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The Constant Gardener

This British-made political thriller is my pick of the month because it is an engrossing film expertly written, directed, and acted. It also is highly controversial since it alleges that international pharmaceutical companies use African men, women, and children as guinea pigs in testing new drugs including possible AIDS remedies. Fernando Meirelles, who directed “City of God,” directed this taut film with a screenplay by Jeffrey Caine from the novel by John le Carre. Ralph Fiennes, to me the best actor in films today, gives one of his best performances as a conservative British government agent who is a widower trying to learn who brutally murdered his politically liberal wife. His quest leads him into greed and corruption in both politics and big business. Rachel Weisz also gives as exceptional performance as the wife. You will follow this story totally involved to the unexpected and memorable ending. We hope it wins top Oscars this year, even though we also are rooting for another brave and controversial film, “Bareback Mountain,” which is not yet available on DVD. From Focus Features.

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

Other best DVD picks this month:

Oliver Twist

Roman Polanski, an unlikely director for a family film, brings the classic Charles Dickens novel to the screen in perhaps its most faithful movie version. Polanski, who himself was a hungry orphan, his family decimated by the Holocaust, presents a straightforward telling of the story of Oliver’s odyssey on the streets of 19th century London.

Barney Clark is a winning, believable Oliver, and Ben Kingsley gives a multi-dimensional performance as Fagin, leader of the raggedy pickpocket urchins. From Sony Pictures.

Max’s rating: Two paws up and some loud “Woo woo’s!”

 

Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen

One of the most-watched Masterpiece Theatre productions in recent years, this new telling of the life and reign of the British monarch is an exceptional production. Anne-Marie Duff stars as the shrewd and captivating queen who defended her throne over four decades of palace and international plotting, torture, and murder. Tom Hardy, Hans Matheson, Ian Hart, and Tara Fitzgerald lend very able support. Just try to keep your head while watching others get theirs lopped off in this historical saga. A two-DVD set from WGBH Boston Video.

 

Into the Blue

From the Elizabethan sublime to almost the modern ridiculous, pretty boy Paul Walker is shirtless and pretty girl Jessica Alba is in a bikini or less throughout most of this water-logged melodrama about modern-day piracy in the Caribbean. Not up for any Oscars, it is summery entertainment in the middle of winter since it reminds us that sunny days are ahead, eventually. Paul would have been even prettier if the director hadn’t had him shave off his blond locks to become almost a skinhead. But that’s Hollywood thinking for you. At least Jessica gets to keep her long locks. Otherwise, former actor John Stockwell (Top Gun) is an okay director, although we miss him being in front of the camera. From Sony Pictures. This movie reminds us of a favorite lymerick...     "She was only a swimmer's daughter, but she knew all the dives." Sorry about that.

 

The Producers

Mel Brooks’ 1968 comedy classic with Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder as Broadway producers hoping their new musical is a colossal flop gets a special 2-DVD reprise edition from Sony Pictures and MGM. The inspired insanity is well worth seeing again with extras including cast and production interviews and a preview of the new musical version coming soon to DVD.

 

 

Four Weddings and a Funeral

A deluxe DVD edition of the 1994 British romantic comedy reminds us of how delightful this film was. Hugh Grant plays a marriage-shy British bachelor sort-of courting an American girl of his dreams played by Andie MacDowell. The new release includes hours of special features and a 4-page booklet about the movie. From Sony Pictures and MGM.

 

 

From TV to DVD

While just about every old U.S. television series is being resurrected on DVD, many of them of dubious merit, we found these from British television to be far more entertaining:

The House of Eliott

Series two of the adventures of two beautiful sisters who become fashion designers in roaring 1920s London. Louise Lombard and Stella Gonet star in the series seen in the U.S. on A&E, PBS, and BBC America that was written by actresses Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins who developed the beloved and acclaimed Upstairs, Downstairs series. The new series has won awards including those for authentic set and costume design in the multimillion-dollar production. The 4-DVD boxed set is from Acorn Media.

 

A Married Man

Anthony Hopkins plays an outwardly happily married British attorney who runs for Parliament. Inwardly unhappy with his marriage and career, he embarks on a zig-zag course in which he strays into adultery, deceit, power pursuit, and murder in this drama based on the novel by Piers Paul Read. The 1983 British television miniseries is on two DVDs, giving us a strong performance by Hopkins over twenty years ago. From Koch Vision.

 

 

Sharpe’s Rifles

The very popular and highly entertaining British television adventure series which began with this entry stars stalwart Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a soldier in Wellington’s army during the Napoleonic wars in 19th century Spain. Based on the best-selling novels by Bernard Cornwell, the television series evolved into 14 movies now available on that many DVDs in a handsome wooden boxed set from BFS Entertainment.

