Selena (DVD)

Selena (1997) starring Jennifer Lopez, Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda. Abraham (Olmos) is the patriarch of a Mexican-American family living in a gringo neighborhood. After he hears his young daughter Selena sing, he decides to buy instruments and start a family band. The going is rough at first (of course), but out of his dreams is born the Hispanic singing sensation Selena (Lopez). Whether you like the movie or not will probably depend on whether you like Jennifer Lopez, and I'm kind of on the fence about her. The film is pretty much a standard rags-to-riches biopic, until the shocking climax. The subtitles are generally good. Grade: B-

Friendly Persuasion (DVD)

Friendly Persuasion (1956) starring Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Anthony Perkins. Jess and Eliza Birdwell (Cooper and McGuire) are devoted Quaker parents living in southern Indiana during the Civil War. They are opposed to violence and war because of their religion, but their son Josh (Perkins) feels compelled to get into the fight. Fortunately, the Birdwells' war is very short. The movie has adequate subtitles. Grade: B+

Five Minutes of Heaven (DVD)

Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) starring Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt. This is another one of those DVDs which make you sit through 15 minutes of previews of coming attractions before you actually get to the movie. It's very irritating, even if you like previews, which I do. But on to the film: Neeson and Nesbitt play two men who were once on opposite sides of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Alistair Little (Neeson) is a killer, Joe Griffin (Nesbitt), is the brother of the man he killed. Long after the conflict is over, the two are set to meet as part of the reconciliation process. But Griffin is not after reconciliation -- he seeks revenge. The climactic confrontation is fairly satisfying. I was thankful for the subtitles -- everyone in the movie speaks with a heavy Irish accent. Grade: B

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (DVD)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher. Directed by Milos Forman. R.P. McMurphy (Nicholson) wreaks havoc on a mental ward presided over by the evil Nurse Ratched (Fletcher). Several now-familiar actors appear as mental patients, including Brad Dourif, Danny Devito and Christopher Lloyd. Every scene is memorable, and the movie maintains a steady clip. The film performed the rare feat of winning all five major Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor and Actress. The subtitles are OK. Grade: A

One Fine Day (DVD)

One Fine Day (1996) starring Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney. Pfeiffer and Clooney play divorced single parents who, we know from the start, are destined to fall in love. How do we know this? Because from the start, they don't like each other. This is a very nice movie with two likable stars, and a good supporting cast. The subtitles are good, too. Grade: B+

Once Were Warriors (DVD)

Once Were Warriors (1994) starring Rena Owen, Temuera Morrison, Mamaengaroa Kerr-Bell. Lower-class, urbanized Maori family in New Zealand struggles with poverty, crime, abuse. The wife (Owen) finally decides that she's not going to take it anymore, but it's too late for her daughter Grace (Kerr-Bell), who has been raped by one of her father's friends and hangs herself. There can be no happy ending, of course, but there is a kind of rough justice. This is a movie that really packs a punch. It has good subtitles, too. Grade: A-

Once Upon a Time in the West (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) starring Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards. Directed by Sergio Leone. The widow McBain (Cardinale) holds the title to land the railroad wants, and she faces the murderous outlaw Frank (Fonda), who would just as soon take it away from her. "Harmonica" (Bronson) becomes her protector, for reasons which are not at first clear. The movie's length, at two hours, 45 minutes, works against it; but it ultimately has a satisfying climax. Grade: B

The Lovely Bones (DVD)

The Lovely Bones (2009) starring Saoirse Ronan, Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon, Stanley Tucci. Directed by Peter Jackson. Ronan plays Susie Salmon, the 14-year-old girl who is murdered early in the movie. We, the viewers, know how it happened and we know who did it: George Harvey (Tucci), a solitary man who lives in the neighborhood. Two questions arise: One, does the movie work as a movie, and two, does the movie live up to the book? The answer to the first question is, Pretty well, and the answer to the second question is, Not quite. There's a whole subplot that involves Sarandon as the crazy, alcoholic grandmother who comes to "help" -- which is amusing enough, but the movie could have done without her. Major changes have been made to the book -- characters have been added, and Susie has a romantic interest. More importantly, the film just can't capture the complexity of emotion that is experienced in reading the book. The subtitles are very good. Grade: B

Summer Hours (DVD)

