Independent U.S. distributors Olive Films will add ten new titles to their Blu-ray catalog in February. Amongst them are Stan Lathan's
Beat Street 1984), David Greenwalt's
Secret Admirer (1985), Jonathan Wacks'
Mystery Date (1991), and Lewis John Carlino's
Class (1983).
Secret Admirer
Unrequited love has never been quite so funny as it is in Secret Admirer, a romantic comedy co-written and directed by David Greenwalt (Rude Awakening).
Using classic screwball comedy tropes (wisecracking friends, confused identities, romantic entanglements), Secret Admirer is the tale of Michael Ryan (C. Thomas Howell, The Outsiders) a lovesick lad who decides to send the girl of his dreams (Kelly Preston, Jerry Maguire) an anonymous letter confessing his feelings setting off a romantic comedy of errors.
Secret Admirer co-stars Lori Loughlin (TV's Full House) as Toni, Michael's friend and - unbeknownst to him - his true love. Rounding out the cast are Dee Wallace Stone (Cujo), Cliff De Young (Shock Treatment), Corey Haim (The Lost Boys), Casey Siemaszko (Of Mice and Men), Leigh Taylor-Young (Soylent Green) and Fred Ward (The Right Stuff).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Beat Street
Beat Street is chock-full of hip-hop, electro music, and breakdance artists of the 80's including Grand Master Melle Mel & the Furious Five, Kool Moe Dee, New York City Breakers and Rock Steady Crew.
With dreams of breaking out of their South Bronx existence, friends Kenny Kirkland (Guy Davis, Final), an erstwhile disc jockey; Kenny's brother Lee (Robert Taylor, Avenging Force), a breakdancer; and their friend Ramon (Jon Chardiet, Money Talks), a graffiti artist, see a ray of hope when local composer and choreographer Tracy Carlson (Rae Dawn Chong, The Color Purple) takes an interest in their talent. But these friends will find that dreams are hard won in the musical drama Beat Street, directed by Stan Lathan (Amazing Grace) and written by Andy Davis, David Gilbert and Paul Golding based on the story by Steve Hagar.
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Moonlight and Valentino
Moonlight and Valentino features a roster of Academy Award winners and nominees including Whoopi Goldberg (Best Supporting Actress winner for Ghost), Kathleen Turner (Best Actress nominee for Peggy Sue Got Married) and Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress winner for Shakespeare in Love).
Moonlight and Valentino, directed by David Anspaugh (Rudy) from a screenplay by Ellen Simon (based on her play), is a romantic drama featuring a cast that pays homage to the great "women's pictures" of a bygone era. Elizabeth Perkins (Big) stars as Rebecca Trager Lott, a woman coping with the recent death of her husband. Grieving and unable to move forward, Rebecca's life is further complicated by her closest friends Sylvie (Whoopi Goldberg, The Color Purple), Alberta (Kathleen Turner, Body Heat) and sister Lucy (Gwyneth Paltrow, Seven), whose sympathetic best intentions are overshadowed by their own personal issues. When least expected, a romantic distraction arrives in the form of a house painter (Jon Bon Jovi, No Looking Back).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Amos & Andrew
Amos & Andrew features comic turns by Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas) and Academy Award nominees Samuel L. Jackson (Best Supporting Actor, Pulp Fiction) and Brad Dourif (Best Supporting Actor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).
The satirical farce Amos & Andrew stars Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) as Andrew Sterling, a renowned black playwright who has no idea what's in store when he purchases a home in a predominantly white suburban enclave. Suspected as a burglar while moving in, he finds himself on the receiving end of the law in a show of force more in line with a hostage situation. Realizing what could become a public relations nightmare, the police chief (Dabney Coleman, Nine To Five) strong-arms hapless car thief Amos (Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas) into holding Andrew hostage, the outcome of which will ultimately show the town's true stripes. Written and directed by E. Max Frye (screenwriter of Something Wild and Foxcatcher), Amos & Andrew co-stars Michael Lerner (The Mod Squad), Margaret Colin (Independence Day) and Brad Dourif (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Class
Class features performances by Golden Globe winner Jacqueline Bisset (Best Supporting Actress, Dancing On The Edge) and Academy Award winner Cliff Robertson (Best Actor, Charly).
When friend and worldly prep-school student Skip (Rob Lowe, Wayne's World) emboldens his naive roommate Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy, Mannequin) to step outside of his dating comfort zone and move to the next level – dating older women – he's in for the surprise of his life when the "older woman" Jonathan picks up turns out to be Skip's mother Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset, Wild Orchid) in the comedy Class.
