February 2007
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

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THE ILLUSIONIST

You’ll never guess where this engrossing drama is going or how it will end, but it is a very rewarding movie journey into regions seldom explored on the screen. Edward Norton is excellent as a stage magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna who makes things and people appear and disappear. All goes well until he runs afoul of Crown Prince Leopold when the royal one’s love -- a beautiful young duchess -- falls under the illusionist’s spell. Writer-director Neil Burger gives us a very interesting and entertaining movie full of plot twists and a very surprising ending. A highly original and unusual movie not to be missed, from 20th Century-Fox.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE

A rarity these days… a “feel good” movie for the whole family. A typical dysfunctional American family heads West in their SUV so the youngest member, aged 7, can enter a beauty contest in California. Greg Kinnear plays the father, Toni Collette is the mother, Alan Arkin the foul-mouthed grandfather, and Abigail Breslin plays the would-be beauty queen. This is a trip well worth taking. From 20th Century-Fox.

Max’s rating for both best pix movies: Two paws up and lots of tail wags.

Other recommendations this month:

THE GODFATHER OF GREEN BAY

“It may be the funniest film with the biggest heart that you see all year,” says critic Chris Karr of The Chicagoist. A struggling stand-up comic yearns for a chance to perform on The Tonight Show, but first must travel to a rural Wisconsin town to win over a talent scout and his toughest audience yet. This audience-pleaser stars Lauren Holly, Tony Goldwyn, and Thomas Lennon. See this one for a good winter break. From Image Entertainment.

THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP

Mexico’s incredibly talented Gael Garcia Bernal stars in this very imaginative and often very funny and touchingly sweet romp from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Bernal plays an office worker with an amazing ability to dream and perchance have his dreams come true. The film is a lot of things but perhaps mainly a very engaging love story. From Warner Bros.

FATHER BROWN

One of the best-loved detectives in literature comes to DVD in this classic period detective series based on the stories by G.K. Chesterton. Kenneth More stars as a wily clergyman-detective whose calling as a priest brings him into contact with those in both high and low society. From village scandals to black magic, Father Brown tackles the most complex and diverse crimes in 1920s rural British settings. Delightful mysteries with a light touch from Acorn Media.

RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

They could have come up with a better title, but this is another sometimes funny family movie. But not always. Annnette Benning and Alec Baldwin are among the familiar faces in this memoir from Augusten Burroughs. You might not believe how dysfunctional a family can be until you meet this one. From Sony Pictures.

COUSIN BETTE
She would make a perfect mate for Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine. Margaret Tyzack plays a woman who is bent on revenge after the young man she desires is stolen from her. Balzac’s steamy novel comes to the screen with all the fury of a woman scorned in this BBC drama first seen on Masterpiece Theatre. Tyzack was deservedly nominated for an Emmy as the furious spinster. From Acorn Media.

SHADOW RUN

Michael Caine stars as a master thief taking on the ultimate heist in this drama from American Home Treasures. James Fox co-stars as his co-conspirator in their attempt to hijack a high-security armored truck with a cargo worth millions in broad daylight. Good suspense with excellent acting.

THE CHATTERLEY AFFAIR

D.H. Lawrence’s novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, banned in England for 30 years because of its graphic language and illicit sexual depictions, came before a jury of British citizens in 1960. This docudrama tells what happened in that sensational trial. Andrew Davies (Pride & Prejudice) wrote the screenplay that stars David Tennant and Claire Bloom. Excellent drama from BBC and Acorn Media.

ROSEMARY AND THYME

Series three of the popular British television mystery series from the producers of Agatha Christie’s Poirot. Felicity Kendal and Pam Ferris reprise their roles as gardeners who like to dig into mysteries in British villages. Their newest adventures are set in London’s Kew Gardens, a Surrey vineyard, and a village in southern Spain’s Costa del Sol. Guest stars include Margaret Tyzack and Michael Maloney. Those who love to garden and also delve into mysteries will find this series double their pleasure. From Acorn Media/Acacia.

RISING DAMP

Series three of one of British television’s best-loved situation comedies stars Leonard Rossiter as the miserly, mean-spirited landlord of a run-down boarding house. Reminiscent of Fawlty Towers and Archie Bunker, this has plot twists and laughs all its own. From Acorn Media.

DEVELOPING MINDS

This very ambitious educational undertaking is highly recommended for parents and educators. It is a boxed set of eight DVDs based on the pioneering educational work of pediatrician and author Dr. Mel Levine and his colleagues. The series explores a broad range of learning skills and challenges, from learning to read and solving math problems to paying attention and getting organized. Levine’s studies show how learning strengths and weaknesses affect a child’s success and demonstrate strategies and techniques that can help children succeed in all areas of their life. A very impressive and helpful multi-media educational library from WGBH Boston Video.

JOSEPH CAMPBELL

The wise Mr. Campbell who became famous for his PBS Television series The Power of Myth, returns with two more very worthwhile explorations of the mind and spirit. In The Hero’s Journey, Campbell tells how he discovered his own bliss and followed it, becoming one of the most influential thinkers of our time. A companion DVD, Sukhavati, is a mythic journey with Campbell combining excerpts from his lectures with images and music in a both hypnotic and spiritual experience. From Acorn Media/Acacia.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

Two documentaries from the popular PBS television series are recommended this month. New York Underground tells the story of the building of the nation’s largest subway system. Roots of Resistance tells how the Underground Railroad was organized and run to help Southern slaves escape to the North during the Civil War, told through narratives of escaped slaves and recollections of their descendants. From WGBH Boston Video.

NOVA DOCUMENTARIES

Two new DVDs based on recent PBS Television NOVA presentations from WGBH Boston Video: The Deadliest Plane Crash in Aviation History documents the 1977 crash of two fully-loaded 747 jumbo jets on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands that killed 583 people. Mystery of the Megavolcano explores the possibility that the eruption of perhaps a single volcano 75,000 years ago spewed enough sulfuric acid into the atmosphere that Earth was plunged into The Ice Age.

VISIONS OF GERMANY

Take a two-hour winter vacation to Germany in this wonderful travelogue to Bavaria and along the Rhine. Beautiful lake and mountain scenery, quaint villages, one of the world’s great wine regions, and lots of castles are all here. As seen on PBS Television, it comes to DVD from Acorn Media.

DIARY OF A WORM

The latest entry in the Scholastic Video Collection transferring classic children’s books onto DVD. The title story comes from the picture book of Doreen Cronin showing how earthworms live, as told by a very young wiggly worm. Other stories are “Anatole” by Eve Titus, “Frog Comes to Dinner” by Mercer Mayer, and “I Lost My Bear” by Jules Feiffer. Lots of fun for kids and it encourages them to read.

FAMILIES OF AUSTRALIA takes children on a DVD trip to learn about the lives and culture of those their age Down Under. GOING TO SCHOOL IN INDIA shows how children go to school in India by boat, bicycle, bus, or wheelchair, and some even take classes on a bus. Both DVDs are from Master Communications.

TRAVEL WITH KIDS

Three DVDs show parents how to travel with their children to Hawaii and Mexico’s Yucatan. New titles in the award-winning series introducing young adventurers to unfamiliar customs, food, and beautiful scenery. From Travel With Kids.

MY BEDBUGS

No, it’s not about the pesky insects that bite in bed. It’s a DVD about how to get children to bed and sleep when they’d rather do most anything else. Based on three episodes from the award-winning PBS television show. My Bedbugs Volume 2 will be released on DVD in April. From My Bedbugs.

See you next month at the same fire hydrant.