The Wrap Up ...
Them	The unpretentious French thriller, Them, provides a perfect example of how scary it can be when things begin to start bumping in the night. In a mere 77 minutes, co-writer-directors David Moreau and Xavier Palud raise the level of terror from zero to off the charts. Like Blair Witch Project, Them relies on viewers to buy into the story and create monsters of their own in their heads. And, it works. In Them, a teacher at Bucharest's French School lives in a large house in remote rural area with her writer husband. One night, they're awoken from their slumber by loud noises, bright lights and the sound of their car being stolen. Naturally, someone or something's cut the phone lines and isn't content to leave the premises with only a car to show for their efforts. Will they live to see the next sunrise? Will you? Believe it or not, this Aussie action-fantasy takes places in Purgatory, with Archangels doing battle with Fallen Angels over control of the lights in God's waiting room. At this post-apocalyptical moment, Purgatory is overflowing with the kind of reprobates whose businesses flourish only in darkness. Gabriel wants to restore heavenly light, so the poor souls eventually can find their way back to the path of righteousness. It's unlikely Gabriel was produced to exploit the Passion of the Christ crowd, as much as those fans of The Matrix, Crow and Blade Runner with a passing knowledge of Roman Catholic doctrine. Despite a rock-bottom budget, even by Australian standards, Gabriel is technically accomplished. The script is about what you'd expect from a straight-to-DVD import. -- Gary Dretzka
Margot at the Wedding	Anyone who finds the family dramas of playwright Eugene O'Neill to be a shade on the light side might want to rent Margot at the Wedding. In estranged sisters Margot and Pauline, filmmaker Noah Baumbach has created a pair of over-privileged nut jobs who would make the Tyrone family look like the Cleavers. That's not to say Baumbach's largely autobiographical, The Squid and the Whale, was a stroll in the park … even if lots of critics got off on watching children suffer at the hands of parents jealous over each one's intellectual prowess. Margot at the Wedding also would offer morsels of uneasy levity, but only when the verbal assaults hit home. Nicole Kidman is terrific as the sister whose success as a short-story writer derived from recycling her family's many dysfunctions. Jennifer Jason Leigh may not look as if she could be the product of the same parents, but her character is perfectly willing to stand up to the taller, prettier and more pretentious Margot. Pauline is about to marry a local yokel (Jack Black) who Margot considers below the station of her family … meaning her. Their reunion takes place on a lovely island off Long Island, populated by self-absorbed intellectuals, summering Manhattanites, at least one potential ax murderer. The sharp camerawork and lively editing keep the catfight from bogging down in the sisters' tears and venom, and the acting couldn't be better. It can be argued that turning the likable Jack Black into a human punching bag probably wasn't the brightest idea Baumbach ever had. He's the odd man out in a high-octane crowd. Still, someone in control probably saw the marquee value in casting him against type. -- Gary Dretzka
Goya's Ghosts Silk	I doubt that I'm alone in admitting that, until recently, my knowledge of the Inquisition came from a chapter's worth of discussion in a world history class and what could be discerned from a recurring Monty Python gag. The exhaustive PBS documentary series Secret Files of the Inquisition opened my eyes to the scale of the insanity perpetrated in the name of Jesus Christ and the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Despite the title of Milos Forman's historical drama, Goya's Ghosts focuses far more on the injustices of the Spanish Inquisition than the artist's creative process or his taste in models. By this time in his life, Goya was more of a journalist than a painter paid to make aristocrats look regal. His haunting sketches of war and torture were as vivid and reportorial as the work of any of today's Pulitzer Prize winners. Forman intended Goya's Ghosts to serve primarily as a portrait of Spain on the eve of Napoleon's invasion and the growing acceptance of democratic political philosophies in neighboring France. It would allow Forman to comment once again on the Soviet invasion of his native Czechoslovakia and implications of the Cold War's end. He used Goya to introduce us to the central figures of his story, and then pulled back to observe and record what happened to them. First, we meet his teenage muse, Inez Bilbatua (Natalie Portman), who subsequently becomes the apple of the eye of the opportunistic monk, Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem, with another weird haircut). Inez would be imprisoned by a kangaroo court of priests for the crime of having great-great-great-grandmother who had converted from Judaism, and, worse, turning down a pork dish in a local pub. Through Goya (Stellan Skarsgard), Inez' wealthy parents are able to implore Brother Lorenzo to use his influence to free their daughter from her new dungeon home. The monk feigns concern, but uses the occasion of prayer visits to grope the child. Fifteen years later, Inez is still in jail and Lorenzo has split for France, where he's slithered his way into the favor of Napoleon. The French army's advance through Spain provides Goya with horrifying new source material, as well as opportunity for Forman to free Inez, who's lost possession of most of her marbles and is in desperate pursuit of a bastard child fathered by Lorenzo. She returns home, only to find her parents and brothers slaughtered by French liberators. She finds shelter in Goya's loft, where her portrait still hangs. The subsequent arrival of British troops spins the story of Lorenzo, Goya and Inez in yet another direction. Forman