April 2008
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

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ATONEMENT

High praise deservedly went to this off-beat romantic drama with a World War II setting about the disaster that follows an unrequited love. Two upper-class sisters in pre-war England are in love with the same working-class young man (James McAvoy). But he only has eyes for the elder of the two, played by Keira Knightley. He writes two love letters to her, but the wrong one is delivered, by the younger sister, played by Romola Garai. The consequences of that mistake make for an engrossing and different kind of love story. The three stars are excellent and the direction by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice) is deft. The ending is a surprise and satisfying conclusion, beautifully played by one of my favorite actresses, Vanessa Redgrave. From Universal Studios.

Max’s rating: Two paws up and lots of tail wags.

AUGUST RUSH

Some critics came down hard on this fantasy, but the coincidences and stretches of reality did not bother me. I think too many new movies have too much reality, or what Hollywood considers reality today. Freddie Highmore plays an orphan boy who refuses to believe his birth parents are dead, so he goes off in search of them using music as his guide. In a flashback, his classical cellist mother Keri Russell) and pop Irish singer father (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) fall in love at first meeting, then are separated by her father. Highmore plays their love child but doesn’t know it. I won’t reveal more of the plot, but hope you will go along with this charming and uplifting story that is also a hymn to the joys and values of music, of all kinds. My only complaint was the jarringly hammy performance of Robin Williams as a modern-day Fagan. From Warner Bros.  Max’s rating: Two paws up and “Woo woo’s!”

Also recommended:

MIDDLETOWN

As far as I’m concerned, Matthew Macfadyen, the young Scottish-British actor (Pride and Prejudice, Death at a Murder) can do no wrong. He’s excellent again in this thought-provoking melodrama. He plays a minister who is shocked by the gambling, vice, and cockfighting in his town, Middletown. His plight becomes personal when he faces the rebellion of his brother, played by Daniel Mays who gave another notable performance in Atonement. From Green Park Films, American Home Treasures, and BFS Entertainment.

RANDOM PASSAGE

Irish actress Aoife McMahon plays a young woman who has fled rape and servitude in Ireland in the early 1800s. She takes her infant daughter to Newfoundland where she seeks shelter at a remote fishing station owned by Colm Meaney. It is an epic tale of love and survival in a seldom-filmed part of the world. A two-DVD set from Passage Films and BFS Entertainment.

INTELLIGENCE, SEASON ONE

The hit Canadian TV crime and espionage series likened to The Sopranos and The Wire is available to U.S. audiences for the first time, on DVD from Acorn Media. Two Vancouver intelligence officers, played by Ian Tracey and Klea Scott, tackle the criminal element with gritty realism backed by a moody musical score and an alt-rock soundtrack. It’s a very exciting crime series with an emphasis on crime information gathering.

OVER HER DEAD BODY

Paul Rudd never fails to entertain, in his trademark quirky style, and he does it again in this comedy/fantasy. Eva Longoria Parker (Desperate Housewives) plays a bride whom death cheats out of her wedding (to Rudd), then does all she can after death to keep him from marrying anyone else. It’s lots of fun from New Line and Warner Bros.

I REMEMBER NELSON

The life and adventures of Britain’s great naval hero, Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, as told by four people who were close to him, each with their own perspective of his private and professional lives. The 1982 Masterpiece Theatre miniseries starred Kenneth Colley of “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” and two stars of “The Jewel in the Crown,” Geraldine James and Tim Pigot-Smith. The viewpoints are from his wife, a friend who loses his wife to the hero, his ship captain who admires Nelson’s bold leadership but not his lifestyle, and an ordinary seaman facing death. Riveting drama from Acorn Media.

THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN COLOR

A three-part television series that documented Britain’s imperial path from the height of the Raj years in India to the breakup of the empire and the multicultural future it faces today. Utilizing rare early color film from major archives and private collections, this is an unique look at Britain from post-World War I to modern times. Fascinating history from Acorn Media.

