Nora's Hair Salon 2: A Cut Above DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Sorry Sequel Offends at Every Turn

Who decided that every African-American comedy has to revolve either around a black man in drag, or else around a barbershop or beauty salon? This sorry sequel is of the latter variety, and is just the latest in a long line which includes Barbershop 1 and 2, Beauty Shop, Hair Show, Nora's Hair Salon and the upcoming Miss B’s Hair Salon.
These ghetto-based sitcoms share a familiar storyline, a love story unfolding against the backdrop of an ensemble cast of colorful caricatures. The clownish genre has its roots in Amos ‘n’ Andy, a show which debuted on radio in 1928 and eventually made the jump to television as the first series featuring a black cast. The TV series was grounded by the tempestuous romantic relationship of unemployed and gullible Andy and feisty Queen, a Harlem beautician. But the real reason everybody tuned in was to laugh at the program’s motley collection of lazy, loud and crooked black characters.
One of the first things I noticed about the cover of Nora’s Hair Salon 2 is that it’s promoted by an outfit called BlackChristianMovies.com, ostensibly to con folks into believing that the DVD contains clean and wholesome family entertainment. Yet the dialogue is sprinkled with both the b and s-words, and often treats not only blacks but Asians and gays in a decidedly backwards and un-Christian manner.
Given the recent release of the documentary Hollywood Chinese, I had hoped that we’d be past presenting members of this ethnic group speaking pidgin English and mixing their ‘l’s and ‘r’s. Homosexuals fare no better, as we’re treated to the same flamboyant, effeminate stereotype that’s been around for time immemorial.
The plot concerns itself with the tug-of-war between co-owners Lilliana (Tatyan Ali) and Simone (Stacey Dash) over whether to stay in business. The former is a single-mom sorely in need of a nice guy, preferably a doctor (Mekhi Phifer) to fall head over heels for her. Simone is a selfish shrew you just love to hate. Not to worry, it all unfolds as expected.
The question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to watch a bunch of sassy sisters playing the dozens insulting everyone within earshot for an hour and a half.

Poor (½ star)
Rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual humor.
Running time: 81 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

A Raisin in the Sun DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Diddy Stars in Adaptation of Classic Play Available on DVD

Lorraine Hansberry’s (1930-1965) “A Raisin in the Sun” was the first play written by a black woman ever to open on Broadway. It takes its title from the opening line in a poem by Langston Hughes which poses the question “What happens to a dream deferred?”
The original theatrical production debuted on March 11, 1959 and starred Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee. Its semi-autobiographical storyline was loosely based on real-life events which unfolded in Hansberry’s own family back in the Thirties. At the time her parents had been met with pure hatred after purchasing a home in a lily-white, Chicago enclave.
The play focuses on a fictional family named Younger with dreams of moving out of the ghetto but still living in a dilapidated tenement on Chicago’s South Side. A recent Broadway revival featured Sean “Diddy” Combs surrounded by Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald, Sanaa Lathan and Bill Nunn. That talented ensemble has been reassembled for this latest version.
At the point of departure, we meet Walter, Jr. (Combs) a hard-working 35 year-old chauffeur in the process of assuming the role of patriarch following the death of his father. The plot revolves around the question of how Walter. Sr.’s life insurance proceeds ought to be spent.
His widow (Rashad) thinks they should use the money to buy a home in a white neighborhood, since the five of them are currently cramped in a rundown, roach-infested apartment. Her daughter, Beneathea (Lathan), wants some of the money to pay for med school, while ambitious Walter would like to invest in a liquor store with his pal, Bobo (Nunn), and smooth-talking Willy (Ron C. Jones). After Lena hands the check over to her son, it’s just a matter of time before she comes to regret that ill-advised decision.
Helped immeasurably by his talented co-stars, Diddy comes of age as an actor here, delivering a memorable performance in an African-American literary classic which proves to be every bit as relevant today as the day it was first staged.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 131 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Director’s commentary, a “Behind-the-Scenes” featurette, and bonus reviews.

