The Shawshank Redemption (DVD) Review

Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, The Shawshank Redemption amazingly failed to win a single Oscar. It's amazing because it's probably one of the top ten best films ever produced. Based on Stephen King's short story 'Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,' the film transcends the typical intellectually and spiritually bankrupt Hollywood entertainment of the modern era with an onscreen artistry that is the closest we'll probably ever see to poetry in moving pictures. With masterful performances by Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, audience members will find themselves engrossed in a tragic story wrought with suspense at every turn...

The Shawshank Redemption focuses on the life of Andy Dufresne (Robbins), a prominent banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Sent to Shawshank prison in the summer of 1947, the inmates bet on which of the new arrivals will be the first to crack. Ellis "Red" Redding (Freeman), an institutional fixture and the man who can provide anything for a price, puts his money on Andy. But much to his surprise, Andy doesn't make a sound...

Over time, Andy and Red develop a close friendship, and Red procures a small rock hammer for Andy. As the years go by, he procures other items as well, the most interesting being Rita Hayworth. Red acquires a poster of the screen siren for Andy, and business continues as usual in Shawshank. Along the way, Andy ingratiates himself with the notorious prison guard Byron Hadley (Clancy Brown) and Warden Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton). Putting his outside skills to good use, Andy provides tax advice and tax preparation services to guards not just at Shawshank, but other prisons as well.

Eventually, in exchange for a comprehensive prison library, he ends up running a massive money laundering operation for Norton leveraging prison labor in exchange for lucrative kickbacks. But all goes awry when Shawshank's newest prisoner, a young punk named Tommy (Gil Bellows) comes forward with shocking information. Andy, who's spent twenty years in Shawshank prison, might be innocent after all... The revelation ruins lives and destroys Andy's prison sanctuary, but it's Warden Norton and his associates who are ruined when the beautiful pin-up Raquel Welch reveals her hidden secret...

Directed by Frank Darabont, producer of such hit films as The Green Mile (1999) and The Majestic (2001), The Shawshank Redemption is a film of absolute breathtaking perfection that ranks near the top of most lists of the best films ever produced. Thomas Newman's musical score, reused in countless films in the years since its release, blends together with brilliant casting, memorable screen performance, and masterful set design to create an unmatched and timeless epic. If you haven't seen The Shawshank Redemption, you aren't just missing out on a great film, but a great life experience as well. Do yourself a favor and see this movie...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Shawshank Redemption (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/shawshank-redemption-dvd.html].

Daytime Drinking New DVD Review

Daytime Drinking (Young-Seok Noh, 2009) - Daytime Drinking is a comedy out of South Korea about Hyuk-jin, a young man who, one drunken evening with his buddies, agrees to a spur-of-the-moment trip to a resort up north where another friend runs a spa, only to find, upon waking up after his bus trip the next morning, that none of his friends had followed him. The rest of the film finds our protagonist struggling to get back to Seoul, dependent on the warmth and hospitality of strangers, who, as Korean custom seems to require, all constantly offer him booze as part of the ritual of giving. As soon as he manages to sober up, there comes more booze that he cannot refuse. As a result of all this "hospitality" he can never quite get himself back on track.

This is not exactly the Korean Hangover. The jokes are much more subtle, much more observational, than that broad, dumb American picture. There are long periods of contemplation, and the moments of cruelty have real bite. It reminded me of a good Woody Allen dark comedy of manners. It's detached style is periodically punctuated by highly subjective POV shots, giving it a nice rhythm and character that is unexpected.

The young people who enter the story are all wandering souls, separated from any sense of community. They are cut loose by modern technology, yet set adrift at the same time, left to find their own way in the world. The film investigates the social codes and interactions between strangers. Expectations about the other person are raised that are rarely fulfilled, resulting in confusion and awkward moments. We are reminded in these interactions that each person is experiencing their own individual story. Here alcohol is the perfect solution to such a solitary existence. Any stranger becomes an instant best friend through the lens of drink, which is usually Soju, the national drink of Korea. This is a double-edged sword, however. Like the intoxication, the bond that is formed over drink is instantly dissolved in the light of the following morning.

It's plot can be compared to that of Scorsese's dark masterpiece After Hours. In both films, we identify with the protagonist as he struggles against the labyrinth of life simply to get home. He mostly has the best of intentions in his interactions with would-be saviors, but he can't help but occasionally act in a selfish way himself, as a result of which he is punished beyond all reasonable measure, not by an enemy but by a world conspiring against him. Thus, both films succeed in creating a complex relationship between us and the protagonist. They are selfish, but in such a world, can we blame them? Does that mean they deserve such punishment? In After Hours we get a strong sense of Catholic guilt, and we see a cycle of suffering and redemption. In Daytime Drinking, however, the threat is never quite so extreme, the suffering is muted and temporary, and the redemption never quite comes. Is this a Buddhist take on the same story?

In contrast to the ultraviolent Oldboy series or the fantasy blockbuster The Host, a reserved movie like Daytime Drinking does a fine job of representing a more realistic portrait of modern life in South Korea. Daytime Drinking doesn't quite live up to last year's brilliant Woman on the Beach by Hong Sang-soo, but the two films do share an ironic-skeptical view of life. While two films is hardly a corpus, there's enough similar in theme and style between them that one can begin to draw certain conclusions about a generalized Korean social and personal sensibility. Both show life as a singular, narcissistic endeavor where any new interaction with people is fraught with potential calamity. Both articulate their ideas in a detached, judgmental style. Its as if the filmmakers are saying that the world is a largely meaningless series of jokes and pranks through which some are elevated and some brought to tears, a hierarchy which through circumstance could easily be reversed the following day. Thus, while there is empathy for the suffering, the world's cruelty is not met with great outrage, but rather with contemplation, an ironic chuckle, and a reach for the next bottle of Soju.

Maxwell Anderson is an avid film watcher and blogger. He is also a freelance assistant video editor in New York City. You can contact him through his blog Ecstatic Text: http://ecstatictext.blogspot.com

The Home Song Stories DVD Review

Multi-award winning The Home Song Stories adds another voice to Australia's rich tapestry of immigrant histories. Based on writer/director Tony Ayres tumultuous upbringing, the film focuses on the life of his mother Rose (lead actress AFI Award winner Joan Chen), a successful Shanghai nightclub singer who moves from Hong Kong to Melbourne to marry a sailor she promptly dumps. Dragged along for the ride are her two children Tom (the outstanding Joel Lok) and May (Irene Chen - no relation to Joan but also exceptionally talented).

Tom and May suffer the consequences of their mother's lifestyle - abusive relationships, alcoholism and a revolving door attitude toward men, all in the elusive hope she might recapture some of the glamor of her former life. Rose is like a typhoon and whilst she cuts down everything and almost everyone in her life, her children, whilst being emotionally scarred, seem incredibly stoic. Basically they cop a lot of crap due to their mother's drama queen existence.

This is not a film to watch if you are down. It is terribly sad, with very little relief from its own heady drama. But, it is wonderfully shot and there is always beauty in tragedy (if you don't believe me, ask William Shakespeare or Emily Dickinson. Actually you can't, they're dead). The cast is outstanding and there is some eye candy in the role of Rose and eventually May's love interest Joe (Qi Yuwu, a star in Singapore and now, hopefully, beyond). There are some light moments, especially during Tom's dreams where he transforms into a martial arts superhero with the power to defend his loved ones. The sequence in which he takes on old bat Norma (Australian comedic actress Kerry Walker) is hilarious.

You can't help feeling sorry for Tom and May but this story is supposed to be about Rose. Unfortunately she is not a very sympathetic character. Delusional, egotistical and irresponsible, you kind of want her to piss off so her kids can blossom and lead happy lives. Before you judge her too harshly, Rose herself has known tragedy and viewers only get some insight into this after she and May end up in the same hospital (no I'm not telling you why, just watch it).

Extras include Joel Lok and May Chen's screen tests as well as an 'At The Movies' interview with Joan Chen and Tony Ayres.

If you are into drama, this is definitely a strong piece and does give some insight into Asian culture and family structure between the early '60s and '70s. If you like your laughs coming hard and fast, give The Home Song Stories a wide berth and go for something, say, starring Will Farrell (although not that ice skating one as it was well rubbish).

By Kylie McShane (Contributor) http://www.planeturban.com

Munich (DVD) Review

Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Munich is undoubtedly director Steven Spielberg's best work since Band of Brothers (2001). At 2 hours and 44 minutes, the film moves along at a surprisingly quick pace. Spielberg makes adequate use of the time, providing added depth to the characters and illustrating the changes each undertakes in the course of his mission.

Writers Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, the latter of whom is best known for Forrest Gump (1994), team well together in producing a splendid screenplay. The characters are well-rounded and the dialogue well-constructed. Instead of aiming for zinging one-liners or melodramatic sound-bites, Kushner and Roth craft the film's dialogue to mark the pace of the of story, illustrate character motivations, and make subtle but not overblown commentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Overall, it makes for an enjoyable and worthwhile movie experience.

Munich chronicles the historical events of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany in which a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September storms the Olympic Village. While the entire world watches, 11 of the terrorists evade capture after murdering 12 Israeli hostages. Torn between calls for peace and vengeance, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir (Lynn Cohen) orders Mossad to form a secret unit of assassins to hunt down and eliminate the perpetrators.

Mossad agent Avner (Eric Bana) is tasked with heading a team of five individuals composed of himself and four others known only as Steve (Daniel Craig), Carl (Ciaram Hinds), Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz), and Hans (Hanns Zischler). Each man is chosen for the unique skill set he brings to the table, and the group is left to its own devices when it comes to locating and killing the 11 terrorists who are scattered throughout Continental Europe. Methodically, they carry out the mission. But as they eliminate their enemies one-by-one, each man must grapple with the transformative influence such a job has on his perception of life, family, and country.

