Reviews of lesser-known DVDs, new and old
What the ratings mean:
**** One of the best. You definitely want to see it, perhaps even add it to your collection.
*** Very good. Certainly worth a place in your queue.
** Average. Consider it if you like the stars or the genre.
* More a warning than a rating.
DNF Did Not Finish, and so any rating of mine would be unfair. (Life is short and the stack of DVDs is tall.)
(Half stars indicate wishiwashiness, equivocation, second thoughts and indecision.)
Hemmingway’s Garden of Eden
Hemingway’s Garden of Eden ** Without the name of the Noble Prize-winning writer in the title, this modest little effort might well have shown up on Cinemax around midnight. It’s…
Jolene
Jolene ** This 2008 festival favorite comes with a curious pedigree. It’s based on an E.L. Doctorow New Yorker short story. In Doctorow’s elegant prose, it’s an emotionally detached tale…
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
Mesrine: Killer Instinct ** To call this biopic a French Goodfellas is accurate enough, but it’s also comparable to a recent German import, The Baader Meinhof Complex. Like Scorsese’s film,…
The Next Three Days
The Next Three Days *** Here’s a solid sleeper. If you missed it in theaters, put it at the top of the list. Given the premise–Russell Crowe springs his wife…
Suture and The Deep End (a Double Feature Review)
Suture (1993) R *** The Deep End (2001) R ** ½ These two noirs complement each other in curious ways. Suture, shot in carefully detailed dreamlike black and white, works…
The Tillman Story
The Tillman Story *** No matter what your politics, you will be angered by this documentary about the famous NFL star who quit the Arizona Cardinals after 9/11 and enlisted…
Wild Target
Wild Target **½ The English remake of a French comedy is a lightweight diversion notable mostly for the cast. Bill Nighy is an assassin who’s experiencing a minor midlife crisis….
