"The Skeleton Key"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

By Christopher Smith

The Iain Softley film, "The Skeleton Key," is one hoodoo of a movie--literally. It's a movie about hoodoo, voodoo and cheap thrills set in a Louisiana backwater.

The film is a ripe Southern Gothic, just this side of moldy, with Softley playing the first half of the story straight before smoking some homegrown hoodoo himself to deliver a final half that embraces, shall we say, its share of absurdity.

The film finds its star, Kate Hudson, breaking free from the string of disappointing romantic comedies that have plagued her career since her excellent, Academy Award-nominated performance in 2001's "Almost Famous."

Here, she pulls a Naomi Watts and a Jennifer Connelly by hopping the tracks into horror, which turns out to be a shrewd move for a woman whose career has become such a horror. While the movie is far from the showpiece Hudson deserves, she nevertheless is able to reveal appealing new dimensions that the slight, meet-cute formula of her previous films haven't allowed her to show.

She's not alone in mixing things up.

Based on Ehren Kruger's script, "The Skeleton Key" also stars venerable actress Gena Rowlands. Like Bette Davis before her in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and the movie "The Skeleton Key" most resembles, 1964's "Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte," Rowlands has apparently reached that zenith in her career when its perfectly sane to go a little nuts onscreen.

True, she doesn't go as far as Joan Crawford did in her final two films, the infamous camp keepers "Berserk!" and "Trog," but there is a scene with Rowlands that involves compound fractures, a foul, bourbon-soaked mouth and lots of low crawling that's one for the record books.

In the movie, Hudson is Caroline, a Big Easy hospice worker who agrees to take a job on the aforementioned backwater, in spite of urgings from her friend, Hallie (Fahnlohnee Harris), not to do it. "Girl, crazy things happen out there," Hallie says. "I don't know, sugar--you better think twice." Or something like that.

Anyhoodoo, it comes down to this: Caroline gets in her vintage VW Beetle and takes off for the job. On the rundown plantation, which looks peculiarly like the one in "Charlotte," she meets sketchy Violet (Rowlands), who boldly likes to smoke long, thin cigarillos with flare; her lawyer, Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), who doesn't; and Violet's dying husband, Ben (John Hurt), who apparently had a massive stroke.

In this house of no mirrors, things get weird behind all those locked doors, the skeleton key to which Caroline was given by Violet. While she cares for Ben, curiosity leads her into every one of those rooms, particularly (and naturally) the attic, in which something appears to be trying like hell to get out.

Caroline tries like mad to get in, which leads to all sorts of problems, the likes of which won't be revealed here because it's at this point that the movie gets good--really good--in it's own cheap, awful way.

Look, "The Skeleton Key" isn't a great movie by any stretch, but when a film's actors obviously are having this much fun slumming--and that fun morphs into subversive entertainment for us--there isn't a better summertime remedy, Southern or otherwise.

Grade: B
 
View the trailer for "The Skeleton Key" here:

"The Skeleton Key"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

By Christopher Smith

The Iain Softley film, "The Skeleton Key," is one hoodoo of a movie--literally. It's a movie about hoodoo, voodoo and cheap thrills set in a Louisiana backwater.

The film is a ripe Southern Gothic, just this side of moldy, with Softley playing the first half of the story straight before smoking some homegrown hoodoo himself to deliver a final half that embraces, shall we say, its share of absurdity.

The film finds its star, Kate Hudson, breaking free from the string of disappointing romantic comedies that have plagued her career since her excellent, Academy Award-nominated performance in 2001's "Almost Famous."

Here, she pulls a Naomi Watts and a Jennifer Connelly by hopping the tracks into horror, which turns out to be a shrewd move for a woman whose career has become such a horror. While the movie is far from the showpiece Hudson deserves, she nevertheless is able to reveal appealing new dimensions that the slight, meet-cute formula of her previous films haven't allowed her to show.

She's not alone in mixing things up.

Based on Ehren Kruger's script, "The Skeleton Key" also stars venerable actress Gena Rowlands. Like Bette Davis before her in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and the movie "The Skeleton Key" most resembles, 1964's "Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte," Rowlands has apparently reached that zenith in her career when its perfectly sane to go a little nuts onscreen.

True, she doesn't go as far as Joan Crawford did in her final two films, the infamous camp keepers "Berserk!" and "Trog," but there is a scene with Rowlands that involves compound fractures, a foul, bourbon-soaked mouth and lots of low crawling that's one for the record books.

In the movie, Hudson is Caroline, a Big Easy hospice worker who agrees to take a job on the aforementioned backwater, in spite of urgings from her friend, Hallie (Fahnlohnee Harris), not to do it. "Girl, crazy things happen out there," Hallie says. "I don't know, sugar--you better think twice." Or something like that.

Anyhoodoo, it comes down to this: Caroline gets in her vintage VW Beetle and takes off for the job. On the rundown plantation, which looks peculiarly like the one in "Charlotte," she meets sketchy Violet (Rowlands), who boldly likes to smoke long, thin cigarillos with flare; her lawyer, Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), who doesn't; and Violet's dying husband, Ben (John Hurt), who apparently had a massive stroke.

In this house of no mirrors, things get weird behind all those locked doors, the skeleton key to which Caroline was given by Violet. While she cares for Ben, curiosity leads her into every one of those rooms, particularly (and naturally) the attic, in which something appears to be trying like hell to get out.

Caroline tries like mad to get in, which leads to all sorts of problems, the likes of which won't be revealed here because it's at this point that the movie gets good--really good--in it's own cheap, awful way.

Look, "The Skeleton Key" isn't a great movie by any stretch, but when a film's actors obviously are having this much fun slumming--and that fun morphs into subversive entertainment for us--there isn't a better summertime remedy, Southern or otherwise.

Grade: B
 
View the trailer for "The Skeleton Key" here:

"Knowing"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Alex Proyas, written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, 122 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

Alex Proyas' horror thriller, "Knowing," stars Nicolas Cage in one of his better commercial efforts, which is good news for Cage, since he needed a movie that was an improvement over the dreck he’s been shucking to audiences lately.

For too long, the man’s career has been one long wallow in the business end of a loaded toilet, where he swam amid such firebombs as "The Wicker Man," "Ghost Rider," "Next" "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and the especially risible "Bangkok Dangerous.”

The key to Cage's success in this movie is Proyas, the visionary director behind such cult classics as "The Crow" and "Dark City,” as well as 2004's excellent "I, Robot." What he has done with Cage is to tone him down. The man is still as gaunt as ever (would somebody please throw him a Fat Burger?), but gone are the massive fright wigs he has favored as of late, not to mention his thirst for delivering such hilarious, over-reaching performances, they tend to lend themselves to drinking games.

Working from Juliet Snowden and Stiles White's script, "Knowing" is a B-movie movie charged with science fiction undertones. It's about the end of the world and how one young girl named Lucinda (Lara Robinson) saw it coming 50 years ago.

At the start of the movie, this grim girl with the dead eyes and the blank face taps into something otherworldly when she joins the rest of her class by drawing her idea of what the future will look like within 50 years. Instead of drawing happy little space ships, Lucinda goes all crazy in the classroom, scribbling down a rush of numbers on a piece of paper that gets tucked within the time capsule.

Cut to the present and to Cage’s John Koestler, a widower doing his best to raise his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) while also spending quality time with a whisky bottle. It’s when the time capsule is opened and Caleb comes in contact with Lucinda’s handiwork that their lives are turned sideways, with John, an astrophysicist at M.I.T., soon realizing that the numbers Lucinda wrote correlate with the dates and locations of worldwide disasters, such as 9-11.

The list states that the next day, 81 people will die, which indeed happens when a plane crashes near John in New York City. A few days later, a subways skips the tracks and smashes through crowds of people, killing the exact number Lucinda predicted. Each of these scenes are beautifully handled, so seamless in their special effects, they add a nice rush to the movie.

Deepening the film's creepy factor are the men in black who hover around Caleb like a clutch of crows. They're known as the "Whisperers" and they appear mostly at night, standing watch over Caleb in ways that suggest a malicious intent. Draw into this story a subplot that involves Lucinda's daughter, Diana (Rose Byrne) and her daughter, Abby (Robinson), who also can hear the Whisperers, and "Knowing" becomes a satisfying thriller that doesn't cheat its audience when it comes to its harrowing ending.

While there are elements here that don’t add up, such as the mysterious rocks that appear throughout, this is a B-movie, with all that implies, and it’s better than the bad rap it received when it first hit theaters.

Grade: B

Watch the trailer for "Knowing" here:

"Knowing"

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Alex Proyas, written by Juliet Snowden and Stiles White, 122 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

Alex Proyas' horror thriller, "Knowing," stars Nicolas Cage in one of his better commercial efforts, which is good news for Cage, since he needed a movie that was an improvement over the dreck he’s been shucking to audiences lately.

For too long, the man’s career has been one long wallow in the business end of a loaded toilet, where he swam amid such firebombs as "The Wicker Man," "Ghost Rider," "Next" "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" and the especially risible "Bangkok Dangerous.”

The key to Cage's success in this movie is Proyas, the visionary director behind such cult classics as "The Crow" and "Dark City,” as well as 2004's excellent "I, Robot." What he has done with Cage is to tone him down. The man is still as gaunt as ever (would somebody please throw him a Fat Burger?), but gone are the massive fright wigs he has favored as of late, not to mention his thirst for delivering such hilarious, over-reaching performances, they tend to lend themselves to drinking games.

Working from Juliet Snowden and Stiles White's script, "Knowing" is a B-movie movie charged with science fiction undertones. It's about the end of the world and how one young girl named Lucinda (Lara Robinson) saw it coming 50 years ago.

At the start of the movie, this grim girl with the dead eyes and the blank face taps into something otherworldly when she joins the rest of her class by drawing her idea of what the future will look like within 50 years. Instead of drawing happy little space ships, Lucinda goes all crazy in the classroom, scribbling down a rush of numbers on a piece of paper that gets tucked within the time capsule.

Cut to the present and to Cage’s John Koestler, a widower doing his best to raise his son Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) while also spending quality time with a whisky bottle. It’s when the time capsule is opened and Caleb comes in contact with Lucinda’s handiwork that their lives are turned sideways, with John, an astrophysicist at M.I.T., soon realizing that the numbers Lucinda wrote correlate with the dates and locations of worldwide disasters, such as 9-11.

The list states that the next day, 81 people will die, which indeed happens when a plane crashes near John in New York City. A few days later, a subways skips the tracks and smashes through crowds of people, killing the exact number Lucinda predicted. Each of these scenes are beautifully handled, so seamless in their special effects, they add a nice rush to the movie.

Deepening the film's creepy factor are the men in black who hover around Caleb like a clutch of crows. They're known as the "Whisperers" and they appear mostly at night, standing watch over Caleb in ways that suggest a malicious intent. Draw into this story a subplot that involves Lucinda's daughter, Diana (Rose Byrne) and her daughter, Abby (Robinson), who also can hear the Whisperers, and "Knowing" becomes a satisfying thriller that doesn't cheat its audience when it comes to its harrowing ending.

While there are elements here that don’t add up, such as the mysterious rocks that appear throughout, this is a B-movie, with all that implies, and it’s better than the bad rap it received when it first hit theaters.

Grade: B

Watch the trailer for "Knowing" here:

“Open Water”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Written and directed by Chris Kentis, 79 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

In “Open Water,” the bold thriller from writer-director Chris Kentis, a handsome, high-powered couple leave their hectic lives in the city for what promises to be a relaxing vacation in the Caribbean, one free of cell phones, the pressure of the daily grind, the monotony of habit.

For them, the sea is an escape from the concrete world that surrounds them—they welcome the open water and, to hear them tell it, they have paid plenty to play in it.

So be it. After a brief interlude that suggests Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) aren’t quite as happy as they should be together, they decide to board a tour boat, scuba dive with the 18 others onboard, and hope to reconnect in the deep reaches of the sea.

They reconnect, all right. When the tour boat operators mistakenly leave them stranded in the heart of the ocean with no land in sight, Daniel and Susan must find strength and solace in each other while gradually coming to realize some difficult truths about themselves, their relationship and especially their perilous situation.

What becomes clear is that all the control they felt they once had in their lives is and always has been an illusion. They have none, which is initially unfathomable to them. Now essentially fish food, they bob helplessly in the middle of nowhere while scores of sharks circle and bump into them, some just curious enough to lunge out and bite. When they do, the blood, clouding the water with its appealing scent, will be enough to rattle most movie-goers’ nerves.

The tension Kentis mines from this lean, deceptively simple premise is formidable, sometimes unbearable, always admirable. This is particularly true since in the water with these actors are over 50 real sharks—not mechanical ones, a la Spielberg. The film’s ultra-low, $130,000 budget didn’t allow for it.

It also didn’t allow for consistently clear audio (that’s a quibble) or for the actors to be protected by a cage. That’s really them in the water with these sharks, barracudas and stinging jellyfish, which gives the movie an immediacy and an urgency that can be excruciatingly palpable.

Shot entirely on video and based loosely on true events, the film mounts a sustained hum of psychological suspense. It achieves this by keeping the camera mostly on the skin of the ever-darkening water, thus allowing us to feast on Daniel and Susan’s fear, anger, disbelief, rage and exhaustion as the day stretches into night while only occasionally dipping below the surface to reveal the looming feeding frenzy gathering at their feet.