Munich is a superb film which performs well in exploring the common theme of black versus white and the gray areas in between. Given the wide range of differing accents, it's sometimes difficult to understand the characters, but this becomes a strength because it heightens viewer senses and breathes life into the story. Much like The Passion Of The Christ, the use of subtitles and various accents doesn't detract from the film, but instead helps transform it in a production seemingly more worthy of serious attention than an alternative cartoon-like, James Bond rendition. As such, Munich doesn't spell things out for the audience like a typical Hollywood blockbuster. No dates or geographical locations appear onscreen, and character dialogue doesn't insult the viewer by recounting historical events. To better understand what's happening, it helps to know the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Overall, Munich is a solid film. It does an excellent job of portraying the conflicts between Arab/Israeli and Muslim/Jew without rationalizing or portraying either side as totally good or totally evil. Instead, the two sides are seen as fellow human beings, each longing for essentially the same human desires for peace, love of family, and identity with a homeland. Unfortunately, these desires are attainable only in the context of the other side's defeat.

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the Munich (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/07/munich-dvd.html].

Kiteboarding DVD Reviews

People kiteboard in different ways. Some people prefer kitesurfing in the waves, other people like to kite in flatwater and challenge themselves to throw wakeboarding tricks behind their kite as well as to hit rails, kickers, and other obstacles. Still others enjoy a combination of all kinds of riding. Here is a list of some of the best action kiteboarding and kitesurfing DVD's to date.

Wakestyle Kiteboarding DVDs

AutoFocus - by ACL productions, this video is almost all wakeboarding style kiteboarding. great slider and kicker action as well as flatwater wakeboarding inspired tricks preformed by 7 of kiteboarding most stylish pro riders.

Un-Hooked II - wakestyle and freeriding action from maui, including lots of footage of the most challenging wakestyle tricks preformed by numerous riders, as well as lots of big air freeriding footage and some rail and obstacle footage

Real Kiteboarding SSS - a great collection of flatwater wakestyle kiteboarding and park obstacle riding, including kickers, rails, and other sliders. Some kitesurfing footage as well.

WakeStyle Instructional

Progression Advanced - world Champion freestyle kiteboarder Aaron Hadlow breaking down and preforming standard wakeboarding maneuvers behind a kite, including basic flips, spins, and grab combinations.

Progression Professional - world Champion freestyle kiteboarder Aaron Hadlow filmed throwing every advanced and professional level trick in the book, with slow motion and instructional commentary breakdown.

Kiteboarding 101 - wakeboarding champion Shannon Best commentating on a collection of footage by numerous professional kiteboarders preforming all of the basic wakeboarding tricks behind their kites.

Kiteboarding 201 - wakeboarding champion Shannon Best commenting on another great collection of footage of numerous professional kiteboarders, instructional breakdown includes coaching on the most difficult professional tricks as well how to preform easier fun tricks.

KiteSurfing DVDs

Lines - great kitesurfing and travel footage from around the world. Lines showcases some of the best tube riding and perfect wave riding setups for kiteboarders on the planet.

The Unknown Road - professional kitesurfer Ben Wilson leads a team of professional kitesurfers around the globe, scoring great wave riding conditions for kiteboarders.

Kitesurfing Instructional

Smack - professional kitesurfer Ben Wilson, one of the best wave riding kiteboarders in the world, breaks down the essentials to riding wave breaks with kiteboarding gear, from safety considerations to technical maneuvers, to reading wind and wave conditions and ripping waves apart with style.

All Around FreeRiding Classics

Concept of Motion - a classic kiteboarding movie, showcasing great footage of high powered, big air, freeride kiteboarding, as well as plenty of footage of kitesurfing and technical wakestyle tricks

Ten 4 - a great adventure into the world of kiteboarding, Ten 4 showcases all kinds of kiteboarding, from technical flatwater wakestyle including sliders and kickers, as well as big air freeriding, huge surf conditions, and snowkiting as well.

SnapShot - snapshot was recently filmed and includes footage of world champion kiteboarders Aaron Hadlow and Kevin Langaree riding flatwater and wave destinations around South Africa. Great wave riding, wakestyle, and freeriding footage.

Metropolis - featuring team Cabrinha, including pro kiteboarders Andrea Phillip, Pete Cabrinha, Susi May, Alex Soto and others traveling and kiteboarding in South America, Dominican Republic, Maui, and Indonesia. Great flatwater and wave footage with a mellow vibe.

There are many more kiteboarding videos available to choose from, having seen nearly all of them, i recommend these to add to your collection based on quality of footage, soundtrack, and overall edit quality. The producers, filmers, and riders in these videos have all done a great job showcasing the sport of kiteboarding.

AirPadre Kiteboarding is a great resource for kiteboarders around the world, with tons of great equipment, a knowledgeable staff, and one of the best kiteboarding and kitesurfing locations in the world on South Padre Island, Texas.

The Naked Gun (DVD) Review

Writer/Director team David Zucker and Jim Abrahams, producers of cult comedy classics Airplane! and Top Secret, team up once again to bring audiences The Naked Gun. A full-length film based on their earlier collaboration on the short-lived television series Police Squad, the movie (just like the TV show) stars Leslie Nielsen in his breakout role. With a plot and scene sequences that are far less absurd than its two sequels, The Naked Gun is one of the best comedies ever produced for the big screen.

The Naked Gun follows the exploits of Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), a longtime member of Police Squad, a special division of Los Angeles County law enforcement. Fresh off his return from a much needed vacation to Beirut, Frank is informed by Capt. Ed Hocken (George Kennedy) that his partner and best friend Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) remains in critical condition after being shot on duty. Frank and Ed visit Nordberg in the hospital where they try to extract information about the shooter. Unsuccessful, they promise Nordberg's wife Wilma (Susan Beaubian) that they will not rest for one second until they catch the man who did this to her husband, then they go off to grab a bite to eat...

Frank and Ed's search for the shooter eventually leads them to the office of Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban), owner of I Love U a Panamanian ship anchored in the harbor where Nordberg was shot. Ludwig directs his Secretary, Jane Spencer (Priscilla Presley), to give Lt. Drebin whatever files he's looking for as well as to "get to know him and find out what he knows".

Jane and Frank strike up a relationship and all is well until Frank discovers that Ludwig is involved in a plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth on her impending visit to Los Angeles. Believing his relationship with Jane to be a sham constructed by Ludwig, Frank breaks things off with Jane. But when she reveals Ludwig's plot is to have one of the ballplayers kill the Queen during the 7th inning stretch of the Angels/Mariners playoff game, she and Frank reconcile and two set off with the rest of Police Squad to foil Ludwig's plan...

Some of the more hilarious scenes in cinema history can be found in The Naked Gun, most of them attributable to Leslie Nielsen's perfect comedic delivery and the serious face he displays throughout. From the moment Frank Drebin steps onto the baseball field, you won't be able to stop laughing. Whether he's belting out the national anthem as Enrico Perlazzo or calling strikes and balls as the home plate umpire, the screenwriters manage a perfect storyboard sequence with this film. It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day... Loaded with some of the best comedy dialogue in cinema history, The Naked Gun is 85 continuous minutes of outright hilarity. A definite must-see among comedies...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Naked Gun (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/naked-gun-dvd.html].

Zero Limits Live From Maui DVD Review

Would you like to know more about the Zero Limits Live from Maui DVDs and what you can expect to learn from them? Having watched through all the DVDs inside, I realized that there were so many things I did not know about attraction and manifestation before even though I had been studying it for almost a year now. I have discovered that we humans are blocked by so many negative thoughts that prevent us from achieving what we really want, and the techniques for removing this negativity easily before one can really achieve abundance in their lives.

1. What is Zero Limits All About?

This is originally a book written by one of the most renowned teachers of The Secret, Dr. Joe Vitale. It talks about his experiences in finding a man that he had heard managed to cure a ward of insane criminal patients even though the man did not come into contact with any of them. After he managed to find this man, Dr. Vitale learned how he cleanses negative thoughts and programs out of a person, which was how the man managed to cure all the patients without coming into contact with any of them.

In Zero Limits, you too can learn this very important Hawaiian cleansing process called Ho'oponopono. It is designed to help you clear all the negative programs in your inner self and finally open yourself to the Divine. You will also learn the true causes of why certain events happen to you.

2. Why Did I Purchase the Zero Limits Live from Maui DVD Set?

I must admit that even though I have been studying The Secret for a very long time, I still could not receive what I really wanted even though I had been practising all the techniques of The Secret. It was really frustrating until I realized that there are many unexplained concepts in the movie. Ever since watching Zero Limits, all the concepts and universal laws became much clearer and I was finally able to manifest my dreams.

Is Zero Limits DVD a scam? Visit http://www.top-review.org/zerolimits.htm to read a FREE report about this DVD Package to find out the truth before you buy Zero Limits!

DVD Review - "SpongeBob Squarepants - Viking Sized Adventure"

Good 'Ole SpongeBob has done it again! In this newest release from Nickelodeon, you find SpongeBob and Patrick naively carousing with a bunch of Vikings in a "Viking-Sized Adventure" They spend time weathering a storm, filling in for their favorite superheros Mermaid Mad and Barnacle Boy, and they even get to meet Mr. Krabs' grand-pappy "the pirate".

Since I happen to be a parent to three children, I have seen my share of SpongeBob Squarepants Episodes, as well as multiple viewings of all the SpongeBob movies. When I popped this DVD into the player, I truly expected nothing more than than the nutty abnormality of Spongebob and his Bikini Bottom buddies. What I didn't expect were moments of roll-on-the floor laughter of my entire family. Even when I thought I knew what to expect, some of SpongeBob and Patrick's antics still brought me to tears.