Lost in Beijing (Ping Guo) DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Chinese Revenge Drama Worthy of Jerry Springer

Ping Guo (Bingbing Fan) and An Kun (Dawei Tong), a young couple from the sticks, moved to Beijing in search of a higher standard of living. Thusfar, however, life in the big city has been a bit of a bust, since the only work she could find was in a sleazy massage parlor, and he had to settle for a dangerous job as a skyscraper window-washer.
The two made do until the fateful day her rich boss (Tony Leung Ka Fai) decided to force himself on her. Wouldn’t you know it, but An Kun just happened to be squeejeeing the plate glass of the room as Liu pounced on his wife, and he had to watch helplessly while dangling outside on the scaffolding.
Rather than report the assault to the authorities, An Kun comes up with the bright idea of asking the attacker’s wife, Mei (Elaine Jin) for money to keep quiet. But she says her husband would rather save face than pay blackmail. Then, angry that her husband had cheated on her, Mei suggests that the two of them sleep together, like their spouses had, implying that the rape had been consensual.
An Kun agrees and the two embark on a steamy affair. And that might have been the end of it, except that his wife misses her next period. Pregnant, the question becomes “Who’s the daddy?”
This is the intriguing, incestuous scenario which unfolds in Lost in Beijing, as messy a dysfunctional relationship drama as you could hope to witness on screen. And as complicated as what you’ve just read sounds, the plot only thickens as the baby’s birth approaches.
Without giving away any of this riveting romp’s unpredictable developments, suffice to say that our compromised protagonists find themselves in a complicated predicament about as easy to unscramble as egg drop soup. How do you say “Jerry Springer” in Mandarin?

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In Mandarin with subtitles.
Running time: 113 minutes
Studio: New Yorker Video
DVD Extras: Theatrical trailer and a booklet interview with the director.

Untraceable DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Diane Lane’s Grisly Cat-and-Mouse Thriller Comes to DVD

FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) is a widow who always finds herself apologizing to her young daughter (Perla Haney-Jardine) for putting career before family. Fortunately, grandma (Mary Beth Hurt) comes in handy when Jen and her partner, Griffin (Colin Hanks), have to work overtime tracking down the creep who executed a cat on a website called KillWithMe.com.
Trouble is the sicko is internet savvy, and knows how to prevent the cops from determining his IP address. In addition, every time the authorities shut down his site, he has it back up and running in a matter of minutes.
Worse, it isn’t long before this sadist escalates to humans. Promising that the more people watch, the faster he will die, the next broadcast airs the slow death of a man tied to a rack with the words “KILL WITH ME” carved right into his chest. This development has the cops wondering whether the murder might have been staged. That question is soon answered when his next victim’s (Tim de Zarn) grieving widow tearfully explains that her husband was no kinky sex freak, but had been lured to the torture chamber by a classified ad.
With each ensuing victim, the website’s ratings soar, as more and more viewers tune-in. So, unfolds Untraceable, a compelling, cat-and-mouse caper directed by Gregory Hoblit. Regrettably, this psychological thriller’s well-earned tension is ultimately undone by a practically comical set of improbable developments during the denouement.
Furthermore, praiseworthy acting performances by a capable ensemble headed by Diane Lane and Colin Hanks are all squandered in service of a hypocritical morality play. Is it really ethical for a film to warn of the irresistible appeal of online snuff films while it simultaneously indulges, practically pornographically, in graphic displays of the same sort of kinky perversion?
Unwatchable.

Fair (1 star)
Rated R for profanity, torture and grisly violence.
Running time: 101 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

The Great Debaters

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Inspirational Bio-Pic Brought to DVD

When a movie bills itself as “Inspired by a True Story,” to what extent should it be allowed to take liberties with the truth? That is the question which begs to be answered in the course of appraising this inspirational bio-pic about a debate team from a tiny black college which allegedly took on Harvard University in a big showdown for the national championship.
The film’s most glaring, factual faux pas is that while Wiley College’s opponent was not Harvard at all, but USC. This fabrication naturally makes one wonder about other aspects of this recreation. Was the original contest really broadcast live on radio? (Unlikely) Was it even the first time, as implied, that a black college competed against a white school in the debate tournament? (No) Etcetera… etcetera…
Furthermore, the picture propagated plenty of other tall tales. For instance, there’s a scene where Professor Tolson (Denzel Washington) attempts instill some self respect in his pupils by quoting from Willie Lynch’s 1712 speech supposedly delivered to fellow slave owners about how to mold and control the minds of their slaves.
Well, the problem is that the infamous lecture never took place, and has long been dismissed by academics and experts, even African-American, as an urban legend created around 1993. Since I’ve criticized references made to Willie Lynch by other flicks, it would be hypocritical for me to give this flick a pass just because it’s such a well-meaning message movie.
All of the fibs aside, there is still much to recommend here. Denzel certainly delivers as the film’s plucky protagonist, as do Forest Whitaker, Denzel Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Nate Parker and Jermaine Williams. Well-Intentioned and well-executed, but recommended with reservations only because there’s still something terribly troubling even about a feelgood flick packed with so many misrepresentations.

