There Will Be Blood (DVD)

There Will Be Blood (2007) starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciaran Hinds, Russell Harvard. Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, an early 20th century oilman, in a role that earned him an Oscar. The first half of the movie, in which he builds his oil empire, is engaging and visually interesting, but the second half seems like just a study in cruelty and violence. This disc contains no extras. Grade: C+

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (DVD)

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006) starring Jeff Garlin, Bonnie Hunt, Sarah Silverman, Amy Sedaris. Garlin, who plays Larry David's sidekick in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, stars as an overweight, middle-aged actor who lives with his mother. In one day, his girlfriend dumps him, his agent fires him, and he is fired from his job in the Second City comedy troupe. Various Second City veterans are featured in minor roles, and the whole production has the feel of a long episode of a TV show. Mildly amusing, but perfect in its own way. Grade: B-

Collection of 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (DVD)

Collection of 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (2007). This anthology features the nominees for the 80th Academy Awards Short Film category, including the live-action winner, "The Mozart of Pickpockets," and the animated winner, "Peter and the Wolf." In all, there are five live-action films and three animated films. The menu is varied, so you're likely to find something you like. It took me more than one evening to view the entire collection on this disc. Grade: B+

3:10 to Yuma (DVD)

3:10 to Yuma (2007) starring Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Peter Fonda, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman, Gretchen Mol. Exciting horse-and-gun action with tense psychological subplot. Rancher Dan Evans (Bale) agrees to help transport captured outlaw Ben Wade (Crowe) to the nearest town with a train station, where they'll wait for the 3:10 to Yuma. Evans is trying to prove himself to his son, while Wade's motives are ambiguous. He wants to escape, but he seems to take a liking to the rancher. Meanwhile, Wade's gang is in pursuit. The action is impressively well filmed, but there are a few points in the plot where characters' decisions are a little tough to accept. For the most part, I enjoyed it. Grade: B

Charlie Wilson's War (DVD)

Charlie Wilson's War (2007) starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Emily Blunt. Set in the 1980s, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) conspires with a rogue CIA agent (Hoffman) to help the Afghan rebels defeat the Soviet Union. Roberts plays the wealthy, right-wing Texas socialite who motivates Wilson to take up the fight. Based on a true story, this movie is a little heavy on the dialog (the script is by Aaron Sorkin), but delivers enough thrills to be highly watchable. Grade: B+

Mafioso (DVD)

Mafioso (1962) starring Alberto Sordi. An Italian factory executive, living in Milan with his wife and two young daughters, decides to take a vacation back to his home in Sicily. While he's there, the mob decides to call in a favor, and he finds himself in the unlikely role of Mafia assassin. Tapped by a Sicilian don to perform a hit in New York, the inexperienced Antonio (Sordi) must somehow carry out his mission, but is not emotionally prepared to be a hit man. Walking the fine line between comedy and tragedy, this film succeeds as a darkly humorous look at a time in our history. From another angle, it's "The Godfather" seen through the other end of the telescope. My only complaint is that the ending seems a bit abrupt -- one of the few times I've criticized a film for being too short. Grade: A-

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (DVD)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) starring Mathieu Amalric. True story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who in 1995 suffered a stroke and was left with "locked-in" syndrome. The only part of his body he could move was his left eye. With the help of a dedicated secretary, he was able to "dictate" his autobiography by blinking his eye. The autobiography became a published book and now a movie. Although there is no happy ending, it's a tribute to the power of the imagination and the human spirit. Grade: B+

The Savages (DVD)

The Savages (2007) starring Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco. Two adult siblings, played by Linney and Hoffman, find themselves responsible for the care of their elderly father, who has dementia. The situation is complicated by the fact that, when the siblings were young, their father was abusive. At times savagely funny, this movie is enough to give one pause. What will you do when your own parents get old enough that they can't take care of themselves? What will happen to you when you get that old? Grade: B+

The Golden Compass (DVD)

The Golden Compass (2007) starring Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Ben Walker, Ian McKellan (voice), Eva Green, Jim Carter, Sam Elliott, Freddie Highmore (voice). The first book of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is brought to the screen, albeit somewhat truncated. The fantasy world, a parallel universe where everyone's soul lives outside their body in the form of an animal "daemon," is brought to life effectively. It's an adventure in which young Lyra Belacqua (Richards) must journey to the North to save the children who have been taken away by the "Gobblers." She makes an alliance with an armored polar bear, and all kinds of magical things happen. Unfortunately, a lot of material from the book had to be left out so that the movie could have an acceptable running time. Still, it's a pretty good entertainment. Grade: B

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (DVD)

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei. Two brothers (Hoffman and Hawke) hatch a scheme to rob their parents' jewelry store, and of course the robbery goes terribly wrong. The plot devolves from there, and what had started out as a macabre thriller turns into a death-fest. What should have been resolved by clever writing instead is solved with guns (and other implements). It's quite a letdown. Grade: B-