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12 Oct ' 01:26
Updated October 12, 2010 I Am LoveMagnolia, 120 min., in Italian w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $26.98, Blu-ray: $29.98, Oct. 12 
The luxurious, carefully ordered lives of the Recchis, a distinguished upper-class Milanese family, are disrupted when its stylish Russian-immigrant matriarch Emma (Tilda Swinton, speaking Russian-accented Italian) plunges into a scandalous and passionate affair with a friend of her grown son Edo (Flavio Parenti). Emma is the seemingly devoted wife of Tancredi (Pippo Delbono), who is heir to a textiles fortune. But when Edo befriends a talented chef named Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini) and makes plans to open a restaurant, Emma’s interest is piqued—in no small part because of Antonio’s way with prawns (Swinton lustily enjoys same in a scene she later referred to as “prawnography”). Emma’s world is further rocked by the discovery that her daughter Elisabetta (Alba Rohrwacher), a student in London, is a lesbian. By the time Emma finally visits Antonio, this genteel, repressed woman is particularly vulnerable to the emotions that quickly overwhelm her, leading to a torrid coupling. A sumptuous cinematic feast, comparable to Ang Lee’s EatDrink Man Woman, filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love is anchored by a star turn from Swinton and a sensual, throbbing score by contemporary composer John Adams. While it may seem like a tawdry melodramatic throwback to the Douglas Sirk weepies from the 1950s, it plays on an operatic scale. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Luca Guadagnino and costar Tilda Swinton, cast and crew interviews (71 min.), a “Moments on the Set” behind-the-scenes featurette (15 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an engaging film.] (AgoraLionsgate, 126 min., R, DVD: $27.99, Oct. 19 
Alejandro Amenábar’s Agora is a throwback to Hollywood’s old Greco-Roman epics, but with a major difference: here the Christians are the persecutors, not the victims. In its depiction of the blind dogmatism of early believers, the film reminds us of modern religious intolerance, especially with its focus on the oppression of women. The setting is 4th-century Alexandria, Egypt, where brilliant real-life astronomer (and atheist) Hypatia (Rachel Weisz) teaches at the city’s great library, run by her father Theon (Michael Lonsdale). Among her adoring pupils are the shy Synesius (Rupert Evans), the more forthcoming Orestes (Oscar Isaac), and Hypatia’s slave, Davus (Max Minghella). Synesius eventually becomes a bishop who encourages his followers to attack the pagans and Jews and compel them to accept baptism. Now a Roman prefect, Orestes leads the ineffectual resistance, but Hypatia emerges as Synesius’s real rival, representing the power of reason and scientific inquiry in the fight against fanaticism. Despite the scattering of violent scenes and romantic subplots, Agora ultimately comes across as both talky and oddly stilted, dragged down by Amenábar’s pedantic, arty approach. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Alejandro Amenabar, a “Journey to Alexandria” making-of documentary (63 min.), deleted scenes (11 min.), a brief intro by Amenabar, production and costume design storyboards, and a photo gallery. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.] (
The Good, The Bad, The WeirdMPI, 130 min., in Korean w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $29.98 
While the title of South Korean director Kim Ji-woon’s film may recall a certain celebrated 1966 Sergio Leone spaghetti Western, the sprawling The Good, The Bad, The Weird is light-years removed from its inspiration. Set during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria in the 1930s, the movie follows a trio of rival Korean bandits (Kang-ho Song, Byung-hun Lee, and Woo-sung Jung) who are racing against each other in the search for a mysterious treasure map. While offering some of the hallmarks of the Western genre—horseback chases, train robbing, lethal gunplay, and morally ambiguous characters in fashionably tailored cowboy clothing—the film is closer to slapstick comedy with its dismissively silly, numbingly over-the-top action. All of this adds up to a pan-Asian smackdown as the Korean antiheroes face a number of Chinese bandits along with the full force of the Japanese Army. Unfortunately, the plot is so twisted that it’s easy to lose track of the various broken alliances and betrayals in this noisy romp of a film that is full of borrowed style but lacks a substantive foundation to hold it all together. Not recommended. (
Jonah Hex 
Warner, 120 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $35.99, Oct. 12
Based on an antihero from a DC Comic series created in the early 1970s, this savage action-adventure Western centers on Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin), a Civil War veteran whose family is deliberately incinerated by Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), a former Confederate colonel who blames Jonah for the death of his soldier son. Not only is Jonah forced to listen to his own wife and child scream in agony, but Turnbull and his sadistic henchman, Burke (Michael Fassbender), also hideously disfigure his face. After this near-death experience, Jonah is “revived” by friendly Native Americans, becoming almost invincible, with a supernatural ability to “talk” with the dead. Propelled by a thirst for vengeance, Jonah becomes a bounty hunter, toting assorted weapons that include a tomahawk, a couple of revolvers, twin Gatling guns attached to his horse, and a crossbow rigged to shoot dynamite sticks. Megan Fox costars as Jonah’s only friend, Lilah, a prostitute working in New Orleans. When it becomes clear that the crazed Turnbull is planning to overthrow the U.S. government during America’s centennial, Jonah is recruited to track him down by President Ulysses S. Grant (Aidan Quinn). Director Jimmy Hayward is unable to turn this stylish claptrap into a cohesive narrative, instead opting for glitzy editing while blasting Mastodon’s heavy metal score. Both loud and tedious, this is not recommended. (
PredatorsFox, 105 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Oct. 19 
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, John McTiernan, who helmed the original Predator back in 1987 (starring future governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura), should feel complimented, because director Nimród Antal displays little originality in this sci-fi sequel, aside from the opening scene in which an unconscious man freefalls from a great height, then awakens mid-air, screaming, and grabs for the ripcord on his parachute. Special Forces operative-turned-mercenary Royce (Adrien Brody) is the leader of a motley band of professional killers who have landed on what appears to be a terraformed world where they can breathe the air, drink the water, and move about normally; but the sun always stays in the same place, and several huge moons hover above. Royce’s companions include an Israeli sniper (Alice Braga), an African warrior/warlord (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), the FBI’s most wanted mass murderer (Walton Goggins), a Russian soldier (Oleg Taktarov), a Japanese hit man (Louis Ozawa Changchien), a Colombian drug cartel enforcer (Danny Trejo), and a mild-mannered doctor (Topher Grace). It doesn’t take long for the motley crew to realize that they’re the game (along with an earlier survivor played by Laurence Fishburne) on a gigantic preserve for alien predator hunters. Who will die (and in what order) and who will survive are the sole questions raised by this film in which the titular vicious warthog-like beasts look too much like cheesy 1950s B-movie monsters to be really scary. Optional, at best.S. Granger
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28 Sep ' 05:30
Updated September 28, 2010 BabiesFocus, 79 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.98, Sept. 28 