Good (2 stars)
Rated PG-13 for profanity, ethnic slurs, mature themes, brief sexuality, violence and disturbing images.
Running time: 124 minutes
Studio: Genius Products
2-Disc DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, a couple of music videos, and nine featurettes.

Cover DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Mystery Explores Life on the Down-Low

Valerie Maas’ (Aunjanue Ellis) world comes apart at the seams the day she catches her husband, Dutch (Raz Adoti), in the shower naked with another man. She doesn’t buy his “It’s not what it looks like defense,” and realizes she’s been living a lie with a guy who didn’t even use protection while on the so-called down-low.
But before she can figure out how to break the news that daddy is bisexual to their young daughter, Nicole (Tomorrow Baldwin Montgomery), Valerie finds herself behind bars and facing a murder rap. Fortunately, this churchgoing Christian has a strong enough faith to help her bear the burden of being wrongfully accused.
On the way to clearing her name, we’re treated to such silliness in Philly that one has to wonder exactly what’s going on here. For Cover, directed by veteran director Bill Duke, is an unintentionally funny, flashback flick which is practically impossible to take seriously at face value.
For example, one character calls homosexuality a “white disease.” Another, who has AIDS, boasts about secretly “sharing the gift,” meaning having unprotected sex with people who don’t know he’s HIV+, illogically explaining that he’d rather be a monster than honest.
As confusing as it is improbable, this mess of a movie wastes a talented cast which includes Vivica A. Fox, Lou Gossett, Jr., Leon, Patti LaBelle, Paula Jai Parker, Clifton Davis, Roger Guenveur Smith and Mya. However, the goings-on bear such little resemblance to reality, that I was often unsure what genre of movie I was even watching.
A blaxploit? A sci-fi adventure? An out of the closet drama? A whodunit? A genderbending romance? A slapstick sitcom? Likely, a little of all of the above. A disaster which fails miserably in an attempt to address a pressing social issue.

Fair (1 star)
Rated PG-13 for mature themes, profanity, sexuality, violence and drug use.
Running time: 98 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Dans Paris DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Dysfunctional Family Drama from Paris Due on DVD

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and we find Paul (Romain Duris) all depressed because he’s just been dumped by his girlfriend, Anna (Joana Preiss). So, he shows up unannounced at the home of his father, Mirko (Guy Marchand ) and younger brother, Jonathan (Louis Garrel).
Even though he’s divorced, Mirko enlists the assistance of his ex-wife (Marie-France Pisier), since they’re both still coming to grips with the suicide of their teenage daughter, Claire. But Paul’s predicament doesn’t prevent the still bickering couple from pointing out each other’s flaws, such as the fact that the “saint-whore of a mother ran off with a Canadian lumberjack.”
She also smokes like a chimney, curses like a sailor, and is generally inelegant. Unproductive papa, on the other hand, has retired prematurely and is living on a pension due to a neurological issue he’s been neglecting to own up to.
While his parents ponder putting him on tranquilizers, Paul sits there in a stupor, ostensibly considering using the balcony as a launching pad. Meanwhile, selfish womanizer Jonathan bolts from the apartment to fritter away the day ‘catting about town, and he proceeds to sleep with three different women by the time he returns in the evening.
This slice of life adventure transpires over the course of a frustrating 24 hours during which not much is resolved in terms of Paul’s mental state. Still, I sort of like the fact that writer/director Christophe Honore felt no need to end on an upbeat note, and even has the temerity to suggest that perhaps people are born with a sadness gene inside them, much the same as ones for skin, eye or hair color.
A maudlin mood piece offering an off-season opportunity to share
Christmas with the cracked.

Very good (3 stars)
Unrated
In French with subtitles.
Running time: 92 minutes
Studio: Genius Products

First Sunday DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Cube and Katt in Demeaning Minstrel Show

