DVDs return to the Old West:

DVDs for Dec. 20 by Boo Allen

This week we begin in the Old West:

Monogram Cowboy Collection

Oklahoma Blues, Partners of the Sunset, Cowboy Cavalier, Gun Law Justice,
Outlaw Gold, Man From Sonora, Oklahoma Justice, Cavalry Scout

On Demand Warner Archives has packaged nine Westerns onto three discs
featuring three standout stars of Monogram Pictures, a small, low
budget studio that put out many of these lean B-pictures during the
late 1940s and early 1950s. The quality films boasted tight, clever
scripts and usually ran an hour or less (Cavalry Scout
runs 78 minutes). Those included here contain the requisite gun
fights, fist fights, chases, and a beautiful woman to distract the
hero. The first four films star Jimmy Wakely, a superb horseman and a
pleasant baritone who would stop several times a film to perform a
smooth melody. One time University of Alabama football star,
square-jawed Johnny Mack Brown stars in four, usually as a lawman out
to right a wrong. Incredibly popular in his day, Brown appeared in,
according to imdb.com, 168 movies. Rod Cameron stars in the upscale,
color Cavalry Scout as
an undercover scout sent into the Dakota territory after the Civil
War to keep a shipment of stolen rifles and Gatling guns from falling
into the hands of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. In supporting roles,
look for Jim Davis, future patriarch of TV’s “Dallas,” and James
Arness, the long-time Sheriff Matt Dillon of “Gunsmoke.”

Midnight in Paris (****)

In this charming mixture of romance, comedy and time travel, Woody Allen
showed why he has been one of the most creative film-makers of the
last half century. Here, he delivers an engaging fantasy with elegiac
tones in his story about Gil and Inez (Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams),
a couple who vacation in Paris only to drift apart in unexpected
ways. Gil (Wilson), a blocked writer, leaves his hotel one night for
a walk and ends up in 1920s Paris, where he meets Ernest Hemingway
(Corey Stoll), Pablo Picasso (Marcial di Fonzo Bo), Gertrude Stein
(Kathy Bates), Cole Porter (Yves Heck) and other luminaries. But he
becomes so enchanted with Adriana (Marion Cotillard), he returns
every night, even venturing with her into Belle Epoque Paris in the
1890s. Gil’s explorations obviously point to a personal longing and
to a greater yearning, one that can only be fulfilled by his staying
in Paris and attempting to recreate his lost fantasy.

Rated PG-13, 94 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray, includes a five minute
featurette with Allen and several cast members answering questions at
a press conference at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Margin Call (***1/2)

Director J.C. Chandor trusts his viewers to follow him through this often
complicated web of financial deceit. Using plot points taken from the
2008 financial crisis, he offers a story about a company that seems
on the brink of collapse. A young financial whiz (Zachary Quinto)
learns from a recently laid off boss (Stanley Tucci) about a possible
implosion. Other bosses convene (including Demi Moore, Simon Baker,
and Aasif Mandvi) to prepare for the following day in which the firm
will unleash its sales force. They will be ordered to perform various
underhanded, but legal, actions in order to save the company, while
possibly ruining its future. The inside jargon may lose some viewers,
but the labyrinth tale holds great suspense to complement its moral
commentary.

Rated R, 107 minutes. The DVD, also available on Blu-ray, includes
commentary, two deleted scenes with commentary, a six minute “making
of” featurette, a brief chat with the cast, a photo gallery and
more.

Warrior (***)

In this Greek drama fused with Mixed Martial Arts, two brothers eventually
square off against each other in the finals of a lucrative
winner-take-all tournament. One, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), teaches
school to make ends meet, while also facing foreclosure on his house.
The other, Tommy (Tom Hardy), a stealth Iraq war hero, was a once
promising wrestler and only returns to the ring with the help of his
and Brendan’s estranged father and former trainer Paddy (Nick Nolte).
Writer/director Gavin O’Connor has a knack for action sequences, even
if he resorts to a few too many “Rocky”-like  detours. But he
succeeds in chronicling the pains behind a family fissure that
refuses to heal.

Rated PG-13, 139 minutes. The DVD, available on Blu-ray, digital copy, and
download, includes commentary, a deleted scene with commentary, a gag
reel, a 32 minute “making of” featurette, 21 minutes on
“Philosophy in Combat,” a 14 minute tribute to Charles “Mask”
Lewis, 12 minutes on an anatomy of the main fight, and a special
enhanced viewing mode.

Catch .44 (**1/2)

Sporting an obviously heavy influence from Quentin
Tarantino films, this action-thriller features an interesting cast,
including a three woman hit team headed by Tes (Malin Akerman).
Writer-director Aaron Harvey repeats the main set piece several times
in which the threesome attempts to take over a roadside diner in
order to intercept a drug shipment. Complicating this, but adding
flavor, are their boss (Bruce Willis) and a hit-man disguised as a
policeman (Forest Whitaker). Harvey delivers plenty of gunfire and
action, even if it eventually becomes repetitive. But he does stumble
in his imitations of Tarantino dialogue and contrived standoffs.

Rated R, 94 minutes. The DVD, also on Blu-ray, contains
director commentary.
And, finally, from this week’s TV offerings:

One Tree Hill—season eight

In this latest season of 22 episodes, on five discs,
about the inhabitants of Tree Hill, North Carolina, Nathan (James
Lafferty) and Haley (Bethany JoyGaleotti) wait for their baby to
arrive, while Brooke (Sophia Bush) and Julian (Austin Nichols) are
married in an extravagant ceremony. But Quinn (Shantel Vansanten) and
Clay find themselves in perilous straits with their financial
misdeeds. All of which pales next to the season’s grim highlights
centered around the deadly storm.

Not rated, 924 minutes. The set, available on download, also includes
commentary, cast and crew memories of the season, unaired scenes, a
gag reel, and featurettes on the Halloween episode and a “making
of” on the midseason finale.

Also on DVD: Blackthorn, Dolphin Tale, Straw Dogs.