Monday, February 28, 2011

Rebecca (DVD)

Rebecca (1940) starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Young woman (Fontaine) marries rich man named de Winter (Olivier) and finds herself intimidated by her new life -- a huge mansion called Manderley and a large staff of servants whom she doesn't know how to command. Particularly scary is Mrs. Danvers (Anderson), the head servant who was very fond of the young woman's predecessor, Rebecca de Winter. An interesting point of filmmaking -- the new Mrs. de Winter (Fontaine) is never addressed by name. In fact, she seems to have no name. I think this was done on purpose, to keep Rebecca front and center. The film won the Oscar for Best Picture. Several of the actors were nominated, but did not win. Although the music has been praised elsewhere, I felt that the lack of a strong soundtrack was a weakness of this movie. The disc offers English subtitles, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Rear Window (DVD)

Rear Window (1954) starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Globe-trotting photographer named Jeff (Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair in his apartment after fracturing his leg trying to get a picture at an auto race. He confides to his nurse (Ritter) that he's not sure if he's ready to marry his girlfriend Lisa (Kelly). Why he wouldn't want to marry someone like Grace Kelly is never made completely clear. After six weeks of confinement, Jeff has become extremely familiar with the comings and goings of his neighbors, whose apartments he can see into from the rear window of his place. Soon he begins to suspect that there's something terribly wrong about the salesman (Burr) who lives in the apartment opposite his. This is one of the great Hitchcock movies, offering murder, romance and voyeurism, all from inside a single apartment. It has all the macabre touches you would expect, plus a healthy dose of humor. The subtitles are adequate. Grade: A

Friday, February 25, 2011

The Razor's Edge (DVD)

The Razor's Edge (1946) starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb. A young man named Larry (Power) travels to Paris in the 1920s to "find himself" after World War I. His fiancee Isabel (Tierney) is patient with him -- at first. After over a year in Paris, he is off to India in search of wisdom. Meanwhile, back in America, Sophie MacDonald (Baxter), an old friend of Larry, loses her husband and child in a car crash. Baxter won an Oscar for her performance as Sophie, who becomes a dipsomaniac after her tragic loss, but later quits drinking and gets engaged to Larry in Paris. Based on the book by Somerset Maugham, the movie tells a surprisingly moving story of love and loss, goodness and evil. Main flaw is length of film, which at two and a half hours I found a bit overlong. Subtitles and closed captions are available on the disc. Grade: B+

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Fish Tank (DVD)

Fish Tank (2009) starring Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender. Life of hot-tempered teen outcast Mia (Jarvis) seems to be taking a turn for the better when her mother (Wareing) brings home new boyfriend Connor (Fassbender). Connor treats Mia decently, and seems to be the father figure she needs in her life. But Connor soon turns out to be more of a kind of "funny uncle," and when he messes with Mia he finds himself in deeper than he could have anticipated. All in all, it's a grim tale, without a happy ending. Interesting to watch, though. The subtitles are hard to find, and just adequate. Grade: B

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Get Low (DVD)

Get Low (2009) starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Bill Murray, Lucas Black. Duvall stars as Felix Bush, a backwoods hermit who decides to plan his own funeral so he can attend it while he's still alive. Bush says that he wants people to attend his funeral who have a story to tell about him, but it turns out that it is he who has the story to tell -- a confession for a long-ago misdeed that he has been keeping to himself for 40 years. The movie goes in a direction the viewer is not expecting, and I found it a bit of a disappointment. It doesn't provide the kick that you've been primed to expect. The subtitles are quite good. Grade: B

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The Rare Breed (DVD)

The Rare Breed (1966) starring James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith. Headstrong British widow Martha Price (O'Hara) is determined to transport her prized Hereford bull Vindicator to Texas to breed with longhorns. Along the way, she is "helped" by old cowboy Sam Burnett (Stewart), who is involved in a shady deal to deliver the bull to the wrong destination. The movie is a curious mixture of Western and comedy, and doesn't completely succeed at either. Still, it's entertaining to watch, and there's plenty of Western action (fistfights, a stampede, bushwhacking). Keith, in red beard and wig, is over the top as a Scottish cattle baron in Texas. The subtitles are adequate. Grade: B

Saturday, February 19, 2011

American Beauty (DVD)

American Beauty (1999) starring Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari. Spacey stars (and won an Oscar) as Lester Burnham, a middle-class suburbanite facing a midlife crisis who becomes infatuated with the cheerleader friend Angela (Suvari) of his daughter Jane (Birch). Meanwhile, Lester's wife Carolyn (Bening) embarks on an affair with a real estate salesman. This movie won five Oscars, including Best Picture. I think it deserved to win. The captions are good. Grade: A

Friday, February 18, 2011

The Rapture (DVD)

The Rapture (1991) starring Mimi Rogers, David Duchovny, Patrick Bauchau. Hedonists Sharon and Vic (Rogers and Bauchau) find meaning in life through swinging with other couples -- until Sharon finds religion. Six years later, convinced that the Rapture is imminent, Sharon goes out into the desert with her young daughter to wait for God. The events that take place in the desert are both shocking and heart-rending. This movie is not for all tastes, but if you're looking for something different, it might be worth a try. Rogers is excellent in the role of Sharon. Duchovny plays her husband, Randy. The film is closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired. Grade: B+

Thursday, February 17, 2011

The Rape of Europa (DVD)

