Welcome to our May 2008 DVD reviews & video reviews.
Home video is exploding these days because of one thing:
High Definition Digital Television. The high definition video disc format wars are over, and that should mean an
ever-increasing number of titles in the new Blu-Ray format. We hope you enjoy this archive of our
DVD reviews & home video reviews archive for May, 2008.
Make yourself as comfortable as you can, because this is a dark ride. The Coen Brother's latest
epic based on Cormac McCarthy's novel is the eerie story of a trail of men hunting each other,
leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a young Vietnam vet in Texas out hunting comes across a
valise filled with $2 million at a grisly scene of several trucks and a slew of dead bodies.
He tells his wife he has to go off by himself for a while, without telling her why. He heads for
El Paso to figure out his next move, but finds that someone is following him. His pursuer is
a cold ex-special ops killer named Chigurh, played with steely determination by Javier Bardem,
who determines his victim's fates with the toss of a coin. Also on Moss' trail is Sheriff Bell,
played by the amazing Tommy Lee Jones. Following the Sherrif, in turn, is one of Chigurh's
former partners (Woody Harrelson). We're taken along this trail of blood and greed, and the
tension slowly mounts as each of the hunters comes closer to his quarry.
The Coen Brothers manage to keep the suspense simmering for the whole two hours, and tell a
story of good versus evil in this finely-crafter thriller. This film deserved all four of
the Oscars it won, especially for the Coen Brothers.
Based on Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil!", this is the story of an ambitious man named
Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) who pulls himself up by his bootstraps to become
an oil tycoon in the 1920's. It's the early days of oil when the derricks were
made from wood, and the men worked like dogs to extract the precious fluid from the
dry, dusty plains of Texas. Plainview, like his name, is a soft-spoken man driven
to succeed where other men would have given up. He has little regard for his long-lost
ne'er-do-well brother, who comes seeking his brother's help. Nor does this reserved
widower show much overt affection for his adopted son. And when a fire-and-brimstone
preacher starts to oppose him, we see Plainview's single-minded determination. Daniel
Day Lewis is superb in this story of grit and greed in the Texas oilfields.
Michael Kitchen is back as DC Foyle, for the fourth season of the story of the
English countryside of Hastings in World War II. The series begins with "The
Invasion", when the Yanks first arrive to build an airfield near Hastings.
Their reception is not entirely welcoming, as there is widespread resentment
of the American's late arrival to the fight, their rowdy and randy young men
who prey on the young women, and their wealth of creature comforts in the midst
of the strict rationing that the English had to endure since the late 1930's
when the War began. Tensions between the Brits and the Americans come to a
head when a young barmaid is discovered strangled at a dance thrown by the
Americans. Naturally, the locals all assume that one of the young American
flyers who had been dating the young girl is responsible. But the stoic
and brilliantly logical Foyle focuses on the evidence and follows the
trail to the true killer.
If you're tired of the panderingly grisly, greedy, and depraved plots of
most American police dramas, you'll find the Foyle's War stories a
refreshing return to pure detective work. The stories bring home the
realities of war that the Brittish faced during World War II, when the
outcome was still very much in doubt and their very existence was
truly in peril. Michael Kitchen's brilliant performance as Foyle shows
the emotions of a father with a son who's a fighter pilot in the RAF,
and a man devoted to his country, but who never allows his emotions
to overtake him. Also back are Sgt. Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) and
Foyle's driver Samantha Stewart (the cute as a button Honeysuckle Weeks) who add to the
richness of the stories.
I call this series a cross between Doctor Who and MI-5. It's the story
of a special operations group who search for alien invaders. Yeah,
the E.T. kind of aliens. Set in Cardiff, we meet young PC Eve Myles
who encounters the Torchwood team while out on a call atop a
building investigating a stabbing. Peering over the ledge, she sees
the team huddled around the victim and apparently bringing him back
to life so they can ask him who killed him. She ultimately follows
the team back to their headquarters, where she is invited to join
the organization. Heading up the team is the charming and dashing
Capt. Jack Harkness, who keeps his background a mystery to everyone
and is apparently immortal.
