Wednesday, May 31, 2006

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (DVD)

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) starring Bette Davis, Joan Crawford. Camp horror classic with Davis as the former child star, Baby Jane Hudson, who faded when she reached adulthood, and Crawford as her sister, Blanche, who had a successful acting career as an adult. Blanche now lives as an invalid in a household where her chief caregiver is the increasingly unhinged Jane. Grade: B

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Moonstruck (DVD)

Moonstruck (1987) starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Vincent Gardenia, Olympia Dukakis. Directed by Norman Jewison. Delightful romance set in Little Italy in New York City, with Cher and Cage as a couple who defy logic and follow their hearts. Filled with acutely observed vignettes about Italian-American life. Cher and Dukakis won Oscars for their work. Grade: A

Thursday, May 25, 2006

Jarhead (DVD)

Jarhead (2005) starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx. Directed by Sam Mendes. Based on the book by Anthony Swofford. Gyllenhaal plays Tony Swofford, who wrote the book "Jarhead" about his experiences as a Marine in the Persian Gulf War. It's not really a war movie, though, because the Persian Gulf War was primarily fought from the air. This film is more concerned with the experiences of the grunts who went to the desert and waited, and waited, and waited for the war to start. Once it started, it was over in four days because Saddam's army had been decimated by the bombing campaign. The waiting, though, is made interesting because we see the Marine Corps from an insider's point of view -- and it's pretty weird. Grade: B

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

King Kong (DVD)

King Kong (2005) starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody. Directed by Peter Jackson. Watts stars as Ann Darrow, the woman who wins Kong's heart. Jack Black plays Carl Denham, the showman who conceives the idea of putting Kong on display. Andy Serkis, who inhabited Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies, here provides the convincing ape-like motion of King Kong. At a running time of three hours, the movie seems overlong, and the climactic scene atop the Empire State Building seems to go on forever. As another reviewer has said, however, this is the definitive version of "King Kong," and there would seem to be no reason to remake it again, ever -- or at least until films go 3-D. The special effects are fantastic, and the acting, especially by Watts, is terrific. Some scenes may be too intense for young children. Grade: A-

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Brokeback Mountain (DVD)

Brokeback Mountain (2005) starring Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway. Directed by Ang Lee. Known to late-night comedians everywhere as the "gay cowboy movie," this is, of course, much more. Although some viewers will be uncomfortable with the homosexual-themed love story, the movie is superbly photographed, well acted and tightly scripted. It's interesting to watch and involving. And the theme of intolerance is universal. Grade: B+

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Freeway (DVD)

Freeway (1996) starring Reese Witherspoon, Kiefer Sutherland. Written and directed by Matthew Bright. "Freeway" is all about girl power. Within the rough framework of the Little Red Riding Hood story, Oscar-winner Witherspoon plays a white trash teen-ager named Vanessa who rises to the challenge when her mother and stepfather are arrested and taken away. Vanessa ends up hitching a ride with "Bob Wolverton" (get it?), played by Sutherland, who turns out to be the infamous "I-5 Killer." At first she seems to be at his mercy, but she soon turns the tables and the movie is off and running. Grade: B+

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Il Postino (The Postman) DVD

Il Postino (The Postman) (1994) featuring an Italian and French cast that will not be familiar to Americans. In Italian with English subtitles. Poignant and unforgettable, the story of a feckless man (Mario) and how delivering mail to a famous poet changes his life. At first, Mario seems at best unintelligent, but later we come to realize he might be a poet himself. Still later, he takes on the dimensions of a tragic hero. Grade: B+

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (DVD)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) starring a cast of (mostly) unknowns. Although I had mixed feelings while watching this movie, I have good memories about having seen it. While it has obvious flaws, I enjoyed seeing the four children go on their adventure. I have a strong feeling children will love this movie, and most adults who like it will like it because it is something wholesome for their children to watch. I guess the good outweighs the bad. Grade: B

Monday, May 15, 2006

The Long Good Friday (DVD)

