August 2008 DVD's
The theme for this month is fantasy. Fantasy is not really a traditional Hollywood genre. Mostly I think that's because fantasy is hard to do without special effects and until recently special effects were just too expensive for really high quality fantasy films. Not that it wasn't possible, the Wizard of Oz was a fantasy film, but until recently, I don't think fantasy films were consistent enough to be considered a genre. Also what constitutes a fantasy film? I think everyone would agree that Ray Harryhausen's Jason and the Argonauts is a fantasy film but what about the Bishop's Wife with Cary Grant and David Niven? Are angels interacting with humans fantasy? There are a surprising number of films with angels, (It's a Wonderful Life) a personified death (Meet Joe Black) or the Devil (Bedazzled). But are these truly fantasy films and where does fantasy and science fiction or fantasy and horror divide? Do super heroes qualify as fantasy films? Hm, just a thought.
The other theme for this month is recent award winners and top grossing films. As most of you know that follow my blog or talk to me in the Library I leave recent movies to Blockbuster but at least two times a year I do review recent films to see what I've missed. I have been trying to keep up with Oscar winner's but there is a widening gap between which movies people go to see and movies that win Academy Awards. I'm beginning to wonder if future film buffs will look back at our recent Oscar winners and say 'Huh?'
Black Angel, a Film Noir from 1946, with Peter Lorre Dan Duryea and Broderick Crawford, is one of the oddities in this order along with Doc Hollywood and the films of Esther Williams. Doc Hollywood is one of Michael J Fox's better non Back the Future films while Esther Williams was a major box office attraction of the 40's whose films need to be in any rounded collection.
The Movies
Doc Hollywood: Michael J Fox, Woody Harrelson, and Bridget Fonda. A Doctor crashes in a small town and has to do community service at the local hospital, sweet, funny, and predictable.
Edward Scissorhands: Johnny Depp, Wynona Rider, and Vincent Price a modern fable from Tim Buron about a Frankenstein man-boy in suburbia.
War of the Worlds: Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise give us their take on H.G. Wells.
Junebug: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz in a tale of northern sophisticates in South Carolina.
When Worlds Collide: A 1950's disaster movie that won an Academy Award for special effects.
Night at the Museum: Ben Stiller, Mickey Rooney, Dick van Dyke, and Robin Williams. The Museum comes alive at night in a special effects extravaganza.
Fantastic Voyage: Stephen Boyd, Rachel Welch, and Edmond O'Brian are doctors miniaturized and injected into a scientists head to fix a blood clot.
Green Mile: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt and others in a tale of death row in the deep south. Too long but some good acting.
TCM Spotlight - Esther Williams Volume 1: Five Esther Williams movies including Bathing Beauty which everyone has parodied.
A Clockwork Orange: Stanley Kubrick Malcolm McDowell in the ultimate youth against society movie. It's still shocking even today.
40-Year-Old Virgin: Steve Carell's first starring effort, funny but raunchy.
7 Faces of Dr. Lao: Tony Randall, Barbara Eden a western fantasy where Tony Randall plays six of Dr. Laos seven faces.
Adventures of Baron Muchausen: Several Monty Python graduates along with everybody else in a visual feast of the lying fantasies told literature's Baron Von Muchausen.
Angels in the Outfield: Paul Douglas is perfect, Janet Leigh is miscast in this neat little movie from the 50's.
Angels in the Outfield: Danny Glover and Tony Danza in a kid friendly re-make.
Aviator: Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Blanchett in the life of Howard Hughs.
Batman Begins: Christian Bale, Michael Caine Liam Neeson. Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman. Great cast to restart the franchise.
Beast from 20,000 Fathom: Dinosaurs thawed after an A-bom terrorize an amusement park. I just cannot resist Ray Harryhausen animation.
Black Angel: First rate film noir mystery with Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, and Broderick Crawford.
Brokeback Mountain: Ang Lee's controversial Western with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tim Burton's version with Johnny Depp.
Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Oscar winning version of the C.S. Lewis book with great special effects.
Crash. Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, and Sandra Bullock. Won Best Picture.
Dark Crystal: Frank Oz and Jim Henson create a fantasy muppet adventure for children and adults alike.
Departed: Martin Scorsese directs and all star cast including but not limited to Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon playing Irish gangsters in Boston.
Devil Wears Prada: Meryl Streep Anne Hathaway, and Stanly Tucci. Meryl Streep is the editor of a fashion magazine and the Boss from hell.
Dreamgirls: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover an adaptation of the 1981 musical that is pure entertainment.
Excalibur: Fantasy version of King Arthur with early appearances by Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart.
Good Night, and Good Luck: George Clooney and Robert Downey Jr. Dramatization of Edward R. Murrow and CBS during the Joseph McCarthy Era.
Hitch: Light Romantic Comedy with Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valleta.
It Came from Beneath the Sea: More Harryhausen, this time its a giant Octopus.
Krull: Peter Yates must take the gizmo and kill the bad guy to rescue Lysette Anthony.
Ladyhawke: A medieval fantasy with Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Matthew Broderick.
Little Miss Sunshine: An award winning family road trip with Steve Carell and Alan Arkin.
Longest Yard: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds in a remake.
Preachers Wife: Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington in an updated version of the Bishops Wife.
Pursuit of Happyness: Will Smith and Jaden Smith, a very watchable and highly rated family affair.
Saturday Night Fever: The John Travolta classic with music by the Bee Gee's
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode V Empire Strikes Back
Superman the Movie: Christopher Reeves, Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford and more. Need I say More.
Time Bandits: Various Monty Python Alums plus Sean Connery, for those who want something completely different.
