The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game (1939) starring Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor. Directed by Jean Renoir. Reviled by the French when it was first released, this movie is now regarded as a masterpiece. In the film, Renoir aims to show that society is rotten to the core. (He says so himself in an introduction on the DVD.) One can't separate this movie from the historical context in which it takes place -- France in 1939, after Hitler took Czechoslovakia but before he invaded Poland. There is quite a bit of commentary and analysis available on the disc, which would surely help the viewer to understand it better. Purely as entertainment, I found it mildly diverting, with some funny scenes. It's in French, with English subtitles. Grade: B

Run Fatboy Run

Run Fatboy Run (2007) starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, Hank Azaria. After leaving his pregnant fiancee, Libby (Newton) at the altar, Dennis (Pegg) decides he's made a mistake. Five years later, he is still trying to win her back. When her new boyfriend, Whit (Azaria) turns out to be a fitness nut, Dennis pledges to run the London Marathon to win Libby over. Only trouble is, Dennis is in terrible shape and has only three weeks to prepare. Naturally, the movie builds up to the day of the race, and the big question is, will Dennis run and finish the race? Frankly, I didn't much care. The chemistry between Pegg and Newton didn't work for me, and the limp jokes in this movie fell flat. The only thing good I can think of to say about it is that it has good subtitles and captions. Grade: C

Runaway Train

Runaway Train (1985) starring Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay. Convicts Manny and Buck (Voight and Roberts) escape from a maximum-security prison. With the dim-witted Buck in tow, Manny jumps a freight train -- only to find that the engineer has died of a heart attack, and the train is a runaway train. Manny and Buck's only hope is Sara, the engineer's assistant (De Mornay), who is still on the train with them. The action scenes and special effects are pretty darn thrilling. As Leonard Maltin says, it's an existential action movie. Voight and Roberts were both nominated for acting Oscars. The subtitles are good. Grade: B+

Black Swan

Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis. Ballerina (Portman) wins the role of the Swan Queen in "Swan Lake," but is told that she must develop her sensual side to effectively play the part of the Black Swan. Nina (the ballerina) turns out to be an unstable girl, and the pressure of preparing for the big break drives her around the bend. About halfway through this movie, I knew it couldn't have a happy ending, and it doesn't. If you're a ballet aficionado, you may get more out of this movie than I did. I found it disturbing to watch -- not a pleasant night of entertainment. The subtitles and closed captions are good. Grade: B

The Rocking Horse Winner

The Rocking Horse Winner (1950). Young boy tries to save his family from financial ruin by riding his rocking horse, which gives him the winners in horse races. Can't say how good the movie is, because it has no subtitles and no closed captions. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Grade: F

Runaway Jury

Runaway Jury (2003) starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz. A woman sues a gun manufacturer after her husband is killed in a mass slaying in New Orleans. Hackman plays a big-time jury consultant hired by the gun companies to insure a win in the trial. Hoffman plays the lawyer for the plaintiff. Cusack has a lead role as Juror No. 9, someone who pretends he doesn't want to be on the jury but in fact has an agenda of his own. To call what happens in this movie "jury tampering" would be an understatement. The believability quotient of this film is pretty low -- typical of a movie based on a John Grisham novel -- but it's an entertaining view, and the actors are top-notch. The DVD comes with subtitles in English, and also has closed captions for the hearing-impaired. Grade: B+

Runaway Bride

Runaway Bride (1999) starring Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Joan Cusack, Hector Elizondo, Rita Wilson. Newspaper columnist Ike Graham (Gere) writes a column about Maggie Carpenter (Roberts), a woman who keeps running away and leaving men at the altar. He gets fired for inaccuracies in his story, and tries to atone by going to her home town and writing a magazine article about her. So what do you think? Will Maggie and Ike fall in love with each other? Soon, Ike and Maggie are set to walk down the aisle, and you can't help but wonder -- will she run from this wedding, too? The stars have pretty good chemistry, although having seen them together in "Pretty Woman" (1990), this one feels kind of like a retread. Still, it's an entertaining way to spend a couple of hours. The subtitles, furnished with the disc, are very good. There are no closed captions. Grade: B

Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole (2010) starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest. Becca (Kidman) and Howie (Eckhart) are a couple who have lost their four-year-old son, Danny. He was killed when he ran out into the street and was run over by a car. The movie is all about how the couple struggle, each in their own different way, to come to terms with their loss. It's a pretty high-quality production, and the acting is good, but it is also unrelentingly depressing. It's a fitting subject for a film, but don't watch it expecting to be entertained or uplifted. The subtitles are good. Grade: B