This latest SpongeBob DVD contains about 90 minutes of pure hilarity - - which means a good hour and a half of entertainment for the kids. There are eight episodes in total, including "Dear Vikings", "Ditchin' ", "Pineapple Fever", "Chum Caverns", "Grand-pappy the Pirate", "Cephalopod Lodge", "Shuffleboarding", and "Professor Squidward". They even managed to squeeze in some celebrity voices, like guest stars Dennis Quaid and Ian McShane.

Although most parents won't admit it, SpongeBob Squarepants is just one of those shows you don't mind watching with your children. So, if you love watching SpongeBob's eyes pop out of his head and watching him shove his own body parts back in place as much as I do, you will love this DVD.

Just when I think I've seen it all, SpongeBob knocks me out with another round of surreal (and sometimes disgusting) entertainment. This time is no exception.

Here is where you can find more DVD reviews and check out our Free DVD Giveaways [http://blog.everykindofmom.com/categories/Giveaways.aspx].

C.D. Watson is the author of this article and provides free information on a variety of popular topics. Visit http://www.everykindofmom.com for more.

Brainbox Quizmaster Movies Quiz Game for iPhone Review

Brainbox Quizmaster Movies Quiz Game for iPhone is a great game which explores the extraordinary world of movies.

There are films that we fall in love with, older ones or newer ones, actors and actresses that have became our idols. Who didn't have posters with actors in the childhood? Or who didn't dream of becoming the next big actor by watching TV at an early age?

Have fun learning more about this industry with huge amounts of questions and answers about actors and actresses, movies, directors and famous quotes. Do you know which movie character said: "You talking to me?" To whom? In what movie? And what was the name of the actor? Indulge in your passion for films and share it with your friends with a little help from Professor Brainbox.

The main features of the game are:

- Ten of thousands of questions in total about movies, studios, actors and actresses, as well as famous quotes from the world of film

- Three different difficulty levels from beginner to movie-buff

- Ten multi-player modes including team and competitive play

- Ten single player modes including Adaptive Challenge, In a Rush and Error Switch

If you know cartain facts about the movies industry will help you manage better the acquisitions for your favourite DVD's and tickets to the movies. Also can be an extraordinary resource to share it with your friends and family by playing it or just using the information gathered. If you think of competing in TV quiz shows where the prizes are important usually, you can use this game as training tool.

Mobile games are in a high development and will be in the next years as effect of the globalisation of use for the mobile phones. Sooner or later you will play games on your mobile phone if you didn't start this already. It is only up to you which games you will play and if this will be time well spent or wasted. Maybe you will need to write for a magazine in the future and through this you will need specialised info to enrich your articles. Or maybe you will want to enter in an affiliate network specialised in home entertainment products. Who knows? The truth is that such knowledge can be useful both in professional and leisure situations. Or maybe you will start a specialised website? Do you see how many lucrative ideas can come up just from a game?

Next, if you want to learn more about Brainbox Quizmaster Movies for iPhone or about the whole Brainbox Quizmaster Series [http://www.newgameoutlet.eu] you are invited to visit this link [http://www.newgameoutlet.eu].

Friday Night Lights - The Third Season - A DVD Review

Friday Night Lights, The Third Season has been released in DVD and I couldn't wait to buy it. I absolutely adored the show ever since I first watched an episode in season one. Friday Night Lights is based about a film and a novel of the same title.

The book Friday Night Lights was actually intended to be published as journalism, so all the characters an events in the book are assumed to be real people and events. In the series though, there are some minor changes done to stretch the story, but the intrigue and the central points of the original stayed.

I only have good words for this show because I can really see the professionalism of the actors on TV. All of them are in tune with the characters they play, and it's apparent that they have chemistry and freedom to experiment with their characters. They also communicate and bond well with the other actors on the show.

The Third Season of Friday Night Lights especially is pretty good. The characters have evolved with their craft and their ability to use the lines to their advantage and for the development of the characters they're portraying. Each episode is packed with more drama and intrigue than a regular movie. Each season is better than the previous, which only shows that all the people working on the series learn as they go.

However there have been doubts about renewing the series for the fourth season because most of the characters have already graduated in season three. That's why the DVD release of Friday Night Lights The Third Season is an amazing move. It will immortalize the series I love the most, and most importantly, it's possibly the last season, hence the most significant fans of Friday Night Lights should definitely get the DVD, as I already did.

For more information, check other Friday Night Lights The Third Season DVD reviews.

Erika Ayala works part time for a consumer review company.

The Beaches of Agnes (New DVD Review)

The Beaches of Agnès (Agnès Varda, 2009) - The opening lines of this beautiful, intelligent and heartfelt autobiographical documentary, spoken by the director Agnès Varda, are "I am playing the role of a little old lady, pleasantly plump and talkative, telling her life story." We then see Agnès and several of her crew set up mirrors on the beach, thereby showing us the process of making the film we are watching within the film we are watching, and further shows us reality reflected (in the mirrors) inside of a film which is attempting to reflect reality. In other words, this is a film that knows it's a film.

It is not cynical about the manipulative power of filmmaking, but rather joyously experimental, trying desperately to push the limits of the medium to their breaking points. The periodic, self-reflexive reminders that this is indeed a film and not reality serve a purpose that expands the power of the story to a degree impossible for films that deal in straight fiction (even most documentaries collude to present a fictional, i.e. constructed, version of reality). This is a delicate trick, as self-reflexivity in films tends to make the viewer care less about the story. Here, in contrast, it's as if Agnès is screaming at the top of her metaphorical lungs: "I Want To Tell You The Truth But I Can't So This Is The Best I Can Do!"

The narrative follows a generally chronological approach to documenting the life story of Agnès Varda, who began her career as a photographer, and soon transitioned to filmmaking. The French New Wave became the Next Big Thing in the late 1950's and suddenly artistically curious yet modestly ambitious filmmakers such as herself were given the opportunity to direct feature-length films with guaranteed funding and distribution. Her first film was Cléo from 5 to 7 and its success garnered her instant international reputation. What follows is a bit of a personal history lesson, and we are impressed by her inventiveness, her instinct for inclusiveness in her art, and her great love of humanity.

As we move through the timeline, we break from strict chronological order, and Varda connects themes that she explored at different points in her life. The editing is poetic and brilliant. It follows the internal logic of thought rather than the guidelines of strict narrative structure. Its playfulness is exhilarating, and at no point does it lag or overstate its points. As she says, "It's like a puzzle. You put the pieces here and there, until it comes together. But there's a hole in the center." That hole is a result of the fact that still, despite her approach of pushing the limits of film, it is still a constructed flight of fancy, and is not Real in the capital-R sense of the word.

The reason this film is so great isn't just its formal mastery and intellectual playfulness, but rather its powerful emotional undercurrent to which we can all relate. I will again let Agnès speak for herself. As she looks at many of the subjects of her early photography, she remarks: "Mostly what I see is, they're dead. I cry for them from my heart. Naturally, I think of Jacques. Every tear, every flower, every rose and every begonia, is a flower for Jacques." The memory of her late husband Jacques Demy, another French New Wave filmmaker and the love of her life, who died tragically of AIDS in 1990, gives her autobiography an emotional weight that is undeniably moving, as her expression of her loss is so poetically articulated.

The "hole" she mentioned earlier isn't just a deconstructive allusion, as it undoubtedly refers to the hole left by Jacques's absence from her life. The film is really about the power of the recorded image to capture people and freeze them in a time and place. To go back and re-watch these images from her life is to honor the people whose memory will live on through the celluloid. Agnès remarks at the end, with wisdom as well as sadness, "It only happened yesterday, but it's already the past."

Maxwell Anderson is an avid film watcher and blogger. He is also a freelance assistant video editor in New York City. You can contact him through his blog Ecstatic Text: http://ecstatictext.blogspot.com

Shaun of the Dead - DVD Review

The zombies in Shaun of the dead at first treat Shaun as if it is a video game, and he hasn't inserted his coin into the machine. Shaun takes trips to the convenience store for Diet Coke amongst the living dead. It is business as usual on the streets of England. It isn't until Shaun and his side-kick, Ed, get attacked by what they assume to be a tipsy drunk girl in the back yard that reality finally hits. Something bad is going on with the world.

Shaun's heart burns for Liz, who has just dumped him. The coin is now in the machine. It is now that the game starts. Liz is in the world of zombies. The movie calls for a hero. Shaun is just the man. By the way, Shaun's mom is in danger, too. it is time to go and kick some zombie tail.

Our characters need a base to ward of the attack. Is there a better place for the movie to progress to than the safety of a pub? It has good locks on the doors, and we can drink beer and blast Queen.

But the zombies have followed us and pretty soon they are banging at the door. Before too long, they are busting in on our crew. If you want to see side-kicks get turned into hamburger by forty zombies, wait until our know it all friend, Dave, decides he wants to leave the pub and go off on his own.

Does the world return to normal, and does Shaun get the girl?

Andy Fletcher's career as an artist started early. He began drawing trains-one of his first loves-from his own photos when he was still in school. In 1992, Burlington Northern Railroad asked him to design their popular SD70MAC Executive color scheme. Altogether, Andy has drawn over a thousand trains, from steam to modern diesel and cars, cabooses and other equipment. He has been commissioned to paint trains for many of the railroad historical societies and museums.

