Annie (Columbia)
It was considered a bomb in the
summer of 1982, and if the ensuing decades haven’t been kind to John Huston’s
adaptation of the beloved Broadway hit, it’s a sturdy, glossy example of the
kind of musical they don’t make any more. Albert Finney and Carol Burnett are
not up to their usual shining excellence (Burnett hams unfunnily, Finney tries
too hard to be a musical comedy charmer, which he isn’t), 11-year-old Aileen
Quinn is a decent Annie and there’s good support by Ann Reinking, Bernadette
Peters and Geoffrey Holder. The Blu-ray image isn’t bad; extras include Quinn’s
reminiscence.
Cinderella (Disney)
One of Disney’s classics receives
an overdue Blu-ray upgrade. This 75-minute gem from 1950 looks splendid, as its
hand-drawn animation has it all over the antiseptic computer-generated visuals
that have been de rigeur for the past couple decades. The gloriously simple
visuals are enhanced by hi-def, and if the extras leave something to be
desired—featurettes, alternate opening, unneeded new short, Tangled Ever After—it’s the original
film that counts.
Tim Burton’s hokey, jokey reboot
of the TV series has a color-coded schema that has bled most colors out except
black and white, with blood red a striking if obvious contrast. The intentional
early 70s cheesiness—Love Story, the
Carpenters, Alice Cooper playing himself in concert—is one thing; the lame story
and characters are another. Michelle Pfeiffer and Johnny Depp come off best;
Eva Green, Jonny Lee Miller, Helena Bonham Carter and talented young Chloe
Grace Moritz are wasted. Subtle color changes look terrific on Blu-ray; extras are
featurettes and deleted scenes.
Guitarist Gary Moore—best known
for his work in Thin Lizzy, he died prematurely, aged 58, last year—played a
scorching 2007 Jimi Hendrix tribute show in London. Moore and a blistering
rhythm section tear through a dozen classic Hendrix tunes, from the opening “Purple
Haze” to the encore “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which features Jimi’s bandmates
Mitch Mitchell on drums and Billy Cox on bass. The hi-def image is clear, the
surround sound audio is exemplary.
Thai director Pen-ek
Ratanaruang’s stylish thriller doesn’t make much sense, but his unorthodox
camerawork complements this slow-moving drama of a cop whose world literally turns upside down
after being seriously wounded. For those viewers who favor pulchritude, one of the most
glamorous actresses I’ve ever seen, Chanokporn Sayoungkul, shows off her ample histrionic talents. The hi-def transfer is stunning; there’s an English language dub.
In this engrossing if by-the-numbers
biopic about the most famous Teamster whose body has never been found, Jack
Nicholson gives a rare performance in which he keeps his “Jack” charm in check.
The prosthetic nose helps, but Nicholson plays Hoffa as a real man, not a “character,”
and the film—whose epic scale is handled well by director Danny DeVito, who also
decently enacts Hoffa’s right-hand man—is all the better for it, despite a
draggy 140-minute running time. There’s a good hi-def transfer; extras include
DeVito’s commentary, interviews, deleted scenes and DeVito’s 2011 Teamsters
convention speech.
In the wild world of covert operations,
the realities of the post-9/11 decade has definitively surpassed fiction. So
the 23 episodes in the second season of this action-packed drama smartly
balance the kinetic and personal as Nikita and cohorts aim their guns at the
company they once worked for. The dark, shadowy visuals have been faithfully
transferred to Blu-ray; extras include interviews, featurettes, deleted scenes,
audio commentary and gag reel.
Based on a true story, this
manipulative but disarming movie stars Chris Pine as a self-centered jerk whose
life changes forever when his estranged dad dies—he returns home to deal with broken
relationships with his mom and girlfriend, and discovers he has a half-sister with
an 11-year-old son. As the movie marches to a predictably happy conclusion, the
actors led by Pine, Michelle Pfeiffer (mom) and Elizabeth Banks, fantastic as
his half-sister keep things percolating despite a morass of clichés. The
Blu-ray image is quite good; extras include deleted scenes, gag reel, audio commentary
and making-of featurette.
Here’s more indie-film spoofing
in this series of skits by Saturday Night
Live’s Fred Armisten and Carrie Brownstein, neither as funny or pointed as
they think. It’s a relief they are enamored of skits, because—like SNL—if one doesn’t work, it ends soon
and another begins. It’s too bad, because they take on subjects ripe for
parody, like self-absorbed hipsters. The guest star quotient is less interesting
than the previous season: the likes of Kristen Wiig and Eddie Vedder don’t cut
it. The hi-def image is solid; extras include featurettes, commentaries and
director’s cuts of episodes.
Samuel Jackson is a man released
from prison after a 25-year sentence who slowly drifts back into the grifting life
in this taut if too familiar action flick. Spiced up by formidable acting by
Jackson, Tom Wilkinson as a chilling head gangster and Ruth Negga as the gal helping
Jackson escape his former life, David Weaver’s movie is recommendable, even if
it’s ultimately the same wine in new bottles. The hi-def image is excellent.
