New Films on DVD!

I missed both In the Cut and Runaway Jury when they were released last fall. Did you see either/both, LW? What did you think?

Haven't seen either yet. I'm looking for them on Pay-Per-View or to rent.

Haven't seen it but I heard it wasn't good.

One of the worst movie ever made coming soon. "Myra Breckenridge" suffered from turning brilliant satire into farce -- it certainly has reached cult classic status, perhaps because it could be seen as so bad it's good. Some of its parts are fun and on the button but the entire film is as was a failure.

I liked runaway Jury, but I like any good SCAM movie. saw Matchstick Men and , I think Cage has some range in his toolkit

Farmerman, Nicolas Cage isn't in Runaway Jury. Do you mean John Cusack, perhaps? (A much better actor IMO.)

I think he had written two sentences and did not mean to imply Cage was in "Runaway Jury," but I could be wrong. "Matchstick Men" is leagues above "Runaway Jury" -- I think Cusack and Cage are on equal footing and Cage has won an Oscar as well as been nominated several times (whatever credibility one wants to put on it). Cusack has yet to be nominated. He did get many nominations for his performance in "High Fidelity" which is an outstanding performance. I think he needs a new agent.

Actually, I couldn't quite believe Cusack wasn't nominated for several awards for the performance in "The Grifters."

Watched The Magdalene Sisters today. This is a powerful movie almost painful to watch. It shows the Catholic Church and religion in general at its very worst. What you learn, again, is that religious institutions are made up of people, and some people can be pretty bad.

Geraldine McEwan, who played Sister Bridget, the mother superior, should have gotten a special Oscar for simply being willing to play the part. She played it very well, too.

In addition I watched Somethings Got To Give. Delightful! Nicholson and Keaton at their best.

Agree on both counts.

LW, I like this thread because it gives guys like me, who see most movies by video or DVD, a chance to talk about films that have been around for a while.

I just watched Women in Love, Ken Russel's take on the D.H. Lawrence novel of the same name. Many of the scenes in the movie seemed like little set pieces disconnected from the movie as a whole. Lawrence's novel, which wallows in ideas, and which has several complicated personalities, would be difficult for the best of directors to capture on film.

I'm not an expert on Ken Russel films, but of the three or four I'm aware of having seen this is the best. This is so, despite the damage he does to Lawrence.

It is the best of the Ken Russell outings. His style of filmmaking is straight out of Cocteau but he's no Cocteau. I don't believe there is any literary work that can be adapted to film without taking liberties. That apparantly also goes for the Bible.

The one I don't see on the list, at least not yet, is the straight from it's run at the film festivals and in Europe, "Ripley's Game." This is the Ripley of Patricia Highsmith who in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" murders his friend and takes his identity. This is the best adaptation of Ripley's sociopathic and venemous actions. John Malkovich as the older Ripley ironically frames a picture framer and the film is an enthralling character (or lack of) study.

Will keep an eye out for "Ripley's Game."

We watched "Dirty Pretty Things" last night. It was released on dvd last month. It is a thriller about illegal immigrants working in London's underground service economy. I found informative, moving and highly entertaining.

Great movie.

Variety estimated weekend box office:

Title Engagements Estimated
Weekend
Box Office
1. Man on Fire (FOX) 2,978 $23.0
2. 13 Going On 30 (SONY) 3,438 $22.0
3. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (MIRAMAX) 3,073 $10.4
4. The Punisher (LIONSGATE) 2,649 $6.1
5. Home on the Range (BV) 2,481 $3.5
6. Johnson Family Vacation (FOXSEARCH) 1,259 $3.2
7. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (WB) 2,420 $3.1
8. Hellboy (SONY) 2,218 $3.0
9. Ella Enchanted (MIRAMAX) 2,149 $2.7
9. Walking Tall (MGM/UA) 2,201 $2.7

"The Alamo" dropped off considerably, apparantly suffered with the public because it was too much of a History Channel historical dramatization. Too bad -- it's a good movie.

House of Sand and Fog
Saw House of Sand and Fog with Ben Kingsley. I think it must be a fairly recent release on DVD.

This is a very powerful film. The story is that Jennifer Connlley, a flawed but understandable, young caucasian woman looses her home which is auctioned for back taxes. Ben Kingsley, a flawed but understandable, Iranian immigrant buys it for his family. A tragic struggle ensues in which the viewer keeps wondering who will turn out to be the baddie. Instead of a baddie, what we get is several people who cannot understand each other. This much I was expecting, but the bonus came in the depth of the portrayals, the unexpected actions and how they effected the other players.

Also, in watching the interplay of Western and Muslim mores and customs it is hard not to think of our current wallow in Iraq; although, I do not think the story is intended as an allegory on the war.

Pieman, I also watched Pretty Dirty Things on DVD this week. A good comment on the problems of emigrents in London. Very moving.

In the Cut
Recently saw in the cut on DVD. I'm not sure when it came out. This film certainly explored new ground for Meg Ryan. Her main love making scene, done with co-star Mark Ruffalo, was done without selfconsciousness. The dialog at that point was especially good, reflecting some hesitancy, exploration, good will, and humor.

This had to be a big turn in Meg's acting career--exploring themes she'd never tackled before, and changing her public image. Although her performance was excellent, I think it was to some extent wasted on this film which was simply an very predictable thriller, and a gory one at that.