The Sting (DVD) Review

Recipient of ten Academy Award nominations and winner of seven, including Best Picture, The Sting is widely lauded as one of the best films ever produced. Written by David S. Ward, whose unorthodox genius has produced such Hollywood hits as Major League (1989), King Ralph (1991), and Sleepless In Seattle (1993), The Sting boasts a superbly well-written screenplay, ripe with perfectly constructed dialogue and a plotline riddled with suspense. Directed by George Roy Hill, who previously teamed with Paul Newman and Robert Redford to produce Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969), it paints a colorful picture of 1930s Chicago. Complete with gangsters, card games, illegal gambling, sex, and murder, what else could a movie lover wish for?

The Sting follows the life of a two-bit grifter named Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford). Hooker runs small-time jobs with Luther Coleman (Robert Earl Jones) and Joe Erie (Jack Kehoe). Business is decent until they pull the con of a lifetime on a greedy numbers runner. Hoping for a few dollars, they end making off with several thousand. But Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), the organized crime boss whose money they stole, places a hit on all three men that results in Luther's death. Caught in the crosshairs of dirty cop Lt. William Snyder (Charles Durning) and a mysterious hit man (Dimitra Arliss), Johnny follows the advice of his dead mentor and contacts the best conman in the world, Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman), in hopes of becoming his understudy.

Gondorff promises to pull "the big con" (the ultimate score for con artists), and to sweeten the pot, he promises to make the mark Doyle Lonnegan himself. Gathering a star-studded team of con artists, pick-pockets, and grifters, Gondorff and Hooker set out to take Lonnegan for millions. Together, they set up a rival gambling operation in Chicago under the names of Shaw and Kelley. Hooker (a.k.a. Kelley) endears himself to Lonnegan so as to win over the gangster's trust. Convincing Lonnegan he has friend at the Western Union who can telegraph winning horses moments before a race is reported, Hooker gets Lonnegan to place a series of winning bets at Gondorff's gambling parlor. Under the impression Kelley's goal is to break Shaw (a.k.a. Gondorff) and take over his establishment, the two agree to one last bet, with Lonnegan set to place a million dollars of his own money on the line. It's a bet Gondorff and Hooker intend for Lonnegan to lose... But one problem remains. The FBI is hot on the trail of Gondorff, and they're determined to break his operation at any cost...

Far ahead of its time, The Sting redefined the Hollywood plot twist with its ingenious organization of multiple subplots. Newman is masterful as the veteran cheat Henry Gondorff, and it's well worth watching the entire film just to see the scene where he out-cheats the ultimate cheat at cards. With a parade of eccentric characters, well-developed sinister figures, and clever exchanges of dialogue, The Sting isn't your typical sensationalistic Hollywood potboiler. Like a great novel, the film takes some time to establish its characters and develop its plotline. Patient viewers will be well-rewarded...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Sting (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/sting-dvd.html].

Brokeback Mountain DVD Review

The controversial film from director Ang Lee has reached store shelves in DVD form. Little needs to be explained of the discussion surrounding the movie and just about everyone has heard of or participated in these discussions already. That being said, the movie has earned its fair share of attention both in terms of recognition and ticket sales at the theaters, however the DVD version of the movie doesn't really contain anything outstanding in terms of bonus features or materials.

Brokeback Mountain stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger and takes viewers through an engaging tale of two cowboys who fall in love and the obstacles they must overcome as they try to hide that love and later deal with the fallout of their love for one another. The movie is a journey through the human heart that has left movie-goers with a variety of different opinions and feelings as they watched. Needless to say, there are countless numbers of different meanings that the movie has to different people.

The groundbreaking theme and the excellent acting on the part of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal combined to earn the movie three Academy Awards including Best Director for Ang Lee. Brokeback Mountain's themes can be criticized and debated over, but the quality of the film as a whole has been largely recognized and rewarded by film institutions worldwide.

The DVD version of the movie, however, doesn't offer the same quality as the movie itself. Four short and uninspired featurettes accompany the DVD and most viewers probably won't take the time to view them. By themselves, the bonus material does not warrant a purchase for those who have already seen the movie.

Despite the lackluster DVD release, Brokeback Mountain is still a DVD that is recommended to those who are interested in seeing the movie for the first time or even for repeat viewers. The extras offered by the DVD aren't enticing by themselves but the DVD still does offer the same meaning and message behind the movie itself that the big screen version contained.

Chris Shelton loves to buy DVDs and set up a price comparison website for others who also do. Buy DVD

The Wackness DVD Review

Before there was coastal beef, when Biggie was just getting started, before Tupac got got and just after Kurt Cobain popped a hole in his head is where the coming-of-age film, The Wackness takes place.

The Wackness paints a mural of New York City in 1994, the year when hip hop was golden and a heat wave hit the city. Written and directed by Jonathan Levine, who earned an Audience Award during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, expectations of The Wackness are that it's a goofy comedy about partying. Instead, it takes us on a raw graffiti soaked morality tale through the streets of the Rotten Apple.

The film is set in the summer that the newly inaugurated Mayor Rudy Giuliani vowed to clean up the city. But in the meantime, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) is getting by the best he can. It's his last summer before college and he's spending it selling weed around the city and even trading it to his shrink, Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), to get free psychoanalysis. From here the film takes its course.

One of the most refreshing things about The Wackness is that it doesn't try to be bigger than it really is. One of the things that killed the indie film movement was every director's desire to make the biggest movie they could, usually with bloated casting. The Wackness, wisely, avoids this. It has no bankable stars (Kingsley and Janssen are as close as it gets) and the direction is no-nonsense, hand-held simplicity.

The only special effects are the graffiti-style title cards that introduce each month of the summer. Though they have next to nothing in common, I was reminded of Fresh, a fantastic streets-of-New-York drug dealer drama that was released in...1994. How about that! Levine's direction is hip, off-beat and meant to capture that time and place while demonstrating some attitude in the process.

Levine pulls it all off while not forgetting that amid the more personal and serious things in the story, there's some space for crazy bits of humour and visual panache. This might be the only movie you'll ever see where a Spike Lee-inspired fast-speed-first-person sprint around the city streets is led by a middle finger.

Even though the movie is set in '94, the tracks are all over the map. It's all good though because it's Golden Era. The selections range from the obvious Fresh Prince's Summertime, and Biz' Just a Friend to Wu Tang, Nas and Tribe. It's always nice to hear Craig Mack and Illmatic era Nas again and the sound of Total's Cant Ya See.

The Wackness has some new faces and some old faces, and what they have in common is that all of the actors are really good, really good at telling a simple but heartfelt story about how life can drag you down if you let it. However, there is always room for hope, and sometimes, we just make it so hard on ourselves that we might just choose the wrong option.

By Will Freeman (Contributor) http://www.planeturban.com

The Family Stone (DVD) Review

One of the surprise films of 2005, The Family Stone successfully navigates the often tempestuous waters of big screen family dramas. Quite often these types of family relationship films get lost in a deluge of dialogue, conflict, and argument. And although The Family Stone has plenty of the aforementioned, it hits the audience in manageable doses with well-placed comic relief and an unforgettable cast of eccentric characters. Written and directed by up-and-coming Hollywood talent Thomas Bezucha, the film is a mosaic of fun, laughter, sadness, and family relationships most people will find charming and endearing...

The Family Stone examines the vibrant relationships of the Stone family, a close-knit traditional nuclear family gathering for the holidays. Sybil Stone (Diane Keaton) and her husband Kelly (Craig T. Nelson) host their children for the holidays, but as with most families, conflict is abundant. Sarcasm, backstabbing, blame, and jealousy are evident in almost every encounter, but ironically, so are love and respect. When eldest son Everett (Dermot Mulroney) brings home his current girlfriend Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) to meet the family, her business-like demeanor and uptight mannerisms clash with the rest of the family, particularly Everett's vindictive sister Amy (Rachel McAdams). Despite Meredith's best efforts, the only family member she can impress is Everett's laidback brother Ben (Luke Wilson).

Meredith's discomfort is compounded when she inadvertently makes a bigoted remark about Everett's homosexual brother Thad (Tyrone Giordano), garnering the wrath of the entire family. Pushed to her breaking point, Meredith moves from the house to a nearby bed and breakfast, while Everett struggles with the idea of proposing to a woman his family obviously dislikes. Meanwhile, Ben helps Meredith to come out of her shell, and Meredith enlists the support of her younger sister Julie (Claire Danes) to smooth things over with the Stones. But the holidays take an interesting twist when unexpected relationships blossom and an unforeseen event takes its toll on the entire family...

The Family Stone certainly succeeds in creating a number of dynamic multidimensional characters, but it fails in a couple respects. The most obvious is the relationship switch that eventually takes place and is quite evidently in the making from the opening scenes of the film. One brother stealing another's girlfriend is not in-and-of itself unbelievable, but the continuation of a normal relationship between the two brothers is. No awkwardness there? No jealousy? Plot twists are great, but keep them realistic...

The other aspect of The Family Stone that stands out is a bit more peripheral and makes the film teeter on the precipice of Hollywood cliché. Meredith is portrayed as an uptight homophobic bigot in need of a cure, while the Stone family is free-spirited and in touch with their feelings. In the end, Meredith grows because of her proximity to the Stones, but the Stones don't learn anything from Meredith. It's probably not a coincidence that Meredith's views might be construed as conservative, while the Stones' views are considered liberal (i.e. conservative evil, liberal good). This same theme was prevalent in Meet The Fockers when Robert De Niro's character learns the error of his uptight ways and engages in the hippie lifestyle of his daughter's new in-laws. But, of course, the Fockers never learn anything from De Niro... Not necessarily a movie killer, but a cliché nonetheless. Despite the flaws, The Family Stone is still a decent film. Above par dialogue and outstanding performances by a strong cast make it time well spent. Many moments will make you laugh; others will remind you of your own family...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Family Stone (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/05/family-stone-dvd.html].