MISSING IN MiG ALLEY

A NOVA television special that reveals the true adventures of the U.S. and Soviet fighter pilots who dueled over the deadliest slice of airspace, MiG Alley, in the Korean War. Never-before-seen archival film and interviews with veteran fighter pilots make this an exciting documentary, from WGBH Boston Video.

CLIVE CUSSLER’S THE SEA HUNTER, SET 2

Six new episodes of the exciting underwater series about sunken ships, many of them with treasure. Ships include the RMS Carpathia which saved survivors of the Titanic in 1912 only to be sunk six years later by a German U-boat. Also Czar Nicholas’s flagship, Russalka, which mysteriously vanished in icy waters off Estonia in 1893 and stands today upright on the ocean floor. Catherine the Great’s treasure ship, the Vrouw Maria, sunk with art masterpieces intended for the Russian empress’s collection. Fascinating undersea archaeology first seen on the National Geographic Channel, from Acorn Media.

OTHELLO

Shakespeare’s tragic hero, performed for the first time at the Globe Theatre in London, stars Eamonn Walker and Tim McInnerny in mesmerizing drama. A very moving stage experience from Kultur.

DAVID BECKHAM: LIFE OF AN ICON

The international soccer star gets the celebrity biography treatment in this documentary that says it is “unauthorized and uncompromised.” It attempts to show why the handsome athlete-model is worth the media attention and $250 million contract he recently signed to kick the ball. Oh yes, his wife, former rock star Posh Spice, is in it. I can’t say personally because I’m a canine and not an adoring female or male fan, but I thought Becks was much better looking before he had his enviable blond locks shorn off and became a skinhead, had his body covered with tattoos, wore earrings, and began dressing and looking like a side show freak. Just my opinion, but to me he literally went to the dogs. Haha, woof, woof. From Liberation Entertainment.

SNOW BUDDIES
A whole pack of adorable golden retriever puppies star in this very entertaining talking dog adventure climaxing with a thrilling dogsled race across Alaska. Do they have what it takes to overcome arctic obstacles and win the race, then find their way back home? Young viewers learn the power of teamwork, canine-style, and following your dreams. With the voice talents of Whoopi Goldberg, Lothaaire Bluteau (don’t you just love that name?), Jim Belushi, and others. From Disney/Buena Vista.

ARTHUR
Season 10 of the Emmy-winning public television series about an adventuresome aardvark comes to DVD from WGBH Boston Video. Excellent educational entertainment for children. Also just released is an “Arthur” special, “Big Brother Binky, about an adopted baby girl from China.

BOB THE BUILDER: Onsite Roads and Bridges

Bob and his crew build a seaside development with a movie theater and skate park in this latest entry in the popular series sure to please young builders. From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

TREASURE ISLAND KIDS 2
Kids from around the world come to Treasure Island’s exotic summer camp to make their own movies. A “boys vs. girls” feud is interrupted when a giant sea monster appears. Fun stuff for kids from Porchlight Home Entertainment.

FARMKids
A delightful animated series for children aged 6 to 11 with the engaging premise that some farm animals know nothing about living in the country. The first two seasons of the television series are released on DVD by Porchlight.

Look out, Netflix and Blockbuster, here comes RedBox. My master was shopping for some new treats for me (hooray!) at our local Jewel-Osco store when he saw another shopper standing in front of a big red vending machine. It didn’t have soda inside but new DVDs. Each movie costs only $1 to rent and can be kept from morning of the day rented until 9 pm the next night. About fifty titles are stored in each Redbox kiosk and the newest releases are added each Tuesday morning. That deal beats the cost of renting from Netflix or Blockbuster, and if Jewel is closer to you than a Blockbuster store, you save time and gas. The downside is, Netflix and Blockbuster have thousands of movies in their warehouses and stores, whereas Redbox only offers the latest titles. Redbox is especially good when there is a “long or very long wait” for new titles at Netflix or Blockbuster because Redbox has them NOW.