Best Science Fiction DVD Picks for August 2009
Johnny Depp, Dwayne Johnson, Jeff Bridges Star in New Releases
Jul 23, 2009
Tales of visiting spacemen dominate this month’s science fiction movie releases on DVD. Enjoy family thrillers and R-rated chillers and everything in between as everyday people deal with supernatural events.
August 4 Science Fiction DVD Release: Race to Witch Mountain
Race to Witch Mountain (2009)
In this science fiction action movie, Dwayne Johnson stars as Jack Bruno, a Las Vegas cab driver working in the city during a major UFO convention. In addition to a disgraced scientist (Carla Gugino) and convention attendees, he winds up driving two strange children in his taxi. They request that he take them on a lengthy drive to an old abandoned house where he witnesses a supernatural occurrence makes him demand an explanation. Eventually he realizes that the children are aliens with good intentions who just want to leave Earth. He enlists the help of the scientist to aid him on his newfound mission: They must race to Witch Mountain (where the spaceship is being held) so the aliens can return to their home planet.
- Also starring AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig, Garry Marshall, Kim Richards, Ike Eisenmann
- Director: Andy Fickman
- Screenwriters: Matt Lopez, Mark Bomback, Alexander Key (author of the novel Escape to Witch Mountain)
- Run Time: 98 minutes
- Rating: PG (for sequences of action and violence, frightening and dangerous situations, and some thematic elements)
- Additional Information: Newly released on Full Screen and Widescreen Single Disc Edition, Two-Disc Extended Edition + Digital Copy, and Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy.
August 11 Science Fiction DVD Releases: Alien Trespass, Ninth Gate, Starman
Alien Trespass (2009)
Part homage, part spoof, this science fiction thriller attempts to recreate the low-budget special effects movies such as The Blob from the 1950s. A teenaged couple, a waitress, and an astronomer witness the crash of an alien spaceship. An alien from the ship takes over the body of the astronomer and hunts for the evil Ghota, another alien life form that escaped from the ship during the crash. This dangerous escaped prisoner from the spaceship creates chaos in the formerly quiet California town, killing the locals and ultimately threatening to take over the planet. This quirky comedy doesn’t try very hard to be funny, instead relying on the inherent humor of 1950s science fiction filmmaking techniques to today’s audiences.
- Starring Eric McCormack, Jenni Baird, Robert Patrick, Jody Thompson, Dan Lauria, Aaron Brooks, Sarah Smyth, Andrew Dunbar, Sage Brocklebank
- Director: R. W. Goodwin
- Screenwriters: James Swift (story), Steven P. Fisher (story and screenplay)
- Run Time: 90 minutes
- Rating: PG
- Additional Information: Newly released on Widescreen DVD and Blu-ray.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
Johnny Depp stars as Dean Corso, a disreputable rare book dealer who seeks the last two copies of a demonic text for a customer. He journeys around the world searching for these books and finds himself in a supernatural conspiracy. The book, presumably written by the Devil himself and used to summon him, embroils Dean in a dangerous web of murders and satanic rituals that take him far beyond his job description as a rare book dealer. A mixture of fantasy, horror, mystery, and thriller, The Ninth Gate won a European Film Award for Outstanding European Achievement in World Cinema (Roman Polanski) in 1999.
- Also starring Rank Langella, Lena Olin, Emmanuelle Seigner, Barbara Jefford, Jack Taylor, Tony Amoni, Jose Lopez Rodero, James Russo
- Director: Roman Polanski
- Screenwriters: John Brownjohn, Enrique Urbizu, Roman Polanski, Arturo Perez-Reverte (author of the novel El Club Dumas)
- Run Time: 133 minutes
- Rating: R (for violence and sexuality)
- Additional Information: Newly released on Blu-ray. Previously released on Widescreen DVD.
Starman (1984)
In this romantic science fiction adventure, an alien (Jeff Bridges) visits Earth while taking on the physical form of a young widow’s (Karen Allen) husband. The starman (who witnesses the woman watching old home movies of her late husband) needs to journey across the country in order to be rescued yet has no way to get there. Manipulating her through his appearance and coercion, he gets the widow to drive him to his destination. Along the way, they flee U.S. Government agents assigned to hunt down the alien visitor. This movie came out before the age of advanced computer animation and therefore relies on good acting, heart-felt emotion, and a well-written script rather than amazing special effects.
- Also starring Charles Martin Smith, Richard Jaeckel, Robert Phalen, Tony Edwards, John Walter Davis
- Director: John Carpenter
- Screenwriters: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon
- Run Time: 115 minutes
- Rating: PG
- Additional Information: Newly released on Blu-ray. Previously released on Widescreen DVD.
August 18 Science Fiction DVD Release: The Last Starfighter
The Last Starfighter(1984) 25th Anniversary Edition
In this fun science fiction film, Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) is an expert at the Starfighter video game. He lives in a trailer community with his mother until he unknowingly gets recruited to put his gaming skills to use in real life after a visit from a man named Centauri (Robert Preston). He refuses to help when he discovers the war games are deadly, but changes his mind when he finds an alien bounty hunter lurking in the trailer park waiting for him. Soon Alex returns to the Starfighter base of the alien defense force and learns that the galaxy’s only chance of survival rests in his young, though capable, hands.
- Also starring Catherine Mary Stewart, Dan O’Herlihy, Norman Snow, Ed Berke, Al Berry, Ellen Blake, Barbara Bosson
- Director: Nick Castle
- Screenwriter: Jonathan R. Betuel
- Run Time: 101 minutes
- Rating: PG (for science fiction action and violence)
- Additional Information: Re-released for the film’s 25th anniversary in Widescreen and Blu-ray.
For information about new comedy DVDs, read Best Comedy DVD Picks for August 2009.
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