may be one of the most honored and respected directors of our time, but it didn't save him from critical vitriol. I thought it was pretty good. Javier Aguirresarobe's cinematography frames individual scenes much in the same way as Stanley Kubrick did in Barry Lyndon … each frame becoming a work of art. The set design and costumes also are impressively rendered. Am I the only one who can't tell the difference between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley without a scorecard? Portman needed a ton of makeup to look unappealing in Goya's Ghosts - and nothing at all to be steamy hot in Darjeeling Express -- while Knightley was smashing in the period romance Silk. To my eyes, they might as well have been the same person. Silk is based on Alessandro Baricco's hyper-romantic novel about a 19th Century smuggler who sneaks into Japan in search of the elusive silkworm. The young man (Michael Pitt) loves his devoted wife back home, but becomes obsessed with the intensely beautiful concubine of a local warlord, who inexplicably speaks fluent English. They share an unrequited love affair, which is as mysterious as it steamy. In the end, however, it is the strength of Knightley's stay-at-home wife that is most appealing. If the story moves a bit too slowly at times, the scenery remains wonderfully diverting. -- Gary Dretzka
The Darjeeling Limited	Wes Anderson has said The Darjeeling Limited was inspired, in part, by Jean Renoir's The River. Set in post-World War II India, along the banks of the Ganges River, it patiently observes the coming of age of three daughters of western colonists and how Hindu sensibilities - and a handsome stranger -- begin to shape their young lives. After watching The Darjeeling Limited, I wouldn't be surprised to learn the quirky filmmaker had also been channeling the Three Stooges, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and the extended family of Royal Tennenbaum. On the first anniversary of their father's death, the brothers embark on a spiritual journey to re-connect with each other and track down their newly cloistered mother. Along the way, the boys -- Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman - co-exist among the locals, but don't become one with India until faced with tragedy. Darjeeling Limited isn't Road to Bali, by a long shot, but the brothers only seem able to handle the bumps along the railroad tracks by getting stoned on over-the-counter pain-killers and cough syrup. In fact, The Darjeeling Limited was informed by a preparatory journey embarked upon by co-writers Anderson, Schwartzman and Roman Coppola. If their experiences matched the brothers' strangers-in-a-strange-land behavior, it must have been quite a ride Because they spend very little time in the teeming streets and markets, their understanding of India derives primarily from what can be discerned through the windows of their first-class cabins. Anderson balances the craziness with a hypnotically laid-back pace, as befits any train ride, as well as some exotic settings and music borrowed from the Satyajit Ray soundtrack catalogue. Sadly, Anderson didn't attempt to capture the spicy tastes and aromas savored by the brothers by adding Smell-O-Vision to the presentation. Part of the fun in watching any Anderson title derives from checking out his offbeat nods to cinematic icons, cliquish in-jokes and whimsical background touches. Here, too, he spices the narrative with unexpected visits by Bill Murray (of course), Barbet Schroeder, Natalie Portman and Anjelica Huston. In another interesting twist, Anderson pulls the rug out from under the brothers, simply by putting the train on the wrong tracks and having them thrown off for their eccentric behavior in the middle of nowhere. He then forced these children of privilege - Elizabeth Taylor required fewer suitcases - to dust off long-buried survival skills and deal face-to-face with daily life among the natives. Portman plays a key role in the delightful 13-minute prequel included in the generous DVD package. Set in Paris, The Chevalier Hotel explains how Schwartzman's character came to be in possession of his bewitching girlfriend's answering machine, as seen in The Darjeeling Limited. -- Gary Dretzka _________________ Any picture that opens with Bill Murray wearing a trim, too-small fedora poked atop his head while in suit and tie in a getaway taxi through the crowded, colorful streets of a city in India is showing all the right signs for pleasure to come. In fact, Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson's serio-comic follow-up to the (at least to these eyes) disastrous The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (written with co-star Jason Schwartzman and second-unit director Roman Coppola) is the best thing he's done since Rushmore. Storybook preciousness of color and frame recur, as does the sight of thirtysomething male characters working out wounds bequeathed by their fathers. Still, there's an intriguing growth in temperament. While some elements still might make the construction of the movie seem not everything but the kitchen sink, but a kitchen sink full of kitchen sinks, matters deepen, moods darken. More >>