When a movie resuscitates this many offensive African-American stereotypes, you half expect somebody to be passing out watermelons and barbecuing ribs right in the lobby of the theater. I had problems with virtually every aspect of First Sunday, starting with its basic premise. The plot revolves around a couple of petty thieves, Durell (Ice Cube) and LeeJohn (Tracy Morgan), who hatch a plan to rob a house of worship after overhearing that its congregation had had finally collected enough money to break ground on a new church.
It’s bad enough that these creepy heathens wouldn’t hesitate to steal from the Lord, but what’s worse are their reasons for needing the money. Durell is $17,342 behind in child support to his ex, Omunique (Regina Hall). Meanwhile, LeeJohn is on the run from Rastafarians because of a deal in contraband gone horribly wrong.
First Sunday is a crass minstrel show laced with demeaning dialogue. Most offensive among the characters is Rickey (Katt Williams), the First Hope Community Church’s flamboyant choir director. This ignoramus blurts out inane non-sequiturs and malapropisms, such as confusing “affecting” with “infecting.” While being held hostage, he behaves cowardly (“This isn’t even my church. I just saw this on MySpace.”), he feints, and generally behaves like a buffoon (“I’m gonna need therapy!”).
The self-hating antics of co-stars Tracy Morgan and Ice Cube aren’t any better as the bumbling burglars. Only if you like to laugh at the sight of a black man in a dress, at lines about nappy hair (“Your hair looks like an S.O.S. pad!’) and at African-Americans pretending to be mildly retarded, are you apt to find this flick hilarious.
A cringe-inducing, cinematic tribute to the Golden Age of Minstrelsy!

Poor (0 stars)
Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexual humor and drug references.
Running time: 94 minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes with optional director’s commentary, outtakes reel, gag reel, director’s wrap speech, director’s commentary, and cast and crew featurette.

African American Lives 2 DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Second Season of PBS Genealogy Series Arrives on DVD

A year ago, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates hosted a groundbreaking series on which he and eight other African-American icons explored their roots via a combination of genealogical and DNA research. The show was so successful, that PBS brought him back along with eleven new recruits curious about their lineage.
This go-round, the luminaries include actors Don Cheadle and Morgan Freeman, poet Maya Angelou, Olympian Jackie Joyner-Kersee, DJ Tom Joyner, singer Tina Turner. Ebony/Jet publisher Linda Johnson Rice, fellow Harvard Professor Reverend Peter Gomes, comedian Chris Rock and belatedly-black author Bliss Broyard.
The format features four episodes, the first focusing on each person’s 20th Century relatives. Episode Two traces Civil War era ancestors, while the third goes all the way back to the Colonial Period. DNA testing is introduced during the final episode, which is when the participants learn what per cent African, Asian, European and Native American they are. Some then venture to their respective homelands.
Highlights include Tom Joyner’s learning of the legal lynching of two of his grandmother’s brothers for the murder of a white man and the reading from a slave ship’s log about captives’ deaths from sickness and suicide. Then, there’s Ms. Angelou’s heartfelt insights about her strong connection to the Motherland, even in absentia when she wistfully reflects, “I don’t think you can ever leave home.”
Ironically, probably the series’ most compelling moments revolve around Ms. Broyard, daughter of the late New York Times literary critic, Anatole Broyard. For her light-skinned father passed for white from the age of 17. She talks about how she never knew she was part African-American until his death.
As moving, informative and fascinating a four hours as you can hope to find attempting to reconstruct the genealogy of black families torn asunder during the days of slavery.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 240 minutes
Studio: PBS/Paramount Home Entertainment

Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is… (Season Two) DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: BET’s #1 Rated Reality Series Released on DVD

Picture a cross between The Beverly Hillbillies and Jerry Spitzer and you have a good idea of what to expect from Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is, the highest rated series on the BET Network. The popular reality show offers viewers an unblinking look inside the dysfunctional family life of Keyshia Cole, the Grammy-nominated R&B diva who burst on the scene in 2005 with her platinum-selling debut album, also entitled The Way It Is.
There’s a reason why this TV program is #1 with viewers, namely, it appeals to an even lower common denominator than I Love New York and The Flavor of Love combined. The only reason to watch this jaw-dropping train wreck is if you enjoy laughing at trashy nouveau riche putting on airs while making absolute fools of themselves.
Keyshia’s kin are so impulsive, ignorant and self-destructive that giving them their 15 minutes of fame in this fashion borders on a cruel form of exploitation. First, there’s family matriarch, Frankie, a toothless, reformed crack whore and recently-paroled ex-con with seven children by lots of different men. (“We don’t like none of her Baby Daddies.”) She has no idea whether Ken, a stranger claiming to be Keyshia’s father, is telling the truth, so she asks him to take a DNA test.
Then there’s sister Neffe, an alcoholic with three young daughters. She’s married, technically, but her hubby left her for her first cousin a year ago. At the start of the series’ second season, Keyshia essentially rescues her relatives by relocating them away from their toxic environment in Oakland to a sprawling mansion in suburban Atlanta.
But bad habits die hard, despite unequivocal house rules, such as “no conjugal visits.” So, it is no surprise when Neffe somehow ends up pregnant again. Too bad kindhearted Keyshia can’t bring herself to listen to her financial advisor who suggests that she worry about herself and forget about everyone else.
Slumming for couch potatoes!

