Top DVD Picks: Winter 2009
Iron Man
The beauty of this superhero movie is how up-to-date it is. It's much easier to care about what's going on in the Middle East than for some imaginary war situations. Based on a once-popular comic book, it's the story of a billionaire Tony Stark in charge of his father's military empire, and his transformation from a war profiteer to someone who cares about human rights and causes, yet is still driven by the top-notch technology changing right in front of us. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film is full of wit and excellent in pacing, special effects, CGI and music; it's edgy and fun. What makes this one of the best superhero movies ever is the cast, and primarily Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark). He is the reason to see this movie. I prefer not to call it a come-back, since I've always been a fan, but rather a new stage for him. His Iron Man is stylish and smart and he becomes a hero vs. someone who is born one. His unpredictable personality and sense of humor are just right for this part. The movie starts with Tony Stark visiting troops in the Middle East to demonstrate some of his new armory. He is then captured by the terrorists and ordered to build a weapon. Despite the danger, instead of the weapon, he invents and builds an indestructible suit that helps him escape. Badly hurt and back in the US, he is set on developing a new suit and having his money work for other causes rather than war. The new gear surprises both his business partner (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful assistant (Gwyneth Paltrow). Jeff Bridges turns into a great villain, cold and calculated yet well-mannered. Gwyneth Paltrow is fine as the sweet assistant Pepper Potts. I also enjoyed the short turn by Terrence Howard as Tony's friend and military connection. It's a simple story - good vs. evil, money vs. cause, technology vs. human wit. The holograms and 3D representations make the action really fun to watch. This was one of my top movies of the year. Let's hope a sequel will follow soon.
Buy Iron Man (Single-Disc Edition)
The Duchess
Great as always in period films, Keira Knightley is Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire in 18th century England. She is an outspoken and popular public figure and fashion icon, and a woman unhappy in marriage. Interesting parallel - she is one of Princess Diana's ancestors. As a young girl, she is married off to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), a seasoned politician and a cynic. Duke's only desire is to have a male heir and the Duchess' inability to produce one has him straying from the family bed more and more often. He has little regard for the daughters his wife has given him, and he makes her care for one of his out-of-wedlock girls. As the Duchess becomes more and more unhappy, she runs into Lady Elizabeth, Bess, badly hurt by her husband who also took her kids. The Duchess befriends Bess and invites her to live with them. Though it is Bess who should be credited in opening Georgiana's eyes to her true love, Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), she ends up getting romantically involved with the Duke in hopes of getting her kids back. Georgiana is not blind to her husband's infidelities, but she is deeply hurt by losing a friend. So she pursues the love of Charles Grey and finds happiness there, only to discover how mad her husband gets once he finds out. Oh, the double standards of those days... She is banished from seeing him and reminded by her mother her sole duty is producing a male heir. If only they knew in those days, the genetic selection is not up to the woman... The chivalrous Grey does not care if the Duchess has a boy or a girl and wants to have her, but he can't - the Duke threatens to take Georgiana's kids. A lot more happens, though we don't want to give up the full story. It is beautiful to see the transformation of characters here. While Knightley is perfect as the Duchess, and both Atwell and Cooper are impressive as Bess and Grey, Ralph Fiennes is magnificent. At first, he seems to play on one note, but that is it the type of character he is portraying, one-dimensional. Later on, as life happens to the Duke, he begins to understand people more and you see a more human, emotional side of him. Of course, it is not just the spot-on acting that makes this movie great, it's the beautiful music, landscapes, costume design. It's also the understanding of how hard it was to be a woman in those days. You won't be able to stop watching this.
Buy The Duchess
Australia
An epic about life, love, faith and perseverance, set in the beautiful landscapes of Australia, this movie is one for the generations. Very long, at over 2.5 hours, it is quite different in dynamic in the first and second halves. The first half depicts the main heroine, Lady Sarah Ashley's (Nicole Kidman) arrival from England to pre-World War II Australia to her recently murdered husband's ranch. She is in charge of things in the land and time that is harsh on women, but she is a strong will and takes charge. This is when she meets the two people that will profoundly affect the rest of her life - Drover (Hugh Jackman) and the little aboriginal boy, Nullah (Brandon Walters). Once they have to move the 2000 heads of cattle to the ship and then the war strikes, events unfold more dramatically at a much more intense pace. This is the story of hope and perseverance, and more so the story of love, both romantic and love and caring for a child. The events that take place on an island where aboriginal and mixed children are placed are truly stunning. Outcast by society, these kids are in a place that gets first hit by the Japanese planes when WWII comes to Australia. Yet, they survive, thanks to little Nullah's determination, and Drover's efforts. There are some amazing special effects and gorgeous scenery throughout this well-thought film, but what makes the movie special is its actors that do a real character study and transform ordinary people into big hearts or big villains. There are many emotions felt throughout the story, the story that will touch your heart and should be seen again.
