Actors & Actresses

Michael Jackson - Dangerous: The Short Films

Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 11/13/2001

Gran Torino (Widescreen Edition)

DISGRUNTLED KOREAN WAR VET WALT KOWALSKI SETS OUT TO REFORM HIS NEIGHBOR, A YOUNG HMONG TEENAGER, WHO TRIED TO STEAL KOWALSKI'S PRIZED POSSESSION: HIS 1972 GRAN TORINO.

Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, an unassuming picture shot during a post-production lull on his elaborate period piece Changeling, was quietly rolled out at Christmastime 2008, whereupon it proceeded to blow away all the Oscar-bait behemoths at the box office and win its 78-year-old star the best reviews of his acting career. Both film and performance are consummately sly--coming on with deceptive simplicity, only to evolve into something complex, powerful, and surprisingly tender. Just as Unforgiven was a tragic reflection on Eastwood's legacy in the Western genre, Gran Torino caps and eloquently critiques the urban heritage of Dirty Harry and his violent brethren. And on top of that, the movie becomes a savvy meditation on America in a particular historical moment, racially, economically, spiritually. Call it a "state of the union" message. But call it that with a wry grin.

The latest Dirty Harry is actually a grumpy Walt: Walt Kowalski (Eastwood playing his own age), widower, Korean War veteran, retired auto worker, and the last white resident of his Detroit side street. It's hard to say who irks him more--his blood kin (a pretty lame bunch) or the Hmong families who are his new neighbors. Kowalski's a racist, because it has never occurred to him he shouldn't be. Besides, that's the flipside of the mutual ethnic baiting that serves as coin of affection for him and his working-class buddies. Circumstances--and two young people next door, the feisty Sue (Ahney Her) and her conflicted brother Thao (Bee Vang)--contrive to involve Walt with a new community, and anoint him as its hero after he turns his big guns on some ruffians. The trajectory of this may surprise you--several times over. Eastwood opted to film in economically blighted Detroit--a shrewd decision, but it's his mapping of Walt's world in that classical style of his that really counts. Every incidental corner of lawn, porch, and basement comes to matter--and by all means the workshop/garage that houses the mint-condition Gran Torino which Walt helped build in a more prosperous era. This is a remarkable movie. --Richard T. Jameson

He's Just Not That Into You

THE BALTIMORE-SET MOVIE OF INTERCONNECTING STORY ARCS DEALS WITH THE CHALLENGES OF READING OR MISREADING HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

Based on the bestseller by two Sex and the City scribes, He's Just Not That Into You confirms that the HBO series was more than just a television show--it was a cultural institution that spawned tours, catchphrases, fashion trends, and more. Ironically, the resulting film is both smarter and funnier than the big-screen version of Carrie and the gang. Of the nine central characters, the sweet, if clueless Gigi (Big Love's Ginnifer Goodwin) makes the most vivid impression. The Maryland career girl tends to fall for friendly guys, like Conor (Entourage's Kevin Connolly), who are "just not that into" her. At a local watering hole, she meets bar manager Alex (Justin Long, Goodwin's Ed co-star), who sets her straight about the difference between what men say and what they mean, adding that there are exceptions to every rule. Her seemingly settled co-workers, Beth (Jennifer Aniston) and Janine (Jennifer Connelly), have relationship issues of their own: Beth's boyfriend of seven years, Neil (Ben Affleck), doesn't believe in marriage, and Janine's husband, Ben (Bradley Cooper), has a wandering eye... for singer/yoga instructor Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Alt-weekly ad saleswoman Mary (executive producer Drew Barrymore) provides the link between this loose-knit community. An avid Internet dater and full-time technophile, she bemoans the fact that "people don't meet each other organically anymore." At 132 minutes, Ken Kwapis's movie could use a few trims, but he brings these complicated romantic entanglements to a convincing conclusion and the confessions from random passers-by add to the laughs. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Burn Notice: Season Two

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 06/16/2009 Run time: 690 minutes Rating: Nr

Stills from Burn Notice: Season Two (Click for larger image)

Family Guy, Vol. 7 (Season 7 Part II, Season 8 Part I)

Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 06/16/2009 Run time: 499 minutes Rating: Nr

