DVD Alert: 'Evening'

Meryl Streep & Vanessa Redgrave as old friends sharing a final reunion. Watch the Trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/evening/26788/main

Here's a nice movie with a great cast that came & went in the theaters. Why audiences shied away from 2007's Evening is a mystery. Was it due to tepid reviews? Or because of its limited release? Or was it branded a chick flick? I suspect its failure at the box office was a combination of all three. We took Mom to see it two years ago and we enjoyed it. Later I listened to the audio book and thought this was one of the few times when a film is better than the novel. Some movies have a new life on DVD and cable and Evening deserves a second chance.
Vanessa Redgrave plays a dying mother sharing her rambling drug-induced memories with her quarreling daughters, Toni Colletti and the late Natasha Richardson who was Vanessa's real daughter. (You see how well Richardson makes the most of her little part. What a loss... ) Mom mentions a Buddy and a Harris... how she and Buddy loved Harris... and how they killed Buddy. The daughters want to know about these names but Mom's night nurse (Eileen Atkins) warns them that Mom could be hallucinating from her pain-killers so they should not take everything she says as factual. We see this happening as well as learning about these characters and others through flashbacks.
Another casting feat is having Meryl Streep and daughter Mamie Gummer playing younger and older versions of the same character, a young bride whose wedding sets the plot in motion. Clare Danes plays a young Redgrave as a college friend who's Gummer's bridesmaid. Some reviewers remarked that Danes didn't resemble Redgrave in looks or manner but I didn't see this as there seems to be a resemblance with their cheek bones and noses. Besides, that, people do change in appearance and attitude over the years so you have to accept this within the bounds of the story.
Glenn Close has a small but noteworthy part as Gummer's upper class mother whose reserved mask shatters during a tragic family event. Hugh Dancy is heartbreaking as Buddy, Gummer's alcoholic brother and failed writer who lives in his own dream world, and Patrick Wilson is fine as Harris, the object of affection of some characters. You might have seen Wilson as Christine's lover in the film version of Phantom of the Opera.
Evening's trailer gives a good idea of what to expect. It's a movie about relationships, commitment, lasting friendships, families, failed dreams, and reconciliations. Some characters find peace, others are haunted by memories and fears. Some reviewers complained of the stilted dialogue and the characters as too sketchy but with this stellar cast lead by Redgrave's exquisite understated performance, you can't go wrong and do expect to shed a tear over these people.
There are good 'Making of' bonus features that will enhance your viewing pleasure. On a personal note we've seen Atkins on stage as a fine Rosalind in Shakespeare's As You Like It about 25 years ago and Close twice on Broadway about that time. I stood next to Close outside the theater but's that's a story for another time.....

'The Taking of Pelham 123' Review

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 with, from left, Gary Basaraba as the kidnapped engineer, John Travolta as the gang leader, and Luis Guzmán as his henchman. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-taking-of-pelham-1-2-3/31287/main

I vaguely remember the 1974 version with Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw and would like to see it again to compare it to this one. I recall it was good but didn't have the big budget, high tech flashy editing of the current one which I saw today as a Father's Day gift to myself since my wife and son declined going. It's their loss as I enjoyed it a lot. I sat with another loner, the former mayor of our town. We've known him for years as he started out as a WMCA gymnastics instructor when our son was young. He got his teaching degree and worked his way up to his current position as a high school principal in another town. It seems his wife wasn't interested in seeing Pelham too so we had a nice chat before the film started.
But I digress and I don't care because it is MY day. This version stars Denzel Washington in the Matthau role and John Travolta in the Shaw part. Denzel plays a NYC subway dispatcher trying to save the passengers taken hostage by Travolta and his gang who high jacked their car and will execute them if his ransom demands pass the short deadline. There's enough tension as every minute brings new obstacles in getting the money delivered on time. Action takes place above the ground too with plenty of suspenseful chases and noisy crashes.
During the story we learn that Denzel & Travolta's characters have some things in common and others suspect they might be working together. Travolta always has a good time playing manic villains and this meaty role is no exception. He has the showier part than Denzel's soft spoken character who is at the mercy of Travolta, the mayor colorfully played by James Gandolfini, the shrewd police hostage negotiator ( John Turturro), and his wife who wants him home safely.
Director Tony Scott who has worked before with Denzel knows how to make these kinds of tense, fast paced action movies with a kinetic visual flair so don't let this one pass you by. Seeing it on the big screen gives its scope full impact instead of watching it later scrunched on TV.