Tracking four babies from vastly different cultures during the first two years of their lives, French director Thomas Balmes’ Babies documents the universality of human development and socialization as the titular tiny creatures explore the world around them. Hattie in San Francisco and Mari in Tokyo are first-born children living in hectic, middle-class urban families—their daily lives are full of educational toys and playgroups. In contrast, Ponijao is the ninth child born into a matriarchal society in the flatlands of Opuwo, Namibia, while Bayar is the younger of two offspring of Mongolian herders living in a yurt near Bayanchandmani. Obviously this global cross-section of humanity was chosen to represent various socioeconomic strata and ways of life. As infants and toddlers, all four subjects share the common experience of being born, nursing, sleeping, bathing, playing, learning to walk, and starting to communicate with those around them—albeit in vastly different circumstances. Shot cinema vérité style, Babies reaches the inevitable conclusion that—regardless of divergent circumstances—babies grow up happy as long as they are loved. A delightfully engaging and photogenic exercise in cultural anthropology, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The Babies—Three Years Later” update featurette (4 min.), “Everybody Loves…Your Babies Sweepstakes Winners” home videos (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a small extras package for a solid documentary.] (
Being Michael MadsenMidnight Releasing, 90 min., not rated, DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $29.98 
Michael Mongillo’s wicked satire on obsession with celebrities recasts veteran tough guy Michael Madsen as a piece of self-destructive tabloid fodder who plans revenge on a photojournalist (Jason Alan Smith) who has been relentlessly stalking him. Madsen fights fire with fire by hiring three documentary filmmakers (Davis Mikaels, Doug Tompos, Kathy Searle) to level an identical degree of relentless coverage against his target. However, the trio have their own issues that continually muck up the plan. Revealing more would damage the genuine surprises that bubble up along the way, although Mongillo’s savage thrust at the culture of celebrity infatuation says volumes about the media’s misplaced priorities and the general public’s gluttonous hunger for any scrap of news (accurate or otherwise) on top stars. The mockumentary format offers Madsen a golden opportunity to display his hitherto untapped talent for ironic comedy, and he tells his story with a semi-remorseful pain that is hilariously at odds with his macho, leather-clad physical appearance. Daryl Hannah, Harry Dean Stanton, the late David Carradine, and Virginia Madsen (the star’s sister) provide amusing Greek chorus commentary, while B-movie icon Debbie Rochon has a hilarious cameo as the object of a voyeuristic detour. Highly recommended. (
BruriahSISU, 89 min., in Hebrew w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99, Sept. 28 
Avraham Kushnir’s Israeli drama focuseson the tensions within an Orthodox Jewish family, where rigid tradition fights a losing battle against contemporary values. The title refers to the elusive 2nd-century Talmudic figure who was unsuccessfully tested in her fidelity by her rabbi husband. But the film is about a modern Bruriah (Hadar Galron), who is trying to locate a lost book written by her father, a rabbi excommunicated for allegedly heretical Talmudic commentary. As Bruriah witnesses mild forms of rebellion—including her daughter’s plan to become a rabbi and a friend’s aggressive push for a rabbinical divorce—she quietly reconsiders her own value as a wife and mother. But her sour husband does not appreciate change, and his attempt to replay the Talmud story by pushing an attractive colleague into Bruriah’s path only complicates things. Bruriah is far too mild to make any significant sociological point—the title character is depressingly passive, while her eventual belated move to action feels anti-climactic. Ultimately, the film comes across as a meditation on girl power that arrives four decades late to the sisterhood of feminist cinema. Optional. (P. Hall
GoodE1, 96 min., R, DVD or Blu-ray: $24.98, Sept. 28 
Shot entirely on location in Budapest The Killer Inside Me MPI, 109 min., R, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray: $29.98, Sept. 28
Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of Jim Thompson’s extraordinary 1952 pulp novel is slavishly faithful to its source. The story revolves around Lou Ford (Casey Affleck), a superficially respectable sheriff’s deputy in a Texas oil town who’s actually a psychotic murderer—killing the son of a rich local power broker (Ned Beatty), a sultry prostitute (Jessica Alba), and his own longtime girlfriend (Kate Hudson), among others. In its original form the tale is told by Ford himself, and John Curran’s screenplay lifts whole swaths of dialogue directly, along with much of Ford’s narration, which is presented in voiceover. Affleck adds enough simmering undercurrents to the killer’s apparently good-natured exterior to give the character a quietly menacing quality, while also delivering his homicidal outbursts with frightening conviction. Although the literal treatment here fails to fully capture the book’s haunting quality, this neo-noir thriller still boasts considerable power. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include interviews with costars Casey Affleck (3 min.), Jessica Alba (3 min.), and Kate Hudson (3 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a solid film.] (
In this Cinderella story set against a professional sports backdrop, Newark-bred Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a hardworking physical therapist and diehard basketball fan who just can’t seem to find Mr. Right—until suave NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (rap star Common) of the New Jersey Nets comes along. After meeting cute at a gas station where she’s filling up her old Mustang and he’s trying to figure out the gizmos on his new SUV, Scott invites Leslie to a birthday party and she naïvely takes along her gorgeous, gold-digging sister, Morgan (Paula Patton). Not surprisingly, Leslie warms the bench until a severe knee injury threatening to knock McKnight out of the playoffs places the hoops star in her capable hands as full-time trainer and in-house psychologist. Leslie is the “perfect homegirl” (she’s a girl and a friend, but not a girlfriend), although Scott will, of course, ultimately succumb to her warm, wise, womanly charms. Unfortunately, however, Queen Latifah and Common exude zero chemistry in Sanaa Hamri’s unbelievable rom-com, which is punctuated with energetic basketball sequences, innumerable Izod product placements, and tepid cameos by real NBA pros. Formulaic and featherweight, this is optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include “The One You Can’t Live Without” featurette on the origins of the film (7 min.), “Common on the Fast Break” with costar Common (5 min.), a gag reel (2 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “When Amazing Happens” featurette on the basketball player cameos (6 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a so-so rom-com.] ( 
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13 Sep ' 16:42
Updated September 14, 2010 Welcome Film Movement, 109 min., in French, Kurdish & English w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99, Aug. 10
Although the irony positively drips from the title of Philippe Lioret’s film about attitudes toward illegal immigrants in France, the subject’s treatment (for the most part) is far more subtle and affecting. Firat Ayverdi stars as Bilal, a 17-year-old Kurd who has traveled by foot from Iraq to the port of Calais with the intention of crossing the channel to England, where his girlfriend, Mina (Derya Ayverdi), now lives with her family. After Bilal is stymied by French travel restrictions, he signs up for swimming lessons with middle-aged burnt-out coach Simon (Vincent Lindon) at the local community center, believing that he can avoid capture by donning a wetsuit and swimming to his beloved. Simon is in the midst of separating from his wife Marion (Audrey Dana), a teacher who volunteers to help the growing number of illegals, and at first he works with Bilal in an effort to save his marriage by impressing Marion. But eventually Simon’s innate humanity takes over, and he winds up going to great lengths in order to protect Bilal, even after Simon’s neighbor reports him to the immigration authorities. Boasting excellent performances and an assured naturalistic style, Welcome is a powerful topical drama. Highly recommended.