Beowulf	Not having bothered to read Beowulf in English 101, I can't say with any certainty how Bob Zemeckis' Classics Animated version stacks up to the epic poem. And, frankly, I don't care. One thing I do know, however, is that had DVD technology been around in 1971, I probably could have faked my way to a C for the semester. Future generations of slacker collegians will be more fortunate. Several of the more astute critics among us weren't impressed by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman's translation of the heroic myth, but, then, they probably were envious of those students who got A's and B's relying on Classics Illustrated comics and CliffsNotes. In the deceptively PG-13-rated Beowulf, Zemeckis employed the same action-capture technique used to animate 300 and countless video games. The many battle sequences looked better in the 3-D theatrical version, but they'll look plenty swell on larger video monitors, as well. Certainly, the casting can't be faulted. In addition to Angelina Jolie, as Grendel's MILF mom, there's Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright Penn, Crispin Glover, Brenden Gleeson and Alison Lohman. Even taking the screenwriters' shortcuts into account, it's better for kids who grew up on the heroics of Nintendo characters get their literature in animated form, than not at all. If even one is inspired to actually pick up actual book, the world will be a better place. The half-dozen making-of featurettes add much to the director's-cut version of Beowulf. -- Gary Dretzka _________________ It takes about 20 minutes to really relax into the visual look of the film. But unlike some of the other films, which have had that dead eye thing, Zemeckis turns the negative on its head, making his actors – all of whom look like their digital counterparts, except for the star, Ray Winstone, and Grendel, played by Crispin Glover – more interesting for having been made electronic. Anthony Hopkins, for instance, is rotund, with large male breasts and the threat of nudity. The near-perfect Ms. Jolie is made hyperperfect here. Robin Wright-Penn is given a more Nordic face with thicker, softer facial angles. The thing is, by the time you get to the big action beats, they may thrill, but the core of this film is simple, quality filmmaking. It is the obvious difference between Beowulf and of the films made in similar formats… Zemeckis is one of our very best filmmakers and always finds a way to tell a story in a way that connects with the audience. More >>
American Gangster Mr. Untouchable The American Gangster	As enjoyable as it is to watch Denzel Washington portray one of the most resourceful criminals of the 20th Century, it was that much more entertaining to eavesdrop on the real Frank Lucas shoot the breeze with the man who inspired the New York Times Magazine, Mr. Untouchable. If there was a single glaring omission in Scott's biopic it came in the marginalization of Leroy Nickie Barnes (played by Cuba Gooding Jr.), who had gotten filthy rich selling the drugs imported by Lucas and the Mafia into Harlem. Barnes is still lying low, and Lucas is confined to a wheelchair, so the phone conversation included in the bonus features had to be moderated by director Marc Levin. They not only discussed the heroin trade, but also the presidential candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani - who had prosecuted Barnes - and the relative merits of soul music, versus hip-hop. It was fascinating, and detracted little from Scott's portrayal in American Gangster. The Mr. Untouchable bonus package includes interviews with former associates of Barnes, as well as cops and wiseguys involved who worked the Harlem scene. Lucas' genius - if such a word can be used in the same sentence as heroin - came in the brainstorm idea to make the trek up the Mekong River, to the Golden Triangle, to buy unadulterated heroin wholesale. He then conceived of a way to have Air Force cargo planes transport the drugs from Vietnam to the U.S., sometimes sharing the coffins of dead servicemen. While law-enforcement officials focused their attention on Mr. Untouchable and his Mafia sources, Lucas' drugs were flowing into Harlem from a completely different direction. Ultimately, he was tripped up by an incorruptible New York cop, portrayed by Russell Crowe in American Gangster, who learned of Lucas' existence only when he showed up to a prize fight in full pimp regalia. The cop would follow up on his intuition by starting a file on Lucas and following the money. Solid police work, combined with Lucas' anger toward the dirty cops who wanted to suck him dry, won out in the end. If the Mafia and other organized crime didn't exist - or Adolph Hitler, for that matter - several major cable networks would have already run out of programming and declared bankruptcy. As it is, the public's appetite for all things gang-related has proven to be insatiable. Sony's The American Gangster reassembles all the usual suspects for an accounting of their greatest hits. The narration is provided by former cop and perennial Hollywood hoodlum, Dennis Farina. -- Gary Dretzka ______________ There are two fronts in my mind regarding Ridley Scott’s new film, American Gangster. On one side, there is the side that is blown away by the work of a truly skilled filmmaker, some excellent actors – many of whom are wasted in tiny roles - a great story, and a 70s spirit of filmmaking that is a pleasure to see on the big screen in 2007. On the other side, there is this movie about the Scarface/Godfather of Harlem in the 70s drug trade who kept a remarkable emotional distance from the dark side of his actions that would end up making him dangerous in ways that no one could imagine. And then there is this white guy who ended up catching him, kind of. The problem is not that I don’t like or admire American Gangster. The problem for me is that one of the very best gangster epics of all time is sitting there, unfolding before our eyes… and suddenly we are stuck in the middle of Russell Crowe’s character’s custody fight. And really, what the hell does that have to do with this American Gangster? Not a whole hell of a lot. More >>
