Elegy (DVD)

Elegy (2007) starring Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz. Older man (Kingsley) starts affair with much younger woman (Cruz), with life-changing results. The movie takes unexpected turns, and ends up being deeply moving. Adapted from the Philip Roth novel, "The Dying Animal." Grade: A-

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (DVD)

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, voice of James Earl Jones as Darth Vader. The second "Star Wars" movie is also the best, with nearly non-stop action, a little romance, and a startling revelation from Darth Vader. The film has been digitally mastered for the DVD, and the picture and sound are excellent. The music by John Williams is a plus. Grade: A

In Treatment (DVD)

In Treatment: Season 1: Disc 1 (2008) starring Gabriel Byrne, Melissa George, Blair Underwood, Josh Charles, Embeth Davidtz, Dianne Wiest. Psychoanalyst Paul Weston (Byrne) sees a variety of clients in the five episodes on this disc, plus -- at the end of the week -- makes a visit to his own therapist, Dr. Gina Toll (Wiest). This is a DVD treatment of an HBO series, and I'll have to see more episodes before I can evaluate it, but it looks very promising. Grade so far: B+

Run Lola Run (DVD)

Run Lola Run (1998) starring Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu. Potente plays Lola, whose boyfriend Manni (Bleibtreu) has just told her frantically over the phone that he needs 100,000 Marks to pay off a mob debt. (Marks, because it's a German movie with English subtitles.) Lola sets off on a desperate run across town to try and get the money and deliver it to him in 20 minutes. The viewer is treated to three alternate realities of how the run might have gone, all with markedly different outcomes. It's an interesting experiment in film making, and Potente is appealing. Grade: B

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (DVD)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) starring Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Penelope Cruz. Cruz won an Oscar for her supporting role as Bardem's insanely jealous ex-wife, who arrives in Barcelona to find that he has taken up with a pair of American tourists (Johansson and Hall). The Spanish atmosphere of the film has a genuine feel, but unfortunately the movie lacks a strong narrative arc. Something of a disappointment, although Cruz is good. Grade: C+

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (DVD)

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness. Thirty years later, the magic is still there. The film has a retro look now, what with the '70s hair and clothing styles, but it suits. Great music by John Williams carries the movie. C-3PO and R2-D2 are a hoot. Grade: B+

Monty Python's Life of Brian (DVD)

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) starring the usual suspects from the Monty Python troupe. Born in Bethlehem the same night as Jesus, Brian lives a pretty ordinary life -- until he grows to manhood and joins the People's Front of Judea, an anti-Roman organization. He has a run-in with the Romans, and later is mistaken for the Messiah by a mob in Jerusalem. The usual Python nonsense transpires throughout the movie, which is only intermittently funny. There are some good bits, but it doesn't measure up to the best of Monty Python's work. Grade: B-

Play It Again, Sam (DVD)

Play It Again, Sam (1972) starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts. Allen plays a nebbish named Allan whose wife divorces him after two years of marriage, leaving him feeling lost and lonely. His friends Dick and Linda (Roberts and Keaton) try to fix him up with a replacement girl, but overanxious Allan strikes out with all of them. A brilliant, funny script -- written by Allen, based on his Broadway show -- combined with Allen's slapstick talent, makes this movie a joy to watch. I laughed out loud several times. Grade: A

Million Dollar Baby (DVD)

Million Dollar Baby (2004) starring Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Hilary Swank. Young boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) has a tough time convincing trainer Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) to take her on, but the two eventually bond while she wins a series of fights. Then, in her championship bout, the movie turns from what seems like a sports movie into a drama about life and death. The fight scenes are exciting, the script is moving, and the moral dilemma is deeply felt. The acting is superb. Grade: A

Chaplin (DVD)

Chaplin (1992) starring Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Hopkins, Dan Aykroyd, Kevin Kline, and a large, talented supporting cast. Downey won Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of comic icon Charlie Chaplin in this film biography. Kline is excellent as his friend and confidant, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. At two hours and twenty minutes, the movie is a bit long; it's also rather melancholy. But I enjoyed it. Grade: B+