This one is definitely going to be in my collection.
Buy Australia
The Dark Knight
While this movie has certainly been hyped a lot, it is not the smashing success SpiderMan was. It has a lot of good twists to it with an intelligent and heartfelt story, and most importantly a unique performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker. Ledger does a very different take on the part than the iconic humorous/crazy turn by Jack Nicholson. Ledger's Joker is a lot more painful menace and sorrowful irony - you can see the anxiety and pain behind his actions. The story is old as the world - rich man Bruce Wayne saves the world as Batman one day at a time as he faces opposition from the evil characters, particularly the Joker. And Christian Bale is believable as Bruce Wayne the Batman, but he does not stand-out. It doesn't feel as if he cares for his character enough. Maggie Gyllenhaal is playing a similar persona she does often, yet she draws you in and makes you care. Aaron Eckhart was brilliantly cast as Gotham City's new district attorney, Harvey Dent - he is human, righteous and passionate altogether. I see a lot of promise for his character in the future versions of Batman, and definitely a lot of movie offers for Echkart. This, like a few other superhero movies out now, is no longer just a battle of good and evil from the past, it's updated to our modern day environment. In this case, it's the mob and the Joker makes a deal with the crime bosses promising them the end of Batman. The special effects in the movie are impressive and so is the action, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat, especially in moments of tough choices, such as the scene when Bruce Wayne/Batman has to decide who to save, his love or his inspiration. However, it could have been edited more - at almost 2.5 hours it's a notch too long. As a DVD, it is definitely worth seeing; be patient, the ending is worth it.
Buy The Dark Knight (Widescreen Single-Disc Edition)
Vicky Christina Barcelona
Generating a lot of buzz when it came out, thanks to Woody Allen's direction, and now, throughout the awards season, this people drama is a unique character study. Framed by the beauties of the three women in the story, as well as the seductive and ominous part by Javier Bardem, it gets you involved right from the start. It's a story of two American tourists in Spain - Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Christina (Scarlett Johannsen, new Woody Allen's muse). Vicky is going for a master's in Catalan identity and Cristina is going along for the fun of it. They discover different views on love as they are seduced by an abstract artist, Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), the Casanova who is still dealing with a passionate relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz) who appears only in the second half of the film. When Cruz makes an appearance, it's a stunner, for which she truly deserves an award. Juan Antonio makes a direct proposition to the two girls to join him in his travels and in his bed and they follow. Both fall for the artist, yet differently and neither knows of the consequences until they return to America. Christina enjoys a brief affair, but getting married later to her American fiance, she gets bored but does not find solace in the tumultuous relationship that will always involve the artist's ex. Vicky is a free spirit from the start and she dives into the relationship with Juan Antonio first and then with his ex-wife Maria Elena. She soon discovers the threesome is not for her and leaves. In the end, each girl ends where she begins, because you can't really run away from yourself. The dialog is as witty as the more recent Woody Allen's films, and he gets the city of Barcelona perfectly, with all the intricate details of the Gaudi architecture and the Spanish guitar soundtrack. The spoken commentary adds a new European dimension to the film. Any Woody Allen movie is a must for me, but you won't be disappointed either.
Buy Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Mamma Mia
I grew up on Abba music and know most of the songs by heart. When the namesake musical arrived in Chicago, I was up there dancing all night, as did the rest of the audience. So I had high expectations from this movie and I was not disappointed. If I were to sum up Mamma Mia in one word, it would be "fun". Fun was had by all, especially the cast and crew of this musical creation - you could just tell it by how they were singing, dancing and running around the Greek cobble stone streets. Set on the blue-watered and white-stoned Greek island, it's an age-old story. A young girl, Sophie (Amanda Seyfrid, who is showing a lot of potential on the TV drama Big Love), gets married. Her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep, who can do anything), running a hotel on the island has a secret. One of the three men she dated is possibly Sophie's father. The girl invites the potential fathers to the wedding ceremony and finds out who her dad is, while Donna finds her true love again. Her two best friends played by Christine Baranski and Julie Walters, do a beautiful job, fun without any reservations. And Sophie's fiance (Dominic Cooper) is promising as ever. The dads are particularly hilarious, since all of them - former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, former Mr. Darcy Colin Firth, and Swedish star Stellan Skarsgard - are known for more serious parts, yet here they let loose and just wiggle and sing and have fun. I'll admit, it was unusual to hear Pierce Brosnan sing so much, but he trained with Abba for the part, and did the singing in a fun comedic way. Most of the movie revolves around the music, and this is what you should expect - a fun 100 minutes of singing, dancing and witty dialog. Enjoy!
Buy Mamma Mia! The Movie (Widescreen)