Lust, Caution NC-17 The Last Emperor: Criterion Collection	The failure of Ang Lee's splendid Lust, Caution to attract an audience here can be blamed on its length, graphic sexuality and, of course, subtitles. Apparently, these perceived negatives also spooked academy voters, who even denied it nominations in the technical categories he could have won. The academy had already undercut Taiwanese authorities, who wanted it to represent them in the Best Foreign Language category, by coming up with a moronic rule to veto their wishes. So, it goes. The extended NC-17 edition of the DVD deserves to find an audience among those mature adults who can handle more than a few seconds of explicit sexuality at a time. The story is set in occupied Shanghai, circa 1942, but flashes back to 1938, when the foundation is laid for the intrigue that follows. In her feature debut, Wei Tang plays Wong Chia Chi, an acting student whose assignment in the resistance movement requires her to infiltrate a group of affluent women as the black-market trader, Mrs. Mak. The society ladies are content to while away their time playing mah-jong, gossiping, shopping and eating sweets at European bistros. Mrs. Mak allows herself to be seduced by the collaborationist husband of one of her new friends, and relies on her acting chops to convince Mr. Yee that she enjoys his rape fetish. In the years between their first and last sexual encounters, Mr. Yee has advanced to a leadership role in Shanghai's puppet government. The group's first attempt to assassinate Yee is aborted, and they don't get another chance at him until three years later. To the resistance, Wong represents a tool to be used to get past their target's omnipresent security. To Mrs. Mak, however, Yee is a passionate and generous lover, who treats her with respect and admiration. The longer it takes for the gang to pull the trigger on an ambush, the more conflicted she becomes. As depicted by Lee, their agonizing love/hate relationship plays out slowly, behind gauzy curtains, stage makeup and other disguises. The re-creation of wartime Shanghai is amazing. The bonus interviews and making-of material add greatly to the enjoyment of the DVD. The reign of China's Qing Dynasty ended in 1912, well before the events described in Lust, Caution. The same Imperial Japanese occupation forces we meet in Lee's movie, however, install the deposed emperor, Pu Yi, as ruler of the Manchurian puppet state of Manchukuo. It's important to them for its natural resources and as a staging ground for the greater invasion of China to come. Bernardo Bertolucci's epic biopic, The Last Emperor, chronicles the long journey through life of a man who was raised surrounded by servants - unable, even, to tie his own shoes -- but died a humble gardener in Mao's People's Republic. It's an amazing story, even if Pu Yi never wielded real power at any point in his life. In 1988, The Last Emperor would win Academy Awards in all nine of the categories in which it was nominated. It deserved one more nomination, at least, but the actor who portrayed the adult Pu Yi (John Lone) was stiffed by Asian-phobic voters (as he was in 1993, for M. Butterfly). In its splendid four-disc Criterion Collection incarnation, The Last Emperor has lost none of its big-screen opulence or narrative power. Bertolucci was the first director to be given permission by the Chinese government to film in the Forbidden City, and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro took full advantage of the opportunity. In addition to new hi-def digital transfers of the 216-minute director's cut and extended television versions of the film, the good folks at Criterion have also added commentary with Bertolucci, producer Jeremy Thomas, screenwriter Mark Peploe and composer-actor Ryuichi Sakamoto; feature-length docs on the Italian maestro, his crew, and the production itself; new interviews with composer David Byrne and historian Ian Buruma; a collection of essays; and extracts from a production diary. How Bertolucci was able to bring this amazing film in for $25 million is anyone's guess. The 19,000 extras probably weren't demanding anything close to scale, though. -- Gary Dretzka _________________ Some reviewers dismiss the movie as the equivalent of Michael Cimino following The Deer Hunter with Heaven's Gate, but it's not an apt comparison, even starting with the lower budget that's likely already amortized across all its international revenue streams. "Lust," is an espionage thriller set in World War II Shanghai, for the most part, and makes literal invocations of Hitchcock, among other filmmakers. But the noir elements have a blush, in the sexual grappling between a young Hong Kong acting student, Wang Chia-chcih (Tang Wei) who is sent to befriend, to bed, and to kill a political figure in charge of torture, Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). More >>
Michael Clayton	In a movie populated by the kind of lawyers who give vultures a good name, Michael Clayton only stands out from the ethically challenged crowd because he's uncommonly handsome and can get away with not shaving for a day or two. Otherwise, he's as unsavory as anyone else in Tony Gilroy's taut and compelling legal drama of the same name. Michael Clayton is a movie that plays to all of George Clooney's strengths, including being able to straddle the razor-thin line that separates the devils from the angels in New York, Washington and Las Vegas. As his firm's designated fixer, Clayton is assigned to reel in his firm's top litigator, who had a nervous breakdown while deposing witnesses in a multibillion-dollar case. Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) was representing a bio-chemical conglomerate, which had become the target of a $3 billion class-action lawsuit. When it became apparent that he had outmaneuvered the opposition, once again, Edens experienced a rare crisis in conscience and threatened to pass along damning information to the plaintiffs. Clayton does his best to alleviate his pal's pain, but representatives of the conglomerate decide to speed up the process. Because they fear Clayton will follow his pal off the reservation, he, too, is targeted by mysterious guys in trench coats. Even if their stories sound similar, Michael Clayton and Erin Brockovich are quite different creatures. The thrills in Gilroy's movie derive more from the chase than any legal wrangling. Oscar voters honored steely Tilda Swinton for her fiery exchanges with Clooney, but it isn't until the film's dramatic climax that the sparks really fly. And, it's worth the wait. More than anything else, Michael Clayton is an old-school thriller that commands its audience's attention throughout, and rewards it with intelligent dialogue, fast-paced action and real stars. -- Gary Dretzka ________________ George Clooney has been trying to make a great movie about the moral plight of the successful individual for years now… and finally found the right script from Bourne scribe Tony Gilroy, who does some very strong work in his first foray behind the camera (with a hand from the great Robert Elswit).  