The Flying ScissorsDinosaur (avail. from www.amazon.com), 92 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 Some “mockumentaries” treat their subjects with affection and are subtly satirical, effectively blurring the line between truth and fiction (many folks thought This Is Spinal Tap was about a real band). Others laugh at their characters, and are so obviously fake they play like broad parody. The Flying Scissors falls into the latter category. In director/co-writer Jonah Tulis’ film about the cutthroat world of competitive “rock, paper, scissors” (that’s “RPS” to insiders) we meet a variety of contestants preparing for the big throwdown initially set for New York’s Madison Square Garden (the competition eventually lands in upstate White Plains). Players include an airheaded beauty queen (Sarah Wheeler), a trash-talking museum security guard (Mike Britt), a Korean math wiz (Keong Sim) whose real gig is men’s room attendant, a tough but humorless chick (Susan O’Connor) who’s out to win for the sake of women, and a recently unemployed nerd (Mason Pettit) whose wife resents being the family’s only breadwinner. Put ’em together and you’ve got a pack of weird, clueless losers. Unfortunately, the competition—which is actually quite entertaining—doesn’t take place until the last 15 minutes. The Flying Scissors might have worked as a short, but as a feature film it’s not recommended. (S. Graham Just WrightFox, 101 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.99, Sept. 14 
In this Cinderella story set against a professional sports backdrop, Newark-bred Leslie Wright (Queen Latifah) is a hardworking physical therapist and diehard basketball fan who just can’t seem to find Mr. Right—until suave NBA All-Star Scott McKnight (rap star Common) of the New Jersey Nets comes along. After meeting cute at a gas station where she’s filling up her old Mustang and he’s trying to figure out the gizmos on his new SUV, Scott invites Leslie to a birthday party and she naïvely takes along her gorgeous, gold-digging sister, Morgan (Paula Patton). Not surprisingly, Leslie warms the bench until a severe knee injury threatening to knock McKnight out of the playoffs places the hoops star in her capable hands as full-time trainer and in-house psychologist. Leslie is the “perfect homegirl” (she’s a girl and a friend, but not a girlfriend), although Scott will, of course, ultimately succumb to her warm, wise, womanly charms. Unfortunately, however, Queen Latifah and Common exude zero chemistry in Sanaa Hamri’s unbelievable rom-com, which is punctuated with energetic basketball sequences, innumerable Izod product placements, and tepid cameos by real NBA pros. Formulaic and featherweight, this is optional, at best. (
Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeWalt Disney, 116 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Sept. 14 
Filmmaker Mike Newell’s effects-laden video-game-turned-action-adventure film is set in ancient Persia, where a brave young street orphan is adopted by the wise and noble King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) as his third son. As the story unfolds, the now-grown Prince Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) assists his two brothers, Tus and Garsiv (Richard Coyle and Toby Kebbell), in an ill-advised siege of the religious city of Alamut. Into Dastan’s hands falls the fabled and powerful Dagger of Time, which pouty Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton) is charged with protecting (filled with magical sand, the weapon is capable of rewinding time and thus becomes a magnet for a slew of schemers). Swashbuckling Gyllenhaal is buffed up, engaging here in the kind of acrobatic battle once waged by Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, while a frenetic multitude of sandstorms and senseless chase sequences offers gainful employment to numerous camels and costumed stunt doubles. Ben Kingsley costars as Nizam, a villainous uncle, while Alfred Molina adds humor as money-grubbing Sheik Amar, presiding over ostrich races and quipping about taxes. Essentially a big-budget B-movie, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include the making-of featurette “An Unseen World” (16 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an interactive CineExplore feature which allows access to 42 different production segments during the film including “Walking up Walls,” “Filming in Morocco,” “Ostrich Jockey Tryouts,” and more (80 min. total), a deleted scene (2 min.), the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a shallow but eye-catching popcorn flick.] (
A Waste of ShameBFS, 85 min., TV-14, DVD: $24.99 
This 2005 British TV movie attempts to solve the legendary mysteries surrounding Shakespeare’s sonnets—specifically, the identities of the “Dark Lady” and the “Fair Youth” that inspired the works. As portrayed here, Shakespeare (Rupert Graves) is less interested in his shrewish wife, Anne Hathaway (Anna Chancellor), at Stratford-upon-Avon and more focused on the rougher elements of London. The poet’s obsession with prostitutes is fulfilled by the exotic beauty of French-born Lucie (Indira Varma), the alleged mystery woman; however, this Shakespeare also has a bisexual streak that keeps him infatuated with the young William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke (Tom Sturridge). As directed by John McKay, the film devolves into a 17th-century soap opera with elements of farce suggesting that the Bard’s poetic genius was fueled by an out-of-control libido. What’s never quite clear is how Shakespeare’s feelings for either muse could extend beyond the carnal, since Lucy and Herbert are presented as pretty but vapid. To compensate for this dramatic void, Graves offers an intense performance that feels overcooked, although some degree of genuine class is found in the sublime Zoë Wanamaker’s too-brief appearance as Herbert’s regal mother. Not recommended. (P. Hall
is DOA. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Killer Chemistry” behind-the-scenes featurette (11 min.), alternate scenes (6 min.), extended scenes (5 min.), deleted scenes (4 min.), a gag reel (2 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a cinematic misfire.] ( president of an organic pet food company. Adjusting to the new, segregated dog park, Marmaduke (voiced by Owen Wilson) and his buddy, Carlos, the Winslows’ Russian Blue cat (George Lopez), make friends with three mutts—skittish Giuseppe (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), suave Raisin (Steve Coogan), and kind-hearted Mazie (Emma Stone). But when Marmaduke tries to hang with the “in” crowd—aka the pedigreed, particularly a coy collie named Jezebel (Stacy Ferguson of the Black Eyed Peas)—trouble begins to brew. Jezebel is already claimed by villainous Bosco (Kiefer Sutherland), a dominant Doberman who claims to be a surfing champion. Directed by Tom Dey, this predictable and lame family film is not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (10 min.), “Cowabarka!” clips of surfing dogs (5 min.), a segment on canine casting (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Puppy Marmaduke & Kitty Carlos: Home Movies” spoof featurette (4 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an unexceptional film.] ( -
31 Aug ' 16:47
Updated August 31, 2010 Harry BrownSony, 103 min., R, DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $30.99, Aug. 31 
This Death Wish with an English accent benefits from director Daniel Barber’s sophisticated and stylish approach to the pulpy subject matter. Of course, it also helps that Michael Caine stars as the titular vengeful vigilante, bringing depth and complexity to the flawed but sympathetic character of Harry Brown, a pensioner living in a decaying London flat who lost his daughter years ago and is now visiting his dying wife in the hospital. When Harry’s best friend is killed by local thugs and the police fail to make any arrests, the aging former soldier takes matters into his own hands—at first by accident, but then with grim determination as the corpses begin to pile up. In purely narrative terms, Harry Brown is a fairly standard-issue revenge story, but it towers over wretched Hollywood versions of the formula, depicting a gritty, realistic milieu in contrast to over-the-top American movies like 2007’s Death Sentence (and even when Barber shows us something horrendously awful, he adds a touch of sly surrealism). Caine delivers a convincing performance, turning what might have been a cheap melodrama into a rather moving tale of an elderly man’s valedictory crusade against callous brutality. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (with director Daniel Barber, producer Kris Thykier, and Michael Caine), deleted scenes (17 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “movieIQ” track and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a film anchored by a winning central performance.] (
Killers Lionsgate, 93 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.99, Sept. 7
Recently jilted Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) is on the French Riviera with her intimidating, skeet-shooting father (Tom Selleck) and overprotective, alcoholic mother (Catherine O’Hara) when she bumps into hunky Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) on the elevator. One thing leads to another, and three years later they’re happily married, with a starter mansion in a gated community. What Jen doesn’t know is that Spencer’s been hiding his double identity, desperately trying to ditch his previous life as an international superspy/hit man. But soon after his 30th birthday, the pair discover that there’s a $20 million bounty on his head, which leads them to see danger everywhere (turning their so-called friends and neighbors into potential assassins) as they dodge perceived threats while trying to keep up appearances. Director Robert Luketic’s Killers borrows liberally from earlier films, most notably the Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie vehicle Mr. & Mrs. Smith and the Arnold Schwarzenegger/Jamie Lee Curtis hit True Lies. But unlike their models, Heigl and Kutcher fail to ignite any convincing chemistry, an admittedly difficult proposition anyway given Kutcher’s smirking blandness. A purported action comedy, Killers is DOA. Not recommended. (
MarmadukeFox, 87 min., PG, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Aug. 31 
Based on the popular single-panel newspaper cartoon created by Brad Anderson and Phil Leeming, this live-action, kid-centric comedy centers on the titular galumphing Great Dane and his hapless human family. The story begins as workaholic advertising exec Phil Winslow (Lee Pace), his wife (Judy Greer), and their three children move from Kansas toOrange County ,California Survival of the DeadMagnolia, 90 min., R, DVD: $26.98, Blu-ray: $29.98, Aug. 24 
George A. Romero’s sixth zombie movie in the series he launched in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead finds Sarge Crocket (Alan Van Sprang), the leader of a ragtag bunch of post-apocalyptic military deserters (introduced in 2007’s Diary of the Dead), fleeing the ravenous undead. A video invitation for survivors to come to an island off the Delaware coast convinces him to lead his troupe in that direction. What Sarge doesn’t know, however, is that the invite was issued by the patriarch (Kenneth Welsh) of the O’Flynn family, who’s been expelled by the leader (Richard Fitzpatrick) of the rival Muldoons because of differences in approach to dealing with their local zombies (the O’Flynns favor execution; the Muldoons, rehabilitation). When a civil war between the clans is renewed, the newcomers are dragged into the quarrel and most of them bite the proverbial dust in a variety of bloody ways. Romero’s films have always carried a subtext with social commentary, so here the island serves as a microcosm of a world in which nations cherish their traditional enmities to an absurd extent. But for most viewers, the message will be less of a draw than the mayhem, which is pretty much nonstop and repetitive throughout. Although it boasts occasional suspenseful sequences, Survival of the Dead is still unlikely to appeal beyond Romero’s fan base.
