DVDpedia : Groove Quantize DVD Library : Title : I

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Home Video

Genre: Comedy

Summary: Billed as "an existential comedy," "I Heart Huckabees" is a flawed yet endearingly audacious screwball romp that dares to ponder life's biggest questions. Much of director David O. Russell's philosophical humor is dense, talky, and impenetrable, leading critic Roger Ebert to observe that "it leaves the viewer out of the loop," and suggesting that Russell's screenplay (written with his assistant, Jeff Baena) is admirably bold yet frustratingly undisciplined. Russell's ideas are big but his expression of them is frenetic, centering on the unlikely pairing of an environmentalist (Jason Schwartzman) and a firefighter (Mark Wahlberg) as they depend on existential detectives (Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffman) and a French nihilist (Isabelle Huppert) to make sense of their existential crises, brought on (respectively) by a two-faced chain-store executive (Jude Law) and his spokesmodel girlfriend (Naomi Watts), and the aftermath of 9/11's terrorism. No brief description can do justice to Russell's comedic conceit; you'll either be annoyed and mystified or elated and delighted by this wacky primer for coping with 21st century lunacy. Deserving of its mixed reviews, "I Heart Huckabees" is an audacious mess, like life itself, and accepting that is the key to enjoying both. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1978

Studio: Force Entertainment

Genre: Horror

Duration: 97 mins

Summary: The most controversial revenge film ever made! Banned for 17 years by the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification, the original, uncut version of I Spit On Your Grave has long been called too ugly, too violent and too terrifying to watch. Others have called it a powerful and superb cinema. Judge for yourself. This woman has just cut, chopped, broken and burned five men beyond recognition... but no jury in America would ever convict her! The film follows Jennifer, a writer who is working on a new novel and needs to get out of the city to finish it. She hires a river side apartment to finish her novel, attracting the attention of a number of male locals. They catch Jenifer one day and strip her naked for the Village Idiot (Matthew), to rape her, he can't or won't and so one of the others does it for him. Jennifer is raped a further two times, her novel is destroyed also, she then begins to seek revenge on the men who raped her.

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Fox Home Entertainme

Genre: Feature Film Family

Summary: The Story: Manfred the mastodon (Ray Romano), Sid the sloth (John Leguizamo), and Diego the saber-toothed tiger (Denis Leary) are getting ready to migrate, separately, when fate brings them together and puts a human infant in their care. They travel through the brutal but starkly beautiful landscapes of 20,000 years ago, seeking the child's father, who is migrating with his tribe. Of course, the prey-predator factor complicates things, as man hunts everything, saber-toothed tigers hunt everything, sloths are usually prey, and mastodons are prize prey that are usually passed up because of their size. Oh, and along the way, a squirrel (?) tries to gather acorns for the (extremely long and harsh) winter.Story Commentary: This is a computer-animated remake of "The Three Godfathers" but the first half seemed a LOT like "Shrek" meets "Monsters, Inc." transposed into the distant past. Then, something happens, and the movie became wondrous for me. The things that created this transformation were: the turmoil and complexity of Diego's emerging character as he discovers a different way of being; the whole scene in the ice cavern, and especially the wall-drawing of the mastodon that Manfred sees (and then imagines into a microcosmic summary of Ice Age life); the growing sense of duty, stewardship, and surrogate fatherhood. The ice cavern scene is the start, and is an unforgettable movie moment for me. The interspersed vignettes of the squirrel (coati mundi?) provided great comic relief, plus an ending to make one chuckle.Technical Commentary: This film looks very different than did "Shrek" and "Monsters, Inc." but is on a par, technically, with them. The stark beauty of an Ice Age winter, turned into an icy playground with lethal traps and pitfalls, was a work of minimalist art.At the halfway point, I would have given the film two to three stars, and complained that it lacked originality times three. The last half gets five stars.

Theatrical: 1994

Studio: Reel

Genre: Drama

Duration: 116 mins

Summary: When a cryptic letter from musical genius, Beethoven, turned up shortly after his death, it started one of history's most compelling romantic mysteries, an enduring riddle that remains unsolved to this day. Who, among the scores of women that Beethoven seduced, was his Immortal Beloved?

