DVD Reviews  

So you only spent a few bucks to rent the DVD: We are your guide to help you save your money, and more importantly, your time.

ad-20111027163140


"Burn After Reading," the latest edition in Ethan and Joel Coen's offbeat and often distinctive films: some comedies, some dramas, some from another world of intellect, was exactly what I expected - overwhelmingly eclectic.
"Vicky Cristina Barcelona" was surprisingly funny. Laughing out loud at neurotic Europeans and American Tourists is rather more humorous than considering the humor wrapped in the neurosis of Manhattan natives, which has been the staple of previous Woody Allen Movies.
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" gives us a slow, drawn look at his last days as a paranoid sociopath and the aftermath that rewarded his place in history as a folk hero.
It is just that he was so drastically different - odd in most people's estimation - that one, I believe, would need to have lived just a piece of his unique existence to understand his genius.
Middle-aged widower Walter Vale finds richness to his life by discovering that he matters, that others matter. Walter is a miserable man who admits, "I pretend at life. I pretend to work, but, in fact I haven't done any real work for some time."
Thank-you Ed Harris for bringing to the "silver screen," and my 40" Liquid Crystal Display, a subtle and beautifully filmed story of the old southwest that keeps the "Western" motif alive for future generations.
Admittedly, I knew nothing of the much loved series of graphic novels, "Watchmen." Whenever a film is done from a fictional depiction of humanity, or a science fictional depiction of a supposed humanity, many humans complain that the book was much better.
The film "Knowing" uses the science fiction genre to introduce either theme that are plausible, in these days as our civilization struggles to rediscover its collective soul.
A dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate television interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon.
Director Martin Scorsese's adaptation of Brian Selznick's "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" into the fantastic film "Hugo" was a brilliant stroke of passion for the edgy director of quite a few gritty, pathologically viotent films, such as: "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas."
Actor / Director Clint Eastwood has once again told a story that is worth every minute of the 116 minutes of runtime it took to another of his well told tales.
In most wars the eventual victims are the noncombatants. World War II started differently.
John Michael Shanley: wrote the play, wrote the screenplay and directed the film, and used this control of quality to insure that he would produce an outstanding film that is tight at just 104 minutes, with no waste in time or the talent hired to produce it.
Both boys are the "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas." Their individual stories that led them to that conclusion represent the intertwined paths of these two fated peoples: the Germans and the Jews.
Even though this film has its comedic moments, Cancer is a serious subject, so you best bring your "big boy pants" to watch this one.
Those were different times in a desperate South, and consequently, this is a story that aches to be told.
Mary Surratt may have been a loving mother, but it would eventually kill her. Regardless, President Lincoln was murdered and retribution must be exacted, irrespective of the accused's culpability.
Director / Screenwriter J. J. Abrams's film, "Super 8," reminded me of "Close Encounters" meets "E.T." meets "Goonies," and even though this chemistry in celluloid sounds like one giant cliché, the film worked, and it worked quite well.
Recently, I reviewed "The Beaver," which was a purely dark comedy regarding the debilitating effects of chronic depression, resulting in severe schizophrenia. "It's Kind of a Funny of Story," which dealt with institutionalized mental health patients, was much lighter fare.
This film, by Actress Jodie Foster who also directed, was produced during the time when Actor Gibson was having his last round of domestic skirmishes in his own home, and public opinion for the celebrated actor was at an all time low.
Remarkably, John Brennan is also a regular guy, with a regular life, with a regular job, but also he possessed an irregular sense of propriety towards those that he loved, governed by an impressive and overwhelming sense of honor.
I mostly love "Indie Films." As an film aficionado, I get to root for the underdog production and enjoy the tale told well in celluloid all at the same time.
Director Darren Aronofsky employs the tragedy of full blown schizophrenia to allegorically expose the duality of raw emotional conflict within the hyper-creative process that is the backstage confluence of ballerinas and their bosses.
Director Michel Gondry took a lame script by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg to build an unbelievable film, devoid of all emotion or the ability to elicit any palpable audience empathy.
Felix was a hermit, who stayed to himself, and kept himself locked up inside to the point that no one knew the truth, in the history, of who he was, and how he got that way.
The reversal of the natural birth to death process offers a curious perspective as a rejected infant overcomes overwhelming obstacles to live a purposeful life.
This is a story that, at first, one may question whether it should even be told. At the end of the film, one realizes that it had to be told, if only to give hope that there can be an unlikely hero.
The film "Leaves of Grass" is less to do with Walt Whitman's opus, and more of a discussion of this aforementioned human condition, and yet still a comedy of sorts.
Timeless tale told well would be an understatement; but, was it told well enough to placate the most ardent critic, who expected far too much? Possibly not.
The apocalypse of men's souls is the theme of this morality play played out upon the bleak landscape of a dying world.
Touching film full of life lessons, with more than its share of unforced humor, "The Blind Side" was easily one of the best films of 2009.
Altogether, Food, Inc. is a must-see for anyone who wants to know a little bit more about where the food they eat actually comes from and the conditions under which it is produced.
The Brainchild of Peter Docter, Bob Peterson and Tom McCarthy, Up is a poignant parody on the adventure of life.
The Hurt Locker, awarded the Oscar for the Best Picture of the Year, is an important film that will be remembered as a perfunctory exposition of the occupation of Iraq in the War on Terror.
I do try to give films a good go of it when I try to enjoy them as art or simply entertainment. In terms of "Where the Wild Things Are," I tried to look at the picture trough the eyes of an
Inorder to rediscover his comedy, Adam Sandler reverted to the worst within the ego of an overindulged former stand-up comedian turned low-brow actor
Julia Child was the most influential culinary author of all time. Julie Powell respected that fact and piggy-backed her ambition on the shoulders of a very big woman.
I think Gerard Butler is a fine actor in the right film and the right script. This was not that film.
Mike Judge, the personafication of hit or miss, writes and directs what will become a comedy classic.
Michael Keaton directs his first film and uses the old formula of substance over style to present the quirky fellowship between a hitman and a sweet girl.
Quentin Tarantino, a provacateur of inordinate skill, gives his public a fine film regarding the Jewish fantasy of near total retribution for the horrific treatment of the Jews at the hands of Nazis.
Tom Hanks reprises his role as symbologist Robert Langdon as he struggles against all odds to save what he has little reverence for - the Vatican.
Jean Shepherd's humorist view a of one family's Christmas skewed toward the bizarre in a very cold northern Indiana - very industrial, very middleclass, and of course, very funny.
Newer     Older »     

ad-20111027163005