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Under discussion:

President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey  (2009)

President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey

CodeBlack Entertainment and Vivendient Films

I am always skeptical of what seem to be cash-grabs. You know, those books you see in the supermarket, promising to be a titillating expose on the flavor of the month, only to be duped by works that are at best cobbled together by random facts and stats easily revealed by a quick Google search?

When it comes to our latest historic presidential inauguration, I have my fair share of memorabilia (pins, posters, etc). But I am wary of documentaries that seem pre-packaged and ready to ride the coattails of the success for monetary gain, which is why when I sat down to review “President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey,” I was, at the very least, dubious.

It is far from the overnight, stitched-together compilation that it could have been – with interview footage handsomely shot, subtly lit ,and including a wide-range of interviewees. But the film will perhaps serve better for classrooms of future generations as a cursory primer of Barack’s political life; for it is not really the “intimate portrait” we are promised on the back cover of the DVD box.

Director Maria Arita Howard keeps matters moving briskly for its 90-minute run time, but sometimes falls back on one too many shots of smiling children, flapping flags and amber waves of grain that were too much even for an Obama supporter.

She does populate it with a nice mix of supporters -- everyone from radio personality Tom Joyner, actor Blair Underwood (who also serves as narrator and who has not seemed to age at all since his “L.A. Law” days), Martin Luther King, III, journalist Roland Martin and actor Hill Harper, a Harvard classmate of Obama.  The film rapidly covers his life’s journey, yet barely stays too long in any particular area for us to get a sense of its influence on Obama, or his on it.

Each fawns over the politician, from the grassroots campaign volunteer to his fellow senators. And while Obama’s story is quintessentially American, the viewer is never stirred to the goosebumps one can encounter by watching a speech given by the man himself.

Now, being a political beast myself, there was little included that I did not already know about our President’s political past, so for those who have only gleaned their Obama knowledge throughout the latest campaign, there may be many an interesting kernel of information of his personal and political past.

But there are also segments that seem rather superfluous to the man’s impact (do we really need to hear the entire song of “Fired Up”?).  For someone with such a meteoric rise to power, some insight along the way would have certainly been advantageous. I would much rather have spent time learning about his childhood struggles as a bi-racial child and how they have strengthened his reserve and convictions than to see grainy footage of him waving to crowds that were played on endless loops during this past election season.

Of course, the biography of the man is still being written and will undoubtedly serve to inspire song, film and documentaries for years to come. As it stands, “President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey” is a serviceable primer, filled with a nice range of articulate, interesting supporters from throughout his life.  But as a probing, in-depth portrait of this inspirational figure and the motivating factors that led him to become the most powerful man on the planet, “President Barack Obama” only skims the surface.

The disc also includes seven motivational “Yes We Can” shorts, which depict several strife-ridden situations, all inspired by the words of our president, and each closing with the seminal  will.i.am number, but sadly, no video of the song itself. Instead you can watch “Fired Up” again from the Bergevin Brothers, which is already played at length during the documentary, and a music video for Brian McKnight’s “Yes We Can!” There are also extended interviews from many of the interviewees that prove more entertaining than insightful.

Under discussion:

Imitation of Life  (1959)

All That Heaven Allows  (1955)

Bigger Than Life  (1956)

The Brady Bunch Movie  (1995)

Titanic  (1997)

America's Civil War: 1862 - Chancellorsville Rebel Victory, Rebel Loss  Production Year

Revolutionary Road  (2008)

Mad Men: Season 01  (2007)

Director Sam Mendes does not seem to be a big fan of the suburbs. Between his latest film Revolutionary Road and 1999’s American Beauty, Mendes picks at the scabs of suburbia, allowing viewers to gaze at all that oozes from it.

Like Beauty, Road focuses on a couple whose relationship luster is fading fast, as youthful aspirations fall wayside to the compromises of adulthood. But where the former film dealt with the struggles of a modern day, middle-aged couple, Road focuses on a '50s-era husband and wife (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) at the earlier stages of their domesticity. And for those fans looking forward to the romantic pairing of the leads from a certain movie about a big boat, let's just say they had it easy with the iceberg compared to what they put themselves through here.

Frank (DiCaprio) and April's (Winslet) life certainly begins storybook enough – meeting at a social event, eyes locking across a crowded, smoky room and soon settling into cookie-cutter suburbia to raise a couple of rugrats. Frank, the breadwinner, dutifully goes to a job in which the only perk for him is that it allows him to “swim” in the secretarial pool from time to time. April, meanwhile, struggles with the fact that her acting dreams have been dashed and puts on a Douglas Sirk-sized smile as she attempts to conform to her role as Happy Housewife.

