February 2010   by Max (with Walt Oleksy)  view previous issues here

Winter has settled in here in the Chicago area. Almost zero today, and the last of the snow from two weeks ago has turned into ice. Lucie, the puppy next door, and I slip on it when we chase each other in our back yards. It’s a good month to watch movies and there are some good ones to recommend. My pick of the month is a terrific movie about the war in Iraq.

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THE HURT LOCKER

Some reviewers call it a “near-perfect war film” and my master and I agree. It’s a very realistic drama about a three-man G.I. bomb disposal team in Baghdad. Dangerous work in a city you sure wouldn’t want to be in. Leader of the team is a young man who has a wife and two little girls at home but is drawn to war like some unfortunates are drawn to drugs. He loves his job, even though he takes his life in his hands every second he tries to defuse a bomb. Renner plays the role very convincingly and ought to get an Oscar nomination. Mackie is an African-American who has trouble putting up with Renner’s derring-do, and Geraghty plays the youngest member of the team, who justifiably has jumpy nerves. Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce are in the movie very briefly as British mercenaries. They weren’t really needed because the three lesser-known leads more than carry the film. No matter if you’re for or against this war (my master and I are against continuing it), don’t miss it. Hollywood has seldom made a more realistic war movie. Masterfully directed by Kathryn Bigelow from a terrific script by Mark Boal, both of whom should also be up for Oscars. From Voltage Pictures and others, released by Summit Entertainment.

Also recommended:

LORNA’S SILENCE

A strong drama about illegal immigration, a woman who is an Albanian immigrant in Belgium, and her love for a drug addict. Sounds really grim, but it’s more than that, and better. A new film by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennie, it has won prizes at international film festivals. Its plot has been likened to a modern take on the Nativity. Unusual yes, strong, yes, but another foreign film you may not have heard about or seen in any American theater, but well worth seeing on DVD, from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

ROGER CORMAN’S BEST OF THE B’S

If you were a fan of the motorcycle and groovy hep-talk teenagers films of Roger Corman in the 1950s and 1960s, you’ll love this collection of some of his best-known movies. It’s called Presenting Roger Corman’s Best B’s Collection 1: Hot Bikes, Cool Cars, and Bad Babes. Some of the films featured future stars such as Jack Nicholson, Ellen Burstyn, Dorothy Malone, Gary Busy, and John Ireland. An off-beat, off-the-road nostalgia trip from Infinity Entertainment Group.

MIDSOMER MURDERS, SETS 13 and 14

My master and I are big fans of this long-running British television series and we’re in good company. Other ardent fans include the Queen and Johnny Depp. Set 14 contains four new full-length mysteries not yet shown on U.S. television, and they’re all excellent. Based on characters and settings in the novels by Caroline Graham, they are modern murder mysteries set in villages of the mythical British county of Midsomer. John Nettles is the easy-going but very competent detective chief inspector Tom Barnaby, ably assisted by Jason Hughes as his young protégé. Guest stars include Stephanie Cole who is a British Comedy Award winner, Clare Higgins who is an Olivier Award winner, and Chris Narrie. Mysteries include a mistaken identity murder, a rivalry between camera clubs, murder during the filming of a movie on the French Revolution, and murder at a half-way house that involves a box of chocolates. Set 13 also is available, both in boxed sets of four DVDs, distributed by Acorn Media.

INSPECTOR LEWIS, COMPLETE SET
Eleven exciting full-length Inspector Lewis movies from series one and 2 seen on PBS Masterpiece Mystery are now on eight DVDs in a boxed set. Kevin Whately plays Inspector Robert Lewis in Oxford, England, where something nasty, criminal, or murderous is always going on, usually among the most wealthy and prominent citizens. While he tries to fill the gumshoes of his predecessor, Inspector Morse, his new and younger partner has to try to keep up with him. Excellent mystery films from BBC Television and PBS Distribution.

SECOND SIGHT The complete collection of this British TV detective series stars Clive Owen as a detective chief inspector who is losing his vision. A female colleague played by Claire Skinner agrees to be his eyes as together they solve mysteries. Two top-notch British actors in a detective series with an interesting twist. As seen on PBS Masterpiece Mystery, the DVD set is from BFS Entertainment.

KINGDOM, SERIES 3 Stephen Fry (of Jeeves and Wooster) stars as Peter Kingdom, a British solicitor (attorney) in rural, beautiful Norfolk country who specializes in representing oddballs. His cases involve him in trespassing Druids and investigating mysterious crop circles that may or may not be of alien origin. Good mystery fun from the BBC and BFS Entertainment.

THE FOUR MINUTE MILE is a dramatization of the sports hero Roger Bannister breaking the world’s record by running the mile in less than four minutes, in 1954. The 1988 British television movie starred Richard Huw as Bannister and Michael York as his coach. Exciting sports drama from BFS Entertainment.

