When is that new movie
coming to DVD?
What came out on DVD this week?
And which new Television Series are new to DVD?
The Great Debaters was very well cast and features, under the skillful direction of Denzel Washington, excellent acting from all of its players. The movie is based on the true story of the all-black debate team from Texas’ Wiley College, coached by Professor Melvin Tolson, who is also played by Denzel. The other actors, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker (nope, no relation), deliver stellar performances. Read the rest of this entry »
They already made this movie. Thirty years ago. Only then it was called How to Beat the High Cost of Living and starred Jane Curtin, Susan Saint James and Jessica Lange. Now it stars Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes. The first one made me laugh. This one merely made me chuckle every now and then.
The idea in both flicks is that three women concoct a plan to steal some money. In Cost, the target was a giant plastic ball of money in a mall. Mad Money, directed by Thelma & Louise screenwriter Callie Khouri, has Keaton, Latifah and Holmes plotting to steal used up cash from the Federal Reserve, where they all work. Read the rest of this entry »
This slick and entertaining time-killer of a thriller from Fracture director Gregory Hoblit tries to warn us about the voyeuristic nature of our Internet-savvy society, yet plays out like a high-tech Saw sequel.
Unfaithful star Diane Lane plays a Federal cyber-cop who busts internet scammers and the like with the help of her partner (Colin Hanks). Things turn real serious when they start investigating a website designed to kill a person merely by the number of viewers who log in. More viewers brings each victim closer to death in some clever contraption concocted by the person behind the website. Read the rest of this entry »
It is hard to describe the exact plot of this mysterious new epic by Francis Ford Coppola, based on a 1976 Romanian novella by Mircea Eliade. Set in pre-WWII Europe, the movie follows the physical and metaphysical journey of a 70-year-old professor (Tim Roth) after he is struck with superhuman intelligence and regenerative abilities in a scientifically inexplicable accident, restoring him to a youthful state. The professor wants to use his new gifts to conduct research on a number of lofty concepts, including historical linguistics and human consciousness. Unfortunately, this is where the “scientific” themes of the movie fail to be portrayed with any accuracy whatsoever, with some rather misinformed ideas about language and its connection to the human brain, as well as a wildly fictitious presentation of the history of language. Since the film is not realistic in any other aspect, I suppose Coppola didn’t care much about endowing the professor’s research with any hint of realism. Read the rest of this entry »
Reportedly, despite being very successful in its first two weeks in release in China, this film was banned by the government and immediately pulled from theaters there. I’m not entirely sure what motivated them to do so, as it is not a particularly political film. It tells the story of two married couples in Beijing, one younger and one older, whose destinies become tragically–and strangely–intertwined after an act of rape results in a pregnancy. Read the rest of this entry »
Tired of mainstream Hollywood? Try one of these films from overseas, newly released on DVD over the last month. Read the rest of this entry »
POWWOW HIGHWAY 1989
Director: Jonathan Wacks
Buddy and Philbert are high school friends living on a reservation in Montana. Buddy is a Vietnam Vet who is a social activist, dealing with greedy developers and in-fighting, while Philbert is sweet and introspective, seeking pride through more traditional and mystical Native American rituals. Read the rest of this entry »
What’s new on DVD this week?
And, which new Television Series were released on DVD this week?
