"Lebanon"

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Samuel Maoz, Written by Samuel Maoz, 93 minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

In "Lebandon," director Samuel Maoz takes us to the front lines in Lebanon, which is a drama about the first Lebanon war in June 1982. Set from the confines of Israeli tanks, Maoz literally puts the audience in the driver's seat. The claustrophobic setting and frame, as well as the restricted view from the periscope, do little to ease tensions. Maoz locks us in with four soldiers, making their distress clear even when the story is not.

On a routine mission, four Israeli paratroopers find themselves navigating hostile territory in Lebanon. As they struggle to make it out of combat alive, many of them slowly start to lose control, resorting to arguing, irrationality and mental breakdown.

Maoz keeps his story relatively simple, so that me may focus all his attention on the people inside the tank. The soldiers move around the tight space, unable to escape the outside and inside threats. Even characters that have a view of the outside world would choose not to see it. Shots through the periscope reveal a terrifying world rife with violence and bloodshed.

These peephole views add perspective to the operations inside the tank. Pulling the trigger gains instant and resonant results. We see the damage it does and the consequences of it. So, when a character is reluctant to keep firing, we understand his plight. He sees the face of the casualty and it clearly haunts him.

Maoz's framing keeps everything taut. Shots from inside the tank are understandably tight, but it's in close-up that he really challenges his actors. Here, the close-ups tend to be on the forehead or mouth, rather than the whole head. Likewise, shots through the periscope focus entirely on people, not settings. We almost never know where we are as Maoz's focus is so clearly on human emotion.

While Maoz's message is clear, his script, or rather these subtitles, are not. The DVD release boasts some confusing scripts, which make the film difficult to follow. Even with the frantic energy of the plot, it's hard to understand what their mission is and where they stand in it.

Thankfully, "Lebanon" succeeds at setting a mood. It's grimy setting and violent images make the plight of these soldiers palpable, even when the story is not.

Grade: B

"Lebanon"

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

Directed by Samuel Maoz, Written by Samuel Maoz, 93 minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowitz

In "Lebandon," director Samuel Maoz takes us to the front lines in Lebanon, which is a drama about the first Lebanon war in June 1982. Set from the confines of Israeli tanks, Maoz literally puts the audience in the driver's seat. The claustrophobic setting and frame, as well as the restricted view from the periscope, do little to ease tensions. Maoz locks us in with four soldiers, making their distress clear even when the story is not.

On a routine mission, four Israeli paratroopers find themselves navigating hostile territory in Lebanon. As they struggle to make it out of combat alive, many of them slowly start to lose control, resorting to arguing, irrationality and mental breakdown.

Maoz keeps his story relatively simple, so that me may focus all his attention on the people inside the tank. The soldiers move around the tight space, unable to escape the outside and inside threats. Even characters that have a view of the outside world would choose not to see it. Shots through the periscope reveal a terrifying world rife with violence and bloodshed.

These peephole views add perspective to the operations inside the tank. Pulling the trigger gains instant and resonant results. We see the damage it does and the consequences of it. So, when a character is reluctant to keep firing, we understand his plight. He sees the face of the casualty and it clearly haunts him.

Maoz's framing keeps everything taut. Shots from inside the tank are understandably tight, but it's in close-up that he really challenges his actors. Here, the close-ups tend to be on the forehead or mouth, rather than the whole head. Likewise, shots through the periscope focus entirely on people, not settings. We almost never know where we are as Maoz's focus is so clearly on human emotion.

While Maoz's message is clear, his script, or rather these subtitles, are not. The DVD release boasts some confusing scripts, which make the film difficult to follow. Even with the frantic energy of the plot, it's hard to understand what their mission is and where they stand in it.

Thankfully, "Lebanon" succeeds at setting a mood. It's grimy setting and violent images make the plight of these soldiers palpable, even when the story is not.

Grade: B

“The Thin Red Line”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

By Christopher Smith

In spite of endless comparisons to Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” Terrence Malick’s World War II epic “The Thin Red Line,” now available in a Blu-ray Criterion Collection, is no “Saving Private Ryan” at all.

And it's not meant to be.

It’s cerebral where that film was flashy, a web of paradoxes and ironies where “Ryan” was more literal. It’s strangely surreal, yet absolutely true to the war it depicts. It features strong performances, yet has no central protagonist. It is beautifully shot, can be terrifically gripping, yet lacks cohesion, flow and emotional impact.

It’s not so much a film about war as it is a film about the effects of war. With clear leanings toward Buddhism, the film is more concerned with the internal landscape (in this case, meditations on the soul, mortality and one’s relationship with God and nature), than with the external landscape (in this case, Guadalcanal). It follows no formula, has no plot, it’s too long by a third and it takes great risks in the name of art--yes, art--which the film finds almost exclusively in nature.

But the film is a curious mess because of its affinity to nature;--it gives more time to its lush, rolling hillsides and stunning canopies of sun-lit trees than it does to its non-existent plot or to its characters, none of whom emerge as wholly realized individuals in spite of having been performed by a good cast, including Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson.

Unlike Spielberg, who plays to his audience because he’s never fully trusted his audience, Malick never considers his audience because he’s not a crowd-pleaser. He is motivated by the intangible, interested in the deeper truth, focused on the thin red line of complexity, while unafraid to cross that line into the sometimes confusing sphere of paradox.

If none of this sounds as if “The Thin Red Line” is worth seeing, it is. The film has its considerable triumphs, particularly in Malick’s extremely well-choreographed battle sequences, where his thematic elements of Edenic nature vs. mankind clash headlong into surrealism--and gut-wrenching reality.

Grade: B

“The Thin Red Line”

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

By Christopher Smith

In spite of endless comparisons to Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan,” Terrence Malick’s World War II epic “The Thin Red Line,” now available in a Blu-ray Criterion Collection, is no “Saving Private Ryan” at all.

And it's not meant to be.

It’s cerebral where that film was flashy, a web of paradoxes and ironies where “Ryan” was more literal. It’s strangely surreal, yet absolutely true to the war it depicts. It features strong performances, yet has no central protagonist. It is beautifully shot, can be terrifically gripping, yet lacks cohesion, flow and emotional impact.

It’s not so much a film about war as it is a film about the effects of war. With clear leanings toward Buddhism, the film is more concerned with the internal landscape (in this case, meditations on the soul, mortality and one’s relationship with God and nature), than with the external landscape (in this case, Guadalcanal). It follows no formula, has no plot, it’s too long by a third and it takes great risks in the name of art--yes, art--which the film finds almost exclusively in nature.

But the film is a curious mess because of its affinity to nature;--it gives more time to its lush, rolling hillsides and stunning canopies of sun-lit trees than it does to its non-existent plot or to its characters, none of whom emerge as wholly realized individuals in spite of having been performed by a good cast, including Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson.

Unlike Spielberg, who plays to his audience because he’s never fully trusted his audience, Malick never considers his audience because he’s not a crowd-pleaser. He is motivated by the intangible, interested in the deeper truth, focused on the thin red line of complexity, while unafraid to cross that line into the sometimes confusing sphere of paradox.

If none of this sounds as if “The Thin Red Line” is worth seeing, it is. The film has its considerable triumphs, particularly in Malick’s extremely well-choreographed battle sequences, where his thematic elements of Edenic nature vs. mankind clash headlong into surrealism--and gut-wrenching reality.

Grade: B

“Valhalla Rising”

Movie Review

Written by Nicolas Winding Refn and Roy Jacobsen, directed by Refn, 90 minutes, not rated.

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

“Valhalla Rising,” the latest film from director Nicolas Winding Refn (The “Pusher” series, “Bronson”) is, and will remain, one of the most visually striking films to be released in 2010. Every frame of the movie, each one as haunting as the next, could stand alone in a museum of modern art.

The film follows One Eye (Mads Mikkelsen), a mute slave warrior with only one eye (obviously) who is forced to fight to the death while held captive by the Norse chieftain Barde in 1000 A.D. The combat is some of the most brutal filmed in years. With a sparse score barely filling the void -- and hardly any dialogue to speak of -- we’re forced to hear all of the bone cracking, skin tearing and grunts of pain the movie has to offer. It's not exactly a pleasant experience, but it is impossible to shake.

While being transported as part of a trade, One Eye slaughters his captors (more of that unshakable violence) and aligns himself with a boy named Are on a journey to, well, Hell, in some sense of the word.

The two board a Viking vessel on its way to the Jerusalem, only to be marred by a thick fog. As the crew’s outlook becomes dim, they become suspicious of One Eye, believing him to be some sort of supernatural entity bringing bad luck upon the journey. From here, the film spirals further and further into more trippy territory.

Is the crew justified in its fear of One Eye? Perhaps. Not only does One Eye have nearly superhuman killing abilities, he also receives vague visions of the future with glowing, blood red accents, another artistic touch from Refn. But, most of all, it's the mystery of One Eye that creates fear among his fellow journeymen -- fear of the unknown.

From the film’s description, “Valhalla Rising” may sound like a trumped up Viking actioner following in the footsteps of “Pathfinder” or “The 13th Warrior.” In the wrong hands, or if made through a major studio, it may very well have been. But rest assured, it is the polar opposite of these movies.

Unlike those aforementioned films, “Valhalla Rising” is left open for interpretation from start to finish. Fans of Point A-to-Point B films will struggle with it, looking for explicitly stated answers. They won’t find them. What Refn has created is a challenging work of art, something that can be difficult to watch at times. But that's part of its appeal.

The filmmakers take a major risk casting an actor such as Mads Mikkelsen – one of the best working today -- as a mute. However, Mikkelsen speaks more by saying absolutely nothing than most actors could with bottomless dialogue. With so many unique features, Mikkelsen’s face has a way of drawing viewers in. The scarred-up One Eye is no exception.

Its connection to religion is clear throughout the film, as is evident in each of the six segments’ titles and themes. But what does it all mean? To fully connect the dots, you might have to be a philosophy or theology PhD candidate. Unfortunately, I'm neither. But that won't stop me from dwelling on it.

“Valhalla Rising” will leave you mentally and emotionally exhausted, and it will stay with you for days after, for better or for worse.

Grade: B+

“Valhalla Rising”

Movie Review

Written by Nicolas Winding Refn and Roy Jacobsen, directed by Refn, 90 minutes, not rated.

By our guest blogger, Joel Crabtree

“Valhalla Rising,” the latest film from director Nicolas Winding Refn (The “Pusher” series, “Bronson”) is, and will remain, one of the most visually striking films to be released in 2010. Every frame of the movie, each one as haunting as the next, could stand alone in a museum of modern art.

The film follows One Eye (Mads Mikkelsen), a mute slave warrior with only one eye (obviously) who is forced to fight to the death while held captive by the Norse chieftain Barde in 1000 A.D. The combat is some of the most brutal filmed in years. With a sparse score barely filling the void -- and hardly any dialogue to speak of -- we’re forced to hear all of the bone cracking, skin tearing and grunts of pain the movie has to offer. It's not exactly a pleasant experience, but it is impossible to shake.

While being transported as part of a trade, One Eye slaughters his captors (more of that unshakable violence) and aligns himself with a boy named Are on a journey to, well, Hell, in some sense of the word.

The two board a Viking vessel on its way to the Jerusalem, only to be marred by a thick fog. As the crew’s outlook becomes dim, they become suspicious of One Eye, believing him to be some sort of supernatural entity bringing bad luck upon the journey. From here, the film spirals further and further into more trippy territory.

Is the crew justified in its fear of One Eye? Perhaps. Not only does One Eye have nearly superhuman killing abilities, he also receives vague visions of the future with glowing, blood red accents, another artistic touch from Refn. But, most of all, it's the mystery of One Eye that creates fear among his fellow journeymen -- fear of the unknown.

From the film’s description, “Valhalla Rising” may sound like a trumped up Viking actioner following in the footsteps of “Pathfinder” or “The 13th Warrior.” In the wrong hands, or if made through a major studio, it may very well have been. But rest assured, it is the polar opposite of these movies.

Unlike those aforementioned films, “Valhalla Rising” is left open for interpretation from start to finish. Fans of Point A-to-Point B films will struggle with it, looking for explicitly stated answers. They won’t find them. What Refn has created is a challenging work of art, something that can be difficult to watch at times. But that's part of its appeal.

The filmmakers take a major risk casting an actor such as Mads Mikkelsen – one of the best working today -- as a mute. However, Mikkelsen speaks more by saying absolutely nothing than most actors could with bottomless dialogue. With so many unique features, Mikkelsen’s face has a way of drawing viewers in. The scarred-up One Eye is no exception.

Its connection to religion is clear throughout the film, as is evident in each of the six segments’ titles and themes. But what does it all mean? To fully connect the dots, you might have to be a philosophy or theology PhD candidate. Unfortunately, I'm neither. But that won't stop me from dwelling on it.

“Valhalla Rising” will leave you mentally and emotionally exhausted, and it will stay with you for days after, for better or for worse.

Grade: B+

Movie Review: Refocus

"The Patriot"

By our guest blogger, John Shannon

Editor's note: With new movies coming out every Friday, new DVDs every Tuesday, and nearly a hundred years worth of film history to draw from, it’s easy for some titles to get lost in the shuffle. “ReFocus” is a weekly column detailing a film that for one reason or another deserves revisiting. Whether it’s simply providing further context or taking a second look at a misplaced classic, we’re here to continue the conversation and give films their proper view.

This week…

"The Patriot"

In the spirit of the just passed Memorial Day, we have the 2000 film “The Patriot.” Written by Robert Rodat (who penned “Saving Private Ryan”) and directed by Roland Emmerich (director of “Independence Day,” and then nothing else particularly good), “The Patriot” stars Mel Gibson as Ben Martin, a South Carolina plantation owner who served in the French and Indian War.