Wedding Crashers (DVD) Review

One of the funniest and most outrageous comedies of 2005, Wedding Crashers will have you falling out of your chair with laughter. Directed by the underrated David Dobkin, the film features now veteran Hollywood funny men Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in their first film together as the central headliners. TV writers Steve Faber and Bob Fisher author the screenplay, a breakout hit for both, that has to be considered one of the best written comedies of the year. Of course, it helps to have the perfect comic duo delivering the lines, and Wedding Crashers offers just that. The onscreen personas of Vaughn and Wilson compliment each other extremely well, providing a flux between the laid back approach of Wilson and the fast talking banter of Vaughn.

Wedding Crashers follows the lives of two business partners and best friends, John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn). Making their living as divorce counselors, they often mediate between warring couples. But in reality, neither man is married himself. They are, however, loyally dedicated to a set of principles: the wedding crasher rules. Adhering to a specific set of intricately engineered rules for crashing weddings, John and Jeremy share a common passion for wedding receptions and carefree bridesmaids.

When the new wedding season arrives, the two set out in earnest to schmooze with relatives, deliver masterful toasts, and conquer as many beautiful women as possible. No race, religion, or social caste is left untouched by their elite wedding crashing skills. But as the wedding season comes to a close with the ultimate crescendo, the wedding of Treasury Secretary William Cleary's (Christopher Walken) daughter, the duo's perfectly laid plans go awry. While chasing after the Secretary's remaining two daughters, Claire (Rachel McAdams) and Gloria (Isla Fisher), the unthinkable occurs. John breaks a rule by harboring genuine feelings for Claire.

Things are further exacerbated when John breaks another rule and accepts an invitation to spend the weekend with the Cleary family so he can get closer to Claire. Masquerading as distant relatives, John must fend off the advances of Claire's mother Kathleen (Jane Seymour) while also attempting to eliminate Claire's pompous boyfriend Zach (Bradley Cooper). Meanwhile, Jeremy is tortured by an extended weekend with the clingy and borderline insane Gloria and her crazy brother Todd (Keir O'Donnell). As John gets closer to falling in love with Claire, Zach gets closer to blowing the lid off their wedding crasher conspiracy...

Utterly hilarious in every way, Wedding Crashers features some of the funniest movie scenes of 2005. A brief appearance by Will Ferrell who plays the role of Chazz Reinhold, one of the original wedding crashers, makes the film doubly hilarious. Apparently, Chazz has discovered that grieving women at funerals are easier to pick up than bridesmaids. So, of course, he turns to funeral crashing. The comic sequence where Vince Vaughn gets demolished playing football is ancient slapstick, but hilarious nonetheless. Isla Fisher can be annoying at times, but her character is so ridiculously insane that it become funny to watch her after a while, and some of the pick-up lines and wedding crasher techniques are just as entertaining. Overall, Wedding Crashers is a film you'll probably want to watch more than once. If anything, just to catch the laughs you missed the first time around...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the Wedding Crashers (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/05/wedding-crashers-dvd.html].

The Usual Suspects (DVD) Review

Winner of two Academy Awards including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kevin Spacey), The Usual Suspects is not only one of the most intriguing films of the 1990s, but has built quite a cult following as well. With a parade of top-grade actors rounding out the cast, the film deploys a high level of suspense and attempts to keep its audience in limbo until its very last moments. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Christopher McQuarrie), The Usual Suspects is packed with an abundance of quotable one-liners and memorable scenes...

The Usual Suspects follows an unusual week in the lives of five criminals who team together for a big score. Following a waterfront explosion and the discovery of numerous dead bodies, the police take Roger "Verbal" Kint (Kevin Spacey) into custody for questioning. A cripple, the eyewitness tells his story to US Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) during an interrogation that runs the length of the entire film.

Various flashback scenes tell the story of what happened in the week leading up to the massacre... Several months earlier, a truck was hijacked. Hoping to catch the true culprit, the local authorities round up "the usual suspects" for questioning. Among them are Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), a former criminal turned legitimate; Mike McManus (Stephen Baldwin), a sharp shooter with his own criminal background; Fred Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), a street wise thief with a long rap sheet; and Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak), a petty thief with his own track record of criminal activity. All four are gathered together in a lineup with Verbal Kint, a known petty criminal in his own right.

Hoping one of the suspects will crack, the lineup ends up bringing the men together for a new criminal enterprise. Keaton exhibits reluctance due to his recent love affair with a powerful attorney and his desire to leave the criminal life behind, but he eventually caves. Following their initial job, the men are approached by a man named Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) who informs them that he represents the powerful lord of the underworld Keyser Soze. According to Kobayashi, each of the men was secretly working for Soze without his knowledge, and he intentionally gathered them together in order to perform a job for him. Soze will be extremely grateful if they pull off the job, which requires them to attack a foreign tanker loaded with cocaine. In exchange, the men can keep all cash onboard and Soze will receive the elimination of his chief competitor. With a detailed dossier on each man, Kobayashi explains that if the men do not cooperate, horrible things will befall their loved ones, each of whom he personally names.

As Kent continues to reveal the details of the ill-fated harbor mission, the audience learns that an eyewitness saw Keyser Soze at the harbor that night. As the police sketch artist completes his rendering, Kent and Kujan reach a surprising conclusion...

Directed by Bryan Singer, producer of such commercial hits as X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003), The Usual Suspects is, from a suspense standpoint as well as cinematic effect, one of the best written movies of its era. If you enjoy violent dramas, then it's very doubtful you will not thoroughly enjoy this film. Memorable in every respect, The Usual Suspects deserves a high rating on the scale of must-see films. Treat yourself to an evening of intrigue, and give it a try...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Usual Suspects (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/usual-suspects-dvd.html].

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - DVD Review

It took a few years, but it seems that the book that was a hit in Sweden has become a worldwide sensation. For the record, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has no wizards, vampires or lycanthropes. What it does have is the most fascinating character to grace mystery literature in quite a while. Her name is Lisbeth Salander. She is the titular heroine in this tightly plotted and sometimes violent whodunit in what is the first of a trilogy of mysteries from Stieg Larsson.

The mystery opens on journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) being found guilty in a libel suit against Swedish industrial magnate Hans-Erik Wennerström. After the verdict - and to his surprise - Mikael is courted by wealthy patriarch Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube) to investigate the disappearance of a teenage girl. The girl was Vanger's niece, Harriet, and she's been missing for over forty years. Disgraced and jobless Mikael takes on the case, which has him relocate to the small island where the disappearance occurred. Tracing his movements is Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace), the investigator who was assigned to do a background check on Mikael on behalf of the Vanger family. Lisbeth is a polarizing character; her standoffish behavior and Goth-inspired attire make her invisible to those who dare look in her general direction. Twenty-four and underdeveloped in areas that men like to ogle, Lisbeth is a basket case of emotions. Working alone on the case, Mikael is good. But when Lisbeth offers assistance, the case takes a dramatic turn. Per his urging, the two work together, weeding through old photographs and documents. Untrusting of others, Lisbeth finds herself growing to trust Mikael, but soon that trust is put to the test as they inch closer to a possible serial murderer.

Watching the film at this year's South by Southwest Film Festival, only to read the novel afterward, the writing team of Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg has to be commended for condensing Larsson's 590-page work (if going by the U.S. softcover release) into an investigative mystery masterwork. A labyrinth maze of names, faces, and theories, Dragon Tattoo's narrative bobs and weaves all over the Swedish landscape. Commanded by director Niels Arden Oplev, the film is a weighty procedural, and he measures each scene so as to let the viewer survey the situation along with Mikael and Lisbeth.

At 150 minutes it never feels too long. Had Arcel and Heisterberg taken no liberties with Larrson's novel, the film could have been a six-hour mini-series. Side plots are omitted, as is the novel's rather lengthy epilogue once the mystery is solved, and much of the confusion that comes from reading about the Vanger family tree is simplified for viewers. What remains is an engrossing mystery about ritual murders while examining the sexual violation of women. (Prior to having a name change The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was called Men Who Hate Women.) The scenes involving Lisbeth and her state-appointed guardian will have you grimacing, but the payoff will leave you jubilant. It doesn't make the film any less easy to watch, but it helps to process a character like Lisbeth, whose past discretions are tied to those that take advantage of women.

When the story moves into "sleuthing mode" Dragon Tattoo becomes a riveting motion picture. With each photograph or illegal hack, the evidence compounds and we sit excitedly, like we were reading a page-turner. Supporting the evidence is Oplev's photography of the Swedish isle that holds the secrets of a mystery that's been colder than the evocative landscape he projects. Not daunted are the bewitching pair of Nyqvist and Rapace; their characters form a bond built on mutual respect without forcing the issue. And the respect they glean from one another is of vital importance once the dynamic investigative duo is targeted for murder.

The film interpretation of Steig Larsson's international bestseller isn't just one of the best investigative procedurals to come down the pike, it is one of the best films of 2010. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo even captivated the likes of producer mogul Scott Rudin (No Country for Old Men), who secluded himself for a week so he could devour the novel. Rudin is currently developing a Hollywood adaptation with David Fincher, a director who is no stranger to thrillers (Seven, Zodiac). While it is the first in a trilogy, the film does not end in a cliffhanger. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo establishes the tone to expect in the second and third entries as well as the quality of the characters, which is the life jacket of any great mystery.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and the sound is Dolby Digital. The language is Swedish with English subtitles, or you can listen to a dubbed English version. Unfortunately, the copy I received is a watermarked screener disc, so an accurate write-up of the disc's visual and audio quality cannot be accomplished. Should I get a street copy of the release, I will include an update of the A/V quality.

