Skip to main content

Top 5 Blu-ray Picks of the Week: 'Taxi Driver,' 'Tron'

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Apr 5th 2011 8:35AM
Filed under: Features, Columns, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Taxi Driver

Every week, we sift through all the new Blu-ray releases and single out the "must-see" titles. Look for the column every Monday. This week: Cybill Shepherd makes a man crazy, plus state-of-the-art computer animation (circa 1982).

Our Top 5 Picks for This Week: What to Buy or Rent

1. 'Taxi Driver.' Our pick of the year, so far, with early reviews indicating a top-notch transfer for one of the most powerful films of all time. DVD upgrade. Buy.

2. 'Tron.' OK, all you punk kids, now you can finally see what made all of us older geeks fall crazy in love with lightcycles. And hacking. And Cindy Morgan. DVD upgrade. Buy.

3. 'A.I. Artificial Intelligence.' A science-fiction hybrid -- Kubrick-originated, Spielberg-directed -- that divided audiences and critics; demands a second look. DVD upgrade. Buy.

4. 'The Cove.' An essential documentary that exposes how Japanese fishermen slaughter dolphins. Watch it before expressing your opinion. DVD upgrade. Rent.

5. 'And Justice for All.' An unhinged Al Pacino -- "You're out of order!" -- stars in an underrated legal satire written by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin, directed by Norman Jewison. DVD upgrade. Rent.
Continue Reading

Their Best Role: Barbara Hershey in 'The Portrait of a Lady'

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 30th 2011 8:15PM
Filed under: Features, Cinematical
The Portrait of a Lady

If you judge her strictly by her most recent roles, Barbara Hershey is a very strong maternal figure, not to be taken lightly. She is magnificent as a harridan of a mother in 'Black Swan,' which came out on Blu-ray and DVD yesterday, pushing her daughter Natalie Portman to new heights, even as she watches her every move with suspicion. She is much sweeter as Patrick Wilson's mother in 'Insidious,' which opens theatrically on Friday, and is surprisingly supportive of daughter-in-law Rose Byrne when the latter suspects the family home is haunted,

'Insidious' is not the first time that Hershey has been involved with on-screen apparitions; she fought against unseen supernatural forces that attacked her sexually in 'The Entity,' and she's had her share of other roles which tested the bounds of believability. Yet she's always clothed her characters in a cloak of humanity. She has built a body of work, which now spans more than four decades, that encompasses all shades of "good" and "evil," more often settling in the gray areas between the two.

There's not a more perfect example of her ability to sketch a portrait in shades of gray than in her portrayal of Madame Serena Merle in 'The Portrait of a Lady,' based on the classic novel by Henry James. Watch it and you won't question why Hershey was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role.
Continue Reading

Top 5 Blu-ray Picks of the Week: 'Black Swan,' 'The Ten Commandments'

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 8:30PM
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
The Ten Commandments

Every week, we sift through all the new Blu-ray releases and single out the "must see" titles. Look for the column every Monday. This week: An avalanche of goodness (vote in our poll to find your fave), but we're spotlighting a disintegrating dancer and a classic riff on the Bible.

Our Top 5 Picks for This Week: What to Buy or Rent

1. 'Black Swan.' Natalie Portman deservedly won an Academy Award for her dramatic turn as a dancer cracking up under the strain of her first starring performance. New to home video. Buy.

2. 'The Ten Commandments.' Cecil B. DeMille's occasionally reverent version of the Biblical Exodus is anchored by Charlton Heston as a reluctant Moses. DVD upgrade. Buy.

3. 'Dogtooth.' From Greece comes a surprising, twisted family drama, "a patently surreal situation" that our reviewer found "darkly amusing." New to home video. Rent.

4. 'The Times of Harvey Milk.' Robert Epstein's documentary examines the life and death of San Francisco's first openly gay politician. DVD upgrade. Rent.

5. 'Soylent Green.' Charlton Heston, again teamed with Edward G. Robinson, this time as a cop in an overpopulated world groaning from the weight of all those people. DVD upgrade. Rent.
Continue Reading

Stars in Rewind: Jake Gyllenhaal, Age 10, Meets the Press

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 28th 2011 7:45PM
Filed under: Features, Video, Cinematical
Jake GyllenhaalFor most of us, Jake Gyllenhaal jumped into our movie-loving consciousness with his performance in 'October Sky,' at the tender age of 18. Since then, we've watched him blossom into an actor who can convincingly play a soldier bouncing in and out of danger in 8-minute loops of time in the entertaining and thoughtful action thriller 'Source Code,' which opens wide on Friday.