Having lived through the horrors of one war, Ben will do whatever he can to ensure that his seven (!) children, particularly the eldest, Gabriel (the late Heath Ledger) and Thomas (Everwood's Gregory Smith), do not have to see such atrocities. But unfortunately for him, the American colonies have just declared war on Britain for taxation without representation, and Gabriel enlists against his father's permission. Soon the war comes uncomfortably close to home, and tragedy occurs. British forces burn his plantation to the ground, imprison his workers and when Thomas gets uppity, the British Colonel Tavington (played with relish by Jason Issacs) promptly executes him. Enraged, Ben opens his war chest and takes out his signature hatchet and arms his two young sons, who can't be older then 10 or 12, telling his other three kids to hide in the fields until his return.

What follows is a raging bloodbath, with Ben and his sons ambushing the British brigade in the woods. Ben uses his skills in guerrilla warfare to kill all but one of the soldiers, leaving the one terrified recruit to tell of a "Ghost," a fearsome warrior out for redcoat blood. Meanwhile, Benjamin gets his children to safety at his sister-in-law's plantation, and rounds up a militia to fight where the American Army can't. All the while, Tavington seeks vengeance for his fallen brigade.

Essentially, “The Patriot” is an all-out, balls-to-the-wall action and revenge flick set against the backdrop of America's birth. “The Patriot” wears it's R rating proudly, with blood being spilled, churches being burned, children being executed and cannon balls taking off people's heads. And none of it is presented in a cartoony, overdone way. While it's not historically accurate, it's insanely realistic and entertaining.

That said, let's say it again: “The Patriot” is not a historically accurate picture. Anyone looking to write a paper on the Revolutionary War should not look to this film for guidance. They should see it for sheer entertainment value, though. The filmmakers play fast and loose with the history, but not as fast and as loose as “Inglorious Basterds.” Benjamin Martin is a composite of several men, and Tavington was a real guy, nicknamed "The Butcher," more so for being skilled in combat and less for shooting innocent kids in the back. Oh, and the battle at the end of the movie, where American forces triumph? Well, in real life, we lost that one. But honestly, as you watch the movie, you aren't looking for historical accuracy or anything like that. You're just seeking to be entertained. Looking for historical accuracy in “The Patriot” is probably as sensible as looking for it in “The Da Vinci Code.” The fact that it isn't accurate doesn't make the movie any less entertaining.

A real strength the picture has is its ability to continually raise the stakes. Not only do we get to know Ben and his family, but we also learn about his community, his militiamen and his enemies. The script does a remarkable job of balancing all these characters, giving us enough to see them as more then one-dimensional stereotypes or caricatures, but also not overloading us. While we care about everyone involved, we care most for the Martin family. But this isn't a toothless endeavor where faceless soldiers are killed while the main characters live. Characters often die--some we were just starting to warm up to, others after we've come to love them.

Mel Gibson is at his best here. He's gotten a lot of flack over the past few years for drunk driving and some anti-Semitic comments, but honestly, to me, he's in the same camp as Tom Cruise: I could care less about his personal issues as long as he gives a good performance. And they usually do. Gibson's great as the haunted hero, the guy who tries to repress the warrior within to try and lead a normal life. He holds off on letting his family know what he did and what he faced as long as he can, but once he releases it, it is out. The scene where he and his young sons ambush a brigade is my personal favorite in the movie. Not because of its suspenseful editing, or the courage at hand in depicting 10-year-old children shooting and killing grown men, but because it's a real character moment, where the warrior that been pent up inside of Benjamin for so long finally is unleashed. And it's as if the warrior never left. For Ben, killing is like riding a bike. You never forget. His skill in shooting and hand-to-hand combat is incredible.

Jason Issacs plays Tavington as more than an evil man. He plays him as a proud man, a warrior, frustrated with the hierarchy of the armed forces, looking to do more and be recognized, not just by king and country, but also by history. He wants his name to be known, and he wants to profit from it. Issacs always is great as a villain, and anyone who enjoys his work as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films should check this one out immediately.

The director, Roland Emmerich, is a curious talent. After the reasonably entertaining “Independence Day,” he directed the god awful American version of “Godzilla.” This was designed as his comeback picture, and it worked well for him. But after creating blissfully nonsensical fare such as “The Day After Tomorrow” and “10,000 BC,” I can only assume that this movie is a fluke. Tons of talent and promise on display, and then nothing to show for it in future work. It's a bit of a shame. His direction, cinematography and editing chops are in excellent form here. He certainly knows how to build a sequence, and with this picture’s near three-hour running time, he maintains momentum incredibly well.

So, if you’re in the mood for a war picture with some gritty realism and intense emotional pay off, I can safely point to “The Patriot.” It’s a well-crafted, exciting ride, with an exceptional cast, some great sequences and an interesting story, regardless of whether it's true.

What do you think? Half the fun is getting in on the conversation, so sound off in the comments below. Whether you agree or disagree your opinion is welcome, and we’d love to hear it.

John Shannon can be reached at refocusjohn@gmail.com

Next week on ReFocus: “Dogma”

Movie Review: Refocus

"The Patriot"

By our guest blogger, John Shannon

Editor's note: With new movies coming out every Friday, new DVDs every Tuesday, and nearly a hundred years worth of film history to draw from, it’s easy for some titles to get lost in the shuffle. “ReFocus” is a weekly column detailing a film that for one reason or another deserves revisiting. Whether it’s simply providing further context or taking a second look at a misplaced classic, we’re here to continue the conversation and give films their proper view.

This week…

"The Patriot"

In the spirit of the just passed Memorial Day, we have the 2000 film “The Patriot.” Written by Robert Rodat (who penned “Saving Private Ryan”) and directed by Roland Emmerich (director of “Independence Day,” and then nothing else particularly good), “The Patriot” stars Mel Gibson as Ben Martin, a South Carolina plantation owner who served in the French and Indian War.

Having lived through the horrors of one war, Ben will do whatever he can to ensure that his seven (!) children, particularly the eldest, Gabriel (the late Heath Ledger) and Thomas (Everwood's Gregory Smith), do not have to see such atrocities. But unfortunately for him, the American colonies have just declared war on Britain for taxation without representation, and Gabriel enlists against his father's permission. Soon the war comes uncomfortably close to home, and tragedy occurs. British forces burn his plantation to the ground, imprison his workers and when Thomas gets uppity, the British Colonel Tavington (played with relish by Jason Issacs) promptly executes him. Enraged, Ben opens his war chest and takes out his signature hatchet and arms his two young sons, who can't be older then 10 or 12, telling his other three kids to hide in the fields until his return.

What follows is a raging bloodbath, with Ben and his sons ambushing the British brigade in the woods. Ben uses his skills in guerrilla warfare to kill all but one of the soldiers, leaving the one terrified recruit to tell of a "Ghost," a fearsome warrior out for redcoat blood. Meanwhile, Benjamin gets his children to safety at his sister-in-law's plantation, and rounds up a militia to fight where the American Army can't. All the while, Tavington seeks vengeance for his fallen brigade.

Essentially, “The Patriot” is an all-out, balls-to-the-wall action and revenge flick set against the backdrop of America's birth. “The Patriot” wears it's R rating proudly, with blood being spilled, churches being burned, children being executed and cannon balls taking off people's heads. And none of it is presented in a cartoony, overdone way. While it's not historically accurate, it's insanely realistic and entertaining.

That said, let's say it again: “The Patriot” is not a historically accurate picture. Anyone looking to write a paper on the Revolutionary War should not look to this film for guidance. They should see it for sheer entertainment value, though. The filmmakers play fast and loose with the history, but not as fast and as loose as “Inglorious Basterds.” Benjamin Martin is a composite of several men, and Tavington was a real guy, nicknamed "The Butcher," more so for being skilled in combat and less for shooting innocent kids in the back. Oh, and the battle at the end of the movie, where American forces triumph? Well, in real life, we lost that one. But honestly, as you watch the movie, you aren't looking for historical accuracy or anything like that. You're just seeking to be entertained. Looking for historical accuracy in “The Patriot” is probably as sensible as looking for it in “The Da Vinci Code.” The fact that it isn't accurate doesn't make the movie any less entertaining.

A real strength the picture has is its ability to continually raise the stakes. Not only do we get to know Ben and his family, but we also learn about his community, his militiamen and his enemies. The script does a remarkable job of balancing all these characters, giving us enough to see them as more then one-dimensional stereotypes or caricatures, but also not overloading us. While we care about everyone involved, we care most for the Martin family. But this isn't a toothless endeavor where faceless soldiers are killed while the main characters live. Characters often die--some we were just starting to warm up to, others after we've come to love them.

Mel Gibson is at his best here. He's gotten a lot of flack over the past few years for drunk driving and some anti-Semitic comments, but honestly, to me, he's in the same camp as Tom Cruise: I could care less about his personal issues as long as he gives a good performance. And they usually do. Gibson's great as the haunted hero, the guy who tries to repress the warrior within to try and lead a normal life. He holds off on letting his family know what he did and what he faced as long as he can, but once he releases it, it is out. The scene where he and his young sons ambush a brigade is my personal favorite in the movie. Not because of its suspenseful editing, or the courage at hand in depicting 10-year-old children shooting and killing grown men, but because it's a real character moment, where the warrior that been pent up inside of Benjamin for so long finally is unleashed. And it's as if the warrior never left. For Ben, killing is like riding a bike. You never forget. His skill in shooting and hand-to-hand combat is incredible.

Jason Issacs plays Tavington as more than an evil man. He plays him as a proud man, a warrior, frustrated with the hierarchy of the armed forces, looking to do more and be recognized, not just by king and country, but also by history. He wants his name to be known, and he wants to profit from it. Issacs always is great as a villain, and anyone who enjoys his work as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films should check this one out immediately.

The director, Roland Emmerich, is a curious talent. After the reasonably entertaining “Independence Day,” he directed the god awful American version of “Godzilla.” This was designed as his comeback picture, and it worked well for him. But after creating blissfully nonsensical fare such as “The Day After Tomorrow” and “10,000 BC,” I can only assume that this movie is a fluke. Tons of talent and promise on display, and then nothing to show for it in future work. It's a bit of a shame. His direction, cinematography and editing chops are in excellent form here. He certainly knows how to build a sequence, and with this picture’s near three-hour running time, he maintains momentum incredibly well.

So, if you’re in the mood for a war picture with some gritty realism and intense emotional pay off, I can safely point to “The Patriot.” It’s a well-crafted, exciting ride, with an exceptional cast, some great sequences and an interesting story, regardless of whether it's true.

What do you think? Half the fun is getting in on the conversation, so sound off in the comments below. Whether you agree or disagree your opinion is welcome, and we’d love to hear it.

John Shannon can be reached at refocusjohn@gmail.com

Next week on ReFocus: “Dogma”

DVD, Blu-ray Review

"Saving Private Ryan"

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Written by Robert Rodat, 170 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

Are you a fan of "Black Hawk Down"? "Band of Brothers"? "Flags of Our Fathers"? Or, really, any American war film from the past 10 years? If so, you can thank "Saving Private Ryan," Steven Spielberg's epic, brutal and powerful story of one company of men struggling to save the life of one man during the invasion of Normandy in World War II.

You have to thank this film because it's the archetype for everything one sees in 9 out of every 10 modern war films. The uncomfortable, shaky camera, the quick cutting, the gut-wrenching violence, the wide cast of characters, the confusing mix of patriotism and anti-war sentiment--"Saving Private Ryan" combined all of these elements and became what has basically become the definitive war film of this generation.

It starts off with a bang, with what is easily its most well-known and oft-referenced sequence, wherein Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his company assist in the storming of Omaha Beach on D-Day. It's graphically violent, horrific, loud and messy, and at an unrelenting half-hour or so, it takes up a large percentage of the film.

There's no doubt this sequence is an absolutely masterful technical achievement, and it serves as a perfect opening to the film. Watching hundreds of men get cut down within seconds, serving as little more than cover for the soldiers following them, is about as effective an anti-war sentiment as it gets. As the battle rages on, one specific soldier--one whose last name is Ryan--has been killed on the beach, the third of four brothers to be killed in the war, and when some higher-ups learn of these circumstances, they demand that a team go in and find the fourth and youngest brother, James Ryan, and bring him home.

This grotesque and visceral masterpiece of a sequence is so often cited that people tend to forget there's a whole film attached to it. Outside of its rather unique (at the time) style and realistic portrayal of violence, the film is actually a lot like Steven Spielberg's more nostalgic output. Where "Indiana Jones" references the pulp adventure stories of the '40s, "Saving Private Ryan" is a lot like a typical "men-on-a-mission" war film you might see coming out of the '40s, '50s or '60s, the main differences being almost entirely technical. I suppose the general dialogue is a bit more sophisticated and realistic as well, but other than that, this is very much a traditional war film made modern.

That said, what really makes this film isn't even entirely the action. It's all about the characters. Spielberg filled the film with fantastic talents, young and old, and every one of them makes their character interesting, likable and distinctive. Along with Hanks, we have Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Ed Burns, Tom Sizemore, Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson and Matt Damon as the Private Ryan of the title, among many others, and every one of them provides an excellent performance. Davies especially is fantastic as the soft-spoken and timid young Colonel Upham, the interpreter of Miller's company.

The main dilemma that pops up in the film due to its loyalty to traditional war films mixing with anti-war sentiments, however, are some really mixed messages. Is war patriotic or is it Hell? Are German soldiers inhuman monsters or are they just like us? And does the death of one man always truly save the lives of a dozen? Spielberg's attempts to have his cake and eat it too gives the film a pretty muddled message. I suppose it comes down to what each viewer believes is more effective imagery--hundreds of young men getting shot down on a beach or an American flag waving as one man some of them gave their lives for mourns at their graves.