ROUTE 66: Complete Third Season
Take a ride back to Highway 66 with an odd couple of young men in their Corvette for some enjoyable and often off-road adventures across America in the 1960s. All 31 episodes of the series’ junior season are in this new collection with Martin Milner as a cultured Yale graduate and Glenn Corbett playing a rougher guy from the streets of New York, taking the wheel for George Maharis who left the series. Guest stars are a who’s who of television and movies, including Rod Steiger, Ed Asner, Ron Howard, Julie Newmark, Nina Foch, Harvey Korman, Gene Hackman, and even silent comic genius Buster Keaton. From Infinity Entertainment Group.

THE ULTIMATE DAMBUSTERS tells of the adventures of British bomber pilots assigned to blow up Nazi dams in France and Germany during World War II. The boxed set of three DVDs includes a rare color film of a night attack on Berlin in 1944. Exciting real adventures from BFS Entertainment.

LEGENDS OF LAUGHTER: ABBOTT & COSTELLO is a six DVD boxed set of some of the best movies by and about the classic comedy team. Some of their funniest routines are reprised in the collection including there “Who’s on First?” routine. Documentaries, autobiographies, movies of, fourteen episodes of their television series, and rare bloopers are included. Co-stars or guest stars include Errol Flynn, Marlene Dietrich, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Jane Russell, Bela Lugosi, the Three Stooges and others. Lots of nostalgic fun from Infinity Entertainment Group.

MICKEY ROONEY: THE LONG & SHORT OF IT is a boxed set of six DVDs including the early Mickey McGuire short comedies, early full-length feature films, and television shows of the legendary actor who is still going strong at nearly 100 years. Appearing with him in his films and television shows are Phyllis Diller, Richard Burton, Vincent Price, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rose Marie, John Candy, and others. From Infinity Entertainment Group.

SOUL OF THE CHURCH features performances from the golden era of gospel singing in 1960s, some of them rarely if ever seen since their original television broadcasts. They’re from TV Gospel Time, the half-hour Chicago-based show that aired on NBC Sunday mornings from 1962 to 1965. From Infinity Entertainment Group.

THE ECONOMY is documented by Frontline in three DVDs: The Warning tells the origins of the economic crisis; Close to Home, how it affects people of the Middle Class; and The Card Game, about credit cards and the consumer loan industry. From PBS Television.

WILD OCEAN, a terrific look at the beauty and wonder of the ocean along South Africa’s spectacular Wild Coast. First seen in IMAX theaters, you can see it on DVD or, better yet, the startling reality of Blu-Ray. An award-winning underwater adventure from Image Entertainment.

BETWEEN THE FOLDS  The amazing Japanese art of Origami is documented with interviews and demonstrations by some of the leading artists who turn paper folding into art. From PBS Television.

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS is a delightful animated comedy for younger children. Based on the children’s book by Judi and Ron Barrett, it’s a fantasy about a village where food falls from the sky like rain. Look out, here come the hamburgers, with everything on them! If you can’t see it at an IMAX theater, see it on DVD or, sharper yet, Blu-Ray. Great family fun from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS. The sequel to Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland, a musical treatment that was a hit in the 1966 television season. Judi Rolin plays Alice, with a star cast including Robert Coote, Agnes Moorehead, Nanette Fabray, Ricardo Montalban, Jack Palance, Jimmy Durante, and Tom and Dick Smothers. A real treat from Infinity Entertainment Group.

IF THE WORLD WERE A VILLAGE OF 100 PEOPLE. If everyone lived in one town, it would be a very small world, but people might get along better. There would be 60 Asian, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and one from the South Pacific. My master grew up in Chicago which had a population about as diverse, but if you didn’t, you and your kids could learn a lot from this excellent film from the Family Care Foundation.

THE BEST OF BOB THE BUILDER is a collection of the most popular episodes from the very popular series showing how things are built. Lots of fun from HIT Entertainment and Lions Gate.
COLORS ARE FUN! is a collection of stories with preschool favorites Barney, Thomas & Friends, Bob the Builder, Fireman Sam, Fifi and the Flowertot, and Kipper learning how much fun color can be. Bob the Builder explores a color-filled cave and Thomas takes kids to a colorful magic show, while Kipper delights in a “Rainbow Puddle.” Educational fun from HIT and Lionsgate.
SHAUN THE SHEEP: A WOOLY GOOD TIME is the latest adventure in the series which recently won an International Emmy Award for Children and Young People. Shaun and his barnyard pals take kids to meet the tooth fairy, enjoy themselves at a day of washing clothes, try to get a robotic dog to help them tend the sheep, and look for a missing sheep at a circus. Good fun from HIT and Lionsgate.
BARNEY: PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Barney gives some magical lessons in manners. Lots of times, kids forget that saying please and thank you can be two of their best speaking friends. From HIT and Lionsgate.