 

 

Inspector Alleyn

Patrick Malahide plays Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard, Nagio Marsh’s popular sleuth in many detective novels. Alleyn’s aristocratic socialite background admits him to the world of high British society where crime is often entertained. In this 4-DVD boxed set two of the series from BBC Television and Acorn Media, Alleyn traps a murderous blackmailer who is stalking London’s debutantes, investigates a murder at a mansion, discovers the killer of a World War II veteran’s trusted confidant, and witnesses devilish activities on a remote Scottish island. Guest stars include John Gielgud, Diana Quick, Margaret Tyzack, and Tom Wilkinson.

Kidnapped

Robert Louis Stevenson’s beloved adventure novel full of scoundrels and scallywags, villains and heroines has been filmed quite a few times in the past, but gets an exciting new visual treatment in this Masterpiece Theatre production. Anthony Pearson plays young David Balfour who is kidnapped and held prisoner aboard a slave ship bound for the New World. He later joins forces with a Scottish highland rebel hero, Alan Breck, in a quest to claim his rightful inheritance from an eccentric uncle. Ian Glen, another of my favorite Brit actors, plays Breck. This DVD is high adventure for the whole family, from WGBH Boston Video.

Wire in the Blood
This detective series is gutsier than most British television crime drama series, but for those wanting more gritty sleuthing, this fills the bill. Robson Green departs from his handsome hero roles in romances to play Dr. Tony Hill, a clinical psychologist with a strong understanding of the criminal mind that makes him sympathize with both the victim and the murderer. With help from Carol Jordan of the Bradfield Police, he tracks down vicious killers in northern England. The 4-disc boxed set of mysteries from the complete second season, seen in this country on BBC America, is from Koch Vision.

Two’s Company
Season 4 of the British television hit comedy series reprises Elaine Stritch as a brash American writer living in London and Donald Sinden as her very proper butler in seven new culture clashes. Seldom have actors been paired as successfully as these two icons from opposite sides of the Atlantic. This is very funny stuff indeed, from Acorn Media.

Inspector Morse
John Thaw plays Inspector Morse in this award-winning British television detective series. While pursuing criminals, he enjoys classical music and difficult crossword puzzles and is a romantic who never quite finds romance. BFS Video has released the Morse series on DVD including the first episode, “The Dead of Jericho” in which he first teams with a sleuthing partner, Sgt. Lewis, played by Kevin Whately.

 

Rising Damp
Shades of Archie Bunker and Basil Fawlty, now comes Rupert Rigsby, one of the most outrageously odious characters in British comedy history. Leonard Rossiter plays the pretentious and bigoted landlord of a rundown boarding house who tries to match wits with a beatnik medical student, a love-starved administrator, and a urbane African prince, among others. Series One of the off-the-wall British comedy classic that was voted one of Britain’s all-time favorite sitcoms is now on DVD from Acorn Media.

 

 

Hetty Wainthrop Investigates
The complete third season of this popular British television series stars Patricia Routledge as a middle-aged housewife who becomes a private detective in northern England. Helping Hetty solve nine new mysteries are her devoted husband and an enthusiastic teenage boy. Ms. Routledge may be remembered from the BBC comedy series Keeping Up Appearances. The 3-DVD boxed set of Hetty adventures is from BBC Television and Acorn Media.

 

Documentaries

 

February is a good month for documentaries and docudramas, with these most recommended:

Newton’s Dark Secrets

Isaac Newton, a 17th century Einstein for his breakthroughs in physics, optics, and calculus, also sought hidden meanings in the Bible and practiced the art of alchemy in attempts to change base metals into gold. Scott Handy portrays Newton in docudrama scenes of this NOVA television special about the man who gave us the universal law of gravitation. Sit the kids down with apples and watch this one as a family because it’s not only educational, it’s entertaining as well. The DVD is from WGBH Boston video.

Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens

Galileo Galilei risked being burned alive as a heretic for advancing his theories of the universe. Simon Callow plays the Italian genius, humanizing his passion, intelligence, and arrogance at life-threatening odds with fellow philosophers, scientists, and leaders of the Catholic church. The documentary includes letters from his illegitimate daughter, a cloistered nun, that shed new light on his pioneering stellar observations, his fateful Inquisition trial for heresy, and life in the 17th century.

The DVD is from WGBH Boston Video.

Hitler’s Sunken Secret

The Norwegian ferry Hydro, with its cargo of “heavy water” enroute to aid Hitler’s secret atomic bomb project, was sunk in 1944. If the Nazis could have obtained a large supply of heavy water, their physicists may have been able to develop nuclear weapons to win World War II. Fear of that sparked the Allies to undertake the Manhattan Project which ultimately produced the first atomic bomb. The exciting story is told in a NOVA documentary that is now on DVD from WGBH Boston DVD. Another good history lesson entertainingly told for the whole family.

The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry

Weeks after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, two years into the Civil War, free men of color were finally given the right to fight for the end of slavery. The governor of Massachusetts authorized raising of the first northern black regiment, referred to at the time as “the Massachusetts 54th colored infantry.” This documentary tells how almost 100 men from that state’s small black population joined the regiment and the rest of the 1,000 men were recruited from nearby states. The regiment fought bravely for nearly two years before marching to take Charleston and in the autumn of 1865, returned victoriously to Boston, one portion of the 178,975 black men who fought in the war. The exciting documentary narrated by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, is on DVD from WGBH Boston Video, highly recommended for family viewing.