Whatever the case, the film is incredibly effective on a visceral level, there's no doubting that, and Spielberg's direction is truly at its best in the film's multiple, deftly executed action sequences. It would be a shame to discredit the film solely because of its unfocused thematic intentions.

It's great stuff. Best picture worthy? Yeah, perhaps it deserved it more than "Shakespeare in Love," but when it comes down to it, I think its epic level of influence is rewarding enough--though, really, most modern American war films haven't come close to matching it.

Grade: B+

Below is the trailer for "Saving Private Ryan." What are your thoughts of the movie?

DVD, Blu-ray Review

"Saving Private Ryan"

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Written by Robert Rodat, 170 Minutes, Rated R

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

Are you a fan of "Black Hawk Down"? "Band of Brothers"? "Flags of Our Fathers"? Or, really, any American war film from the past 10 years? If so, you can thank "Saving Private Ryan," Steven Spielberg's epic, brutal and powerful story of one company of men struggling to save the life of one man during the invasion of Normandy in World War II.

You have to thank this film because it's the archetype for everything one sees in 9 out of every 10 modern war films. The uncomfortable, shaky camera, the quick cutting, the gut-wrenching violence, the wide cast of characters, the confusing mix of patriotism and anti-war sentiment--"Saving Private Ryan" combined all of these elements and became what has basically become the definitive war film of this generation.

It starts off with a bang, with what is easily its most well-known and oft-referenced sequence, wherein Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and his company assist in the storming of Omaha Beach on D-Day. It's graphically violent, horrific, loud and messy, and at an unrelenting half-hour or so, it takes up a large percentage of the film.

There's no doubt this sequence is an absolutely masterful technical achievement, and it serves as a perfect opening to the film. Watching hundreds of men get cut down within seconds, serving as little more than cover for the soldiers following them, is about as effective an anti-war sentiment as it gets. As the battle rages on, one specific soldier--one whose last name is Ryan--has been killed on the beach, the third of four brothers to be killed in the war, and when some higher-ups learn of these circumstances, they demand that a team go in and find the fourth and youngest brother, James Ryan, and bring him home.

This grotesque and visceral masterpiece of a sequence is so often cited that people tend to forget there's a whole film attached to it. Outside of its rather unique (at the time) style and realistic portrayal of violence, the film is actually a lot like Steven Spielberg's more nostalgic output. Where "Indiana Jones" references the pulp adventure stories of the '40s, "Saving Private Ryan" is a lot like a typical "men-on-a-mission" war film you might see coming out of the '40s, '50s or '60s, the main differences being almost entirely technical. I suppose the general dialogue is a bit more sophisticated and realistic as well, but other than that, this is very much a traditional war film made modern.

That said, what really makes this film isn't even entirely the action. It's all about the characters. Spielberg filled the film with fantastic talents, young and old, and every one of them makes their character interesting, likable and distinctive. Along with Hanks, we have Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Ed Burns, Tom Sizemore, Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson and Matt Damon as the Private Ryan of the title, among many others, and every one of them provides an excellent performance. Davies especially is fantastic as the soft-spoken and timid young Colonel Upham, the interpreter of Miller's company.

The main dilemma that pops up in the film due to its loyalty to traditional war films mixing with anti-war sentiments, however, are some really mixed messages. Is war patriotic or is it Hell? Are German soldiers inhuman monsters or are they just like us? And does the death of one man always truly save the lives of a dozen? Spielberg's attempts to have his cake and eat it too gives the film a pretty muddled message. I suppose it comes down to what each viewer believes is more effective imagery--hundreds of young men getting shot down on a beach or an American flag waving as one man some of them gave their lives for mourns at their graves.

Whatever the case, the film is incredibly effective on a visceral level, there's no doubting that, and Spielberg's direction is truly at its best in the film's multiple, deftly executed action sequences. It would be a shame to discredit the film solely because of its unfocused thematic intentions.

It's great stuff. Best picture worthy? Yeah, perhaps it deserved it more than "Shakespeare in Love," but when it comes down to it, I think its epic level of influence is rewarding enough--though, really, most modern American war films haven't come close to matching it.

Grade: B+

Below is the trailer for "Saving Private Ryan." What are your thoughts of the movie?

Movie Review

"The Men Who Stare at Goats"

Directed by Grant Heslove, written by Peter Straughan, 95 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"The Men Who Stare at Goats," directed by first-timer Grant Heslov and loosely based on the book by journalist Jon Ronson, starts out with the subtitle: "More of this is true than you would believe." It's the perfect beginning to a film that deftly combines truth and fiction, and one that concerns itself less with accuracy and more with retaining the ideals and core purpose of its subject matter. The New Earth Army, the top-secret military unit on which the film and book are based, was about changing the world through peace and the freedom of spirit.

As such, this is a very free-spirited film.

Ewan McGregor is reporter Tom Wilton, who finds himself emotionally lost after his wife leaves him and seeks meaning by heading to the Middle East to report on military contractors in Iraq. While waiting for permission to cross the border into the warzone, he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who reveals himself to be a trained super soldier and former member of the New Earth Army. He tells Tom he has a secret mission across the border, so Tom decides to drop his original story and join Cassady. As the two make their way through the desert to Cassady's secret destination, he explains the history of the NEA, and through flashbacks we discover it was created by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges in total Lebowski mode) and was a successful venture until the recruitment of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who strove to use the training for sadistic means and threatened the project in the process.

The film is very lightly plotted, meandering around more than telling any one specific tale. This may be problem for those seeking a more edgy take on bizarre military projects and the post-9/11 world, but it actually suits the subject matter very well. The NEA was made up of free-spirits, and so, appropriately, the film is as well. It also manages to be the most optimistic film about the Iraq War yet released, passionately condemning the actions of a misdirected military and selfish security contractors but allowing for the possibility that with a little hope and push for peace, peace may actually come.

As message-based as it is, "Goats" really is a riot. McGregor and Clooney have great chemistry, and Clooney continues in the long line of perfect comedic roles he started in the beginning of the decade with "O Brother, Where Art Thou" (and he's since been brilliant in both of the other Coen brothers comedies he's been in). He's wild but not without an understated bit of heart to his performance. The flashbacks telling the history of the NEA are all fantastic, ranging from spectacularly absurd (Bridges giving an R. Lee Ermey-esque speech to his men and then following it up with a free-form dance session) to the wonderfully poignant (we see Clooney finally find escape in the NEA, the ony place where he's been accepted). Spacey gives one of his best performances in ages, relishing in his hilarious villainy. It's a minor role, but certainly a standout.

The NEA (or at least the NEA depicted by the film) believed in peace in a time when so many others didn't. The film shows us the absurdity of some of their actions but also saves room for admiration; admiration for something the world needs more of: not just desire for peace, but an attempt to create it.

Grade:  A

View the trailer for "The Men Who Stare at Goats" below.  What did you think of the movie?

Movie Review

"The Men Who Stare at Goats"

Directed by Grant Heslove, written by Peter Straughan, 95 minutes, rated R.

By our guest blogger, Rob Stammitti

"The Men Who Stare at Goats," directed by first-timer Grant Heslov and loosely based on the book by journalist Jon Ronson, starts out with the subtitle: "More of this is true than you would believe." It's the perfect beginning to a film that deftly combines truth and fiction, and one that concerns itself less with accuracy and more with retaining the ideals and core purpose of its subject matter. The New Earth Army, the top-secret military unit on which the film and book are based, was about changing the world through peace and the freedom of spirit.

As such, this is a very free-spirited film.

Ewan McGregor is reporter Tom Wilton, who finds himself emotionally lost after his wife leaves him and seeks meaning by heading to the Middle East to report on military contractors in Iraq. While waiting for permission to cross the border into the warzone, he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), who reveals himself to be a trained super soldier and former member of the New Earth Army. He tells Tom he has a secret mission across the border, so Tom decides to drop his original story and join Cassady. As the two make their way through the desert to Cassady's secret destination, he explains the history of the NEA, and through flashbacks we discover it was created by Bill Django (Jeff Bridges in total Lebowski mode) and was a successful venture until the recruitment of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who strove to use the training for sadistic means and threatened the project in the process.

The film is very lightly plotted, meandering around more than telling any one specific tale. This may be problem for those seeking a more edgy take on bizarre military projects and the post-9/11 world, but it actually suits the subject matter very well. The NEA was made up of free-spirits, and so, appropriately, the film is as well. It also manages to be the most optimistic film about the Iraq War yet released, passionately condemning the actions of a misdirected military and selfish security contractors but allowing for the possibility that with a little hope and push for peace, peace may actually come.

As message-based as it is, "Goats" really is a riot. McGregor and Clooney have great chemistry, and Clooney continues in the long line of perfect comedic roles he started in the beginning of the decade with "O Brother, Where Art Thou" (and he's since been brilliant in both of the other Coen brothers comedies he's been in). He's wild but not without an understated bit of heart to his performance. The flashbacks telling the history of the NEA are all fantastic, ranging from spectacularly absurd (Bridges giving an R. Lee Ermey-esque speech to his men and then following it up with a free-form dance session) to the wonderfully poignant (we see Clooney finally find escape in the NEA, the ony place where he's been accepted). Spacey gives one of his best performances in ages, relishing in his hilarious villainy. It's a minor role, but certainly a standout.

The NEA (or at least the NEA depicted by the film) believed in peace in a time when so many others didn't. The film shows us the absurdity of some of their actions but also saves room for admiration; admiration for something the world needs more of: not just desire for peace, but an attempt to create it.

Grade:  A

View the trailer for "The Men Who Stare at Goats" below.  What did you think of the movie?

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

“The Hurt Locker”

Directed by Katherine Bigelow, written by Mark Boal, 127 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Katherine Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” is just out on DVD and Blu-ray disc, which offers an opportunity for those interested in seeing one of last year’s best films and especially for those who follow the Academy Awards. Considering that the movie almost certainly will snag nominations for Best Picture and Best Director when the nominees are released on February 7, now is a good time to see the movie--and to understand why it’s generating such a buzz.

Bigelow based the film on Mark Boal’s script, and what they created is an uneasy insight into war and the American soldier that isn’t the norm, but the exception.
The film’s focus is on Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner in an Academy Award-worthy performance), who has a girlfriend (sort of) and a child back home, but who comes to the Iraq war pumped for what it might offer him--a rush on one level, certain death on the other. While James never acknowledges either in the movie, the reckless way he behaves as a man who defuses bombs suggests someone on a pleasurable suicide mission.

James joins Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) after their team leader (Guy Pearce) dies from an explosion in the film’s opening moments. Almost immediately, when the first set of bombs present themselves to James and his company, he eschews protocol. Sure, he goes through the motions of gearing up in a protective suit, but once he’s far enough away from his team and is upon the bombs he must diffuse, off comes the suit, out comes the ego, and James is in there snipping at wires as if his life didn’t depend on a successful outcome.

The suspense Bigelow wrings from James’ carelessness is impressive in its intensity, particularly since surrounding the men are a growing number of locals who hate Americans. Any one of them could hold the detonator that would blow up the bombs. As such, Bigelow is alive behind the camera. She weaves between the crowds, catching glimpses of contempt while a seemingly oblivious James does his thing--and while a worried and furious Sanborn and Eldridge try to handle a mounting situation that could be fatal for them all.

And yet it isn’t--at least not this time--which complicates matters beyond reason. Is there a method to James’ madness--is he a genius? Or is he just mad and lucky as hell? It doesn’t matter, not even when Sanborn rails at him. Soaked in an adrenaline high, James is fully alive. He treats each scene in which he puts his life in danger as if he’s mainlining the greatest drug in the world--war.

And that’s the crux of Bigelow’s film. At home, James’ life is depicted as sterile, meaningless, dull. How can he get excited by the cereal aisle when he knows he has the skills to repeatedly cheat death? In Iraq, it’s no video game. The bombs and the bullets are real, and for him, there’s nothing better. As he plays with his infant son in one of the movie’s key scenes, he shares with him a truth: He has only one love in his life. Only one thing matters to him.

Nobody should think it’s the child.

Grade: A

View the movie trailer for "The Hurt Locker" below. What are your thoughts?

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

“The Hurt Locker”

Directed by Katherine Bigelow, written by Mark Boal, 127 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Katherine Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” is just out on DVD and Blu-ray disc, which offers an opportunity for those interested in seeing one of last year’s best films and especially for those who follow the Academy Awards. Considering that the movie almost certainly will snag nominations for Best Picture and Best Director when the nominees are released on February 7, now is a good time to see the movie--and to understand why it’s generating such a buzz.

Bigelow based the film on Mark Boal’s script, and what they created is an uneasy insight into war and the American soldier that isn’t the norm, but the exception.
The film’s focus is on Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner in an Academy Award-worthy performance), who has a girlfriend (sort of) and a child back home, but who comes to the Iraq war pumped for what it might offer him--a rush on one level, certain death on the other. While James never acknowledges either in the movie, the reckless way he behaves as a man who defuses bombs suggests someone on a pleasurable suicide mission.

James joins Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) after their team leader (Guy Pearce) dies from an explosion in the film’s opening moments. Almost immediately, when the first set of bombs present themselves to James and his company, he eschews protocol. Sure, he goes through the motions of gearing up in a protective suit, but once he’s far enough away from his team and is upon the bombs he must diffuse, off comes the suit, out comes the ego, and James is in there snipping at wires as if his life didn’t depend on a successful outcome.

The suspense Bigelow wrings from James’ carelessness is impressive in its intensity, particularly since surrounding the men are a growing number of locals who hate Americans. Any one of them could hold the detonator that would blow up the bombs. As such, Bigelow is alive behind the camera. She weaves between the crowds, catching glimpses of contempt while a seemingly oblivious James does his thing--and while a worried and furious Sanborn and Eldridge try to handle a mounting situation that could be fatal for them all.