The Wind JourneysFilm Movement, 120 min., in Spanish w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99 
From Colombian writer-director Ciro Guerra comes this fable-like tale of celebrated troubadour Ignacio Carrillo (Marciano Martínez), whose accordion—according to rumor—belonged to the devil, and young musician Fermin Morales (Yull Núñez), who wants to learn from the master, as he follows Ignacio through lush forests, arid deserts, and mountain villages. It’s a classic template: Ignacio, mourning the death of his wife, embarks on a quest to right an old wrong, along the way begrudgingly mentoring Fermin (who may, in fact, be his own son). The texture is stronger than the story in The Wind Journeys, which features dueling instruments, community concerts, and grudge fights in a hardscrabble peasant world, where master musicians receive the respect of shamans, and superstition and sorcery are part of everyday life. Slow and contemplative, the film won’t suit all tastes, but it features beautiful landscapes, an interesting look at agrarian lifestyles, and a unique musical culture (from a rural rap battle with players improvising rhyming insults to a dynamic drum ceremony). A strong optional purchase.S. Axmaker
[Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary with filmmaker Raymond De Felitta, and producer/star Andy Garcia, a “Dinner with the Rizzos” cast and crew featurette (16 min.), deleted scenes (16 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven film.] (
might have worked as a three-minute Looney Tunes short, when dragged out past 90, it will test even young viewers’ patience. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director Roger Kumble, and costars Brendan Fraser and Brooke Shields), the production featurettes “The Pitfalls of Pratfalls” (10 min.) and “Working with Animals” (9 min.), deleted scenes (6 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (5 min.). Bottom line: a paltry extras package for a thin satire.] ( -
16 Aug ' 17:46
Updated August 17, 2010 The SquareSony, 106 min., R, DVD: $24.98, Blu-ray: $30.95, Aug. 24 
This Australian noir directed by Nash Edgerton and co-written by his brother Joel takes viewers on an amusingly convoluted ride centering on Ray (David Roberts), a construction foreman having an affair with Carla (Claire van der Boom), a younger neighbor married to a shady character named Smithy (Anthony Hayes). When Carla discovers that her husband has hidden cash in their attic crawlspace, she suggests to Ray that they take the money and run, setting the house afire to convince hubby that the cash burned up in the blaze. Of course, in the time-honored fashion of this particular genre, the plan goes disastrously wrong. Not only does someone unexpectedly die in the conflagration, but Ray begins to receive blackmail messages, and he winds up trying to conceal a corpse beneath the foundation of a house he’s building—if the rainy weather will ever allow the concrete to be poured. The more complex the plot grows, the more implausible the story becomes, but strict realism and logic have never been key to this kind of film, and for the most part The Square moves along at sufficient speed to conceal any narrative loopholes. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (30 min.), deleted scenes (25 min.), director Nash Edgerton’s 2007 short film “Spider” (10 min.), “Pre-Visualizations” segments (5 min.), three scene deconstructions (5 min.), the music video “Sand” by Jessica Chapnik, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an entertaining modern noir.] (F. Swietek
City Island Anchor Bay, 104 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.99, Aug. 24
In this sprawling comedy, corrections officer Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) brings a hunky paroled inmate named Tony Nardella (Steven Strait) to his Italian-American family home in the Bronx’s City Island community, ostensibly to do some work on the house. But Tony may, in fact, be the illegitimate son Vince sired long before his marriage to Joyce (Julianna Margulies), who knows nothing about this connection. Vince has another secret: while he says he’s playing poker, he’s actually taking acting classes in Manhattan , where his drama teacher, Michael (Alan Arkin), pairs him with Molly (Emily Mortimer), who urges him to try out for a Martin Scorsese mob movie. Meanwhile, Vince’s daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido, Andy Garcia’s real-life daughter) dances in a strip club to pay her college tuition, while his teenage son Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) spends an inordinate amount of time searching online for BBWs (big, beautiful women). Filmmaker Raymond De Felitta’s City Island is an occasionally amiable farce leavened with campy melodrama and over-the-top performances that ultimately adds up to little more than a contrived soap opera centering on yet another dysfunctional family. Optional. (Furry Vengeance Summit, 92 min., PG, DVD: $22.99, Aug. 17
Essentially a live-action cartoon pitting woodland critters against intrusive humans, Furry Vengeance stars Brendan Fraser (going the full slapstick route) as Dan Sanders, a nicer version of Elmer Fudd. An executive in a building firm, Dan has relocated his family—wife Tammy (Brooke Shields) and teenage son Tyler (Matt Prokop)—to a secluded site in Oregon JermalIndiePix, 88 min., in Indonesian w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.99, May 11 
The title of this Indonesian film refers to the fishing platform--raised on stilts in the Straits of Malacca off Sumatra--where boys from impoverished families toil as slaves to JoharDidiPetet), the burly guy who oversees the fishing operation (although very little work ever seems to get done). One day a new worker is delivered—a studious 12-year-old named Jaya (Iqbal S. Manurung), who lost his mother and turns out to be the unbeknownst son of Johar. Jaya suffers considerable bullying at the hands of the other youngsters, while Johar is determined to win him over and take him back to the mainland, even though it might lead to his own arrest for killing his wife’s lover over a decade earlier. Meant to be both gritty and touching, Jermal--directed by Ravi L. Bharwani with co-directors RayyaMakarim and OrlowSeunke--never achieves much emotional power, not only because the production is rather ragged but also because the performances are mostly bland. While intriguing for being an example of filmmaking from a country not much represented internationally, this is strictly optional. (F. Swietek
The Joneses 
Fox, 96 min., R, DVD: $22.99, Blu-ray: $29.99, Aug. 10
Filmmaker Derrick Borte takes “keeping up with the Joneses” to a new level in this film starring David Duchovny and Demi Moore as Steve and Kate Jones, who arrive at their new suburban McMansion with their attractive teenage children (Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth) in tow. The Ethan Allen furniture delivery vans have just departed, and every lavish décor detail is in place. “We’re going to do some serious damage here,” Steve observes, as the four start showing off their top-of-the-line electronic gadgets, shiny cars, sports equipment, designer clothing, and dazzling jewelry to their awed neighbors. But the Joneses aren’t who they appear to be; in fact they’re not even a family, but rather a carefully coordinated sales unit with ambitious, conniving Kate as boss. As outlined by their handler (Lauren Hutton), the Joneses’ mission is simple: “We’re making a match between great products and the people who love them … You’re here to sell a lifestyle, an attitude—if they like you, they’ll like what you have.” While stealth marketing is a clever story concept, director Borte seems more interested in product placement than consumer conformity satire, let alone development of a believable narrative arc for the shallow characters. Optional.