Summer Hours (2008) starring Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jeremie Renier, Edith Scob. When the matriarch (Scob) of a French clan dies, her children (Binoche, Berling and Renier) must decide how to deal with her estate -- which includes a country house and a substantial art collection. Their decision is complicated by the fact that only one of them (Berling) lives in France. One son (Renier) lives in China, and the daughter (Binoche) lives in New York. Meanwhile, the son who lives in France starts having trouble with his daughter. This film shares a common flaw of foreign films, in that when a character speaks in English, even if in heavily French-accented English, the subtitles stop. Ironically, when the characters speak in English, that is when the movie is hardest to understand and follow. Otherwise, the subtitles are fine. Grade: B+

Once Upon a Time in America (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld. Directed by Sergio Leone. Sprawling, violent epic of Jewish mobsters in the 1920s in New York. Directed by Leone and with a score by Ennio Morricone, it often has the feel of a spaghetti Western. It is told in flashback fashion, with De Niro returning 35 years after his heyday to do one last job. Extreme length of film works against it -- at three hours, 45 minutes, I can't imagine sitting through it in a theater. The subtitles are pretty good. Grade: C

O Lucky Man! (DVD)

O Lucky Man! (1973) starring Malcolm McDowell, Rachel Roberts, Arthur Lowe, Ralph Richardson. This movie is an oddity, in that it is so long (three hours) that it comes on two discs. The really odd thing is that Netflix sent me two copies of Disc 1, so that I had only the first half of the movie. I wasn't enjoying it that much anyway, but Netflix definitely gets an F.

Old Yeller (DVD)

Old Yeller (1957) starring Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk. Corny Disney tale of pesky old stray who turns out to be a pretty darn good dog. Good family fare. Watch out for the tear-jerker ending. The subtitles for the hearing-impaired are excellent. Grade: B

Oliver Twist (DVD)

Oliver Twist (1948) starring Alec Guinness, Robert Newton, John Howard Davies, Kay Walsh, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Newley. Directed by David Lean. The Charles Dickens story gets the movie treatment, with young Davies in the title role. Orphan Oliver Twist, born and raised in a workhouse for the destitute, is apprenticed at age 9 to an undertaker. He soon finds himself in trouble at his new post, however, and runs away to London. There he meets up with the Artful Dodger (Newley), who introduces him to the despicable Fagin (Guinness, with a big fake nose). Complications ensue, as those familiar with Dickens can imagine. All ends well, of course. The subtitles are a little hard to find, but adequate. Grade: B+

Up in the Air (DVD)

Up in the Air (2009) starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman. Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a corporate weasel whose job it is to fly all over the country and fire people for companies who don't want to do their own firing. During his travels, he meets Alex (Farmiga), who is a female version of himself. Meanwhile, a young hotshot named Natalie (Kendrick) comes up with a plan to do the firing via teleconference, which would ground Clooney and ruin his dream of accumulating ten million frequent-flier miles. But Natalie finds that firing people is not so easy. This is one film that gives the viewer plenty of food for thought. The movie was nominated for several Oscars, including Best Picture, but won none. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Oliver! (DVD)

Oliver! (1968) starring Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Jack Wild, Oliver Reed. Directed by Carol Reed. Orphan Oliver Twist (Lester) escapes from the workhouse, falls under the tutelage of the crooked Fagin (Moody). Through Fagin, Oliver meets (and runs afoul of) the brutal Bill Sikes (Reed). As befits a musical, the movie features lots of singing and dancing, most of it quite forgettable. The phrase, "They don't make 'em like this anymore" comes to mind. The film is a bit too long at two and a half hours. It won six Oscars, including Best Picture. The subtitles are excellent. Grade: B

Braveheart (DVD)

Braveheart (1995) starring Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack. Directed by Mel Gibson. When Murron (McCormack), his new bride and the love of his life, is murdered by the English, William Wallace (Gibson) reacts by leading his village in an uprising against the local English garrison. From that point on, the Scots under Wallace are in full rebellion against the heinous English rule. But the Scottish noblemen cannot be counted on, and in that may lie Wallace's downfall. The battle scenes are thrilling, but the movie's extreme length (two hours, 57 min.) works against it. "Braveheart" won five Oscars, including Best Picture. The subtitles are very good. Grade: A-

Old Gringo (DVD)

Old Gringo (1989) starring Jane Fonda, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Smits. Self-described spinster Harriet Winslow (Fonda) travels to Mexico to be a governess in 1913, becomes entangled in the Mexican revolution. Smits plays a revolutionary general; and Peck plays Ambrose Bierce, the "old gringo" of the title, who travels to Mexico to witness the revolution firsthand. It makes for a pretty good story, enhanced by the fact the Bierce was a historical figure, a famous American author who did, in fact, travel south to observe the Mexican revolution. He disappeared, never to be heard from again. The movie hints at a solution to the mystery. The subtitles are pretty good. Grade: B