'My Life In Ruins' Review

Nia Vardalos as a tour guide in Greece. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/my-life-in-ruins/34897/main

It's been a while since we took Mom to a movie since she's too wobbly for theaters with stadium seating. We chose this one since it's playing at a theater on one level that features foreign and small films. We all enjoyed Nia Vardalos in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, a little comedy that struck gold at the box office. She stars again here so we thought this one would be entertaining. The reviews have been lackluster but we decided it would be a good 'Mom' movie and a chance for her to get out instead of us showing DVDs in her room.
My Life In Ruins started off with lame jokes and stock characters and I was prepared to be underwhelmed. About a third of the way into the movie, we began to know more about these characters and the jokes got better. Vardalos plays an American down on her luck in Greece and stuck as a tour guide for a cheapo agency. (The movie's title is a pun.) Everything she does is wrong until she listens to Richard Dreyfuss, one of her passengers. He's first presented as a loudmouth but once we learn why he is the way he is, Dreyfuss gives the film the needed spark as his advice is followed by the other tourists. When he's offscreen you miss his presence as he almost steals the movie from the rest of the cast. Everything ends well for everyone here, perhaps too neatly. But what the hell, it's only a comedy and not real life so sit back and enjoy this pleasant trifle. If you're not won over by the plot's cheeriness, at least you will appreciate the Greek scenery. Several incidents here will bring back memories to anyone who has suffered on an extended bus trip.

DVD Alert: 'Barry Lyndon'

Ryan O'Neal & Marisa Berenson

Watch the trailer: http://videodetective.com/TitleDetails.aspx?publishedid=119079&st=Barry%20Lyndon%20(1975)

We saw this movie when it came out in 1975. My wife says we saw it again around the time of Princess Diana's death but I don't recall. Anyway we liked the movie the first time but understood why it was a flop at the box office and with some critics although it won four Oscars and other awards. Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon is three hours long with intermission, lavish with ravishing photography, costumes, settings, and period music, but the film struck many as cold and populated with understated performances. The deliberate slow, stately pacing bored many viewers and Ryan O'Neal was dismissed as too wooden for the title character and blamed for its failure. It's unfair to solely blame O'Neal as Kubrick had the power to cast anyone he wanted because his previous films were hits.
Viewer interest and critical re-evaluation have proven the nay-sayers wrong as Barry Lyndon keeps finding new audiences who like these kinds of 'auteur' epics that were ahead of their time. Seeing it again last night was a treat as I forgot plot points. The best way to see this film is in the theater but it looked damn good on my 32" TV screen. Kubrick's photography copied the look of eighteenth-century paintings and I recall being amazed by their beauty on the large screen as seen above. I'm still impressed by its visuals complimented by the classical music score.
This time I was able to concentrate on the story and the acting. O'Neal, a big star (but hardly an actor) at the time and helped getting this big budget production financed, is more than adequate here. We forget that his character is a shallow opportunist who hides his lies behind his emotionless mask. I know this is a backhanded compliment for an actor with limited skills, but he fits well into Kubrick's tapestry as do the other better actors playing off against him.
It's Kubrick controlling every detail as on all his films who is the real star of Barry Lyndon. Perhaps with a better actor, this film would have been a hit on first release. Time has proven this is a masterpiece that demands your undivided attention which is soon won over. It's like history coming alive in front of your eyes & ears. This is one of the best three hours you'll ever spend. For more info on its importance, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/16/movies/film-opening-eyes-to-a-kubrick-masterpiece.html

David Carradine R.I.P

12/8/'36 - 6/3/'09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Carradine

I don't believe he committed suicide and neither does his family or friends. Considering he died alone in one of the world's most dangerous cities, I suspect foul play.
I never was a fan of his original Kung Fu TV series but became one later on when he re-invented the character as his great grandson. The series was an entertaining mishmash of Martial Arts, Eastern philosophy, and wry humor, and needs reviving. Maybe both series.....
Carradine took on all kinds of work and squandered his talents on too many low budget and straight-to-video action films but always redeemed himself with occasional work in better projects like Kill Bill.
He will be missed.....

DVD Alert: 'Eric Clapton Live at Montreaux 1986'

Here's another Clapton concert and this time it's from 1986 and features Phil Collins on drums and singing his hit "In the Air Tonight.' I discovered this DVD a few weeks while browsing through the bargain section at Barnes & Noble. I didn't buy it then and later regretted it so I returned the following week. This was the only copy and luckily was still there.
It's almost two hours long and a bargain at any price. Clapton is younger and works up a sweat. Most of his famous songs are here and some I didn't know. A buddy/co-worker who is a super Clapton fan explained that those songs were from his 80's albums that were unfamiliar to me. I thought these renditions were good on their own and rounded out the concert. How they compare to the originals is for others to decide.
If you want to see Clapton in his prime (He's still the best around but he's less flashy now), this DVD is for you. Some Amazon customers complained that the keyboard backings sounded too 80's Pop but that's how his 80's albums sounded. Some lamented that two numbers are missing from this concert. All that is a small price to pay for a great concert. Amazon buyers paid more than B & N where I purchased this DVD for under $10. There are other Clapton concerts out there from over the years but this is a good representative one if you want only one.