“Open Water” works on many levels, chief among them as a stark examination of isolation, worry, terror and the dread that can accompany the unknown. It’s about hopelessness and loss, staring death in the face and realizing that this time out, you might not win. It’s ending will ignite debate among those trained by the Hollywood machine, but it’s brave and it’s perfect.

In its new release on Blu-ray disc, where it appears with "Open Water 2," it's also not to be missed.

Grade: A-

“Open Water”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Written and directed by Chris Kentis, 79 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

In “Open Water,” the bold thriller from writer-director Chris Kentis, a handsome, high-powered couple leave their hectic lives in the city for what promises to be a relaxing vacation in the Caribbean, one free of cell phones, the pressure of the daily grind, the monotony of habit.

For them, the sea is an escape from the concrete world that surrounds them—they welcome the open water and, to hear them tell it, they have paid plenty to play in it.

So be it. After a brief interlude that suggests Daniel (Daniel Travis) and Susan (Blanchard Ryan) aren’t quite as happy as they should be together, they decide to board a tour boat, scuba dive with the 18 others onboard, and hope to reconnect in the deep reaches of the sea.

They reconnect, all right. When the tour boat operators mistakenly leave them stranded in the heart of the ocean with no land in sight, Daniel and Susan must find strength and solace in each other while gradually coming to realize some difficult truths about themselves, their relationship and especially their perilous situation.

What becomes clear is that all the control they felt they once had in their lives is and always has been an illusion. They have none, which is initially unfathomable to them. Now essentially fish food, they bob helplessly in the middle of nowhere while scores of sharks circle and bump into them, some just curious enough to lunge out and bite. When they do, the blood, clouding the water with its appealing scent, will be enough to rattle most movie-goers’ nerves.

The tension Kentis mines from this lean, deceptively simple premise is formidable, sometimes unbearable, always admirable. This is particularly true since in the water with these actors are over 50 real sharks—not mechanical ones, a la Spielberg. The film’s ultra-low, $130,000 budget didn’t allow for it.

It also didn’t allow for consistently clear audio (that’s a quibble) or for the actors to be protected by a cage. That’s really them in the water with these sharks, barracudas and stinging jellyfish, which gives the movie an immediacy and an urgency that can be excruciatingly palpable.

Shot entirely on video and based loosely on true events, the film mounts a sustained hum of psychological suspense. It achieves this by keeping the camera mostly on the skin of the ever-darkening water, thus allowing us to feast on Daniel and Susan’s fear, anger, disbelief, rage and exhaustion as the day stretches into night while only occasionally dipping below the surface to reveal the looming feeding frenzy gathering at their feet.

“Open Water” works on many levels, chief among them as a stark examination of isolation, worry, terror and the dread that can accompany the unknown. It’s about hopelessness and loss, staring death in the face and realizing that this time out, you might not win. It’s ending will ignite debate among those trained by the Hollywood machine, but it’s brave and it’s perfect.

In its new release on Blu-ray disc, where it appears with "Open Water 2," it's also not to be missed.

Grade: A-

"The Black Dahlia" DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Brian De Palma, written by Josh Friedman, 122 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Brian De Palma's "The Black Dahlia," now out on Blu-ray disc, is based on the legendary Hollywood murder in which 22-year-old Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) came to Tinseltown from Massachusetts in search of fame and fortune but instead found death and dismemberment.

On Jan. 15, 1947, her life literally was cut short.

Hers wasn't your everyday murder--far from it. In a vacant Los Angeles lot, Short's body was found naked, bloodless and severed in half, her mouth savagely cut from ear to ear in an effort to create a sort of grinning death mask. What Short experienced is the kind of grisly brutality that shocks even today, with questions still lingering around her death--why was she murdered? Who did it?

The film does come armed with a theory. It also features the excellence of Dante Ferretti's production design and Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography, which suggests that they had a handle on the genre in ways that De Palma, his cast and his screenwriter, Josh Friedman, didn't.

Based on James Ellroy's 1987 book, "The Black Dahlia" misinterprets the underpinnings of noir, amplifies elements that should have remained nuances and turns the production into an overbearing joke.

While there are some pleasures to be had in the camp the movie courts--nobody who sees it will soon forget Fiona Shaw's hilarious performance as the wealthy Ramona Linscott, for instance, which is startling in just how wrong it goes--it's unlikely that unintentional laughter is what De Palma was seeking.

That said, it's nevertheless what he gets.

The film stars Josh Hartnett as former boxer-cum-detective Bucky Bleichert, who joins his partner, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), in attempting to solve Short's case. Together, they must work through a few issues--their mutual attraction for Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson, sorely miscast) being one--while delving into a sordid mystery certain people don't want solved.

Such people include the slinky bisexual, Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a wanton femme fatale who dresses to resemble Short and who pins her secrets close to her breasts; her shady father, Emmet (John Kavanagh), who owns a revealing collection of art; and the aforementioned Ramona, whose alien-like presence would be better suited in a movie about Roswell than Hollywood.

There are others, all of whom work to clog the unnecessarily dense script. Tin dialogue clangs throughout, with the confused plotting joining the phony performances in failing to come through. Unlike "L.A. Confidential," which was successfully adapted from an Ellroy book, "The Black Dahlia" folds in the face of it. It's disappointing. With fall and its promise of better movies on the horizon, this movie, like "Hollywoodland," could have been among the most exciting of the new season. That neither is true for either movie isn't exactly encouraging.

Grade: C-

"The Black Dahlia" DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

Directed by Brian De Palma, written by Josh Friedman, 122 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Brian De Palma's "The Black Dahlia," now out on Blu-ray disc, is based on the legendary Hollywood murder in which 22-year-old Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) came to Tinseltown from Massachusetts in search of fame and fortune but instead found death and dismemberment.

On Jan. 15, 1947, her life literally was cut short.

Hers wasn't your everyday murder--far from it. In a vacant Los Angeles lot, Short's body was found naked, bloodless and severed in half, her mouth savagely cut from ear to ear in an effort to create a sort of grinning death mask. What Short experienced is the kind of grisly brutality that shocks even today, with questions still lingering around her death--why was she murdered? Who did it?

The film does come armed with a theory. It also features the excellence of Dante Ferretti's production design and Vilmos Zsigmond's cinematography, which suggests that they had a handle on the genre in ways that De Palma, his cast and his screenwriter, Josh Friedman, didn't.

Based on James Ellroy's 1987 book, "The Black Dahlia" misinterprets the underpinnings of noir, amplifies elements that should have remained nuances and turns the production into an overbearing joke.

While there are some pleasures to be had in the camp the movie courts--nobody who sees it will soon forget Fiona Shaw's hilarious performance as the wealthy Ramona Linscott, for instance, which is startling in just how wrong it goes--it's unlikely that unintentional laughter is what De Palma was seeking.

That said, it's nevertheless what he gets.

The film stars Josh Hartnett as former boxer-cum-detective Bucky Bleichert, who joins his partner, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart), in attempting to solve Short's case. Together, they must work through a few issues--their mutual attraction for Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson, sorely miscast) being one--while delving into a sordid mystery certain people don't want solved.

Such people include the slinky bisexual, Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a wanton femme fatale who dresses to resemble Short and who pins her secrets close to her breasts; her shady father, Emmet (John Kavanagh), who owns a revealing collection of art; and the aforementioned Ramona, whose alien-like presence would be better suited in a movie about Roswell than Hollywood.

There are others, all of whom work to clog the unnecessarily dense script. Tin dialogue clangs throughout, with the confused plotting joining the phony performances in failing to come through. Unlike "L.A. Confidential," which was successfully adapted from an Ellroy book, "The Black Dahlia" folds in the face of it. It's disappointing. With fall and its promise of better movies on the horizon, this movie, like "Hollywoodland," could have been among the most exciting of the new season. That neither is true for either movie isn't exactly encouraging.

Grade: C-

"Chloe"

DVD, Blu-ray Review

Directed by Atom Egoyan, Written by Erin Cressida Wilson, 96 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

As far as erotic thrillers go, "Chloe" seems to aim a bit more toward the former than the latter. Director Atam Egoyan, the acclaimed Canadian director of such films as "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Where the Truth Lies," has a definite eye for the erotic, both in how he films his actors and in the overall mood of his films. As a builder of suspense, however, he takes a bit too much from cliche to be entirely effective. Still, the film has a lot of merit in its psychological implications and its very solid performances.

The film follows frustrated doctor, wife and mother Catherine (Julianne Moore). She and her husband, David (Liam Neeson), have grown distant, and Catherine suspects David may be having an affair. From the window of her office she notices the day-to-day comings and goings of a call-girl named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), and after a chance encounter with her, Catherine asks the young woman to act as a temptress to her husband to see if he's really having an affair. Things don't quite work out that way, though, and Catherine finds herself in for more than she bargained for.

It's hard to entirely warm up to the film. A level of uneasiness is crucial with this kind of subject matter, of course, but the characters (particularly Catherine) are all so frustratingly abrasive that it's less unease that you're feeling and more just pure irritation. The conflicts between Catherine and her family are so thinly drawn that they feel less like serious conflicts and more like things tossed in the script to make things more complicated.

For the most part, all of the power of the film is in the final act. The twist--if you want to call it that, though it's really more of an underlying truth one could likely see clues to the whole time--brings a lot of the more simple and vague aspects of the film to a much stronger emotional level. There's a good deal of erotic tension between Catherine and Chloe, and before things really develop near the end of the film, most of the more sexual moments of the film (of which there are many, mostly quite, uh, impressive) appear more exploitative than emotionally relevant. Thankfully, that doesn't end up being the case, and there's more subtle psychology going on in the film than it lets on.

The performances help the film a great deal, with all three leads giving pretty impressive turns, particularly Seyfried, who seems to play rather dull characters more often than not, but who really comes to life here. Neeson exudes the charm necessary for this kind of role.

Really, the main problems are all in the writing. Sure, the final half hour or so fixes a great deal of the problems early on, but retrospect can only accomplish so much, and one can't help but be annoyed that the film doesn't really come alive until the climax. But the direction and acting is generally solid enough that the film never loses its momentum, and the whole is good enough that its parts are generally forgivable. It's far from the most profound or exciting thrillers out there, but it's certainly better than a lot of them as well.

Grade: C+

"Chloe"

DVD, Blu-ray Review

Directed by Atom Egoyan, Written by Erin Cressida Wilson, 96 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

As far as erotic thrillers go, "Chloe" seems to aim a bit more toward the former than the latter. Director Atam Egoyan, the acclaimed Canadian director of such films as "The Sweet Hereafter" and "Where the Truth Lies," has a definite eye for the erotic, both in how he films his actors and in the overall mood of his films. As a builder of suspense, however, he takes a bit too much from cliche to be entirely effective. Still, the film has a lot of merit in its psychological implications and its very solid performances.

The film follows frustrated doctor, wife and mother Catherine (Julianne Moore). She and her husband, David (Liam Neeson), have grown distant, and Catherine suspects David may be having an affair. From the window of her office she notices the day-to-day comings and goings of a call-girl named Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), and after a chance encounter with her, Catherine asks the young woman to act as a temptress to her husband to see if he's really having an affair. Things don't quite work out that way, though, and Catherine finds herself in for more than she bargained for.

It's hard to entirely warm up to the film. A level of uneasiness is crucial with this kind of subject matter, of course, but the characters (particularly Catherine) are all so frustratingly abrasive that it's less unease that you're feeling and more just pure irritation. The conflicts between Catherine and her family are so thinly drawn that they feel less like serious conflicts and more like things tossed in the script to make things more complicated.

For the most part, all of the power of the film is in the final act. The twist--if you want to call it that, though it's really more of an underlying truth one could likely see clues to the whole time--brings a lot of the more simple and vague aspects of the film to a much stronger emotional level. There's a good deal of erotic tension between Catherine and Chloe, and before things really develop near the end of the film, most of the more sexual moments of the film (of which there are many, mostly quite, uh, impressive) appear more exploitative than emotionally relevant. Thankfully, that doesn't end up being the case, and there's more subtle psychology going on in the film than it lets on.

The performances help the film a great deal, with all three leads giving pretty impressive turns, particularly Seyfried, who seems to play rather dull characters more often than not, but who really comes to life here. Neeson exudes the charm necessary for this kind of role.

Really, the main problems are all in the writing. Sure, the final half hour or so fixes a great deal of the problems early on, but retrospect can only accomplish so much, and one can't help but be annoyed that the film doesn't really come alive until the climax. But the direction and acting is generally solid enough that the film never loses its momentum, and the whole is good enough that its parts are generally forgivable. It's far from the most profound or exciting thrillers out there, but it's certainly better than a lot of them as well.

Grade: C+

"The Dark Hours"

DVD, Blu-ray Review

Directed by Paul Fox, Written by Will Zmak, 80 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"The Dark Hours" is a muddled but generally suspenseful psychodrama about repression, jealousy, guilt, and people arguing in cute Canadian accents.