Synecdoche, New York (DVD)

Synecdoche, New York (2008) starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener. Written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, this is a truly weird movie, and not in a good way. To top it off, it lacks subtitles for the hard of hearing, so I missed half of the dialogue. Grade: F

Changeling (DVD)

Changeling (2008) starring Angelina Jolie, Jeffrey Donovan, John Malkovich. A single mother (Jolie) reports her son missing in March of 1928. Weeks later, to her joy, the police tell her they have found her son. But the boy they present to her as her lost Walter is not her son, and she knows it as soon as she sees him. The police captain (Donovan), for public relations reasons, is determined to convince her that the boy is really her son; but she can't be convinced, for who would know her own son better than a mother? What follows is shocking, especially since it's said to be a true story. Jolie was nominated for an Oscar for her performance. On the down side, the ending lacks closure, and the film's two hour, twenty minute running time is a little outside my comfort zone. Grade: B+

Happy-Go-Lucky (DVD)

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) starring Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman, Karina Fernandez. Poppy (Hawkins) is a 30-year-old primary school teacher who is perpetually, unnaturally cheerful. When her bike is stolen, she decides to take driving lessons, and she is paired with a slightly maniacal driving teacher named Scott (Marsan). The movie is like a tapestry of Poppy's life, and it is quite charming. Hawkins won a Golden Globe for her performance. Grade: B+

Australia (DVD)

Australia (2008) starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman. Kidman sports the most unflattering hair style I've ever seen her wear in this would-be epic Western set in 1939 in (where else) Australia. She plays Lady Sarah Ashley, who inherits a cattle ranch when her husband, Lord Ashley, is killed. It falls to her and the Drover (Jackman) to drive the ranch's entire herd across the outback and onto a ship in Darwin, where the cattle will feed the troops in World War II. That much action alone would be enough to make an entire movie, but this movie is just at the halfway point when the cattle arrive in Darwin. There's still an hour and a half to go, but luckily the movie becomes much more entertaining in the second half. It's mostly about Lady Ashley's efforts to adopt a half-caste aboriginal boy, mixed in with the Japanese bombing of Darwin, which ushered Australia into World War II. First half: D. Second half: B. Grade: C

To Kill a Mockingbird (DVD)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) starring Gregory Peck, Brock Peters, Phillip Alford, Mary Badham. Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer in Alabama during the Depression. Finch is called on to defend an African-American (Peters) against a rape charge, and to try to explain the ugliness of the world to the Finch children, Jem and Scout (Alford and Badham). It's a trial drama, a tragedy, and an atmospheric evocation of childhood all in one movie; it's an American classic. Robert Duvall made his film debut as Boo Radley. Grade: A-

Touch of Evil (DVD)

Touch of Evil (1958) starring Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh. Heston plays Mexican detective Mike Vargas, who locks horns with corpulent American sheriff Hank Quinlan (Welles) after a car crossing the Mexico-U.S. border explodes before his eyes. The newlywed Vargas forsakes his bride (Leigh) to mount an investigation, but soon finds that Quinlan is a shady cop who's not above planting evidence or colluding with the local crime lord to keep Vargas from discovering the ugly truth. Unfortunately, it's all badly dated and doesn't live up to current standards of cinematic excellence. This movie is a laughable mess that is a chore to watch, not an entertainment. The part involving drugs is especially ridiculous. Grade: C-

I've Loved You So Long (DVD)

I've Loved You So Long (2008) starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein. Juliette (Scott Thomas) comes to stay with her sister Lea (Zylberstein) after spending 15 years in prison for murder. The two sisters try to rebuild their fractured relationship while Juliette tries to adjust to life outside prison. Not surprisingly, the film builds to a major reveal about the "murder" Juliette was imprisoned for, and we learn that she is not quite as guilty as we had been led to believe. All in all, a well made movie and a story well told. Grade: B+