WAR HORSE leads off the week’s DVDs:
DVDs for April 3 by Boo Allen
This week, we start during World War One:
War Horse (**1/2)
Steven Spielberg directed this glossy Best Picture Oscar
nominee about a magnificent horse who survives a succession of
challenges during World War I. The beautiful steed experiences
neglect, abuse, and various ownership changes. Based on a London play
from Michael Morpurgo’s novel, War Horse begins before
war’s outbreak, when the feisty creature is bought by a poor English
farmer (Peter Mullan) at an auction. He and his family know they have
a quality thoroughbred but are so poor they have to use the horse to
plow their field. The son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) takes care of the
horse and bonds with him before they are both recruited for war duty.
Spielberg, from Lee Hall and Richard Curtis’ script, then takes the
animal through various adventures, with different owners and
protectors of the horse. During the horse’s journey, Albert somehow
stays on his trail. Maudlin at times yet consistently beautiful, with
cinematography by Janusz Kaminski.
Rated PG-13, 146 minutes. The DVD, in all formats and
various combo packs, includes a comprehensive 64 minute “making of”
documentary, nine minutes on the editing and musical scoring, a seven
minute feature on the movie’s sounds, as well as segments from
producer Kathleen Kennedy, production designer Rick Carter, and
cinematographer Kaminski, and more.
Dorothy McKaill—Pre-code double feature
Bright Lights (or: Adventures in Africa) (***), The Reckless Hour (***)
Although mostly overlooked today, early sound star Dorothy McKaill has enjoyed a recent minor revival, partly because of the resurrection of several of her films through Warner Archives.
Mackaill exuded an undefined sauciness in her belabored innuendos and
often scandalous on-screen behavior, which made her popular until
1934’s stepped up enforcement of the restrictive 1930 Motion Picture
Production Code. In Lights (1930, 69 minutes), she
plays a stage actress engaged to a rich society patron. She knows if
he found out about her scandalous past, seen in flashback, he would
quickly dis-engage. Her backstage secret ends in murder, comedy, and
partially clad chorus girls. Mackaill again plays a jilted, or near
jilted, woman in the more somber The Reckless Hour
(1931, 71 minutes). She works as a model who catches the eye of
another rich man (Walter Byron). She thinks his intentions honorable
until she becomes pregnant and has to go away to have the still-born
child, none of which is blatantly expressed but merely suggested. In
both films, Mackaill handles rejection with a smile and with a look
that says she knows more than we do. Both Lights and
Reckless Hour come on a single disc.
In addition to the two new arrivals, other available
titles at Warner Archives with MacKaill are Safe in Hell, The
Great Divide, and the one-disc double feature The
Office Wife and Party Husband.
Die—unrated director’s cut (***)
This minimalist thriller revolves around six people who
wake to find themselves, Saw-like, trapped in a glass
enclosure. One by one, they reveal themselves, particularly that they
have recently thought about taking their own lives. They all flash
back to how they reached that point. A mysterious stranger enters and
takes them individually to face some devious challenge in which the
chosen person throws a die, with the corresponding number relating to
how much of a chance that person will have to live or die. Engaging
enough premise, but filled with inconsistencies and plot holes.
Not rated, 94 minutes.
Chasing Madoff (***)
Jeff Prosserman directed this documentary about Bernie
Madoff and his Ponzi scheme-swindle. But the focus also lands on
Harry Markopolos, the man who chased Madoff for over a decade,
informing the Securities and Exchange Commission about Madoff’s
discrepancies. Markopolos gives a detailed first person account of
his many failed attempts to raise alarm about Madoff’s scam. Even
though Prosserman bases his film on Markopolos’ book “No One Would
Would Listen,” the director gambles by featuring Markopolos as the
main person in his drama. The securities analyst proves knowledgeable
but more than a little odd and eventually his presence wears thin.
But the fascinating story is guaranteed to raise blood pressures.
Not rated, 91 minutes. The DVD also includes four
deleted scenes and a ten minute alternate ending.
Dysfunctional Friends (**1/2)
Corey Grant wrote and directed this drama-filled comedy
that resembles The Big Chill. A relatively young man
dies and leaves a will that brings together a group of his college
friends. He will leave them his fortune but only if they can stay
together in his mansion for a week. If one leaves, they all forfeit
the inheritance. Obviously, nerves are tested. With Meagan Good,
Stacey Dash, Reagan Gomez-Preston, and, in some gimmick casting,
football player Terrell Owens.
Not rated, 111 minutes.
And, finally, for kids this week:
Dougie in Disguise—volume two
In these fourteen animated tales from Spain, Dougie
likes mysteries and hanging out in disguise, often with his dog Tim.
His favorite disguises are literary characters, which helps introduce
several famous works to children.
Not rated, 105 minutes.
Timmy Time: Timmy Finds Treasure
These five new episodes from the creators of “Wallace
and Gromit” have a pirate theme, even when Timmy plays with his
barnyard friends.
Not rated, 45 minutes. The DVD includes a bonus video
and two “Shaun the Sheep” episodes.
Awesome Adventures: Rescue Friends
Thomas and his Friends join Fireman Sam and Bob the
Builder in these six episodes in which the trio performs heroic acts.
Not rated, 62 minutes.
Also on DVD: London River, Medal of Honor, Torchwood:
Miracle Day, We Bought a Zoo.