The film takes place over one night in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Samantha Goodman, a psychiatrist specializing in those convicted for sexual crimes, learns she has a brain tumor and may have only a year to live, and in the midst of this emotional turmoil she struggles with the possibility that her husband David may be having an affair with her sister Melody, both of whom are staying at the cabin with her. These conflicts come to a head when Harlan, a mental patient holding a grudge against Samantha, invades their cabin with a twisted lacky and forces them to play his sadistic games. As the night goes on, however, what's real and what's imagined becomes unclear and the true events of the evening are difficult to determine.

It's an interesting little thriller, if a bit overdone. The simple setting and dialogue-heavy plotting is kind of reminiscent of "Bug," and like that film you never quite know for sure what's really going on, though the uneasiness was built far more effectively in that film. Here our "villains," Harlan and Adrian, are pretty typical home invader psycho types, with very little to their characters beyond their roles as the antagonists. It makes a lot of the film kind of dull, really, as the whole thing takes place in this cabin we just these few people. Things would also be a bit better if, with a film this intimate, the dialogue were better. The thing about "Bug" or even small-setting films that aren't thrillers, they work because of how fluid and engaging the dialogue is. Here, there's just a lot of psychobabble and screaming.

The film is at its best in the more honestly dramatic moments than its more outright thrilling ones, and the acting is definitely the standout of the film. For the most part the actors are relative unknowns, and it adds a lot to the film's legitimacy. At least, until things really start going nuts in the last act.

It really might have worked out well if the film didn't descend into twist-mode at the climax. The twist itself isn't really a problem--it's believable, generally startling, and it works within the context of the events that precede it. What's bad about it is how it's introduced and how it basically brings the film to a dead halt. From that moment on the film loses every bit of momentum it had and any possible tension one might've felt is completely gone.

"The Dark Hours" doesn't quite live up to the potential set by its talent and plot, but as far as modern thrillers go, I'd be happy to see more efforts like this, and I wouldn't doubt director Paul Fox is capable of much better. The ambiguity of the events makes for a relatively intriguing film, even despite the sub-par execution of its twist, and it's well worth the short runtime.


Grade: C+

"The Dark Hours"

DVD, Blu-ray Review

Directed by Paul Fox, Written by Will Zmak, 80 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"The Dark Hours" is a muddled but generally suspenseful psychodrama about repression, jealousy, guilt, and people arguing in cute Canadian accents.

The film takes place over one night in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. Samantha Goodman, a psychiatrist specializing in those convicted for sexual crimes, learns she has a brain tumor and may have only a year to live, and in the midst of this emotional turmoil she struggles with the possibility that her husband David may be having an affair with her sister Melody, both of whom are staying at the cabin with her. These conflicts come to a head when Harlan, a mental patient holding a grudge against Samantha, invades their cabin with a twisted lacky and forces them to play his sadistic games. As the night goes on, however, what's real and what's imagined becomes unclear and the true events of the evening are difficult to determine.

It's an interesting little thriller, if a bit overdone. The simple setting and dialogue-heavy plotting is kind of reminiscent of "Bug," and like that film you never quite know for sure what's really going on, though the uneasiness was built far more effectively in that film. Here our "villains," Harlan and Adrian, are pretty typical home invader psycho types, with very little to their characters beyond their roles as the antagonists. It makes a lot of the film kind of dull, really, as the whole thing takes place in this cabin we just these few people. Things would also be a bit better if, with a film this intimate, the dialogue were better. The thing about "Bug" or even small-setting films that aren't thrillers, they work because of how fluid and engaging the dialogue is. Here, there's just a lot of psychobabble and screaming.

The film is at its best in the more honestly dramatic moments than its more outright thrilling ones, and the acting is definitely the standout of the film. For the most part the actors are relative unknowns, and it adds a lot to the film's legitimacy. At least, until things really start going nuts in the last act.

It really might have worked out well if the film didn't descend into twist-mode at the climax. The twist itself isn't really a problem--it's believable, generally startling, and it works within the context of the events that precede it. What's bad about it is how it's introduced and how it basically brings the film to a dead halt. From that moment on the film loses every bit of momentum it had and any possible tension one might've felt is completely gone.

"The Dark Hours" doesn't quite live up to the potential set by its talent and plot, but as far as modern thrillers go, I'd be happy to see more efforts like this, and I wouldn't doubt director Paul Fox is capable of much better. The ambiguity of the events makes for a relatively intriguing film, even despite the sub-par execution of its twist, and it's well worth the short runtime.


Grade: C+

DVD, Blu-Ray Review

"Carlito's Way"

Directed by Brian De Palma, Written by David Koepp, 144 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"I know about cars--I've been stealing them since I was 14."

This is what Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) tells his shady lawyer Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) after being released from prison on a technicality. Sentenced to 30 years for murder and drug trafficking, Carlito sees his early release as a sign that he should quit his life of crime and go clean, and his way of doing so is investing in a car rental place in the Bahamas.

That one line is a fair hint of what "Carlito's Way" offers. Coming right off of his Oscar win for "Scent of a Woman," Pacino goes all-out nuts with his performance, perhaps even moreso than in that previous film (but not quite as much as in "Scarface"). He's not too bad in spite of the fact that his charisma and style goes to waste in this rather dreary tale.

For most of the film, Carlito makes innocent attempts to keep himself out of trouble, but as Pacino's other (and far, far better) criminal mastermind said, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." The streets are full of petty thugs trying to get into the smack business themselves, the crazed and coked-out Kleinfeld forces Carlito to help him with his conflict with an imprisoned mob boss and former client, and an obnoxious new guy in town, Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo), tries to take Carlito down for blowing him off too many times. It doesn't help that Carlito is attempting to reconnect with an old flame, Gail (Penelope Ann Miller).

Like most of Brian De Palma's work, this is just a lot of the same. He takes cues from every director who ever influenced him and adds practically nothing of his own, aside from showy and arbitrary tracking shots and stilted action sequences. I don't know what De Palma would do if he ever had to come up with something of his own. All of that said, as arbitrary as De Palma's tracking shots are, they're pretty good-looking, as always. He has a real visual talent, it just tends to get stifled by his tremendously dull and derivative stories.

How you take Pacino's performance really depends on what Pacino you prefer--there's "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Heat" Pacino, who manages to balance the insanity with nuance and honest, quiet emotion; and there's the Pacino we know now, who screams his way through every scene, but is generally amusing. Both work for me, depending on the material, but he really doesn't do much here. If you want this Pacino, you might as well go with "Scent of a Woman" or "Scarface."

Penn probably stands out more than Pacino, and his slimey lawyer character should be an inspiration to similar characters everywhere.

"Carlito's Way" opened to a pretty middling reception, but it's gotten consistently more popular as the years have gone by. I'm not sure why--everything that people criticized is still here, and the years certainly haven't done it any favors. Pacino is just fine and Penn is solid, but both have done far better, and this is typically mediocre stuff from De Palma. It's not really a bad film, and it has some exciting moments, but mostly, it's average fluff from an average filmmaker. Passably entertaining at best, and a strong sign of the slow decline in quality Pacino's career would go through less than a decade later.

Grade: C-

DVD, Blu-Ray Review

"Carlito's Way"

Directed by Brian De Palma, Written by David Koepp, 144 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"I know about cars--I've been stealing them since I was 14."

This is what Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) tells his shady lawyer Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) after being released from prison on a technicality. Sentenced to 30 years for murder and drug trafficking, Carlito sees his early release as a sign that he should quit his life of crime and go clean, and his way of doing so is investing in a car rental place in the Bahamas.

That one line is a fair hint of what "Carlito's Way" offers. Coming right off of his Oscar win for "Scent of a Woman," Pacino goes all-out nuts with his performance, perhaps even moreso than in that previous film (but not quite as much as in "Scarface"). He's not too bad in spite of the fact that his charisma and style goes to waste in this rather dreary tale.

For most of the film, Carlito makes innocent attempts to keep himself out of trouble, but as Pacino's other (and far, far better) criminal mastermind said, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." The streets are full of petty thugs trying to get into the smack business themselves, the crazed and coked-out Kleinfeld forces Carlito to help him with his conflict with an imprisoned mob boss and former client, and an obnoxious new guy in town, Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo), tries to take Carlito down for blowing him off too many times. It doesn't help that Carlito is attempting to reconnect with an old flame, Gail (Penelope Ann Miller).

Like most of Brian De Palma's work, this is just a lot of the same. He takes cues from every director who ever influenced him and adds practically nothing of his own, aside from showy and arbitrary tracking shots and stilted action sequences. I don't know what De Palma would do if he ever had to come up with something of his own. All of that said, as arbitrary as De Palma's tracking shots are, they're pretty good-looking, as always. He has a real visual talent, it just tends to get stifled by his tremendously dull and derivative stories.

How you take Pacino's performance really depends on what Pacino you prefer--there's "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Heat" Pacino, who manages to balance the insanity with nuance and honest, quiet emotion; and there's the Pacino we know now, who screams his way through every scene, but is generally amusing. Both work for me, depending on the material, but he really doesn't do much here. If you want this Pacino, you might as well go with "Scent of a Woman" or "Scarface."

Penn probably stands out more than Pacino, and his slimey lawyer character should be an inspiration to similar characters everywhere.

"Carlito's Way" opened to a pretty middling reception, but it's gotten consistently more popular as the years have gone by. I'm not sure why--everything that people criticized is still here, and the years certainly haven't done it any favors. Pacino is just fine and Penn is solid, but both have done far better, and this is typically mediocre stuff from De Palma. It's not really a bad film, and it has some exciting moments, but mostly, it's average fluff from an average filmmaker. Passably entertaining at best, and a strong sign of the slow decline in quality Pacino's career would go through less than a decade later.

Grade: C-

DVD Movie Review

"M"

Directed by Fritz Lang, Written by Lang, Thea von Harbou, Paul Falkenberg and Adolf Jansen, 110 minutes, Not Rated

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

Fritz Lang often referred to his first sound film "M" as his masterpiece. Like many of Lang's films, it served as an archetype for its genre--the serial killer thriller, in this case--and most elements in the film have been recycled in most genre films since.

In the film, little girls in Berlin begin going missing, and as the local papers start getting mysterious Zodiac-esque letters threatening more kidnappings and murders, the city goes completely mad, with random men being arrested simply for speaking with young girls and bars getting raided every night. As Berlin becomes a police state, the criminal underworld takes matters into their own hands and employs local beggars to keep an eye out for the mysterious serial killer. And so begins a race between the cops and criminals to find the murderer.

Meanwhile, the killer himself, Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre in what is generally considered his breakout role), roams around being creepy like only Peter Lorre can be.

The script is really quite clever, such as when one of the criminals spots Beckert and slaps a proverbial scarlet letter (the "M" of the title) on his back so that the rest of the goons can follow him without knowing his face, or when Beckert is finally captured and he stands trial in front of a room of thieves, mobsters and murderers with the worst of the bunch acting as the judge.

Even better is the direction. Even as early as 1931, there is a lot of "modern" style on display here, especially in Lang's excellent use of shadow, reflections and zooms. One of the film's most thrilling moments comes when Beckert is slapped with the "M" and, as he notices the letter in his reflection and sees someone following him, flees through alleyways, with gorgeous overhead shots combined with claustrophobic and unsettling zooms perfectly conveying his sense of hopelessness and fear. Lang does a good job of making Beckert wholly reprehensible and then forcing the audience to put themselves in his shoes.

Like all older films that served as an inspiration for modern genre films, though, much of the film when viewed by an audience unfamiliar with its context will find it rather tame and predictable by today's standards. The film can be a bit slow in the first act as well, and until its climax, most of the film is hit-or-miss.

But there definitely is enough to like here to make up for the occasional dullness. Of course, the writing and direction is great, as are leads Lorre and Gustaf Grundgens as the criminal "judge." Lorre's performance is so perfect that the poor guy (originally a comedic performer) was typecast as creeps for the rest of his life (you may recall him from "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon").

And as far as Lang goes, he may think this is his masterpiece, but "Metropolis" is a better film.

As a massive inspiration and a quick thrill, "M" definitely works. But it may come off as quite dated to a new audience if they don't give it a chance.

Grade: B-

DVD Movie Review

"M"

Directed by Fritz Lang, Written by Lang, Thea von Harbou, Paul Falkenberg and Adolf Jansen, 110 minutes, Not Rated

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

Fritz Lang often referred to his first sound film "M" as his masterpiece. Like many of Lang's films, it served as an archetype for its genre--the serial killer thriller, in this case--and most elements in the film have been recycled in most genre films since.

In the film, little girls in Berlin begin going missing, and as the local papers start getting mysterious Zodiac-esque letters threatening more kidnappings and murders, the city goes completely mad, with random men being arrested simply for speaking with young girls and bars getting raided every night. As Berlin becomes a police state, the criminal underworld takes matters into their own hands and employs local beggars to keep an eye out for the mysterious serial killer. And so begins a race between the cops and criminals to find the murderer.

Meanwhile, the killer himself, Hans Beckert (played by Peter Lorre in what is generally considered his breakout role), roams around being creepy like only Peter Lorre can be.