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 154 minutes
Studio: BET/Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, plus two featurettes, “Frankie Reveals” and “Meet Keyshia’s Glam Squad.”

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le Papillon) DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: DVD Features Adaptation of Stroke Victim’s Memoir



On December 9, 1995, Jean-Dominique Bauby (1952-1997) suffered a massive stroke which left him in a coma for three weeks. When he regained consciousness, he was completely paralyzed except for being able to blink his left eye.

At the time of the devastating disaster, the freewheeling, 43 year-old editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine (played by Mathieu Amalric) had left his wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) and three kids for the arms of a mistress (Agatha de la Fontaine) who would abandon him soon after his accident. So, it’s no surprise, then, that this unfortunate soul would soon be consumed by both self pity and overwhelming regret.

This is the dire point of departure of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a bittersweet bio-pic based on Bauby’s inspirational memoir of the same name. We see that with the support of very dedicated physical (Olatz Lopez Garmendia) and speech (Marie-Josee Croze) therapists, and the encouragement of Claude (Anne Consigny), the woman who dutifully recorded his dictation, he was helped to transcend his seemingly hopelessly straits and to write a best seller about his feelings and fantasies.

To convey Bauby’s mental metamorphosis cinematically, the movie cleverly widens its visual perspective from narrowly reflecting his physical limitations to one allowing for an assortment of conventional camera angles.

By initially relying on this cinematic device, director Julian Schnabel conveys all the more effectively the plight of the protagonist post-transformation.

Recalled by life, and egged on by his support team, Jean-Dominique discovers that he still has access to cherished memories and a boundless imagination, and so he pours himself into the project with abandon. Unfortunately, he only lived just long enough to see the book published, as he passed away a few days after its release.

The Sea Inside meets My Left Foot.



Excellent (3.5 stars)

Rated PG-13 for nudity, sexuality and some profanity.

In French and English with subtitles.

Running time: 112 minutes

Studio: Buena Visa Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Director Julian Schnabel’s commentary and interview with Charlie Rose, “The Making of” featurette and more.

Wetlands Preserved DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Rockumentary about Green NYC Nightclub Released on DVD



In 1989, Larry and Laura Bloch opened Wetlands Preserve in a rat-infested dive on Hudson Street in lower Manhattan. What made the groundbreaking nightclub different from others in the seedy section of the city was its eco-friendly orientation and commitment to activist causes ranging from the environment to animal rights. Reviving the spirit of the Sixties’ Woodstock Generation, the Blochs set an anti-corporate social agenda which put people and the planet before profits.

As a result of the owners seeing humans as more than objects to be exploited, the unorthodox rock club cultivated a counter-cultural clientele while also attracting an eclectic array of performers. Regulars included Blues Traveler, Macy Gray, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Pearl Jam, Hootie & the Blowfish, Jill Scott, Spin Doctors and The Roots. In addition, Wetlands served as a proving ground for up-and-coming unknown bands like Screaming Headless Torsos and The Murder Junkies.

Over the dozen years the place was in business, a portion of its nightly proceeds were donated to various groups aligned with its progressive ideas. Unfortunately, the popular haunt began to slide into a decline when it was targeted for harassment by the Giuliani Administration. During that reign of terror known as “zero tolerance,” the club was ticketed for the slightest of transgressions, even receiving a $50 summons for each poster placed around town by acts booked to appear.

The coup de grace was delivered on 9/11, when the terrorist attack on the nearby World Trade Center altered the landscape of and access to the neighborhood. Part nostalgic remembrance, part rebellious rallying cry, Wetlands Preserved is a fitting tribute to those intrepid souls who dared to try to carve out an altruistic utopian escape right in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a most materialistic metropolis.



Excellent (3.5 stars)

Unrated

Running time: 97 minutes

Studio: First Run Features

DVD Extras: Outtakes, two live jam performances at the club, photo gallery and a list of everyone who ever played at the club.

How She Move DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams



Headline: Preppie Returns to Ghetto Roots in Dance Drama Out on DVD



Raya Green’s (Rutina Wesley) dreams of becoming a doctor seem to be dashed when her elder sister dies of a drug overdose. Sadly, the tragedy leaves her overworked West Indian parents so strapped financially that they can no longer afford their surviving daughter’s prep school tuition.

This means Raya will have to return home and attend the local public high school. Worse, she’ll have to try to survive the streets of the same crime-infested neighborhood that took her sibling’s life.

