Mission of the Shark (DVD)

Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the USS Indianapolis (1991) starring Stacy Keach, Richard Thomas, David Caruso. In 1945, after delivering the atomic bomb that would destroy Hiroshima, the USS Indianapolis is hit by a Japanese torpedo. The ship quickly goes down, and the surviving crew are left floating in the waters of the Philippine Sea. Because the ship's mission is classified, their rescue is delayed for five days. Not only must they battle dehydration and exhaustion, but sharks soon begin swarming around them. Some of the men behave heroically; others lose their minds. Over 800 die. It's all made more dramatic by the fact that it's a true story, stirringly told. Not bad for what was originally a TV movie. Good captions, too. Grade: B+

The Brothers Bloom (DVD)

The Brothers Bloom (2008) starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Robbie Coltrane, Rinko Kikuchi. Two brothers, a team of con men (Brody and Ruffalo) decide to take on one last mark -- an adventure-seeking heiress (Weisz). But the danger is, will the younger Bloom brother (Brody) fall in love with her? And if he does, will he be able to follow through with the con? There is plenty of humor, several switcheroos, and lots of love to go around in this movie, which is a lot of fun to watch. The subtitles on the disc are very good. Grade: B+

Un Coeur en Hiver (DVD)

Un Coeur en Hiver (1992) starring Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Beart, Andre Dussollier. The title means "A Heart in Winter" in English. Two men, longtime partners in a violin-repair business, have worked together so long that they don't need words. When Maxime (Dussollier) falls for a young violinist (Beart), trouble brews when she finds herself attracted to Maxime's partner, Stephane (Auteuil). The trouble takes an unexpected turn, however. The movie turns out to be about Stephane, a man so emotionally closed off that he is unable to form bonds of friendship or love. His heart is the "heart in winter" of the title. As expected in a foreign film, the story takes unexpected turns that an American may find hard to understand. But it makes for fascinating viewing. Grade: B+

Miss Firecracker (DVD)

Miss Firecracker (1989) starring Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, Scott Glenn. Carnelle Scott (Hunter) longs to win the Miss Firecracker contest, so that she can leave her miserable life in a small southern town in a "blaze of glory." Hunter shines in the role, and this could have been a most enjoyable viewing experience -- if this disc did not lack the essential feature of subtitles for the hearing-impaired. I missed out on about half of the dialogue. Grade: Movie, B; DVD, F

The Mighty (DVD)

The Mighty (1998) starring Kieran Culkin, Elden Henson, Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini, Meat Loaf. Physically afflicted but brilliant Kevin (Culkin) and mentally challenged Max (Henson), both seventh-graders, form an unlikely alliance against the creepy Dogtown Boys gang. Living in Kevin's fantasy world, they go on knightly quests together -- until Kevin's condition worsens and Max's father (Gandolfini) returns from prison. Then the real drama starts. What this movie lacks in believability, it makes up for in heart. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (DVD)

The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) starring Betty Hutton, Eddie Bracken, Williams Demarest, Brian Donlevy. Trudy (Hutton) goes to an all-night party "for the boys" (remember, this takes place during World War II) and ends up married -- and pregnant. Only trouble is, she can't remember what happened that night, because she drank too much "lemonade." She turns to her friend Norval (Bracken) who is all too willing to marry her, but she can't bring herself to "do that to him." Until she does. Directed by Preston Sturges. Grade: B

The Milky Way (DVD)

The Milky Way (1969) starring Paul Frankeur, Laurent Terzieff. Two men on a religious pilgrimage through France find their faith put to the test by the zealots and apostates they meet along the way. Directed by Luis Bunuel, who delights in making fun of organized religion and hypocrisy. It's a mystifying film, and there's a good Extra on the disc which helps explain what it's all about. But in general, it will be of interest only to theologians and film historians. Grade: B-

Mimic (DVD)

Mimic (1997) starring Mira Sorvino, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton. Entomologist (Sorvino) saves New York City from mysterious plague by wiping out cockroach population. But the superbug she developed to destroy the roaches fails to be sterile, as planned, and returns with a life of its own -- and it's evolving. This movie is dark and creepy, a grimy, slimy scarefest -- not my kind of film, but fine for people who like that sort of thing. Grade: C+

State of Play (DVD)

State of Play (2009) starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman. When Congressman Stephen Collins' (Affleck) mistress dies in an apparent suicide, journalists Cal (Crowe) and Della (McAdams) spring into action to investigate. Cal soon begins to suspect a conspiracy, and as they dig deeper, they find a tangled web of deceit and murder. The last half-hour of the movie, however, feels rushed; and the denouement comes much too quickly. The movie was condensed from a British miniseries, and it definitely has the feeling of some pieces being left out. Good subtitles, though. Grade: B-

Trumbo (DVD)

Trumbo (2007), documentary. A portrait of Dalton Trumbo, successful Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted after refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. Trumbo's personal letters, archival footage, and interviews with his surviving contemporaries all figure in the mix. Interesting. Lacks captions for the hearing impaired. Grade: B

Mildred Pierce (DVD)

Mildred Pierce (1945) starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth. Mildred Pierce, divorcee (Crawford), goes from housewife to restaurant owner. She finds great success in the restaurant business, but loses control of her spoiled daughter, Veda (Blyth). The story comes wrapped in a murder mystery, which is resolved rather nicely. Crawford won an Oscar for her performance. The subtitles are OK, not the best. Grade: B+

Mighty Aphrodite (DVD)

Mighty Aphrodite (1995) starring Woody Allen, Helena Bonham Carter, Mira Sorvino. Allen plays Lenny, a sportswriter who, after he and his wife Amanda (Carter) adopt a child, becomes obsessed with trying to find (and get acquainted with) the birth mother. To his dismay, the birth mother (Sorvino) turns out to be a porn actress and hooker. Meanwhile, Lenny and Amanda are drifting apart as she spends more and more time working on an art gallery she is opening. Sorvino won an Oscar for her performance. I found it delightful. The subtitles are pretty good. Grade: A-