The script is really quite clever, such as when one of the criminals spots Beckert and slaps a proverbial scarlet letter (the "M" of the title) on his back so that the rest of the goons can follow him without knowing his face, or when Beckert is finally captured and he stands trial in front of a room of thieves, mobsters and murderers with the worst of the bunch acting as the judge.

Even better is the direction. Even as early as 1931, there is a lot of "modern" style on display here, especially in Lang's excellent use of shadow, reflections and zooms. One of the film's most thrilling moments comes when Beckert is slapped with the "M" and, as he notices the letter in his reflection and sees someone following him, flees through alleyways, with gorgeous overhead shots combined with claustrophobic and unsettling zooms perfectly conveying his sense of hopelessness and fear. Lang does a good job of making Beckert wholly reprehensible and then forcing the audience to put themselves in his shoes.

Like all older films that served as an inspiration for modern genre films, though, much of the film when viewed by an audience unfamiliar with its context will find it rather tame and predictable by today's standards. The film can be a bit slow in the first act as well, and until its climax, most of the film is hit-or-miss.

But there definitely is enough to like here to make up for the occasional dullness. Of course, the writing and direction is great, as are leads Lorre and Gustaf Grundgens as the criminal "judge." Lorre's performance is so perfect that the poor guy (originally a comedic performer) was typecast as creeps for the rest of his life (you may recall him from "Casablanca" and "The Maltese Falcon").

And as far as Lang goes, he may think this is his masterpiece, but "Metropolis" is a better film.

As a massive inspiration and a quick thrill, "M" definitely works. But it may come off as quite dated to a new audience if they don't give it a chance.

Grade: B-

Movie Review

“The Ghost Writer”

Directed by Roman Polanski, written by Polanski and Robert Harris, 128 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

The new Roman Polanski movie, “Malice in Wonderland”--or “The Ghost Writer,” whichever you prefer--is a mood piece that moves. The film clocks in at just over two hours, but it’s so enticing in its cold, rain-swept way, the sponge absorbing it is you.

Polanski wrote the film with Robert Harris from Harris’ own novel, and what they created is a movie lighted by surprises--from its cast (James Belushi and Kim Cattrall in a Polanski movie?) to its plot, which smacks of Hitchcock and which is driven not to deliver cheap thrills, but rather to achieve a sense of mystery, intelligence and tension, which it does.

Here is a movie in which no sidelong glance should go ignored--behind it might just be a clue to something deeper and more troubling. Watching the film, you don’t just think of the likes of Hitchcock, but also of such novelists as P.D. James or Robert B. Parker, each of whom would have delighted in the film’s wit, its sophistication, and the utter meanness of some of its characters, many of whom you could spit on only to hear them question to your face whether that’s the best you’ve got.

Noir is everywhere in this movie, and the secrets are high. The film stars a very good Ewan McGregor as The Ghost, a writer of no name and no history who is brought onboard to rewrite the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) when Lang’s previous ghost writer winds up dead from a mysterious drowning.

What happened to him? Suicide is the quick answer, but no one can really say why.

The manuscript the dead writer wrote is considered so top secret, The Ghost is allowed only limited access to it. What’s inside? As far as The Ghost is concerned, pure banality--if the book is going to pay back its $10 million advance, it’s going to take one hell of a rewrite, which The Ghost agrees to do, even though Belushi’s character gives him only a month to complete the job. For some reason, this quickly is truncated to just two weeks. Why? Pay attention to the undercurrents.

Working the sidelines are a host of chilly characters, all of whom seem to possess the sort of insight into Lang that they’d prefer not be part of his memoir, thank you very much. Take, for instance, Lang’s seething wife (Olivia Williams), who is so certain that Lang is having an affair with his chic personal assistant (Cattrall, nicely cast here), that she looks as if she’s about to come undone. Which she does. And how.

All exist in a cell-like compound made of concrete, glass and coldness just off the coast of Massachusetts. There, rain pounds the pavement like thunder. The roiling sea is as gray as a corpse. The townspeople are talking, and what they’re saying might as well send lightning bolts across the gathering clouds. Meanwhile, the time Lang spent as Prime Minister suddenly is surrounded by the sort of troubling allegations that lead to worldwide news. As for The Ghost, he watches it all with unease while slashing his way through the manuscript in ways that lead to dangerous revelations best left for the screen.

It’s how Polanski manipulates all of these elements that makes the film so stirring and satisfying. It’s the tone he strikes throughout that gives the movie the sort of polish you’d note on steel or, better yet, the blade of a knife. Sometimes, the movie is too evasive for its own good (not unlike this review), but stick with it. The ending, and the restraint in which it’s handled, shows us a master of the medium at work.

Grade: B+

View the trailer for "The Ghost Writer" below. What are your thoughts of the movie?

Movie Review

“The Ghost Writer”

Directed by Roman Polanski, written by Polanski and Robert Harris, 128 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

The new Roman Polanski movie, “Malice in Wonderland”--or “The Ghost Writer,” whichever you prefer--is a mood piece that moves. The film clocks in at just over two hours, but it’s so enticing in its cold, rain-swept way, the sponge absorbing it is you.

Polanski wrote the film with Robert Harris from Harris’ own novel, and what they created is a movie lighted by surprises--from its cast (James Belushi and Kim Cattrall in a Polanski movie?) to its plot, which smacks of Hitchcock and which is driven not to deliver cheap thrills, but rather to achieve a sense of mystery, intelligence and tension, which it does.

Here is a movie in which no sidelong glance should go ignored--behind it might just be a clue to something deeper and more troubling. Watching the film, you don’t just think of the likes of Hitchcock, but also of such novelists as P.D. James or Robert B. Parker, each of whom would have delighted in the film’s wit, its sophistication, and the utter meanness of some of its characters, many of whom you could spit on only to hear them question to your face whether that’s the best you’ve got.

Noir is everywhere in this movie, and the secrets are high. The film stars a very good Ewan McGregor as The Ghost, a writer of no name and no history who is brought onboard to rewrite the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) when Lang’s previous ghost writer winds up dead from a mysterious drowning.

What happened to him? Suicide is the quick answer, but no one can really say why.

The manuscript the dead writer wrote is considered so top secret, The Ghost is allowed only limited access to it. What’s inside? As far as The Ghost is concerned, pure banality--if the book is going to pay back its $10 million advance, it’s going to take one hell of a rewrite, which The Ghost agrees to do, even though Belushi’s character gives him only a month to complete the job. For some reason, this quickly is truncated to just two weeks. Why? Pay attention to the undercurrents.

Working the sidelines are a host of chilly characters, all of whom seem to possess the sort of insight into Lang that they’d prefer not be part of his memoir, thank you very much. Take, for instance, Lang’s seething wife (Olivia Williams), who is so certain that Lang is having an affair with his chic personal assistant (Cattrall, nicely cast here), that she looks as if she’s about to come undone. Which she does. And how.

All exist in a cell-like compound made of concrete, glass and coldness just off the coast of Massachusetts. There, rain pounds the pavement like thunder. The roiling sea is as gray as a corpse. The townspeople are talking, and what they’re saying might as well send lightning bolts across the gathering clouds. Meanwhile, the time Lang spent as Prime Minister suddenly is surrounded by the sort of troubling allegations that lead to worldwide news. As for The Ghost, he watches it all with unease while slashing his way through the manuscript in ways that lead to dangerous revelations best left for the screen.

It’s how Polanski manipulates all of these elements that makes the film so stirring and satisfying. It’s the tone he strikes throughout that gives the movie the sort of polish you’d note on steel or, better yet, the blade of a knife. Sometimes, the movie is too evasive for its own good (not unlike this review), but stick with it. The ending, and the restraint in which it’s handled, shows us a master of the medium at work.

Grade: B+

View the trailer for "The Ghost Writer" below. What are your thoughts of the movie?

“Shutter Island”

Movie Review

Directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Laeta Kalogridis, 138 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

The new Martin Scorsese film, “Shutter Island,” is designed to be a head trip. It’s a movie driven almost completely by a plot that, should it be revealed here, would ruin the experience of seeing the film for those who have yet to see it.

At best, the characters are thin--intentionally so. They are stereotypes. Scorsese puts his audience into their lives and asks us to fish out clues from the plot that will help to flesh out the people we see onscreen. Who are they, really? One must look to the plot, dissect it, and then take a stab at who they could be.

So, good luck with that.

The movie is all about the art of perception--since there are no correct answers to what’s unfolding here, each viewer likely will have a different experience when the movie comes to its incomplete conclusion, which offers a hive of other questions that go unanswered. For some, this idea of incompletion will satisfy, as there are few concrete answers in life, which leans into at least part of Scorsese’s larger point. For those who like their movies wrapped in a tight bow, you’re not going to get it here.

This is a film that needs to be walked around, so we’ll walk around it without getting too close. Leonardo DiCaprio, in a difficult performance handled with focus and intensity, is Teddy Daniels, a Boston Harbor-based marshal who is called with his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), to Shutter Island, which is off the coast of Massachusetts and houses the criminally insane. There, a woman by the name of Rachel Salando (Emily Mortimer) has gone missing. It’s Teddy and Chuck’s job to investigate.

As they come to know one another, we learn almost nothing about Chuck but a bit about Teddy himself. His wife (Michelle Williams) died in a fire with their daughter, and while that was two years prior, Teddy still looks pale and shaky. Are memories of them the reason? Could be, but Scorsese isn’t lingering to find out. The movies pushes forward and soon we’re on the island itself, where waves crash against rocks and the atmosphere is tense, to say the least.

There, each man is asked to hand over their guns before entering the asylum, which itself is a complex of prison-like buildings. Presumably, losing their guns is for their own safety, as prisoners are everywhere on the grounds--gardening with massive sheers. When Teddy and Chuck resist, they’re told they’re not getting inside without doing so. And so, they reluctantly do so. Who wants to bet whether that was a good idea?

Who also wants to bet that Scorsese, working from Laeta Kalogridis’ script, itself based on Dennis Lehane’s novel, is toying with B-movie conventions? The film is set in 1954, and it features all of the trappings of the movies of the time, only amplified by a master director who has the skills to at once employ them, toy with them and elevate them. Hitchcock’s presence, in particular, is felt everywhere in this movie--he could have directed key scenes, particularly those that involve Teddy clinging to the rocks surrounding the facility.

Other directors and movies strike influential bells--just who and which, we’ll leave for you--while Scorsese, working his own angles, introduces us to the asylum’s creepy director, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), and another fright in Max von Sydow, who plays a German doctor eager to inflict with horrendous intent. With his pale skin and white puff of hair, the man is an old Q-Tip replete with round glasses, a whiff of Nazism about him and a mean syringe at the ready. Enough said about him.

And also about the movie. “Shutter Island” will disappoint plenty, and delight plenty. It’s divisive. At the end, when you try to draw together the several loose ends, you should know that some won’t come together. The plot frays and it breaks. But here’s the question: Is this due to errors in the writing and direction, or is it because when a movie is about a collapse into madness (or the ramifications of a lingering psychological illness--you decide), a fractured plot might just be the perfect metaphor to underscore that madness, thus reversing the film back on itself and leaving more questions than answers.

Given the quality of the director, I’m giving Scorsese the benefit of the doubt.

Grade: B


View the trailer for "Shutter Island" here:





View our advanced look at the film here, which includes interview with the cast:

“Shutter Island”

Movie Review

Directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Laeta Kalogridis, 138 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

The new Martin Scorsese film, “Shutter Island,” is designed to be a head trip. It’s a movie driven almost completely by a plot that, should it be revealed here, would ruin the experience of seeing the film for those who have yet to see it.

At best, the characters are thin--intentionally so. They are stereotypes. Scorsese puts his audience into their lives and asks us to fish out clues from the plot that will help to flesh out the people we see onscreen. Who are they, really? One must look to the plot, dissect it, and then take a stab at who they could be.

So, good luck with that.

The movie is all about the art of perception--since there are no correct answers to what’s unfolding here, each viewer likely will have a different experience when the movie comes to its incomplete conclusion, which offers a hive of other questions that go unanswered. For some, this idea of incompletion will satisfy, as there are few concrete answers in life, which leans into at least part of Scorsese’s larger point. For those who like their movies wrapped in a tight bow, you’re not going to get it here.

This is a film that needs to be walked around, so we’ll walk around it without getting too close. Leonardo DiCaprio, in a difficult performance handled with focus and intensity, is Teddy Daniels, a Boston Harbor-based marshal who is called with his new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), to Shutter Island, which is off the coast of Massachusetts and houses the criminally insane. There, a woman by the name of Rachel Salando (Emily Mortimer) has gone missing. It’s Teddy and Chuck’s job to investigate.

As they come to know one another, we learn almost nothing about Chuck but a bit about Teddy himself. His wife (Michelle Williams) died in a fire with their daughter, and while that was two years prior, Teddy still looks pale and shaky. Are memories of them the reason? Could be, but Scorsese isn’t lingering to find out. The movies pushes forward and soon we’re on the island itself, where waves crash against rocks and the atmosphere is tense, to say the least.

There, each man is asked to hand over their guns before entering the asylum, which itself is a complex of prison-like buildings. Presumably, losing their guns is for their own safety, as prisoners are everywhere on the grounds--gardening with massive sheers. When Teddy and Chuck resist, they’re told they’re not getting inside without doing so. And so, they reluctantly do so. Who wants to bet whether that was a good idea?