Not only does Clooney get his best career role to play, but he is given award-worthy support from two great actors on Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson.  A lot goes on in this film, including some time jumping.  But the theme presents itself in time ... and reaches deep into the soul of anyone who is challenged by their work and life to stray from their best selves.  A movie that will keep ringing in the ears of Americans for a very long time. - David Poland
Across the Universe Two-Disc Special Edition	In her irresistible period musical, Across the Universe, Julie Taymor used re-conceptualized Beatles songs to describe for young audiences what many of their parents, grandparents and teachers did before they cut their hair; started wearing bras, again; pretended to stop taking drugs; and allowed themselves to be co-opted for fun and profit. As such, the often hallucinatory two-hour-plus film resembles a hybrid of Hair and Cirque du Soleil's Love, with a little bit of Tommy thrown in for good measure. With the exception of the reliably sensational Rachel Evan Wood (Thirteen, King of California) as Lucy, the cast of Across the Universe is comprised primarily of unfamiliar young actors and singers. Among the more-familiar entertainers who appear - and/or perform -- in cameos are Bono, Salma Hayek, Eddie Izzard, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck and semi-legendary deejay Cousin Brucie Morrow. Bits and pieces of nearly three dozen Beatles songs are included on the soundtrack, while references to countless other '60s ephemera are scattered among the various sets, signs, names and dialogue. Most will fly right over the heads of young viewers, but Boomers will enjoy deciphering the iconography (when they're not cringing at the dead-on fashions, hairdos and messages on picket signs). Whether adults will buy the interpretations of Beatles standards by performers, who weren't even born when John Lennon was murdered, is difficult to say. I found several of the adaptations to be inspired and only a few irksome. Taymor's staging is reliably imaginative, and she gets excellent support from choreographer Daniel Ezralow, costume designer Albert Wolsky, composer Elliot Goldenthal, production designer Mark Friedberg and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. Among the extras are commentary with Taymor and Goldenthal, several featurettes and two live performances of Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite. -- Gary Dretzka
Dedication Singer/actor Mandy Moore deserves better roles than she's gotten since A Walk to Remember, if only because she's resisted the temptation to tart herself up like fellow teen queens Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Christina Aguilera. In Dedication, Moore plays an illustrator hired to work with the malcontent author of children's books. Billy Crudup's character is the kind of guy who would drive 100 miles out of his way to find something negative to say about his own mother. He's so grumpy, even a Pollyanna like Moore would have given up on him in the time it would take to drink a cup of coffee. That's why she's been promised $200,000 by his publisher to drag another book out of him, after the death of his longtime partner. As such, Dedication barely registers a blip on the plausibility meter. This explains how a movie starring two bright young stars, and such stalwarts as Tom Wilkinson, Bob Balaban, Amy Sedaris and Dianne Weist, could end up going straight to DVD. After 10 minutes of watching the writer's act, most viewers would head straight for the exits. -- Gary Dretzka
Blackout Black August Three Can Play That Game A diverse trio of movies targeted at the African-American audience have bypassed the theatrical circuit and gone straight into DVD. BET's Blackout re-creates a series of events that took place during a power outage in Brooklyn. It features prominent black actors, Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Saldana, Melvin Van Peebles and Michael B. Jordan. Black August recalls a moment in history when a goodly number of people believed revolution was right around the corner and it would be led by trust-fund terrorists and convicted felons, like George Lester Jackson. Gary Dourdan plays the inmate activist who got religion while in prison, and, after killing a guard, effectively turned a one-year bit at Soledad Prison into a dance with death at San Quentin. His younger brother famously took over the Marin County Courthouse, leaving four dead, including the gunman, a judge and two prisoners. George Jackson was killed a year later while attempting to escape San Quentin with a pistol smuggled into the prison by his lawyer. Six people were killed in the escape bid and subsequent riot. Vivica A. Fox produced and starred in Three Can Play That Game, the sequel to the theatrically released, Two Can Play That Game. This time around, her couples therapist Shante Smith is worried less about her love life than those of others. Set in Atlanta, the film also stars Jason George, Jazsmin Lewis, Kellita Smith, Terri J. Vaughn and Tony Rock. -- Gary Dretzka