Midnight Run (DVD)

Midnight Run (1988) starring Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, Joe Pantoliano. Bounty hunter Jack Walsh (De Niro) is offered $100,000 to bring in Jon Mardukas (Grodin), an accountant who embezzled $15 million from the mob and gave it to charity. One problem: They have to get from New York to Los Angeles in a few days, and Mardukas is afraid to fly. Second problem: Both the FBI and the mob want to get their hands on Mardukas. The movie is basically one long chase scene, salvaged only by the chemistry between De Niro and Grodin, which is pretty good. Grade: B-

Midnight Express (DVD)

Midnight Express (1978) starring Brad Davis, Irene Miracle, Bo Hopkins, Randy Quaid, John Hurt. Based on a true story. In 1970, American tourist Billy Hayes (Davis) tries to smuggle two kilos of hashish out of Turkey and gets caught. He is sentenced to four years in a Turkish prison for possession, which his Turkish lawyer assures him is a lenient sentence. After three and a half years in hellish conditions, with his sentence nearing its end, he learns that the prosecutor has appealed his sentence, and he is re-sentenced by the appeals court to 30 years in prison. Finally, at wit's end, he decides he must try to escape. It's virtually impossible not to get caught up in Billy's horrible fate, and to root for him as he goes through his ordeal. The subtitles are very good, although there are several stretches where Turkish is spoken and no subtitles are offered. Grade: B+

Scrubs (DVD)

Scrubs (2003), Season 3, Disc 3. Starring Zach Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke, Judy Reyes, John C. McGinley. Maybe it's not to everyone's taste, but this TV show makes me feel good every time I watch it. Each character on this series is quirky and funny in his or her own special way, and they all add up to a great ensemble. The show suffers a little bit from the stunt casting of this third season (Tara Reid, Michael J. Fox, Richard Kind), but it still manages to hold mostly true to its core of humor combined with serious insights about medical care. Grade: A

Superbad (DVD)

Superbad (2007) starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen. Three high-school seniors (Hill, Cera and Mintz-Plasse), close to graduation, go on a quest to procure alcohol for a party to which they have been improbably invited. Their object: The girls of their dreams. The three friends get separated and end up in three different kinds of trouble. Mintz-Plasse, as McLovin, gets involved with a couple of clueless cops, played by Hader and Rogen. Hill and Cera, as best friends Seth and Evan, end up at an adult party, where they do not belong. I hate to admit it, but I liked this movie -- rude, crude and lewd as it is. Most of the crudeness is of language, there is no real nudity. The disc has extensive extras which, unfortunately, I did not have time to watch. The subtitles are very readable -- heavy yellow letters, the best kind. I can't recommend this movie to everyone, due to the extensive lewdness, but I did rather enjoy watching it. Grade: B

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (DVD)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young. Set in 2019 in Los Angeles, "blade runner" Rick Deckard (Ford) is recalled from retirement to hunt down four replicants (humanoid robots) which have returned to Earth from the off-world colonies. This version of the movie is director Ridley Scott's preferred version, having been recut and remastered from the original. It dispenses with Deckard's voice-over and adds a dream sequence which suggests that Deckard himself may be a replicant. The visualization of a future, dystopian L.A. is stunning, and the soundtrack by Vangelis is a masterpiece. Some critics have panned this film for problems with the acting or the script, but it remains one of my favorite movies ever. Grade: A

2001: A Space Odyssey (DVD)

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Black monoliths of unknown origin play a decisive but puzzling role in mankind's destiny. After one is discovered on the Moon, a manned mission is dispatched to Jupiter in search of other monoliths. Even though this movie is 40 years old, the scenes depicting activities in space and on the Moon are still pretty spectacular -- even though to our more experienced eyes they don't look "real." The whole series of events around the HAL-9000 computer on board the Jupiter mission is classic. My only complaints: The extreme length, at two and a half hours, of the movie; and its leisurely pacing. The light show near the end was a real head trip back in the '60s. The subtitles are adequate. Grade: A-

Earth (DVD)

Earth (2007) narrated by James Earl Jones. From the folks at Disney comes this documentary about the Earth, its climate, and the creatures that roam its surface. Some of the photography is truly spectacular, as we follow polar bears, elephants and whales in their quest to survive. But if you've seen nature documentaries before, and I have, it all has a "been there, seen that" quality to it. It does have good subtitles. Grade: B

Gran Torino (DVD)

Gran Torino (2008) starring Clint Eastwood, directed by Clint Eastwood. Crusty, racist Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) must come to terms with his Hmong immigrant neighbors after his wife dies. Basically, it's "Dirty Harry Grows Old"; he keeps a loaded gun handy in his house, and carries a handgun with him in his pickup truck. If you're any kind of an Eastwood fan, it's great fun to watch -- and it comes with a poetic twist at the end that I, for one, did not quite see coming. Grade: A-

Rudo y Cursi (DVD)

Rudo y Cursi (2008) starring Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal. Two Mexican half-brothers dream of escaping poverty by finding fame as professional soccer players. Tato (Bernal) is the first to make the pros, but Rudo (Luna) is not far behind. They end up playing for rival teams, both with success. But the two brothers react to success differently. Tato (nicknamed Cursi by the press) has a weakness for women, while Rudo is an inveterate gambler -- and becomes a drug user. Soon, both of their lives are spinning out of control in amusing and entertaining ways. The grand finale revolves around a big soccer game in which they are pitted against each other -- and it might help your enjoyment of the movie if you know a little something about soccer. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles. Grade: B