Oct. 9-15 new releases
(release dates are subject to change)
Night Falls on Manhattan (star) (star) (star)
Writer-director Sidney Lumet, adapting Robert Daley’s “Tainted Evidence,” examines the compromises of law and order. Script has flaws but the acting is terrific. (Republic Pictures Home Video) R
The Whole Wide World (star) (star) (star)
A poignant romance based on Novalyne Price Ellis’ memoir of the tragic life and lost love of pulp writer Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian). (Columbia TriStar Home Video) PG
Grosse Pointe Blank (star) (star) (star) 1/2
Star and co-writer John Cusack stingingly plays top international contract assassin Martin Blank, a cold-eyed guy who brings violence and havoc to his 10th high school reunion in Grosse Pointe, Mich. Funny, offbeat stuff. (Buena Vista Home Video) R
Double Team (star) (star) 1/2
A cliched but high-style, high-energy action show, with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bulls’ heavy hitter Dennis Rodman as mismatched, bantering buddy-heroes. (Columbia TriStar Home Video) R
Breakdown (star) (star) (star) 1/2
In the Utah desert, a nice-guy husband driving to California loses his wife after a car breakdown and descends into a non-stop nightmare. A first-class action thriller. (Paramount Home Video) R
M (star) (star) (star) (star)
Fritz Lang’s 1931 masterpiece of terror, with Peter Lorre’s stunning film debut as the cherub-faced serial killer who plunges Berlin into chaos. A collector’s must. (Home Vision Cinema) No MPAA rating
– Gray’s Anatomy No MPAA rating (Fox Lorber)
– Ripe R (Trimark)
– . . . First Do No Harm PG (Buena Vista)
– All Over Me R (New Line)
– Raven R (New Line)
– Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights PG (Paramount)
– A Single Girl No MPAA rating (Fox Lorber)
– Cyclo No MPAA rating (New Yorker)
Compiled by Heather M. Lajewsk.