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Formats

Summary: With the fate of our planet arguably hanging in the balance, "An Inconvenient Truth" may prove to be one of the most important and prescient documentaries of all time. As he jokingly refers to himself, "former President-elect" Al Gore felt an urgent personal calling to draw attention--as he had been doing throughout his political career--to the increasingly desperate crisis of global warming, and this riveting documentary is basically a filmed version (by respected TV director Davis Guggenheim) of the PowerPoint lecture that Gore has presented (by his own estimate, well over 1,000 times) to attentive audiences all over the world. Considering Gore's amiable, low-key approach to charts, graphs, statistics, and photographs that leave no room for doubt regarding the "reality" (not "theory") of global warming as Earth's ultimate environmental crisis, many viewers will be surprised by just how fascinating and convincing this no-frills film really is.
As we learn about the milestone events that shaped his character (including his sister's death and young son's near-fatal injuries after being struck by a car), Gore sheds the stiff demeanor of his 2000 presidential campaign and impresses us as a man with a mission, transcending partisan politics with an impassioned plea for common sense, ethical forthrightness, and passionate purpose in reversing the harmful effects of global warming through personal and political responsibility. Some may accuse Gore of exploiting global warming as a Democratic platform, but his honest conviction regarding this "inconvenient truth" (i.e. overwhelming evidence of global warming that's troublesome to those whose interests are threatened by Gore's irrefutable message) is likely to silence all but the most obtusely stubborn detractors. By taking the high road and discreetly avoiding a full-on assault against the George W. Bush administration (which has steadfastly avoided "the inconvenient truth" with obfuscating spin control and policies favoring the oil industry), Gore effectively rises above political differences with a stern but hopeful eye toward a better future for our children."--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1955

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Summary: Kirk Douglas is "The Indian Fighter" Johnny Hawks, who returns to the West after the end of the Civil War to lead a wagon train bound for Oregon. Along the way there is the threat of an Indian war stirred up by bad guys Wes Todd (Walter Matthau) and Chivington (Lon Chaney), a couple of whiskey traders who are after gold on Indian land. The Indians in question are led by Red Cloud (Eduard Franz), the Sioux chief who tried to keep the white man from taking over his people's land. Johnny is smitten with Onahti (Elsa Martinelli), the chief's daughter, who distracts him enough from his job to put the wagon train and the local military outpost at risk when Red Cloud's brother is killed.
This 1955 western was filmed on location in Oregon by director Andr� De Toth and the beautiful scenery along with composer Franz Waxman's evocative helps elevate "The Indian Fighter" to above average status. Given the time and genre, some of the scenes between Hawks and Onahti are quite risqu�. In the end this is more of a Western romance than a Western action film, and with its inherent sympathy towards both the Indians and the environment, De Toth has made an extremely atypical Western. Elisha Cook has a nice supporting role as Briggs, a character who learned photography from Matthew Brady during the Civil War and has come out West to capture the grandeur of the landscape, and there are several moments when De Toth's has the camera provide the sort of beautiful panoramic shots that Briggs would aspire to take. Not a great Western but there is a lot here that warrants fans of the genre taking a long look.
Trivia Note: Diana Douglas, the wife of Kirk and mother of Michael Douglas at that point in hsitory, plays settler Susan Rogers, who has her eye on Hawks but ends up with hardy Will Crabtree (Alan Hale, Jr.). I remember the actress from playing Professor Tyler on "The Paper Chase." This was the only film the two appeared in together and certain an interesting choice given they each have different love interests.

Theatrical:

Studio: AV Channel

Genre: Box Sets

Duration: 326 mins

Summary: Go Deep Inside The World Of Hong Kong Crime The Infernal Affairs trilogy has been heralded as some of the best cinema to ever come out of Hong Kong. Going deep inside the world of the HK police and triad societies, the lines are often blurred between right and wrong. Featuring excellent performances from some of Hong Kong's best actors; it is easy to see why Martin Scorsese has chosen to remake this series with his upcoming film The Departed. This is crime cinema at its best.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Genre: Documentary

Summary: While "Boogie Nights" showed pornography's transition from sleazy cinemas to home-video dominance, "Inside Deep Throat" looks back to the film that introduced porn to a curious mainstream public. Released in 1972 and starring 23-year-old Linda Lovelace as sexpot whose oral sex skills (performed on well-endowed costar Harry Reems) gave the film its title (and, subsequently, the nickname of Watergate's secret informant), "Deep Throat" set a cultural milestone as a source of controversy, outrageous profit (mostly for its Colombo mob family financiers), and irrevocable social change. With equal parts nostalgia and historical hindsight, this briskly-paced documentary places "Deep Throat" in pivotal context, when Vietnam was an acknowledged disaster and American innocence was peeling away one layer at a time. Produced by Hollywood honcho Brian Grazer and catering to viewers who were too young to witness "Deep Throat"'s impact firsthand, the film includes the legendary fellatio scene that made Lovelace an overnight sensation (hence the NC-17 rating), but it's the interviews with pop-culture VIP's like Norman Mailer, Dick Cavett, Hugh Hefner and (most amusingly) Helen Gurley Brown that add necessary perspective to what is, for better and worse, an engaging but somewhat shallow examination of a culture war that never really ended. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Horror