Venus: The award winner with Peter O'Toole and Jodie Whittaker.
Volver: Pedro Almodovar directs Penelope Cruz in an award winning mixture of comedy and drama.
War of the Worlds: The Steven Spielberg version with Tom Cruize.
Wedding Crashers: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn Christopher Walken, and Rachel McAdams in a raunchy romantic Comedy.
X-Men Trilogy Pack.
The other theme for this month is recent award winners and top grossing films. As most of you know that follow my blog or talk to me in the Library I leave recent movies to Blockbuster but at least two times a year I do review recent films to see what I've missed. I have been trying to keep up with Oscar winner's but there is a widening gap between which movies people go to see and movies that win Academy Awards. I'm beginning to wonder if future film buffs will look back at our recent Oscar winners and say 'Huh?'
Black Angel, a Film Noir from 1946, with Peter Lorre Dan Duryea and Broderick Crawford, is one of the oddities in this order along with Doc Hollywood and the films of Esther Williams. Doc Hollywood is one of Michael J Fox's better non Back the Future films while Esther Williams was a major box office attraction of the 40's whose films need to be in any rounded collection.
The Movies
Doc Hollywood: Michael J Fox, Woody Harrelson, and Bridget Fonda. A Doctor crashes in a small town and has to do community service at the local hospital, sweet, funny, and predictable.
Edward Scissorhands: Johnny Depp, Wynona Rider, and Vincent Price a modern fable from Tim Buron about a Frankenstein man-boy in suburbia.
War of the Worlds: Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise give us their take on H.G. Wells.
Junebug: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz in a tale of northern sophisticates in South Carolina.
When Worlds Collide: A 1950's disaster movie that won an Academy Award for special effects.
Night at the Museum: Ben Stiller, Mickey Rooney, Dick van Dyke, and Robin Williams. The Museum comes alive at night in a special effects extravaganza.
Fantastic Voyage: Stephen Boyd, Rachel Welch, and Edmond O'Brian are doctors miniaturized and injected into a scientists head to fix a blood clot.
Green Mile: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt and others in a tale of death row in the deep south. Too long but some good acting.
TCM Spotlight - Esther Williams Volume 1: Five Esther Williams movies including Bathing Beauty which everyone has parodied.
A Clockwork Orange: Stanley Kubrick Malcolm McDowell in the ultimate youth against society movie. It's still shocking even today.
40-Year-Old Virgin: Steve Carell's first starring effort, funny but raunchy.
7 Faces of Dr. Lao: Tony Randall, Barbara Eden a western fantasy where Tony Randall plays six of Dr. Laos seven faces.
Adventures of Baron Muchausen: Several Monty Python graduates along with everybody else in a visual feast of the lying fantasies told literature's Baron Von Muchausen.
Angels in the Outfield: Paul Douglas is perfect, Janet Leigh is miscast in this neat little movie from the 50's.
Angels in the Outfield: Danny Glover and Tony Danza in a kid friendly re-make.
Aviator: Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Blanchett in the life of Howard Hughs.
Batman Begins: Christian Bale, Michael Caine Liam Neeson. Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman. Great cast to restart the franchise.
Beast from 20,000 Fathom: Dinosaurs thawed after an A-bom terrorize an amusement park. I just cannot resist Ray Harryhausen animation.
Black Angel: First rate film noir mystery with Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, and Broderick Crawford.
Brokeback Mountain: Ang Lee's controversial Western with Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Tim Burton's version with Johnny Depp.
Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Oscar winning version of the C.S. Lewis book with great special effects.
Crash. Thandie Newton, Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, and Sandra Bullock. Won Best Picture.
Dark Crystal: Frank Oz and Jim Henson create a fantasy muppet adventure for children and adults alike.
Departed: Martin Scorsese directs and all star cast including but not limited to Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Matt Damon playing Irish gangsters in Boston.
Devil Wears Prada: Meryl Streep Anne Hathaway, and Stanly Tucci. Meryl Streep is the editor of a fashion magazine and the Boss from hell.
Dreamgirls: Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover an adaptation of the 1981 musical that is pure entertainment.
Excalibur: Fantasy version of King Arthur with early appearances by Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Stewart.
Good Night, and Good Luck: George Clooney and Robert Downey Jr. Dramatization of Edward R. Murrow and CBS during the Joseph McCarthy Era.
Hitch: Light Romantic Comedy with Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Amber Valleta.
It Came from Beneath the Sea: More Harryhausen, this time its a giant Octopus.
Krull: Peter Yates must take the gizmo and kill the bad guy to rescue Lysette Anthony.
Ladyhawke: A medieval fantasy with Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Matthew Broderick.
Little Miss Sunshine: An award winning family road trip with Steve Carell and Alan Arkin.
Longest Yard: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds in a remake.
Preachers Wife: Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington in an updated version of the Bishops Wife.
Pursuit of Happyness: Will Smith and Jaden Smith, a very watchable and highly rated family affair.
Saturday Night Fever: The John Travolta classic with music by the Bee Gee's
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars Episode V Empire Strikes Back
Superman the Movie: Christopher Reeves, Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford and more. Need I say More.
Time Bandits: Various Monty Python Alums plus Sean Connery, for those who want something completely different.
Venus: The award winner with Peter O'Toole and Jodie Whittaker.
Volver: Pedro Almodovar directs Penelope Cruz in an award winning mixture of comedy and drama.
War of the Worlds: The Steven Spielberg version with Tom Cruize.
Wedding Crashers: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn Christopher Walken, and Rachel McAdams in a raunchy romantic Comedy.
X-Men Trilogy Pack.
posted by Rob Finch at 7:41 AM
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