The Rape of Europa (2007), documentary. During the ascendancy of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s and '40s, the Nazis pillaged artworks from throughout Europe and kept them for themselves. First Poland, then France, then Russia and Italy fell under the determined German campaign to acquire all available pieces of art, especially old masterpieces and the most valuable paintings and sculptures. Meanwhile, Allied armies and air forces had to use caution in their counter-attacks upon the Nazis to avoid destroying priceless architecture and monuments. This movie explores both ends of the campaign -- the Nazis stealing the art and the Allies trying to return it to its rightful owners. It's a fascinating story. Closed-captioned for the hearing impaired. Grade: B+

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Rambling Rose (DVD)

Rambling Rose (1991) starring Laura Dern, Robert Duvall, Diane Ladd, Lukas Haas. Teenager named Rose (Dern) comes to live with a Southern family in the 1930s. She immediately falls in love with the man of the house, Daddy (Duvall), and young Buddy (Haas) falls in love with her. Soon she is stirring up the passions of all the men in the town, causing fist fights and biting policemen in brawls. Daddy decrees that she must go, but Mother (Ladd) takes Rose's side and argues for keeping her on. What Rose wants, she says, is love, not sex. The movie is well-acted all around, and Dern is superb in the role of Rose. Closed captioned for the hearing impaired. Grade: A-

Monday, February 14, 2011

A Raisin in the Sun (DVD)

A Raisin in the Sun (1961) starring Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil, Ruby Dee. An inner-city family struggles with poverty. When the matriarch of the family (McNeil) receives an insurance check for $10,000, they all have different ideas about how the money should be spent. When calamity strikes, it seems sure that the family will fly apart. No movie I've seen, no book that I've read, speaks more eloquently about the struggle of being black in America. The subtitles are very good. Grade: B+

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Social Network (DVD)

The Social Network (2010) starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. Directed by David Fincher. This film tells the story of Facebook and its founder, Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg). Since Facebook is now a multibillion-dollar enterprise, there were, not surprisingly, several lawsuits around who invented it and who should get a share of it. As presented in the movie, Zuckerberg didn't come up with the original idea himself. Also, he's a jerk, especially to his girlfriend, who breaks up with him early on. Timberlake is a standout as Sean Parker, founder of Napster, who became involved with Facebook. Garfield plays Eduardo Saverin, an early partner in Facebook who later got muscled out and sued Zuckerberg. "The Social Network" has been nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Friday, February 11, 2011

Raise the Red Lantern (DVD)

Raise the Red Lantern (1991) starring Gong Li. When her father dies, teenager Songlian (Li) is forced to become the fourth wife (concubine) of a rich man. She soon becomes entangled in the politics of his house, where she must compete with three other wives for attention and privileges. Watching this movie is kind of like watching a Chinese soap opera, where the customs and rules must remain forever mysterious to a Westerner. That doesn't stop it, however, from being fascinating. The Second Mistress, the only one who acts friendly towards Songlian, turns out to be the one who stabs her in the back. The relationships among concubines, servants, Master and children are all played out beautifully. In Mandarin, with English subtitles. Grade: A

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Raiders of the Lost Ark (DVD)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) starring Harrison Ford, Karen Allen. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Ford makes his first outing as intrepid archeologist Indiana Jones in this adventure flick, set in 1936, which sends him up against the Nazis in trying to obtain the lost Ark of the Covenant. This movie has a little bit of everything, although it's well toned down to earn a PG rating (and to allow kids to see it). All told, it's a very entertaining film with scarcely a single slow moment. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Raging Bull (DVD)

Raging Bull (1980) starring Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Middleweight boxer Jake La Motta (De Niro) has tons of talent and the ability to take a punch, but his personal demons -- anger, jealousy -- prevent him from finding happiness. He aggravates the crime boss, who has the ability to decide whether he gets a shot at the championship; and he aggravates his wife, Vickie (Moriarty), who is innocently in love with him but can't stand his jealousy. After winning the middleweight championship, La Motta begins to gain weight -- a fact which his brother Joe (Pesci) is quick to point out. Also, his jealousy begins to escalate to insane heights. De Niro won an Oscar for his performance, gaining a reported 60 pounds to play the older La Motta. Although the subject matter is not large, this is a great movie. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A

Thursday, February 03, 2011

The Tillman Story (DVD)

The Tillman Story (2010), directed by Amir Bar-Lev. This documentary explores the story of Pat Tillman, the pro football player who gave up his multimillion-dollar career to join the Army and fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was killed there, and his surviving family comes forward in this film to discuss how the government lied to them and attempted to manipulate them in the aftermath of his death. The fact that he was killed by friendly fire was withheld from the public and from his family, and the movie delves into the facts behind the official story. Unfortunately, satisfactory answers are not forthcoming, and all we are left with is the knowledge that the generals lied. The subtitles are very good. Grade: B

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

Quiz Show (DVD)

Quiz Show (1994) starring John Torturro, Rob Morrow, Ralph Feinnes, David Paymer, Hank Azaria. Directed by Robert Redford. It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show "21" have asked know-it-all Herbert Stempel to take a dive. His replacement is the good-looking, well bred Charles Van Doren (Feinnes), who agrees to be on the show only on condition that there be no cheating. Actually, it's clear from the start that the show is rigged. Morrow plays the government lawyer who gets a whiff of scandal and begins to doggedly pursue the case. Paymer and Azaria are great as a couple of network weasels who make the case for why cheating is all right because it's "entertainment." The big disappointment is that, in the end, the bad guys get away with it. The disc offers both subtitles and closed captions, both good. Grade: B+