Terror's Advocate Pinochet's Last Stand In Barbet Schroeder's provocative documentary, Terror's Advocate, viewers are asked once again if people clearly guilty of atrocities deserve the privilege of a free, fair and open trial. The question arises every time an evil despot or serial killer is captured and he/her is allowed to remain in the spotlight for several more weeks than they deserve. If everyone on the planet knew Saddam Hussein was doomed from the moment he crawled out of the spider hole, what was the point of conducting a trial … other than to make our former ally the poster boy for capital punishment? French attorney Jacques Verges, has made a career out of defending the indefensible, and he offered his services to Tariq Aziz and Hussein. Among his clients have been accused bomber and anti-French militant Djamila Bouhired, Nazi Klaus Butcher of Lyon Barbie, the leftist revolutionary, Carlos the Jackal, Serbian dictator Slobodan Miloševi?, various hijackers and jihadists, and African dictators. In America, William Kunstler and Ramsey Clark served the same purpose, except they limited themselves to defendants sitting on the left side of the aisle, and they were less insufferable than the smug French attorney. In addition to his often disturbing chat with Verges, Schroeder uses file footage and other archival material to demonstrate just how evil were the defendants. Several years after he was ousted from power, Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet found himself in danger of being arrested and tried for crimes committed in the early years of his regime. With or without a lawyer like Verges, it was unlikely that Pinochet would ever have to pay the piper. Even so, while in England for medical treatment, he was placed under house arrest on a Spanish provisional warrant for the murder of Spanish citizens while he was president of Chile. Two years later, he was released on the orders of a Tory politician and sent back to Chile. Pinochet's Last Stand (a.k.a., Pinochet in Suburbia) endeavors to replicate the ex-dictator's time in limbo, waiting for the British government to decide his space. Derek Jacobi plays Pinochet in the HBO drama. -- Gary Dretzka
Adam's Apples Dreams of Dust Film Movement is a company that distributes DVDs of films primarily of interest to buffs, festival goers and other people unafraid of subtitles. The titles, which are delivered to subscribers on a monthly basis, are accompanied by a short also chosen from the festival circuit. The selections I've watched are extremely well made, and, in a perfect world, would enjoy a week or two's run in an arthouse. This is not a perfect world, however, and these films are maybe a notch or two below the top shelf. Anders Thomas Jensen's Adam's Apples is a comedy so dark that, perhaps, only Scandinavians will find the light in it. But, it's there. The film is set in a rural Danish church, where hardened criminals are sent to do community service. Adam, a brutish admirer of Adolph Hitler, becomes confounded not only by the pastor's ability to turn the other cheek in the face of extremely rude behavior, but also to believe in a God who constantly challenges his beliefs. Among the other prisoners are a Saudi terrorist; a fat, alcoholic former tennis pro; a cranky survivor of concentration camps; and a woman considering having an abortion. The pastor, who has the patience and perseverant nature of Job, is played by the terrific Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, After the Wedding ). His neo-Nazi nemesis, Adam, is portrayed by Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration, Hitman). The premise of French writer-director Laurent Salgues' Dreams of Dust could serve as the punch line of a very dark joke or practical joke. Mocktar, a Nigerian peasant, has lost everything of value in his life, and, in need of work, makes the arduous trek to a desolate gold mine in northeast Burkina Faso. When he gets there, he learns that the mine was played out 20 years ago, but not before paying a bribe to the personnel officer. While some gold remains in the underground pits, it's so difficult to extract only a desperate man would find the risk worth the effort. Even then, though, he must agree to split his meager findings with a fat foreman whose only exercise comes in chewing a toothpick. The mine field, which resembles a giant ant farm, is situated in the middle of nowhere, so the workers and their families have few distractions besides drinking and the occasional Bollywood movie. Mocktar doesn't drink, but he is attracted to the widow of a dead miner, who dreams of giving her daughter a proper education. To this end, she breaks down the few rocks shared with her by the other miners. Dreams of Dust describes an environment only a very few people outside Africa could even imagine existing, and work so mind-numbing it makes telemarketing look like quantum physics. -- Gary Dretzka
Newhart: The Complete First Season Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project B.L. Stryker: The Complete First Season Lillie Helen Mirren at the BBC State of Play: Miniseries The Fugitive: Season One, Vol. Two If one credits an appearance in the classic police series, M Squad, which starred Lee Marvin as Lt. Frank Ballinger, Bob Newhart's television career has just entered its 50th year. Few performers have enjoyed the same cross-platform success as that of the onetime bookkeeper from Chicago, whose button-down mind produced in 1960 a chart-topping comedy album and breakthrough appearance on Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town. From there would come more hit albums, nightclub tours, three eponymous sitcoms, several memorable film roles, countless television appearances, Grammy awards and several opportunities to host The Tonight Show for a vacationing Johnny Carson. CBS launched Newhart five years after the final episode of the immensely popular The Bob Newhart Show, and it would be followed two years later by the less-successful Bob. In Newhart, the comedian played Dick Loudon, a how-to writer from New York City, who, along with his wife (Mary Frann), move to Vermont and buy a historic inn. He becomes something of a local TV celebrity, as host of Vermont Today. The producers surrounded