Back in the ‘hood, Raya puts her ambitions on hold temporarily and focuses more on fitting-in than on excelling, so she won’t be ostracized as an egghead. However, when she’s exposed for dumbing herself down at the blackboard by her math teacher, her punishment is to tutor a truly struggling classmate twice a week after hours.

Trouble is, like oil and water, the personalities of hard-edged Michelle (Tre Armstrong) and relatively-refined Raya don’t mix. What’s worse, Michelle doesn’t appreciate it when the newcomer suddenly starts hanging out with her “Step” crowd.

Rava’s curiosity about the elaborately-orchestrated dance routines was piqued when she learned about the upcoming Step Monster Competition with a $50,000 grand prize. She figures that if she can find a team that will allow her to join, she just might win the seed money to get her out of the ghetto again.

Although its premise might sound suspiciously similar to that of Stomp the Yard, How She Move is superior in almost every way, especially in terms of character development, chemistry and choreography.

Be prepared to root for Raya for the duration of this satisfying saga, as she sheds tears, studies and stomps her way to the big stage, all while handling an array of pressing teen dilemmas in a refreshingly intelligent fashion for an inner city melodrama.



Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG-13 for profanity, sexuality and drug use.

Running time: 91 minutes

Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Three behind-the-scenes featurettes and a theatrical trailer.

American Bullfighter DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Overweight American Alcoholic Finds Redemption via Bullfighting

Alex Lemay was born in Indiana but raised in Spain where his father, Albert, taught as a college professor. Consequently, as a child, instead of going to baseball games with his dad, he accompanied him to the bull ring, to enjoy that country’s national pastime.
By the time he was an adult, Alex had moved back to America but had already developed a sad Spanish soul. He saw less and less of his father, eventually bottoming out back in Barcelona at the age of 34.
Rudderless, overweight and an alcoholic, he entered rehab to try to turn his life around. Then, after being sober for several months, he decided to return to the bullring, not as a spectator, but as a matador.
The idea was to prove something not only to himself but to get the respect of his dad. So, Alex enrolled in a bullfighting academy designed to whip novices into suave toreadors capable of hypnotizing mammoth savage beasts with little more than a red cape and several well-placed swords.
Listen, as an animal lover, I have some serious reservations about a bio-pic conveniently downplaying the abuse aspects of this death-defying so-called bloodsport, especially when an “Ugly American” is using it as a means of male-bonding. However, because of the deep cultural roots of bullfighting in Spain and Latin America and because Albert was terminally ill at the time, I was willing to give the documentary a Mulligan.
And provided you have a strong stomach for bovine torture, the film is likely to prove entertaining, for it relates an otherwise admirable overcoming-the-odds saga. Plus, daredevils can learn where to stab in the neck to hit the aorta during a pass, something that could come in handy if you ever decide to run with bulls in Pamplona and find yourself about to be gored.
No animals were harmed during the writing of this review.

Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
In English and Spanish with subtitles.
Running time: 82 minutes
Studio: Cinema Libre Studio

Pact, The DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Three Black Boys from Newark Overcome Odds to Become Doctors

Rameck Hunt, Sampson Davis and George Jenkins grew up in a Newark ghetto where only about 3% of the kids went on to college. And their own prospects probably weren’t any better, given that they were each raised by a single mom in a broken home in a neighborhood blighted by gang violence, drugs, poverty, unemployment and crime.
Yet, this enterprising trio of best friends had the wherewithal to sense that a ticket out of their bleak surroundings might only be an education away. So, before the streets could gobble up their future, they made a mutual pact, promising to support each other in their shared dream of becoming doctors.
Against the odds, all three succeeded in that quest, Sampson and Rameck, as MDs, and George, as a dentist, and this uplifting bio-pic highlights the considerable hurdles they had to overcome on the road to success. For both of Rameck’s parents were crackheads, and he recounts how he’d pray to God everyday asking that just one of them be able to kick the habit.
Sampson, we learn, did a stint in juvenile prison for armed robbery, and had a sister who was HIV+. And George talks about how the absence of a male role model meant he never learned how to do many things most boys take for granted, such as how to shave or tie a tie.
But ultimately, all three came through with flying colors and, despite their busy medical practices, remain very committed to creating academic opportunities for kids still stuck in the slums. In this regard, the film frequently focuses on the fortunes of Malique, their 12 year-old protégé who also serves as narrator.
Overall, an inspiring affirmation of the power of friendship, courage, determination, hard work and faith to sustain even those seemingly trapped in the most dire of circumstances.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 84 minutes
Studio: Spark Media