Who also wants to bet that Scorsese, working from Laeta Kalogridis’ script, itself based on Dennis Lehane’s novel, is toying with B-movie conventions? The film is set in 1954, and it features all of the trappings of the movies of the time, only amplified by a master director who has the skills to at once employ them, toy with them and elevate them. Hitchcock’s presence, in particular, is felt everywhere in this movie--he could have directed key scenes, particularly those that involve Teddy clinging to the rocks surrounding the facility.

Other directors and movies strike influential bells--just who and which, we’ll leave for you--while Scorsese, working his own angles, introduces us to the asylum’s creepy director, Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), and another fright in Max von Sydow, who plays a German doctor eager to inflict with horrendous intent. With his pale skin and white puff of hair, the man is an old Q-Tip replete with round glasses, a whiff of Nazism about him and a mean syringe at the ready. Enough said about him.

And also about the movie. “Shutter Island” will disappoint plenty, and delight plenty. It’s divisive. At the end, when you try to draw together the several loose ends, you should know that some won’t come together. The plot frays and it breaks. But here’s the question: Is this due to errors in the writing and direction, or is it because when a movie is about a collapse into madness (or the ramifications of a lingering psychological illness--you decide), a fractured plot might just be the perfect metaphor to underscore that madness, thus reversing the film back on itself and leaving more questions than answers.

Given the quality of the director, I’m giving Scorsese the benefit of the doubt.

Grade: B


View the trailer for "Shutter Island" here:





View our advanced look at the film here, which includes interview with the cast:

Movie Review

"Edge of Darkness"

Directed by Martin Campbell, written by William Monahan and Andrew Bovell, 102 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Spencer Morton

It’s been an interesting eight years for Mel Gibson. Once a young, handsome, Hollywood tough-guy, Gibson has become a bit of an outcast. His last major acting gig was in 2002's “Signs." He directed the controversial “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004 and the wonderful “Apocalypto” in 2006. Recently, his personal life has been full of alcohol abuse and alleged anti-Semitic rants.

2010 is a new year, and with it, possibly a new Gibson. He stars in “Edge of Darkness,” his first acting role in eight years. In the film, he plays loving father and ferocious detective, Thomas Craven. Craven is a bit of a loner. His wife is dead and his relationship with his daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is crumbling.

During a visit with her father, Emma is shot and killed by a shotgun wielding hit man. The entire Boston police force assumes the shot was meant for Craven. As he investigates the homicide, Craven realizes that perhaps the hit man shot exactly who he intended to. He learns his daughter Emma was in over her head while working for the highly classified Norwood, a hush-hush company that makes parts for nuclear missiles.

Craven starts down a dark spiral to find the truth and inflict vigilante justice on his daughter’s killers. Ray Winstone is Jedburgh, a government trigger called upon to prevent Craven from uncovering the facts.

Advertised as an action-packed thrill ride, “Edge of Darkness” ultimately falters from terrible pacing, tepid action and a relatively tame supporting cast. The film is overly talky and could use many more scenes of Gibson sparring with people. One would think Gibson would use this role to act completely insane and with unabashed, uncontrolled aggression. But no--instead, he seems a bit restrained. His performance is fine, but he could have done much more with this role.

Winstone doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. His character, Jedburgh, is like a shadow. He’s creepy, cold-blooded and does whatever he wants. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of him. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty non-existent.

The plot, adapted from a BBC miniseries, is a bit tired and overstuffed. There is a lot going on here and director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) is keen in fitting it all in. This results in a lot of unsatisfying, drawn out dialogue.

Gibson looks noticeably old, but he still can bring it. “Edge of Darkness” will be a good starting point for him to get back into acting, but it’s nothing revolutionary and it only vaguely recalls his ass-kicking “Lethal Weapon” days. In the end, “Edge of Darkness” is a flawed, middle-of-the-road, mildly enjoyable thriller.

Grade: C-

View the trailer for "Edge of Darkness" below. What are your thoughts?

Movie Review

"Edge of Darkness"

Directed by Martin Campbell, written by William Monahan and Andrew Bovell, 102 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Spencer Morton

It’s been an interesting eight years for Mel Gibson. Once a young, handsome, Hollywood tough-guy, Gibson has become a bit of an outcast. His last major acting gig was in 2002's “Signs." He directed the controversial “The Passion of the Christ” in 2004 and the wonderful “Apocalypto” in 2006. Recently, his personal life has been full of alcohol abuse and alleged anti-Semitic rants.

2010 is a new year, and with it, possibly a new Gibson. He stars in “Edge of Darkness,” his first acting role in eight years. In the film, he plays loving father and ferocious detective, Thomas Craven. Craven is a bit of a loner. His wife is dead and his relationship with his daughter, Emma (Bojana Novakovic), is crumbling.

During a visit with her father, Emma is shot and killed by a shotgun wielding hit man. The entire Boston police force assumes the shot was meant for Craven. As he investigates the homicide, Craven realizes that perhaps the hit man shot exactly who he intended to. He learns his daughter Emma was in over her head while working for the highly classified Norwood, a hush-hush company that makes parts for nuclear missiles.

Craven starts down a dark spiral to find the truth and inflict vigilante justice on his daughter’s killers. Ray Winstone is Jedburgh, a government trigger called upon to prevent Craven from uncovering the facts.

Advertised as an action-packed thrill ride, “Edge of Darkness” ultimately falters from terrible pacing, tepid action and a relatively tame supporting cast. The film is overly talky and could use many more scenes of Gibson sparring with people. One would think Gibson would use this role to act completely insane and with unabashed, uncontrolled aggression. But no--instead, he seems a bit restrained. His performance is fine, but he could have done much more with this role.

Winstone doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. His character, Jedburgh, is like a shadow. He’s creepy, cold-blooded and does whatever he wants. Unfortunately, there isn't enough of him. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty non-existent.

The plot, adapted from a BBC miniseries, is a bit tired and overstuffed. There is a lot going on here and director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) is keen in fitting it all in. This results in a lot of unsatisfying, drawn out dialogue.

Gibson looks noticeably old, but he still can bring it. “Edge of Darkness” will be a good starting point for him to get back into acting, but it’s nothing revolutionary and it only vaguely recalls his ass-kicking “Lethal Weapon” days. In the end, “Edge of Darkness” is a flawed, middle-of-the-road, mildly enjoyable thriller.

Grade: C-

View the trailer for "Edge of Darkness" below. What are your thoughts?

Movie Review

"Uncertainty"

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, Written by McGehee and Siegel, 101 minutes, Not Rated.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"Uncertainty" begins on Brooklyn Bridge. It's the Fourth of July, and Bobby and Kate (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins) have a decision to make. Go to dinner at Kate's mother's house, or play hooky and hit one of their friend's parties. Bobby pulls out a coin and flips it.

The film splits into two alternate timelines here--one where the couple goes to dinner at Kate's parent's place, and one where the two head into the city to enjoy their evening alone. It also splits into two genres--the former a domestic drama, the latter a thriller.

At Kate's childhood home, we see that things aren't too upbeat. Kate's mother is angry at her little sister Sophie (Olivia Thirlby) for turning down a scholarship in favor of going to California to pursue a career in acting. Kate's Alzheimers-ridden uncle keeps bringing up her tragically deceased younger brother. And Kate's mother clearly isn't too fond of Bobby and would rather have Kate date someone more wealthy and handsome.

In our other timeline, the couple hop into a taxi where they find a lost cell phone. Bobby calls some numbers attempting to find the owner only to find that the phone has something very important on it and several different groups of people are desperate to fight each other (and Bobby and Kate) to get it back.

The two separate stories are vastly different in tone, but they're surprisingly well balanced and the transitions between them are extremely effective--it's never jarring going from one to the other. However, the effectiveness of the respective stories varies. The domestic storyline is generally a lot more interesting and poignant, and these characters seem more suited for such a genre. The thriller, while occasionally interesting, gets pretty repetitive and contrived.

The dual storylines also make for a very original and charming way of developing the two main characters. A line of dialogue in the thriller plot will complement something we've just seen in the drama plot, for example. It's successful.

Of course, what writers and directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel are attempting to do is to convey themes of dualism and determinism. Every decision we make has a consequence, but not just a consequence, but more decisions, which lead to more, and so on. It's hardly a profound message--really, who doesn't already understand everything they do has a consequence? Despite this, it's often explored in subtle and intriguing ways, and the actions of the two main characters throughout the film are reasonably believable.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has quickly become one of my favorite modern actors due to his phenomenal turns in "Mysterious Skin," "The Lookout" and "Brick," and though his performance here doesn't quite stand up to them he's still quite good and he has that deft charm he's had since he first started out. Collins, who was less than impressive in "Wolverine," makes up for it here with a very solid performance. Most of the supporting cast is great, especially Thirlby, who seems to always give stellar supporting performances but unfortunately never gets a good lead.

Much of "Uncertainty" is rather unremarkable and adequate, but its unique structure and excellent lead performers make it something well worth the watch--especially if you can't decide whether you want to watch a drama or a thriller. A definite indication of two writer/directors that could go on to greatness.

Grade: C+

View the trailer for "Uncertainty" below.  What do you think?

Movie Review

"Uncertainty"

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, Written by McGehee and Siegel, 101 minutes, Not Rated.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"Uncertainty" begins on Brooklyn Bridge. It's the Fourth of July, and Bobby and Kate (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins) have a decision to make. Go to dinner at Kate's mother's house, or play hooky and hit one of their friend's parties. Bobby pulls out a coin and flips it.

The film splits into two alternate timelines here--one where the couple goes to dinner at Kate's parent's place, and one where the two head into the city to enjoy their evening alone. It also splits into two genres--the former a domestic drama, the latter a thriller.

At Kate's childhood home, we see that things aren't too upbeat. Kate's mother is angry at her little sister Sophie (Olivia Thirlby) for turning down a scholarship in favor of going to California to pursue a career in acting. Kate's Alzheimers-ridden uncle keeps bringing up her tragically deceased younger brother. And Kate's mother clearly isn't too fond of Bobby and would rather have Kate date someone more wealthy and handsome.

In our other timeline, the couple hop into a taxi where they find a lost cell phone. Bobby calls some numbers attempting to find the owner only to find that the phone has something very important on it and several different groups of people are desperate to fight each other (and Bobby and Kate) to get it back.

The two separate stories are vastly different in tone, but they're surprisingly well balanced and the transitions between them are extremely effective--it's never jarring going from one to the other. However, the effectiveness of the respective stories varies. The domestic storyline is generally a lot more interesting and poignant, and these characters seem more suited for such a genre. The thriller, while occasionally interesting, gets pretty repetitive and contrived.

The dual storylines also make for a very original and charming way of developing the two main characters. A line of dialogue in the thriller plot will complement something we've just seen in the drama plot, for example. It's successful.

Of course, what writers and directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel are attempting to do is to convey themes of dualism and determinism. Every decision we make has a consequence, but not just a consequence, but more decisions, which lead to more, and so on. It's hardly a profound message--really, who doesn't already understand everything they do has a consequence? Despite this, it's often explored in subtle and intriguing ways, and the actions of the two main characters throughout the film are reasonably believable.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has quickly become one of my favorite modern actors due to his phenomenal turns in "Mysterious Skin," "The Lookout" and "Brick," and though his performance here doesn't quite stand up to them he's still quite good and he has that deft charm he's had since he first started out. Collins, who was less than impressive in "Wolverine," makes up for it here with a very solid performance. Most of the supporting cast is great, especially Thirlby, who seems to always give stellar supporting performances but unfortunately never gets a good lead.

Much of "Uncertainty" is rather unremarkable and adequate, but its unique structure and excellent lead performers make it something well worth the watch--especially if you can't decide whether you want to watch a drama or a thriller. A definite indication of two writer/directors that could go on to greatness.

Grade: C+

View the trailer for "Uncertainty" below.  What do you think?

Movie Review

“The Lovely Bones”

Directed by Peter Jackson, written by Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, 139 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

The new Peter Jackson movie, “The Lovely Bones,” is a head trip for audiences, a trip to hell for the family featured, and a plunge into purgatory for another.

Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens based their script on Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel, and what they pulled from it is a mostly engrossing film about the Salmons, a middle-class suburban family emotionally destroyed on Dec. 6, 1973 when 14-year-old Susie (a wonderful Saoirse Ronan) is raped. And then murdered. And then broken into parts and cut into pieces. (Everything mentioned in this review is revealed in the trailer--there are no spoilers here.)

Her downfall? Trusting her neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), who lures Susie down a well of his own creation. There, the candle-lit environment appears to be the perfect childhood hideaway, one complete with sodas, snacks, games and toys. And then, out of nowhere, Susie is instructed to be polite. The atmosphere becomes tense as George starts to come undone. From here, it all goes terribly wrong.

This is a review of the movie, not the book, which is unread by me, but that’s fine since any movie needs to stand on its own. The book is the book. The movie is the movie. Fans of the book might find nuances missing or found. Disappointment likely will linger for some, but perhaps not for others, who might appreciate Jackson’s interpretation. I’m coming to it clean.

