Latest DVD Reviews

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Rome—The Complete Second Season (TV) (2007)

Those episodes, which aired in 2007 before an afterlife on DVD, continue the series' glory by exploring the complex aftermath of Caesar's assassination.
Othello (1965)

Whether taken as a cultural relic or the definitive screen treatment, Othello demands to be seen for Olivier's bravura, high-wire performance.
Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show—The Complete Series (TV) (1984)

We've come a long way in terms of animated superhero adventures, but the Superfriends have an old-fashioned charm and, to many, a nostalgic kick.
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Paterson's lovely, sweet story locates unexpected emotional power...
Inland Empire (2006)

In his 36 years of filmmaking, David Lynch has never been more fearless or more fearsome...Inland Empire brims with surprising and scary images.
Go West (1940)

Go West, one of the Marx Brothers' decidedly off-kilter later outings from the MGM years, tenaciously manages some memorable moments and makes a virtue of its slim running time by generally hastening...
Transformers (2007)

A sort of Ambien/No-Doz cocktail likely to send all but fanboy brains into self-protective shutoff mode.
Driving Lessons (2006)

It's Grint who grounds in reality, as best he can, Brock's directing debut...this conventional Britcom lightly hums along for a good stretch before running off the road.
Shrek (2001)

As family films have changed to appease jaded audiences, an emphasis has been put on dazzling kiddies while keeping the parents awake. As such, animated adventures have begun to evolve into a strang...
Becket (1964)

A power play about power plays, Jean Anouilh's now-classic Becket provided the basis for one of the great screen pairings.
Next (2007)

The earnestness of Cage and tough-as-nails Moore backfires in the face of godawful dialogue and a very poorly established central conceit.
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

Zhang Yimou is back with the latest Chinese competitor in the Opulence Olympics, and not a moment too soon.
The Prestige (2006)

Nolan's supreme confidence, narrative skill, and taste for complexity make for unusually rich popular entertainment. Where was The Prestige this summer when we needed it most?
The Quiet (2006)

Meanders at times, and stretches credibility...[but] The Quiet's creepy character study reaches an emotionally satisfying conclusion.
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2006)

Returning to a sentimental mode, Zhang Yimou brings us Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, a hard-to-resist emotional journey graced with near-epic visual appeal and subtle lost-in-translation humor...
The Road to Guantanamo (2006)

As a look at the injustices blithely wrought in the name of democracy, The Road to Guantanamo comes none too soon.
Creature Comforts: The Complete Second Season (2005)

The wit of the show is in the clever transplanting of human situations to animal ones, which in turn reflect on the foibles of our daily lives.
Body Double (1984)

Emblematizes De Palma's refusal to take Hollywood seriously.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)

Resembles Crumb in its depiction of damaged souls whose only refuge is art.
L'Enfant (The Child) (2006)

Plain-good storytelling: rigorous acting, handheld urgency, and editing prowess render the whiff of manipulation moot.
Sketches of Frank Gehry (2006)

There's a casual informality to Pollack's documentary technique....results are semi-revealing.
Don't Come Knocking (2006)

In the film's best scene, Roth interrogates Lange about potatoes. Unfortunately such moments are rare.
Sedotta e abbandonata (Seduced and Abandoned) (1964)

A buffoonish but bitter social satire that runs to classical depths, Seduced and Abandoned takes no prisoners for society's misogynistic crimes in the name of familial honor.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

In his laughing-outlaw way, Hooper pointed a new direction for horror cinema. [2-Disc Ultimate Edition Reviewed]
Miami Vice (2006)

A painfully protracted muddle of dull deals and somnambulent standoffs.
Koko, le gorille qui parle (Koko: A Talking Gorilla) (1978)

Sprinkled comments provide enough intellectual provocation to begin debate, but the main course is Koko's wide-ranging behavior.
Columbo: The Complete Fifth Season (1975)

By Columbo's fifth season, the character was firmly established....every detail contributed delicious eccentricity to a character as unpredictable to criminals as the proverbial curious cat.
Monk: Season Four (2005)

The writers deserve credit for continuing to whip up entertaining iterations on the Monk formula.
Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

"Oh, serious, serious, serious!" —Patrick "Kitten" Braden Breakfast on Pluto, the picaresque tale of one Patrick "Kitten" Braden, is a larkish ode to fabulousness in the face of solemnity. In...
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006)

May prove to be the feel-good movie of the year...the only problem is that we can't enjoy the live performances in their entirety.
Why We Fight (2006)

Eugene Jarecki's Why We Fight ironically reclaims the title of Frank Capra's WWII propaganda shorts. According to Jarecki, we fight in primal but wrongheadedly wanton retaliation, and we fight out of...
Caché (2005)

Haneke's exploration of willful ignorance, guilt, and history takes hold, and doesn't quite let go when the lights come up.
The Passenger (a.k.a. Professione: reporter) (1975)

As usual, Antonioni's pace is langorous, but The Passenger is never less than compelling.
Frasier—The Complete Seventh Season (1993)

Miraculously fresh after seven seasons on the air, Frasier continued to spin complicated farcical situations and....expertly brought the Daphne-Niles relationship to a boil.
Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist: Season One (TV) (1995)

Arguably, the more satisfying elements of the series were its miniaturized sitcom elements, which in their way did The Bob Newhart Show one better in their low-key, true-to-life ramblings.
Sgt. Bilko—The Phil Silvers Show—50th Anniversary Edition [DVD Box Set] (1955)

Served up a solid-gold sitcom character in Silvers' conniving Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko.
I Love Lucy—The Complete Sixth Season [DVD Box Set] (1956)

The alpha sitcom of the fifties and forever more, I Love Lucy went out, without ceremony, at the top of the ratings heap.
National Treasure (2004)

It's bad news when a Bruckheimer movie makes one downright nostalgic for The Rock...
Banshun (Late Spring) (1949)

Late Spring exemplifies Ozu's rich, mature style, an apparent stylelessness of patient, lifelike rhythms, unobtrusive camerawork, and credibly subtle performances.
Tokyo-Ga (1985)

Wenders bops around Tokyo with the assurance of a skilled filmmaker, and emerges with an understated but certainly curious sociological postcard of '80s Tokyo.

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