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What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can view Cate Blanchett's award-nominated performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Jane Austen Book Club, which I featured as one of my February Must Haves. Additionally, the Jodi Foster thriller The Brave One, which I liked well enough, is now on DVD.

The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford
This movie adaptation of Ron Hansen's acclaimed novel brings to life two infamous personalities of the American wild West. Notorious outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) befriends what amounts to a latter-day celeb stalker, Robert Ford. Played by Casey Affleck who has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal, Ford is a man looking for fame and will do just about anything to attain it.

I enjoyed this movie, despite some awkward pacing and artifice. The visualizations of the West and solid performances make this a great choice for home-theater viewing.

It's a fun week for DVDs so read more.

Across the Universe
I once described the look and feel of Across the Universe as a shroom-induced dream set to Beatles songs, and I stand by that description. Using the Fab Four's music, a romantic plot line, and trippy visual effects, director Julie Taymor takes audiences through the ups and downs of the 1960s. The result is an ambitious, psychedelic attempt to capture a moment in time, and I give it an "A" for effort.

The burning question you'll probably have when viewing these crazy visuals is, "How'd they do that?" Thus, the two-disc DVD set is highly satisfying with all its making-of featurettes. Also, the commentary by Taymor gives great background on why she chose the '60s as her backdrop and how the Beatles inspired her.

2 Days in Paris
Julie Delpy wrote, stars in, directed, and composed the music for this comedy that co-stars Adam Goldberg. I had a chance to talk with Delpy about this film, and it was clear she has a serious interest in exploring what makes modern relationships tick. The film follows a neurotic yet lovable couple that spends two awkward days in Paris where Marion's (Delpy's) family forces them to confront their relationship issues, not to mention their cultural differences. Overall, the movie is a charming take on all the work that goes into love nowadays. Special features include five deleted scenes and an interview with Julie Delpy.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: Almost Too Artsy

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:14:47 -0700

As a movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is not unlike its title: unusual and poetic but also way too long and somewhat contrived. Though it's not the best Western I've seen all year - that honor goes to 3:10 to Yuma - it is worth watching for the masterful beauty that breaks through the somewhat poorly managed pace.

In case you haven't heard, Jesse James stars Brad Pitt in the title role, and as the West is writing its own mythology, James is nearing the end of his illustrious outlaw career. Increasingly paranoid about the reward on his head, he takes up with a gang of petty thieves, including his future killer, Robert Ford (Casey Affleck).

That we know the ending all along doesn't make the story any less compelling, because what makes this movie better than most is its realistic-yet-surreal atmosphere. For the rest of my take, read more

Jesse James is visually stunning in a way that pays tribute to the West while looking unlike any Western I've ever seen. Cinematographer Roger Deakins gives the film a stark, isolated feel by flooding it with natural light, and the dreamy realism is enhanced by the dialog. Listening to it feels like eavesdropping, as the actors deliver each line with casually authentic cadence.

Pitt plays well as the brooding, private James, though at times he seems to forget that he's supposed to be telegraphing inner demons. The supporting cast is also stellar, particularly Sam Rockwell as Robert Ford's aw-shucks brother Charlie and Paul Schneider as gang member Dick Liddel. But the movie really belongs to Affleck, who strikes the perfect balance between painfully ordinary and downright creepy as the James-idolizing Ford. (Unfortunately, the women, including Mary-Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel, are such minor characters that they barely speak.)

But despite its authentic elements, The Assassination of Jesse James is too contrived for its own good. An anonymous narrator offers literary (and very long) voice-overs, but the rest of the movie, in its attempts to be arty, leaves a lot of details out. Why have a narrator tell us about the complexities of the story and the characters' emotions when the film could show us instead?

Frankly, the main problem with this movie is that it's just too long. Around the two-hour mark, even the beauty of each frame ceased to mesmerize me, and as a result, the movie doesn't pack as much emotional impact as it otherwise should. Like Jesse James, the movie suffers from the size of its own ego.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Movie Preview: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 06:30:00 -0700

I first told you about this movie in my Fall Movie Preview that focused on the Westerns that are coming out this fall, and gave you all a glimpse of the ever-handsome Brad Pitt playing Jesse James. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck costarring as Jesse James and Robert Ford. From the title, you can kind of tell what happens, so I was intrigued to watch the trailer to find out exactly what else this movie entailed.

The trailer is slow-moving and ominous, with Affleck convincingly portraying Robert Ford - a member of Jesse James' group who becomes resentful of James and vows to get rid of him -as someone with a lot of sketchy stuff simmering just beneath the surface. I'm looking forward to watching these two play off each other (along with the other cast members, like Mary-Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel) when Assassination opens September 21. To see the preview, read more

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