In the Valley of Elah (DVD)

In the Valley of Elah (2007) starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon. Jones plays the father of a marine who has been killed after returning to the States from a tour in Iraq. A former MP, Jones' character carries on his own investigation when the authorities seem indifferent. But the movie really belongs to Theron, who plays a civilian policewoman who pays attention to him and ultimately must fight to get the murder investigated. Grade: B

Definitely, Maybe (DVD)

Definitely, Maybe (2008) starring Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz. So-so romantic comedy about a man who is telling his daughter his history of past loves, one of whom is her mother. The structure seems contrived, and Reynolds is lacking in the charisma to carry a movie. Still, the female leads do not fail to charm. Grade: B

Winchester '73 (DVD)

Winchester '73 (1950) starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters. Stewart plays an obsessed gunman who wins a Winchester repeating rifle in a shooting competition. The rifle is soon stolen, and Stewart sets off across the Old West in search of the rifle -- and his arch-enemy, who stole it. Winters plays the romantic interest. Seems filled with Western cliches until you realize that they happened first here. Rock Hudson appears briefly as an Indian chief, and Tony Curtis also appears in a blink-and-you-miss-him role. Directed by Anthony Mann. Grade: A-

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (DVD)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) starring Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu. In 1987 in Romania, a young woman seeks an abortion -- something which is illegal at the time, and punishable by prison. This is a grim, increasingly tense portrait of one aspect of life under the oppressive Ceaucescu regime. It's not much fun to watch, but carries an important message. (In Romanian, apparently, with English subtitles.) Grade: B+

Juno (DVD)

Juno (2007) starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman. Juno (Page), a high school junior, gets pregnant the first time she has sex. She considers abortion, but rejects it in favor of finding adoptive parents for her baby. This makes for a touching and endearing story, heavily juiced by the clever script, and well performed by the entire cast. First-time screenwriter Diablo Cody won an Oscar for the screenplay. Grade: A-

Grace is Gone (DVD)

Grace is Gone (2007) starring John Cusack. TV-movie quality film about a man whose wife is killed in combat in Iraq. He spends the entire film working up the courage to tell his two daughters what has happened. Cusack is only passable in the central role. Grade: B

Teeth (DVD)

Teeth (2006) starring Jess Weixler, John Hensley, Hale Appleman, Josh Pais. Modest, low-budget film about a girl who discovers, as she nears adulthood, that she has vagina dentata. The condition is puzzling and frightening to her at first, but it comes in handy when she is sexually assaulted. She learns, through the course of the film, to accept it, then to embrace it. The first half-hour of this film is pretty boring, and the script lacks sizzle, but it's entertaining enough. Grade: B-

I'm Not There (DVD)

I'm Not There (2007) starring Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett. The six stars play Bob Dylan during different stages of his career, as conceived by writer and director Todd Haynes. Your enjoyment of this film will likely depend on how big a fan of Dylan and his music you are -- although even big fans may be confused by the movie's chaotic structure. Grade: D

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (DVD)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, M. Emmet Walsh, Daryl Hannah, William Sanderson, Brion James, Joe Turkel, Joanna Cassidy. Visually stunning, packed with imaginative ideas, yet fatally flawed, "Blade Runner" is an enduringly compelling movie. The people who made it sure must think so, as this disc is part of a five-disc set, with five different versions of the movie on offer. This version, however, dates to 2007 and is director Ridley Scott's preferred -- and final-- version. Even though the plot and the dialog are second-rate, I can't stop re-viewing this film, and I have come to love it.
The plot: A futuristic film noir in which six replicants (superhuman androids) have escaped from an off-world colony, and have returned to Earth seeking the secret of their origins. Blade runner (detective) Rick Deckard (Ford) has received the grisly assignment of hunting them down and killing them. There are some flaws, as noted, in the execution of the concept, but still I must give it a Grade: A

Lars and the Real Girl (DVD)

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) starring Ryan Gosling, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner, Paul Schneider. Lars (Gosling) is a man who has trouble connecting with real human beings. So he orders a life-sized, anatomically correct doll off the Internet and introduces her as Bianca, his girlfriend. The fantasy element comes in when the people of the small town where he lives decide to accept Bianca as a real girl. Instead of making fun of Lars or locking him up in a mental institution, they go along with his delusion -- and their kindness is shown to have restorative powers. This is an off-kilter movie, but oddly entertaining. Grade: B