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One of the beauties of DVDs is that you can rent a batch of similarly-themed movies and--over a weekend or a week--expand your knowledge and appreciation of our world due to the opportunity to see these films (along with their "Special Feature" extras) as a group in which one enriches the next and/or harks back to its predecessor. James Van Maanen noted that a single day in February saw the release of four such movies ( Redacted, Rendition, In the Valley of Elah and Terror's Advocate) preceded one week earlier by Screamers and followed the week after by Goya's Ghosts, "a film," James writes, "that surprised me by unexpectedly bringing many of the themes of the former five together under the panoply of history."And it's the 5th anniversary of the war in Iraq. A good time to: Read the reviews >> |
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In This Dispatch:
- What's New: Southland Tales, Atonement, and much more.
- What We're Watching: Dragon Painter, Mafioso and Mr. Ripley.
- Service Highlights: Contest Winners.
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What to make of Richard Kelly's crazy film? "A doom-ridden pulp cabalist with a dark sense of purpose as well as humor, Kelly shoots the moon with his rich, strange, and very funny sci-fi social satire, " wrote J Hoberman in the Voice. "[F]lirting with sensory overload and predicated on a familiarity with American TV, political rhetoric, and religious cant, it's a movie without a recognizable genre or ready-made demographic; obsessed but not overweening, free- associational yet confident." On the other hand: "If Donnie Darko was Kelly's Eraserhead, then maybe Southland Tales is his Dune, an unfortunate folly before a more substantial, velveteen Blue period," suggests Ed Gonzalez in Slant. Folly or treat? You decide. |
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Joe Wright and Christopher Hampton's adaptation of the difficult-to-adapt Ian McEwan novel was nominated for seven Oscars - winning for Best Score - and received much in the way of critical praise. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers raved: " It's some kind of miracle. Written, directed and acted to perfection, Atonement sweeps you up on waves of humor, heartbreak and ravishing romance." Adds Michael Sragow: "Through unexpected and cathartic twists, this movie leaves you with atonement and redemption." Young actress Saoirse Ronan, nominated for an Oscar, is a revelation here. |
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The most amazing thing about The Dragon Painter (1919) isn't so much that it has been rescued, restored and released on DVD, or that it's quite good, but that it ever existed at all. In the early days of the 20th century, many decades before "politically correct" was invented, racial stereotypes were everywhere and went largely unquestioned. Yet the Japanese-born actor Sessue Hayakawa (1889-1973) somehow became a major star of the American screen -- and even a heartthrob -- without changing his name or hiding his cultural background.... read review here >> |
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The great Italian actor - and cultural icon in that country - Alberto Sordi starred in this seamless 1962 crime film. When the film was rereleased here not that long ago (and is now out in a sparkling new Criterion DVD), it struck many critics how modern it seemed, "with its abrupt tonal shifts and disturbing existential premise" (J Hoberman). Added Kenneth Turan: "A magnificent film almost no one knows about, this hidden classic offers a wider variety of pleasures than most contemporary works can even aspire to." And from the NY Times AO Scott: "The film is at once a giddy mixture of farce, satire and opera buffa and a closely observed drama of social dislocation and cultural confusion." A lost classic. |
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We use this space today to honor the memory of director/screenwriter Anthony Minghella, who very sadly just passed away far too young. (More here.) This adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith impressed us here even more than his Oscar-winning The English Patient, so perfectly twisty and twisted, and featuring star-making turns by Matt Damon and Jude Law, as well as showing the world the brilliance that is Philip Seymour Hoffman. The NY Times' Janet Maslin called the film "Carnal, glamorous and worth the price." |
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Congratulations to the winners of our Be Kind Rewind contest: Kevanders, phour20, Vicki Andrew, Julie Brandenburg and Krista Lynn Pohl, each of whom will receive an official soundtrack and some cool movie merchandise. Keep checking our contests -- more coming soon! |
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8 to Die For
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