DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.Byline: ROB LOWMAN If there are language barriers in L.A., they exist not only between the many cultures in the City of Angels but between the rich and everyone else. Nicole Holofcener's finely observed ``Friends With Money'' brings that reality home without being judgmental judg·men·tal adj. 1. Of, relating to, or dependent on judgment: a judgmental error. 2. Inclined to make judgments, especially moral or personal ones: . Jennifer Aniston's character, Olivia, wonders why her rich friends don't just give the money directly to a good cause rather than spend money for seats at a charity ball. She was once a teacher at a rich-kids' school but quit after the students started throwing quarters at her for food. Now ``she's unmarried, a pothead pot·head n. Slang One who habitually smokes marijuana. Noun 1. pothead - someone who smokes marijuana habitually head - a user of (usually soft) drugs; "the office was full of secret heads" and a maid,'' worries her friend Jane (Frances McDormand), a wealthy dress designer. Jane, however, despite having a reasonably happy marriage to Aaron (Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born August 25 1957) is an English actor and director. He was born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. His father, Charles Brian Montagu McBurney, was an American archaeologist and academic. ), goes around perpetually angry about something and has stopped washing her hair. Another friend, Franny (Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack (born October 11, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress and comedian. Personal life Cusack was born in New York City to an Irish American family. ), lives in a happy bubble -- she inherited her wealth and still has a lively sex life in her marriage, although her husband, Matt (Greg Germann Gregory Andrew Germann (born February 26, 1958) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Richard Fish in the television series Ally McBeal. Germann was born in Houston, Texas and raised on Lookout Mountain outside of Golden, Colorado. ), still insists on smoking. It's not that the couple are unsympathetic to the poor or less fortunate, it just doesn't touch their world. (They don't understand at all when Olivia poses the charity question.) Olivia's other friends, Christine (Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 23, 1959)[1] is a two time Academy Award-nominated American actress. Biography Early life Keener, the third of five children, was born in Miami, Florida, to Evelyn and Jim Keener, a manager of an automotive store. ) and David (Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is a British actor. Raised in Liverpool and later in London, he fell accidentally into acting during his first year at university, and went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. ), are a successful screenwriting team who are putting a second story on their home, to the annoyance of their neighbors. The money they enjoy isn't buying happiness, however, just diverting their eyes from their souring marriage. Holofcener -- from her own script -- skillfully stitches these stories together in a colorful crazy quilt that's suited to L.A. While Olivia -- her obsession with skin lotions and her low-self esteem making her an easy target to be taken advantage of -- sits at the center of ``Friends With Money,'' Holofcener uses Aniston's character as a way to contrast the other's stories. At the end, despite its sharp dialogue, wry humor and smart observations, Holofcener's film isn't exactly a home run. Still, it makes you wonder how far a sense of entitlement takes you in L.A. -- her friends have it, Olivia doesn't. And who among us on the other side of the line hasn't wondered the same thing: Why don't the rich just give the money to the charities instead of holding a costly, glamorous dinner to do so? Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com NEWER FILMS In ``Sentinel'' Michael Douglas plays Pete Garrison, a womanizing wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. Secret Service agent who guards the president and beds the first lady (Kim Basinger). (So you know early on we're in overheated o·ver·heat v. o·ver·heat·ed, o·ver·heat·ing, o·ver·heats v.tr. 1. To heat too much. 2. To cause to become excited, agitated, or overstimulated. v.intr. potboiler pot·boil·er n. A literary or artistic work of poor quality, produced quickly for profit. [From the phrase boil the pot, to provide one's livelihood. territory.) After another agent is killed in his presence that makes Garrison ripe for being a fall guy for an international terrorist plot. His former protege (Kiefer Sutherland, intense as ever) aided by partner (Desperate Housewives' Eva Longoria) investigate, knowing he's lying about something. Douglas, who has a habit of playing characters that can't keep their pants on (``Fatal Attraction,'' ``Basic Instinct'' and ``Disclosure'') is on solid ground here, but Director Clark Johnson (``S.W.A.T.) puts a lot of pieces in play early in this thriller and then seems to forget what he was going to do with them. Most episodes of ``24'' have more zip, and it's easy enough to figure out who the real bad guy long before Johnson let you in on the secret. If you're are a Douglas fan, two of his older movies are also being reissued. In ``Romancing the Stone'' and ``The Jewel of the Nile,'' he plays the rascally ras·cal n. 1. One that is playfully mischievous. 