And yet it isn’t--at least not this time--which complicates matters beyond reason. Is there a method to James’ madness--is he a genius? Or is he just mad and lucky as hell? It doesn’t matter, not even when Sanborn rails at him. Soaked in an adrenaline high, James is fully alive. He treats each scene in which he puts his life in danger as if he’s mainlining the greatest drug in the world--war.

And that’s the crux of Bigelow’s film. At home, James’ life is depicted as sterile, meaningless, dull. How can he get excited by the cereal aisle when he knows he has the skills to repeatedly cheat death? In Iraq, it’s no video game. The bombs and the bullets are real, and for him, there’s nothing better. As he plays with his infant son in one of the movie’s key scenes, he shares with him a truth: He has only one love in his life. Only one thing matters to him.

Nobody should think it’s the child.

Grade: A

View the movie trailer for "The Hurt Locker" below. What are your thoughts?

By Christopher Smith

Note: If one day you plan on making the switch from standard-definition DVDs to high-definition Blu-ray discs but aren’t quite ready to commit, some studios have recently started to make it easier for consumers with “Combo Packs,” which includes the movie’s DVD and Blu-ray versions, and in some cases, a digital copy of the film for your computer. Several of the latest titles are reviewed below. Since Warner recently jumped on the trend and are gearing up for their roll-out, expect many more to follow.

“The Marine 2” DVD, Blu-ray
On the surface, it’s easy to dismiss a movie such as this, but in 2009, Hollywood pumped out a lot worse than "The Marine 2,” even if it didn’t receive a theatrical release. The story, which has almost zip to do with the 2006 original, is filled with assembly-line nonsense set in tropical locales, but few coming to it will give a hoo-rah that it offers nothing new. What will matter most to its target audience are whether the ammo, action and attitude are in good supply. The short answer is yes. The film comes from World Wrestling Entertainment, with Vince McMahon serving as the movie’s executive producer. That either will excite you or leave you wanting to spend a long time surrounded by art and books, as will the idea that the Marine in the title is played not by John Cena, as in the first film, but by Ted DiBiase Jr., the WWE superstar known for his swagger and, well, other attributes. The movie is a cartoon, but it’s reasonably entertaining, it accomplishes its low goals with a measure of menace and humor, and DiBiase and company work hard to infuse the film with its likeably cheap, movie-of-the-week feel. Hardly great, but also hardly awful. Rated R. Grade: C

“Doom” Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Trash sci-fi that achieves a lean center and final act that’s admirable in the tension it creates. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Sarge, a tattooed beast leading an elite core of Marines on a rescue mission to Mars, where a mysterious 24th human chromosome is wreaking havoc on what’s left of the planet’s residents. Should one come in contact with it, the results are monstrous. With the film’s genesis steeped in computer code--the movie is based on the popular video game, which started a revolution--“Doom” predictably lacks soul, but it does generate the raw, sketchy rhythm of a B-movie, which gives it its modest gross-out jolts. Rated R. Grade: C+




“8 Mile” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackThe title of Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile” comes from the stretch of highway that divides the racially mixed inner-city of Detroit from its predominantly white, middle-class suburbs. On a map, it’s an area about the size of a postage stamp, but economically, it might as well be a continent away. On the surface, "8 Mile" seems to promise a story that will transcend that gap, but it doesn’t, at least not completely. This is a rap movie designed to appeal to a specific demographic--the white, suburban audience on the privileged side of the tracks. As such, it’s generic and unthreatening without being boring, a slick, claustrophobic drama that pretends to be edgy but actually isn’t. It homogenizes the rap scene and offers zero insight into hip-hop culture. That it goes out of its way to push as few buttons as possible is the film's biggest surprise and its greatest shortcoming, especially since it was billed as the semi-autobiography of its once-controversial star, Eminem. Here, he's a poor, scrappy twentysomething nicknamed Bunny Rabbit who aspires to get away from his boozy mother (Kim Basinger) and become a rap star. As unlikely as that seems, and as angry as Bunny Rabbit is at his situation, the movie oddly fails to mine the intensity of Eminem’s best songs. As an actor, Eminem has presence to spare, but the film doesn’t allow him to fully capture the rage that defines so much of his early work. It makes him almost approachable, which proves especially disappointing, sort of as if Madonna had released her “Sex” book without the sex. Rated R. Grade: C


“End of Days” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackProtect your daughters! Break out the chastity belts! Get thee to a nunnery! Set on the eve of the millennium, this 1999 throwback finds Satan popping the Viagra and going on the prowl for sex, particularly between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight, when the great horned one himself will rise from hell to have sex with a woman who not only will give birth to the anti-Christ, but who also will bring about the end of days. The movie pits Arnold Schwarzenegger against the devil (Gabriel Byrne), with director Peter Hyams delivering tense moments of action amid not-so-subtle choices for character development. To wit: In an effort to strike the big bell of masculinity early on, Hyams has his suicidal police detective, Jericho Cane (Schwarzenegger), begin his day with coffee, a piece of moldy pizza pealed off a filthy floor and other unmentionables liquefied in a grimy blender. Delicious! So yes, Jericho is a butch, action-adventure stereotype, but he’s also a sensitive softy, as revealed when he clutches a ballerina music box and weeps openly for his dead wife and daughter while the box warbles its thin ribbon of treacly music. If these decisions push “End of Days” straight to the brink of cinematic hell, Hyams eventually settles down to the real business at hand: Satan is randy and he wants a mate. The unlucky soul chosen at birth to bear his child is Christina York (Robin Tunney), a neurotic yet likable piece of work who, as an infant, was suckled with snake’s blood in one of the film’s more bizarre sequences. Now aware of her fate, Christina fights Satan with Cane, a man whose faith was once shattered but which suddenly is renewed--rather predictably--just when he needs it most. Rated R. Grade: C+


ER: Complete Twelfth Season”The melodrama escalates to a fever pitch, but then it had to, didn’t it? This is the twelfth season of "ER," and the producers aren't willing to allow fans to move away from the water cooler quietly. As such, we get 22 episodes laced with chaos and disorder, with romance and broken hearts hurtling through the doors of Chicago's County General Hospital almost as frequently as the injured and the dying. In this season, with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Carter now off the show in the maelstrom of moist melodrama that ended the eleventh season, “ER” there’s a whiff of desperation about the show, which features those in suddenly waking from comas, people getting struck by lightning, others getting knifed, burn victims abounding. And so on. With this show, it’s all becoming rinse and repeat, especially since Wyle himself makes a return. Grade: B-


“Jarhead” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackTakes us back to a past that feels oddly like the present. In the film, we’re in the Middle East and we’re fighting a war that few seem to understand. The difference? It’s the Gulf War that’s being fought, the senior Bush is in office, and Saddam Hussein is in power. Jake Gyllenhaal is Swofford, who is recruited by Sykes (Jamie Foxx) to become a sniper along with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), his sketchy partner with the unfavorable past, and a group of other men. With no action to be had on the ground in Saudi Arabia, the men find themselves fighting the war unraveling in their heads. The Gulf War was fought mostly by air and these men are on foot. It’s the mounting frustration that comes with the dawning realization that their time in the desert may have been for nothing that gives “Jarhead” its greatest, ugliest complexity in ways not to be revealed here. Rated R. Grade: B

By Christopher Smith

Note: If one day you plan on making the switch from standard-definition DVDs to high-definition Blu-ray discs but aren’t quite ready to commit, some studios have recently started to make it easier for consumers with “Combo Packs,” which includes the movie’s DVD and Blu-ray versions, and in some cases, a digital copy of the film for your computer. Several of the latest titles are reviewed below. Since Warner recently jumped on the trend and are gearing up for their roll-out, expect many more to follow.

“The Marine 2” DVD, Blu-ray
On the surface, it’s easy to dismiss a movie such as this, but in 2009, Hollywood pumped out a lot worse than "The Marine 2,” even if it didn’t receive a theatrical release. The story, which has almost zip to do with the 2006 original, is filled with assembly-line nonsense set in tropical locales, but few coming to it will give a hoo-rah that it offers nothing new. What will matter most to its target audience are whether the ammo, action and attitude are in good supply. The short answer is yes. The film comes from World Wrestling Entertainment, with Vince McMahon serving as the movie’s executive producer. That either will excite you or leave you wanting to spend a long time surrounded by art and books, as will the idea that the Marine in the title is played not by John Cena, as in the first film, but by Ted DiBiase Jr., the WWE superstar known for his swagger and, well, other attributes. The movie is a cartoon, but it’s reasonably entertaining, it accomplishes its low goals with a measure of menace and humor, and DiBiase and company work hard to infuse the film with its likeably cheap, movie-of-the-week feel. Hardly great, but also hardly awful. Rated R. Grade: C

“Doom” Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack
Trash sci-fi that achieves a lean center and final act that’s admirable in the tension it creates. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Sarge, a tattooed beast leading an elite core of Marines on a rescue mission to Mars, where a mysterious 24th human chromosome is wreaking havoc on what’s left of the planet’s residents. Should one come in contact with it, the results are monstrous. With the film’s genesis steeped in computer code--the movie is based on the popular video game, which started a revolution--“Doom” predictably lacks soul, but it does generate the raw, sketchy rhythm of a B-movie, which gives it its modest gross-out jolts. Rated R. Grade: C+




“8 Mile” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackThe title of Curtis Hanson's "8 Mile” comes from the stretch of highway that divides the racially mixed inner-city of Detroit from its predominantly white, middle-class suburbs. On a map, it’s an area about the size of a postage stamp, but economically, it might as well be a continent away. On the surface, "8 Mile" seems to promise a story that will transcend that gap, but it doesn’t, at least not completely. This is a rap movie designed to appeal to a specific demographic--the white, suburban audience on the privileged side of the tracks. As such, it’s generic and unthreatening without being boring, a slick, claustrophobic drama that pretends to be edgy but actually isn’t. It homogenizes the rap scene and offers zero insight into hip-hop culture. That it goes out of its way to push as few buttons as possible is the film's biggest surprise and its greatest shortcoming, especially since it was billed as the semi-autobiography of its once-controversial star, Eminem. Here, he's a poor, scrappy twentysomething nicknamed Bunny Rabbit who aspires to get away from his boozy mother (Kim Basinger) and become a rap star. As unlikely as that seems, and as angry as Bunny Rabbit is at his situation, the movie oddly fails to mine the intensity of Eminem’s best songs. As an actor, Eminem has presence to spare, but the film doesn’t allow him to fully capture the rage that defines so much of his early work. It makes him almost approachable, which proves especially disappointing, sort of as if Madonna had released her “Sex” book without the sex. Rated R. Grade: C


“End of Days” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackProtect your daughters! Break out the chastity belts! Get thee to a nunnery! Set on the eve of the millennium, this 1999 throwback finds Satan popping the Viagra and going on the prowl for sex, particularly between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight, when the great horned one himself will rise from hell to have sex with a woman who not only will give birth to the anti-Christ, but who also will bring about the end of days. The movie pits Arnold Schwarzenegger against the devil (Gabriel Byrne), with director Peter Hyams delivering tense moments of action amid not-so-subtle choices for character development. To wit: In an effort to strike the big bell of masculinity early on, Hyams has his suicidal police detective, Jericho Cane (Schwarzenegger), begin his day with coffee, a piece of moldy pizza pealed off a filthy floor and other unmentionables liquefied in a grimy blender. Delicious! So yes, Jericho is a butch, action-adventure stereotype, but he’s also a sensitive softy, as revealed when he clutches a ballerina music box and weeps openly for his dead wife and daughter while the box warbles its thin ribbon of treacly music. If these decisions push “End of Days” straight to the brink of cinematic hell, Hyams eventually settles down to the real business at hand: Satan is randy and he wants a mate. The unlucky soul chosen at birth to bear his child is Christina York (Robin Tunney), a neurotic yet likable piece of work who, as an infant, was suckled with snake’s blood in one of the film’s more bizarre sequences. Now aware of her fate, Christina fights Satan with Cane, a man whose faith was once shattered but which suddenly is renewed--rather predictably--just when he needs it most. Rated R. Grade: C+


ER: Complete Twelfth Season”The melodrama escalates to a fever pitch, but then it had to, didn’t it? This is the twelfth season of "ER," and the producers aren't willing to allow fans to move away from the water cooler quietly. As such, we get 22 episodes laced with chaos and disorder, with romance and broken hearts hurtling through the doors of Chicago's County General Hospital almost as frequently as the injured and the dying. In this season, with Noah Wyle’s Dr. Carter now off the show in the maelstrom of moist melodrama that ended the eleventh season, “ER” there’s a whiff of desperation about the show, which features those in suddenly waking from comas, people getting struck by lightning, others getting knifed, burn victims abounding. And so on. With this show, it’s all becoming rinse and repeat, especially since Wyle himself makes a return. Grade: B-


“Jarhead” Blu-ray/DVD Combo PackTakes us back to a past that feels oddly like the present. In the film, we’re in the Middle East and we’re fighting a war that few seem to understand. The difference? It’s the Gulf War that’s being fought, the senior Bush is in office, and Saddam Hussein is in power. Jake Gyllenhaal is Swofford, who is recruited by Sykes (Jamie Foxx) to become a sniper along with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), his sketchy partner with the unfavorable past, and a group of other men. With no action to be had on the ground in Saudi Arabia, the men find themselves fighting the war unraveling in their heads. The Gulf War was fought mostly by air and these men are on foot. It’s the mounting frustration that comes with the dawning realization that their time in the desert may have been for nothing that gives “Jarhead” its greatest, ugliest complexity in ways not to be revealed here. Rated R. Grade: B

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

“Inglourious Basterds”

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, 152 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Quentin Tarantino’s best movie to date turns out to be his most recent movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” which is just out on DVD and Blu-ray disc.  The film clashes together history and fantasy, it intentionally echoes back to many of the World War II movies that came before it, and it uses them to inform it.