Directed by Lewis John Carlino (The Great Santini) from a screenplay by Jim Kouf and David Greenwalt, Class co-stars Cliff Robertson (Spider-Man), John Cusack (Eight Men Out) and Alan Ruck (Ferris Bueller's Day Off).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Code 46
Academy Award winner Tim Robbins (Best Supporting Actor, Mystic River) is teamed with two-time Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton (Best Supporting Actress, Sweet and Lowdown; Best Actress, In America) in the Michael Winterbottom science fiction thriller Code 46.
Code 46, directed by Michael Winterbottom (A Mighty Heart) from a screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Welcome to Sarajevo), is a sci-fi thriller in the tradition of Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville with shades of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and classic film noirs. William Geld (Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption), an insurance investigator assigned to track down and dismantle a passport forgery ring, falls for the ringleader Maria Gonzales (Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown), leading to further complications when one of Maria's customers is found dead. Code 46 co-stars Jeanne Balibar (Clean), Om Puri (Gandhi) and Nina Fog (The11th Hour).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Mystery Date
Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke (Best Actor, Training Day; Best Supporting Actor, Boyhood) headlines an ensemble cast in the mystery-comedy Mystery Date.
Head-over-heels in love with next-door neighbor Geena Matthews (Teri Polo, Meet The Parents), Tom McHugh (Ethan Hawke, Training Day) finds himself unable to even hold a conversation when in her presence. With some coaching from his older brother Craig (Brian McNamara, Arachnophobia), Tom is all but assured that his date with Geena will be smooth sailing - until he discovers a body in the trunk of Craig's car. With Murphy's Law in full swing, romance will take a back seat to screwball comic hijinks in the romantic comedy Mystery Date directed by Jonathan Wacks (Powwow Highway) from a screenplay by Parker Bennett and Terry Runté.
Mystery Date co-stars Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit), BD Wong (TV's Law & Order: SVU) and Ian Black (The Journey of Natty Gann).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Pressure Point
Pressure Point features performances by Academy Award winning actor Sidney Poitier (Best Actor, Lilies of the Field) and Academy Award nominees Peter Falk (Best Supporting Actor, Murder, Inc. and Pocketful of Miracles) and Bobby Darin (Best Supporting Actor, Captain Newman, M.D.)
Pressure Point unfolds when a young psychiatrist (Peter Falk, TV's Columbo), exasperated by his failed attempts to help a black patient who hates whites asks to be reassigned. In a story told in flashback, his seasoned superior (Sidney Poitier, Guess Who's Coming To Dinner) recounts his own experience during the war when he treated a Nazi youth (Bobby Darin, Too Late Blues) who hated blacks.
A dark tale told through stark black & white imagery courtesy of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Ernest Haller (Hell's Five Hours, Mildred Pierce, Gone with the Wind), Pressure Point features fine tuned performances under the assured direction of Hubert Cornfield (The Night of the Following Day) from a screenplay co-written by Cornfield and S. Lee Pogostin based on a story by Robert M. Lindner.
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Sleep With Me
Sleep With Me features Academy Award nominee Meg Tilly (Best Supporting Actress, Agnes of God) and a comic turn by two-time Academy Award winner Quentin Tarantino (Best Original Screenplay, Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained).
Friendships are put to the test when best man Frank (Craig Sheffer, A River Runs Through It) announces to the bride and groom-to-be, Joseph (Eric Stoltz, Mask) and Sarah (Meg Tilly, The Big Chill) that he's in love with Sarah. Despite protestations to the contrary, newlywed Sarah finds herself drawn to Frank in the romantic drama Sleep With Me.
Sleep With Me, directed by Rory Kelly (Some Girl) from a screenplay co-written by Kelly, Duane Dell'Amico, Roger Hedden, Neal Jimenez, Joe Keenan and Michael Steinberg, features Parker Posey (Irrational Man), Joey Lauren Adams (Bio-Dome), June Lockhart (TV's Lost in Space) and Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) in supporting performances and is photographed by Andrzej Sekula (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.
Speechless
Academy Award winner Geena Davis (Best Supporting Actress, The Accidental Tourist) is reunited with her Beetlejuice co-star and Academy Award nominated actor Michael Keaton (Best Actor, Birdman) in the romantic-comedy Speechless.
Can speechwriters on opposite sides of the political fence find love and happiness in the heat of an election season? This is the comic premise of Speechless, starring Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Geena Davis (Thelma and Louise) as Kevin Vallick and Julia Mann - Republican and Democratic speechwriters (respectively) and romantic sparring partners. Add to the mix Kevin's ex-wife (Bonnie Bedalia, Die Hard) and Julia's self-absorbed former fiancé (Christopher Reeve, Superman) and the stage is set for screwball comic hijinks in the tradition of His Girl Friday and the political savvy of TV's The Good Wife.
Speechless, directed by Ron Underwood (City Slickers) from a screenplay by Robert King (TV's The Good Wife) co-stars Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) and Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables).
STREET DATE: FEBRUARY 16.