Our Town (DVD)
Noted essayist Thornton Wilders Pulitzer Prize-winning play OUR TOWN is widely regarded as one of the highlights of American theater. Wilder was consulted throughout preproduction, and the result is a depiction so true that viewers might feel for a short while as if they are residents of the small town depicted, which was the precise intent of Wilder.
Frank Craven, who played the stage manager in the Broadway version, sparkles as the talkative town pharmacist who narrates the action, stitching together a folksy, nostalgic, bittersweet tapestry of humor, love, and life.
OUR TOWN covers the lives and events of two families in a woodsy New Hampshire village from the year 1900 through 1913. William Holden and Martha Scott, both reprising their roles from the Broadway production, meet as teenagers and succumb to adolescent affections before maturing, marrying, and bearing a child of their own. Throughout, the film hammers home its message about the preciousness of time in people`s short lives.NR"
Director: Sam Wood
ACTORS: William Holden, Martha Scott, Thomas Mitchell, Frank Craven, Beulah Bondi
The Truth about Charlie (DVD)
Jonathan Demme`s THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE is a swirling romantic suspense thriller, a remake of the 1963 Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn vehicle, CHARADE. Set in Paris, the film stars Thandie Newton as a British ex-pat whose art dealer husband is murdered while she`s on vacation. Arriving home, she is met with an empty apartment, the French police, and an array of mysterious thugs who believe she knows where her husband stashed six million stolen dollars. Mark Wahlberg plays the handsome, beret-sporting stranger who comes to her rescue, but who may not be what he seems. Special mention goes to Tim Robbins as a shadowy American agent, and Christine Boisson as the cool-as-nails police commandant trying to get to the bottom of the matter.
Demme`s direction pulls out all the stops here, with dizzying camerawork, experimental flash-forwards and insane editing. It`s a return to the Oscar-winners pre-SILENCE OF THE LAMBS days, when his specialty were cameo-studded, pop-infused romantic comedy thrillers like MARRIED TO THE MOB and SOMETHING WILD. This time the cameos celebrate the 1960`s French New Wave cinema with appearances by crooner Charles Aznavour, director Agnes Varda, and--singing a mad tango--ex-Godard icon Anna Karina.PG-13"
Director: Jonathan Demme
ACTORS: Mark Wahlberg, Thandie Newton, Tim Robbins, Joong-Hoon Park, Ted Levine
Chelsea Walls (DVD)
Award-winning actor Ethan Hawke makes his directorial debut with CHELSEA WALLS, an ambitious ensemble film that captures a slice of bohemian life. Inspired by the dozens of brilliant and self-destructive counterculture heroes who have taken refuge at New York`s famed Chelsea Hotel--among them Dylan Thomas, Tennessee Williams, and Sid Vicious--the drama interweaves the stories of several fictional tenants. These include Grace (Hawke`s wife Uma Thurman), a nervous waitress who is unable to choose the right partner; Bud (Kris Kristofferson), an alcoholic novelist whose inability to love has brought pain to the lives of his two lovers (Tuesday Weld and Natasha Richardson); and Terry (Robert Sean Leonard), a heartfelt musician who has traveled to the Chelsea from the Midwest in the hopes of making it big.
Shot at the hotel in digital video, CHELSEA WALLS has a relaxed quality that draws attention to the performances. Nicole Burdettes lyrical script is filled with poetic, often abstract language which leaves most of the characters outwardly enigmatic, and the actors take full advantage of the interpretive room they are given to strut their stuff. The fine soundtrack, written and performed by Jeff Tweedy from the alt-country band Wilco, provides much of the film`s emotional resonance.NR"
Director: Ethan Hawke
ACTORS: Uma Thurman, Kris Kristofferson, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D`Onofrio, Robert Sean Leonard
Ararat (DVD)
ARARAT, Atom Egoyan`s mysterious drama about the horrors of the largely unknown Armenian genocide in Turkey, unrolls through a film within the film (also titled ARARAT). Jumping back and forth in time, Egoyan weaves together the lives of several people. Ari (Arsinee Khanjian), an art historian, is an advisor on the film. Her son Raffi (David Alplay) is part of the film crew. When Raffi travels to Armenia to gather some additional footage, he is detained by a customs agent (Christopher Plummer) and remains in custody for most of the film. Meanwhile, Raffi`s stepsister and girlfriend Celia (Marie-Josee Croze) is haunted by her father`s suicide. These and other stories within ARARAT are ostensibly linked through the film within a film. Yet, it is each character`s quest for truth which binds them thematically and drives the plot. The film is populated with thematic twins, as each character`s individual struggle is mirrored in the plight of the other characters. Egoyan works from his own script relying heavily on references to Arshile Gorky`s painting The Artist and his Mother and Clarence Ussher`s historical document, AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN IN TURKEY.R"
Director: Atom Egoyan
ACTORS: David Alpay, Charles Aznavour, Eric Bogosian, Brent Carver, Marie-Josee Croze
Just Married (VHS) Spanish Subtitled Juggling slapstick comedy with witty dialogue and youthful romance, JUST MARRIED provides an entertaining and optimistic glimpse at young relationships and the struggle to stay in love in a world where everything goes...
Juggling slapstick comedy with witty dialogue and youthful romance, JUST MARRIED provides an entertaining and optimistic glimpse at young relationships and the struggle to stay in love in a world where everything goes wrong. A chance encounter on a beach brings Tom (Ashton Kutcher, DUDE, WHERE`S MY CAR?) and Sarah (Brittany Murphy, 8 MILE) into each other`s lives. They quickly fall in love and agree to get married. Although Sarah`s wealthy family does not approve of their daughter`s fianci, Tom and Sarah believe they can sustain themselves on love, and so they take the matrimonial plunge. As soon as they are married, however, things start to unravel--first in their newlywed suite, next on the airplane to their honeymoon in Italy, then in the five-star Hotel Du Rjve in France. Pretty soon the couple is living out a hellish version of Murphy`s Law, and divorce begins to look hilariously ominous. When Sarah`s old flame shows up at their hotel in Venice to cause further trouble, Tom responds with a jealous outburst that lands the newlyweds in jail. Tom and Sarah survive their misadventures long enough to face the ultimate test of their marriage vows, when each reveals a secret that threatens to spoil their relationship entirely.
PG-13"
Director: Shawn Levy
ACTORS: Ashton Kutcher, Brittany Murphy, Christian Kane, David Moscow, Monet Mazur
