6/08/2010

Punch Drunk DVDs!


Shutter Island
Scorsese and Dicaprio might be the most successful partnership in movie history at this point. Shutter Island is their fourth collaboration and arguably the most twisted and intense yet. Dicaprio plays Teddy Daniels,a federal marshall who's run through an emotional wringer, trapped on an isolated prison island presumably to retrieve a missing mental patient. What unfolds is a twisty, psychotic mindscrew that plays with your head as much as it does Teddy's.






From Paris with Love
Sticking with my formula that the less hair on John Travolta's head the worse the movie, From Paris with Love is pretty darn horrible. Unfunny,weak action, and two snoozer performances by the goatee'd one and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. I've never bought into the wild 'n crazy version of Travolta, and it doesn't fly here either. He stars as one of those loose cannon CIA guys who's lives consist of nothing but blowing up buildings and car chases. Basically he's the typical Luc Besson character.  Boring!






Caddyshack(Blu-ray)
As far as goofball golf comedies go, you can't go wrong with this Harold Ramis classic. The cast alone is worth the price of admission: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray. Just do yourself a favor and forget that the awful Jonathan Silverman sequel even exists.









Starstruck: Got to Believe Edition
For something I've never heard of in my life, there's a surprising amount of buzz surrounding this. To me it just looks like High School Musical/Glee/Bandslam/whatever teen centric sing-a-long flick you can think of. And what kind of name is Sterling Knight? Sounds like a B-grade action hero from the 80s. "I'm Sterling Knight and this is my talking helicopter, Chopper." 







Oceans
Another Earth Day, another Disney nature doc. Following up on last year's Earth, Oceans obviously focuses on our gilled friends under the sea. Considering the massive amount of attention pointed at the Gulf thanks to the BP oil disaster, the timing of this release couldn't be more spot on.









Toe to Toe
We were fortunate enough to have director Emily Abt on the show to discuss her latest feature, a powerful film about two girls from opposite sides of the tracks. One, an African-American trying to hide her intellect under the facade of being ghetto. The other, a spoiled, promiscuous girl from an affluent family. Both become fast friends, until competitiveness on and off the lacrosse field drives a wedge between them. A small, but powerful film that we both here highly recommend you seek out.