, revolves around a nameless professional ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) hired to help Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), a former British prime minister (think: Tony Blair), finish his memoirs. Secluded in an isolated house on an island off the northeastern U.S. coast, Lang’s previous scribe/aide died under mysterious circumstances. Amidst accusations of Lang’s involvement in war crimes and a possible trial by the International Criminal Court, the new replacement arrives only to become inexorably drawn into a tangled web of political and sexual intrigue involving Lang’s edgy wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his devoted aide, Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall). Collaborating on the screenplay with Harris, Polanski deftly builds an aura of ominous suspense from the opening scene of this decidedly cynical tale (albeit leavened with moments of bleak humor), which focuses on the helplessness of the anonymous Everyman in the face of political corruption. The superb ensemble cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, James Belushi, and Eli Wallach. Sleek and sophisticated, this gripping film is highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Fiction or Reality” behind-the-scenes featurette (11 min.), an interview with director Roman Polanski (9 min.), a cast featurette (12 min.), and trailers. The Blu-ray release includes a DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning film.] ( [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Thor Freudenthal and writer Gabe Sachs, “Deleted Diary Pages” deleted scenes (10 min.), a gallery of “lost” comics, and trailers. The Blu-ray release includes bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fun family film.] ( -
03 Aug ' 15:06
Updated August 3, 2010 The Ghost Writer Summit, 128 min., PG-13, DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $40.99, Aug. 3
Evoking memories of Alfred Hitchcock, this compelling thriller from Roman Polanski, based on Robert Harris’ 2007 novel The Ghost, revolves around a nameless professional ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) hired to help Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), a former British prime minister (think: Tony Blair), finish his memoirs. Secluded in an isolated house on an island off the northeastern U.S. coast, Lang’s previous scribe/aide died under mysterious circumstances. Amidst accusations of Lang’s involvement in war crimes and a possible trial by the International Criminal Court, the new replacement arrives only to become inexorably drawn into a tangled web of political and sexual intrigue involving Lang’s edgy wife, Ruth (Olivia Williams), and his devoted aide, Amelia Bly (Kim Cattrall). Collaborating on the screenplay with Harris, Polanski deftly builds an aura of ominous suspense from the opening scene of this decidedly cynical tale (albeit leavened with moments of bleak humor), which focuses on the helplessness of the anonymous Everyman in the face of political corruption. The superb ensemble cast includes Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, James Belushi, and Eli Wallach. Sleek and sophisticated, this gripping film is highly recommended. (
Death at a FuneralSony, 92 min., R, DVD: $28.95, Blu-ray: $34.95, Aug. 10 
Director Neil LaBute’s remake of Frank Oz’s 2007 British comedy of manners finds dutiful Aaron (Chris Rock) organizing his father’s funeral in Southern California with no help from his older brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence), a successful novelist and prodigal son who flies in from New York to attend the services, but makes it clear that he won’t share the expenses. While the siblings’ alienation and the delivery of the wrong corpse to the funeral offer comedic fodder early on, these storylines are eclipsed when a stranger named Frank (Peter Dinklage, who played the same role in the original) reveals that he was the deceased’s secret gay lover and threatens to show the weeping widow, Cynthia (Loretta Devine), compromising photos unless the family pays him blackmail money. In the meantime, cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) is dodging an infatuated ex (Luke Wilson) while coping with the antics of her fiancé (James Marsden), who has unwittingly ingested acid and is perched, naked, on the roof, enjoying a full-scale hallucinogenic trip. Within this scattershot ensemble, Marsden garners the most laughs, while the others (including Danny Glover as a foul-mouthed uncle who suffers from a gastric disorder) bring scant depth to their characterizations. Overall, this lifeless redo serves up little more than coarsely sexual humor and scatological slapstick. A strictly optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Neil LaBute and star Chris Rock, a “Last Rites, Dark Secrets” behind-the-scenes featurette (20 min.), a “Family Album” cast featurette (11 min.), deleted scenes (7 min.), a “Death for Real” segment (6 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “movieIQ” track and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing remake.] (
Diary of a Wimpy KidFox, 92 min., PG, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Aug. 3 
The first volume in author Jeff Kinney’s wildly popular illustrated book series hits the screen in this live-action adaptation. The impish Zachary Gordon plays Greg Heffley, who enters middle school determined to become the class favorite, which won’t be easy. His best friend, Rowley (the sweetly funny Robert Capron), is a redheaded lug who embarrasses him at every turn, while Greg’s obnoxious aspiring rocker older brother, Rodrick (Devon Bostick), advises him to keep his head down. Greg, who is small for his age, believes he needs to excel at something to achieve his goal, so he tries wrestling and safety patrolling, but nothing seems to fit. During gym class, Greg and Rowley meet wise-beyond-her-years Angie (Chloë Grace Moretz), a school newspaper reporter who thinks that popularity is overrated. Greg isn’t convinced, but the harder he tries, the more boorish he becomes, until even Rowley abandons him. After a humiliating encounter with some high school bullies, however, Greg learns what really matters: self-respect. Director Thor Freudenthal avoids sentimentality, although Rachael Harris and Steve Zahn could have used more face time as the terminally uncool Heffley parents (Harris’ rhythm-impaired moves during a mother-son dance provide some of the best laughs). Kinney fans will also appreciate the way Freudenthal weaves Greg’s stick-figure drawings throughout this zippy comedy.
The Good HeartMagnolia, 99 min., R, DVD: $26.98, Aug. 10 
After collaborating in Michael Cuesta’s superb L.I.E., Brian Cox and Paul Dano are reunited in this film from writer-director Dagur Kári, which affords both actors the opportunity to shine. Cox plays Jacques, a grizzled, irascible New York barman who suffers his fifth heart attack when he grows furious with an ineffectual anti-stress audiotape. Jacques winds up in the hospital beside Dano’s Lucas, a homeless naïf who tried to commit suicide. Upon their release, the bartender announces that he’s drafting the young man as his protégé and eventual successor. What happens isn’t surprising—Jacques’ bad ticker starts to melt under the influence of the good-natured Lucas, while the atmosphere of the bar changes too, especially after Lucas adds a girlfriend to the mix. It’s not hard to guess where The Good Heart is headed after Jacques is told he’s going to need a transplant to survive, so the unfolding story feels more like theatrical contrivance, ending with a twist that seems preordained from the start. Striving for warmth and charm, the film relies too heavily on whimsy and quirkiness, and while it’s fun to watch Cox and Dano play off one another, the two leads are ultimately shortchanged by the script. F. Swietek
Kick-AssLionsgate, 117 min., R, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, Aug. 3 
An ultra-violent action fantasy, adapted from a graphic novel by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., director Matthew Vaughn’s comic-book-action film finds Dave Lizewski
(Aaron Johnson)—a geeky Manhattan sad-sack loser teen who yearns to be a
superhero—donning a goofy green-and-yellow costume (actually a scuba-diving
wetsuit) and heading out onto the mean streets to fight crime. Combating a
couple of local thugs, Dave’s first outing is not only disastrous but almost
fatal, landing him in the hospital. Months later, having undergone extensive
reconstructive surgery that renders him immune to feeling pain, Dave heads back
into action as Kick-Ass, and winds up getting his ass mostly kicked, but a
bystander with a cell phone captures the encounter and puts the clip up on
YouTube, where Dave becomes a Web sensation. But now there’s competition. Dave is certainly not as adept as the new father-daughter vigilante team of former cop Damon Macready and pint-sized preteen Mindy—aka Big Daddy and Hit-Girl (an over-the-top Nicolas Cage and 11-year-old scene stealer Chloë Grace Moretz), who deliver some of the film’s most gruesome bloodletting with carefree abandon. Plus there’s another masked crusader: nerdy Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), aka Red Mist, and his father, Frank (Mark Strong), a dastardly mobster/villain.
Meanwhile, Dave is hoping to impress comely classmate Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca). A slick, savvy send-up of action movie clichés, this brazen, amped-up, pop-culture blast of a film is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Matthew Vaughn, “It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass” featurette (21 min.), an art gallery featuring posters, storyboards, costume designs, photos and production designs, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an interactive “Ass-Kicking” BonusView viewing mode, “A New Kind of Superhero” series of “making-of” featurettes (113 min. total), the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning film.] (
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19 Jul ' 13:58
Updated July 20, 2010 The Art of the StealMPI, 101 min., not rated, DVD: $24.98, July 27 
Don Argott’s fervent, fact-packed documentary chronicles the decades-long battle over control of the Barnes Foundation, a private collection of impressionist, post-impressionist, and early modern art worth more than $25 billion. A strong-willed, rags-to-riches iconoclast, Albert C. Barnes invented a medicine to treat gonorrhea and spent his resulting fortune on Renoirs, Cézannes, Matisses, Picassos, Monets, Seurats, Modiglianis, and Van Goghs at a time when establishment organizations such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art were not buying these works. Barnes kept his treasures in an arboretum in Merion (a Philadelphia suburb), where serious students could study them, and his will gave control over the collection (although specifying that it remain in Merion) to Missouri’s historically black Lincoln University. After Barnes died in 1951, a powerful group of philanthropists and politicians aiming to use the masterworks to attract more tourists to downtown Philadelphia decided to flaunt Barnes’ wishes, and so began the highbrow brawl that continues to this day, with a group called Friends of the Barnes going to court to stop the scheduled 2012 transfer of the collection to a new locale. Argott combines interviews, home movies, photos, and TV reports to illustrate what he characterizes as “the greatest act of artistic vandalism since World War II.” Although a resolutely partisan documentary, this suspenseful tale evolves like a crime thriller.
