North Country (DVD review)

North Country (2005) starring Charlize Theron. Theron delivers a convincing performance in what is basically a by-the-numbers, "Norma Rae" type movie. One woman who needs her job in a Minnesota mine faces sexual harassment by good ole boys who don't think women should be taking jobs that otherwise would go to men. She fights back, battling not only the men but the other women who work there, her parents, and even her kids, none of whom stand with her at first. The story's arc is pretty much predictable, and the courtroom scenes feel familiar, but the performances are good enough that the viewer can easily get emotionally involved. Grade: B

Zathura (DVD review)

Zathura (2005) starring Tim Robbins as the father and three unknowns as the kids. Two brothers, Danny and Walter, find an old game called Zathura and start playing it. Zathura is a space adventure game, and the conceit of this movie is that what happens in the game really happens to the kids playing it. The game and its workings make for some good fun moments, but what this movie is really about is the relationship between Danny and Walter. At the beginning of the movie Walter is the mean older brother and Danny is the younger, neglected one. But through their adventures playing Zathura and fighting the Zorgons, Danny and Walter move their relationship to a new, more brotherly level. There are some logical inconsistencies that may bother adults, but for the children's audience that is the main target of this film I don't believe there will be any complaints. Grade: B+

Wedding Crashers (DVD review)

Wedding Crashers (2005) starring Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Christopher Walken. What a disappointing mess this movie is. Wilson and Vaughn start out kind of funny as a couple of opportunists who go to weddings to pick up girls -- who they figure will be feeling romantic because of the wedding atmosphere. But the movie veers off into a mixture of raucous comedy and romantic mushiness that just doesn't work. It doesn't help that the chemistry between Wilson and McAdams never achieves liftoff. Grade: C

The Aristocrats

The Aristocrats (2005) A cast of dozens of comedians take turns telling the legendary joke that ends with the punchline "The Aristocrats." The joke has a flexible structure so that it can be as dirty as the comic wants to make it, and some of the versions in this movie are almost unbearably embellished with scatology, incest, bestiality, you name it. And yet the movie, which is essentially a documentary, offers us a peak inside the world of comedians -- and there are a lot of funny people here. Many viewers will find this movie distasteful, and it certainly is tasteless. But I'm glad I saw it. Grade: B-