As April grabs at some sort of identity outside the home, Frank half-heartedly goes along for the ride, agreeing to flee to Paris, where she thinks they can start anew and she can be their sole support system. The vision is as childishly executed as it sounds, with no real plan or vision as to what will happen once they arrive (we never see the couple attempt to even learn the language). We spend more time with them telling everyone they're giving their American Dream lifestyle the big kiss-off, rather than actually preparing for their future life. When that dream dies on the vine, their world begins to implode.

Revolutionary Road is based on an acclaimed 1961 novel by Richard Yates, which, at the time, might have been seen as groundbreaking, as most domestic images of the time were that of the Cleaver clan. But today, the film seems already dated. Gone is the slightest trace of wit (albeit for one supporting character) that Yates infused in his novel, and it's pretty much a given now that the media-fueled visions of the perfect family were usually anything but. Viewers are thrust into their relationship mid-tempest, and there is hardly any trace of love that was ever shared between the two. Even their children are used as props, both figuratively and literally, as they vanish from the picture for conveniently long stretches.

The result is like being invited over to the neighborhood home of a querulous couple, as you sit awkwardly counting the minutes until you can excuse yourself to relieve the babysitter. Under Mendes' direction, the couple never becomes an actual “couple,” just sounding boards for each other's frustrations.

The only character who is halfway interesting is John (played by the excellent Michael Shannon), a neighbor's son, fresh from a mental institution, who delights in exposing the couple's flaws and hidden truths to their life together. Also to the film's credit is production designer Kristi Zea who captures the suburban sterility in almost every scene within the home.

But despite the effective histrionics of Leo and Kate – which feel more like Oscar-clip reels than part of a cohesive narrative – the film is never the deeply moving, personal character study it wants to by. Directors Douglas Sirk (Imitation of Life, All That Heaven Allows) and  Nicholas Ray (Bigger Than Life, Rebel Without a Cause) covered the same dirt-under-the-astroturf territory decades ago, when it felt more dangerous to do so. Hell, even the Brady Bunch got in on it in their 1995 film. 

Exposing the lack of conformity of '50s wedded bliss today carries none of the same impact. We are closing in on the second decade of the new millennium, and I think it's pretty well established that the image of the “perfect family” was a myth. Viewers can simply tune into AMC's expertly crafted Mad Men each week to witness a much more colorful, developed expose of the era's seamier side instead a dead-end drive down this Road.

Under discussion:

Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man  (1991)

Homeboy  (1988)

The Wrestler  (2008)

JCVD  (2008)

Full disclosure: My love for Mickey Rourke is pretty boundless. In college, I devoted an entire expose that even lavished praise on such works as the little-seen underrated gem Homeboy (which Rourke wrote) and the misunderstood Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. It is almost as though he has tried throughout the years to pummel away at his good looks, and prove to someone (himself?) that there was much more to the man than his Brando-esque visage suggested.

At a time in his career which many of his peers were bruising their bodies in an attempt to reverse time, he decided to step into the ring as a semi-pro boxer, subjecting himself to beatings no film critic could ever bestow upon him.

That personal history is quite possibly the reason why The Wrestler resonates with such humanity and humility, as Rourke does not portray so much as inhabits the character of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a man hopelessly devoted to the '80s-era heights of his fame that have long passed him by. And yet he is still entering the ring in front of devoted, albeit fewer, fans. His entrance is still set to the solidly '80s metal of Quiet Riot's "Bang Your Head," and his van's stereo is often blasting tunes from other bygone acts such as The Scorpions and Cinderella.

You can almost hear his tendons stretching and snapping after each performance now. And still, he subjects himself to low-rent gigs, hitched onto memories of former glories and the nostalgia of what once was. Scene after scene aches with honesty, from the makeshift matches in which wrestling's washed up and wannabes mingle in high school cafeterias that double as changing rooms, to the quiet moments of Randy desperately extending a crippled hand to his estranged adult daughter.

The one ember of hope in Randy's life comes from Cassidy (played by Marisa Tomei), a stripper whose sympathy for the tough-but-tender wrassler blossoms into friendship. Her predicament is quite similar, in that her career is one defined by her body, and as time begins to erode its youthful elasticity, she can see her shelf-life is nearing its expiration date. As Cassidy, Tomei continues to set the screen ablaze as she did in last year's Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. The only criticism is that her role requires her to be rejected by some patrons who mock her age and request another stripper, and I cannot envision a rational person who would ever scoff at the chance for even one minute in the Champagne Room with her.

It's fitting that Bruce Springsteen closes the film, as the entire film unfolds like a dramatization of a character from the musician's catalogue. And the film is director Darren Aronofsky's Nebraska: honest, raw, stark and nakedly personal. The director, who is more known for his flashy, dramatically braided dramas (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), applied no technical wizardry here, even allowing passing migrating geese to populate the background sound (which, in itself takes on meaning of moving on, something the main character just can't do).

This is not to say that The Wrestler is without its moments of levity. During a shopping trip for Randy's daughter, Cassidy asks him what type of style the girl prefers in clothing: Goth, hippie, preppy? “I think she's a lesbian, does that make a difference?” he cluelessly responds.