CollapseMPI, 80 min., not rated, DVD: $19.99 
“The whole economy is a pyramid scheme.” While that statement might not sound so crazy, given the last couple of years, it’s just the first of many warnings delivered by Michael Ruppert in Chris Smith’s documentary. An author, decorated cop, CIA whistleblower, political watchdog, and independent investigative journalist, Ruppert has been trying for decades to convince America that a civilization built on oil and petroleum products is unsustainable. Playing like a minimalist version of An Inconvenient Truth—with a paranoid dimension—this feature-length interview film presents Ruppert’s vision of an impending meltdown that borders on science fiction apocalypse. While Ruppert’s critics have labeled his ideas as crackpot extremism and fringe conspiracy theory, the evidence Ruppert presents regarding the oil-based economy and covert U.S. policies suggests that global disaster may indeed be waiting in the wings. But Smith isn’t out to challenge or debate his subject, merely to offer him a platform, so the result here is less of a dialogue than a lecture with prompts. A nonpartisan portrait of doom that seems especially timely in the wake of the BP catastrophe, Collapse should play well with survivalists of all stripes. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes (16 min.), a “Collapse Update” (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an interesting documentary portrait.] (
The LosersWarner, 97 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray: $35.99, July 20 
In the Bolivian jungle, special forces ops have scoped out a narcotics kingpin’s hacienda in preparation for launching a military air strike—at least until they discover that the sneaky drug lord has just brought in a busload of 25 children to use as his drug mules. Unit leader Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)—along with explosives expert Roque (Idris Elba), sniper Cougar (Óscar Jaenada), computer specialist Jensen (Chris Evans), and transport whiz Pooch (Columbus Short)—advises command to abort the mission, but a mysterious CIA phone voice, known only as Max (Jason Patric), not only doesn’t care but also sets the team up for slaughter. Presumed dead, the five expendable “losers”—now fugitives—vow revenge and are bankrolled by a sexy mystery lady named Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Meanwhile in Dubai, psychopathic Max has arranged to buy “snukes” (aka sonic dematerializer nuclear weapons) to use for his own nefarious purposes. Of course, a heinous double-cross waits in the wings. Based on characters developed by DC Comics/Vertigo’s Andy Diggle, filmmaker Sylvain White’s aptly-named film takes a blood-splattering sledgehammer approach to the confusing story, which is presented with senseless rapid-fire editing. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Zoe and the Losers” featurette on actress Zoe Saldana (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a few “Band of Buddies: Ops Training” production featurettes (17 min. total), an “Action-Style Storytelling” featurette on comic series writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock (11 min.), a brief deleted scene, a sneak peek at the upcoming straight-to-video animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood (14 min,), and the BD-Live function, as well as bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame film.] (S. Granger
The RunawaysSony, 105 min., R, DVD: $27.98, Blu-ray: $34.95, July 20 
In adapting Cherie Currie’s memoir Neon Angel, filmmaker Floria Sigismondi focuses on three figures: impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) and the pair he brought together—blonde Bowie fanatic Currie (Dakota Fanning) and raven-haired rocker Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart). Manufactured bands weren’t a novelty in the 1970s, but the Runaways (which expanded to include other members) significantly wrote their own songs and played their own instruments, paving the way for the all-girl outfits to come. With a mother in Singapore (Tatum O’Neal) and a perpetually drunk father (Brett Cullen), Currie and her sister Marie (Riley Keough) must fend for themselves. When the group goes on tour, there’s no adult supervision, leading to drinking and drugging from to Japan The Warlords Magnolia, 113 min., in Mandarin w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99
Peter Chan’s opulent military action film (co-directed by Wai Man Yip) is set during the Taiping Rebellion of the 1860s. General Pang Qingyun (Jet Li) is the sole survivor of a massacre, able to escape only because he plays dead while his troops are overtaken. Given shelter by the lovely Lian (Jinglei Xu), Pang later joins a gang led by bandits Zhao (Andy Lau) and Zhang (Takeshi Kaneshiro), forming a union as “blood brothers” in a bonding ritual that involves cutting the throats of three strangers. Matters are later complicated by Pang’s love for Lian, who happens to be Zhao’s wife. The Warlords is a visually stunning film full of brilliantly staged battles that delivers both old-style screen spectacle and a harrowing view of warfare’s less glorious aspects. The film’s crowning achievement involves the blockade of Suzhou City, a sequence offering harsh insights into the effects of combat on everyone, from the organizers to the trench soldiers ordered to fight despite disease and starvation. Fueling the action is Li’s vigorous performance, which features surprisingly dark edges as Pang’s militaristic strategies run afoul of his bandit partners’ guerrilla-style attacks. The one weak link is the love triangle, which feels like an afterthought, but aside from this subplot, The Warlords is a very satisfying film. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “117 Days” production journal (36 min.), deleted scenes (27 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a behind-the-scenes featurette (18 min.), an HDNet promo featurette (5 min.), and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine war epic.] (P. Hall
is unfortunately heavy on contrived coincidence and cliché-laden bickering that goes well over the top when Lucia’s grandmother (Lupe Ontiveros) orders a live goat for an authentic Mexican celebration, only to have the terrified creature gobble up some Viagra (don’t ask). Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (17 min.), extended scenes (4 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “‘Til Dads Do Us Part” featurette (15 min.), and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger -
09 Jul ' 09:26
Updated July 6, 2010 A Single ManSony, 100 min., R, DVD: $27.98, Blu-ray: $34.95, July 6 
Set in Los Angeles in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis, this Best Picture nominee unfolds during one fateful day in the orderly, ordinary life of 52 year-old George Falconer (Oscar-nominated Colin Firth), a gentle, reserved British college professor who is contemplating suicide, as poignant, idyllic memories of his deceased lover, Jim (Matthew Goode), dominate both his waking and sleeping hours. Methodically, George lays out his meticulously folded funeral clothes, empties his safe-deposit box, and carefully arranges pertinent papers on his desk. But first, he’s planning a dinner with Charley (Julianne Moore), his closest confidante/old flame, a fellow Brit who’s now an alcoholic divorcee with her own loneliness issues. As the hours pass, George encounters a Spanish hustler (Jon Kortajarena), and banters with a persistently flirtatious student (Nicholas Hoult). Inspired by a 1964 stream-of-consciousness novella by Christopher Isherwood, writer-director Tom Ford’s (who built a formidable reputation in the fashion industry as Gucci’s creative director) non-linear, vignette-studded story suffers a bit from several surreal, sensual sequences of chiseled nude men floating under water that are more distracting than integral to the storyline. But, overall, this is a sleek, sensitive, and soulful film, saved from Ford’s overtly stylistic elegance by Firth’s subtly engaging portrayal. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Tom Ford, a “making-of” featurette (16 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “movieIQ” trivia track and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for this fine Best Picture nominee.] (S. Granger
Brooklyn’s FinestAnchor Bay, 132 min., R, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.98, July 6 
Unfolding during one hectic week, Brooklyn’s Finest follows three conflicted, corrupt cops who turn a blind eye to crime, rip off drug dealers, and befriend the gangs who are ostensibly running the neighborhood. Director Antoine Fuqua interweaves the separate stories into a single morality tale (the archetypal protagonists cross paths but never interact until the chaotic conclusion). Boozing, burnt-out Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is a veteran patrolman with suicidal tendencies and a prostitute girlfriend (Shannon Kane). With only one week left before he can claim his pension and retire to a fishing cabin in Connecticut, Eddie grimly shepherds new recruits. Clarence “Tango” Butler (Don Cheadle) has been undercover for so long that he actually protects Caz (Wesley Snipes), the charismatic drug czar he’s supposed to arrest so he can be promoted to detective. And Sal Procida (Ethan Hawke) is an edgy narcotics cop whose moral fiber is strained under the financial pressure to provide for his five children and wife, Angela (Lili Taylor), who is pregnant with twins and prone to asthma attacks. Ultimately, the NYPD targets a notoriously crime-ridden housing project and all three officers are faced with compromising, life-changing choices. Despite Fuqua’s earlier success with the similarly-themed Training Day, this bleak, brutal, and cliché-ridden potboiler about crossing the thin blue line falls short. [Note: Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Antoine Fuqua, deleted scenes (31 min.), “Three Cops and a Dealer” character profiles (8 min.), and the production featurettes “Chaos & Conflict: The Life of a New York Cop” (7 min.), “An Eye for Detail” (7 min.), “Boyz N the Real Hood” (6 min.), and “From the MTA to the WGA” (5 min.), as well as a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for an uneven drama.] (SGranger
ChloeSony, 99 min., R, DVD: $27.98, Blu-ray: $34.95, July 13 
Toronto gynecologist Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) plans a surprise birthday bash for her peripatetic music professor husband, David (Liam Neeson), but when he misses his flight home—arriving long after the guests have left—she suspects he’s having an affair, especially after she intercepts a questionable text message. To test her theory, Catherine hires a call girl Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to engage David in conversation at his favorite coffee shop. Doe-eyed Chloe does what she’s asked and reports on their brief encounter to Catherine, who instructs her to continue with the entrapment trysts. Soon Catherine not only becomes obsessed with Chloe’s meticulously detailed sexual accounts but also finds herself aroused by this alluring young woman, who adds a dimension of betrayal by openly flirting with Catherine and David’s rebellious teenage son (Max Thieriot). Having explored kinky sexual landscapes before in Exotica, artsy Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan creates a glossy, evocative ambiance for the lesbian seduction storyline central to Erin Cressida Wilson’s screenplay (based on Anne Fontaine’s French film Nathalie). But despite convincing performances from Moore and Neeson, as well as an impressively enigmatic and beguiling characterization by Seyfried, this psychosexual thriller turns out to be little more than a sordid, tediously slow story of a tormented woman. An optional purchase, at best.
