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Today’s DVDs - THIS is the week for Woody
I must begin this post with an apology, folks. My sources led me astray, telling me Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona came out a couple of weeks ago. It actually arrives THIS week. I double-checked. That, and an odd grab-bag awaits on DVD shelves today.
The title may be a bit ungainly, but Woody Allen’s latest film is one of his more graceful efforts in awhile, as it deftly tells the story of a love quadrangle with one man (Javier Bardem) amidst three women (Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johannson and Penelope Cruz).
Cruz in particular impresses with her fiery and alluring performance which has garnered much Oscar buzz, but all four leads are outstanding. They help smooth over an ungainly voice-over which sometimes helpfully fills in some blanks but too often underlines what we can clearly see.
The movie does not quite rise to the level of Match Point, Allen’s best film of this decade, but it’s a marked improvement over the underwritten Scoop and the pallid Cassandra’s Dream. Let’s hope Allen stays on the upswing when he returns to New York this year with Whatever Works, starring Evan Rachel Wood and Larry David.
GRADE: B+
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: In a bit of interesting timing, this documentary about the director’s notorious sex case comes out amid Polanski’s recent attempts to clear his name. This very revealing movie makes a compelling case that, as wrong as Polanski was, the legal system wronged him too. GRADE: A
Also out today
College: The House Bunny was the successful movie starring an American Idol (Katharine McPhee) this is the unsuccessful one starring an American Idol (Kevin Covais, AKA “Chicken Little” of season 5.
Fireproof: Scoff if you like at Kirk Cameron’s religious fare, but this movie did make $33 million on a $500,000 budget. and more people would LOVE to see profits like that these days.
Goodbye Mr. Chips: Not the 1939 movie with Robert Donat, but the 1969 musical version with Peter O’Toole, who petty much admitted he can’t sing. This was one of the films that made people say goodbye to musicals in the 60s.
Lakeview Terrace: Scoff if you like at what looks like a pretty obvious police thriller, with Samuel L. Jackson, but hey - Roger Ebert loved it.
The Rocker: This comedy starring Rainn Wilson as a wanna-be rock n roller couldn’t even drum up enough business in theaters to become the equivalent of a cult B-side. Maybe DVD will at least make it not seem like an outtake that got released by mistake.
RockNRolla: Hey, it’s a rock theme week, with the latest Guy Ritchie movie that made most people wonder “What happened to the guy who made Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch?”
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