Savages, The

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Laura Linney’s Oscar-Nominated Performance in Dysfunctional Family Drama

Alzheimer’s patient Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) was living in an upscale assisted living community with his common-law wife, Doris (Rosemary Murphy), when she suddenly dropped dead. Relying on a non-marital agreement signed years prior, her heartless heirs decide to kick him out of the Arizona condo which was solely in their mother’s name.
Consequently, the burden of finding a retirement home capable of caring for someone whose senility has him smearing excrement on the walls suddenly falls to Lenny’s children living halfway across the country. Neither Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) nor Wendy (Laura Linney) is really ready to take on the unanticipated responsibility because both of them are already dealing with serious issues of their own.
Wendy is a struggling Greenwich Village playwright who supports herself by doing temp work. Her love life isn’t any better, as she’s stuck in a self-destructive affair with a married man (Peter Friedman). Jon, meanwhile, a literature professor, is agonizing over whether to wed his Polish girlfriend (Cara Seymour) before her visa expires.
So, when they venture to Sun City to rescue their ailing their father, they struggle to keep their emotional baggage on a back burner. Arriving at a compromise, they agree to bring Lenny to Buffalo where Jon teaches, and to place him in an affordable nursing home. Wendy sticks around town, which means she and her brother will now have ample opportunities to bicker with each other over their respective writing careers and dysfunctional romantic relationships.
So unfolds The Savages, a maudlin, slice-of-life drama for which Laura Linney landed her third Oscar nomination. If only the film’s prevailing tone were optimistic rather than funereal, then there might be more of a reason to recommend this downer about a couple of middle-aged adolescents acting out as their father slowly wastes away.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for sexuality and profanity.
Running time: 114 minutes
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Extended scenes, cast and filmmaker interviews, “Behind the Scenes” photo gallery and Fox previews.

What Would Jesus Buy? DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Super-Size Jesus

This tongue-in-cheek documentary questions the degree to which America has commercialized Christmas. The film features Reverend Billy Talen, a colorful character who travels across the country accompanied by the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, confronting frantic shoppers in malls right at the height of the holiday season.
Declaring Mickey Mouse the anti-Christ, this flamboyant man of the cloth mounts a soap box to inform anybody who’ll listen that “The Disney Company still presides over sweatshops all around the world.” He conducts impromptu man on the street interviews, asking folks to have a conscience about their purchases.
Unfortunately, his passionate pleas fall mostly on deaf ears and do little to discourage the determined consumers he encounters, despite his dire warning of the coming Shopocalypse. Instead, he’s mostly treated as a nuisance by mall security and local police who routinely either arrest him or escort him off the premises.
Nonetheless, the movie does drive home a powerful point, namely, that Christmas has lost most of its religious significance and come to revolve around gift-giving. Pointing out that most Christians spend more time worshipping retail items in malls than Jesus in church, he challenges believers to find something more meaningful to do than shopping.
He’s supported in this endeavor by several experts, including Harvard Professor Dr. Alvin Poussaint who laments how since birth we’ve been “conditioned to associate material goods with the symbol of love.” Ditto Reverend Andrew Young who makes a cameo appearance in which he reminds us of Christ’s teaching to “Feed the hungry, clothe the naked and heal the sick.”
But the real star of this show is the irrepressible Reverend Billy who is as hilarious as he is thought-provoking, and thus apt to keep you in stitches as you contemplate spiritual alternatives to material satisfaction. Merry Capitalism!

Excellent (4 stars)
PG for mature themes and mild epithets.
Running time: 91 minutes
Studio: Arts Alliance America
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, printable lyrics to the choir’s unique Christmas carols, and an 8-minute public access show featuring Reverend Billy and the choir.

Charlie Wilson's War DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Revisits Exploits of Texas Congressman Who Single-Handedly Toppled the Soviet Union

Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson (Tom Hanks), who served from 1973 to 1996, is apparently an unsung hero responsible for toppling the Soviet Union virtually single-handedly. For it was through his funding of a covert CIA operation in response to the Russian invasion of Afghanistan that the mujahedeen managed to defend themselves successfully while simultaneously bankrupting the U.S.S.R.
What is ironic is that Wilson, the architect of the operation, was not only a liberal Democrat, but a loose cannon who didn’t let the fact that he was married get in he way of his flagrant boozing and womanizing. Among his many mistresses was a wealthy socialite named Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), and their lustful liaison was proof of the age-old maxim that politics makes strange bedfellows, literally and figuratively.
She was a conservative, Christian fundamentalist who pressured her boy-toy to get the CIA to intervene in the conflict in the name of freedom of religion. What neither of them anticipated, however, was that in the process of sending the Soviets to defeat they would be creating a new monster, a militarily-equipped radical Islam.
This is the arc of Charlie Wilson's War, a relatively lighthearted romp about a real-life James Bond. The movie was adapted from the best-selling biography of the same name by legendary director Mike Nichols who had no reservations about depicting his protagonist’s depraved side, such as an occasion when we find Charlie cavorting naked in a hot tub with coke-snorting strippers.
Unless somebody’s taking liberties with the truth here, history will one day confirm that all it took to bring an end to the Cold War was the valiant efforts of a party animal who knew his way around Washington well-enough to be unburdened by red tape, bureaucrats or democracy. Charlie Wilson, a real American hero, belatedly revealed.

