In what may be the weakest release week in 2009, there’s just a few small flicks hitting DVD, and one possible Oscar contender hitting theaters. Peter Jackson’s THE LOVELY BONES arrives in select theaters, while PLAGUERS, RUN BITCH RUN, and GOZU 2 Disc Special Edition are arriving safely on DVD. See, like I said. The weakest week in 2009 by far.
THE LOVELY BONES
Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.
Starring Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci
Directed by Peter Jackson
Run Time:???
Susie Salmon, a young girl who has been murdered, watches over her family — and her killer — from heaven. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.
PLAGUERS
Rated: R
Starring Chad Nell, David P. Johnson, Jared Michaels
Directed by Brad Sykes
Run Time: 117 Min.
The year: 2241. The transport vessel Pandora hurtles through space, bringing an alien energy source known as: Thanatos, to fuel-starved planet Earth. The Pandora’s six-person crew is headed by Captain Holoway, a tough, no-nonsense woman, recently promoted after the untimely death of former captain, and her fiancée, Rubini. Some of the crew is suspicious of Thanatos, which almost seems to have a life of its own… A few thousand miles from Earth, the Pandora receives a distress signal from the Diana, a derelict spacecraft. Against the crew’s wishes, Holloway decides to investigate. The ship first appears eerily vacant, until the surprise appearance of four beautiful women, all nurses on their way to a new medical facility, the only survivors of a vicious pirate attack. It doesn’t take long before the: nurses, reveal their true nature: They are the space pirates, and they immediately begin taking over the Pandora, seducing and capturing the crew. In the melee, Thanatos is ruptured, spewing noxious green fluid all over one of the pirates. She begins to physically mutate, her features growing monstrous as she becomes a bloodthirsty PLAGUER! One by one, the Pandora crew and pirates fall victim to the virus, as they are attacked and then reborn as demonic, ravenous creatures. Meanwhile, Thanatos grows stronger and begins to control the ship, sending it on a dead-set voyage toward Earth. Time is running out, and the pirates and crew must reluctantly join forces if they are going to survive. The only way to stop the contagion is to destroy Thanatos – but how?
RUN BITCH RUN
Rated: Not Rated
Starring Peter Tahoe, Christina DeRosa, Cheryl Lyone
Directed by Joseph Guzman
Run Time: 86 min.
In the tradition of I Spit on Your Grave and Ms. 45 comes Run! Bitch Run!, an action-packed thriller that pits an innocent and beautiful young woman against a horde of violent, sex-depraved degenerates. And God help you if you re on the wrong side for revenge really is a bitch! Catherine (newcomer Cheryl Lyone) and Rebecca (Playboy s Christina DeRosa) are Catholic school girls selling Bibles door-to-door. They pick the wrong address, however, when they witness a murder committed by a slimy pimp/drug dealer. Taken hostage and beaten and raped, Catherine eventually escapes and dressed as a nurse and ready to mend all ills returns to wreak vengeance on the dastardly lowlifes who took her innocence away. You can run, but you can t hide from this Angel of Death! In his film debut, director Joseph Guzman brings a retro feel to this soon-to-be cult classic, reminiscent of those great exploitation and nudie flicks of the 1970s. So hang on for dear life for the road ahead is a rough one and only the strong survive!
GOZU – 2 Disc Special Edition
Rated: Not Rated
Starring Shohei Hino, Ryo Ishibashi, Kimika Yoshino
Directed by Takashi Miike
Run Time: 129 minutes
What starts out as a gangster film spirals rapidly out of control when a young yakuza is ordered to assassinate his own superior, who also happens to be his closest friend. When his target disappears before he can do the job, he sets out for a search that leads him into a mysterious town filled with lowlifes, oddballs, and a cow-headed demon.