Like John Waters' shock-value comedies of yore, Family Guy keeps moving the taste-be-damned line. "You laughed at that?" these episodes spanning seasons six and seven challenge viewers. "Okay, then laugh at this!" AIDS, cancer, incest, September 11, and the films of Matthew McConaughey are all grist for the mill. Though it has taken its lumps from the South Park contingent, Family Guy merrily stays true to its absurdist, arbitrary muse. The stories are ludicrous: James Woods steals Peter Griffin's identity; Brian discovers he has a son; Stewie, Brian, and nebbish pharmacist Mort time travel back in time to Hitler's Germany; and Peter discovers Jesus Christ working at a used record store. You got a problem with that? "Go on the Internet and complain," Brian suggests. The pop-culture references are as ever arcane. "That's more of a letdown than Fruit Stripe gum," Peter remarks at one point. And the politically incorrect jokes can be jaw-droppingly wrong, as witness the game show Are You Smarter Than a Hispanic Maid, the flamboyant gay stereotypes flaunted in the episode "Family Gay," and a bit in which hearing-impaired actress Marlee Matlin tries unsuccessfully to connect with Moviefone. And how does a series on Fox get away with the moment when Stewie finds a McCain/Palin campaign button on a Nazi uniform? From Dane Cook to Jay Leno, Family Guy is always up for celebrity bashing, but some are in on the joke. In "Family Gay," Meredith Baxter spoofs her signature women-in-crisis Lifetime movies, and Seth Rogen good-naturedly supplies his own voice when Peter is injected with the Seth Rogen gene that "gives you the appearance of being funny even though you haven't actually done anything funny." And kudos to Andy Dick for his room-clearing cameo in "Tales of a Third Grade Nothing."

Each episode can be viewed as originally televised or uncensored with F-bombs and other crudities unbleeped. Curiously missing in action from "Ocean's Three and a Half" is one of Family Guy's most inspired bits in which Peter's voice is mixed in to the now-infamous Christian Bale rant tape (you can find it on YouTube). Loyal Family Guy viewers are also rewarded with deleted scenes, lively episode commentaries, an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the episode "Tales of a Third Grade Nothing," featuring Frank Sinatra Jr., and the Family Guy 2008 Comic-Con panel discussion. Family Guy, observes Mr. Sinatra, "is not comedy. It's satire." What it is, still, is way more often than not flat-out funny. --Donald Liebenson

Stills from Family Guy, Vol. 7 (Click for larger image)

Gran Torino (Amazon Digital Bundle + Digital Copy and BD-Live) [Blu-ray]

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 06/09/2009 Run time: 116 minutes Rating: R

Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, an unassuming picture shot during a post-production lull on his elaborate period piece Changeling, was quietly rolled out at Christmastime 2008, whereupon it proceeded to blow away all the Oscar-bait behemoths at the box office and win its 78-year-old star the best reviews of his acting career. Both film and performance are consummately sly--coming on with deceptive simplicity, only to evolve into something complex, powerful, and surprisingly tender. Just as Unforgiven was a tragic reflection on Eastwood's legacy in the Western genre, Gran Torino caps and eloquently critiques the urban heritage of Dirty Harry and his violent brethren. And on top of that, the movie becomes a savvy meditation on America in a particular historical moment, racially, economically, spiritually. Call it a "state of the union" message. But call it that with a wry grin.

The latest Dirty Harry is actually a grumpy Walt: Walt Kowalski (Eastwood playing his own age), widower, Korean War veteran, retired auto worker, and the last white resident of his Detroit side street. It's hard to say who irks him more--his blood kin (a pretty lame bunch) or the Hmong families who are his new neighbors. Kowalski's a racist, because it has never occurred to him he shouldn't be. Besides, that's the flipside of the mutual ethnic baiting that serves as coin of affection for him and his working-class buddies. Circumstances--and two young people next door, the feisty Sue (Ahney Her) and her conflicted brother Thao (Bee Vang)--contrive to involve Walt with a new community, and anoint him as its hero after he turns his big guns on some ruffians. The trajectory of this may surprise you--several times over. Eastwood opted to film in economically blighted Detroit--a shrewd decision, but it's his mapping of Walt's world in that classical style of his that really counts. Every incidental corner of lawn, porch, and basement comes to matter--and by all means the workshop/garage that houses the mint-condition Gran Torino which Walt helped build in a more prosperous era. This is a remarkable movie. --Richard T. Jameson

John Adams (HBO Miniseries)

Movie DVD

Based on David McCullough's bestselling biography, the HBO miniseries John Adams is the furthest thing from a starry-eyed look at America's founding fathers and the brutal path to independence. Adams (Paul Giamatti), second president of the United States, is portrayed as a skilled orator and principled attorney whose preference for justice over anti-English passions earns enemies. But he also gains the esteem of the first national government of the United States, i.e., the Continental Congress, which seeks non-firebrands capable of making a reasoned if powerful case for America's break from England's monarchy. The first thing one notices about John Adams' dramatizations of congress' proceedings, and the fervent pro-independence violence in the streets of Boston and elsewhere, is that America's roots don't look pretty or idealized here. Some horrendous things happen in the name of protest, driving Adams to push the cause of independence in a legitimate effort to get on with a revolutionary war under the command of George Washington. But the process isn't easy: not every one of the 13 colonies-turned-states is ready to incur the wrath of England, and behind-the-scenes negotiations prove as much a part of 18th century congressional sessions as they do today.