Anchoring it all is Rourke, whose performance feels like his entire career has been working toward this role. Battered, bruised, but doggedly determined to stay relevant, Rourke's impassioned pleas for acceptance are heartbreaking and captivatingly honest. In one brief bit between Randy and his daughter (played by Evan Rachel Wood, whose career is littered with parts like this), it plays almost like an off-camera confessional from Rourke himself. The scene is vaguely similar to one in this year's JCVD, in which Jean Claude Van Damme places his muscular heart squarely on his sleeve.

The Wrestler explores no new ground thematically, but demonstrates that, in the right hands with the right actors, even time-tested tales can be polished off and presented anew with astounding results.

Under discussion:

Mission: Impossible  (1996)

A Life Less Ordinary  (1997)

Fight Club  (1999)

Gerry  (2003)

Casino Royale  (2006)

88 Minutes  (2008)

Zodiac  (2007)

Sunshine  (2007)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button  (2008)

No Country for Old Men  (2007)

Iron Man  (2008)

Quantum of Solace  (2008)

The Dark Knight  (2008)

Burn After Reading  (2008)

Wall-E  (2008)

The Love Guru  (2008)

Tropic Thunder  (2008)

The Happening  (2008)

U2 3D  (2008)

Righteous Kill  (2008)

Seven Pounds  (2008)

Slumdog Millionaire  (2008)

Twilight  (2008)

Meet the Spartans  (2008)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe  (2008)

Milk  (2008)

Let the Right One In  (2008)

An American Carol  (2008)

Sex and the City  (2008)

Disaster Movie  (2008)

Make no mistake, 2008 was the year of the woman. From politics to multiplex, they were the most newsworthy.

At the box office, week after week brought about stories about how, mother of all shockers, women enjoy going to the movies too. From summer “event movies” (usually an exclusive boys tree house where "No Gurlz Allowd"), to record-breaking such as best opening for a female director, women were the new black at the box office.

In 2008:

• Twilight was the highest-grossing film opening by a female director (at $70 million);
• It received the second-largest advanced ticket sales, trailing only The Dark Knight;
• Sex and the City was the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy;
• The SATC gals also debuted as the fifth best R-rated film of all time;
• The film also bested Mission Impossible as the best debut of a film based on a TV show.

Now, perhaps next year we can do the same with good movies.

Sex in the City was the female equivalent of Iron Man, replacing magical gadgetry with matching accessories and pyrotechnics for Prada. The other glass ceiling-shattering film, Twilight, featured a lead who thankfully did not have to resort to sex for empowerment, but she really didn't do much else, either. Twilight's accolades are deserved for what it accomplished behind the camera, not what was captured on it.

Though there were film aplenty that could populate both lists, I tried to limit this list to films that would have played in most major cities outside the metropolitan areas.

BEST

The Dark Knight: Let me join the chorus of hosannas for this little underrated indie gem, for I know it could use the help financially.

WALL·E: A family film with a virtually dialogue-free first half, a protagonist made of metal, an Earth barren of life and squelched by pollution, a cuddly cockroach sidekick, and a human cast that's a Dorito away from permanent bedrest. A film of staggering beauty from a company for which that is a trademark feature.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Director David Fincher's most accessible, polished film to date. While Zodiac and Fight Club may resonate longer, Button is the kind of marriage between theatrics, epic scope, and pure emotion that lands him in the top tier of working directors. Winning, tender performances by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett only further cement the film's top 10 placement.

Burn After Reading: After bumming us out of us with last year's stark, desolate (but excellent) No Country for Old Men, the Brothers Coen demonstrate their sharp comic chops with this irreverent, all-star dissection of middle-age madness and frustration of lives lived that come nowhere close to youthful aspirations.

Milk: Sean Penn offers further proof of his necessity in cinema today with his ingratiating portrayal of slain politician Harvey Milk. Director Gus Van Sant lifts his vision from his navel (where it was focused during films such as Gerry and Last Days) to create a sensitive, intimate biopic that is saved from maudlin tendencies by Penn's presence.

Tropic Thunder: Bold, unexpected comedy that does not wear out its welcome by the third act, like so many other mainstream comedies. Ben Stiller directs Robert Downey Jr. to his second standout performance this summer.

Quantum of Solace: Some have decried the fact that Daniel Craig's Bond is just too mean. But Solace, which feels like a perfect extension of Casino Royale, feels as though it is taking its sweet time in creating the psyche of someone who has reason to be known as the greatest super-spy the world has ever known.

Let the Right One In: This is a bit of a cheat, since this may have only appeared on area screens as part of a film festival, but its effect is one that reverberates far outside its limited runs nationwide. In a year when Twilight has been garnering all the attention, The Right One has become the one true vampire (and adolescence) film whose bite leaves a mark and should be sought out on DVD before the inevitable US remake. 

