In a Better World

In a Better World (2010) starring a Danish cast you've never heard of. This Danish film explores issues of violence among boys and men. Is it all right to hit someone? If someone hits you, how much violence are you justified in using to retaliate? Is there any way the cycle of violence can end except in tragedy? These and related questions are explored in depth in this movie, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It's in Danish and English, with English subtitles. Grade: A-

Shakespeare in Love

Shakespeare in Love (1998) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Judi Dench. While Will Shakespeare (Fiennes) desperately works on his new play, lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps (Paltrow), disguised as a man, tries to win a part in it. They fall in love, but hit a bump in the road when she learns that he is already married. Their romance is credited with being the inspiration for "Romeo and Juliet" and "Twelfth Night." The movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Paltrow). I had fun watching it. The disc offers subtitles as well as closed captions. Grade: A

Seven Beauties

Seven Beauties (1976) starring Giancarlo Giannini. Directed by Lina Wertmueller. During World War II, an Italian (Giannini) who fancies himself something of a ladies' man ends up in a German concentration camp. There he determines that the best way to save his life is to seduce a brutish female guard. Surprisingly, she goes along with the idea -- with the proviso that he must make love to her or die. This is a comedy with a surprisingly serious heart, and the movie does not have a "happy" ending. This film won Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Film, Best Actor and Best Director -- the first time a woman was nominated for Best Director. It's in Italian, with English subtitles. Although the disc allows you to listen to the dialogue dubbed in English, I chose to listen to it in the original Italian. Grade: A

Secretary

Secretary (2002) starring James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Recently released from a mental hospital, Lee (Gyllenhaal) takes a job as a secretary to a lawyer named Edward Grey (Spader). She has a tendency toward self-harm, and he has a domineering personality; their office relationship gradually evolves into a dominant-submissive bond. He enjoys being abusive, she enjoys being abused. Only problem is, he is ashamed of his behavior, even though she likes it. This is a unique, strange movie, and you will not find another like it. Unfortunately, it goes a little off track in the last 15 minutes or so, but still worth seeing. Good subtitles; no closed captions. Grade: B+

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) starring Ralph Meeker, Albert Decker, Paul Stewart, Cloris Leachman. Sleazy private detective Mike Hammer (Meeker) picks up a scantily clad hitchhiker (Leachman), only to find that some very serious mobsters have an interest in her. Through the twists and turns of the plot, Hammer searches for the thing that was so important that it got his hitchhiker killed. I was surprised to find that the important thing was much more interesting (albeit not believable) than anything I would have guessed. What at first seemed like a schlock movie turned out to be really thought-provoking. No subtitles, but closed captions are available. Grade: B

Love and Death

Love and Death (1975) starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton. Directed by Woody Allen. Woody Allen takes on Mother Russia, portraying a Russian noble named Boris who tries to avoid fighting in the war against Napoleon but ends up becoming an accidental hero. It's all played for laughs, with Keaton as his cousin Sonja, with whom he is in love. The second time Napoleon invades Russia, Boris and Sonja cook up a hare-brained scheme to assassinate the French emperor. Sporadically funny movie is not one of Allen's best, but offers enough entertainment value to make it worth seeing. The bits where he tries to make fun of philosophers become a bit tedious. The film has no English subtitles, but does offer closed captions. Grade: B

Shadow of the Vampire

Shadow of the Vampire (2000) starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe. A dramatization, fancifully reimagined, of the making of the 1922 film "Nosferatu." Malkovich plays F.W. Murnau, the director; and Dafoe won an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Max Schreck, the "character actor" who just may be an actual vampire. This movie says as much about filmmakers as about vampires, and it is beautifully executed. Dafoe's performance is near perfection. The subtitles that come with the disc are very good. Grade: A-

Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) starring Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Young Charlie (Wright) becomes suspicious when her Uncle Charlie (Cotten) comes to town to visit. (Yes, they're both named Charlie.) Could her beloved Uncle Charlie be the Merry Widow Killer, a serial killer sought by authorities from back East? Turns out he could. This movie has little in the way of suspense, and it's not very convincing the way young Charlie turns against her uncle and seems to have no regrets. Then again, he does try to kill her. I found the acting performances winning -- all except for Cotten, whose role seemed a bit over-written. Still, Hitchcock can always make a movie interesting. This one had the usual good photography and macabre touches. The disc offers subtitles for the hearing impaired, although they are a little hard to read. There are no closed captions. Grade: B