Besides this peek into a less-romanticized version of the past, John Adams is also a story of the man himself. Adams' frustration at being forgotten or overlooked at critical junctures of America's early development--sent abroad for years instead of helping to draft the U.S. constitution--is detailed. So is his dismay that the truth of what actually transpired leading to the signing of the Declaration of Independence has been slowly forgotten and replaced by a rosier myth. But above all, John Adams is the story of two key ties: Adams' 54-year marriage to Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), every bit her husband's intellectual equal and anchor, and his difficult, almost symbiotic relationship with Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane) over decades. Giamatti, of course, has to carry much of the drama, and if he doesn't always seem quite believable in the series' first half, he becomes increasingly excellent at the point where an aging Adams becomes bitter over his place in history. Linney is marvelous, as is Dillane, Sarah Polley as daughter Nabby, Danny Huston as cousin Samuel Adams, and above all Tom Wilkinson as a complex but indispensable Ben Franklin. --Tom Keogh

The Wiz (30th Anniversary Edition w/ Bonus CD)

Ease on down the yellow-brick road with the 30th Anniversary Edition of The Wiz starring superstars Diana Ross and Michael Jackson! Relive all of the magic of this beloved musical when Dorothy is whisked away to the enchanting wonderland of Oz where she encounters the Scarecrow the Tinman and the Lion. The Wiz features spectacular musical numbers from legendary producer Quincy Jones and an all-star cast including Lena Horne Richard Pryor Nipsey Russell and Ted Ross. With a digitally remastered picture and the unforgettable soundtrack in new 5.1 surround sound it's an experience of the land of Oz unlike anything you've seen before!System Requirements:Running Time: 135 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS Rating: G UPC: 025195002844 Manufacturer No: 61100348

Directed by Sidney Lumet (Serpico) and penned by Joel Schumacher (Batman and Robin), this lavish 1978 adaptation of the Broadway hit The Wiz was the biggest production filmed in New York City up to that point, utilizing the newly revamped Astoria Studios and locations around the city. Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross (reprising his Tony-winning role as the Lion) star in this Academy Award-nominated musical for the whole family. The Wiz is probably the grandest take on L. Frank Baum's classic tale The Wizard of Oz. The production team created sets with a sense of urban magic and spectacle: a New York subway station literally comes to life, and the massive plaza between the World Trade Center towers is transformed into the Emerald City, featuring nearly 400 dancers with three costume changes. Like all good musicals, the Quincy Jones arrangements are highly hummable long after viewing (especially the funky "Ease On Down the Road" and the inspirational "Brand New Day"). In an era before MTV, the camera stays nearly stationary as Ross and Lena Horne vocally soar through their numbers. Their stage-like performances successfully make the leap to film, making The Wiz a testament to their singing talents and star presence. The then-thirtysomething Ross raised some eyebrows playing the traditionally teenaged Dorothy, but she and her supporting cast (including Richard Pryor as the Wiz) carry the tunes with an infectious verve that will appeal to folks of all ages. --Shannon Gee

Gran Torino (Full-Screen Edition)

DISGRUNTLED KOREAN WAR VET WALT KOWALSKI SETS OUT TO REFORM HIS NEIGHBOR, A YOUNG HMONG TEENAGER NAMED TAO, WHO TRIED TO STEAL KOWALSKI'S PRIZED POSSESSION: HIS 1972 GRAN TORINO. WALT GROWS INCREASINGLY FOND OF TAO & HIS SISTER SUE, AND TAKES STEPS TO PROTECT THEM FROM THE GANGS THAT FOUL HIS NEIGHBORHOOD.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Single-Disc Edition)

A MAN WHO IS BORN IN HIS EIGHTIES AND AGES BACKWARDS A MAN WHO IS UNABLE TO STOP TIME.

The technical dazzle of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a truly astonishing thing to behold: this story of a man who ages backwards requires Brad Pitt to begin life as a tiny elderly man, then blossom into middle age, and finally, wisely, become young. How director David Fincher--with makeup artists, special-effects wizards, and body doubles--achieves this is one of the main sources of fascination in the early reels of the movie. The premise is loosely borrowed from an F. Scott Fitzgerald story (and bears an even stronger resemblance to Andrew Sean Greer's novel The Confessions of Max Tivoli), with young/old Benjamin growing up in New Orleans, meeting the girl of his dreams (Cate Blanchett), and sharing a few blissful years with her until their different aging agendas send them in opposite directions. The love story takes over the second half of the picture, as Eric Roth's script begins to resemble his work on Forrest Gump. This is too bad, because Benjamin's early life is a wonderfully picaresque journey, especially a set of midnight liaisons with a Russian lady (Tilda Swinton) in an atmospheric hotel. Fincher observes all this with an entomologist's eye, cool and exacting, which keeps the material from getting all gooey. Still, the Hurricane Katrina framing story feels put-on, and the movie lets Benjamin slide offscreen during its later stages--curious indeed.--Robert Horton




Stills from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Click for larger image)