The movie is composed of several parts. While Susie is alive, it’s a coming-of-age story about one young girl with a crush on an older boy (Reese Ritchie). When she’s murdered, she goes into the “In-Between,” a ripe, hyper-fantasy world in which colors explode on the screen, leaves fly off trees as if they were birds, and mountains move. It’s beautiful, it’s intoxicating, sometimes it’s a bit too much--but really, it’s anything Susie wants it to be.

And yet, as Susie herself notes in the narration that accompanies the film, she knows that “I wasn’t gone--I was alive in my own perfect world. But in my heart, I knew it wasn’t perfect. My murderer still haunted me.” It’s this that brings us to the film’s third and most satisfying part--a good deal of “The Lovely Bones” is a well-conceived thriller, particularly since Susie’s mother and father (Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg), along with their daughter, Lindsey (Rose McIver), and the police detective (Michael Imperioli) working the case, come together to find the killer and bring him down.

Joining them is Susie’s boozy, saucy grandmother (Susan Sarandon, happy to be here, happier to be having a good time with hair large enough to fill an aviary), who initially offers the living Susie a smoky kind of knowing love before events turn dour as attention turns to George. Could it be that he’s the killer? Everyone in the audiences knows he is, but it’s how this family unit dares to find out--a scene involving Lindsey breaking into George’s house is terrific in the suspense it offers--that makes “Bones” a flawed but well-acted and worthwhile thriller.

Grade: B

Movie Review

“The Lovely Bones”

Directed by Peter Jackson, written by Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, 139 minutes, rated PG-13.

By Christopher Smith

The new Peter Jackson movie, “The Lovely Bones,” is a head trip for audiences, a trip to hell for the family featured, and a plunge into purgatory for another.

Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens based their script on Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel, and what they pulled from it is a mostly engrossing film about the Salmons, a middle-class suburban family emotionally destroyed on Dec. 6, 1973 when 14-year-old Susie (a wonderful Saoirse Ronan) is raped. And then murdered. And then broken into parts and cut into pieces. (Everything mentioned in this review is revealed in the trailer--there are no spoilers here.)

Her downfall? Trusting her neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci), who lures Susie down a well of his own creation. There, the candle-lit environment appears to be the perfect childhood hideaway, one complete with sodas, snacks, games and toys. And then, out of nowhere, Susie is instructed to be polite. The atmosphere becomes tense as George starts to come undone. From here, it all goes terribly wrong.

This is a review of the movie, not the book, which is unread by me, but that’s fine since any movie needs to stand on its own. The book is the book. The movie is the movie. Fans of the book might find nuances missing or found. Disappointment likely will linger for some, but perhaps not for others, who might appreciate Jackson’s interpretation. I’m coming to it clean.

The movie is composed of several parts. While Susie is alive, it’s a coming-of-age story about one young girl with a crush on an older boy (Reese Ritchie). When she’s murdered, she goes into the “In-Between,” a ripe, hyper-fantasy world in which colors explode on the screen, leaves fly off trees as if they were birds, and mountains move. It’s beautiful, it’s intoxicating, sometimes it’s a bit too much--but really, it’s anything Susie wants it to be.

And yet, as Susie herself notes in the narration that accompanies the film, she knows that “I wasn’t gone--I was alive in my own perfect world. But in my heart, I knew it wasn’t perfect. My murderer still haunted me.” It’s this that brings us to the film’s third and most satisfying part--a good deal of “The Lovely Bones” is a well-conceived thriller, particularly since Susie’s mother and father (Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg), along with their daughter, Lindsey (Rose McIver), and the police detective (Michael Imperioli) working the case, come together to find the killer and bring him down.

Joining them is Susie’s boozy, saucy grandmother (Susan Sarandon, happy to be here, happier to be having a good time with hair large enough to fill an aviary), who initially offers the living Susie a smoky kind of knowing love before events turn dour as attention turns to George. Could it be that he’s the killer? Everyone in the audiences knows he is, but it’s how this family unit dares to find out--a scene involving Lindsey breaking into George’s house is terrific in the suspense it offers--that makes “Bones” a flawed but well-acted and worthwhile thriller.

Grade: B

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

"A Perfect Getaway"

Directed by David Twohy, Written by Twohy, rated R, 98 Minutes.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"A Perfect Getaway" is a film unlike most I've seen these days. It has all the principle cliches of a modern thriller, but it manages to almost work because of those cliches rather than despite them. It uses tradition and molds it in a way that makes the film more of a celebration of cliches than a tired vessel for them.

The film, partly a mystery and partly a thriller, follows three couples on vacation on an island in Hawaii--Cliff and Sydney (Steve Zahn and Milloa Jovovich), Cleo and Kale (Marley Shelton and Chris Hemsworth) and Gina and Nick (Kiele Sanchez and Timothy Olyphant). Trouble is, the three couples soon discover that there was a couple was brutally murdered in Honolulu the day before--and one of the couples present may very well be the culprits.

Writer and director David Twohy toys with the audience a great deal early on in the mystery, showing arbitrary shadows in the woods, revealing troubling facts about each couple, and mocking his own film with references to red herrings and cliched villains and twists. It's very reminiscent of some of the techniques Wes Craven used in his "Scream" trilogy to both laugh with and at his own film. Both "Scream" and "A Perfect Getaway" are traditional genre pictures, but they become self-aware to the point that you can laugh even while you're jumping out of your seat.

The ultimate solution to the puzzle presented here could certainly be seen as ludicrous. What one may notice with actual thought, however, is that the big revelation of the film (that is, who happens to be the murderers) is entirely plausible and makes perfect sense looking back on all of the clues the film provides. It might appear nonsensical upon first glance--and to be completely honest, it is a bit silly--but everything you've seen leading up to it definitely clued you in were you to notice all the signs. It's pretty clever, all things considered.

If there is any fault to be found in the script, it's with the dialogue. While some of the cuter winks to the audience are amusing and refreshing, the general conversations often can be cringe-worthy, and even if it was Twohy's intention to make the dialogue so goofy so as to fit his overall stereotypical portrait, it nonetheless hinders the mood. That said, the performances are quite good, especially from Olyphant and Zahn, who work a bit out of their element and definitely to their advantage. Sanchez, who is familiar with the Hawaiian setting due to her short work on "Lost," portrays the "is-she-or-isn't-she?" aspect of her character extraordinarily well. Jovovich is the only one who falls a bit short, but thankfully, she manages to up the ante a bit in the last act and comes out better than she starts.

Overall, "A Perfect Getaway" is a great deal of fun, and when it's so hard to come by a solid popcorn thriller these days, I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Grade: B-

View the trailer for the movie "A Perfect Getaway" below. What are your thoughts?

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

"A Perfect Getaway"

Directed by David Twohy, Written by Twohy, rated R, 98 Minutes.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"A Perfect Getaway" is a film unlike most I've seen these days. It has all the principle cliches of a modern thriller, but it manages to almost work because of those cliches rather than despite them. It uses tradition and molds it in a way that makes the film more of a celebration of cliches than a tired vessel for them.

The film, partly a mystery and partly a thriller, follows three couples on vacation on an island in Hawaii--Cliff and Sydney (Steve Zahn and Milloa Jovovich), Cleo and Kale (Marley Shelton and Chris Hemsworth) and Gina and Nick (Kiele Sanchez and Timothy Olyphant). Trouble is, the three couples soon discover that there was a couple was brutally murdered in Honolulu the day before--and one of the couples present may very well be the culprits.

Writer and director David Twohy toys with the audience a great deal early on in the mystery, showing arbitrary shadows in the woods, revealing troubling facts about each couple, and mocking his own film with references to red herrings and cliched villains and twists. It's very reminiscent of some of the techniques Wes Craven used in his "Scream" trilogy to both laugh with and at his own film. Both "Scream" and "A Perfect Getaway" are traditional genre pictures, but they become self-aware to the point that you can laugh even while you're jumping out of your seat.

The ultimate solution to the puzzle presented here could certainly be seen as ludicrous. What one may notice with actual thought, however, is that the big revelation of the film (that is, who happens to be the murderers) is entirely plausible and makes perfect sense looking back on all of the clues the film provides. It might appear nonsensical upon first glance--and to be completely honest, it is a bit silly--but everything you've seen leading up to it definitely clued you in were you to notice all the signs. It's pretty clever, all things considered.

If there is any fault to be found in the script, it's with the dialogue. While some of the cuter winks to the audience are amusing and refreshing, the general conversations often can be cringe-worthy, and even if it was Twohy's intention to make the dialogue so goofy so as to fit his overall stereotypical portrait, it nonetheless hinders the mood. That said, the performances are quite good, especially from Olyphant and Zahn, who work a bit out of their element and definitely to their advantage. Sanchez, who is familiar with the Hawaiian setting due to her short work on "Lost," portrays the "is-she-or-isn't-she?" aspect of her character extraordinarily well. Jovovich is the only one who falls a bit short, but thankfully, she manages to up the ante a bit in the last act and comes out better than she starts.

Overall, "A Perfect Getaway" is a great deal of fun, and when it's so hard to come by a solid popcorn thriller these days, I was very pleased with how it turned out.

Grade: B-

View the trailer for the movie "A Perfect Getaway" below. What are your thoughts?

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

"Cache"

Directed by Michael Haneke, Written by Haneke, 117 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti


It is human nature to bury our mistakes, crimes, regrets and sorrows deep inside. They build and build until either we can't take it any longer and let them out, or we go mad. Sometimes, it takes a little push to let our secrets out.

Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche are Georges and Anne Laurent, a well-to-do couple with a son, a nice home and what appears to be a sincerely happy life. One day, a package is left on their doorstep. Inside is a videotape, on which is a video of the front of their house. Unbeknownst to them, they have been under surveillance. They didn't notice the camera, nor did anyone else.

More tapes arrive of that same static shot of their house, watching hour after hour. Obviously, a great deal of unease comes upon the couple. Things that they promised themselves not to tell each other start pouring out, and a childhood secret of Georges nearly tears the two apart. Perhaps this happy family wasn't so happy after all, and these videotapes give them the impetus to finally admit it.

But who's watching them--and why?

That simple question makes up the mystery of "Cache," the Hitchockian mystery-thriller from "Funny Games" director Michael Haneke. Anyone familiar with Haneke, though, knows it could never be so simple. "Funny Games" disguised itself as a thriller in order to test the audience's patience. It mocked the viewer and instigated them by completely shattering horror conventions and, in essence, breaking the rules of cinema. It made the audiences accomplices in the crime.

Haneke similarly uses "Cache" as a mirror held up to his audience, but in a different way. He uses long, static shots, showing little action and forcing the viewer to watch the raw emotion of its characters and to see things films rarely show. It makes us voyeurs in a film where voyeurism is the antagonist. One specific scene, which serves as a major turning point in the film and which it would be a crime to spoil, is one of the most shocking and tense moments I've ever seen in a film, and it's so blatantly intimate that making us watch it is Haneke's ultimate means of making us, the audience, an antagonist.

Haneke's ultimate themes aside, "Cache" works extraordinarily well as a mystery and as a thriller. It works splendidly at the gut level, creating an unmatched sense of tension and dread, and his characters are well-developed and interesting. It sometimes seems as if Haneke makes thrillers disguised as art films disguised as thrillers--yes, they taunt and test the audience, and they have important things to say, but they succeed predominately at the most basic emotional level.

As with "Funny Games," "Cache" is a technical marvel. Haneke is an astounding director and not a single frame seems out of place or sloppily constructed. He also shows an uncanny understanding of how his imagery relates to the viewer's subconscious interpretation of the material, which is probably why he so effectively angers people half the time.

Overall, Haneke has made a brilliant film, and his ability to build tension simply through character and the most basic cinematography is a testament to his incredible skill as a filmmaker. "Cache" is one of the best films of the decade.

Grade: A

View the trailer for "Cache" below.  Thoughts?

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

"Cache"

Directed by Michael Haneke, Written by Haneke, 117 minutes, Rated R.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti


It is human nature to bury our mistakes, crimes, regrets and sorrows deep inside. They build and build until either we can't take it any longer and let them out, or we go mad. Sometimes, it takes a little push to let our secrets out.

Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche are Georges and Anne Laurent, a well-to-do couple with a son, a nice home and what appears to be a sincerely happy life. One day, a package is left on their doorstep. Inside is a videotape, on which is a video of the front of their house. Unbeknownst to them, they have been under surveillance. They didn't notice the camera, nor did anyone else.

More tapes arrive of that same static shot of their house, watching hour after hour. Obviously, a great deal of unease comes upon the couple. Things that they promised themselves not to tell each other start pouring out, and a childhood secret of Georges nearly tears the two apart. Perhaps this happy family wasn't so happy after all, and these videotapes give them the impetus to finally admit it.

But who's watching them--and why?

That simple question makes up the mystery of "Cache," the Hitchockian mystery-thriller from "Funny Games" director Michael Haneke. Anyone familiar with Haneke, though, knows it could never be so simple. "Funny Games" disguised itself as a thriller in order to test the audience's patience. It mocked the viewer and instigated them by completely shattering horror conventions and, in essence, breaking the rules of cinema. It made the audiences accomplices in the crime.