Excellent (3.5 stars)
Rated R for profanity, nudity, sexuality and drug use.
Running time: 102 minutes
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: “The Making of” and “Who Is Charlie Wilson?” featurettes

Nina's Heavenly Delights DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Latent Lesbians in Formulaic Female Empowerment Flick

When Prodigal Daughter Nina (Shelley Conn) returns to Glasgow for the first time in years to attend her father’s (Raad Rawi) funeral, it’s apparent that the young woman has something to hide. But between mourning and making the arrangements, her family’s too preoccupied to take any hints about her sexual preference.
Plus, they’re trying to save the jewel in their East Indian-Scottish clan’s crown, a famous curry house called “The New Taj.” Seems that the late patriarch had a gambling habit which left half the restaurant in the hands of Lisa (Laura Fraser), the attractive blonde now dating Kary (Atta Yaqub), Nina’s brother.
When the owner (Art Malik) of a rival eatery expresses an interest in buying the Taj, most of the Shahs are prepared to sell. But not Nina, whose jilted former fiancé (Raji James) is the man’s son. What nobody suspects is that she’s gay and would prefer to lock lips with Lisa than to hand the place over to her ex.
So, Nina concocts the perfect plan to save the Taj, namely, to enter and win the annual “Best of the West” cook-off competition. Fortunately, Lisa agrees, and the two new business partners proceed to flirt while whipping up recipes for the big showdown. Don’t be misled by Nina's Heavenly Delights’ promising premise, for as good as it might sound, the film fails to measure up to its potential.
Between its plodding pace and predictable plot developments, the production repeatedly fritters away opportunities to address meaningfully any of the assorted themes it dances around, ranging from homosexuality to family to tolerance to assimilation to male chauvinism to sexual preference. You know a cross-cultural, gender-bending dramedy has issues, when its most memorable moment is a blasphemous, bouncy Bollywood musical finale featuring a female impersonator.

Fair (1.5 stars)
Rated PG-13 for sexuality.
Running time: 94 minutes
Studio: Genius Products
DVD Extras: Trailer.

The Orphanage (El Orfanato) SPANISH DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Supernatural Suspense Flick from Spain Released on DVD

In 2007, Pan’s Labyrinth, a magical blend of surrealism and WWII saga won three Academy Awards, plus nominations in the Foreign Film and Original Screenplay categories. Now, that masterpiece’s writer/director, Guillermo del Toro, has served as producer of a horror picture rather reminiscent of his own escapist fairy tale.
The Orphanage revolves around Laura (Belen Rueda), a woman with mostly fond memories of the seaside orphanage where she lived some 30 years earlier. Today, we find her married to a doctor (Fernando Cayo) with whom she is raising an adopted son, Simon (Roger Princep).
The couple has decided to purchase the now abandoned, run-down estate with plans to turn the premises into a home for sick kids. However, soon after moving in, seven year-old Simon’s fantasizing begins to get the better of him as he starts talking to imaginary friends.
Laura supports the boy’s belief in the supernatural, sensing that some otherworldly spirits might have invaded the place during the period it was vacant. This causes tension between her and her husband, Carlos, who doesn’t believe in ghosts, and he is more inclined to think that his wife has become deranged.
This is the eerie premise of The Orphanage, a film which marks the directorial debut of Juan Antonio Bayona. More suspenseful than scary, the movie is apt to disappoint anyone expecting to scream out loud in the theater. Nonetheless, it’s effective at casting a creepy pall over the proceedings which permeates the picture for the duration.
An unnerving meditation on loss of innocence.

Very Good (3 stars)
Rated R for some disturbing content.
In Spanish with subtitles.
Running time: 105 minutes
Studio: New Line Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Stills gallery, theatrical trailers, video segments about the filmmakers, footage of the director and cast during rehearsals, plus a couple of featurettes.