U2-3D: Demonstrating just why they are the world's biggest rock band, U2 raised the roof with this truly cinematic 3D spectacle that not only captured the feel of one of their concerts, but invited the audience on stage to jam with Bono and the boys.

Slumdog Millionaire: Danny Boyle never disappoints, even with his misfires (A Life Less Ordinary, Sunshine). But he nails it again with Slumdog, a rather pedestrian tale told with wit, undeniable humanity and delivered with uncompromising conviction.

WORST

The Happening: When wind is your chief villain, it's time to rethink the script.

The Love Guru: Mike Myers steps in Deepak doo-doo.

Sex and the City: Inside this film's Sax Fifth Avenue window dressing lies the the cold, calculated heart of an empty Wal-Mart.

88Minutes/Righteous Kill: Al Pacino should have known better after working with director Jon Avnet in 88, but instead enlisted fellow legend Robert DeNiro to further Kill both their careers.

X-Files: I Want to Believe: But now I no longer do.

Seven Pounds: Will Smith packed his bags for a guilt trip, and we're forced to ride along in the back seat.

An American Carol: Looks like Republicans were just as good at making films as they were winning elections in 2008.

Meet the Spartans/Disaster Movie: Cinematic parody: Born 1923, Died 2008.

Under discussion:

Brokeback Mountain  (2005)

Planet Terror  (2007)

Milk  (2008)

W.  (2008)

I'm not sure what is more sad: politician Harvey Milk's life being cut short by an assassin's bullett, or the recent passing of the California's reprehensible Prop 8 Bill, making it seem this man's death may have been in vain.

Sean Penn inhabits the lead role in 'Milk', and through him we can see just how magnetic a man the San Francisco candidate was and how easy it must have been to warm to his cause.

But Penn does not lionize the man, unafraid to show his fears, doubts and flirtation with hubris as his voice begins to reverberate across the state and the nation. To see Penn, who often appears pensive and prickly on talk shows and in public of late, return to the type of performance that is sweet, sensitive and thoroughly endearing is rewarding enough. But he is surrounded by thoughtful, passionate performers who all seemed so moved by Milk's legacy, they were determined to do him justice.

Milk arrives in San Fran at the start of the swingin' 70s, frustrated and ready to start his life anew as he approaches his 40th birthday.

It is there he bumps into his partner Scott Smith (played by James Franco), and they embark on their journey from small camera shop owners to activist organizers helping to reshape the cultural landscape of California.

Where 'Milk' separates itself from other gay-themed mainstream films is that it presents its characters as peers. Films like 'Brokeback Mountain' and 'Jeffrey' were more about allowing the lifestyle to exist in its own little vacuum, if not truly accepting these individuals as equals in every sense of the word.

It's the difference between accpeting a gay person and accepting a person who happens to be gay.

Director Gus Van Sandt does this by presenting us with the leads' sexuality in the first few minutes of the film. Penn and Franco tango in an intimate encounter signifying the same electricity all relationships share in the first stage.

Soon after, it settles into the same banality and common day-to-day exchanges all couples shift into, except theirs is one that faces constant tumult outside their own happy domicile - fear, anger and hate await them at every public demonstration of their affection toward one another.

It's as if to say to skeptical, straight audience members, "see, this lifestyle you so fear can be just as mundane as yours, but contains no less love within it."

I, personally respected 'Brokeback' as a political statement more than a film. I felt it was oftentimes dramatically inert, but I admired what it set out to accomplish.

With 'Milk' and its engaging cast of underdogs, there's little downtime; in fact, there's always an underlying sense of urgency as they confront their fair share of injustices that meet their everyday existence, from indifferent police to angered citizens to downright spiteful politicians.

Josh Brolin continues his streak (starting with Planet Terror and leading to last month's W.) as the tortured fellow politician Dan White, who admires Milk's appeal as much as he despises his orientation. He is one of the film's few flaws, as descends into his own hell, we wish we were afforded mere glimpses into his life.

The other weak link is Milk's partner Jack Lira (played by Diego Luna) following a breakup with Scott. We understand he's a mess, but it remains unclear as to why Milk stays with this obvious basket case after repeated signs of an impending ugly meltdown.

Van Sandt seamlessly blends archival news footage of the era with his own , drained of just enough color to feel era-specific. This comes in handy when he includes clips of the self-righteous Anita Bryant sermonizing about Milk's deviant behavior.

Bryant looms heavily like a fog of hate and intolerance, donned in a frilly blouse and sensible pumps, and no actress is needed to shed further light on her moralistic monologues. Her damnation of gays over Proposition 6 ( which would allow the firing of teachers over sexual orientation ) is icily scary.

What was equally surprising was the film's minimalist, sweeping score by Danny Elfman, which enhances the picture without once intruding and making it seem melodramatic.

'Milk' does feel as though it sometimes smooths over the politician's rougher edges, yet it never feels less than authentic, courtesy of Penn's embrace of his character.

