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Chicago – The DVD Round-Up has gone silent for a few weeks on summer vacation but as more and more interesting titles threaten to fall through the cracks, it returns with three art films that are definitely worth a look. Don’t worry. Summer vacation hasn’t made the Round-Up arthouse-only, but it’s nice to comeback a little smarter-looking than when we left.

“Casino Jack and the United States of Money,” “Looking For Eric,” and “Under Still Waters” were all released on September 14th, 2010.

“Casino Jack and the United States of Money”

Photo credit: Magnolia

Synopsis: “The portrait of Washington super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff, from his early years as a gung-ho member of the Gop political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah, confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue involving casinos, spies, sweatshops and mob-style killings, this is a...

'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'

Jake Gyllenhaal grows out his hair, dons a cod piece, and fights through the sands of time in this video game adaptation. In his review, Joe Utichi noted: "what Bruckheimer does best is deliver entertaining summer adventure for the multiplex masses, even if it does follow a tried and true formula. If it ain't broke, as they say, don't fix it. To that end Prince of Persia is a success; it's never less than a fun twist on sword and sandals epics, and while its band of misfits may not be quite up to Jack Sparrow's standards, they're still plenty to see you through its comfortable runtime." But overall critical reception wasn't kind, so Rent it only if you're interested in some Bruckheimer. On DVD and Blu-ray.

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'Letters to Juliet'

Years and years ago,...

A look at what's new on DVD today:

"Afterschool" (2009)

Directed by Antonio Campos

Released by Mpi Home Video

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, Campos' polarizing debut stars Ezra Miller as a high schooler whose Av club assignment leads him to capture the drug-induced deaths of two of his popular prep school classmates. [Sam Adams' review of the film is here.]

"All Men Are Brothers" (1975) and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms" (1978)

Directed by Chang Cheh and Wu Ma/Chang Cheh

Released by Well Go USA

Well Go USA do long-suffering American kung fu fans a solid and finally release "All Men Are Brothers," the sequel to the Shaw Brothers' epic "Seven Blows of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Water Margin") featuring David Chiang and Chen Kuan-tai as warriors battling against the tyranny of despots, and "Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms," which pits Shaw brothers favorites' the Venom Mob against the master that crippled them.

Under Still Waters is a film from Carolyn Miller that was picked up by IFC Films for their video on demand feature since April 23rd. The film involves at least one love triangle that goes wrong as each character hopes to outwit, or manipulate the other for love and money. The film was completed in 2008 and stars Jason Clarke (Death Race), Lake Bell (Over Her Dead Body), and Clifton Collins Jr. (...

IFC is further building out its horror/thriller brand with the latest film from director Carolyn Miller that gives us yet another reason to never pick up strangers.

In Under Still Waters Lake Bell and Jason Clarke play a young couple working through some issues, who decide to spend time out in the woods at the family's lake house. On the way they nearly run over a dark drifter (Clifton Collins, Jr.) stranded along the road. The couple decide to take Jacob to the lake house, but from the start he is an extremely odd, menacing presence. Things escalate into a tantalizing war among the jealous husband, his curious wife, and this intriguing stranger.

The flick is available today nationwide on demand. Check out the trailer below, and remember, kids -- Keep Driving!

Under Still Waters - Trailer

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Well Done Abba

Well Done Abba has turned out to be a sort of a tragedy. Yes, it’s a satirical take on our system, more particularly how government schemes actually become cash cows for corrupt officials while the targeted beneficiaries – the common man – remain as poorly off as ever. It even raises occasional laughs, if not guffaws, through its ironic representation of all the loopholes in the system that are exploited to the hilt by those who are part of it. The victim being, the common man, in this case Armaan Ali of Chikkatpally near Hyderabad, who ekes out a living by driving the luxurious car of a well-off businessman in Mumbai and has a perky daughter back home to look after. With a gamut of characters that reflect the rot in the system in the backdrop of the growing lack of access to water across the nation, Well Done Abba,...

There is slow burn, and then there is no burn, that type of film that keeps making you think something, anything, is about to happen. Sometimes, if it is done poorly, a no burn film will tease you so hard that a big plot turn is coming just around the corner that it becomes obvious that no twist is coming. Fortunately, Carolyn Miller’s thriller Under Still Waters does offer that elusive twist. Sometime does occur in the film to make all the tantalizing and smoke generating seemingly worth while. However, it takes some time to get to that point, and, by the time it does, the film has fallen so far into no burn territory that it’s hard to recover.