This is history boldly re-envisioned, with Tarantino, who also wrote the script, crafting a story based on Enzo Castellari’s 1978 movie, “The Inglorious Bastards.” How close are the two movies? Let’s just say they share the same title--though even there, the spellings are different. Other than that, we’re dealing with two different films, with Tarantino’s being the superior movie.

The film opens in 1941. We’re in Nazi-occupied France and the smoothly evil Nazi Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz, superb in what should be an Academy Award-nominated performance), otherwise known as the “Jew Hunter,” has stopped by to question a farmer about whether he’s hiding Jews in his house. Turns out the man is, which leads to a tense game of cat and mouse (beautifully realized by Tarantino in an homage to the spaghetti western) that results in a horrific blast of bloodshed.

One girl escapes from the well of her family’s slaughter--Shosanna (Melanie Laurent)--who several years later comes to run a movie theater in Paris. It’s her ownership of the theater that proves critical to the film’s ending in ways that allow Shosanna the possibility for revenge. The moment she’s struck by the idea of it, she’s overcome by the rush of it and sets a plan into motion that will enact it.

Running alongside this story is the story of the Basterds themselves, a group of American Jews led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), whose point it is to “kill Nazis.” And they mean business, too, going so far as to scalp their victims alive and, in some cases, carve swastikas into their foreheads just so no one forgets who these people really are at their core. The director Eli Roth also is a Basterd, and as anyone who has seen the movie can attest, no one would want to be on the business end of his baseball bat.

Watching the Basterds do their grisly work, some will question whether Tarantino has made his Jewish heroes any better than his Nazis foes. They are ruthless killing machines stripped of humanity who have made their own monstrous laws. Has he gone too far by doing this? One could view it two ways. Tarantino’s flaw is that he didn’t consider any of this--he’s just in it for the sheer blunt of violence his inner 12-year-old always has favored. Or maybe he did consider it and the insight he offers is that when pressed, humans are capable of anything.

It’s up for debate.

Meanwhile, another thread tightens its noose around another genre--noir. Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) has made a movie about a Nazi war hero (Daniel Bruhl) that will have its premiere at Shosanna’s theater. Hitler will attend, as will many other undesirables, which means in one night, a bounty of Nazis will collect under one roof to celebrate their own war crimes. Thanks to a gorgeous German movie star (Diane Kruger) working the sidelines as a spy, the Allies are aware of this. So are the Basterds. And then there’s Shosanna, who has ideas of her own. Burn down the house with everyone caught inside, and the war would end.

But how to get there? Tarantino maneuvers and shifts, swinging the plot between the characters as the tension mounts, mostly thanks to the careful eye of Hans Landa, who also is attending the event and senses that something is going down. Not that he’s about to allow that to happen. And not that you’re about to be bored in the process.

Grade: A-

Watch the trailer for "Inglourious Basterds" here:

DVD, Blu-ray Movie Review

“Inglourious Basterds”

Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, 152 minutes, rated R.

By Christopher Smith

Quentin Tarantino’s best movie to date turns out to be his most recent movie, “Inglourious Basterds,” which is just out on DVD and Blu-ray disc.  The film clashes together history and fantasy, it intentionally echoes back to many of the World War II movies that came before it, and it uses them to inform it.

This is history boldly re-envisioned, with Tarantino, who also wrote the script, crafting a story based on Enzo Castellari’s 1978 movie, “The Inglorious Bastards.” How close are the two movies? Let’s just say they share the same title--though even there, the spellings are different. Other than that, we’re dealing with two different films, with Tarantino’s being the superior movie.

The film opens in 1941. We’re in Nazi-occupied France and the smoothly evil Nazi Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz, superb in what should be an Academy Award-nominated performance), otherwise known as the “Jew Hunter,” has stopped by to question a farmer about whether he’s hiding Jews in his house. Turns out the man is, which leads to a tense game of cat and mouse (beautifully realized by Tarantino in an homage to the spaghetti western) that results in a horrific blast of bloodshed.

One girl escapes from the well of her family’s slaughter--Shosanna (Melanie Laurent)--who several years later comes to run a movie theater in Paris. It’s her ownership of the theater that proves critical to the film’s ending in ways that allow Shosanna the possibility for revenge. The moment she’s struck by the idea of it, she’s overcome by the rush of it and sets a plan into motion that will enact it.

Running alongside this story is the story of the Basterds themselves, a group of American Jews led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), whose point it is to “kill Nazis.” And they mean business, too, going so far as to scalp their victims alive and, in some cases, carve swastikas into their foreheads just so no one forgets who these people really are at their core. The director Eli Roth also is a Basterd, and as anyone who has seen the movie can attest, no one would want to be on the business end of his baseball bat.

Watching the Basterds do their grisly work, some will question whether Tarantino has made his Jewish heroes any better than his Nazis foes. They are ruthless killing machines stripped of humanity who have made their own monstrous laws. Has he gone too far by doing this? One could view it two ways. Tarantino’s flaw is that he didn’t consider any of this--he’s just in it for the sheer blunt of violence his inner 12-year-old always has favored. Or maybe he did consider it and the insight he offers is that when pressed, humans are capable of anything.

It’s up for debate.

Meanwhile, another thread tightens its noose around another genre--noir. Joseph Goebbels (Sylvester Groth) has made a movie about a Nazi war hero (Daniel Bruhl) that will have its premiere at Shosanna’s theater. Hitler will attend, as will many other undesirables, which means in one night, a bounty of Nazis will collect under one roof to celebrate their own war crimes. Thanks to a gorgeous German movie star (Diane Kruger) working the sidelines as a spy, the Allies are aware of this. So are the Basterds. And then there’s Shosanna, who has ideas of her own. Burn down the house with everyone caught inside, and the war would end.

But how to get there? Tarantino maneuvers and shifts, swinging the plot between the characters as the tension mounts, mostly thanks to the careful eye of Hans Landa, who also is attending the event and senses that something is going down. Not that he’s about to allow that to happen. And not that you’re about to be bored in the process.

Grade: A-

Watch the trailer for "Inglourious Basterds" here:

Movie, DVD Review

"The Battle of the Algiers"

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, written by Pontecorvo and Franco Salinas, 121 minutes.

By our guest blogger, Jon Walton

In a recent interview about the Iraq conflict, Saadi Yacef, the former head of the Algerian resistance stated, “Even if you muster all the armies of the world … you will never, ever defeat a country which wants to be master of its own destiny.” Yacef was talking from personal experience, having led the Algerian FLN (National Liberation Front) against the occupying French, in a conflict that pitted military force against guerrilla terrorism.

The striking comparisons between Gillo Pontecorvo's "The Battle of Algiers" and the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ensure that the film retains a relevance and importance that cannot be ignored by modern audiences. The film focuses on the eight-year period between 1954 and 1962 when the conflict between the French colonial authorities and the Algerian resistance was at its height. The initial focus of the narrative is Ali la Pointe, a young illiterate street rogue in trouble for running card scams in the European quarter of Algiers. As the habitual offender is lead off by the police, he’s surrounded by a baying mob of French nationals who abuse and spit at him, giving us our first indication of the tension between the Algerians and the French. It’s experiences like this that fill Ali and his fellow Algerians with indignation, fueling their hatred of the French colonial rulers. During a spell in prison, Ali becomes politicized after witnessing the execution of an Algerian inmate, and upon his release becomes a key member of the FLN.

As the leaders of the FLN call for their brothers to take up arms against their oppressors, the violence in the Casbah escalates. Police shootings are quickly followed by bombings, as both sides carry out retaliatory strikes in a never-ending cycle of attack and counter-attack. With both the FLN and the French Army determined to win the war by any means necessary, the scenes of violence become more and more shocking as the conflict intensifies. We see bodies being carried from the rubble in the aftermath of bombings. Police officers and soldiers are gunned down in the streets they patrol, and Algerian prisoners are subjected to barbaric torture including waterboarding, blow torches and electric-shock treatment. Algerian women do their bit for the cause by delivering terrorist bombs to their target destinations. Neither side here is portrayed as the hero nor the villain--both are perpetrators of despicable acts in their quest for victory.

The impact of all these events is given an added poignancy due to the uncomfortable parallels with events in the Middle East, which play out on our TV screens in daily news bulletins. Pontecorvo employed a documentary shooting style, using hand-held cameras and shooting on grainy black and white film stock more commonly associated with newsreel reportage. It’s this devotion to a realist aesthetic that gives the film an authenticity and veracity that makes us feel as if we’re witnessing events as they happen. The FLN bombing of a racetrack, which results in many French deaths, is presented so realistically that we could be watching a contemporary news report on roadside bomb in Baghdad. In his search for realism, Pontecorvo filmed on location in Algiers, in the very streets where the real conflict took place. He also employed a cast of non-professional actors, including Saadi Yacef, the former leader of the FLN, as the head of the Algerian resistance.

It’s this basis in reality that gives "The Battle of Algiers" its enduring strength. It truly feels as if we’re watching a record of events rather than a cinematic re-enactment. The fact that some 40 years after its release the film still draws parallels with modern conflicts speaks volumes about the authenticity of Pontecorvo’s vision, and ensures the film’s relevance amongst contemporary audiences for years to come.

View the trailer for "The Battle of Algiers" below. Thoughts?

Movie, DVD Review

"The Battle of the Algiers"

Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, written by Pontecorvo and Franco Salinas, 121 minutes.

By our guest blogger, Jon Walton

In a recent interview about the Iraq conflict, Saadi Yacef, the former head of the Algerian resistance stated, “Even if you muster all the armies of the world … you will never, ever defeat a country which wants to be master of its own destiny.” Yacef was talking from personal experience, having led the Algerian FLN (National Liberation Front) against the occupying French, in a conflict that pitted military force against guerrilla terrorism.

The striking comparisons between Gillo Pontecorvo's "The Battle of Algiers" and the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan ensure that the film retains a relevance and importance that cannot be ignored by modern audiences. The film focuses on the eight-year period between 1954 and 1962 when the conflict between the French colonial authorities and the Algerian resistance was at its height. The initial focus of the narrative is Ali la Pointe, a young illiterate street rogue in trouble for running card scams in the European quarter of Algiers. As the habitual offender is lead off by the police, he’s surrounded by a baying mob of French nationals who abuse and spit at him, giving us our first indication of the tension between the Algerians and the French. It’s experiences like this that fill Ali and his fellow Algerians with indignation, fueling their hatred of the French colonial rulers. During a spell in prison, Ali becomes politicized after witnessing the execution of an Algerian inmate, and upon his release becomes a key member of the FLN.

As the leaders of the FLN call for their brothers to take up arms against their oppressors, the violence in the Casbah escalates. Police shootings are quickly followed by bombings, as both sides carry out retaliatory strikes in a never-ending cycle of attack and counter-attack. With both the FLN and the French Army determined to win the war by any means necessary, the scenes of violence become more and more shocking as the conflict intensifies. We see bodies being carried from the rubble in the aftermath of bombings. Police officers and soldiers are gunned down in the streets they patrol, and Algerian prisoners are subjected to barbaric torture including waterboarding, blow torches and electric-shock treatment. Algerian women do their bit for the cause by delivering terrorist bombs to their target destinations. Neither side here is portrayed as the hero nor the villain--both are perpetrators of despicable acts in their quest for victory.

The impact of all these events is given an added poignancy due to the uncomfortable parallels with events in the Middle East, which play out on our TV screens in daily news bulletins. Pontecorvo employed a documentary shooting style, using hand-held cameras and shooting on grainy black and white film stock more commonly associated with newsreel reportage. It’s this devotion to a realist aesthetic that gives the film an authenticity and veracity that makes us feel as if we’re witnessing events as they happen. The FLN bombing of a racetrack, which results in many French deaths, is presented so realistically that we could be watching a contemporary news report on roadside bomb in Baghdad. In his search for realism, Pontecorvo filmed on location in Algiers, in the very streets where the real conflict took place. He also employed a cast of non-professional actors, including Saadi Yacef, the former leader of the FLN, as the head of the Algerian resistance.

It’s this basis in reality that gives "The Battle of Algiers" its enduring strength. It truly feels as if we’re watching a record of events rather than a cinematic re-enactment. The fact that some 40 years after its release the film still draws parallels with modern conflicts speaks volumes about the authenticity of Pontecorvo’s vision, and ensures the film’s relevance amongst contemporary audiences for years to come.

View the trailer for "The Battle of Algiers" below. Thoughts?

Written and directed by Ari Folman, 87 minutes, rated R. In Hebrew, German and English, with English subtitles.

Ari Folman’s Academy Award-nominated “Waltz with Bashir” is about the ramifications of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre that took the lives of hundreds of unarmed men, women and children during the Lebanon war.

It uses animation not only as a means to generate the film’s stunning imagery--you’ve never seen a war movie quite like this war movie. More profoundly, it employs the animated form as a method of underscoring the surreal and hallucinatory aspects of war, and all the varied difficulties of coping in the wake of war.

As such, it takes a medium best known for pleasing tots and uses it to inform its story and characters in ways that real life couldn’t.

This isn’t new (Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” did it, as did others) but the way it’s handled here is something of a contradiction--a beautiful-looking film about an ugly, unthinkable event. If Folman had chosen to tell his story via live action, it goes without saying that the film’s mix of horror and bloodshed would be anything but beautiful, but it is here. And what are we to make of that? In this case, one shouldn’t assume any disrespect on Folman’s part--the dark color palette he chooses to use alone is enough to suggest shame.