Oklahoma! (DVD)

Oklahoma! (1955) starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood, Rod Steiger. Classic musical movie version of stage show has songs, dancing, romance, conflict and the threat of violence. Many of the song and dance numbers are forgettable, but there are plenty of familiar winners thrown into the mix. Main flaw: The film is unnecessarily long at two hours, 25 minutes. The subtitles are excellent. Grade: B-

Oh, God! (DVD)

Oh, God! (1977) starring George Burns, John Denver, Teri Garr, Paul Sorvino. Directed by Carl Reiner, who also appears in a small role. God, in the person of Burns, comes down to Earth to tell grocery store manager Jerry (Denver) to deliver his message to the world. But of course nobody believes Jerry, not even his wife Bobbie (Garr). Nobody believes him, that is, until he appears on the Dinah Shore show. The movie manages to take a light-hearted look at a serious subject, and in some way it's comfort food for the mind. A very young-looking Sorvino has a delicious role as an evangelical preacher. The subtitles are good. Grade: B+

Of Mice and Men (DVD)

Of Mice and Men (1939) starring Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr., Betty Field. I have a feeling this is a really good movie, but it's hard to tell since it lacks subtitles or captions of any kind for the hearing-impaired. Grade: F

The Bad Lieutenant (DVD)

The Bad Lieutenant (2009) starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer. Cage plays a post-Katrina New Orleans policeman who starts out good, injures his back, becomes addicted to pain killers and various illegal drugs, and becomes a bad cop. In the course of the movie, he hallucinates singing iguanas (not as entertaining as it sounds) and loses a witness to a murder. He smokes crack and terrorizes old women. Ultimately, he goes rogue. Cage plays his role like some crazed dope fiend from Reefer Madness. Then, suddenly, all the trouble he has gotten himself into evaporates and the film has, strangely enough, a happy ending. Kilmer, billed as a co-star, barely makes an appearance. The subtitles are very poor. Grade: C-

Off the Map (DVD)

Off the Map (2004) starring Valentina de Angelis, Sam Elliott, Joan Allen, J.K. Simmons. In 1974, a family retreats to the boondocks of New Mexico, where the 12-year-old daughter, Bo (de Angelis), is puzzled by her father Charley's (Elliott) depression. Soon, an IRS agent shows up to ask why they haven't filed a tax return for seven years. But the agent falls in love with Bo's mother (Allen), and with New Mexico, and never returns to his job at the IRS. Interesting movie. Top-notch subtitles. Grade: B

La Strada (DVD)

La Strada (1954) starring Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart. Brutish traveling entertainer Zampano (Quinn) buys services of simpleton Gelsomina (Masina) from her mother for the equivalent of about $15. He takes her on the road to "teach her a trade" as an itinerant clown. But it soon becomes clear that he will treat her as his stooge. She falls for him, but he mistreats her. She tries to leave him, but he won't let her go. The film develops naturally until a surprisingly devastating conclusion. This movie won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In English, la strada means "the road." The subtitles are a little hard to read. Grade: A

The Time Traveler's Wife (DVD)

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston. This is one of those infuriating DVDs that makes you sit through several previews of coming attractions before you can access the movie. I find this quite irritating, and I won't be swayed to see any of the films advertised just because I have been forced to sit through the preview.... But that doesn't necessarily have a bearing on "The Time Traveler's Wife." In the movie, Henry (Bana), due to a genetic defect, travels through time at random and unpredictable times and places. His soul mate is Clare (McAdams), whom he meets as a young girl when he's older, but doesn't remember when they meet as adults (it's complicated). The time travel has the odd effect of making their love inevitable from the start, so that the movie can't end with a happily ever after. Some will find the time travel aspect of the film to be too gimmicky, but I found it fascinating. The subtitles are very good. Grade: B+

The Official Story (DVD)

The Official Story (1985) starring Norma Aleandro, Hector Alterio. Aleandro plays an Argentinian woman named Alicia who has a comfortable life, untouched by the political turmoil that surrounds her, until she begins to suspect that her adopted child Gaby may have been stolen from one of "the disappeared." Alicia goes searching to find the truth, and the closer she gets to it, the more miserable she feels. This is a powerful movie, with no happy ending. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The subtitles are not very good, but are adequate to the job. Grade: A-