2. An unscrupulous, dishonest person; a scoundrel. adj. Archaic Made up of, belonging to, or relating to the common people: adventurer Jack Colton who is matched up against romance writer Joan Wilder (Katherine Turner). The fun films are sort of ``Indiana Jones'' meets '30s screwball screw·ball n. 1. Baseball A pitched ball that curves in the direction opposite to that of a normal curve ball. 2. Slang An eccentric, impulsively whimsical, or irrational person. adj. comedies. ``Take the Lead'' is based on the true story of ``Mad Hot Ballroom.'' A dashing Antonio Banderas plays the real life Pierre Dulaine, who taught ballroom dancing to group of urban Bronx students as a way of giving them poise and manners. A key difference was in ``Ballroom'' the kids were 11 and 12 while in ``Take the Lead'' they are in high school, giving the filmmakers more chance for complex choreography. Banderas -- who has appeared on Broadway -- is quite good as in this feel-good movie and gets to shine on the dance floor when he shows his skills for his students. But there the film never kicks up its heels enough. Another feel-good movie is ``Akeelah and the Bee'' about an 11-year-old South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. girl (nicely played by Keke Palmer) uses her gift for spelling to get ahead. Laurence Fishburne is the professor and former spelling champ who challenges Akeelah to excel and always superb Angela Bassett is her mother. The fictional film's inspirational message, though, is somewhat undercut by its too-good-to-be-true elements. Comedian Albert Brooks plays a comedian named Albert Brooks in ``Looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. Comedy in the Muslim World.'' In the film, Brooks -- known most recently as being the voice of the dad in ``Finding Nemo'' (a joke in this film) -- is sent by the State Department to Pakistan and India on a quest to find Islam's funny bone. (There are large parts of the world we don't get, he is told. Duh duh interj. Used to express disdain for something deemed stupid or obvious, especially a self-evident remark. [Imitative of an utterance attributed to slow-witted people.] .) Brooks came up with an inspired concept for the film that he half-delivers on. Much of his humor in his films has always come the droll droll adj. droll·er, droll·est Amusingly odd or whimsically comical. n. Archaic A buffoon. [French drôle, buffoon, droll, from Old French drolle , uneasy situations he puts his character in, and in ``Looking for Comedy'' there are plenty of those. But the comedian may have been uneasy about pushing the humor in what is still a sensitive area, which is why the film is hit and miss. Deepa Metha's ``Water,'' set in 1938 Colonial India during Gandhi's rise. The third film in Mehta's ``Elemental Trilogy'' -- following ``Fire'' and ``Earth'' -- ``Water'' deals with religious and social restrictions of the time (some not completely gone to this day). The story is about young widows who after their husbands die are considered no longer fit for society and cast off in own way or another. One, an 8-year-old named Chuyia (Sarala) is dropped off an ashram ashram or ashrama In Hinduism, any of the four stages of life through which a “twice-born” (see upanayana) Hindu ideally will pass. for widows. There she and other widows like Kalyani (Lisa Ray), who is made a prostitute, struggle to survive and gain some freedom as India was rebelling against the British rule. The story is beautifully told and lushly photograph. And the question of sexual inequality remains a potent and divisive one. To wit, during the filming, the set was actually burned down by Hindu zealots Zealots (zĕl`əts), Jewish faction traced back to the revolt of the Maccabees (2d cent. B.C.). The name was first recorded by the Jewish historian Josephus as a designation for the Jewish resistance fighters of the war of A.D. 66–73. . Also out in ``The Swindle swindle v. to cheat through trick, device, false statements or other fraudulent methods with the intent to acquire money or property from another to which the swindler is not entitled. Swindling is a crime as one form of theft. (See: fraud, theft) ,'' veteran French director Claude Cabrol's witty thriller, starring Isabelle Huppert and Michel Serrault as con artists who may be conning each other. OLDER FILMS The 1985 film ``White Nights'' from director Taylor Hackford (``Ray'') has two things going for it -- the dancing of Mikhail Baryshnikov and the late Gregory Hines. Three if you count the choreography of Twyla Tharp. The story about a famed Russian ballet star named Nikolai (Baryshnikov) who had defected to the West but finds himself back in the USSR USSR: see Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. after a jet he's on is forced to crash-land there is meant to be a Cold War thriller The Soviets trying to ``rehabilitate'' him send him to live with an ex-pat American dancer (Hines) and his wife (Isabella Rossellini). While the suspense is whether Nikolai will escape or not, the highlight of the film is when the dancers square off -- Hines' tap as. Baryshnikov's ballet. The scene alone is worth the film, but there are some other excellent dance sequences and nice performance by Helen