Smiles of a Summer Night

Smiles of a Summer Night (1955) starring Ulla Jacobsson, Eva Dahlbeck, Margit Carlquist, Harriet Andersson, Gunnar Bjornstand. Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Swedish concept of a romantic comedy is not very romantic nor very funny. But it does improve toward the last 30 minutes or so, and everybody ends up with whom they should be with. It's in Swedish, with English subtitles. Grade: B+

The Small Back Room

The Small Back Room (1949) starring David Farrar, Jack Hawkins, Kathleen Byron. Munitions expert Sammy Rice (Farrar) battles crippling injury, bureaucracy during World War II. The Germans are dropping a new kind of weapon on England, and meanwhile Rice is fighting the temptation to drink his pain away. After his girlfriend Susan (Byron) leaves him, he is called to disassemble one of the new devices in the field. This is really a pretty standard World War II movie, except for one scene where Rice wrestles with the desire to take a drink. The disc has English subtitles for the hearing impaired. Grade: B

Fright Night

Fright Night (1985) starring Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, Roddy McDowall. When his new neighbor (Sarandon) moves in, Charley Brewster (Ragsdale) quickly becomes convinced that the neighbor is a vampire. But no one will believe Charley, not even self-proclaimed "vampire killer" Peter Vincent (McDowall). This is a pretty standard horror film, but good special effects, fine performances by Sarandon and McDowall, and a spectacular finale elevate it. It has subtitles in many languages, including English; also, closed captions. Grade: B+

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal. Orphaned boy Jamal (Patel), on the brink of winning Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", is accused of cheating. Meanwhile, he pursues his lifelong love, Latika (Pinto), who out of poverty has fallen in with gangsters. This film is practically an epic, with the scope of Jamal's life acting as the backdrop. The movie won eight Oscars, including Best Picture. The captions are good, but the original subtitles (part of the movie is in Hindi) are too small to read easily on a TV screen. Grade: B+

Sling Blade

Sling Blade (1996) starring Billy Bob Thornton, John Ritter, Dwight Yoakam, Lucas Black. Written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Karl Childers (Thornton) is released from a mental hospital after serving a long sentence for killing his mother and her lover when he was 12. He returns to his small rural home town, and quickly meets and makes friends with a boy named Frank (Black). Soon Karl is enmeshed in Frank's life and events lead to an inevitable (and foreseeable) climax. Thornton won two Oscars, one for acting and one for screenplay. The film has a fairly simple trajectory, with not much surprising taking place. It's been described as a good example of Southern storytelling, and I'd agree with that. The DVD offers good subtitles, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

Sleeper

Sleeper (1973) starring Woody Allen, Diane Keaton. Slapstick sci-fi is the best phrase I can think of to describe this movie. Woody plays Miles Monroe, a clarinetist and health food store owner from 1973 who dies and is frozen for 200 years, waking up in the year 2173. Keaton gamely tries to keep up with Allen in the slapstick department, playing Luna, a woman of 2173 who at first wants to turn Miles in as a dangerous alien but later joins the underground. This film is very uneven, with some great laughs at points but also some slow patches -- surprising in a movie that is only 87 minutes long. The disc lacks subtitles, but closed captions are available. Grade: B

Sleepless in Seattle

Sleepless in Seattle (1993) starring Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan. Sam (Hanks) and Annie (Ryan) find each other through the medium of radio after Sam's son, Jonah, calls a syndicated talk-radio show. Sam is a recently widowed architect, Annie is an unhappily engaged newspaper reporter. Jonah thinks his father needs to find a new wife. Just like in Annie's favorite movie, "An Affair to Remember," she asks Sam to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day. It's totally a chick flick, but who can not root for Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? They're just so ... cute. And so is this film. It has English subtitles, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+

Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) starring Michael Sacks, Ron Leibman, Eugene Roche, Sharon Gans, Valerie Perrine. Billy Pilgrim (Sacks) has become unstuck in time. The movie jumps around in time also, from Pilgrim's youngest days to his days as a grunt in World War II to the days he is held captive by aliens on the planet Tralfamadore. The attempt to translate Kurt Vonnegut's novel to the silver screen is not entirely successful, but comes pretty close. I think those who have read the book will actually be able to follow the movie better than others. As for me, I loved the book, liked the movie OK. The disc supplies subtitles for the hearing impaired, but not closed captions. Grade: B+

Page One: Inside the New York Times

Page One: Inside the New York Times (2011). Documentary about the state of print journalism, as told through the prism of the Times. Newspapers are going through a depression, with falling ad revenues, while they compete with TV news and the Internet for the attention of Americans. This movie examines the current state of the New York Times, which has recently gone through layoffs in the newsroom. Will the Times survive, and if not, how big a loss will it be? Only the viewer can decide if the loss of the Times would be a tragedy, so watch this film and make up your own mind. It's a fascinating and very current question. This disc has no subtitles, but does offer (saving grace) closed captions. Grade: A-

Nora's Will

Nora's Will (2010) starring Fernando Lujan, Ari Brickman, Silvia Mariscal. Although the literal translation of the title (and the one that appears onscreen) is "Five Days Without Nora," it makes little difference in the enjoyment of this movie. Nora (Mariscal) carefully plans her suicide so that her death will draw the disparate elements of her family together for Passover. Her ex-husband Jose (Lujan) sees through her ploy and is highly resistant to the idea of her manipulating him from beyond the grave. But he finds himself powerless against the forces arrayed against him. This is a quiet, gentle comedy that entertains through the power of being rather unique. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Grade: B+

