New to DVD 6/24/08

10,000 B.C. (*)

It's all supremely silly, as it continues to defy logic and intelligence at every turn. I would have preferred to see the filmmakers take a chance and make a movie totally without dialogue (these cavemen would not have had much of a language to speak of, let alone English) and let the images speak for themselves. It's an interesting concept, but the execution is beyond ridiculous. The scenery is pretty, and the special effects are passable, if nothing special (the close-ups of running men early in the film betray their greenscreen roots), but the dialogue is truly atrocious to the point of being laughably bad, and the rest of the film, well, if this is what passes for good entertainment these days then we have reached a sad state indeed.

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IN BRUGES (***½)

In Bruges works on so many levels - as a comedy, as an action film, as a mood piece, but above all, an exercise in pitch perfect filmmaking. McDonagh really nails this one, everything about it is perfectly executed and finely tuned for maximum impact, and all the performers are in absolutely top form (Gleeson and Farrell have never been better).
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PERSEPOLIS (***½)

It is a masterful balancing of socially conscious drama, childhood memoir, and outright comedy, highlighting the absurdity of a culture ruled by petty fundamentalism. It is a film whose relevance resonates beyond Iran - and is at once a fascinating first-person historical account and a gorgeous work of art.
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PRICELESS (***)

All the elements add up to a film that is an utter delight. It's not a perfect film by any means, but Salvadori is quite adept at creating outlandish situations that are kept grounded by likable characters with believable personalities. Priceless is a bubbly, frothy, grandly entertaining romantic comedy as delicious as its champagne tinted cinematography.
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THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES (***)

The Spiderwick Chronicles is pure escapism of a rare quality - it never panders to children or tries to shove an ham-fisted message down their throats. It's a far more successful adaptation than the first two Harry Potter films, and even though I have never read the book series on which this is based, I had a great time.
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