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"ADAPTATION"
Meryl Streep. Now where have we heard that name before. Oh yes, she’s just the greatest living American actress. Not seen on the screen enough lately, she takes over this unconventional comedy from off-beat director Spike Jonze(“Being John Malkovich”). I’m not a fan of her co-star Nicolas Cage, who always looks like he needs a shave and a shower, but he’s okay in this, even though he plays twins and one of Nicolas Cage would have been more than enough. Better is Chris Cooper who won the best supporting Oscar for playing an exotic orchid grower in this. From Columbia Tri-Star.

Also recommended this month:

"MURDER IN GREENWICH"
Who doesn’t like a murder mystery about somebody famous,epecially if it’s someone in the Kennedy Clan. Based on the true crime book by Mark Fuhrman (didn’t he have something to do with the O.J. murder trial?), it tells of the investigation of the murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley over 25 years ago in which the prime suspects were Kennedy nephews Tommy and Michael Skakel. From Columbia Tri-Star.

"THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES"

Richard Gere, who surprised everyone and maybe even himself with the success of “Chicago,” is more in screen character in this suspense thriller based on true events. He plays a husband investigating the death of his wife who gets involved in some pretty spooky goings-on involving a moth-like something. Rising star Laura Linney co-stars as, of all things, a sheriff.

"LOVE LIZA"

Kathy Bates and Philip Seymour Hoffman star in this drama about a man trying to deal with his young wife’s unexplained suicide. Okay, not a very upbeat subject, but worth seeing. It has won many awards including the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Some reviewers call it a cross between “Romeo and Juliet” and Jungle Fever,” but I like to think of it as a Southern Fried “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”. It’s funny, sexy, and a moving story that crosses the color barrier. From Columbia Tri-Star.

"BORDERLINE"
Okay, so you’re this beautiful woman psychiatrist who helps dangerous criminals try to rebuild their lives in society, and your ex-husband is mysteriously murdered, and this handsome young patient will kill to have you fall in love with him. So be glad it’s only a movie, well-played by Gina Gershon as the lady shrink, and one of my favorite young actors, Sean Patrick Flanery, as the inmate who wants her love and refuses to wear anything above the belt except a strappy undershirt. From Columbia Tri-Star.

"MISSISSIPPI MASALA"


Denzel Washington stars as a Mississippi businessman who falls in love with an Indian immigrant (Sarita Choudhury). Masala is a hot, spicy Indian dish, like the leading lady in this romantic comedy. From Columbia Tri-Star.

"NATIONAL SECURITY"


Two misfit Los Angeles cops, played by Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn, team up as security guards in this “criminally insane” comedy. From Columbia Tri-Star.

Best Foreign Films of the Month

 

"TALK TO HER"

An unlikely theme for a love story – two men at the bedside of the comatose women they love – but a terrific movie from Mexican director/screenwriter Pedro Almodovar, who made “All About My Mother” and won the best original screenplay Oscar for this new one. Okay, it has strong sexual content and language and some nudity, but it isn’t gratuitous. It’s sometimes quirky, surreal, and always engrossing. From Columbia Tri-Star.

"EAT A BOWL OF TEA"

Okay, so you sip it. But anyway, this Chinese import is a delightful romantic comedy in which a young couple in an arranged marriage can’t have a baby fast enough to please either set of parents in New York’s Chinatown after World War II. Directed by Wayne Wang (“The Joy Luck Club,” “Maid in Manhattan”), it stars China’s best and handsomest young actor, Russell Wong, and beautiful Cora Miao.

 

Back Again and Even Better

DANCES WITH WOLVES
If you only saw the theatrical version of this Oscar-winning 1990 best picture, you only saw part of what Kevin Costner envisioned and for which he won the best director Oscar. It’s back now in a 2-disc special edition DVD set in the widescreen almost four-hour director’s cut and it’s worth buying even if you own the shorter version. Scenes cut from the first theatre run of the movie fill in some telling gaps of story and also have more of Two Socks, wolf hero of the epic. Kevin has mainly disappointed us as an actor and filmmaker since putting together this classic, but now at least, and at last, we have his great western as it was meant to be seen. And the extras are terrific… audio commentaries by Costner and others, a “Creation of an epic” feature, and more. Thanks, Kevin. Now do better, or at least as good. >From MGM Home Entertainment.

THE BLUE MAX
If you love World War I flying movies, this is one of the best (from 1966). George Peppard plays a German solider from the trenches who becomes an air ace, but not after a lot of sky-high dog fights and boudoir adventures with Ursula Andress whose general husband doesn’t seem to mind so long as he gets a hero. The widescreen remastered DVD is an experience. From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

PATHS OF GLORY
Director Stanley Kubrick and star Kirk Douglas made what one critic called “one of the greatest anti-war films ever made.” The 1957 black and white movie tells the futility of war, and ought to be required viewing for all politicians of every country. The time and setting is World War I France, but it could be anywhere, anytime. The restored DVD includes a four-page booklet chronicling the making of the classic. >From MGM Home Entertainment.

Something Special

BLACK HAWK DOWN: Superbit Deluxe Edition
Fans of this violent Ridley Scott war movie that won lots of awards and raked in $108 million at the box office will want to see or own this new edition with over three hours of new materials including deleted scenes, true-life documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and commentaries from the real soldiers who survived the harrowing mission in Somalia. The 3-disc set is from Columbia Tri-Star, and oh yes, two pretty boy actors, Josh Harnett and Ewan McGregor, are in it. And a lot of napalm that you can almost smell in this Superbit super-sharp print.

CHARLIE’S ANGELS

Also getting the Superbit treatment is this 2-disc set with Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as the distaff crimefighters who can do anything better than the boys in blue with badges. “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!” (Oh no, sorry, that’s in another movie.) This big-screen version of the hit TV series is both fun because it’s new and also because it will remind you of the small-screen series. From Columbia Tri-Star.

TV or Not TV?

S.W.A.T.: The First Season
All 13 original episodes from the 1970s TV crime series starring Robert Urich and Steve Forrest are now on DVD in this 3-disc collection. It follows the realistic adventures of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics team of five men who take on assignments even most cops wouldn’t tackle. See it before the new movie based on the TV series which will co-star Samuel L. Jackson and Irish pretty boy-bad boy Colin Farrell.

Off-Beat

ANDY WARHOL: THE COMPLETE PICTURE
The world’s most famous artist of Campbell soup cans and other so-called masterpieces of modern art, gets the documentary treatment in this DVD. It includes interviews with others of his time who managed to get what he predicted we all will get sooner or later: fifteen minutes of fame. I’m still waiting, are you? >From BFS Entertainment and Multimedia.

New for Puppies and Kids

Nothing. Can’t recommend a single new movie on DVD for children or teenagers. Come on, Hollywood, you forget kids like movies, too? Which reminds me, the 10-year-old son of my master’s friend said he likes video games better than movies. My master asked why, and the kid replied, “Because I can control the action and maybe win.” My master then asked, “Yes, but do you get to use your imagination?” The boy replied, “No.” There’s a lot to be learned from that answer, and I think it has to do with reading books and listening to radio instead of playing video games or watching too many movies or tv.

I bet you didn't know, but besides reviewing movies, I sing opera. Click here to see and hear me rehearsing the Barcarolle from "Tales of Hoffman."

Maybe you would like to visit my master's web site with highlights of his huge collection of old movie magazines, Bijou Follies
Two more web sites I recommend are: Errol Flynn and Jeffrey Hunter