New in Home Entertainment
January 15, 2013
Farewell My Queen
Rated R for brief graphic nudity and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
French with English subtitles
Set during the French Revolution only a few days before Marie Antoinette and King Louis lose their heads, a young servant develops a close and dangerous relationship with the queen. Starring Diane Kruger and Lea Seydoux, both former stars of Inglourious Basterds, this is a beautiful-looking film with an art-house feel due to all of the scenes taken from the point-of-view of the young maiden. Having recently been to Versailles, I was particularly taken with the opulence and emptiness of the royal wing I experienced from the tour and the opposite feel of the grittiness and chaos of the servants’ area. Its a fascinating picture with a phenomenal sense of dread of what awaits the unsuspecting royals. I’m surprised they didn’t try to give this film an awards push being that it has received particularly good reviews, has a couple of known foreign actors and is overall a rather impressive period drama. B+
The Possession
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving violence and disturbing sequences
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
After buying a unique antique box at a garage sale, a young girl becomes possessed by the demon hidden within. This sort of Jewish Exorcist is led by the very capable Jeffrey Dean Morgan but the supporting cast is quite awful and the story is just lame. I think the film has some potential, but it is unfortunately never realized. C-
The Other Dream Team
Available on DVD
Most everyone knows the story of the American Dream Team in basketball, but during the 1992 Olympics the newly free Lithuanians and their basketball team, along with the help of the Grateful Dead, became symbols of Lithuania’s independence movement when they took on the Soviet team for the bronze medal. This documentary is an inspiring look at the struggle of the Lithuanian people and how a little sport was able to bring them back their dignity and national pride. Well-filmed in a style that will keep even a non-sports fan glued to the screen, The Other Dream Team tells a moving story without once getting sappy. A-
To Rome with Love
Rated R for some sexual references
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Woody Allen is definitely hit and miss and the proof is the stark contrast in the quality of his newest Roman love letter to his last masterpiece Midnight in Paris. To Rome tells a few quirky and somewhat interesting stories but most of them turn out to be rather disappointing by the end. Honestly, the whole film feels like it might have originally been about Alec Baldwin and Jesse Eisenberg’s tale but then ran out of steam too quickly, necessitating a few other short stories to be added. The ideas are certainly unique and even intriguing, but the creativity seems to have run out before good resolutions could be formulated. If you are a big Woody Allen fan, you might find some enjoyment but for most this will definitely be considered a miss for the eclectic filmmaker. C