This screeener disc did not come with bonus features, but the finalized version is slated to include interviews with Noomi Rapace and director Niels Arden Oplev, and a featurette titled "The Vanger Family Tree."

Upon watching The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at SXSW, the film quickly skyrocketed to sit atop my list of the best movies I've seen this year. Watching it again on DVD has only helped to reinforce its greatness. Superbly acted and with intricate plotting, the film has an arresting tone that casts a great shadow over the mystery that is unfurled. Forget the Harry Potter and Twilight nonsense and watch Noomi Rapace's screen presence as Lisbeth, a heroine who doesn't use a magic wand or glitter sticks to put you in a trance.

Music Box Films Home Entertainment presents The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev. Starring: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube. Written by: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg, based on the novel by Steig Larrson. Running time: 152 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: July 6, 2010.

My Cousin Vinny (DVD) Review

Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei steal the show in My Cousin Vinny, the hit 1992 comedy based on a clash of cultures between North and South. When two college buddies from New York, Billy Gambini (Ralph Macchio) and Stan Rothenstein (Mitchell Whitfield) are mistakenly arrested for murder in Alabama, they find themselves in desperate need of a high-profile defense attorney. But lawyers can be costly, so the two friends enlist the help of Billy's cousin, Vincent Gambini (Joe Pesci), a former auto mechanic from Brooklyn who has never practiced in a court of law and needed seven attempts to pass the New York City bar exam.

With Alabama prosecutors salivating for the death penalty, Vinny arrives in the heart of the Deep South with his Brooklyn hairdresser/auto mechanic girlfriend Mona Lisa Vito (Marisa Tomei). While roaming around town, the two learn about "mud in the tires," grits, and regular crack-of-dawn sirens that "tell people it's time to get up". In hindsight, an entire movie could've been made from these scenes alone.

As the trial approaches, Vinny's courtroom antics takeover the film as he engages in a power struggle with by-the-book judge Chamberlain Haller (Fred Gwynne). In between procedural snafus and trips to the slammer for contempt of court, Vinny slowly develops his natural talent for litigation. But can he save Stan and Billy from the electric chair? And if so, can he save himself from the wrath of Judge Haller? It's a whole lot of fun finding out...

In My Cousin Vinny, the interplay between Pesci and Gwynne is more than worthy of an Academy Award. But the Oscar went to Marisa Tomei for her brilliant portrayal of the flamboyant and likeable Mona Lisa Vito. The screen relationship between Pesci and Tomei is mesmerizing, enabling the creation of a comedy that's rare in that it has a decent plot, no outlandish or ridiculous scenes, and a stream of hilarious lines throughout.

Written by Dale Launer, the screenwriter behind such hits as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and Love Potion No. 9 (1992), My Cousin Vinny is the classic fish-out-of-water comedy. The writing for this film is superb, with a plethora of one-liners guaranteed to stick in your mind long after you've seen the film, but what really makes My Cousin Vinny a top-tier comedy is the sheer number of standout performances by the cast. Pesci and Tomei received plenty of accolades, and rightfully so, but Fred Gwynne and Mitchell Whitfield had a number of memorable scenes as well.

Probably the most hilarious scene in the film is when Stan is in jail, horrified at the prospect of being paired up with an affectionate cellmate. In his initial meeting with Stan, Vinny doesn't clearly indicate that he's Billy's cousin. The dialogue that ensues between Stan and Vinny is one of the best comedic scenes in cinema history. It's well complimented by Judge Chamberlain Haller's confusion over the word "yoots". Overall, this is an ingeniously hilarious comedy, and I give it my highest recommendation possible...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the My Cousin Vinny (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/my-cousin-vinny-dvd.html].

Little Dorrit - DVD Review

Little Dorrit is a satirical serial novel by Charles Dickens about life in London in the 1820s, the government's fault as well as society's. It was last made into film in 1988, and now BBC released a Little Dorrit DVD starring award-winning actors as well as amazing newcomers. A lot of people fell in love with the two-part movie of the 1980s but the Little Dorrit DVD deserves equally positive reviews.

The actors for instance are commendable. Matthew Macfadyn, the Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice gives justice to his character Arthur Clennam, though it's partly probably of his charm and the innocent look in his eyes. Claire Foy also is brilliant in portraying Amy Dorrit, and considering she's a newcomer, she shows a very big potential.

The development of the story in this series is also noteworthy. It keeps true to Dickens' style of developing his stories, making it very effective. In an age when almost everyone wants to alter or modify a classic work of art, Little Dorrit of BBC is a gem for sticking to the classic treatment.

I also find the script very riveting. The dialogues are very good, and I follow them with much conviction. Usually, I find remakes of classics very pretentious, especially when they try to glorify the story or the author either by overdoing it or giving it less priority.

For me, what makes the Little Dorrit DVD of BBC very good are the three important factors they were able to get right. Somehow, the writers, producers and directors were able to agree that to be able to capture Dickens and his vision when he wrote Little Dorrit is by understanding and following it.

For more information, check other Little Dorrit DVD reviews.

Erika Ayala works part time for a consumer review company.

Titanic (DVD) Review

Nominated for 14 Academy Awards and winner of 11 including Best Picture, Titanic became a worldwide phenomenon upon its release in 1997. Written and directed by James Cameron, the producer behind such hits as Terminator 2 and True Lies, the film chronicles the tragic 1912 sinking of the Titanic on its maiden voyage while interweaving a classic love story. At 194 minutes, it's probably the longest commercial blockbuster in recent memory. Apparently, the sinking of the ship mirrors the real life timeline of the original sinking of the Titanic and that's the reason for the three-hour plus running time (or at least, that's what I've heard). Nevertheless, unless you're absolutely disgusted by overly idealistic love stories, it's a film well worth watching.

Titanic centers around the life of Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), a young woman onboard the celebrated launch of Titanic, the world's largest luxury ship and a vessel believed to be indestructible. Accompanied by her social-climbing mother Ruth (Frances Fisher) and her arrogantly wealthy fiancé Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane), Rose is bound for the beauty and sophistication of Continental Europe. But her trip, and her life, take an unexpected turn when she encounters Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a vagabond artist with no money, zero social status, and a zest for life. Against the wishes of Ruth, Rose and Jack fall in love, incurring the wrathful vengeance of Caledon. But, in the end, only a disaster of epic proportions can break the couple apart.

With a number of standout performances by a star-studding cast, including previous Academy Award winner Kathy Bates in the role of "new money" heiress Molly Brown, Titanic is a truly memorable film. The scope and opulence of the fabled ship is simply breathtaking, and the costumes and props form a brilliant kaleidoscope of images from the past. Although an overblown and idealistic teenage love story was the true focus of the film, Titanic created enough action and suspense during the sinking to keep viewers who aren't interested in such plots interested. Inevitably, most viewers will envision themselves in the midst of such circumstances, wondering how they would react. Parts of the film are narrated from the perspective of a present day speaker, and the flashback sequences are combined to good effect. Overall, it makes for an outstanding film.

James Horner composed the musical score for Titanic, and his efforts are one reason the film experienced such widespread success. With a number of brilliant and original scores already to his credit - Field Of Dreams (1989), Legends Of The Fall (1994), and Braveheart (1995) all come to mind - Horner expands upon his unique voice by creating a soundtrack that combines the lazy breeze of an Iowa cornfield with the majestic plains of Scotland. In addition, Celine Dion provides the breakout performance of her career with the hit single "My Heart Will Go On," which in the movie is paired with the most famous scene from the film in which Jack and Rose stand on the bow of the Titanic and pretend to fly. Not surprisingly, I've learned that in the years since, many tourists have lost their lives trying to mimic them. So I don't recommend you try that! But I do advise watching Titanic. If you can sit through the sappy, melodramatic love scenes and the accompanying dialogue, you'll be blown away by the special effects, the costumes, the set, and the soundtrack.

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the Titanic (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/07/titanic-dvd.html].

Just Like Heaven (DVD) Review

One of the hidden gems of 2005, Just Like Heaven was overshadowed by the usual commercial blockbusters and Academy Award nominees. But this cute little film is the very embodiment of the movie going experience. Fitting easily into the "chick flick" genre, Just Like Heaven isn't a sappy, drawn-out love story filled with clichés and over-the-top dialogue. It's actually funny and likeable enough to appeal to males as well as females. Mark Waters, director of such films as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday, minted himself a successful film during the casting stage when he picked the perfect combination of onscreen talent to illustrate his story. The chemistry between Mark Ruffalo and Reese Witherspoon makes this film a lot more interesting than it would otherwise be with a lesser combination of talent...

Just Like Heaven begins by following the life of Elizabeth Masterson (Reese Witherspoon), a workaholic staff doctor in a San Francisco hospital. Driven to achieve, Masterson excels in her career, but only at the expense of her personal life. Taking on extra shifts in an effort to get promoted, she continually misses lunch and dinner appointments with her sister Abby (Dina Spybey). On the night she gets her long-awaited promotion, Elizabeth is en route to her sister's house for a dinner party when her car is smashed head-on by a tractor trailer.

Meanwhile, David Abbott (Mark Ruffalo) moves into a new apartment in the aftermath of his wife's tragic death. Although his best friend Jack (Donal Logue) tells him it's time to move on, David can't seem to get over her passing. Late one night as he guzzles beer on the couch, he's confronted by Elizabeth who is angry to see him camping out in her apartment. Mark insists that the apartment is his, and the two soon discover that Elizabeth is a ghost. As their confrontational relationship grows into friendship, Mark and Elizabeth work together to find out what really happened to her. The result is a series of often hilarious mishaps such as when Mark reluctantly saves a dying man's life using Elizabeth's vast medical knowledge.