Loudon with a cast of quirky characters comparable to that assembled for The Bob Newhart Show. They included Tom Poston, Peter Scolari, Julia Duffy, William Sanderson and, as the two Darryls, Tony Pappenfuss and John Voldstad. Newhart and Don Rickles may approach their material in completely different ways, but, in real life, they're the closest of friends. Previously shown on HBO, John Landis' loving portrait of the irascible comic chronicles his surprisingly varied career, from the late-night lounges of Las Vegas to emeritus status on talk shows and among newer generations of comics. Mr. Warmth is informed by dozens of peer interviews and access to Rickles' backstage preparations. Anyone who thought his brand of assault humor had gone out of style when political correctness was added to the lexicon will be shocked by Rickles' resiliency. Burt Reynolds is a show-biz survivor. Like Newhart, his career began 50 years ago with an appearance on M Squad, and he's still working in TV and film. Recurring roles in Steamboat, Gunsmoke, Hawk and Dan August would help pay the rent until he struck gold in Hollywood with Deliverance. When his film career began sputtering, in the late '80s, he returned to TV as a Palm Beach P.I. named B.L. Stryker. Having come from New Orleans, Stryker's lifestyle clashed with the upper crusty types who made the exclusive enclave their winter home. The series, which also starred Ossie Davis and Rita Moreno, didn't last all that long, but it would open the door for Reynolds to join the higher-profile CBS sitcom, Evening Shade. A couple of years later, sterling performances in Striptease and Boogie Nights would provide yet another new lease on life. Victorian-era femme fatale Lillie Langtry had her praises sung by such astute arbiters of taste and beauty as Walt Whitman, James Whistler, George Bernard Shaw and, most famously, perhaps, Texas Judge Roy Bean. In the 1978 London Weekend Television production, Lillie, Francesca Annis embodied the popular British actress and courtesan, whose friends and lovers included the Prince of Wales, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, Prince Louis of Battenburg, Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler. The DVD package adds an essay about Langtry's impact on popular culture. Even if Daniel Day-Lewis bowed before her at the Oscar ceremony, Helen Mirren hasn't always been treated like royalty. The great British actress worked her way up the ladder in roles not dissimilar to those assigned mere mortals. Helen Mirren at the BBC opens up the network archives to productions well in advance of Prime Suspect. The five-disc boxed set packages her work in such costume dramas as The Changeling, The Apple Cart, Caesar and Claretta, The Philanthropist, The Little Minister, Miss Rhinehart and Soft Targets, and also adds an informative interview. It's a wonderful tribute to an actor whose best work may still be ahead of her. Next year, Mirren will star in an Americanized version of the terrific six-part British mini-series, State of Play. The complex thriller describes what happens after a politician's assistant is found dead on the London Underground. Somehow, the killing is linked to the shooting death of a teenage London drug dealer. David Morrissey plays the MP, while Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald and John Simm portray a team of reporters looking for the killer. The deeper they dig, the closer they get to a greater scandal. Many fans of The Fugitive felt shortchanged when only the first half of the hit show's freshman season made the transition to DVD. In the episode titled Taps for a Dead War, viewers learned how Richard Kimble's life was saved in the Korean War. Among the guest stars represented in this set are Warren Oates, Carroll O'Connor, Telly Savalas, Pat Hingle and John McGiver. Other TV-to-DVD packages adding one more season's worth of episodes are Robson Arms: The Complete Second Season; the third year of Showtime's Soul Food: The Series; a fourth stanza of Walker, Texas Ranger; and The Red Green Show: 1999. -- Gary Dretzka
Stanley Kramer Film Collection The Joan Crawford Collection, Vol. 2 Imitation of Life: Two-Movie Special Edition Midnight Express: 30th Anniversary Edition The Wiz (w/30th Anniversary Edition Bonus CD) During his four-decade career in the movie business, producer and director Stanley Kramer was known for his message movies and as the liberal conscience of Hollywood. The newly released collection is comprised of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Ship of Fools, The Member of the Wedding, The Wild One and The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Of these, only The Member of the Wedding is new to DVD, and, as yet, it's only available in this package. Kramer was an extremely influential filmmaker, who, in 1961, was chosen for the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Soon after the release of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, in 1967, Kramer's brand of bleeding-heart liberalism would go out of style, as studio executives scurried to tap into the politics and culture of hippies and radical students. An extra bonus disc adds new interviews, testimonials and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The second volume of pictures Joan Crawford made for MGM and Warner Bros. includes: A Woman's Face, Flamingo Road, Sadie McKee, Strange Cargo and Torch Song. They were made between 1934 and 1953, during which the prolific diva starred in 26 other movies, as well. Of the newly released titles, the most anxiously awaited is Sadie McKee, while the musical-comedy Torch Song can be enjoyed primarily for its camp value. The package adds the usual array of biographical featurettes, vintage cartoons, shorts and radio shows. Both the 1934 Claudette Colbert/John Stahl and 1959 Lana Turner/Doug Sirk versions of Imitation of Life have been repackaged under the banner of Universal's Legacy Series. The new set