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Home (Re)Viewing: Frozen section
Most of this week’s video releases give me the shivers, but the selection warms up once you hit the catalog titles, one of which is a long overdue upgrade of the last movie I saw that made me lose my breath laughing.
Ice Age: The Meltdown: Never mind meltdown - try letdown. I was quite dispirited by the often lame-brained storytelling (a mammoth thinks she’s a possum? Please!) and lazy humor of this sequel. (Click on the title to see my original review.) At the very least, the DVD makes for the ideal way to watch this movie: you can chapter skip to all the Scrat scenes, which are the only reasons to watch this movie. So I’ll give this two grades. The Scrat scenes: B+ The entire movie: C-
An Inconvenient Truth: A movie that essentially consists of Al Gore’s lecture about the dangers of global warming improbably became the big documentary hit of the year. Rather than just offering Gore’s views, however, the movie cannily shows how Gore’s life influenced him to become an environmental advocate. Although it’s not quite a great movie (I wish it had offered more of a reprisal to those who argue global warming is a myth), it’s still essential viewing. GRADE: A-
You, Me and Dupree: Zzzzzzzzz. pop Huh, what? You mean Kate Hudson’s quite watchable in this otherwise sleepy comedy? OK, thanks. Zzzzzzzzzzz. GRADE: C
Scoop: Many critics were terribly unkind to Woody Allen’s latest movie, probably because it followed “Match Point,” which many saw as a return to form. This silly murder mystery is basically a return to the low-key comedies he’s been cranking out lately in the vein of “Hollywood Ending” or “Curse of the Jade Scorpion.” In other words, it’s good but not great Woody. He didn’t know how to end the moive, but spirited performances by Scarlett Johansson, Ian McShane and Allen himself help a lot. GRADE: B-
From the Catalog
A Fish Called Wanda: This was the movie I was talking about that made me gasp for breath. You know, rather like Michael Palin did when Kevin Kline pulled the French fries out of his nose. This DVD gets some much welcomed extras, many of which center around John Cleese being silly, such as offering his “first farewell performance.” GRADE: A+
Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection: One of my great regrets as an always-learning film buff is that I haven’t seen more of his work. But every film I’ve seen of his so far has been tremendous, and I know that “Sullivan’s Travels” and “The Lady Eve” are worth the price of this set. It also includes “The Palm Beach Story, “Hail the Conquering Hero,” “The Great McGinty,” “Christmas in July” and “The Great Moment.”
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