The Long Good Friday (1979) starring Bob Hoskins, Helen Mirren. British mobster Hoskins is putting together the biggest deal of his life when things start to go wrong. Close associates are killed. Bombs destroy first a car, then a restaurant he owns. Hoskins is under attack, but it takes him most of the movie to figure out where the attack is coming from. When he does figure it out, he decides to fight back, and it is not until the film's final scene that he realizes how heavily the odds are stacked against him. This is a great little gangster movie. Unfortunately, this DVD lacks the all-important (to me) English subtitles which would allow me to understand all the various British accents. On the bonus side: A couple of brief scenes by a very young Pierce Brosnan as an Irish thug. Grade: A-

Saturday, May 13, 2006

The New World (DVD)

The New World (2005) starring Colin Farrell, Q'Orianka Kilcher, Christian Bale. The New World is a misnomer, since it leads one to believe that the film is going to be about the struggles of European colonists establishing settlements in the Americas during the 1600s. While that's admittedly part of the narrative, it's not the biggest part. This is really the story of Pocahontas (Kilcher), the Native American princess who provided aid to the settlers of Virginia, fell in love with Captain John Smith (Farrell), was exiled by her father, and became the dutiful wife of tobacconist John Rolfe (Bale). All of this occurs against the backdrop of the uneasy relationship that exists between the tribes of "naturals" and the English interlopers. I'm not a big fan of director Terrence Malick, and this film was no exception. The first half of the film was pretty effective, with Captain Smith being captured by the natives, being captivated by their lifestyle, and falling in love with Pocahontas, the chief's daughter. But it really falls apart after Smith returns to Jamestown and becomes re-involved with his fellow Englishmen and their plight there. There are some exciting scenes when fighting breaks out between the natives and the English, but mostly it's just confusing and boring. Grade: C

Thursday, May 11, 2006

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (DVD)

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) starring Anne Hathaway, Julie Andrews. A truly awful movie. The beautiful Anne Hathaway is wasted in this unnecessary sequel to "The Princess Diaries," which was a pretty entertaining film. The only reason this one doesn't get an F is that maybe, just maybe, young girls might enjoy it. Grade: D-

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Rumor Has It ... (DVD)

Rumor Has It ... (2005) starring Jennifer Aniston, Mark Ruffalo, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine. I keep waiting for Jennifer Aniston to make a good movie, but this one continues the string of disappointments. It doesn't help that I don't like Mark Ruffalo, or Kevin Costner for that matter. It was really kind of creepy watching Costner seduce Aniston, especially given the plot of the movie that made him (possibly) her father. This one's a real clunker. Grade: C-

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Paradise Now (DVD)

Paradise Now (2005). In Arabic, with subtitles. Two best friends, Palestinians, are recruited to be "martyrs" by becoming suicide bombers. What they propose to do is wrong, but this movie gives them human dimensions and makes us sympathize with them as people. Whether that's a good thing or not depends on your point of view. Whether this is a good film or not is a different question entirely. There's a long middle section where the two have gotten separated and are trying to find each other that could've been tightened up a bit. We don't get to see either one of them blow himself up, which some viewers will doubtless find to be a relief. I found the film to be engaging for the most part, with all sides of the moral question examined, and all points of view represented. Interesting. Grade: B-

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

The Family Stone (DVD)

The Family Stone (2005) starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson, Luke Wilson, Rachel McAdams. Parker plays Meredith, the uptight girlfriend of Everett (Mulroney), who goes with him to visit his family at Christmas time. The large Stone family immediately see that Meredith is not right for Everett, and they each react in their individual way. I think this was meant to be a comedy, but it's so intense that any intended jokes get lost (or just aren't funny). The ultimate "happy ending" seems forced and artificial, and didn't add to my enjoyment of the movie at all. Grade: C

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Fun with Dick and Jane (DVD)

Fun with Dick and Jane (2005) starring Jim Carrey, Tea Leoni, Alec Baldwin. The thing that's missing in this "comedy" is the fun. Carrey and Leoni are two people capable of being very funny, but the script and direction let them, and the viewer, down. Grade: C