Rx for Survival – a Global Health Challenge

This important six-part documentary traces the history of public health pioneers who conquered malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases, and tells how new diseases are claiming millions of lives in developing nations. Co-produced by WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Vulcan Productions, the documentary narrated by actor Brad Pitt is intended to raise awareness about child survival issues and encourage people to become active in programs to give the world’s neediest children a fighting chance at life. The DVD is from WGBH Boston Video.

The Boy from Oz

While we wait for the DVD of Hugh Jackman’s Broadway triumph as Peter Allen, the songwriter-showman from Australia who became a worldwide superstar, we can enjoy this documentary about his life and career. In case you don’t know it about the gay idol, he wrote “I Honestly Love You”, “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” and the Oscar-winning “The Best That You Can Do” from the movie Arthur. An excellent documentary from Ben Gannon who co-created the Tony-winning musical of the same name. From Acorn Media.

Woof! A Guide to Dog Training

Last but not least in documentaries recommended this month, this is an excellent short course in how to train and live with your best friend. Renowned trainer Matthew Margolis demonstrates how to lovingly coach your dog out of any bad behavior. Uncle Matty’s techniques also can strengthen the bond between you and your beloved pup. I learned some good stuff about people, too, from this DVD from WGBH Boston Video.

Travelogues
We really like the two new travel series on Public Television. In Europe to the Max, Rudy Maxa takes us to Italy, France, England, Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia, while in Mystic Lands, we take spiritual journeys to Greece, Peru, Egypt, India, South and Central America, Australia, and Jerusalem. Excellent travel and history for the whole family from Questar.

For Puppies and Kids

 

Children’s Picture Books on DVD
Kids, parents, and teachers all love this series from Scholastic, and so do I. Two new DVDs – The Dot and More Stories to Make You Feel Good – and Martin’s Big Words and More Stories from the African-American Tradition – are perfect viewing for the family. From Scholastic Video Collection.

Spectrum Connections
Two DVDs and a music CD especially made for autistic children provide education and entertainment for the estimated 1.5 million Americans who have some form of autism. The set features original songs and activities that help autistic children identify and coordinate key emotions and physical activities, enabling them to differentiate basic physical concepts such as up and down and stop and go. From Brandissimo! Inc., available at Borders stores nationwide and Borders.com, or go online to www.SpectrumConnections.com.

Mustard Pancakes
The Public Television preschool series has spawned a DVD with educational and entertaining storytelling for children aged 3 to 6 years. Puppet characters show how to overcome day-to-day challenges all children face. From Mustard Pancakes Productions, Oregon Public Broadcasting, and American Public Television.

StoryWatchers Club
Some of the nation’s most talented storytellers encourage children to develop and use their imaginations through the art of storytelling. This DVD strengthen children’s listening and verbal skills and inspires a yearning for reading and writing – good alternatives to watching video games. If you can’t find the DVD in stores, go online to www.StoryWatchersClub.com

PocketSnails
The award-winning Pocket Snails DVD series continues with “Pocket Snails Aquaphonic Adventure,” for ages 3 years and up. A clever mollusk trio works to help a young friend learn the sounds of the letters of the alphabet through vibrant colors, original upbeat music, and amusing animation. From Soaring Star productions at www.pocketsnails.com.

 

 

"Boom Boom" Bone to Pick

 

 

My ears hurt when I hear the new popular music that is bereft of melody and lyrics and is just a monotony of the loud, deep "BOOM BOOM BOOM" beat that seems to have taken over contemporary "music." I should think it hurts humans' ears, too, but many people today seem to love it, mindless as it is. Two thousand years of beautiful music, and many people today prefer to hear just the constant "BOOM BOOM BOOM" of amplified bass.

I've been noticing it is being widely used now in movie soundtracks, most recently, in the British movie, MILLIONS. I was looking forward to watching that on DVD tonight, but had to stop playing the movie after about 15 minutes because of the annoying "BOOM BOOM BOOM" music soundtrack.

Giving the matter some thought, I think they add "boom boom boom" music to movies to heighten viewers' adrenalin. I've asked college students why they like listening to contemporary music that is nothing more than the constantly repeated "boom boom boom" bass beat. They say "It gets us going." Going where, I can't guess.

I noticed that in MILLIONS, the music soundtrack was very loud with the "boom boom" beat when not much was happening. Too bad that noise now has to take the place of good writing. As if every viewer, regardless of age or maturity, has the attention span of a child of today who doesn't have the patience to sit and read a book and instead plays computer and video games that are loud and full of action or violence. It's a pity because MILLIONS is a British movie and I thought their producers had more care for music and our senses.

I expect to be more careful of what new movies I watch and make it a point of seeing more classic movies or those for more mature audiences, such as LADIES IN LAVENDER which is very entertaining, intelligent, and has a beautiful contemporary classical music score.

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