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While the critic’s away …
I’m going to be on break for the rest of this week, visiting with many of my favorite people.
In the meantime, I’ll fill you in on the DVD and theatrical releases coming up while I’m gone, and I shall return next week with Oscar predictions, just in time for my annual live-blogging of the show next Sunday, Feb. 22.
While you wait, If you’re feeling Valentine-y, I’d love to see more comments on my best movie kiss post.
On DVD today
Blindness: Fernando Meirelles’ follow-up to The Constant Gardener doesn’t rank among his best work story-wise, but visually he’s as strong as ever, depicting a world gone mad when everyone except one person (Julianne Moore) suddenly goes blind. Full review - GRADE: B
Frozen River: Melissa Leo fully deserves her Best Actress Oscar nomination, but I found the film as a whole overrated because I couldn’t fully sympathize with the characters, who were more off-putting than involving. GRADE: B
Miracle at St. Anna: Spike Lee’s World War II drama was another film that was underestimated last year. It’s too long and unwieldy, as if Lee and writer James McBride couldn’t bear to cut any of their material, but at its best, the movie as as strong as anything he’s ever done. GRADE: B+
Nights in Rodanthe: An adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane that seemed to inspire a big “eh.”
Soul Men: A comedy that will forever be known more for being the last film by Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes than for anything in the film itself.
W.: As he did in Nixon, Oliver Stone makes an earnest attempt to understand what made one of our most maligned presidents tick. He doesn’t quite find the answer, resorting too often to cheap pop psychology, but Josh Brolin’s outstanding performance carries the film. An Oscar nomination for this movie would have been more deserved than the one for his turn in Milk. Full review - GRADE: B
In theaters this Friday
Confessions of a Shopaholic: Sophie Kinsella’s novels come to the screen courtesy of a winning lead, Isla Fisher, and a strong director, PJ Hogan, who made My Best Friend’s Wedding and Muriel’s Wedding. I’m in.
Friday the 13th: I’m out.
The International: And I’m back in for this thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts and directed by Tom Tykwer, who made Run Lola Run.
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