The only shame of 'Milk' is that its release is a few weeks too late to perhaps influence a recent stripping of civil rights. It would have made 'Milk's' ending more stirring and just.

Now, it's just heartbreakingly sad.

Under discussion:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen  (1989)

All This and Heaven Too  (1940)

Curse of the Pink Panther  (1983)

Deception  (1946)

Fantasia  (1940)

First Spaceship on Venus  (1959)

The Godfather  (1972)

The Godfather Part III  (1990)

The Great Lie  (1941)

In This Our Life  (1942)

Laserblast  (1978)

Lifeboat  (1944)

The Lodger  (1926)

Notorious  (1946)

The Old Maid  (1939)

The Paradine Case  (1948)

The Red Balloon  (1956)

The Tall T  (1957)

The Thief of Bagdad  (1940)

The Three Caballeros  (1945)

Watch on the Rhine  (1943)

Woody Woodpecker & His Friends: Vol. 3  (1984)

Buchanan Rides Alone  (1958)

Comanche Station  (1960)

Decision at Sundown  (1957)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains  (1982)

Ride Lonesome  (1959)

Sabotage  (1939)

Son of the Pink Panther  (1993)

Pink Panther [Film Series]  (2004)

Dark City  (1997)

Pink Panther [Animated Series]  Production Year

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Manos - Hands of Fate  (1993)

Monty Python's Flying Circus [TV Series]  (2005)

Lost in La Mancha  (2003)

Future War  (1996)

The Pink Panther  (2006)

American Slapstick, Vol. 2  Production Year

Pinocchio  (1957)

Folks in the current economy just haven’t warmed to the whole Blu-ray concept just yet. So while they are still commercially viable (even though they are waning in popularity), there are still a number of special edition DVDs funneling into the market. As the holiday approaches, it can be confusing for consumers as they toggle between choosing the “Special Dynamic Super Edition” or the “Ultimate Collectors Shiny Happy Edition” of the same films that have been released, re-released, and re-re-released.

I am not going to include the latest films that have perhaps just been released this year in theaters and are receiving their big DVD debuts, but rather the digital roads less traveled, providing a range of options for all to fit every price range for DVD films and box sets released in 2008.

As you are striking off names of cinephiles from your holiday gift list, consider some of the following options:

For the kids/family: All kids will clamor for the Wall *E and Horton Hears a Who, but do you want your child to be a follower or a leader? Here’s some healthy alternatives:

.The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol 2 Woody was sort of like the Rodney Dangerfield of cartoon characters for me and my friends growing up. The ubiquitous bird was really just animated padding as we awaited what we perceived to be better cartoons that would come on when we returned home from school. He was the television equivalent to Ziggy. And while there are several valleys in this three-disc collection of shorts produced between 1952 and 1958, there are countless peaks, including Niagara Fools, which could quite possibly be the best of his entire run on the tube. (About $35 at Amazon.com).

Classic Caballeros Collection: (The Three Caballeros/ Saludos Amigos): Walt Disney, cash strapped after spiraling budgets of Pinocchio and Fantasia threatened to bankrupt the company, found himself traveling to Central and South America in search of distributing his product and cashing in to new markets. The results are these two (and a few other) shorts that are bouncy enough to satiate the kids in the house (with staples like Donald Duck and Goofy) , but filled with enough behind-the-scenes travelogues to keep the parents entertained long after the tots head off for bed. It’s a time capsule that shows the first footsteps taken in Disney’s now-global stranglehold on all things relating to childhood. (About $15)

American Slapstick 2: In this three-disc compilation of shorts, 30 silent-era films are featured, demonstrating the breadth and depths of this oft-chided comic institution whose public recognition of it usually focuses solely on some guy named Chaplin. Harold Lloyd, then-unknown Oliver Hardy, Bebe Daniels, Snub Pollard all share screen time with even lesser-known pioneers. The popularity of the one-half silent slapstick of this year’s Wall*E will perhaps encourage viewers to uncover these long-forgotten pearls. (About $35)

The Red Balloon: A lonely Parisian boy befriends a helium-filled titular object that seems to have a mind of its own in this 1956 film that is still as enchanting today and Janus Films has done an impeccable job in its cleanup of the print. The result in a simple, sweet , funny and even moving tale (the balloon’s flirtatious dance with a blue balloon is priceless) that would still be as meaningful for children today as those in post-war France, when it was made. (About $10)

Big beefy sets: For those who still have job security and can perhaps shell out a few extra dollars, here are some options that are actually worth the money:

The Godfather (Coppola Restoration Giftset): Yes, Coppola and company have returned to this well many a time on DVD, but if even if you have one of the former incarnations, you may want to start using them as coasters, as this is by far the best-looking version of the films you are likely to find. For those film geeks who appreciate the film for its nuances like the chiaroscuro lighting, era-perfect costuming and flawless framing, this is one sweet canoli. (About $45 for the whole set, though films can be purchased separately to avoid that whole Godfather III mistake)