Folman based his script on his own experiences as an Israeli soldier in the Lebanon war, and what he has created is a film geared specifically toward adults that carves into the subconscious and explores what doesn’t want to be remembered or revealed. For Folman, it was this: He and his fellow soldiers knowingly allowed Christian Phalangists to enter a Palestinian refugee camp and go on a killing spree.

The movie begins with a jolt of terror. Twenty-six dogs--all ravenous, wild and hungry for blood--are seen rushing through city streets, their fangs bared, their eyes burning orange against gray coats sharp with angles only animation could create. Their target is a man named Boaz, who awakens from this nightmare to question the reasons why he continues to have it.

For counsel, he goes to his friends, including Folman, who now must confront his own lack of memories surrounding the war. Bizarre dreams start to strike and with them, the pull for answers and the need to face the darkness he himself has buried. This is key: Even if he didn’t fire one bullet himself, by standing silent so that massacre could happen, how much blood does he have on his hands?

It’s a question for the ages, and it’s just one of the reasons why “Waltz with Bashir” is so relevant to the here and now.

Grade: A

View the trailer here:

Written and directed by Ari Folman, 87 minutes, rated R. In Hebrew, German and English, with English subtitles.

Ari Folman’s Academy Award-nominated “Waltz with Bashir” is about the ramifications of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre that took the lives of hundreds of unarmed men, women and children during the Lebanon war.

It uses animation not only as a means to generate the film’s stunning imagery--you’ve never seen a war movie quite like this war movie. More profoundly, it employs the animated form as a method of underscoring the surreal and hallucinatory aspects of war, and all the varied difficulties of coping in the wake of war.

As such, it takes a medium best known for pleasing tots and uses it to inform its story and characters in ways that real life couldn’t.

This isn’t new (Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life” did it, as did others) but the way it’s handled here is something of a contradiction--a beautiful-looking film about an ugly, unthinkable event. If Folman had chosen to tell his story via live action, it goes without saying that the film’s mix of horror and bloodshed would be anything but beautiful, but it is here. And what are we to make of that? In this case, one shouldn’t assume any disrespect on Folman’s part--the dark color palette he chooses to use alone is enough to suggest shame.

Folman based his script on his own experiences as an Israeli soldier in the Lebanon war, and what he has created is a film geared specifically toward adults that carves into the subconscious and explores what doesn’t want to be remembered or revealed. For Folman, it was this: He and his fellow soldiers knowingly allowed Christian Phalangists to enter a Palestinian refugee camp and go on a killing spree.

The movie begins with a jolt of terror. Twenty-six dogs--all ravenous, wild and hungry for blood--are seen rushing through city streets, their fangs bared, their eyes burning orange against gray coats sharp with angles only animation could create. Their target is a man named Boaz, who awakens from this nightmare to question the reasons why he continues to have it.

For counsel, he goes to his friends, including Folman, who now must confront his own lack of memories surrounding the war. Bizarre dreams start to strike and with them, the pull for answers and the need to face the darkness he himself has buried. This is key: Even if he didn’t fire one bullet himself, by standing silent so that massacre could happen, how much blood does he have on his hands?

It’s a question for the ages, and it’s just one of the reasons why “Waltz with Bashir” is so relevant to the here and now.

Grade: A

View the trailer here:

Father’s Day is Sunday, but this year, instead of--or in addition to--the usual gifts of a good book, tools or that tie Dad just loves to receive this time of year, a worthwhile gift might be one of several recommended movies and/or television series new to the market.

If you’re reading this on Saturday, this guide arrives at the last minute--just a day before the big day--which is fitting because, let’s face it, perhaps one day in your life your own father was there for you at the last minute. As a bonus, all of these titles can be found locally at far less than the retail prices listed below.

Chief among the best releases is HBO’s “Band of Brothers” ($79.98 DVD; $99.98 Blu-ray), the Emmy Award-winning, World War II series based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s best-selling book. Now available at a steeply discounted price, this set remains one of the most involving, well-acted examinations of war combat ever produced specifically for television, with the men of the Easy Company given their due in a grueling series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

Also high on the list are the History Channel’s “The Universe: Season Three” ($39.95); the comprehensive “Prehistoric Collection: From Dinosaurs to the Dawn of Man” ($59.95); the documentary “Stealing Lincoln s Body” ($19.95); and “UFO Hunters: Season Two” ($39.95), which looks to the skies in an effort to find something--anything--to prove we’re not alone. Also new and recommended from the History Channel the 14 discs amassed in the “Military Combat” collection ($99.95), and “American Originals Megaset” ($99.95), which features content from such series as “Ice Road Truckers,” “Ax Men," “Tougher in Alaska” and “Dangerous Missions.”

Too much war, blood and violence? No problem. If Dad is a fan of the BBC, recommended titles include the five films (“Oliver Twist,” “The Old Curiosity Shop,” “Bleak House,” “Little Dorrit,” “Great Expectation) in “Charles Dickens Masterworks Collection” ($119.98), and the recently released remake of “Bleak House” ($39.98 DVD; $49.99 Blu-ray) with Gillian Anderson, Anna Maxwell Martin and Denis Lawson. Also from the BBC is terrific first season of “Torchwood” ($99.98), as well as “Robin Hood: Season One” ($99.98), each of which mark their Blu-ray debuts.

The latter series is especially good, a lively retelling of the tale that once again makes it hip to take from the rich and give to the poor. This promising first season stars Jonas Armstrong in the lead, with Hungary posing as 12th-century England and taxes against the poor an unacceptable proposition. Humor, romance20and swordplay commingle amid the tomfoolery, with the script connecting more often than not.

As for other titles on Blu-ray, you’ll find a boon, with studios reaching deep into their archives and pulling out several solid films in high-definition transfers.

The Academy Award-nominated thriller “Fatal Attraction” ($29.99) is a must, with Glenn Close cooking rabbits, cruising married men and causing all sorts of sordid chaos while Michael Douglas and Anne Archer try to fend her and her butcher knife off, as is the salacious movie “Indecent Proposal” ($29.99), with Robert Redford willing to pay a very married Demi Moore $1 million to get her into bed. Woody Harrelson co-stars. Other Blu-ray titles include “Force 10 from Navarone” ($29.99), Kurt Russell in “Dark Blue” ($24.99), The Rock in “Walking Tall” ($24.99) and Steve Martin in “The Pink Panther 2” ($39.99).

Plenty of action and pin-up potential is to be had for Dad in several high-definition transfers from the James Bond franchise. The latest film, “Quantum of Solace” ($29.99), would make many fathers happy, as would four additional Bond throwbacks, each of which looks terrific on Blu-ray, particularly Guy Hamilton’s 1965 film "Goldfinger" ($34.99), from which "Solace" borrows a key scene not to be revealed here. Sean Connery stars as Bond in that film, as he does in 1983’s “Never Say Never Again” ($34.98), with its Tomahawk missiles, nuclear warheads, and that other bombshell--Barbara Carrera as Fatima Bush.

The movie was Connery’s last performance as Bond. Four years earlier in 1979’s “Moonraker” ($34.99), Roger Moore already was deep into the role, having made three films prior to this one. In the film, the Space Shuttle is in danger, but Bond, along with Lois Chile’s Dr. Holly Goodhead, must bring down Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) to save it. The movie is a jolt of camp, with the towering Richard Kiel, sporting an enormous mouth of metal, easily stealing the show.

Also on Blu-ray is 1999’s “The World is Not Enough” ($34.99), the 19th movie in the franchise and Pierce Brosnan’s best outing as Bond. In the movie, Electra (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a recently assassinated tycoon, is building a pipeline across Central Asia to Turkey, something her deranged former kidnapper, Renard (Robert Carlyle), will stop at any cost. When M (Judi Dench) sends Bond to the Caspian oil town of Baku to protect Electra, the film--literally and figuratively--finds its legs.

As Bond girls go, Marceau’s Electra won’t disappoint, but Denise Richards’ Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear scientist (ha!), is one of the worst. Unlike Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder and Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore, Richards doesn’t have the shrewd intelligence the role demands. Still, that’s a quibble. Brosnan and Dench were more than enough to rocket this series straight into the present.

Additional titles on Blu-ray include Jean-Claude Van Damme in the action movie “Kickboxer” ($19.99); the “Star Wars” spoof, “Spaceballs” ($29.99) from MGM; Shia LaBeouf in the golf-themed “The Greatest Game Ever Played” ($34.99); Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent in the fantasy “Inkheart” ($35.99); and Ivan Reitman’s defining 1984 comedy, “Ghostbusters” ($28.95). If your father is into horror movies, look for “The Cell 2” ($35.99), the 2009 Killer Cut edition of “Friday the 13th” ($35.99), and from Paramount, the original “Friday the 13th Part 2” ($29.99) and “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D” ($29.99).

Among the best offerings on Blu-ray is “Children of Men” ($29.98). From P.D. James' novel, this dark, superb thriller is a tour-de-force whose hellish sink into dystopia made for one of 2006’s more unforgettable trips. The film opens in the year 2027, we're in London and the situation is chaos, though hardly only in Britain. The world has collapsed into ruin and the human race is facing its end. Women no longer are able to conceive children--for the past 18 years, they’ve been infertile. So, when one woman (Claire-Hope Ashitey) reveals that she is pregnant, an explosive situation ignites, with several special interest groups wanting cont rol of her. A fantastic Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine star.

For those seeking television series, several affordable offerings are worth noting, including Benjamin Bratt in the first season of “The Cleaner” ($49.99), the first season of HBO’s terrific vampire series “True Blood” ($59.99), the fifth season of that same network’s buddy drama “Entourage,” and the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries “John Adams” on Blu-ray ($79.98), which stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney in an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. If you want to go retro on Dad, you can’t go wrong with “Get Smart: The Complete Series Gift Set” ($199.95), which includes every episode of the show on 25 discs.

For sports collections, you know your father best, so pick your poison. Here are what’s newest to market: “NFL: Arizona Cardinals: 2008 NFC Champs” ($19.98), “NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Blu-ray” ($34.99), “NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers--Road to the Super Bowl XLIII Blu-ray” ($49.99) and “The New York Yankees: Essential Games of Yankee Stadium--Perfect Games and No Hitters” ($49.95).

Father’s Day is Sunday, but this year, instead of--or in addition to--the usual gifts of a good book, tools or that tie Dad just loves to receive this time of year, a worthwhile gift might be one of several recommended movies and/or television series new to the market.

If you’re reading this on Saturday, this guide arrives at the last minute--just a day before the big day--which is fitting because, let’s face it, perhaps one day in your life your own father was there for you at the last minute. As a bonus, all of these titles can be found locally at far less than the retail prices listed below.

Chief among the best releases is HBO’s “Band of Brothers” ($79.98 DVD; $99.98 Blu-ray), the Emmy Award-winning, World War II series based on Stephen E. Ambrose’s best-selling book. Now available at a steeply discounted price, this set remains one of the most involving, well-acted examinations of war combat ever produced specifically for television, with the men of the Easy Company given their due in a grueling series produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.

Also high on the list are the History Channel’s “The Universe: Season Three” ($39.95); the comprehensive “Prehistoric Collection: From Dinosaurs to the Dawn of Man” ($59.95); the documentary “Stealing Lincoln s Body” ($19.95); and “UFO Hunters: Season Two” ($39.95), which looks to the skies in an effort to find something--anything--to prove we’re not alone. Also new and recommended from the History Channel the 14 discs amassed in the “Military Combat” collection ($99.95), and “American Originals Megaset” ($99.95), which features content from such series as “Ice Road Truckers,” “Ax Men," “Tougher in Alaska” and “Dangerous Missions.”

Too much war, blood and violence? No problem. If Dad is a fan of the BBC, recommended titles include the five films (“Oliver Twist,” “The Old Curiosity Shop,” “Bleak House,” “Little Dorrit,” “Great Expectation) in “Charles Dickens Masterworks Collection” ($119.98), and the recently released remake of “Bleak House” ($39.98 DVD; $49.99 Blu-ray) with Gillian Anderson, Anna Maxwell Martin and Denis Lawson. Also from the BBC is terrific first season of “Torchwood” ($99.98), as well as “Robin Hood: Season One” ($99.98), each of which mark their Blu-ray debuts.

The latter series is especially good, a lively retelling of the tale that once again makes it hip to take from the rich and give to the poor. This promising first season stars Jonas Armstrong in the lead, with Hungary posing as 12th-century England and taxes against the poor an unacceptable proposition. Humor, romance20and swordplay commingle amid the tomfoolery, with the script connecting more often than not.

As for other titles on Blu-ray, you’ll find a boon, with studios reaching deep into their archives and pulling out several solid films in high-definition transfers.

The Academy Award-nominated thriller “Fatal Attraction” ($29.99) is a must, with Glenn Close cooking rabbits, cruising married men and causing all sorts of sordid chaos while Michael Douglas and Anne Archer try to fend her and her butcher knife off, as is the salacious movie “Indecent Proposal” ($29.99), with Robert Redford willing to pay a very married Demi Moore $1 million to get her into bed. Woody Harrelson co-stars. Other Blu-ray titles include “Force 10 from Navarone” ($29.99), Kurt Russell in “Dark Blue” ($24.99), The Rock in “Walking Tall” ($24.99) and Steve Martin in “The Pink Panther 2” ($39.99).