In between, Gyllenhaal has moved easily between independent dramas ('Donnie Darko,' 'The Good Girl,' 'Lovely & Amazing') and big-budget Hollywood projects ('The Day After Tomorrow,' 'Zodiac,' 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time'). In 'Love and Other Drugs,' he got just as naked as Anne Hathaway, but somehow ended up with less attention, which probably says more about audiences in general than it does about his performance. Before the film slid into melodramatic territory, Gyllenhaal's facility with comedic material was nicely showcased, a side of him that has surfaced only rarely.

For his funny side, though, you can go straight back to his feature film debut as a pre-teen in a little box office smash called 'City Slickers.'
Continue Reading

Their Best Role: William H. Macy in 'Edmond'

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 23rd 2011 8:00PM
Filed under: Features, Cinematical
Edmond

Picking a favorite role by William H. Macy is like picking your favorite child. It's an impossible 'Sophie's Choice,' especially when you have more than 100 offspring.

Macy has dozens of "children" to his credit, characters whom he has birthed and nurtured on screen. In more than 100 roles stretching over more than three decades, Macy's characters have always fit perfectly into the film or TV show in which they appear. He can step forward boldly or recede into the background, whatever is called for, in order to embody his character with truth and emotional honesty. The latest example is 'The Lincoln Lawyer,' which opened last Friday, in which he plays a private investigator working for the titular attorney, played by Matthew McConaughey. Once again Macy blends into a supporting role, never calling undue attention to himself.

After doing yeoman service for years, he broke out in 'Fargo' (1996) as quietly scheming car salesman Jerry Lundegaard, who gets in way over his head and drowns in his own sincerely knuckle-headed ambitions. He was nominated for an Academy Award, which really opened up the field for him; we can simply list a few of his credits since then ('Boogie Nights,' 'Magnolia,' 'The Cooler,' 'Thank You for Smoking,' his recent run on TV's 'Shameless') and each one calls to mind specific memories of deeply-effective, moving, graceful, and/or amusing performances.
Continue Reading

Stars in Rewind: Carla Gugino, Age 17, Dumps Zack Morris

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 21st 2011 8:00PM
Filed under: Features, Video, Cinematical


In her early 20s, Carla Gugino was a fresh-faced ingenue. She was completely convincing playing a first-year college student in 'Son-in-Law' and almost made us believe that she might fall for Pauly Shore. In her 30s, she reinvented herself as a sex symbol, appearing almost entirely naked to sensational effect in 'Sin City,' leading to roles in 'Watchmen,' 'Girl Walks Into a Bar,' which just debuted at SXSW, and 'Sucker Punch,' which opens wide on Friday. In the latter film, she plays Madam Gorski, an evil figure who is holding a group of young women against their will.

Gugino has demonstrated ample charm, a strong personality and rampant sex appeal in recent guest appearances on TV shows 'Entourage' and 'Californication,' which is oddly fitting, since she got her start in television. In her teens, Gugino was a model turned actress and only too happy, no doubt, to find work on two popular shows, 'Who's the Boss?' and 'ALF.' Between those two roles, she made a mark as an "older woman" who caught the eye of a younger man.
Continue Reading

Top 5 Blu-ray Picks of the Week: 'Stand By Me,' 'How Do You Know'

By Peter Martin (Subscribe to Peter Martin's posts), Posted Mar 21st 2011 7:00PM
Filed under: Features, Columns, Cinematical, Blu-ray DVDs
Stand By Me

Every week, we sift through all the new Blu-ray releases and single out the "must see" titles. Look for the column every Monday. This week: Nostalgia, relationships ... and aliens!

Our Top 5 Picks for This Week: What to Buy or Rent

1. 'Stand By Me.' A nostalgic look back at four friends in small town Oregon, circa 1959. DVD upgrade. Buy.

2. 'How Do You Know.' Romantic comedy lambasted by critics, so of course it's a must see. New to home video. Buy.

3. 'Our Hospitality.' Buster Keaton stars in a slapstick classic about a New Yorker who heads out West and falls for the wrong girl. DVD upgrade. Rent.

4. 'Skyline.' Another critically-drubbed flick that deserves a kinder second look. Besides, it has aliens! New to home video. Rent.

5. 'The Sandlot.' Another nostalgic look back, this time to 1962 Los Angeles as a new kid in the neighborhood tries to fit in. One of Cinematical's Summer Scenes We Love. DVD upgrade. Rent.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Hot Topics

From Our Partners