The Pink Panther Ultimate Collection: So the series bats about 500, mostly during Peter Sellers’ earliest work as the inept Inspector Clouseau (but this set also includes interpretations of the bumbling detective by Alan Arkin, Roger Moore (in 1983’s Curse of the Pink Panther), Roberto Benigni and, sadly, Steve Martin in the current re-boot of the franchise. But, the shoddy latter film entries are completely forgiven by this box set’s inclusion of all 190 far-superior Pink Panther cartoons. (About $180, but you are getting a total of 18 discs with this)

Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition : Unfortunately, it is true: two decades have passed since this fantastic series first aired, meaning you are that much older. Fortunately, the series contains so many laughs you may forget about all how much hair you’ve lost/wrinkles you’ve gained in that time. Films held up for merry mockery include: First Spaceship to Venus (1960), Laserblast (1979), Werewolf (1983) and Future War (1997). In the past, many MST3K discs have been rather sparse on extras, but this set comes loaded with features, including the show’s history, a reunion Q & A, and countless different versions of the theme song. (About $160, but you get a life-size head of Crow T. Robot, people!)

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus - Collector's Edition Megaset: To know it is to love it: Flying Circus and its co-conspiratorial crew calling itself Monty Python have been purveyors of all modern silliness for more than three decades, leaving many sketch-comedy contenders in their wake. Take a look at any “comedy” channel on the internet today and you will no doubt see the influence of these ground-breaking masters of mockery. (About $55)

The Budd Boetticher Box Set: What, you’ve never heard of Budd Boetticher? Does the fact that Marin Scorcese, Clint Eastwood and Taylor Hackford all volunteered to introduce films included in this set persuade you at all? The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome (1959) and Comanche Station, are but a few contributions to the Western genre from the director, giving James Coburn (in his film debut), Richard Boone, Maureen O'Sullivan, Pernell Roberts, Lee Van Cleef, and Craig Stevens and place to hang their hats, so to speak. (About $45)

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 : Made during the grand dame’s peak of popularity (the non-campy kind) while working with Warner Brothers, this collection includes seldom-seen-but-worthwhile classics as The Old Maid (1939), All This and Heaven Too (1940), The Great Lie (1942), In This Our Life (1942), Watch the Rhine (1943) and Deception (1946). Also tossed into the six-disc set are commentary tracks from film scholars, era-specific film trailers, behind-the-scenes footage, and vintage cartoons. (About $47)

The Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection: Spanning eight discs, this MGM set highlights some of the more obscure, but no-less interesting, works from the master, including The Lodger (1927), one of his silent pictures, Sabotage (1936), the Oscar-winning Rebecca (1940), Lifeboat (1944) a mini-masterwork that is set entirely on an inflatable raft and still manages to build tension, Spellbound (1945) , Notorious (1946) and The Paradine Case (1946), starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck. Included are the famous Hitchock Francois Truffaut interviews, trailers, radio adaptations, and other nuggets of cinema goodness. (About $60)

Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema (1896-1913): Melies’s sad ending was criminal compared to his contribution to the world of film (he died penniless and all-but-forgotten), and this posthumous compilation only further proves just how influential this man was. Some of the ways the effects are done today have changed, but the more things change… A total of 173 short films from this movie master are included in this box set, filled with fantastic journeys, interplanetary travel, and fairy tale lands. The set also includes a booklet documenting his life in and out of film, as well as a famous short documentary on him from another French legend, Georges Franju. (About $90)

A really, very, super-special, ultimate collector’s edition: Almost every film today is released in rated and “unrated” director’s cuts. But few of them have any negligible differences. Here are a few that merit a purchase:

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (20th Anniversary Edition): Visionary director Terry Gilliam has seldom had smooth sailing from sets to screen (the legendary aborted Johnny Depp project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, made for a fascinating documentary of the filmmaking process titled Lost in La Mancha), and this 1988 film is no exception. Budgets and schedules spinning out of control led to one of the more intriguing behind-the-scenes lore of film production, which is recounted rather honestly and thoroughly through its cast and crew in this special edition DVD. For those who have never witnessed this hallucinatory fantasy since it was first released, a repeat viewing after following how it was made is required to gain an entirely new respect for it. (About $20)

The Thief of Bagdad (Criterion Collection): If you or your children’s only exposure to bottled genies and flying carpets are limited to either Disney and/or Barbara Eden, you owe it to yourself and your kids to pick up this restored gem that featured at-the-time groundbreaking effects (that even today, while dated, still impress), a thrilling adventure and now packed with bonus material such as the original trailer, several commentaries (including a couple of hacks by the name of Scorsese and Coppola), documentaries on Ray Harryhausen, Dennis Muren and Craig Barron and various other features. (About $25)

