If something scared an audience the first time, it should work again, right? And the third, fourth, and fifth times, yes? Well, House of Wax (Warner; Movie •½, Picture/Sound ••••, Extras ••) steals its title from a Vincent Price vehicle, but it's little more than an amateurish excuse to slice and dice attractive teens.
The greatest kaleidoscopic experience without the benefit of hallucinogens, the terrific six-disc Busby Berkeley Collection (Warner; Movies ••••½, Picture/Sound ••••½, Extras ••••) has five of the choreography genius's best-known works: Gold Diggers of 1933, Footlight Parade (1933), Dames (1934), Gold Diggers of 1935
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Sony; Movie ••••, Picture/Sound ••••, Extras •••) didn't win any major American awards, but for many who saw the directorial debut of actor Tommy Lee Jones, this beautiful yet unsentimental take on the modern Western was the film to beat in 2005.
One was a gregarious actor who became a cultural icon. The other was an erudite, poetic soul hiding in a sadistic, foul-tempered drunk ... and arguably America's greatest director.
It's amazing how many ways a story can be told. Byron Haskin's 1953 version of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Warner; Movie ••••, Picture/Sound ••••, Extras ••••) has a completely different focus and tone than Steven Spielberg's gloomy take on the H. G. Wells fantasy.
When an extraterrestrial being is left behind on Earth, he befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliott who, as luck would have it, is in dire need to be loved and wanted. He’s the middle of three children, and his parents’ recent divorce has put a strain on the household. The pair share a bond that leads to some trouble at school for Elliott, but in the end, E.T. just wants one thing—to go home—and Elliott and his family are more than willing to help this happen.
Within the first few minutes of E.T., old-timers like me who remember seeing it on the big screen 30 years ago can’t help but recall why this movie was a bona fide cultural event, the likes of which we seldom see anymore. Oft copied, never equaled, it is an exquisitely crafted piece of cinema by a virtuoso at the top of his game. E.T. tells the tale of a lost, lonely visitor and his equally lonely host, an ordinary boy named Elliott. It celebrates the universal childhood fantasy of a secret best friend…and that other one about the flying bicycles. Rough around the edges though it may seem by today’s standards, this 1982 original version remains one of the most profoundly moving films most people will ever see.
<IMG SRC="/images/archivesart/eagleeye.jpg" WIDTH=200 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>A copy-shop clerk (Shia LaBeouf) and a single mom (Michelle Monaghan) meet after receiving phone calls from an anonymous woman instructing them to do exactly as she says, or else. Using cell phones, LED signs, television screens, and other commonplace technology to pass on instructions, the mystery woman ensnares the unwitting pair in a vast and unthinkable plot. Pursued by a determined FBI agent (Billy Bob Thornton) as the nation's most wanted fugitives, the two must work together to discover who's manipulating them and why.
Remember those A Day in the Life of… coffee table books that gave us glimpses of Hollywood and the Soviet Union and the like over a single 24-hour span? Imagine that same dynamic applied to some carefully selected, human-free locales across the globe, and you start to get the idea behind Earth: One Amazing Day. This sequel to the 2007 nature documentary Earth takes us from the pre-dawn hours well into the night, revealing visions of flora and fauna we’ve likely never seen before. (Giraffe smack-down!)