Adventures in Plymptoons
Beatles Stories (Cinema Libre)
Plymptoons engagingly profiles unorthodox animator Bill Plympton—whose
bizarre visuals came to prominence on MTV—with many interviews and examples of
his often strange and surreal work. Beatles,
director Seth Swirsky’s pet project, includes interviews with celebrities about
their brush with greatness—meeting one or more of the Beatles. Aside from the
usual suspects (producer George Martin and engineer George Smith), fond
memories from the likes of Henry Winkler, Susanna Hoffs, Ben Kingsley and Art
Garfunkel are included. Plymptoons
extras are deleted scenes and featurettes; Beatles
extras are additional interviews.
Damsels in Distress (Sony) Whit Stillman’s stillborn comedy,
which follows obnoxious coeds who unfunnily act superior to everyone around
them, are put on pedestals by Stillman, which makes them more annoying, while indie
darling Greta Gerwig is quickly becoming a third-rate Chloe Sevigny. If you love
his films, your mileage may vary, but I sat glassy-eyed and slack-jawed during Barcelona, Last Days of Disco and Metropolitan, and find Stillman an instant
cure for insomnia. Extras include a commentary, Q&A, deleted scenes,
outtakes and a making-of featurette.
Gossip Girl—Complete Season 5
(Warners) Stars Blake Lively and Leighton
Meester—charming and personable throughout—have Manhattan and Hollywood covered
in the 24 episodes of the series’ fifth season, which all have punning titles
based on movies, e.g., Yes, Than Zero,
G.G. and The Return of the Ring.
Extras include featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Hart of Dixie—Complete Season 1
(Warners)
If you believe that all-American
girl Rachel Bilson can plausibly play a doctor who begins a practice in the deep
south after a Manhattan falling out, then this show—which skirts caricature—is
for you. Throughout the 22 episodes, Bilson contends with Southern stereotypes
of the laziest sort; she’s adorable as always; Jobeth Williams and Nancy Travis
and Tim Matheson and Jaime King compensate. Extras include gag reel, deleted
scenes and interviews with cats and creators.
Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segal,
Allyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders and Josh Radnor are a well-oiled comedy machine,
and the seventh season’s 24 episodes show that, even with subpar material, they
come up aces in the laughs department. Hilarious cameos by Katie Holmes as the
slutty pumpkin and Chris Elliott as Allyson’s father help. Extras include
commentaries, deleted scenes, featurettes and a gag reel.
Based on The Looming Tower, a readable Middle East volume, author Lawrence
Wright first made a compelling one-man theater experience out of his
exploration of the historical and cultural roots of Al Qaeda, then teamed with
director Alex Gibney for an immersive cinematic experience. For anyone with an
open mind, Wright explains our own complicity in the rise of fundamentalist
terrorism, but only points fingers at those killing in the name of jihad.
Surviving Progress (First
Run)
Pink is an eye-opening expose about how the ubiquitous pink
ribbon—for decades a symbol of fighting against breast cancer—has become a way
for unscrupulous corporations and others to make money off the deadly disease. Surviving is an eye-opening expose about
our planet’s ability—and possible inability—to sustain life for billions of
people. Both documentaries are, despite their explosive content, even-handed
and sober explorations. Extras include interviews.
While too long—30 minutes could
be shaved—this amusing mockumentary chronicles the bumpy formation of an
all-female rock band comprising four porn performers. The music is negligible,
but personality clashes provide priceless entertainment, and Bree Olson, the band’s
porn star manager—and infamous paramour of Charlie Sheen—is a true on-camera
star, and makes up for a loathsome cousin who becomes Tight’s assistant
manager. Extras include videos, concert footage, and deleted scenes.
This giggly crime drama about mismatched
detectives—she unhappily married, he unhappily single—almost sabotages itself
at the start as the pair haggle about a splendid apartment, now vacant because
its occupant lies dead in a pool of blood. Although Lucy Punch and Toby Stephens
have good back-and-forth chemistry, the show is otherwise routine, and efforts
at clowning are more in bad taste than punchy black comedy. The first series
comprises three episodes; Punch left after it finished, so Stephens gets
another partner for the next season.
Pawel Pawlikowski’s low-key romantic
drama makes fine use of atmospheric Parisian locations as an American loner
(Ethan Hawke), who has trouble with his ex-wife, new landlord and police, has
an affair with a mysterious woman that threatens to destroy his entire world.
Hawke is fine in a bilingual role and Scott Thomas is always superb, but the
movie—a mere 85 minutes—is less fully-realized than a barebones outline. The
lone extra is a making-of featurette.
Bach—The Well-Tempered Clavier
(ECM)
Pianist Andras Schiff—who, like
all musicians, returns to the music of J.S. Bach to cleanse his artistic palette—makes
the most of his second stab at recording Bach’s seminal The Well-Tempered Clavier. The two books of keyboard pieces, even more
so than The Art of the Fugue and The Goldberg Variations, are a veritable
encyclopedia of Bach’s easy mastery of different styles. Schiff plays with authority,
and his balance of majestic sweep and intimate feel brings out these immortal
works’ innate musicality.
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