Dark City (Director’s Cut): Hot off the success of The Crow, in the early 90s, director Alex Proyas was given a bigger budget to create an even larger alternate universe, not unlike the ones created in Blade Runner. And it was perhaps a little too close, as the film was initially met with a shrug from many critics (except Roger Ebert) and quickly disappeared. It has developed a sizeable cult following, allowing a DVD rebirth in the form of a director’s cut, inviting newbies and former haters alike to view the film as originally intended. (About $12)

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains!: Here’s another film that a backstory almost as interesting as the one on the screen. Disowned by its writer, dropped by its studio and abandoned by home video, this rarity stars a young Diane Lane, Ray Winstone, and Laura Dern (as well as members from The Clash and The Sex Pistols). After making the rounds of HBO and late-night USA Network back in the day (late 80s), the film vanished into obscurity. Rhino has lovingly picked it up and polished it off with a number of features, including audio commentaries (from Lane and Dern, no less!). (About $15)

The General: The Ultimate Two-Disc Edition: No self-respecting lover of film should be without this one in their collection. Be wary, as since this classic has gone into public domain (meaning almost any rag-tag releasing company can distribute a beat-up print for profit), this comedic classic from Buster Keaton has countless versions clotting bargain bins everywhere. Kino, which has already released a fine dust-off of the film years ago, now present a definitive version, including introductions from Gloria Swanson and Orson Welles, a tour of the filming locations (including the train used in the film) and a choice of musical accompaniments for this silent masterpiece of meticulously calculated mayhem. (About $22)

Under discussion:

Double Impact  (1991)

Maximum Risk  (1996)

Double Team  (1997)

Knock Off  (1998)

Being John Malkovich  (1999)

Avenging Angelo  (2003)

The Pacifier  (2005)

Rocky Balboa  (2006)

The Wrestler  (2008)

JCVD  (2008)

Pity the poor action hero. Like supermodels, they have a relatively short shelf life and attempts at prolonging their career seldom end well (for every “Rocky Balboa,” Stallone's had a dozen “Avenging Angelos.”)

And for those who fail to break into that top tier, there is increasingly less room on the video store shelves filled with younger, hungrier (and less expensive) stars ready to roundhouse their way to a paycheck.

Or they resort to pimping out their brawn to comedy, hoping to appear 'in on the joke' of their indestructibility. Few have made it back from this tragic mistake unscathed.

Jean-Claude Van Damme has always inhabited this level of the action stratosphere, only briefly flirting with success in the early 90s.

He's now a few years shy of receiving an AARP membership, and his stuntwork may require a longer recovery time (possibly aided with prescription medications).

So mentioning the latest Van Damme release in this column may be met with indifference, 'JCVD' is aiming more for the arthouse than the grindhouse crowd.

Playing a destitute, washed-up action star named Jean Claude van Damme, the actor finds himself involved in the middle of a bank heist/hostage situation right out of one of his films. It is here he faces his nemeses both external and internal.

As “JCVD” opens, the actor is going through the action-movie motions, twirling and pummeling as he's done so many times before. But the second the director yells 'cut', his real battles begin.

He's on the losing end of an ugly custody struggle (in one of the many funny moments, the prosecuting attorney enters Van Damme's entire filmography as evidence to him being an unfit father).

Work-wise, he's just lost an action gig to rival C-lister Steven Segal, who promised to lop off his trademarked ponytail for the role. When he accidentally stumbles into a hostage scenario while trying to withdraw from his dwindling bank account, action movie laws would have it that he find creative ways to crunch skulls and save the day. But this is where “JCVD” takes a wild turn into meta comedy that does not let the actor shy away from some of the uglier sides of his quasi-fame. It plays out like some unholy union of the Muscles from Brussels and Charlie (“Being John Mallkovich”) Kauffman.

Throughout, director co-writer Mabrouk El Mechri brandishes artistic flourishes that exist almost solely to remind his viewers they are not watching a typical Van Damme opus. They can grow tiresome at times (ok, we get that you're a fan of overhead mood lighting. Must it saturate every scene?)

But Van Damme himself (never one noted for his nuance) keeps us interested. And just when the film itself starts to stretch thin, he delivers a monologue so achingly personal ( and most likely, accurate), that it's impossible to turn away. It's as though the star shows us his scabs inflicted not on camera, but off. Then proceeds to pick at them right before our eyes. It's both uncomfortable and compelling.

Mickey Rourke is currently being buzzed about for his self-referential role in “The Wrestler,” which I have yet to see, but Van Damme deserves the same adoration here (I can't believe I'm actually typing this) for his mesmerizing soliloquy on his fame and infamy.

The film itself can veer off into the mundane, but its star has allowed us further into his celebrity psyche than perhaps any other. Not bad for a man whose resume includes him playing kickboxingtwins twice as well as co-starring with Dennis Rodman and Rob Schneider.

