: Mark Waters. Stars: Freddie Highmore, Mary-Louise Parker, Nick Nolte, Joan Plowright, David Strathairn, Seth Rogen, Martin Short. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 101 min., Fantasy, Paramount.

Charlie Bartlett

Anton Yelchin stars as Charlie Bartlett, who has been kicked out of every private school he ever attended. And now that he’s moved on to public school, he’s simply getting pummeled. But when Charlie discovers that the kids who surround him – the outcast and the popular alike – are secretly in desperate need, his entrepreneurial spirit takes over. Hanging up his shingle in the boys’ restroom, Charlie becomes an underground, not to mention under-aged, shrink who listens to the private confessions of his schoolmates, and makes the imprudent decision to hand out the pills he’s proffered from his own psychiatric sessions. Meanwhile, at home, Charlie keeps charming his way out of an inevitable confrontation with his adoring but utterly overwhelmed mother Marilyn. Then, Bartlett makes his big mistake: falling in love with the beautiful and bold daughter of the school’s increasingly disenchanted principal, who is hot on Bartlett’s trail. Director: Jon Poll. Stars: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Tyler Hilton, Jake Epstein, Lauren Collins, Dylan Taylor, Mark Rendall, Kat Dennings, Derek McGrath. 2008, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Comedy, MGM.