Loins of Punjab PresentsIndiePix, 88 min., not rated, DVD: $24.95 
Manish Acharya’s engaging satire Loins of Punjab Presents—billed as India’s highest-grossing English-language comedy—sends up both American Idol and South Asian culture in a mockumentary style reminiscent of This Is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. A pork purveyor known as the Loin King bankrollsa singing contest called Desi Idol in a small town in New Jersey, offering a $25,000 prize. Contestants include student Preeti Patel (Ishitta Sharma), actress SaniaRehmanSeemaRahmani), statistician VikramTejwani (co-writer/director Acharya), socialite RritaKapoor (ShabanaAzmi), India scholar Josh Cohen (Michael Raimondi), and bhangra enthusiast Balrash Gupta (Office Space’sAjay Naidu), aka Turbanotorious B.D.G. Once the auditions and elimination rounds begin, complications ensue: Sania admits to Vikram that she only pretends to understand Hindi, Mrs. Kapoor (who plans to donate her winnings to charity if she comes out on top) uses her connections to secure insider information, and Preeti’s supporters argue that the producers shouldn’t allow Josh (who is Jewish) to compete. Although the film gets off to an awkward start, Acharya soon finds his footing in this Bollywood charmer featuring a winning soundtrack. Recommended.[Note: DVD extras include audio commentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette, interviews, deleted scenes, and bonus shorts. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning comedy.] (
Our Family Wedding Fox, 103 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $39.99, July 13
In this culture-clash comedy, a young Mexican-American woman named Lucia Ramirez (America Ferrera) and her African-American fiancé Marcus Boyd (Lance Gross) return from New York to Los Angeles to announce their engagement to their families. But their respective fathers have history. As the story begins, flamboyant radio talk-show host Brad Boyd (Forest Whitaker) gets into a row with a police-dispatched tow-truck driver, Miguel Ramirez (Carlos Mencia), who’s hauling away the car Brad left overnight in a no-parking zone. So when Lucia and Marcus reveal their plans to their unbeknownst-to-them fractious fathers, tempers erupt and ethnic insults fly. “Our marriage, their wedding” becomes the young couple’s mantra as Lucia’s tradition-minded mother (Diana-Maria Riva), sets out to create the wedding of her dreams, while divorced Brad’s feisty love interest (Regina King) tries to be the voice of nuptial reason. Director Rick Famuyiwa’s Our Family Wedding is unfortunately heavy on contrived coincidence and cliché-laden bickering that goes well over the top when Lucia’s grandmother (Lupe Ontiveros) orders a live goat for an authentic Mexican celebration, only to have the terrified creature gobble up some Viagra (don’t ask). Not a necessary purchase. (
[Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (28 min.), an HDNet promo featurette (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning film.] ( -
26 Jun ' 04:24
Updated June 22, 2010 The EclipseMagnolia, 88 min., R, DVD: $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99, June 29 
Conor McPherson’s satisfyingly literate ghost story stars Ciarán Hinds as Michael Farr, a dour woodshop teacher in an Irish seaside town that hosts an annual literary festival. Still mourning the death of his wife from cancer and doing his best to raise his two children, Farr volunteers as a chauffeur for attending authors, not only because he once harbored aspirations to become a writer, but also as a way of momentarily dealing with his personal situation. But Farr can’t escape his grief: he’s not only literally haunted by the memory of his spouse, but also by the spirit of his still-living father-in-law, who is unhappily housed in a nursing home. So when Farr is assigned to drive a British writer, Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle), whose books deal with paranormal phenomena, he naturally asks her about his own unsettling supernatural experiences, and their conversations blossom into friendship. Complicating matters, however, is the event’s star attraction, American novelist Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn), an arrogant drunk who’s also attracted to Lena . Boasting exceptional performances by Hinds and Quinn, The Eclipse is an evocative character study wrapped in a quietly unnerving tale about the pain of personal loss.The DisappearedMPI, 97 min., not rated, DVD: $24.98 
Although it might be considered a horror film, this British entry is actually a slow-simmering psychological thriller that offers an incisive portrait of a teenager named Matthew (Harry Treadaway), who suffers a mental breakdown after his younger brother is abducted while in his care. Returning home from the hospital, Matthew not only begins to hear his sibling’s voice but also glimpses his ghostly image. Is something supernatural afoot, or is guilt simply getting the better of the lad? For most of its running time, The Disappeared is a striking character study, bolstered by sensitive direction from Johnny Kevorkian, gritty handheld cinematography by Diego Rodriguez shot in authentic run-down urban locales, and a remarkable lead performance by Treadaway. While there are frightening moments, the emphasis here is on eerie images and sound, not the graphic violence and gore so commonplace today. Tom Felton, who plays the elegantly evil Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies, shows a very different side here as the protagonist’s scruffy best friend. It’s unfortunate that Kevorkian veers into more conventional territory at the end, but this misstep doesn’t much blunt the considerable impact of this genuinely powerful, haunting little film. Recommended. (F. Swietek
Happy Tears Lionsgate, 95 min., R, DVD: $27.98, June 15
This comedy-drama written and directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein tells the tale of two sisters called on to care for their declining father. Jayne (Parker Posey) is the shopaholic wife of a well-to-do but troubled California She’s Out of My LeagueDreamWorks, 104 min., R, DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray: $43.99, June 22 
Director Jim Field Smith’s loser-meets-princess romantic fantasy pairs Kirk (Jay Baruchel), a sad-sack security employee at the Pittsburgh airport who—after two years—is still pining for his erstwhile girlfriend, with gorgeous Molly (Alice Eve), a well-to-do event planner he meets at a terminal checkpoint. Coming off a bad relationship, she’s taken with the unassuming Kirk, and the pair become an item, to the disbelief not only of Kirk’s distinctly unsupportive family but also of his trio of buddies—one a boorish loudmouth, another a handsome hunk, and the third a bumbling married man. Not surprisingly, all of this negative pressure leads to a breakup—which will, of course, be resolved before the credits roll. While Kirk and Molly are a semi-winning couple, the other characters are a cartoonish bunch, played with a heavy hand, while much of the humor reflects the lowest common denominator assembly-line coarseness afflicting American comedies today (a hockey puck to the groin, premature ejaculation, apparently obligatory gay jokes, etc.). A forgettable farce that even the personable leads can’t save, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Jim Field Smith, “Devon ’s Dating Show” guide to dating (7 min.), a blooper reel (6 min.), deleted scenes and an extended ending (4 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing rom-com.] (F. SwietekZombies of Mass DestructionLionsgate, 89 min., R, DVD: $19.98 
A low-budget horror movie about a zombie invasion of a cute little seaside town in the Pacific Northwest, Zombies of Mass Destruction combines gruesome but comic gore with liberal-oriented social satire that targets religious hysteria, anti-Muslim paranoia, and patriotic rhetoric in the post-9/11 world. When the undead begin appearing in the community for no apparent reason, the conservative townsfolk suspect Islamic terrorists. Before long, Frida (Janette Armand), an Iranian-American Princeton dropout who’s returned to take over the family business (and who’s repeatedly assumed to be Iraqi), becomes a suspect. While Frida attempts to flee from a neighbor who’s turned his basement into a detention and torture center to secure a confession, another part of town finds Tom and Lance (Doug Fahl and Cooper Hopkins)—a gay couple from New York who plan to reveal their relationship to Tom’s mother—under attack by the living (including a crazed evangelical pastor), as well as the flesh-eaters. The performances are fine throughout, and the special effects are quite accomplished, but director Kevin Hamedani sidesteps the opportunity for scathing sarcasm here, instead delivering a bloody farce. [Note: DVD extras include a “making of” featurette. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven horror film.] (S. Axmaker
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10 Jun ' 16:07
