DVD

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If....

Britain has always been rife with class divisions, the byproduct of royalty who, let’s face it, do nothing but remind citizens that they’re not royalty and therefore, don’t get to live in a big house guarded by tall men in taller hats. Many terrific British films have used college life to illustrate the rift between upper and lower classes. And one of the best, if not THE best, is finally out on DVD. Criterion has done us the great favor of, hallelujah, releasing If&hellip...

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Trading Places: Looking Good, Feeling Good Edition

This is what Peter M. Bracke had to say about the 2002 DVD release of this film:“What is it about watching rich snobs get their just desserts that is oh-so-delightful? Trading Places may claim to be a light and frothy comedic confection about that age- old debate "Nature versus Nurture," but it seems to derive its greatest pleasures from watching the snooty uppercrust finally get their comeuppance. A mini-phenomenon in the ‘80s were the "slobs against the snobs"...

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Planet of the Apes - BD

The first Hollywood remake to coin the phrase “reimagining” is Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes. It’s what happens when filmmakers are too embarrassed to just come right out and admit that they are ripping off an old classic, but haven't fully thought through their concept. Certainly, with the power of a major studio putting millions behind it, a visual genius in the director's chair, and unparalleled technical talent buttressing the weak script with terrific...

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La Haine

In July of 2006, I went to Paris. The day I arrived was the day France was playing Italy for the World Cup title. I have zero interest in soccer, but I knew it was a historic event for France so I was very excited. My friend took me to a local stadium that opened its doors so fans could watch the game, which was being played in Germany, on the stadium’s giant scoreboard. Although thousands attended, the stadium felt cold and neglected, like a pool during wintertime. But it was quite a...

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Payback: Straight Up - The Director's Cut - BD

Payback is based on the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark; it’s a tough and grim movie with repeat viewing appeal. Hollywood took a few chances in ‘99 and produced some original films that entertained. Payback took a risk by making Mel Gibson’s character a bad guy, an uncharacteristic role for the actor. It further risked alienating the audience with a dark and nasty tone; the film requires a certain taste. Those who were in the mood for a typical Mel...

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Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - BD

Kevin Smith amuses me. (His college concert DVDs are among my favorites.) It’s not specifically the scatology. It’s not the lowbrow humor, which I frequently find unfunny elsewhere. It certainly isn’t his muse Mewes. I think it’s a combination of quick wit, an underlying intelligence carefully disguised in what seems like an attempt to fit in, clever writing in his screenplays, and I just find his character of Silent Bob very entertaining...

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Stephen King DVD Collector’s Set


Well, here’s the story. This Stephen King DVD Collector’s Set has nothing new in it (save a thin paper box that holds it all together). That’s the first problem. The second and far more unfortunate problem is that with a slight few exceptions, these are not King’s best book-to-movie translations. Carrie is still a classic, but it might be the only one here. Although no one expected much upon its release back in 1976, Carrie has become a true modern classic of the horror...

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Porky’s: The Ultimate Collection

Where else can one start with Porky’s than with the infamous shower scene? This short scene of nubile female flesh and the boner-ific young boys who love staring at it was the centerpiece of the film, and it soon became a legendary comedic set piece. Is Porky's the best or funniest comedy made? Not by a long shot. However, it did push boundaries of taste and permissiveness at the time of its release, and was one of the first comedies to launch the teen sex boom of the early ‘80s...

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Deliver Us From Evil

Evil has never been more banal than in Amy Berg’s riveting and disturbing documentary, which tells the story of Father Oliver O’Grady, a Catholic priest with soft paternal looks and a lilting Irish accent. He looks like a priest straight from central casting, except O’Grady spent the better part of his adult life sexually molesting dozens of children while serving in Northern California in the ‘70s and ‘80s. One expects a documentary of this sort to contain...

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Little Children

There’s nothing more American than leafy, middle class suburbia, so it’s no wonder filmmakers like scratching the manicured, picket-fenced, perfectly coiffed lives of happily married couples and finding that juicy vein of longing and repressed sexuality. American Beauty is the modern standard bearer, but Little Children did it too, albeit without the humor or desire to be liked. Little Children is like a term paper with full frontal nudity. This precise dissection of a man and a woman...

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Home Improvement: The Complete Sixth Season

No show from the ‘90s is has aged as quickly and is as painfully outdated as Home Improvement. I mean that. There are many contenders in this competition; recently trying to get through the third and fourth seasons of Dinosaurs was one of the more arduous processes I’ve ever encountered as a reviewer. But although Home Improvement had its finger on the pulse of TV-watching America for a solid five plus years, it now stands as an antiquated and outdated beast. It pains me to say...

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Fired!

Everyone has a story of being let go, of being laid off, of being downsized . . . of being fired. My only such tale is neither amusing nor entertaining. A firm for which I had provided consulting services for two decades changed hands and despite the effectiveness of the custom software I’d written for its automation systems, I was deemed not to have the skills they needed. Bye, bye. Substantially more entertaining are the anecdotes and stories found in Fired!Actress...

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Black Rain - HD DVD versus DVD

I’m very lucky to have been able to visit a few sites and sights in Japan. But Nagasaki, Osaka, and Kyoto in the bright spring sunshine does nothing to illuminate the dark underworld of Japanese organized crime. Lost in Translation is probably closer to my cultural experience than Ridley Scott’s foreboding crime drama of Black Rain. And for that I’m grateful.Two New York detectives, Nick (Douglas) and Charlie (Andy Garcia) are assigned to escort a sociopath...