New DVD Releases for the Week of July 7 2009

Here is a list of the new DVD Releases for the week of July 7 2009 (for TV on DVD releases head over to Daemon's TV):

Knowing

Synopsis: In 1958, as part of the dedication ceremony for a new elementary school, a group of students is asked to draw pictures to be stored in a time capsule. But one of the students, a mysterious girl who seems to hear whispered voices, fills her sheet of paper with rows of apparently random numbers instead.
Fast forward 50 years to the present: A new generation of students examines the contents of the time capsule and the girl's cryptic message ends up in the hands of young Caleb Myles. But it is Caleb's father, professor Ted Myles (Nicolas Cage), who makes the startling discovery that the encoded message predicts with pinpoint accuracy the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years. As Ted further unravels the document's secrets, he realizes it foretells three additional events—the last of which hints at destruction on a global scale and seems to somehow involve Ted and his son.
When Ted's attempts to alert the authorities fall on deaf ears, he takes it upon himself to try to prevent more destruction from taking place.
This gripping supernatural thriller charts one man's faltering steps towards belief in the ultimate order of the universe even as he finds himself surrounded by mounting chaos. With the reluctant help of Diana Whelan (Rose Byrne) and Abby, the daughter and granddaughter of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies, Ted's increasingly desperate efforts take him on a heart-pounding race against time until he finds himself facing the ultimate disaster—and the ultimate sacrifice.

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Liam Hemsworth

Director: Alex Proyas

Recommendations: I'm always in for a good entertaining flick with Nicolas Cage.

Buy it: KNOWING on Amazon (also available on Blu-ray)

Night Train

Synopsis: Two passengers (Sobieski and Zahn) and the conductor (Glover), discovered that a person has passed away on their Night Train cabin. They come across valuable jewels on his person, that they wish to keep for themselves. So, to make it look like the man never boarded the train, they conspire to dump his body in a river that the train passes. Their scheme to get rid of the corpse escalates to the point where they have to chop up his body just to fit him into a small trunk. They then become paranoid, as they might turn on each other.

Cast: Leelee Sobieski, Danny Glover, Steve Zahn

Director: Brian King

Recommendations: I wanted to see this ever since I saw the trailer. It looks pretty insane.

Buy it: NIGHT TRAIN on Amazon (also available on Blu-ray)

Push

Synopsis: A riveting action-thriller, Push burrows deep into the deadly world of psychic espionage where artificially enhanced paranormal operatives have the ability to move objects with their minds, see the future, create new realities and kill without ever touching their victims. Against this setting, a young man and a teenage girl take on a clandestine agency in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.
The Division, a shadowy government agency, is genetically transforming citizens into an army of psychic warriors—and brutally disposing of those unwilling to participate. Nick Gant (Chris Evans), a second-generation telekinetic or "mover," has been in hiding since the Division murdered his father more than a decade earlier. He has found sanctuary in densely populated Hong Kong—the last safe place on earth for fugitive psychics like him—but only if he can keep his gift a secret.
Nick is forced out of hiding when Cassie Holmes (Dakota Fanning), a 13-year-old clairvoyant or "watcher," seeks his help in finding Kira, (Camilla Belle), an escaped "pusher" who may hold the key to ending the Division's program. Pushers possess the most dangerous of all psychic powers: the ability to influence others' actions by implanting thoughts in their minds. But Cassie's presence soon attracts the attention of the Division's human bloodhounds, forcing Nick and Cassie to flee for their lives.
With the help of a team of rogue psychics, the unlikely duo traverses the seedy underbelly of the city, trying to stay one step ahead of the authorities as they search for Kira. But they find themselves square in the crosshairs of Division Agent Henry Carver (Djimon Hounsou), a pusher who will stop at nothing to keep them from achieving their goal.

Cast: Chris Evans, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle, Djimon Hounsou

Director: Paul McGuigan

Recommendations: I saw this in theaters, and while it was a good concept, I'm afraid it didn't live up to my expectations. You can definitely wait for it to be on TV to watch it.

Buy it: PUSH on Amazon (also available on Blu-ray)

Five Fingers

Synopsis: In Morocco to assist with the creation of a food charity, a Dutchman (Phillippe) is abducted by a terrorist (Fishburne).

Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Colm Meaney, Ryan Phillippe, Gina Torres, Touriya Haoud, Isa Hoes

Director: Laurence Malkin

Recommendations: I don't know anything about this movie, but I might catch it on TV mainly because of the cast.

Buy it: FIVE FINGERS on Amazon

The Unborn

Synopsis: Sometimes the soul of a dead person has been so tainted with evil that it is denied entrance to heaven. It must endlessly wander the borderlands between worlds, desperately searching for a new body to inhabit.
And sometimes it actually succeeds.
Writer/director David Goyer (Blade: Trinity, The Invisible, Batman Begins) gives a terrifying glimpse into the life of the undead in The Unborn, a supernatural thriller that follows a young woman pulled into a world of nightmares when a demonic spirit haunts her and threatens everyone she loves.
Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) hated her mother for leaving her as a child. But when inexplicable things start to happen, Casey begins to understand why she left. Plagued by merciless dreams and a tortured ghost that haunts her waking hours, she must turn to the only spiritual advisor, Sendak (Gary Oldman), who can make it stop.
With Sendak's help, Casey uncovers the source of a family curse dating back to Nazi Germany—a creature with the ability to inhabit anyone or anything that is getting stronger with each possession. With the curse unleashed, her only chance at survival is to shut a doorway from beyond our world that has been pried open by someone who was never born.

Cast: Odette Yustman, Meagan Good, Jane Alexander, Gary Oldman, Idris Elba, Rhys Coiro, Cam Gigandet, James Remar

Director: David S. Goyer

Recommendations: Once again, I think I'll just skip this horror film.

Buy it: THE UNBORN on Amazon (also available on Blu-ray)