Skins

Skins (2002) starring Eric Schweig, Graham Greene. This tale of Native Americans on the reservation in South Dakota is marred by the total lack of subtitles in English or closed captions. Too bad, because it looks like it's probably a pretty decent movie. Grade: F

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense (1999) starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Olivia Williams, Toni Collette. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Spoiler alert -- Do not read this review if you haven't seen the movie. This is Shyamalan's famous first movie, in which young Cole (Osment) sees dead people. Willis stars as a child psychologist named Malcolm Crowe who is shot early in the film by an ex-patient. Afterward he starts appearing to Cole, not realizing that he, Malcolm, is dead. I've seen this movie several times, and it always pulls me in by the end. Willis is good, but young Osment steals the show. He is preternaturally convincing in the role of a boy who sees dead people, and is terrified by the experience. He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. The film has a series of climaxes, each more intense than the one before, until finally the big "twist" is revealed -- and it's a doozy. The DVD includes subtitles for the hearing impaired, as well as closed captions. Grade: A

Help!

Help! (1965) starring John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr. Members of a far Eastern cult pursue Ringo, who has somehow come into possession of a ring that the cult uses in their ceremonies. The other Beatles come along for the ride. The flimsy plot provides a framework within which John, Paul, George and Ringo can perform a number of their songs -- although the songs in this movie are not among the best the Beatles ever sang. To be fair, this movie provides some good laughs, and Beatles fans are sure to be delighted. The subtitles are good; even the songs are subtitled. Closed captions are not offered, and not really needed. Grade: B

Sirens

Sirens (1994) starring Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald, Sam Neill. A Church of England priest (Grant) on his way to a posting in Australia is called on to try to dissuade an artist (Neill) from displaying a painting that incorporates religious themes with female nudity. The priest and his wife (Fitzgerald) find themselves nearly seduced by the painter's practices and the presence of his models, who have no qualms about posing nude. This movie has not-so-subtle overtones of soft-core porn, although it mostly just shows a few models nude. I'm only guessing, but I would speculate that it will be more entertaining for men than for women. I found it very sexy. The disc offers subtitles for the hearing impaired, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Sink the Bismarck!

Sink the Bismarck! (1960) starring Kenneth More, Dana Wynter. In 1941, during World War II, Germany launches the Bismarck, a mammoth battleship that outclasses anything the British can send against it. The orders come down from the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill: "Sink the Bismarck." Movie is pretty straightforward, really, with not much nuance, and simple plot. In actuality, it only took seven days from the time the Bismarck was launched until it was sunk. The sea battles are interesting to watch. The British were flying World War I-era biplanes off of aircraft carriers, which torpedoed the Bismarck from the air. After the great battleship was crippled, it was finished off by surface ships. Subtitles in English are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain (1952) starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen. Called by some the greatest musical ever made, and I wouldn't argue. Among the standout musical numbers: The title tune, with Kelly dancing and singing in the rain; and "Make Them Laugh," with O'Connor doing just that in a fantastic, athletic comedy dancing routine. Grade: A

Since You Went Away

Since You Went Away (1944) starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones, Shirley Temple, Joseph Cotten, Monty Woolley. World War II home-front drama has Colbert as Anne Hilton, the wife of a businessman who has enlisted and is headed off to war. She tries to keep the home fires burning, which includes keeping up a normal household for her two daughters (Jones and Temple). Cotten plays a friend of the family who comes to visit, and Woolley plays their cranky lodger. The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture. Too many subplots make this an overlong film (almost three hours), and it's dated and somewhat corny. Still, it's a landmark film. Good subtitles, as well as closed captions. Grade: B

Hanna

Hanna (2011) starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett. Hanna (Ronan) is a teenaged assassin, trained by her father (Bana) alone in the forest. When she is sent on a deadly mission in Europe, she finds herself confused by civilized society and by the English family she randomly latches on to. Eventually, she discovers the secret of her genesis -- but is it too late? The movie is essentially one long chase scene, with Blanchett as the baddie who wants to do in Hanna and her father. What it lacks is heart. Ronan really gets to show her stuff in this film. The subtitles are OK, closed captions are not offered. Grade: B

Silas Marner

Silas Marner (1985) starring Ben Kingsley, Jenny Agutter. Silas Marner (Kingsley) is shunned by his church after he is wrongly convicted of stealing the church's funds. He retreats to a quiet, lonely life as a weaver in the countryside, where he lives and saves for 15 years. Things take another bad turn for him when his savings of 15 years are stolen. Marner's fortunes seem to change, though, when a toddler child turns up on his doorstep on New Year's Eve. We know who her real father is, but Marner does not. It's a simple story, well told, with a happy ending. There's not much to criticize in that. Closed captions are available on the disc. Grade: B+

Silver Streak

Silver Streak (1976) starring Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Pryor. On a transcontinental train trip (from L.A. to Chicago), George Caldwell (Wilder) witnesses a murder; but he can't get anyone to believe him. Various shenanigans ensue, but the movie really comes alive about halfway through, when Grover (Pryor) pops up and joins the cast. This was the first film to team Wilder and Pryor, who went on to make four movies together. The segment where Grover tries to teach Caldwell to act "black" is a minor classic, and there's a funny running gag about Caldwell repeatedly getting thrown off the train in the middle of nowhere. The supporting cast features a lot of familiar faces. The ending is spectacular. Subtitles are available, as well as closed captions. Grade: B+