The King's Speech

The King's Speech (2010) starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. The Duke of York (Firth), later King George VI of England, suffers from a stammer. The advent of radio (he becomes king in 1936) means that he will have to make speeches to the whole kingdom. At his wife's (Bonham Carter) behest, he goes to a speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). Logue's techniques are unconventional, but he gets results. He's also a bit cheeky, which works out in his favor, as he and the king become friends. The fact that it's a true story gives it all the more emotional impact. The acting all through the film is very good. This movie won four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Firth, and Best Director. The DVD includes subtitles for the hearing-impaired, which are very good. Grade: A

The Rose Tattoo

The Rose Tattoo (1955) starring Anna Magnani, Burt Lancaster. Magnani won a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of a widow haunted by her love for her dead husband -- and by the rumor that he had a lover. Lancaster hams it up as the clownish man who comes into her life three years after she is widowed. He's supposed to be Sicilian -- not very convincing. Based on a play by Tennessee Williams, the film also won an Oscar for cinematography. I liked Magnani's performance, but found Lancaster irritating. The disc features English subtitles, as well as closed captions for the hearing-impaired. Grade: B

The Ruling Class

The Ruling Class (1972) starring Peter O'Toole, Alastair Sim, Arthur Lowe, Harry Andrews. Jack Gurney (O'Toole) inherits huge English estate, turns out to be a paranoid schizophrenic who believes that he is Jesus Christ. Naturally, his family starts scheming to steal back his inheritance from him. They're all nutters in their own ways. I think, though, that there is humor in this movie that was lost on me because I'm not British. It was funny, but not lol funny. The last half-hour or so was a let-down to me. The subtitles are hard to find, but adequate. Grade: B-

Roxanne

Roxanne (1987) starring Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall. Small-town fire chief C.D. Bales (Martin) falls hard for a newcomer named Roxanne (Hannah). But he's insecure about his lo-o-ong nose, so he tries to court her through a surrogate, a shy fireman named Chris (Rossovich). It's a modern take on Cyrano de Bergerac, and for the most part it works pretty well. There are quite a few funny moments in the script, written by Martin. Hannah makes a beautiful love-interest. The disc has subtitles as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) starring Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Philip Alford, Brock Peters. In 1932, deep-South lawyer Atticus Finch (Peck) is assigned to defend a black man (Peters) from spurious rape charges. Meanwhile, Finch's two children, Scout and Jem (Badham and Alford) try to unravel the mystery of Boo Radley, a recluse who lives in a house in their neighborhood. The movie (as did the book) cleverly interweaves the two stories, and it all comes together in the end. It's rare that a film captures the essence of the book; this one comes very close. Peck won a Best Actor Oscar for his performance. The subtitles, supplied on the disc, are a little hard to read. There are no closed captions. Grade: A

Hereafter

Hereafter (2010) starring Matt Damon, Cecile de France. Directed by Clint Eastwood. This movie is all about the afterlife, and what happens to us after we die. Damon plays George, a real psychic who doesn't want to be a psychic. People are constantly pestering him to do readings, but the idea freaks him out, and when he is pressed into doing a reading for a girl he's interested in, she freaks out. De France plays a French woman who drowns during a tsunami, then is revived. While "dead," she has visions of the hereafter, which leave her wondering about the afterlife. Meanwhile in London, a young boy loses his twin brother in a car accident, and seeks to contact him. This movie is directed in the typical spare manner of Eastwood, but it still manages to pack quite an emotional punch. The ending is a little hard to figure, but I think the clues are there. The subtitles supplied with the disc were a great help in understanding the dialogue, and in understanding the film. Grade: A-

Round Midnight

Round Midnight (1986) starring Dexter Gordon, Francois Cluzet. In 1959, expatriate Americans play jazz in Paris. Legendary saxophonist Dale Turner (Gordon), who has substance-abuse issues, is befriended by Frenchman Francis Borler (Cluzet). Their relationship proves beneficial for both of them. Then Turner decides it's time to go home -- back to New York. This movie is filled with music, and Herbie Hancock won an Oscar for the original score. The editing seemed a little choppy to me, but for the most part I enjoyed watching it. There are subtitles in English, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

Rope (DVD)