Updated June 8, 2010 Shutter Island Paramount, 137 min., R, DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray: $43.99, June 8
Based on Dennis Lehane’s mind-bending novel, director Martin Scorsese’s dark, intense psychological thriller--set in the anxious Cold War era, circa 1954—begins with a seasick, emotionally tormented federal marshal, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), taking the ferry across foggy Boston Harbor to Shutter Island, where the forbidding Civil War-era Ashecliffe Hospital houses the criminally insane. A torrential storm is approaching, and their mission is to investigate the disappearance of an inmate who escaped from her windowless cell, leaving a cryptic note. Imperious Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) is helpful but secretive, as is his colleague, Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow), both zealously guarding what happens to patients in notorious Ward C. But chain-smoking, migraine-plagued Teddy is on a dogged cathartic mission, burdened with eerie nightmares about the death of his wife (Michelle Williams), as well as gruesome visions of World War II atrocities he witnessed as a soldier liberating Dachau. Scorsese creates a pervasively claustrophobic sense of menace, filled with lurid gothic imagery that keeps the adrenaline pumping (augmented by atonal, spooky music). Disturbing and deliberately deceptive, Shutter Island is a labyrinthine mystery touching on issues ranging from the medical to the political. Highly recommended. [Note: Blu-ray extras include an “Into the Lighthouse” making-of featurette (21 min.), and a “Behind-the-Shutters” production featurette (17 min.). Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a fine thriller.] (
Alice in WonderlandWalt Disney, 108 min., PG, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, June 1 
First published in 1865, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a droll but disturbing sociopolitical parody disguised as a surreal children’s fantasy about a precocious child wandering through weird environments and meeting bizarre characters. This fanciful adaptation directed by Tim Burton (also incorporating Carroll’s sequel, Through the Looking-Glass) finds 19-year-old Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) being courted by a priggish aristocrat at a Victorian garden party, where she impulsively darts away and tumbles down a rabbit hole into a hallucinatory realm that is vaguely familiar to her from (what she believes were) childhood dreams. After following the White Rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen), confronting Tweedledum/Tweedledee (Matt Lucas), and consulting the Blue Caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman) and the disembodied Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry), Alice is befriended by the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp, in a fascinating performance), who remembers her earlier visit as a child and helps her to meet her destiny as the champion of the saintly White Queen (Anne Hathaway) by slaying the ferocious Jabberwocky dragon (voiced by Christopher Lee) dispatched by the despotic Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). Alice in Wonderland effectively combines an action-driven girl-power narrative with spectacular CGI-enhanced landscapes, and while not all will be entranced by Burton’s vision, many will enjoy. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include behind-the-scenes and character featurettes on “Effecting Wonderland” (7 min.), “The Mad Hatter” (6 min.), and “Finding Alice” (5 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the three-disc Blu-ray release is a “Wonderland Characters” section with featurettes on Alice, the Mad Hatter, the White Queen, a time-lapse segment on sculpting the Red Queen, and the Futterwacken Dance (28 min. total), as well as a “Making Wonderland” section with six production featurettes on topics including the score, visual effects, stunts, and props (20 min.). The Blu-ray edition also includes the BD-Live function, plus bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for Burton’s blockbuster remake.] (
Play the Game Phase 4, 105 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, May 4
Those who fondly remember Andy Griffith as Mayberry’s family-friendly sheriff may be taken aback by his portrayal here of Grandpa Joe, a lonely Viagra-popping octogenarian who takes dating lessons from his womanizing grandson, along the way happily uttering raunchy lines, grinning salacious smiles, and doing suggestive double-takes as he becomes a sort of senior-citizen “player.” Designed to be the sort of slightly naughty, elbow-in-the-ribs farce that older audiences blushingly chortle over, Play the Game is instead borderline sleaze, with one particularly tasteless scene involving Joe’s attempt to seduce a woman with Alzheimer’s. While the film might have offered amusing if slightly off-color sitcom fun if it had employed a subtle touch, the presentation is so heavy-handed and tone-deaf that one can only sympathize with the actors, both old (Griffith, Doris Roberts, Liz Sheridan) and young, especially Paul Campbell as grandson Dave, a self-proclaimed lothario who instructs his grandfather in the art (but is, of course, outdone). Written and directed by Marc Fienberg without an ounce of style or panache, this is not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes (12 min.), outtakes (5 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a comic misfire.] (
PoliwoodScreen Media, 91 min., not rated, DVD: $14.99, May 18 
Barry Levinson’s documentary about the intersection between celebrity and political activism touches on some expected issues: accusations of elitism and arrogance lobbed at the most outspoken activists (and by extension, all of Hollywood), the collision of passionate artists with a suspicious (yet accommodating) media, and the hostility of many voters toward actors and musicians who voice views contrary to their own. For the most part, however, Levinson skips through the more controversial topics to focus on the Creative Coalition, a nonpartisan group of actors and artists promoting the importance of the arts in education as they reach across party lines to make their case at the 2008 Democratic and Republican conventions. The most interesting aspect of Poliwood is its engagement with the performers themselves, who see political involvement as their civic duty, while also understanding that their position brings both greater access and more scrutiny. Among the more than two dozen interviewees wrestling with this sense of responsibility are Annette Benning, Danny Glover, Sting, Susan Sarandon, and will.i.am. Levinson periodically steps in to editorialize (as the director of Wag the Dog, he naturally has plenty to say about media and manipulation), noting how politicians have now become celebrities themselves. But the film never explores much of anything in detail, settling instead for making the point that its subjects are neither opportunists nor elitists, but simply successful fellow citizens who want to give back. (S. Axmaker
Youth in Revolt Sony, 89 min., R, DVD: $28.95, Blu-ray: $34.95, June 15
Adding to his collection of winning portrayals of quick-witted young men, Michael Cera (Juno) stars as Nick Twisp, a 16-year-old born on the trashy side of the Oakland tracks who hates his name almost as much as his life. Everyone Nick knows, including his divorced parents (Jean Smart and Steve Buscemi), gets more romantic action than him, but his luck changes when he meets junior femme fatale Sheeni (Portia Doubleday) during a vacation. Sheeni may have overprotective parents (Mary Kay Place and M. Emmet Walsh) and a preppy boyfriend back at school, but she also likes Jean-Paul Belmondo movies, Serge Gainsbourg records—and Nick. There’s just one hitch: Sheeni prefers bad boys, so Nick creates a cynical, cigarette-smoking alter ego named François Dillinger to win her heart. Little does Nick realize, however, that he’s playing with fire, since François gives him license to set his pent-up inhibitions free. Nick sneaks into Sheeni’s private-school dorm, blows up his mother’s boyfriend’s car, and trips on magic mushrooms with Sheeni’s burned-out brother and a radical family friend (Justin Long and Fred Willard). Director Miguel Arteta’s adaptation of C.D. Payne’s young-adult novel series offers equal parts sorrow and humor, sporting animated sequences that add a touch of whimsy, although there’s something more disturbing than romantic about Twisp’s manufactured multiple-personality disorder. Recommended, overall.[Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Miguel Arteta and star Michael Cera, deleted scenes (11 min.), audition footage of cast members Portia Doubleday, Zach Galifianakis, Erik Knudsen, Jonathan B. Wright, and Adhir Kalyan (8 min.), deleted and extended animation sequences (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are the “movieIQ” trivia track and BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an offbeat film.] (K. Fennessy
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