Evil (DVD)

Evil (2003). Swedish drama about a rebellious high-school boy. Beaten by his brutish stepfather, thrown out of public school for fighting, he tries to survive in a tough boarding school without getting expelled. I found it compelling. With English subtitles. Grade: A-

The President's Last Bang (DVD)

The President's Last Bang (2005) in Korean, with English subtitles. Details the events surrounding the 1979 assassination of corrupt South Korean leader Park Chun-hee. Supposedly a satiric retelling of what happened, but if so I didn't get the joke. Grade: C+

Syriana (DVD)

Syriana (2005) starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Siddig, Chris Cooper. "Syriana" is a serious, tough-minded, issues-oriented film about the American addiction to oil and the effects it has on government, business, and the foreign countries that have the oil. Anyone looking for light entertainment should avoid this movie. Grade: A

Munich (DVD)

Munich (2005) starring Eric Bana, Daniel Craig. Directed by Steven Spielberg. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, terrorists of Black September, a Palestinian group, took 11 Israeli athletes hostage and ended up killing them all. This movie is about Israel's response, a counter-terror exercise in which 11 Arabs, all believed connected to the Munich massacre, are targeted for assassination. Avner (Eric Bana) is chosen as the group leader for a small cell (five men) whose mission it is to kill as many of the 11 as possible. The movie gets interesting as the killing begins, and Avner begins to have doubts about the mission and what it is accomplishing. What is most remarkable to me is how amateurish and naive the killers seem. They are not men who have made their livings by killing, but men who have been recruited for a difficult mission that involves killing. The film inevitably raises questions about the current "war on terror." If we capture or kill Osama bin Laden, will he not be replaced by someone just as bad or worse? Can a "war" of tit-for-tat terrorism ever be won? The movie compellingly brings such questions to the fore, without trying to provide answers. At two hours, 44 minutes, it's a bit long. Rated R for lots of violence, some nudity and sex. Grade: A

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (DVD)

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan. Comic noir thriller set in Los Angeles has Downey's small-time crook posing as a private eye to stay close to the woman he fancies -- who, coincidentally enough, he knew in high school back in the Midwest. The narrative is full of twists and turns and references to other movies, all very entertaining if you can follow it. Grade: B+

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (DVD)

Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic (2005). Comic Sarah Silverman wrote and stars in this quasi-concert film, which features her irreverent wit and dirty mind. Those who don't "get" her humor may actually think she's a racist as she skates right along and sometimes over the boundaries of "good taste" and political correctness. As for me, there were points in this film where I laughed out loud, so she must have been doing something right. Grade: A-