Plenty of action and pin-up potential is to be had for Dad in several high-definition transfers from the James Bond franchise. The latest film, “Quantum of Solace” ($29.99), would make many fathers happy, as would four additional Bond throwbacks, each of which looks terrific on Blu-ray, particularly Guy Hamilton’s 1965 film "Goldfinger" ($34.99), from which "Solace" borrows a key scene not to be revealed here. Sean Connery stars as Bond in that film, as he does in 1983’s “Never Say Never Again” ($34.98), with its Tomahawk missiles, nuclear warheads, and that other bombshell--Barbara Carrera as Fatima Bush.

The movie was Connery’s last performance as Bond. Four years earlier in 1979’s “Moonraker” ($34.99), Roger Moore already was deep into the role, having made three films prior to this one. In the film, the Space Shuttle is in danger, but Bond, along with Lois Chile’s Dr. Holly Goodhead, must bring down Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) to save it. The movie is a jolt of camp, with the towering Richard Kiel, sporting an enormous mouth of metal, easily stealing the show.

Also on Blu-ray is 1999’s “The World is Not Enough” ($34.99), the 19th movie in the franchise and Pierce Brosnan’s best outing as Bond. In the movie, Electra (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of a recently assassinated tycoon, is building a pipeline across Central Asia to Turkey, something her deranged former kidnapper, Renard (Robert Carlyle), will stop at any cost. When M (Judi Dench) sends Bond to the Caspian oil town of Baku to protect Electra, the film--literally and figuratively--finds its legs.

As Bond girls go, Marceau’s Electra won’t disappoint, but Denise Richards’ Dr. Christmas Jones, a nuclear scientist (ha!), is one of the worst. Unlike Ursula Andress’ Honey Ryder and Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore, Richards doesn’t have the shrewd intelligence the role demands. Still, that’s a quibble. Brosnan and Dench were more than enough to rocket this series straight into the present.

Additional titles on Blu-ray include Jean-Claude Van Damme in the action movie “Kickboxer” ($19.99); the “Star Wars” spoof, “Spaceballs” ($29.99) from MGM; Shia LaBeouf in the golf-themed “The Greatest Game Ever Played” ($34.99); Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren and Jim Broadbent in the fantasy “Inkheart” ($35.99); and Ivan Reitman’s defining 1984 comedy, “Ghostbusters” ($28.95). If your father is into horror movies, look for “The Cell 2” ($35.99), the 2009 Killer Cut edition of “Friday the 13th” ($35.99), and from Paramount, the original “Friday the 13th Part 2” ($29.99) and “Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D” ($29.99).

Among the best offerings on Blu-ray is “Children of Men” ($29.98). From P.D. James' novel, this dark, superb thriller is a tour-de-force whose hellish sink into dystopia made for one of 2006’s more unforgettable trips. The film opens in the year 2027, we're in London and the situation is chaos, though hardly only in Britain. The world has collapsed into ruin and the human race is facing its end. Women no longer are able to conceive children--for the past 18 years, they’ve been infertile. So, when one woman (Claire-Hope Ashitey) reveals that she is pregnant, an explosive situation ignites, with several special interest groups wanting cont rol of her. A fantastic Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine star.

For those seeking television series, several affordable offerings are worth noting, including Benjamin Bratt in the first season of “The Cleaner” ($49.99), the first season of HBO’s terrific vampire series “True Blood” ($59.99), the fifth season of that same network’s buddy drama “Entourage,” and the Emmy Award-winning HBO miniseries “John Adams” on Blu-ray ($79.98), which stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney in an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. If you want to go retro on Dad, you can’t go wrong with “Get Smart: The Complete Series Gift Set” ($199.95), which includes every episode of the show on 25 discs.

For sports collections, you know your father best, so pick your poison. Here are what’s newest to market: “NFL: Arizona Cardinals: 2008 NFC Champs” ($19.98), “NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Blu-ray” ($34.99), “NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers--Road to the Super Bowl XLIII Blu-ray” ($49.99) and “The New York Yankees: Essential Games of Yankee Stadium--Perfect Games and No Hitters” ($49.95).

Directed by Edward Zwick, written by Clayton Frohman and Zwick, 136 minutes, rated R.

The new Edward Zwick movie, “Defiance,” is based on the true story of a group of Jewish brothers who witnessed the murder of their family and friends at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. They fled Poland, escaped to the woods of Belarus, and decided to fight back when their numbers grew to more than a thousand as other Jews took to the woods in an effort to save their lives.

Based on Zwick and Clayton Frohman’s screenplay by way of Nechama Tec’s 1993 book, “Defiance” sometimes is so subtle and well done, you admire Zwick for his reserve and tact.

Unfortunately, at other times the movie is so heavy-handed, it can leach into parody, especially in those scenes where food is spare and a piece of bread or a spot of soup is ravaged by the film’s overly eager cast of extras. These folks obviously came from the shoot-for-the-moon-or-bust school of acting, because their performances are so over-cooked, they can be distracting and unintentionally humorous during moments when they should be anything but.

This never is true for the leads. The film stars Daniel Craig as Tuvia, Liev Schreiber as Zus and Jamie Bell as the boyish Asael, all brothers who at first planned to escape into the woods alone. Their strategy was simple--wait out the Nazis by surviving in a dense thick of forest. It wouldn’t be easy, but if they banded together, there was a chance they could survive.

Trouble is, hundreds of others literally trickled out of the woodwork (all of whom would eventually form the Bielski Ostriad resistance). With them came promise in numbers but also complications, not the least of which was how the brothers would feed so many people as winter settled in, and also how they could keep so many in hiding, particularly since the Nazis were busy patrolling the areas nearby.

With tensions rising between the more passive Tuvia and the headstrong Zus--Tuvia believes their revenge should be to live while Zus would prefer to kill those who murdered their family--the movie manages a few solid scenes between Craig and Schreiber, with each actor happy to take on the other while ambushing their share of Nazi troops until the plot works to separate them. As Zwick chafes between Tuvia and Zus, what’s left to hold our interest is Bell’s Asael, who apparently is here to flirt with a pretty girl and have a chance at a first kiss.

In the right hands, such a situation could have been profound given the grim circumstances at hand. But Zwick is too unfocused to ground it with weight and meaning. His talented cast came to act and they find pockets to do so amid Eduardo Serra’s fine cinematography and Dan Weil’s beautifully realized production design, but the shallow script proves too sight, the dialogue is stock, and the characters are only casually interesting at best. Worse for the movie? Too many moments of lax direction keep the proceedings from revealing another corner of the Holocaust that deserved excellence in the telling.

Grade: C+

View the trailer here:

Directed by Edward Zwick, written by Clayton Frohman and Zwick, 136 minutes, rated R.

The new Edward Zwick movie, “Defiance,” is based on the true story of a group of Jewish brothers who witnessed the murder of their family and friends at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. They fled Poland, escaped to the woods of Belarus, and decided to fight back when their numbers grew to more than a thousand as other Jews took to the woods in an effort to save their lives.

Based on Zwick and Clayton Frohman’s screenplay by way of Nechama Tec’s 1993 book, “Defiance” sometimes is so subtle and well done, you admire Zwick for his reserve and tact.

Unfortunately, at other times the movie is so heavy-handed, it can leach into parody, especially in those scenes where food is spare and a piece of bread or a spot of soup is ravaged by the film’s overly eager cast of extras. These folks obviously came from the shoot-for-the-moon-or-bust school of acting, because their performances are so over-cooked, they can be distracting and unintentionally humorous during moments when they should be anything but.

This never is true for the leads. The film stars Daniel Craig as Tuvia, Liev Schreiber as Zus and Jamie Bell as the boyish Asael, all brothers who at first planned to escape into the woods alone. Their strategy was simple--wait out the Nazis by surviving in a dense thick of forest. It wouldn’t be easy, but if they banded together, there was a chance they could survive.

Trouble is, hundreds of others literally trickled out of the woodwork (all of whom would eventually form the Bielski Ostriad resistance). With them came promise in numbers but also complications, not the least of which was how the brothers would feed so many people as winter settled in, and also how they could keep so many in hiding, particularly since the Nazis were busy patrolling the areas nearby.

With tensions rising between the more passive Tuvia and the headstrong Zus--Tuvia believes their revenge should be to live while Zus would prefer to kill those who murdered their family--the movie manages a few solid scenes between Craig and Schreiber, with each actor happy to take on the other while ambushing their share of Nazi troops until the plot works to separate them. As Zwick chafes between Tuvia and Zus, what’s left to hold our interest is Bell’s Asael, who apparently is here to flirt with a pretty girl and have a chance at a first kiss.

In the right hands, such a situation could have been profound given the grim circumstances at hand. But Zwick is too unfocused to ground it with weight and meaning. His talented cast came to act and they find pockets to do so amid Eduardo Serra’s fine cinematography and Dan Weil’s beautifully realized production design, but the shallow script proves too sight, the dialogue is stock, and the characters are only casually interesting at best. Worse for the movie? Too many moments of lax direction keep the proceedings from revealing another corner of the Holocaust that deserved excellence in the telling.

Grade: C+

View the trailer here:

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, written by Annaud and Alain Godard, 131 minutes, rated R.

Jean-Jacques Annaud’s great-looking World War II movie, “Enemy at the Gates,” now out on Blu-ray disc, is so disinterested in its characters, it should have been called “Enigma at the Gates.”

Working from a script he co-wrote with Alain Godard, Annaud offers audiences a sometimes harrowing depiction of the Battle of Stalingrad. But since he’s more interested in capturing the guts and glitz of war than he is in keeping his characters out of the murky trenches of stereotype, his film ultimately lacks the soul and narrative pull it needed to succeed.

The film loosely follows the real-life story of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a crack shot shepherd from the Ural Mountains who is sent to the frontlines of Stalingrad, somehow survives a ferocious battle against German troops, and then meets--atop a pile of rotting corpses--the Russian political officer who will forever change his life.

On orders from Nikita Kruschev (Bob Hoskins), the officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), is in need of a hero who will inspire and give hope to the exhausted Russian troops. Choosing Vassili, Danilov turns the man’s unprecedented marksmanship and bravery into fodder for front-page news and radio propaganda.

Realizing that it’s just this sort of inspiration that can turn the tide of a war, the Germans send in their own sniper (Ed Harris) to eliminate Vassili. The result is a film less interested in the Battle of Stalingrad than it is in becoming a game of cat-and-mouse between two gifted marksmen we never come to know.

Grade: C

Features:
Through The Crosshairs
Inside Enemy At The Gates
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, written by Annaud and Alain Godard, 131 minutes, rated R.

Jean-Jacques Annaud’s great-looking World War II movie, “Enemy at the Gates,” now out on Blu-ray disc, is so disinterested in its characters, it should have been called “Enigma at the Gates.”

Working from a script he co-wrote with Alain Godard, Annaud offers audiences a sometimes harrowing depiction of the Battle of Stalingrad. But since he’s more interested in capturing the guts and glitz of war than he is in keeping his characters out of the murky trenches of stereotype, his film ultimately lacks the soul and narrative pull it needed to succeed.

The film loosely follows the real-life story of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a crack shot shepherd from the Ural Mountains who is sent to the frontlines of Stalingrad, somehow survives a ferocious battle against German troops, and then meets--atop a pile of rotting corpses--the Russian political officer who will forever change his life.

On orders from Nikita Kruschev (Bob Hoskins), the officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), is in need of a hero who will inspire and give hope to the exhausted Russian troops. Choosing Vassili, Danilov turns the man’s unprecedented marksmanship and bravery into fodder for front-page news and radio propaganda.

Realizing that it’s just this sort of inspiration that can turn the tide of a war, the Germans send in their own sniper (Ed Harris) to eliminate Vassili. The result is a film less interested in the Battle of Stalingrad than it is in becoming a game of cat-and-mouse between two gifted marksmen we never come to know.

Grade: C

Features:
Through The Crosshairs
Inside Enemy At The Gates
Deleted Scenes
Theatrical Trailer

Editor's Note: Netflix It is a feature meant to draw attention to older films some readers might have missed, and might consider either renting or adding to their Netflix queue, or renting at their local DVD store. The following review of "Three Kings," never published here before, is the original 1999 review.

Right up until its final moments, David Russell’s “Three Kings” does what the best movies do--it trust its audience completely.

There’s no time for hand-holding here. The film is on a mission, one that defies genre categorization because it knows too much about the absurdities of life and the lunacy of war to be pigeonholed so neatly.

This is the sort of film that finds shock and hilarity in blowing up a wayward cow lost in the deserts of Iraq, only to completely change tone moments later with the disturbing, graphic execution of frightened Kuwaiti woman pleading for her life.

Is “Three Kings” a comedy? A morality tale? A war movie? It’s all three--and then some. As dark as “Apocalypse Now,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “The Deer Hunter,” it has one essential difference: Unlike those films, this film isn’t so much about comprehending war, as it is about exploiting war for personal gain--first monetarily, then spiritually.

The film is set in March 1991, immediately after the Gulf War, which, as CNN showed every hour on the hour for several months, differed from Vietnam in that it was mostly fought with high-tech weaponry.

Push a button, obliterate a bunker. Flip a switch, cripple Saddam’s army. For those ground troops sent overseas to halt Hussein’s infiltration of Kuwait, much of their time was spent in the desert waiting for some sort of ground action to happen--which, for the most part, it didn’t.

To Russell’s great credit, he nevertheless leaps into what could have been a dull, dry cinematic terrain and mines a terrific story out of it.

The film follows four men (George Clooney, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, Spike Jonze) who go AWOL in search of the gold bullion Saddam Hussein has stolen from Kuwait. It is about their greed, their thievery, and finally their morality.

Grade: A-

Editor's Note: Netflix It is a feature meant to draw attention to older films some readers might have missed, and might consider either renting or adding to their Netflix queue, or renting at their local DVD store. The following review of "Three Kings," never published here before, is the original 1999 review.