Searching for some answers to Elizabeth's strange condition, David visits a bookstore specializing in paranormal occurrences where he meets up with a clerk named Darryl (Jon Heder) who is endowed with unworldly wisdom. Darryl provides a few clues as to the origin and intentions of the spirit haunting Mark and his guidance leads Mark to the discovery of a shocking truth - Elizabeth is still alive. Dependent on life support for the past six months, she hasn't shown any signs of recovery. Her sister Abby, struggling to make the right decision, comes to the conclusion that Elizabeth would want to have the plug pulled. But Elizabeth, who originally felt she would not want to remain on life support, feels very much alive, and she wants to stay that way. Now, Mark and Elizabeth must work together if she has any chance of survival...

Veteran screenplay writers Peter Tolan and Leslie Dixon collaborate well together in creating a well integrated plotline with interesting dialogue. An unorthodox love story, Just Like Heaven showcases Mark Ruffalo's growing appeal as a leading man. Much like Tom Hanks, his everyman look exudes a rare charisma on the big screen. Similar to his standout role in 13 Going On 30 (where he stole the show from Jennifer Garner), the film highlights his likeability among both male and female audiences. But the role would be less of a breakout performance if it weren't for the outstanding chemistry between the actor and his co-star. As she exhibited with her recent Oscar-winning performance, Reese Witherspoon is no slouch herself. Overall, these types of films do little for me, but Just Like Heaven earns my highest recommendation...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the Just Like Heaven (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/05/just-like-heaven-dvd.html].

Bruce Almighty (DVD) Review

Personally, Bruce Almighty is my favorite Jim Carrey movie ever. It's never outlandish in its approach, and at times, it's quite serious and adult. In fact, for a comedy, it presents some surprisingly deep philosophical questions concerning the actions of a just God and our place in the universe. Inevitably, it sparks internal and external debate among viewers in regard to what we would personally do if we held the power of God in the palm of our hand...

In Bruce Almighty, Carrey plays the role of Bruce Nolan, a local television reporter always assigned to cover less than thrilling events in and around his hometown. Dreaming of the network anchor chair, he works tirelessly to rid himself of the "funny guy" image. He lives with girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but the two get into a major argument when Bruce, who loses his bid for anchorman to the underhanded Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), flies off the handle and loses his job. Discontent with his failure, and constantly blaming God, Bruce directs his anger at those around him. But in the interim, he receives numerous calls from an unknown phone number. When he finally calls the number, he's offered an interview for "the job of his life". Curious, Bruce attends the interview in a bleach-white building where he's confronted by a mysterious janitor who claims to be God (Morgan Freeman).

God confronts Bruce with all the complaints he's made, and then makes a surprising offer. God will let Bruce take his job for two weeks. God will go on vacation, and Bruce will be granted all the powers of the Almighty...

The result is an hour and a half of utter hilarity. Bruce begins by parting his tomato soup and proclaiming himself "Bruce Almighty". He then uncovers the biggest story of the year when he "happens upon" the recovery of Jimmy Hoffa's body. Inserting himself in the backdrop of an endless string of amazing news stories, Bruce gets his old job back and watches his personal stock soar. Sabotaging Evan's career, Bruce is given the anchor chair he so covets.

But along the way, his relationship with Grace falls apart, the world around him edges closer to anarchy, and the powers of God become too much for Bruce to handle. Unable to cope with the looming disaster of his actions, Bruce encounters God once again, but this time his life perspective is far different than before...

Some of the scenes in this film are beyond description, they're so funny. In one such scene, Bruce (now having the power of God) faces down a gang which had previously beat him senseless. What he does to their leader will make every viewer cringe. More than just a comedy, Bruce Almighty forces the audience to imagine themselves in a similar situation. A wonderful and intriguing idea for a story, Jim Carrey brings the film to life and entertains audiences with a comedic omnipotence of which God himself can be proud...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of the Bruce Almighty (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/bruce-almighty-dvd.html].

The Terminal (DVD) Review

Winner of the Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design award, The Terminal is a fascinating and humorous romantic comedy based on a novel premise. Directed by Steven Spielberg, who previously collaborated with Tom Hanks on The Money Pit (1986), Joe Versus The Volcano (1990), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), the film's eccentricity tends to transform an otherwise lackluster film into an endearingly comedic one. The product of veteran screenwriters Sacha Gervasi and Andrew Niccol, the latter being credited with the smash hit The Truman Show (1998), The Terminal isn't quite on par with the aforementioned Jim Carey film, but neither is it a waste of time. Sporting an out-of-the-ordinary plot and a strange array of characters, it's a film you're certain to either love or hate...

The Terminal follows the life of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a citizen of the fictional Republic of Krakozhia, who decides to vacation in New York City. Stepping off his plane and onto the terminal at JFK International, he remains unaware of the civil war that erupted in Krakozhia during his flight, a war resulting in the dissolution of the Republic and Viktor's status as an official citizen of nowhere. Because the United States has yet to establish a working relationship with the newly created nation, Viktor can not leave the terminal. Neither can he return to Krakozhia, nor can he set foot on US soil outside the boundaries of terminal.

Following the explanation of this snafu by the head of terminal security Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), Viktor slowly, despite the language barrier, realizes the implications of the war. Dixon's first inclination is to convince Viktor he can make a run for it when the security detail changes shifts, when in reality, he plans to have Viktor arrested so he's no longer a problem. But Viktor doesn't bite. Instead, he makes a decision to stay in the terminal. The result is a hilarious and sometimes inspiring cacophony of events that force Viktor to uncover his own means of survival.

Running out of food coupons, Viktor returns luggage carts and collects the deposits so he can buy cheeseburgers at Burger King. But Dixon stops him by declaring that only security officials can gather carts. As the days pass, Dixon continues to obstruct Viktor's efforts. He makes friends with many of the airport personnel, builds his own dwelling, and acquires an undocumented job working as a carpenter inside the airport. Along the way, he also strikes up a sporadic romance with airline stewardess Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

When Dixon is promoted to the top position at JFK, Viktor spoils his plans with some creative interpretation on behalf of a foreign passenger detained with illegal prescription drugs. Telling Dixon the drugs are for the man's goat, rather than his father, he is able to grant the man passage much to Dixon's dismay. In the end, Viktor reaches celebrity status among the employees and regulars of the airport terminal. But will Viktor ever escape the vagabond life of living in an airport terminal?

A fascinating "what if" concept, The Terminal may be an implausible scenario, but it's nevertheless an entertaining one. Tom Hanks does a superb job in moving Viktor's character from a man who barely speaks English to a man who is fully functional in a foreign airport terminal. Not to be confused with one of the great films of its time, movie buffs could still do far worse than to spend a relaxing evening watching this one. The talent of Tom Hanks is on full display, and Steven Spielberg rarely produces a flop...

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Terminal (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/terminal-dvd.html].

The Chameleon

How difficult would it be to pass yourself off as someone else...specifically, a missing person?  As Frederic Bourdin discovered along his infamous journey as a serial impostor, it's not that tough.

Based on the novel by journalist Christophe D'Antonio, The Chameleon focuses on the true story of Bourdin, who traveled extensively for years under one false identity after another.  Eventually, after posing as several dozens different people, he was imprisoned for some of his crimes.

The film examines one particular account that eventually leads to his arrest, taking place in a small Louisiana bayou outside of Baton Rouge.  After disappearing for several years as a pre-teen, the son of a distressed working class family appears out of nowhere, now a young man, in France.

With many memories missing and a distressed demeanor, Nick (Marc-André Grondin) returns to his family...who exhibit bizarre reactions.  His sister (Emilie de Ravin) welcomes him warmly, while his drug-addicted, alcoholic mother (Ellen Barkin) seems troubled by his reappearance.

Even more peculiar, his trouble-making half-brother (Nick Stall) seems more infuriated than relieved to see Nick again.  All the while, not one of these people questions the identity of the young man claiming to be their family member. 

A local FBI agent (Famke Janssen) smells a rat, and begins to dig through the facts surrounding the disappearance and reappearance of Nick.  There are many missing pieces to the puzzle...but neither Nick nor his family care to assist in her relentless pursuit of the truth.

Director Jean-Paul Salome seamlessly handles the intricacies of Nick's family unit against the soggy bayou setting.  The internal tension amongst the family, which can be seen in their eyes, reflects years of abuse of torment.  These people have been hurting for so long that they no longer feel the pain.

Yet, instead of rejecting these people as repulsive and dysfunctional, the audience is strangely drawn to them.  The characters might be as pathetic as they come, but we still feel for them, and want to get to know them further.  This is, of course, thanks in part to the brilliant performances from the well-selected cast members.

Leading the cast is the brilliant Ellen Barkin and Marc-André Grondin, who create a multi-layered and complex emotional bond as the mother and her alleged son.  Barkin delivers one of the most stirring performances of her career, and is almost unrecognizable in the role.

Clearly a method actor, Barkin completely loses herself in the character, embracing the emotional intensity with a cold, bitter numbness.  She could easily find herself nominated for best supporting actress come awards season.

Grondin, in a role which could have easily been overplayed, delivers a restrained and controlled performance, one that captures the quirks and eccentricity of the title character...but does so in an unexpected light that keeps the audience at bay yet acquires their affection, all at the same time. 

During the third act, the film reveals some of its most pressing secrets, but fails to explore them in a fashion that satisfies the cravings it created in the first two acts.  Still, while the movie is guilty of spending a bit too much time in the wrong places, the spellbinding journey of The Chameleon is no less captivating.