Haneke similarly uses "Cache" as a mirror held up to his audience, but in a different way. He uses long, static shots, showing little action and forcing the viewer to watch the raw emotion of its characters and to see things films rarely show. It makes us voyeurs in a film where voyeurism is the antagonist. One specific scene, which serves as a major turning point in the film and which it would be a crime to spoil, is one of the most shocking and tense moments I've ever seen in a film, and it's so blatantly intimate that making us watch it is Haneke's ultimate means of making us, the audience, an antagonist.

Haneke's ultimate themes aside, "Cache" works extraordinarily well as a mystery and as a thriller. It works splendidly at the gut level, creating an unmatched sense of tension and dread, and his characters are well-developed and interesting. It sometimes seems as if Haneke makes thrillers disguised as art films disguised as thrillers--yes, they taunt and test the audience, and they have important things to say, but they succeed predominately at the most basic emotional level.

As with "Funny Games," "Cache" is a technical marvel. Haneke is an astounding director and not a single frame seems out of place or sloppily constructed. He also shows an uncanny understanding of how his imagery relates to the viewer's subconscious interpretation of the material, which is probably why he so effectively angers people half the time.

Overall, Haneke has made a brilliant film, and his ability to build tension simply through character and the most basic cinematography is a testament to his incredible skill as a filmmaker. "Cache" is one of the best films of the decade.

Grade: A

View the trailer for "Cache" below.  Thoughts?

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review
“North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition”

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Ernest Lehman, 136 minutes, unrated.

Now here is something worth celebrating--the 50th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s great thriller, North by Northwest, which looks and sounds terrific on Blu-ray disc.

The film reminds us what most of today’s thrillers could be (there are exceptions) if only Hollywood concentrated more on story and character development, rather than on the next natural disaster to be created by computer simulation.

For those who haven’t seen the film, it’s about a case of mistaken identity. Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for the mysterious George Kaplin by a group of spies who deals in the exportation of U.S. government secrets. Thornhill is abducted by these spies, brought to the estate of Philip Vandamm (James Mason)--who heads the operation--and is interrogated by him. Thornhill denies he’s Kaplin, but soon is forced to become him in a bizarre effort to save his life.

Along the way, the twists and turns are harrowing--he’s framed for a murder, sought after by the police, meets the cool and gorgeous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), falls in love with her, gets double-crossed by her, takes two bullets in the chest by her, escapes the dips of a crop dusting plane (an iconic sequence), finds himself hanging from the stony lips of dead presidents on Mount Rushmore, and ultimately wins the girl.

And what a girl. Saint is so dead-on sizzling with Grant, the simmering heat created between them could melt a lesser star’s implants. Hitchcock knew he couldn’t pair Grant with a strong woman like Joan Crawford or Bette Davis--it never would have worked, and in his career, Grant never was paired with either of them. Instead, Grant needed someone bright, pretty and maleable. He got that in Saint.

Propelled not by explosions, but by its wit and its performances, “North by Northwest” has become over the years a blueprint for filmmakers in its technical brilliance. While it’s a shame that that blueprint is greatly overlooked by the majority of today’s directors, who seem determined to turn today’s heroes into nail-chomping, bullet-biting, harpoon-hurling cartoons, there has been a shift. Creeping back onto the screen in, say, the “Bond” and “Bourne” franchises are savvy, intelligent characters with enough charisma to give us hope that being deadly and suave doesn’t necessarily equate an early box-office death.

Grade: A

View the original trailer here:

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review
“North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition”

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Ernest Lehman, 136 minutes, unrated.

Now here is something worth celebrating--the 50th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock’s great thriller, North by Northwest, which looks and sounds terrific on Blu-ray disc.

The film reminds us what most of today’s thrillers could be (there are exceptions) if only Hollywood concentrated more on story and character development, rather than on the next natural disaster to be created by computer simulation.

For those who haven’t seen the film, it’s about a case of mistaken identity. Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is mistaken for the mysterious George Kaplin by a group of spies who deals in the exportation of U.S. government secrets. Thornhill is abducted by these spies, brought to the estate of Philip Vandamm (James Mason)--who heads the operation--and is interrogated by him. Thornhill denies he’s Kaplin, but soon is forced to become him in a bizarre effort to save his life.

Along the way, the twists and turns are harrowing--he’s framed for a murder, sought after by the police, meets the cool and gorgeous Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint), falls in love with her, gets double-crossed by her, takes two bullets in the chest by her, escapes the dips of a crop dusting plane (an iconic sequence), finds himself hanging from the stony lips of dead presidents on Mount Rushmore, and ultimately wins the girl.

And what a girl. Saint is so dead-on sizzling with Grant, the simmering heat created between them could melt a lesser star’s implants. Hitchcock knew he couldn’t pair Grant with a strong woman like Joan Crawford or Bette Davis--it never would have worked, and in his career, Grant never was paired with either of them. Instead, Grant needed someone bright, pretty and maleable. He got that in Saint.

Propelled not by explosions, but by its wit and its performances, “North by Northwest” has become over the years a blueprint for filmmakers in its technical brilliance. While it’s a shame that that blueprint is greatly overlooked by the majority of today’s directors, who seem determined to turn today’s heroes into nail-chomping, bullet-biting, harpoon-hurling cartoons, there has been a shift. Creeping back onto the screen in, say, the “Bond” and “Bourne” franchises are savvy, intelligent characters with enough charisma to give us hope that being deadly and suave doesn’t necessarily equate an early box-office death.

Grade: A

View the original trailer here:

"Grey's Anatomy: Complete Fifth Season" DVD, Blu-ray
After a good but abbreviated fourth season, this fifth season got its act together and is a fine return to form. Given the show’s title, the focus presumably is on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who is in an intense relationship with surgeon Derek Shepherd (Maine native Patrick Dempsey), and who, like him, must mine the personalities surrounding her, from Izzie (Katherine Heigl), Alex (Justin Chambers), Cristina (Sandra Oh) and George (T.R. Knight), to several newcomers such as Owen (Kevin McKidd), who develops a relationship with Cristina. What becomes clear in this season is that more than ever, the show is less about Meredith than it is about the maelstrom of stories surrounding her, including a pivotal ending that put’s George’s life (not to mention Izzie’s) literally on the line. It’s a moving ending, the series at its best, and that its focus isn’t specifically on Meredith suggests just how crowded the corridors of Seattle’s Grace Hospital have become. And how rich. Grade: B

"High Crimes" Blu-ray
One of those glossy, well-acted potboilers that doesn't aim high enough. Moments fly thanks to the talented cast, but since the film eventually steamrolls into a middling mess of courtroom cliches and dumb plot twists that no actor can surmount, the experience is ultimately as weak as the poison in Botox--though without the refined results. Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman star in a movie that gets off to a promising start with Judd as Claire Kubick, a high-powered attorney for a high-powered law firm whose high-powered life is about to be hit by a high-powered wrecking ball. During an innocent evening of holiday shopping in San Francisco, Claire and her sensitive, doe-eyed husband, Tom (Jim Caviezel), are ambushed by the FBI. Apparently, Tom's real name is Ron Chapman, something Claire didn’t know. Now, she must deal with the knowledge that her husband allegedly went on a killing spree in a Salvadorian village in 1988, leaving nine women and children dead in his wake. Is he a murderer? Or could it be that the killing actually was committed by Maj. Hernandez (Juan Carlos Hernandez), a shifty little man with a droopy left eye who might, in the end, only be a decoy for the real person responsible here--brigadier general William Marks (Bruce Davison). With the help of Charlie Grimes (Freeman), Claire fights the good fight in spite of being beaten up, harassed and threatened by an evil band of military personnel determined to bring her to silence. Without a genuine surprise or, worse, a moment that doesn’t feel as if it was first distilled and then diluted for the approval of a test audience, “High Crimes” is actually rather low, a film whose cast proves the only heartbeat in a story that otherwise was dead on arrival. Rated PG-13. Grade: C

“The Office: Season Five” DVD, Blu-ray
Examines what happens when your boss isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the office. This fifth season of the show mocks and skewers authority with the same verve of the previous four seasons, with Steve Carell once again pitch perfect as the geeky moron nobody respects. The supporting cast--including Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski--is excellent, and while the show never has bested its BBC counterpart, it can be beautifully cutting in its damning observations of who’s in charge, why they’re in charge, and the sad realization that they have no business being in charge. Grade: B+




“Van Helsing” Blu-ray
As chaotic as it is, "Van Helsing" never wants for energy, it doesn't take itself seriously, and as a whole, it's rather fun. Loosely based on Bram Stoker's stake-wielding character from his 1897 novel "Dracula," the film gathers several well-known monsters and villains from the past, and allows them to go at each other's undead throats for the better half of two hours. Hugh Jackman is Van Helsing, a swarthy hero multitasking for the Vatican who has been charged to kill Count Dracula, who is played by Richard Roxburgh in the sort of buckles-and-brocade attire favored by Michael Jackson during his "Bad" period. Drac's drag is unsettling, yes, but more disturbing is that in order to kill the count, Van Helsing first needs to go through Frankenstein's Monster (Shuler Hensley), who turns out to be an intellectual softy, and the Wolf Man (Will Kemp), whose bite apparently holds the key to killing Dracula. Who knew? Tossed into the mix is Kate Beckinsale's Anna Valerious, who sounds like an invasive species of plant for good reason. Onscreen, Beckinsale uncoils like a vine, undulating in ways that would make the folks in a red light district blush. Her rolling Romanian accent gives the film the necessary jolt of camp it needs, but then so do the three shrieking, winged vamps who take to the skies to do Dracula's dirty work. In a bloodthirsty, dead-three-centuries sort of way, they're all perfectly charming if a bit high-strung and unmannered, which proves perfect for this empty but entertaining blockbuster that embraces the same qualities. Rated PG-13. Grade: B

"Grey's Anatomy: Complete Fifth Season" DVD, Blu-ray
After a good but abbreviated fourth season, this fifth season got its act together and is a fine return to form. Given the show’s title, the focus presumably is on Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who is in an intense relationship with surgeon Derek Shepherd (Maine native Patrick Dempsey), and who, like him, must mine the personalities surrounding her, from Izzie (Katherine Heigl), Alex (Justin Chambers), Cristina (Sandra Oh) and George (T.R. Knight), to several newcomers such as Owen (Kevin McKidd), who develops a relationship with Cristina. What becomes clear in this season is that more than ever, the show is less about Meredith than it is about the maelstrom of stories surrounding her, including a pivotal ending that put’s George’s life (not to mention Izzie’s) literally on the line. It’s a moving ending, the series at its best, and that its focus isn’t specifically on Meredith suggests just how crowded the corridors of Seattle’s Grace Hospital have become. And how rich. Grade: B

"High Crimes" Blu-ray
One of those glossy, well-acted potboilers that doesn't aim high enough. Moments fly thanks to the talented cast, but since the film eventually steamrolls into a middling mess of courtroom cliches and dumb plot twists that no actor can surmount, the experience is ultimately as weak as the poison in Botox--though without the refined results. Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman star in a movie that gets off to a promising start with Judd as Claire Kubick, a high-powered attorney for a high-powered law firm whose high-powered life is about to be hit by a high-powered wrecking ball. During an innocent evening of holiday shopping in San Francisco, Claire and her sensitive, doe-eyed husband, Tom (Jim Caviezel), are ambushed by the FBI. Apparently, Tom's real name is Ron Chapman, something Claire didn’t know. Now, she must deal with the knowledge that her husband allegedly went on a killing spree in a Salvadorian village in 1988, leaving nine women and children dead in his wake. Is he a murderer? Or could it be that the killing actually was committed by Maj. Hernandez (Juan Carlos Hernandez), a shifty little man with a droopy left eye who might, in the end, only be a decoy for the real person responsible here--brigadier general William Marks (Bruce Davison). With the help of Charlie Grimes (Freeman), Claire fights the good fight in spite of being beaten up, harassed and threatened by an evil band of military personnel determined to bring her to silence. Without a genuine surprise or, worse, a moment that doesn’t feel as if it was first distilled and then diluted for the approval of a test audience, “High Crimes” is actually rather low, a film whose cast proves the only heartbeat in a story that otherwise was dead on arrival. Rated PG-13. Grade: C

“The Office: Season Five” DVD, Blu-ray
Examines what happens when your boss isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the office. This fifth season of the show mocks and skewers authority with the same verve of the previous four seasons, with Steve Carell once again pitch perfect as the geeky moron nobody respects. The supporting cast--including Rainn Wilson, Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski--is excellent, and while the show never has bested its BBC counterpart, it can be beautifully cutting in its damning observations of who’s in charge, why they’re in charge, and the sad realization that they have no business being in charge. Grade: B+