Played only slightly tongue-in-cheek, the series expands the usual
sci-fi fare to include some unusually adult themes. It comes by its
Dr. Who heritage quite honestly, since it was created by Russell T. Davies
and the Jack Harkness character once made an appearance in that series.
For fans of science fiction looking for something well off the beaten
path, Torchwood is a welcome treat. The plots aren't particularly
compelling as much as they are character-driven. The main characters
have hearts and souls, and show a full gamut of emotions. The first
season is comprised of thirteen episodes, with commentaries by
Davies, the writers and actors, and includes a BBC 3 special on the
"Making Of". This is the kind of program that keeps its fans
coming back for more.
The astonishingly beautiful Keira Knightley stars in this story of
pre-War England as Cecilia Tallis, as the daughter of a wealthy family
who falls in love with the son of the housekeeper named Robbie Turner. Forced by class
differences to keep their distance, they are nonetheless smitten with
each other. But Cecilia's sister Briony is also attracted to Robbie, and
after catching the pair in the throes of passion which she mistakes for abuse,
her jealously drives her to tell lies about Robbie which ultimately drive him
out of the household.
When war does come to England, Robbie enlists and is sent to France. Cecilia
becomes a nurse in London, and Briony becomes overcome with remorse for her
actions and tries her best to make up for her past sins, to no avail.
With splendid cinematography, this is the sort of epic that is rarely seen
in modern movies. The characters are pure and passionate, played against a backdrop
of British class distinction. Keira Knightly is captivating and plays Cecilia
with grace and charm not seen since Grace Kelley ruled over Hollywood.
Often called one of Woody Allen's best movies, "Bullets Over Broadway" is a star-studded
tale of a writer in the days of the Speakeasies when mobsters had molls. The versatile
John Cusack plays David Shayne, an aspiring playwright whose only way to get his show produced is to
get the money from a mob boss named Cheech (Chazz Palminteri) that insists that his girlfriend
(the bubly delightful Jennifer Tilly) play the lead. Naturally, she's totally inept
as an actress, but the kicker here is that Cheech's suggestions for the play are turning
out to be better than anything Shayne had come up with.
Rounding out the cast are veterans Dianne Weist, Jack Warden, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman,
Harvey Firestein, and Mary-Louise Parker. It's a wild ride that's chock-full of fun.
"Mad Money" is a disappointing comedy starring Diane Keaton as Bridget, whose world is
crashing down around her when her husband loses his high-paying job. Bridget lands a
job of her own, working as a janitor in a US Treasury currency disposal installation.
Bridget comes up with a plan to steal some of the currency on its way to the furnace,
and enlists the help of her co-workers Nina (Queen Latifah) and Jackie (Katie Holmes).
The laughs are few and far between, as we watch the escapades of this trio of amateurs
stuffing their clothes with currency on their way to a very predictable finish.
A smallish hit from 2005, "The Chronicles of Narnia" is the charming story of three youngsters
who are sent to live in an English country mansion during the Blitz of World War II.
The trio discover a portal to a magical world called Narnia in a wardrobe on the top floor of the
mansion. Narnia is filled with magical creatures, ruled by a wicked ice queen called
The White Witch (Tilda Swinton). The adventure plays out to lead the children to
free the inhabitants from the shackles of the White Witch's rule.
While hardly universally acclaimed, Narnia is nonetheless an entertaining film that will
amuse the children with the story of the magical creatures and charm the adults with
its heart. Fine performances all around, especially Tilda Swinton who shines on the
screen.
Be sure to visit us again next month when we'll
review more entertaining and enlightening DVDs and home videos. Our
DVD reviews are written by our Editor, Richard L. Trethewey.
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