Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4 Akeelah and the Bee is a moving story about a precocious “tweenager.” She discovers she is more than the sum of her spelling parts and helps others around her realize their own abilities to become powerful beyond measure. Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett reunite in this inspirational tale of hope, audacity, and some very hard-to-spell words. Fishburne gives an impeccable performance as the candid Dr. Larabee, who guides Akeelah to the national spelling bee under his rigorous tutelage.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
I enjoy a good black comedy as much as anyone, but Bad Santa just didn’t work for me—and I can’t quite pinpoint why. It’s better than any recent holiday film that comes to mind. Billy Bob Thornton is outstanding as the truly distasteful Willie, a safe cracker who poses as Santa each year to pull off a master robbery. The movie’s ultimate triumph is that you find yourself caring about Willie by the end, not because he becomes much more likable but because his flaws are put into perspective as other characters’ true natures are revealed. Still, in the end, it just didn’t generate enough laughs to offset the cringes.
Video: 3
Audio: 2
Extras: 4
The mind of an artist is a frightening place, more so if you’re Daniel Johnston. The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a documentary about this troubled “genius,” covering those closest to him as he’s grappled with mental illness and unlimited artistic vision. Using an inexhaustible amount of archival footage, the film paints a portrait of Johnston, showcasing his artistic endeavors from childhood to recent years. Countless fans across the globe celebrate his work, hailing the cult hero.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Thanks to gangsta rappers and the white suburban kids who worship them, we are blessed with yet another version of Brian De Palma’s bloody, operatic masterpiece. The story hasn’t changed since the last edition was released three years ago—only the sound effects have. The “all new” Platinum Edition comes complete with all new digitally remastered sound and picture that only seems like more of the same. Granted, it’s a better option than going the Lucas route and adding unnecessary robots or the sound of a vacuum when Pacino snorts mountains of coke. However, if you already own Scarface, this edition is needless.
Video: 2
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
Finally available in their 1977, 1980, and 1983 versions, the new Limited Edition Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi DVD sets contain minimally tweaked re-releases of the laserdisc masters created in 1993. Disc one in each case is essentially the same as the first disc inside the four- and three-disc Trilogy sets that came out two years ago; the second disc for each movie contains the original theatrical version. So, this review pertains to those second discs, the supplemental inclusions of the “unaltered” films.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Imagine you’ve just fallen into some bad luck, and suddenly the city’s two biggest crime bosses are looking for you. By the way, they’re also at war with each other. Not only do they each claim that you owe them obscenely large amounts of money, they decide you’re going to pay them back in a most unexpected way. Slevin Kelevra (Josh Harnett) finds himself in one such dilemma, but his misfortune is really a case of mistaken identity. The real twist, however, is who gets the payback.
Video: 2
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
James Brown, a.k.a. the Godfather of Soul, is a force of nature. If you’ve never seen his live show back in the day or think that Prince and OutKast are hot stuff, do yourself a big favor and spin the James Brown Live at Montreux 1981 DVD. If the fierce grooves don’t get your mojo working, the sheer spectacle of a sweat-soaked Brown and his 14-piece funk band will. You get a healthy dose of his greatest tunes—“It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World,” “I Got the Feelin’,” “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” and “Sex Machine”—packed within the disc’s all-too-short 71-minute running time. The jazz/funk workouts never let up, and, while Brown’s vocal prowess may not match the primal rhythm-and-blues sound he had in the 1960s, in 1981, he was still untouchable.
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Although Hollywood has been mixing genres and tinkering with styles since film began, few movies as adeptly combine action, romance, and comedy as 1984’s Romancing the Stone. And, while its 1985 sequel fails to re-create the same magic, both films have a carefree approach that holds up 20 years later on DVD—albeit one that seems almost quaint in such an age of political correctness.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
This isn’t so much a DVD as a shelf-sized memorial to the passengers who fought “the first battle in the war on terror.” The film itself, deftly and nonpolitically directed by Paul Greengrass, captures the chaotic events of that morning on the ground and in the air. The movie’s final act is set exclusively on the doomed airliner, and it’s then that the tension and anguish reach their apex, aided by a minimalist, throbbing score.
As the annually updated list of the top 100 DVDs of all time hits stands in the August issue of Home Theater magazine, we thought we'd take a moment to honor the number-one picks from each category in last year's ranking. We purge these "best of the best" titles each year to help keep the list current, although they still receive our highest recommendation: Buy them all as part of your own ultimate DVD library.
Best Music DVD
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
When a movie is rated PG for "quirky situations," that alone should build curiosity. Throw in another perfect team-up between director Tim Burton, star Johnny Depp, and composer Danny Elfman, plus story by Roald Dahl, and you've got a visual and musical delight for young and old.
Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore, who starred in Finding Neverland with Depp) has lived in the shadow of the Wonka Chocolate Factory all of his short life, yearning to see inside. Willy Wonka's desire to find an heir to his empire causes him to hide golden tickets in five Wonka bars, which are sent around the world. The children who discover the tickets will be admitted entry into the factory, along with one guardian. Charlie, the fittingly pale, poor, and very kind British lad that he is, finds the last golden ticket. Along with his grandfather and the other winners, Charlie goes on a wondrous tour of the chocolate factory up the hill, learning about its secrets, including the Oompa-Loompas, the miniature muscles behind the factory.
Video: 3
Audio: 4
Extras: 1
If you think you hate your day job, wait until you meet Yuri Orlov. Based on actual events, Lord of War follows the illustrious career of this quietly charismatic arms dealer as he travels the world hocking his explosive wares. Take caution, however; writer/director Andrew Niccol's got a moral agenda up his celluloid sleeve, and Cage does an excellent job delivering his message. Orlov may never have pulled a trigger on his own accord, but he is nevertheless a warlord—or rather, a lord of war, as one character prefers it.
DVD Movie Reviews
Site Map / Direct Links