Lake Bell and Jason Clarke play Charlie and Andrew, respectively, a young couple who are trying to work through their issues. Charlie’s father is a very powerful and very rich man,...

It has been quite some time since Brian Yuzna got behind the camera (most recently beneath Still Waters, Rottweiler, Beyond Re-Animator), but the producer-turned-director is looking at making his next project in 3-D. In Amphibious 3D, a marine research expedition to the exotic Sumatran Sea turns treacherous as it encounters a supernatural prehistoric creature resurfacing with a vengeance. Michael Paré, Janna Fassaert and Francis Magee all star. The pic was shot in Stereoscopic 3D - polarized for Th release in Real D or Dolby 3D. It will also be available in anaglyph and interactive polarized shutter for video release. The film was produced by Celsius Entertainment.

More Horror from Shirley Jackson Shirley Jackson's (The Haunting) 1962 novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle is being adapted in feature form by Further Films. According to THR, the story deals with 'a reclusive, potentially murderous family.' THR goes on to say that 'those familiar with the feature take say it will combine literary and genre elements in what producers hope will transcend the more high-concept commercial horror stories that studios and their labels are making.' Josh Lucas in for a Little Murder According to Variety 'Josh Lucas (Session 9), Terrence Howard (Iron Man) and Lake Bell (Still Waters) will star in indie thriller Little Murder with Peter "Gaga"...

More Sundance coverage

Expanding its VOD offerings, IFC Films is partnering with the South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival to present five movies on IFC Festival Direct simultaneous with their appearance at the March film festival.

Joe Swanberg's "Alexander the Last," which is having its world premiere at SXSW, will be the first film to have a fest premiere the same time it becomes available on-demand.

In addition to "Alexander," produced by Swanberg, Noah Baumbach and Anish Savjani, the other SXSW titles bound for Festival Direct are Javor Gardev's "Zift" and Matthew Newton's "Three Blind Mice" as well as two films that played SXSW last year and are set for encore screenings this year: Barry Jenkins' "Medicine for Melancholy" and Joe Maggio's "Paper Covers Rock."

IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring unveiled several other initiatives Monday at the Sundance Film Festival.

They included several new...

So beware the whispering wind...

A phantom ship appears in the fog, torn sails, cruising eerily through the night underneath the full moon's blue light, as the ghosts of maritime swashbucklers arise from the deep to tell of deadly adventures...

Based upon the travels of an accursed vessel named The Tempest, and beginning with an appropriately gruff narration as if spoken by Blackbeard himself, setting the tone for this morbid excursion (complete with the chanting of "Yo-Ho..." in the background), Phantoms of The High Seas is a splendid Gothic translation of Pirate lore, with choirs and sound-effects to richly compliment and accentuate the tenebrous orchestrations. Also featured is a haunting vocal piece entitled "Fate of The Tempest" sung by 'Ty Cook', which recounts the tale.

The lavishly decorated booklet is your treasure map to the musickal gems herein, filled with darksome illustrations from the quest which will accompany you along your journey.

Lake Bell is the latest to join the orgy.

The actress has signed on to the indie comedy A Good Old Fashioned Orgy in North Carolina, starring alongside a cast that includes Leslie Bibb, Michelle Borth, Will Forte, Lindsay Sloane and Jason Sudeikis.

Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck are co-directing the comedy they co-wrote about thirtysomething friends on the verge of major changes in their life who celebrate their last Labor Day together in the Hamptons with an intimate party.

Bell plays Columbia University-educated Alison Cohen, who can't help but dish out unsolicited advice despite being unhappy with her own life and dysfunctional relationships. Doomed to a life of breakups and makeups, the orgy might be her lifeline to happiness.

Bell won over audiences as Cameron Diaz's snarky sidekick Tipper in the recent Fox/Regency Enterprises comedy What Happens in Vegas. She recently wrapped New Line's crime drama Pride & Glory.

She recently earned outstanding performance in acting honors at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her role in the indie thriller Under Still Waters.

Bell is repped by UTA and the Burstein Co.