adds commentary by historians Avery Clayton and Foster Hirsch; trailers; and a discussion of the groundbreaking movies, with Oscar nominee Juanita Moore. Upon its release, in 1978, Midnight Express singlehandedly set the Turkish tourism industry back to the days of the Ottoman editor. It told the harrowing story of an American tourist who was thrown into what amounted to a dungeon for the crime of trying to smuggle hashish out of the country. (This, of course, begs the question, What's the crime in trying to remove bad influences from a country?) Billy Hayes had the misfortune of being arrested at precisely the same time as the Turkish government began cracking down on undesirable foreign elements. This 30th Anniversary Edition follows by 10 years Columbia's 20th Anniversary Edition, which implies that a 40th Anniversary Edition is bound to follow, taking advantage of whatever platform is in favor in 2018. The current version adds director Alan Parker's commentary, an essay and photo journal, as well as three new featurettes. The 30th anniversary of The Wiz is being similarly honored with a spanking new edition. The musical adaptation of The Wizard of Oz starred Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross, and featured a soundtrack produced by Quincy Jones. The picture has been digitally remastered, and its audio presentation has been upgraded to 5.1 surround sound. A CD album is included in the package, as well. -- Gary Dretzka
In Search of the English Folk Song Fairport Convention: Maidstone 1970 Tangerine Dream: Live at Conventry Cathedral 1975 Mamas & the Papas: Straight Shooter Bill Gottlieb: Riffs Ziggy Marley: Love Is My Religion Live Judging solely by the title, In Search of the English Folk Song, it would be easy to dismiss the DVD as being just another dry exploration of traditional music by a tweedy professor or high-falutin' zither enthusiast. Upon closer inspection, though, you find eccentric British filmmaker Ken Russell's name attached as writer and director, and it's clear you're in for an adventure. Russell has made such music-based movies as Tommy, Mahler, The Music Lovers and Lisztomania, and, for television, Ken Russell's ABC of British Music. Apparently, his definition of folk music echoes that of Big Bill Broonzy, I guess all songs is folk songs … I never heard no horse sing 'em. Russell asks the question of several prominent purveyors of traditional ballads, hymns, reels, jigs and topical songs, while visiting a pub in New Forest and festivals at Cropredy and Glastonbury. While he didn't come across any singing horses, Russell found plenty of evidence to support the great American bluesman's argument. In addition to the modern folkies whose songs sound as if they were written by Alan-a-Dale, but weren't, Russell discovers how well artists in other genres have interpreted the tales of wandering minstrels. Among them are Donovan, Fairport Convention and June Tabor. It's really quite fun. British filmmaker Tony Palmer captured rare footage of Fairport Convention at the 1970 Maidstone Fiesta. At the time, the band was comprised of Richard Thompson, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg, Dave Mattacks and Simon Nicol, and their blend of traditional folk rock was fresh and exciting. Also included in the set are songs by former member Iain Matthews and Southern Comfort. An interview with Palmer puts the footage into the context of the changing pop and festival scenes. In 1974 and 1975, the German synth-rock band Tangerine Dream -- the granddaddy of all electronic outfits -- performed a series of concerts in the great cathedrals of Europe. Palmer was on hand, as well at the group's Coventry Cathedral gig. The grandiose setting was perfect for the sheets of sound emanating from a wall of a speakers and a stage full of keyboards. Adding to the evening's drama was the ironic juxtaposition of having a German band perform at the site of one of World War II's most symbolic acts of senseless destruction. A few years later, Tangerine Dream would begin providing soundtracks for such movies as Sorcerer, Thief, Risky Business and Firestarter. The Mamas & the Papas had their roots in the Greenwich Village folk scene of the '60s. Their rise to fame and fortune derived from being able to adapt ensemble harmonies to the hippie-dippy ethos also experienced by Barry McGuire, Scott McKenzie, the Byrds and Lovin' Spoonful. After the group exploded on the pop-music scene with California Dreamin' and Monday, Monday, the lives of the individual members became a traveling soap opera, not unlike the one experienced later by Fleetwood Mac. Straight Shooter was made in 1988, well before the deaths of John Phillips and Denny Doherty, and 14 years after Mama Cass Elliot joined Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Holly and Jim Morrisey in rock-'n'-roll heaven. The bonus material adds never-before-seen footage and extended interviews with Phillips, Doherty, surviving member Michelle Phillips, McKenzie, John Stewart, Mick Fleetwood, Spanky McFarlane and Mackenzie Phillips. Jazz aficionados will enjoy Riffs, a too-short profile of photographer Bill Gottlieb, whose brilliant portraits of now-legendary musicians of the be-bop and swing eras were first published in Down Beat magazine. As jazz critic for the Washington Post, Gottlieb enjoyed unusual access to such artists as Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Django Reinhardt, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. A certain rapport was necessary both because musicians are notoriously skittish lot, and his Speed Graphic press camera was bulky and impossible to disguise. Ziggy Marley's concert DVD Love Is My Religion: Live is comprised of material shaped during a two-year, around-the-world tour and performed at the Avalon Theater, in Los Angeles. It contains 19 tracks and nearly two hours of live footage. The selections include music from his Melody Maker period, solo work and his father's hits.