Right up until its final moments, David Russell’s “Three Kings” does what the best movies do--it trust its audience completely.

There’s no time for hand-holding here. The film is on a mission, one that defies genre categorization because it knows too much about the absurdities of life and the lunacy of war to be pigeonholed so neatly.

This is the sort of film that finds shock and hilarity in blowing up a wayward cow lost in the deserts of Iraq, only to completely change tone moments later with the disturbing, graphic execution of frightened Kuwaiti woman pleading for her life.

Is “Three Kings” a comedy? A morality tale? A war movie? It’s all three--and then some. As dark as “Apocalypse Now,” “Full Metal Jacket” and “The Deer Hunter,” it has one essential difference: Unlike those films, this film isn’t so much about comprehending war, as it is about exploiting war for personal gain--first monetarily, then spiritually.

The film is set in March 1991, immediately after the Gulf War, which, as CNN showed every hour on the hour for several months, differed from Vietnam in that it was mostly fought with high-tech weaponry.

Push a button, obliterate a bunker. Flip a switch, cripple Saddam’s army. For those ground troops sent overseas to halt Hussein’s infiltration of Kuwait, much of their time was spent in the desert waiting for some sort of ground action to happen--which, for the most part, it didn’t.

To Russell’s great credit, he nevertheless leaps into what could have been a dull, dry cinematic terrain and mines a terrific story out of it.

The film follows four men (George Clooney, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, Spike Jonze) who go AWOL in search of the gold bullion Saddam Hussein has stolen from Kuwait. It is about their greed, their thievery, and finally their morality.

Grade: A-

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, 166 minutes, rated R.

Terrence Malick’s World War II epic “The Thin Red Line” is a web of paradoxes and ironies. It’s strangely surreal, yet absolutely true to the war it depicts. It features strong performances, yet has no central protagonist. It is beautifully shot, can be terrifically gripping, yet lacks cohesion, flow and emotional impact.

It’s not so much a film about war as it is a film about the effects of war. With clear leanings toward Buddhism, the film is more concerned with the internal landscape (in this case, meditations on the soul, mortality and one’s relationship with God and nature), than with the external landscape (in this case, Guadalcanal). It follows no formula, has no plot, it’s too long by a third and it takes great risks in the name of art--yes, art--which the film finds almost exclusively in nature.

But the film is a curious mess because of its affinity to nature--it gives more time to its lush, rolling hillsides and stunning canopy of sun-lit trees than it does to its non-existent plot or to its characters, none of whom emerge as wholly realized individuals in spite of having been performed by a good cast, including Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson.

Unlike "Saving Private Ryan," for instance, in which Spielberg played to his audience because he never fully trusts his audience, Malick never considers his audience because he isn't a crowd-pleaser. He is motivated by the intangible, interested in the deeper truth, focused on the thin red line of complexity, while unafraid to cross that line into the sometimes confusing sphere of paradox.

If none of this sounds as if “The Thin Red Line” is worth seeing, it is. Add it to your Netflix queue. The film has its considerable triumphs, particularly in Malick’s extremely well-choreographed battle sequences, where his thematic elements of Edenic nature vs. mankind clash headlong into surrealism--and gut-wrenching reality.

Grade: B

Written and directed by Terrence Malick, 166 minutes, rated R.

Terrence Malick’s World War II epic “The Thin Red Line” is a web of paradoxes and ironies. It’s strangely surreal, yet absolutely true to the war it depicts. It features strong performances, yet has no central protagonist. It is beautifully shot, can be terrifically gripping, yet lacks cohesion, flow and emotional impact.

It’s not so much a film about war as it is a film about the effects of war. With clear leanings toward Buddhism, the film is more concerned with the internal landscape (in this case, meditations on the soul, mortality and one’s relationship with God and nature), than with the external landscape (in this case, Guadalcanal). It follows no formula, has no plot, it’s too long by a third and it takes great risks in the name of art--yes, art--which the film finds almost exclusively in nature.

But the film is a curious mess because of its affinity to nature--it gives more time to its lush, rolling hillsides and stunning canopy of sun-lit trees than it does to its non-existent plot or to its characters, none of whom emerge as wholly realized individuals in spite of having been performed by a good cast, including Nick Nolte, Sean Penn, John Cusack and Woody Harrelson.

Unlike "Saving Private Ryan," for instance, in which Spielberg played to his audience because he never fully trusts his audience, Malick never considers his audience because he isn't a crowd-pleaser. He is motivated by the intangible, interested in the deeper truth, focused on the thin red line of complexity, while unafraid to cross that line into the sometimes confusing sphere of paradox.

If none of this sounds as if “The Thin Red Line” is worth seeing, it is. Add it to your Netflix queue. The film has its considerable triumphs, particularly in Malick’s extremely well-choreographed battle sequences, where his thematic elements of Edenic nature vs. mankind clash headlong into surrealism--and gut-wrenching reality.

Grade: B

“Drumline” Blu-ray
This surprise hit from Fox finds a cocky kid from Brooklyn winning a drumming scholarship to Atlanta's fictional A&T University, and quickly learning that he'll have to grow up and work hard in order to keep it. Nick Cannon and Orlando Bloom star in a movie that’s as exhilarating as it is formulaic, with the rival intercollegiate marching bands at its core cranking up the heat and sustaining it. Includes several featurettes, one of which is worth watching, “Anatomy of a Drumline,” as well as commentary by director Charles Stone III. Rated PG-13. Grade B+.


"A History of Violence" Blu-ray
Some history--some violence. From David Cronenberg, this lean, expertly conceived thriller is the story of Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), owner of a small-town diner in Millbrook, Ind., who is just minding his own business when into his business come a couple of murderers eager for a little trouble. What they don't understand is what they're up against--Tom, an otherwise gentle, easygoing man who displays the sort of violent heroics that raise their share of questions, particularly when the media get involved, and then the mafia, and then the uncomfortable situation of Tom's rather circumspect history. A terrific movie. Rated R. Grade: A



"Little Miss Sunshine" Blu-ray
A dark comedy that follows the beleaguered Hoover family, a seemingly hopeless wreck of losers who reluctantly back their one shred of hope--endearing, 7-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin, terrific)--when this goofy, bespectacled girl is chosen by default to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, Calif. Since the Hoovers live in Albuquerque and have no money, that means an unforgettable road trip is at hand, with everybody in the family climbing aboard a dilapidated Volkswagen bus, which itself is a metaphor for their broken relationships. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano and an unforgettable Alan Arkin all do fine work, but it’s the amazing Breslin who steals the show. Grade: B+



“Melrose Place: Fifth Season, Vol. 1”
Strife! Sex! White-hot madness! This fifth season of the popular, long-running series has nothing but ugliness in mind for the glossy residents of Melrose Place, with the show offering just what you want from a nighttime soap opera--backbiting, infighting, greed, recklessness. To that end, it’s a success, at least as these things go, with one of the brighter high points being Heather Locklear’s conniving Amanda Woodward--she rarely disappoints. Also fun is revisiting Marcia Cross before she became Bree on "Desperate Housewives” and Kristen Davis before she switched gears and became sweet Charlotte on “Sex and the City.” Grade: B



“Office Space” Blu-ray
A film about the hell of temporary employment in a full-time world. But “Office Space” suggests that full-time employees have it even worse: Their sentence isn't temporary--it's for life. This solid satire focuses on white-collar slavery, which can not only be ugly, but also charged with comic possibilities. This is the kind of film that finds Jennifer Aniston being criticized for not wearing enough “flair” at her restaurant job, one character having to bear the humiliation of being named Michael Bolton, and three corporate computer grunts exacting revenge on a system that loves to deliver pink slips --but no respect. As one character puts it, “Since I started working here, every single day has been worse than the day before, so that every day you see me is the worst day of my life.” When he and his officemates destroy a fax machine midway through, the vindication and the glory is not only theirs, but ours. Rated R. Grade: B

Also on DVD and Blu-ray disc:
Other titles available this week include two television throwbacks, each of which is recommended. First up is the “Partridge Family: Fourth Season,” in which there remains something comfortingly surreal about watching Shirley Jones riff out on an electric keyboard while her television family (David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, that forgotten little blond girl) join her on drums, guitars, tambourine and vocals. Here, we get all of the fourth season’s episodes remastered, thus allowing the viewer to delight fully in the complexity of all those Peter Pan collars. I think I love it. Same goes for "Bewitched: Complete Seventh Season," with Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) creating her share of entertaining bombast with the help of Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde), Dr. Bombay (Bernard Fox), and others. On Blu-ray, look for a slew of new releases, the best of which are Spike Lee’s war drama, “Miracle at St. Anna”; Peter Sellers in his terrific 1979 dramedy “Being There”; Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the film that turned Julia Roberts into Julia Roberts, “Pretty Woman”; and the full-length feature film "Stargate: The Ark of Truth," which successfully continues where the sci-fi series “Stargate SG-1” left off. For those seeking old-school horror thrills, turn to the DVD and Blu-ray deluxe edition of "Friday the 13th Uncut,” which boasts an additional 10 seconds of footage axed from the film's original 1980 release. Apparently back in the day, those 10 seconds were too graphic. Now, in this brave new world of torture porn, where guttings are the mainstay, those additional seconds are akin to spending a pleasant summer day at the lake. Only, in this case, with a machete in your head.

“Drumline” Blu-ray
This surprise hit from Fox finds a cocky kid from Brooklyn winning a drumming scholarship to Atlanta's fictional A&T University, and quickly learning that he'll have to grow up and work hard in order to keep it. Nick Cannon and Orlando Bloom star in a movie that’s as exhilarating as it is formulaic, with the rival intercollegiate marching bands at its core cranking up the heat and sustaining it. Includes several featurettes, one of which is worth watching, “Anatomy of a Drumline,” as well as commentary by director Charles Stone III. Rated PG-13. Grade B+.


"A History of Violence" Blu-ray
Some history--some violence. From David Cronenberg, this lean, expertly conceived thriller is the story of Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), owner of a small-town diner in Millbrook, Ind., who is just minding his own business when into his business come a couple of murderers eager for a little trouble. What they don't understand is what they're up against--Tom, an otherwise gentle, easygoing man who displays the sort of violent heroics that raise their share of questions, particularly when the media get involved, and then the mafia, and then the uncomfortable situation of Tom's rather circumspect history. A terrific movie. Rated R. Grade: A



"Little Miss Sunshine" Blu-ray
A dark comedy that follows the beleaguered Hoover family, a seemingly hopeless wreck of losers who reluctantly back their one shred of hope--endearing, 7-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin, terrific)--when this goofy, bespectacled girl is chosen by default to participate in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, Calif. Since the Hoovers live in Albuquerque and have no money, that means an unforgettable road trip is at hand, with everybody in the family climbing aboard a dilapidated Volkswagen bus, which itself is a metaphor for their broken relationships. Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carell, Paul Dano and an unforgettable Alan Arkin all do fine work, but it’s the amazing Breslin who steals the show. Grade: B+



“Melrose Place: Fifth Season, Vol. 1”
Strife! Sex! White-hot madness! This fifth season of the popular, long-running series has nothing but ugliness in mind for the glossy residents of Melrose Place, with the show offering just what you want from a nighttime soap opera--backbiting, infighting, greed, recklessness. To that end, it’s a success, at least as these things go, with one of the brighter high points being Heather Locklear’s conniving Amanda Woodward--she rarely disappoints. Also fun is revisiting Marcia Cross before she became Bree on "Desperate Housewives” and Kristen Davis before she switched gears and became sweet Charlotte on “Sex and the City.” Grade: B



“Office Space” Blu-ray
A film about the hell of temporary employment in a full-time world. But “Office Space” suggests that full-time employees have it even worse: Their sentence isn't temporary--it's for life. This solid satire focuses on white-collar slavery, which can not only be ugly, but also charged with comic possibilities. This is the kind of film that finds Jennifer Aniston being criticized for not wearing enough “flair” at her restaurant job, one character having to bear the humiliation of being named Michael Bolton, and three corporate computer grunts exacting revenge on a system that loves to deliver pink slips --but no respect. As one character puts it, “Since I started working here, every single day has been worse than the day before, so that every day you see me is the worst day of my life.” When he and his officemates destroy a fax machine midway through, the vindication and the glory is not only theirs, but ours. Rated R. Grade: B

Also on DVD and Blu-ray disc:
Other titles available this week include two television throwbacks, each of which is recommended. First up is the “Partridge Family: Fourth Season,” in which there remains something comfortingly surreal about watching Shirley Jones riff out on an electric keyboard while her television family (David Cassidy, Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, that forgotten little blond girl) join her on drums, guitars, tambourine and vocals. Here, we get all of the fourth season’s episodes remastered, thus allowing the viewer to delight fully in the complexity of all those Peter Pan collars. I think I love it. Same goes for "Bewitched: Complete Seventh Season," with Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) creating her share of entertaining bombast with the help of Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde), Dr. Bombay (Bernard Fox), and others. On Blu-ray, look for a slew of new releases, the best of which are Spike Lee’s war drama, “Miracle at St. Anna”; Peter Sellers in his terrific 1979 dramedy “Being There”; Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the film that turned Julia Roberts into Julia Roberts, “Pretty Woman”; and the full-length feature film "Stargate: The Ark of Truth," which successfully continues where the sci-fi series “Stargate SG-1” left off. For those seeking old-school horror thrills, turn to the DVD and Blu-ray deluxe edition of "Friday the 13th Uncut,” which boasts an additional 10 seconds of footage axed from the film's original 1980 release. Apparently back in the day, those 10 seconds were too graphic. Now, in this brave new world of torture porn, where guttings are the mainstay, those additional seconds are akin to spending a pleasant summer day at the lake. Only, in this case, with a machete in your head.