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Horrible Bosses

Winner of several imaginary literary and filmmaking awards.

In a summer that has inundated audiences with heinous sequels and awful comic book adaptations, it's ironically refreshing that a film with the word "horrible" baked right into its title would end up being absolutely fantastic. Horrible Bosses is wryly hilarious from start to finish, a summer comedy that relishes the zany and ridiculous but approaches the madcap material with cleverness and wit. It's a big-joke comedy that is also in on the joke, a welcome respite from the onslaught of self-serious action duds and dingy hologram 3-D imagery.

Perhaps labeling a film centered around pre-meditated murder "giddily infectious" is oxymoronic, but this one has a way of making a dark premise feel lighter than air. I smiled during the film's opening sequence, and it gradually built to a sustained goofy chuckle that quite often gave way to deep belly laughs. Horrible Bosses builds a carefully controlled chaos that simultaneously lends believability to its high-wire premise and blunts the impact of its decidedly morbid implications. In a film centered around hate, there is nothing to be found but joy.

A great deal of that joy can be credited to the cast, which is populated from headliners to cameos with unbelievable talent -- talent that is not merely brought on to mug for the camera and devour scenery, but which adds unique verve to even the smallest of moments. Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis play the three jaded souls at the center of the film, and Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, and Colin Farrell play their bosses, each of whom is so blisteringly appalling that...well, they deserve to die. And so our heroes hatch a plot to kill all three of them. Such a premise is dicey at best and disastrous at worst, but these actors develop such seamless chemistry, such fine-tuned rhythm, that all dangers fade away and we become instantly engaged with the resulting product of what seems to be the happiest movie set of the year.

Each of the bosses is particularly monstrous in his or her own special way, and the actors who embody them dig in with a vigor we really haven't seen before, even from stars as accomplished as these. Spacey has played hard-ass bosses before, but he reaches an unexplored level of vicious narcissism as the smug company president who grooms Bateman to become his VP and then sabotages him with one cruel manipulation after another. Farrell goes over the top in ways we've never seen as the absolutely gross new boss who snorts cocaine in the bathroom, brings prostitutes into the office, and forces underling Sudeikis to fire people based on physical appearance -- even though this particular boss's biggest offense is most certainly his tacky combover. Aniston might have the most fun of all, playing against type and against her history to deliver one of the happiest psychotic nymphomaniacs to ever grace the screen. The ways in which she harasses Day -- who is loyal like a puppy to his fiance and just wants to be left alone -- build to uncomfortable new heights every time Aniston appears on screen.

Wonderful as all these elements are, the film is not quite perfect. Such frenzied comedic material leads to some frayed screenplay edges, and while the story packs a satisfying amount of turns and surprises, the end result adds up to less than the sum of its parts. It would've helped to open the film -- which takes on the properties of a chamber drama between the three central characters -- up to a few more intriguing characters, including a female or two who actually isn't a sex-crazed bitch. And while the film is a near-constant laugh blast, it lacks the psychological depth that colored in the edges of the summer's other great comedy, Bridesmaids.

And yet the film works just about seamlessly as it is. A major part of that success is the film's tone, which is especially crucial to a plot like this. Credit is due not only to the spirit of the actors but to director Seth Gordon and screenwriters John Markowitz, John Francis Daley, and Jonathan Goldstein. Gordon, who debuted with one of the most entertaining documentaries of recent years, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, and experienced an uneasy transition to narrative features with Four Christmases, has very quickly found his footing as a comedy director. His timing as an orchestrator of big comedic moments is impeccable. That timing, applied to this very witty screenplay, which in turn is brought to life by actors who imbue every scene with unexpected kink and irresistible pathos, results in that most difficult of cinematic feats: comedy that works on nearly every level.

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Tabloid

Call it a godsend that Errol Morris found Joyce McKinney. The former Ms. Wyoming, now in her sixties, is a prime addition to the great documentarian's gallery of rogues, which includes former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and execution expert (and published Holocaust denier) Fred A. Leuchter. Like many of her colleagues in Morris's clown car, a great deal of hash has been made in the public forum about McKinney's exploits. Indeed, while watching Morris's wonderfully entertaining new documentary, Tabloid, you can't help but wonder how this woman, who made a splash in England for supposedly kidnapping her ex-fiancé from the Mormon church, where he was a missionary, chaining him to a bed and raping him for three days in a small cabin in Devonshire, hasn't become the source material for an American narrative, or a tempting slab of perversion for Stephen Frears or Peter Greenaway to toy with. Perhaps the lack of interest or ability stemmed from McKinney herself, who spins a myriad of fantastical scenarios and conspiracies to explain away her erstwhile fugitive status and the popular belief that she is an eccentric loon, which she (not surprisingly) sees as a misconception, if not an assault.

Morris's interview with McKinney makes up more than half of Tabloid, and it is no small feat that we are partially seduced by McKinney and her take on the entire fiasco. As this old-fashioned American gal has it, when she met Mormon hot-rodder Kirk Anderson, it was love at first sight, with an engagement decided upon only days later. McKinney was prepped for a life of white picket fences when Anderson was presumably kidnapped by Mormon overlords, whose practices are given extravagant, preposterous assaying by McKinney and some far more believable hashing by Mormon ex-pat Troy Williams, who many now refer to as the "gay mayor of Salt Lake City." With hired cronies in tow, not to mention creepy hanger-on KJ, McKinney jets of to London to rescue her betrothed, her own devout mission that concludes with the aforementioned three-day love-in and her eventual arrest by authorities.        

On trial, McKinney is steadfast in her belief of love, famously offering to ski down Mount Everest nude with a carnation in her nose for Anderson, who has since gone back to the church. This obsessive devotion bleeds over into a book (A Very Special Love Story) which remains unfinished to this day but was anticipated enough to garner a promotional video featuring McKinney wandering through the English countryside, evoking Brother Sun, Sister Moon as much as The Wicker Man. Indeed, as much as she may deride the tabloid rag that outed her as a one-time sex model and escort who brought her beloved sheepdog Millie along with her on the job, McKinney is selling a number of versions of herself; the all-American girl, the fairy-tale princess, the 168-IQ ballbuster, the renegade, the romantic, and the misunderstood celeb. Morris takes it in with glee and offers yet another lens for his muse, periodically using a still-shot of a television running a story on McKinney or an interview with the soon-to-be-published author.

Settled comfortably into post-on-the-lam life as an agoraphobic North Carolina nobody, McKinney appears in the papers once more when she becomes the recipient of a litter of dogs, cloned from her pit bull, Booger, in North Korea. McKinney recants how Booger, a stray, saved her from being mauled to death by her previous dog, eventually crumbling into tears in a way we never see when she speaks of Anderson, or anyone else. Unconditional love provides McKinney with the certainties and assurances that many find in Providence, and Morris is not lost on this concept. In its tale of accumulating, conflicting versions of one story (not to mention one person), Tabloid is certainly in line with the director's other probing studies of depiction, whether through photographs (Standard Operating Procedure), laws (The Thin Blue Line), or history (The Fog of War), but it is perhaps his most intimate since Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control. In McKinney, Morris sees not only a specimen for his particular style but also a kindred soul, buried beneath the dense snow of madness, fame, and misfortune. 

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Zookeeper

Winner of several imaginary literary and filmmaking awards.When little kids walk out of a movie called Zookeeper and call it "stupid," you know it must be really bad. Here is a comedy that consists of equal parts scatology and schmaltz, that is aimed directly for the center of a 7-year-old's happy sensors -- blending talking animals, bumbling pratfalls, lovable goofball heroes, and cartoon-simple villains -- and it can't even wring a positive review out of little kids souped up on candy and popcorn. Not a good sign.

Most interesting of all is, there is no more accurate description of Zookeeper than the efficient, one-word response of its child detractors. This movie is stupid. Strikingly, mind-numbingly stupid for such a sustained length that by the end, when the inevitable singing animal montage plays over the credits, I could barely muster the brain strength to be offended.

If you are entertained by the notion of Kevin James hurdling himself through one embarrassing stunt after another and bonding with an uncomfortably ugly ape suit that flaps its badly animated lips to the disembodied voice of Nick Nolte, then Zookeeper is the movie for you. Your will be rewarded with sequences in which the bosom buddies go out on the town, play foosball as TGI Friday's, engage in heartfelt talks, and scale a bridge in order to express love for Rosario Dawson. On the other hand, if you are confused or repulsed by visions of those scenes, I'd advise picking another movie.

Yes, the Nolte ape opines about life and love, but so do most of the animals at the movie's soundstage version of a zoo. They are vividly personified with the likes of celebrity voices such as Sylvester Stallone, Cher, Jon Favreau, Adam Sandler and others, and they counsel giant ball of energy James on his love life. You see, five years ago his romantic proposal was turned down by his superficial gold-digging girlfriend (Leslie Bibb), and she has suddenly arrived back in his life, due to machinations of the plot that are less consequential than the plot itself. The zoo animals teach James to behave like an animal, which makes him irresistible to his ex (just go with it). Of course, there is another woman (played by Rosario Dawson, who better enjoy this paycheck) who is obviously perfect for our hero (I mean, can't you just picture them together?), but who he ignores in order to pine for his heinous ex.

Hard to believe I found a way to fill a whole paragraph discussing this plot, which was apparently so hard to formulate that the screenplay is credited to five writers, but which could've been written better by the animals. Zookeeper represents Kevin James' second foray into high-concept leading man territory, after 2009's Paul Blart: Mall Cop. That film was barely competent, but on the basis of this, one might think James lost his magic touch. Zookeeper uncannily resembles the very substance a Sandler-voiced monkey encourages James to throw at his ex-girlfriend.

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