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet (1997) starring Brad Pitt, David Thewlis, B.D. Wong, Mako. Pitt puts on an Austrian accent and a blond dye-job as he plays Heinrich Harrer, a Nazi mountaineer who in 1939 journeys to Nepal to climb the world's ninth highest mountain. When World War II breaks out, he and his companion Peter (Thewlis) are taken prisoner by British forces and become P.O.W.s in India. After they escape and face many trials and tribulations, they gain entry into Lhasa, the most holy city of Tibet. There Harrer meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, who thirsts for knowledge of the wide world. Harrer grows close to the Dalai Lama. Then comes the Communist Chinese invasion of Tibet. The movie becomes a vehicle for condemnation of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and as such it serves rather well. The fact that it is based on a true story gives it more power, and I liked it even though Pitt's performance was pretty weak. Subtitles are available on the disc, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958) starring Kerwin Mathews, Kathryn Grant, Torin Thatcher. Prince Sinbad of Bagdad (Mathews) must sail to the island of Colossa to save the princess Parisa (Grant) from an evil spell. On the island are exotic monsters, including a giant Cyclops which has a taste for human flesh. Sinbad is forced to ask for help from an unscrupulous magician (Thatcher) who betrays him at the first opportunity. The acting is awful, the script is silly, and the special effects are primitive in this fantasy epic. The stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen was state-of-the-art at the time, and I'm sure many children would be entertained (as I was, as a child) by this movie. To it's credit, English subtitles are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Seal (1957) starring Max von Sydow, Gunnar Bjornstrand, Nils Poppe. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. A knight (von Sydow) and his squire, returning from the Crusades, come back to a land infested with the Black Plague. Death comes for the knight, but the knight talks him into playing chess for his life -- and the lives of his companions. The movie is a strong meditation on the meaning of life and death, although I must confess I was less impressed than most critics seem to be. The film is in Swedish, with English subtitles. Grade: A-

Limitless

Limitless (2011) starring Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro. Eddie (Cooper) starts taking the new wonder drug NZT, which gives him incredible mental abilities. Only problems, of course, are side effects and ultimately severe, even fatal, withdrawal. The movie quickly veers off into untenable territory, with Russian mobsters forming the chief threat to Eddie and his girlfriend (Cornish). The ending is just a blatant cheat, in which everything we have learned about NZT turns out to be false. This film provides an exciting ride, but ultimately the writers aren't smart enough to make Eddie seem as incredibly smart as, allegedly, NZT makes him. Subtitles are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: C+

The Magnificent Seven

The Magnificent Seven (1960) starring Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn. Directed by John Sturges. Mexican farmers, tired of having their village raided by banditos led by Calvera (Wallach), journey north to the U.S. border to try to buy guns. They come back with something better -- seven gunmen to help them defend their little town. Led by Chris (Brynner) and Vin (McQueen), the Americans set about training the villagers in ways to fight and defend themselves. Based on the 1954 Japanese film "Seven Samurai," this movie does a faithful job of bringing the spirit of the original to the American West. The score, by Elmer Bernstein, is memorable -- especially the "Magnificent Seven Theme." The film doesn't have subtitles in English, but it does have closed captions. Grade: A-

The Seventh Continent

The Seventh Continent (1989) starring Birgit Doll, Dieter Berner, Leni Tanzer. Directed by Michael Haneke. Austrian film based on a true story. A dysfunctional family goes through tribulations, then decides to emigrate from Austria to Australia -- or so they say when taking all their money out of the bank. It's only toward the end of the movie that the awful truth becomes -- sort of -- clear. Director Haneke was also responsible for the film Funny Games, which was equally disturbing and unpleasant. Leonard Maltin gives this movie three and a half stars (out of four), but I can't agree. It's in German, or whatever they speak in Austria, with English subtitles. Grade: C

Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai (1954) starring Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune. Directed by Akira Kurosawa. During the time of civil wars in Japan, frightened farmers try to hire samurai warriors to defend their village from bandits. They find one who is willing (Shimura), and he helps them find six others. Soon the planning begins for the battle ahead. The fight scenes, which make up most of the second half of the movie, are well staged and exciting. Although the film's length, at three and a half hours, works against it, it is well worth seeing the full-length version. Great Japanese movie was remade in 1960 in America as The Magnificent Seven, about Western gunslingers hired to guard a Mexican town from banditos. Seven Samurai is in Japanese, with English subtitles. Grade: A

1776

1776 (1972) starring William Daniels, Ken Howard, Howard Da Silva. The Continental Congress, in the summer of 1776, debates whether the colonies should declare their independence from Great Britain. There's a lot of speechifying, broken up by the occasional outburst of song. Unfortunately, the songs are forgettable and the actors aren't very good singers. To that, add the fact that the movie is two hours and forty-five minutes long, and you're close to having a turkey on your hands. Made in 1972, this movie has not aged well. The subtitles are good, and it has closed captions, too. Grade: B-

