Closer (DVD review)

Closer (2004) starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen. Two men and two women interact with each other over a period of years, coupling and uncoupling and exchanging bodily fluids. They all talk about loving each other, but in the end it seems only a game and all the love is used up. An interesting movie, but not altogether pleasant to sit through. When it was over, I felt a little depressed. Grade: C+

Bring It On (DVD review)

Bring It On (2000) starring Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku et al. Nubile girls in cheerleader outfits. A bikini carwash. Lots of suggestive choreography. There was plenty to ogle in this film, so why did I find it so boring? Probably because the target audience is teenage (or younger) girls. And because, after movies like "Clueless" and "Heathers," it seems a little wan. On the plus side, the lyrics to some of the cheers are amusing, especially in the opening dream sequence. Grade: C+

The House of Flying Daggers (DVD review)

The House of Flying Daggers (2004) in Chinese with English subtitles. Also available on same DVD: dubbed versions in English and French. These epic Chinese romance/adventures ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Hero") are beginning to have a been there/seen that feeling. This one is done with great art and the actors are attractive, but it all feels a little overblown. Grade: B

Wonderfalls (TV series on DVD)

Wonderfalls, the complete series. I've only partially viewed this wonderfully quirky TV show, but I can recommend it highly. I'll write a more complete review when I've had a chance to see the complete series. Caroline Dhavernas, the star of the show, is a find waiting to be discovered. She had a bit part in "Lost and Delirious," which I recently reviewed. So far: A-

Dating Is Murder (book review)

Dating Is Murder (2005) by Harley Jane Kozak. A clever, funny followup to "Dating Dead Men." Wolley Shelley is a blond bombshell and an amateur sleuth who just cares too much about people and ends up getting involved in solving dangerous crimes. The plot really has little to do with the book's appeal -- what mostly amuses are the many observational asides of the first-person heroine. Grade: A-

Sin City (movie review)

Sin City (2005) starring Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and a large cast of first-rate actors. Some viewers will be put off by the comic-book violence, and it is pretty gruesome, but this comic-noir is visually stunning, with a marvelous use of color against a black-and-white background. The story is a triptych of tales, each with a hero battling true evil in an alternate universe that is complete unto itself. Adventurous viewers will be rewarded. Grade: B+

The Woodsman (DVD review)

The Woodsman (2004) starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick. Bacon turns in a fine performance in a difficult role, that of a pedophile, released from prison, trying to re-enter society and resist his inner demons. Grade: B

Vanity Fair (DVD review)

Vanity Fair (2004) starring Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp, with a vast supporting cast of English character actors, some familiar, others not. In watching this movie, one gets the feeling that great swaths of the Thackery novel must have been left out to get it down to acceptable running time. Nevertheless, it makes for interesting viewing, sometimes amusing, sometimes tragic. Becky Sharp is a woman with no money and no title, living in England 200 years ago. She attempts to make her way in society with nothing but her beauty, wit, intelligence and ambition. She nearly succeeds. Reese Witherspoon seems an odd choice to play Becky, but she gets by. Her performance is adequate, not great. But the portrait of a society dominated by money and breeding is good enough to make this a recommended film. There's even a somewhat happy ending. Grade: B+

Ocean's Twelve (DVD review)

Ocean's Twelve (2004) starring George Clooney, Julia Roberts. Can you really review a movie that you didn't watch all the way through? Suffice it to say that I only saw about half an hour of this one before I lost interest. Maybe at another time I would have watched the whole thing just to get my money's worth, but in this case I couldn't be bothered. Grade: ?

Spanglish (DVD review)

Spanglish (2004) starring Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni, Paz Vega. Vega plays Flor, an immigrant Mexican who goes to work in an Anglo household in southern California. Sandler is John Clasky, and Leoni is Deb Clasky, the couple she works for as a nanny. The movie contains one truly hilarious scene, in which Cristina, Flor's daughter, translates from Spanish into English for her mother when Flor is angry with John. Vega is transcendent in her beauty and her acting. But the script is somewhat lacking, and the real sour note of the movie is Leoni's over-the-top performance as an obsessive, crazed housewife. Parts of her performance are funny, but mostly it just grates. Grade: B

Vera Drake (DVD review)

Vera Drake (2004) starring Imelda Staunton. In 1950, abortion was illegal in England. Vera Drake, a cheery working class woman, "helps girls out." She doesn't charge for her service, but that doesn't help when she gets caught. This movie is worthy of viewing mainly for Imelda Staunton's Oscar-nominated performance as Mrs. Drake, a woman who undergoes a total transformation of personality when she has her run-in with the law. Not exactly a feel-good film. Grade: B

Sideways (DVD review)

Sideways (2004) starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh. Two men embark on a road trip to celebrate the last week of freedom for the one who is getting married. They travel up to California wine country, taste wines and along the way meet two women. It's an amusing take on middle-age panic as they both travel their separate paths to enlightenment. Grade: B+

Four Weddings and a Funeral (video)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) starring Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell. Hugh Grant plays Charles, a commitment phobic, and Andie MacDowell plays Carrie, a woman who just might make him change his ways. By turns hilarious and tragic, this is a great romantic comedy that holds up superbly after 10 years. Grade: A

Truly, Madly, Deeply (DVD review)

Truly, Madly, Deeply (1991) starring Juliet Stevenson, Alan Rickman. A woman is nearly mad with grief over her dead lover when his ghost returns to alleviate her suffering. Trouble is, now that he's back, she finds him kind of irritating. Good premise, but wanders a bit too much. Grade: B

Ray (DVD review)

Ray (2004) starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. The movie is filled with moments of rapture, mostly having to do with Charles' music; it is also filled with moments of despair, having to do with his private life. Jamie Foxx won a well-deserved Oscar for his performance, in which he seems to be Ray Charles. At two and a half hours, however, the movie feels rather long. Yet it feels truncated, because it deals with such a short period in Charles' life. Grade: B

Dummy (DVD review)

Dummy (2002) starring Adrien Brody. Brody plays a slacker whose ambition is to be a ventriloquist. He even buys a creepy ventriloquist's doll and starts practicing. The movie pursues an offbeat course with a variety of interesting characters. But the potential for drama or comedy involving Brody and the dummy is never fully realized, and the film becomes basically a simple, not very believable love story. One suspects that this movie was released mostly on the strength of Brody's Oscar win for "The Piano." Grade: B-

Rushmore (DVD review)

Rushmore (1998) starring Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray. Directed by Wes Anderson, written by Anderson and Owen Wilson. Promising but ultimately disappointing story of Max Fischer (Schwartzman), a student at Rushmore prep school who participates in a multitude of extracurricular activities but neglects his studies. Max is brilliant in his own way, but he gets in emotional trouble when he falls for a teacher (Olivia Williams). Grade: B-