“Van Helsing” Blu-ray
As chaotic as it is, "Van Helsing" never wants for energy, it doesn't take itself seriously, and as a whole, it's rather fun. Loosely based on Bram Stoker's stake-wielding character from his 1897 novel "Dracula," the film gathers several well-known monsters and villains from the past, and allows them to go at each other's undead throats for the better half of two hours. Hugh Jackman is Van Helsing, a swarthy hero multitasking for the Vatican who has been charged to kill Count Dracula, who is played by Richard Roxburgh in the sort of buckles-and-brocade attire favored by Michael Jackson during his "Bad" period. Drac's drag is unsettling, yes, but more disturbing is that in order to kill the count, Van Helsing first needs to go through Frankenstein's Monster (Shuler Hensley), who turns out to be an intellectual softy, and the Wolf Man (Will Kemp), whose bite apparently holds the key to killing Dracula. Who knew? Tossed into the mix is Kate Beckinsale's Anna Valerious, who sounds like an invasive species of plant for good reason. Onscreen, Beckinsale uncoils like a vine, undulating in ways that would make the folks in a red light district blush. Her rolling Romanian accent gives the film the necessary jolt of camp it needs, but then so do the three shrieking, winged vamps who take to the skies to do Dracula's dirty work. In a bloodthirsty, dead-three-centuries sort of way, they're all perfectly charming if a bit high-strung and unmannered, which proves perfect for this empty but entertaining blockbuster that embraces the same qualities. Rated PG-13. Grade: B

"Coach Carter" Blu-ray
Samuel L. Jackson as a high school basketball coach who could find work preaching at a pulpit. What do you suppose the odds are that he's here to turnaround a team trotting in the wrong direction? It's how he does so that generates interest--he benches the whole team when a few get out of line. When controversy unfolds, as it must, it does so within a true story patted into shape by formula. Jackson and the rest of the cast are key. Without their good performances, this movie would have been suffocated by cliches. Rated PG-13. Grade: B-



"Dead Silence"
Features a ventriloquist’s dummy named Billy who comes to life in crashes of thunder and lightning to savagely eat the tongues of those who come too close to it. So right away, you know if the movie is for you. For others, things are predictably bleak. The film sends out rays of stupidity. It’s pointless, it's shabbily produced, it isn't scary, it fears humor. It just is, which isn't enough. What it misses is what the “Child’s Play” franchise embraced. If you’re going to feature a killer doll in your horror film, you better let loose and have a little fun. Otherwise, you've somehow taken this way too seriously and cut your own throat. That's the case here. "Dead Silence" couldn't make a clown happy. Rated R. Grade: F



“The George Eliot Collection"
From the BBC, a set of five films for the retro Victorian--or the curious Edwardian--all derived from the works of George Eliot, whose real name was Mary Ann Evans, so you can imagine the complications he/she was able to compose. “Middlemarch,” “Daniel Deronda,” “Adam Beed,” “The Mill and the Floss” and “Silas Marner” all are assembled here and they're just fine, with many themes reflecting Evans own life as an outsider. The highlight here is “Middlemarch,” with the eight-part miniseries “The Mill and the Floss” offering major insight into Eliot’s own life as Evans. Grade: B+



"Gods and Generals: Blu-ray"
With its reams of endless speeches, forced emotion, whitewashing of history and interminable length, Ron Maxwell's insufferable Civil War epic is a bloated bust, failing on almost every level to live up to its 1993 predecessor "Gettysburg," a better movie that wasn't nearly as self-conscious or as self-important. This nearly four-hour prequel is the second in a planned trilogy. God help us all if the next film is as dull as this. Instead of focusing on one major battle, as he did in "Gettysburg," Maxwell focuses on three--the Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville--while also telling the stories of the three most influential men behind those battles: Confederate Generals Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) and Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall) for the South and Maine's own Lt. Col. Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) of the 20th Maine Regiment for the North. And yet with his purple script in hand, Maxwell sandbags his characters with such florid sentiment, you'd swear that Hallmark got screwed out of a writing credit. And maybe they did, because nobody--nobody--talks as archly as these people. Faring better are the battle scenes. Each is given its due with grand re-enactments comprising 7,500 real-life Civil War buffs. Unfortunately, for the most part, Maxwell sabotages a good deal of the combat scenes by not getting behind them. His camera is literally a stick in the mud, panning and shooting the action while only occasionally plunging into the heart of it. Rated PG-13. Grade: D-

“Manchurian Candidate” Blu-ray
Jonathan Demme’s remake of John Frankenheimer’s jittery, 1962 cold-war classic about political brainwashing arrives on Blu-ray disc to slay the political process as well as corporate America, with big business viewed here as the real threat to our country, much in the same way that the communists were feared in the original film. Gulf War vet Maj. Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) discovers that during the war, he and other members of his platoon were implanted with computer chips that have brainwashed them into remembering events that never occurred. Of chief concern to Marco is Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), the vice presidential candidate backed by a vicious, powerful mother played by Meryl Streep, and also controlled by Manchurian Global, a mysterious corporate giant that has, shall we say, special interests in making sure that Shaw gets into the White House. As ever, Washington is so good, you almost take him for granted. Same goes for Streep. While the movie doesn’t match the raw, satirical power of the original, it nevertheless scores for being prescient, relevant and beautifully acted. Rated R. Grade: B+

“17 Again” DVD, Blu-ray
We’ve been here before--most recently in “Freaky Friday” and “13 Going on 30”--but now we’re going there with men, specifically Matthew Perry as a 37-year-old man named Mike who is so far in the dumps with his wife (Leslie Mann), his kids and his bum career, he’d like to do it all over again. Thanks to a magic janitor (of course), he gets his chance and becomes the 17-year-old version of himself, here played by an appealing Zac Efron. The movie is slight and predictable, but it does say something about the glory days some experienced in their youth, how they peaked too early, and thus were set up for a lifetime of disappointments. Thanks to Efron, tween girls likely will pass out in front of their televisions while watching it. All others will question the sanity of wanting to return to puberty in a movie that glosses over most of its many potholes. Rated PG-13. Grade: C

“The Shirley Temple Collection, Vol. 6”
Sinking ship. The set includes three films--the 1936 musical “Stowaway,” in which Temple’s “Ching-Ching” leaves Shanghai to work her magic in keeping Robert Young and Alice Faye together; John Ford’s 1937 movie “Wee Willie Winkie,” a so-so retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s story that finds Temple’s Priscilla Williams fighting the good fight in Colonial India; and 1940’s “Young People,” which was Temple’s final film with Fox. After making dozens of films with Temple, the studio decided that at the tender age of 12, she was too long in the tooth to play the roles that had made her a star. And so, for viewers armed with this knowledge, it’s now something of a curiosity to watch Temple launch into the title song’s telling lyrics: “We’re not little babies anymore! We don’t play with dollies on the floor! We know how to act our age! We have passed the infant stage! That’s why we are in a rage! We think children are a bore!” Poor Shirley. The suits at Fox knew they were finished with her long before they hung her out to dry with this movie and that song. Grade: C

"The Warrior"
Asif Kapidia's debut film mines a sort of derivative beauty. Set in ancient India, the film is laced with inspiration and redemption. The inspiration comes from Akira Kurosawa, from whom Kapidia has learned plenty in staging and style. The redemption comes from the central character, Lafcadia (Irfan Khan), who has chosen to remove himself from a life of violence. It’s a decision that leads him to a spiritual awakening, one dramatically heightened when an assassin takes chase in an effort to chop off Lafcadia's head. Some moments are undeniably powerful, while others languish. Still, a fine, recommended first effort. Rated: R. Grade: B

"Coach Carter" Blu-ray
Samuel L. Jackson as a high school basketball coach who could find work preaching at a pulpit. What do you suppose the odds are that he's here to turnaround a team trotting in the wrong direction? It's how he does so that generates interest--he benches the whole team when a few get out of line. When controversy unfolds, as it must, it does so within a true story patted into shape by formula. Jackson and the rest of the cast are key. Without their good performances, this movie would have been suffocated by cliches. Rated PG-13. Grade: B-



"Dead Silence"
Features a ventriloquist’s dummy named Billy who comes to life in crashes of thunder and lightning to savagely eat the tongues of those who come too close to it. So right away, you know if the movie is for you. For others, things are predictably bleak. The film sends out rays of stupidity. It’s pointless, it's shabbily produced, it isn't scary, it fears humor. It just is, which isn't enough. What it misses is what the “Child’s Play” franchise embraced. If you’re going to feature a killer doll in your horror film, you better let loose and have a little fun. Otherwise, you've somehow taken this way too seriously and cut your own throat. That's the case here. "Dead Silence" couldn't make a clown happy. Rated R. Grade: F



“The George Eliot Collection"
From the BBC, a set of five films for the retro Victorian--or the curious Edwardian--all derived from the works of George Eliot, whose real name was Mary Ann Evans, so you can imagine the complications he/she was able to compose. “Middlemarch,” “Daniel Deronda,” “Adam Beed,” “The Mill and the Floss” and “Silas Marner” all are assembled here and they're just fine, with many themes reflecting Evans own life as an outsider. The highlight here is “Middlemarch,” with the eight-part miniseries “The Mill and the Floss” offering major insight into Eliot’s own life as Evans. Grade: B+



"Gods and Generals: Blu-ray"
With its reams of endless speeches, forced emotion, whitewashing of history and interminable length, Ron Maxwell's insufferable Civil War epic is a bloated bust, failing on almost every level to live up to its 1993 predecessor "Gettysburg," a better movie that wasn't nearly as self-conscious or as self-important. This nearly four-hour prequel is the second in a planned trilogy. God help us all if the next film is as dull as this. Instead of focusing on one major battle, as he did in "Gettysburg," Maxwell focuses on three--the Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chancellorsville--while also telling the stories of the three most influential men behind those battles: Confederate Generals Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson (Stephen Lang) and Robert E. Lee (Robert Duvall) for the South and Maine's own Lt. Col. Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels) of the 20th Maine Regiment for the North. And yet with his purple script in hand, Maxwell sandbags his characters with such florid sentiment, you'd swear that Hallmark got screwed out of a writing credit. And maybe they did, because nobody--nobody--talks as archly as these people. Faring better are the battle scenes. Each is given its due with grand re-enactments comprising 7,500 real-life Civil War buffs. Unfortunately, for the most part, Maxwell sabotages a good deal of the combat scenes by not getting behind them. His camera is literally a stick in the mud, panning and shooting the action while only occasionally plunging into the heart of it. Rated PG-13. Grade: D-

“Manchurian Candidate” Blu-ray
Jonathan Demme’s remake of John Frankenheimer’s jittery, 1962 cold-war classic about political brainwashing arrives on Blu-ray disc to slay the political process as well as corporate America, with big business viewed here as the real threat to our country, much in the same way that the communists were feared in the original film. Gulf War vet Maj. Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) discovers that during the war, he and other members of his platoon were implanted with computer chips that have brainwashed them into remembering events that never occurred. Of chief concern to Marco is Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), the vice presidential candidate backed by a vicious, powerful mother played by Meryl Streep, and also controlled by Manchurian Global, a mysterious corporate giant that has, shall we say, special interests in making sure that Shaw gets into the White House. As ever, Washington is so good, you almost take him for granted. Same goes for Streep. While the movie doesn’t match the raw, satirical power of the original, it nevertheless scores for being prescient, relevant and beautifully acted. Rated R. Grade: B+

“17 Again” DVD, Blu-ray
We’ve been here before--most recently in “Freaky Friday” and “13 Going on 30”--but now we’re going there with men, specifically Matthew Perry as a 37-year-old man named Mike who is so far in the dumps with his wife (Leslie Mann), his kids and his bum career, he’d like to do it all over again. Thanks to a magic janitor (of course), he gets his chance and becomes the 17-year-old version of himself, here played by an appealing Zac Efron. The movie is slight and predictable, but it does say something about the glory days some experienced in their youth, how they peaked too early, and thus were set up for a lifetime of disappointments. Thanks to Efron, tween girls likely will pass out in front of their televisions while watching it. All others will question the sanity of wanting to return to puberty in a movie that glosses over most of its many potholes. Rated PG-13. Grade: C

“The Shirley Temple Collection, Vol. 6”
Sinking ship. The set includes three films--the 1936 musical “Stowaway,” in which Temple’s “Ching-Ching” leaves Shanghai to work her magic in keeping Robert Young and Alice Faye together; John Ford’s 1937 movie “Wee Willie Winkie,” a so-so retelling of Rudyard Kipling’s story that finds Temple’s Priscilla Williams fighting the good fight in Colonial India; and 1940’s “Young People,” which was Temple’s final film with Fox. After making dozens of films with Temple, the studio decided that at the tender age of 12, she was too long in the tooth to play the roles that had made her a star. And so, for viewers armed with this knowledge, it’s now something of a curiosity to watch Temple launch into the title song’s telling lyrics: “We’re not little babies anymore! We don’t play with dollies on the floor! We know how to act our age! We have passed the infant stage! That’s why we are in a rage! We think children are a bore!” Poor Shirley. The suits at Fox knew they were finished with her long before they hung her out to dry with this movie and that song. Grade: C

"The Warrior"
Asif Kapidia's debut film mines a sort of derivative beauty. Set in ancient India, the film is laced with inspiration and redemption. The inspiration comes from Akira Kurosawa, from whom Kapidia has learned plenty in staging and style. The redemption comes from the central character, Lafcadia (Irfan Khan), who has chosen to remove himself from a life of violence. It’s a decision that leads him to a spiritual awakening, one dramatically heightened when an assassin takes chase in an effort to chop off Lafcadia's head. Some moments are undeniably powerful, while others languish. Still, a fine, recommended first effort. Rated: R. Grade: B