Divorce, Italian Style

Divorce, Italian Style (1961) starring Marcello Mastroianni. Baron Ferdinando (Mastroianni) fantasizes about different ways his wife could die. He is in love with his niece Angela, although she is out of reach. Ferdinando begins to form a plot in his mind -- if he can get his wife to cheat on him, he can legally kill her in the "heat of passion." Thus he will have accomplished a divorce -- Italian style. Naturally, his plan goes awry. This is a flavorful, hilarious movie, in Italian with English subtitles, that hardly hits a wrong note. Everything works out as it should -- until the twist at the end. Very funny. The subtitles could have been better, and easier to read, but they don't ruin the movie. Grade: B+

Seven Men from Now

Seven Men from Now (1956) starring Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin. Scott stars as Ben Stride, a former sheriff scouring Arizona for the seven men who were involved in the robbery in which Stride's wife was killed. Russell plays Mrs. Greer, the female half of a couple that Stride helps out along the way. And Marvin plays an ambiguous bad guy -- you're not sure but what he might end up helping Stride in the end, even though his motives are base. The movie has an oddly satisfying twist, in which John Greer, the pioneer whom Stride helps, is carrying the strongbox from the robbery in his wagon. This is a minor movie, but a solid Western. It has the virtue of being short, at 78 minutes, but is almost too short. It seems like it could have been gainfully fleshed out a bit. The disc offers good, legible subtitles, and even better closed captions. Grade: B

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) starring Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Jeff Richards, Russ Tamblyn. Out of a family of seven orphaned brothers, Adam (Keel) is the first to marry. He marries Milly (Powell) and brings her back to the homestead in rural Oregon. The rest of his brothers then get the idea that they want to be married, so they all show up at a barn-raisin,' where they meet some local girls -- and get in a big fight with the townsmen. The plot of this movie is rudimentary, serving mostly as the tree to hang the songs on. Unfortunately, the music and lyrics are uniformly forgettable. You won't recognize any of the songs here -- none of them had any staying power. To its credit, the disc has subtitles and closed captions, and the songs are captioned. Grade: B

Seven Days in May

Seven Days in May (1964) starring Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Fredric March, Ava Gardner. After the president (March) signs a peace treaty with the Soviets, military aide Martin Casey (Douglas) begins to suspect his boss, General James Scott (Lancaster), of plotting to overthrow the U.S. government. Gardner is thrown into the mix as an ex-lover of General Scott, with letters -- written by him -- that could be used against him. The fact that President Lyman hesitates to use the letters is as quaint as the rest of the movie. As a relic of Cold War paranoia, this film serves a historical purpose. It's entertaining, suspenseful, and well acted. But it is also seriously dated. Although the hatred directed at President Lyman is reminiscent of the hatred directed at President Obama, that's the only similarity I noticed between this political thriller and modern America. The movie kept me watching, but in the end I was not terribly moved emotionally. Subtitles in English are available on the disc, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Sergeant York

Sergeant York (1941) starring Gary Cooper. Directed by Howard Hawks. Cooper was 40 years old when this movie was released, making his performance as a young Alvin York even more remarkable. He won an Oscar for his portrayal of a conscientious objector who was drafted to fight in World War I. The movie received 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Director. Everything about the film is memorable, from the back-hills beginnings in rural Tennessee to the battlefield scenes set in France in 1918. All in all, it's just a really good movie. An American classic. Subtitles in English are offered on the disc, as well as closed captions, which I find easier to read. Grade: A

Se7en

Se7en (1995) starring Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey. Pitt and Morgan play two homicide detectives investigating a series of killings based on the Seven Deadly Sins. Paltrow plays Pitt's wife, Tracy, who has second thoughts about their recent move to the big city. Spacey is chilling as the serial killer. Although this movie has a gut-wrenching climax, almost to the point of being sickening, it is perfect in its own way. Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: A

Let Me In

Let Me In (2010) starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloe Moretz. Twelve-year-old Owen (Smit-McPhee) has problems with school bullies. But when he meets Abby (Moretz), a girl apparently his age, he finds the courage to stand up to them. Abby, however, is not a girl -- she is a vampire. When Owen finally figures this out, he's not sure what to do. In general, I don't care for vampire movies, but this one was a minor exception. The relationship between the two 12-year-olds was special, and Abby's ability to teach Owen how to deal with bullies adds a dimension to this film that most monster flicks don't have. The disc offers subtitles for the hearing-impaired, which is fortunate, because it doesn't have closed captions. Grade: B+