Summary: Insomnia, director Chris Nolan's second full length feature, doesn't have the same gut-wrenching and mind-bending plot twists that his feature length debut, Memento, had, but does an excellent job telling an original and gripping detective mystery.The pleasure of Insomnia is to be found in its rich cinematography, beautiful landscapes, and excellent performances. The movie is one of the most visually compelling pieces of filmmaking I have seen in years, creating surreal juxtapositions with the vast, harsh Alaskan landscape and with close-up shots of crime scene evidence. The amazing visual landscapes (both large and small) are used effectively by director Nolan to emphasize the films themes of isolation and overpowerment, of losing oneself within ones environment and in ones choices.Insomnia's plot will disappoint those looking for a new Memento, in that it does not have the sort of turns of action and motivation that Memento does. Insomnia works well without elaborate plot twists, however, it's mood benefits from a certain lack of ambiguity of action, although the ending is perhaps a little to predictable and cliched. Insomnia would have benefited, however, from more ambiguity of motivation - while the acting is top notch, especially on the part of Robin Williams, the connections between the characters actions and their motivations and decisions is too closely drawn by the script.Overall Insomnia is an excellent movie, and a good entry into the detective/suspense movie cannon. It suffers slightly from a couple of bad edits (in a movie filled with amazing editing and shooting) and from its desire to clearly spell out the principle characters motivations, but these minor flaws are more than redeemed by the director's excellent camerawork and sense of pacing, a strong script, and very solid acting performances. Insomnia is a must see movie, and a welcome change from the "blockbuster" summer movie scene of 2002.

Theatrical: 1978

Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios

Genre: Science Fiction

Summary: Jack Finney's classic science fiction novel has been the basis of three big-screen adaptations, beginning with the 1956 chiller Invasion of the Body Snatchers and most recently as 1994's underrated Body Snatchers. This acclaimed 1978 version from director Philip Kaufman (The Right Stuff) is every bit as creepy as the '56 original, and it fits perfectly into the cycle of paranoid thrillers that thrived in American movies of the 1970s. Kaufman stylishly directs from an intelligent screenplay by W.D. Richter, while Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams lead a distinguished cast (including Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy, and Veronica Cartwright) and must fight for survival as the population of San Francisco is systematically cloned by alien "pods" from a distant, dying planet. The atmosphere of dread and paranoia grows increasingly intense as the complexity of the alien invasion is gradually revealed, until nobody can be trusted to be who they appear. Finely tuned performances enhance the film's eerie atmosphere, highlighted by moments that will lurk in your memory long after the movie's over. MGM's DVD release includes a full-length audio commentary by Kaufman, a "pod culture" retrospective, Body Snatchers trivia, production notes, and the original theatrical trailer. --Jeff Shannon

Theatrical: 1963

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Comedy

Duration: 143

Summary: In 1963, Billy Wilder's "Irma La Douce" was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year, grossing twice as much as "The Great Escape" and "The Birds". Yet this popular movie has been almost completely forgotten by film history, even to fans of Wilder or stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (the same trio had made a masterpiece, "The Apartment", three years earlier). It doesn't represent the best work of those legends, but "Irma" provides tart entertainment. At least some of the movie's popularity can be chalked up to its subject, which was pretty risqué for the time: Lemmon plays a Paris policeman who falls in love with a prostitute (MacLaine). The script was adapted from a stage musical, but Wilder decided to cut the songs, instead developing the humor and romance into his own blend of bittersweet perversity; this Technicolor-fantasy Paris is kind of a dark cousin to "Gigi". Lemmon is in his prime period of hand-wringing self-doubt, and MacLaine is perfectly in tune with his rhythms, especially in scenes that add tenderness to the sometimes queasy mix of moods. Ironically--given the nixing of the songs--the film won its only Oscar for André Previn's adaptation of the stage play's music into a wordless orchestral score. "--Robert Horton"