Rope (1948) starring James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Two young men (Dall, Granger) murder an acquaintance just for the thrill of it, and proceed to have a dinner party with the body hidden on the premises. One of the dinner guests (Stewart), however, becomes suspicious and starts asking pointed questions. The movie is, literally, a play translated onto film. It was shot in ten-minute takes and is shown with almost no editing. Unfortunately, this process gives the movie a rather static quality, and is not entirely successful. It's an interesting experiment in film making, but not a great film. Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are provided, but not closed captions. Grade: B

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (DVD)

Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) starring Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow, Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming. Two airheads named Romy and Michele (Sorvino, Kudrow) decide to go to their 10-year reunion and make a big impression on everyone who made their high school years a living hell. The script, however, fails to do much with the premise. The jokes are few and far between, and although the movie is rather fun to watch (Sorvino in particular) it never reaches comic heights. The DVD does offer subtitles for the hearing-impaired, as well as closed captions. Grade: B-

Roman Holiday (DVD)

Roman Holiday (1953) starring Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn. Young princess (Hepburn) visiting Rome on state business goes AWOL, meets American reporter (Peck), falls in love. Unbeknown to her, however, the reporter is working on a story about her during the whole day they spend together. This was Hepburn's first American movie role, and she won an Oscar for it. She is very appealing in this film. The movie was shot entirely on location in Rome. One caveat: In accordance with the time it was made, this movie is rather naive about sex. Also, I wish it had been shot in color so that the glory of Rome could have been fully shown. I was satisfied with the ending -- it ended, not as we might have wished, but as it had to. There are subtitles in English available, as well as closed captions. Grade: A-

Romancing the Stone (DVD)

Romancing the Stone (1984) starring Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito. Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Joan Wilder, reclusive author of romance novels (Turner), is lured to Colombia when she finds out her sister is in trouble. There, she gets on the wrong bus and ends up teamed up with American mercenary Jack Colton (Douglas). Pursued at once by the crooks who are holding her sister (DeVito et. al.) and by the (crooked) authorities, Wilder and Colton flee together through the jungle. It's like she's living one of her own romance novels. Turner and Douglas have pretty good chemistry together on screen, and it's good to see them both looking young and healthy. The script moves along briskly, and the film includes lots of gun play and even a car chase or two. There may be one coincidence too many, but who's nitpicking? The disc offers subtitles in English as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Rocky Mountain (DVD)

Rocky Mountain (1950) starring Errol Flynn, Patrice Wymore, Scott Forbes. During the Civil War, Confederate Captain Lafe Barstow (Flynn) leads a small band of Rebs out to California in a desperate attempt to shore up Rebel prospects. His plans go awry when he rescues a young woman (Wymore) from a stagecoach being chased by Indians. She turns out to be the fiancee of a Union soldier (Forbes) stationed nearby. Flynn makes a convincing Confederate soldier. I was disappointed, however, that the movie -- released in 1950 -- wasn't filmed in color. Subtitles are supplied, but are hard to read. There are no closed captions. Grade: B

Roberta (DVD)

Roberta (1935) starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Randolph Scott. American band from Indiana arrives in Paris for gig, immediately gets fired. They go looking for a job and end up at Roberta's Gowns, where they hope to gain some purchase from John's (Scott) Aunt Minnie. There they meet Stephanie (Dunne), and John immediately falls for her. The plot is really just a framework on which to hang musical numbers by the band, which features Astaire as its leader -- and of course there are dance numbers featuring Astaire and Rogers. It's all rather silly, but it's good clean fun. I like to imagine an audience back in 1935 going to the theater just to see this movie. How different from us they must have been! This DVD features subtitles in English, as well as closed captions for the hearing-impaired. Grade: B

The Road Warrior (DVD)

The Road Warrior (1981) starring Mel Gibson. Australian sequel to "Mad Max" finds Max (Gibson) driving through a post-Apocalyptic wasteland where the most valuable commodity is gasoline. When he comes upon a self-sufficient refinery in the middle of the wasteland, he tries to bargain for gasoline, but is taken captive instead. Soon, however, he strikes a bargain with the refinery people: He will bring them a tractor to pull their trailer full of gasoline, and they will give him back his car and all the fuel he can carry. The road crazies in this film are surprisingly contemporary looking: Spiked hair, hair in different colors, outrageous outfits -- they have it all. Looks like something out of a Lady Gaga video. The villains are especially heinous (as they should be), and the tribulations of "normal" people are tough. The action scenes, especially the final chase scene, are exciting and well-staged. The script has substance to it. It's a B picture, but a good one. The DVD offers subtitles as well as closed captions. Grade: B