Under discussion:

Innocent Blood  (1992)

Scarface  (1983)

Sid and Nancy  (1986)

Trainspotting  (1996)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer [TV Series]  (1997)

Juno  (2007)

Twilight  (2008)

During last year’s “Juno” zeitgeist, I received a response from a reader who took umbrage with me slamming the film. “I guess you don’t remember what’s it’s like to be a 16-year-old girl who is unpopular, non-conforming and pregnant,” she sniffed.

I always thought this to be an odd line of reasoning for an argument. By that statement, does that mean I must have spent time as a gladiator to enjoy “300?” Must I have gone through heroin withdraw after cutting short my career in punk music to appreciate “Sid and Nancy?”

A film need not have leads with character traits that duplicate my own in order for me to appreciate it (“Trainspotting” immediately comes to mind). It does not even have to have leads that I respect, for that matter (say hello to my little friend “Scarface”). 

What it does have to contain is an involving story and, in lieu of, or addition to that, characters which captivate my attention long enough for me to want to spend two hours with them in a darkened theater.

The novel “Twilight,” written by Stephanie Meyers, is not meant for me. Nor, I gather, is the film. It was meant for the two texting tweeners sitting next to me in the theater – the ones who giggled at the first sight of Edward, the ones who cheered on Bella, but also the ones who spent the majority of film bathed in the blue light of their flipped-open cell phones, apparently interested in anything else but what was on the screen. (Maybe we could find common ground.)

But there were certainly enough fans to give this film a record-breaking weekend at the box office last weekend. Fandango, the online pre-sale ticket hub, reported that tickets for “Twilight” were being sold at a rate of five per second prior to the first screenings.

And they are not going away any time soon; after a phenomenal Friday box office, Summit, the tiny studio that produced the film, announced plans for a sequel and perhaps a third to be filmed back to back. And for that audience, I certainly understand (and even, at times, appreciate) the appeal. For beneath “Twilight’s” façade of forbidden love, mortal danger and blood-sucking vampires lies a very chaste, safe escapist fantasy for young girls who want their films with more danger than awaiting what college Zac Efron will select upon graduating high school. And when it comes to sexuality, a subject typically intertwined with the vampire mythology, these beasties don’t even grow those phallic fangs when they get excited, but rather just chomp away with normal incisors and bicuspids.

These young girls can sit in the theater and completely ignore the sociological underpinnings of “Twilight,” and instead choose to retreat into the more fairy tale aspects of the story. There are certainly worse role models for young girls than that of young Bella (played by Kristen Stewart). She’s apparently smart, plainly pretty, a little tomboyish, and the new kid at school. She’s also immediately the center of attention of fellow classmates, the object of desire from the hunky, mysterious, aloof Edward (played by Robert Pattinson) and apparently responsible enough to be given carte blanche by her separated parents.

There is a kernel of an interesting tragic story in the forbidden love of its leads (too bad neither actor seems interested in really emoting it, though). The fact that she’s human and Edward’s like, totally undead and could at any moment get all bitey on Bella makes this aspect compelling, especially for a youngster.

Yet for anyone old enough to drive, though, is where “Twilight” begins to wither and shrivel under scrutiny.

For vampire enthusiasts, this is perhaps one of the worst treatments of the mythology since Don Rickles turned into a vampire in the woefully bad John Landis mobster-vampire hybrid “Innocent Blood.” In fact, it tosses so many of the elements that make up the creatures’ mythology (the most long-standing in film history, by the way), one wonders why Meyers did not create a mythological beast all her own. For example, when these vampires are exposed to sunlight, their skin does not singe, it twinkles. Also, Edward and his surrogate “family” are “vegetarian vampires,” meaning they feast not on humans, but tear into woodland creatures like Sarah Palin on a weekend hunting expedition.

But the lack of doom and gloom with its vampires are not the stake through “Twilight’s” heart. Between their sporting more pancake makeup than a crown at a Cure concert, Edward’s family’s passion for playing a good ol-fashioned game of baseball, or even their superhuman abilities, (which are amusingly in need of a larger budget), they are extremely difficult to take as seriously as director Catherine Hardwicke wants us to.

The other splash of holy water is Stewart as Bella. Edward, who is revealed to be about 90 (that’s a lot of high school biology classes to slog through!), claims he’s waited his life for someone like her. Really? Why? Do you want to borrow her lipstick? Honestly, Stewart plays her as such a serious, mopey bore, it’s really hard to see just what it is about her that is so striking to anyone, particularly someone who has spent the last nine decades chasing high school chicks.

Look, I am happy to see film aimed at an oft-neglected segment of film-goers, giving them a fantasy world that does not involve crass commercialism or power through sexualization (and I hope after this initial encounter Bella goes home and has some serious “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” marathons for tips on being more strong willed).

But the fact that this was apparently based on a wildly popular young adult novel makes me sad to realize just how few options there must be out there for our daughters to read.