Theatrical: 1967

Studio: Shout Factory Theatr

Genre: Drama

Duration: 1260

Summary: The toughest cop on four wheels returns with this seven-disc set containing all 26 episodes from the second season (1968-69) of "Ironside". Of course, that also means that Raymond Burr is back in the title role, portraying a former San Francisco chief of detectives who returned to the force as a consultant following the shooting that left him wheelchair-bound (also returning are his core team, including Don Galloway as Detective Sgt. Ed Brown, Barbara Anderson as Officer Eve Whitfield, and Don Mitchell as Mark Sanger, Ironside's bodyguard and driver). As ever, Burr's Robert Ironside is one of the more distinctive characters on the cop show landscape. Gruff, stubborn, impatient, and utterly unwilling to suffer fools, he commands respect with a combination of tough love and unwavering fairness. There's nothing touchy-feely about this guy. Take "Split Second to an Epitaph," a two-parter near the start of the season. When Ironside regains sensation in his feet, a doctor advises him to immediately undergo an operation that could heal him for good. But the chief refuses to go under the knife as long as the team's current case is unsolved. When he finally shows up at the hospital and another paraplegic asks him how to cope with his disability, Ironside replies, "It starts out as pure hell. Then it gets worse." And when the doc asks him what he'll do should he be able to walk again, the answer is classic Ironside: "Probably sit down." The second season's episodes run a fairly wide gamut, dealing with issues ranging from black militancy (in "Robert Phillips vs. the Man," Ironside refuses to submit either to Paul Winfield's hostile taunts or to the white racists eager to jail the black leader for murder) and professional sports (in "The Tormentor," a baseball player is threatened by an extortionist) to abortion ("A Matter of Love and Death" finds Eve posing as a pregnant young single in order to flush out a criminal abortionist--these were the days before Roe v. Wade) and boorish TV talk show demagogues (Milton Berle in a decidedly non-comic role in "I, The People"). There are also a few more personal stories than were found in Season One (Eve falls in love in one episode and hovers near death following a shooting in another, while Mark continues his quest to become a lawyer). That's all good, but like other series of its era, "Ironside" often seems rather dated; you'll find folks smoking in hospitals (and, in Ironside's case, having a couple of stiff drinks, with his doctor's approval, the night before his operation), star athletes struggling to put together a $100,000 payoff (a hundred grand is about what waterboys make these days), and gigantic American-made cars easily finding street parking spaces in downtown San Francisco. But while such details can be written off as mere anachronisms, the show's cheesy sets, slow-moving action and overall lack of genuine tension are more problematic. In the end, though, "Ironside" is mostly driven by its star power--not only Burr's, but also guests like Berle, Winfield, Broderick Crawford, Joseph Cotten, Clu Gulager, Diane Ladd, Ricardo Montalban, Anne Baxter, Ed Asner, Burgess Meredith, and Chad Everett. There are no bonus features in the box set. "--Sam Graham"

Theatrical: 1967

Studio: Shout Factory Theatr

Genre: Drama

Duration: 1380

Summary: "He's not a man in a wheelchair. He's Ironside in a wheelchair." Yes, and while TV cop shows come and go, there was only one "Ironside", which makes its first appearance on DVD with this eight-disc boxed set, containing 28 episodes from the show's first season (1967-68), along with the pilot that preceded it in '66. The series is like others of its ilk and time, in ways both good (snappy dialogue and very cool, jazz-inflected music, including a theme song by Quincy Jones and scoring by the great composer-arranger Oliver Nelson) and mediocre (slow pacing, and a thoroughly square take on the mid-'60s counterculture). But what sets this one apart is the presence of Raymond Burr in the title role. Just a year removed from "Perry Mason", Burr is outstanding as a former San Francisco chief of detectives who returns to the force as a consultant following the shooting that leaves him wheelchair-bound (illuminated in the 90-minute "world premiere"). His Robert Ironside is gruff, acerbic, free of self-pity (told by a doctor that he'll never walk again, he replies, "Is that all?"), and always ready with a sarcastic quip ("Are you brother and sister, or do you just cross-pollinate?" he says to two self-described "flower people"). He's also a policeman who's not shy about bending a rule or two as he relentlessly pursues the bad guys. And while his team (Don Galloway and Barbara Anderson as young cops and Don Mitchell as the African American delinquent who becomes his driver and caretaker) often chafes under his, um, iron hand, he's also a sympathetic mentor skilled in the art of tough love.
Story-wise, "Ironside" is pretty typical: murder, robbery, car theft, and a smattering of more contemporary issues like drugs and the Cold War. While there are occasional chase scenes and gunfights (most of them less than gripping), the focus is on a facts-first, conclusions-later approach to crime solving; "the chief" relies on the dry, meticulous gathering of evidence and factual minutiae and an almost Sherlock Holmesian attention to logic and detail to win the day. The result: Ironside may be crippled, but he's not lame. The DVD transfers are crisp and clean, but the boxed set contains no bonus material. "--Sam Graham"