Mirren as the lover Nikolai left behind when he defected. The 1989 ``Tap'' also stars Hines in a tribute to an art form that had gone out of style. The storyline is familiar one of redemption. Hines plays the son of a star danceman who despite his talent has turned to a life of crime. The real joy in the movie is watching the dance sequences and performances by legends like Sammy Davis Jr., Sandman Sandman induces sleep by sprinkling sand in children’s eyes. [Folklore: Brewer Dictionary, 966] See : Sleep Sandman - The DoD requirements that led to APSE. Sims and Harold Nicholas. There are new editions of ``The Lord of the Rings'' films. Each of the two-disc set of Peter Jackson's three films will include both the theatrical and extended versions as well a never-before-released behind-the-scenes documentary by Costa Botes, who was personally hire by Jackson. Plus: Italian director's Pietro Germi's 1964 wry satire of manners ``Seduced & Abandoned'' involving a 15-year-old Sicilian girl who has been seduced and impregnated im·preg·nate tr.v. im·preg·nat·ed, im·preg·nat·ing, im·preg·nates 1. To make pregnant; inseminate. 2. To fertilize (an ovum, for example). 3. by her sister's fiance is out in a Criterion edition. TELEVISION Television box sets this week are every which way and loose. The third, shortened and final season of ``Arrested Development'' was a corker cork·er n. 1. One that corks bottles, for example. 2. Slang A remarkable or astounding person or thing. corker Noun Old-fashioned slang . Despite network indifference, the Fox show maintained its cracked sense of humor Noun 1. sense of humor - the trait of appreciating (and being able to express) the humorous; "she didn't appreciate my humor"; "you can't survive in the army without a sense of humor" sense of humour, humor, humour without compromising and a devoted, albeit small, audience. Describing the Bluth family of the O.C. as dysfunction would sound positive in light of the clan's cracked antics. Even poor Michael (Justin Bateman) finds himself once again over his head when he begins dating a woman with a past (Oscar-winner Charlize Theron.) Other guest stars include Judge Reinhold, William Hung (yes, there's only one), Ron Howard and Bateman's sister, Justine. Although it wrap itself up pretty well for its send-off, ``Arrested Development'' should have had a longer life. The cover of ``Nip/Tuck -- The Complete Third Season'' may say it all -- a woman in her bra and panties pant·ie or pant·y n. pl. pant·ies Short underpants for women or children. Often used in the plural. [Diminutive of pant2. stretched across the two seated doctors who head the Beverly Hills plastic-surgery practice that the series revolves around. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon play the MDs with the knives as they try to makes amends for sins in their lives by fixing the victims of the serial slasher slash·er n. One that slashes. adj. Characterized by gory violence: slasher movies. slasher Noun Austral & NZ known as the Carver. Yes, the series is over the top and the surgeries are so graphic at times only Joan Rivers could could enjoy them, but don't you want TV to be cutting edge? What seemed so fresh last year seems less-so in ``Desperate Housewives -- The Complete Second Season.'' The one-time water-cooler series lost its way in its sophomore year with the introduction of new characters who only stirred up the soap-opera pot rather than the creative juices of the show's writers, who seem to be juggling too many balls. Still, the gals -- Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Nicolette Sheridan and Marcia Cross are cool and hot hot as ever, which makes it possible that the series make a comeback. ``Will & Grace -- Season Five'' found Grace (Debra Messing) getting married to a handsome doc (Harry Conick Jr.), which doesn't sit well with longtime gay roommate Will (Eric McCormack). Some of the guest stars for the fifth season are Madonna, Gene Wilder, Minnie Driver, Andy Garcia and Demi Moore in what was a better-than-average season for a solid network sitcom. Let's see -- who got skewered in ``South Park -- The Complete Eighth Season''? Mel Gibson with the ``The Passion of the Jew''; Paris Hilton with ``Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" is episode 123 of the Comedy Central animated series South Park. It was originally broadcast on December 1, 2004. This was one of the 10 episodes featured on South Park: The Hits DVD. ,'' and Barry Bonds with ``Up the Down Steroid "Up the Down Steroid" is episode 803 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It originally aired on March 24, 2004. Plot Timmy and Jimmy, the two disabled children in South Park, are due to participate in the Special Olympics in Denver. .'' Trey Parker and Matt Stone's long running animated show on Comedy Central as been consistently good at one thing -- offending everybody at one time or the other, which is why -- as infantile as it gets sometimes -- the show is always worth checking out. ``The Old Grey Whistle Test The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from September 1971 to 1987. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. The programme hosted many seminal acts of the era, including the first British TV performance of Bob Marley and the , Vol. 3'' has a wide variety of musical performances from the British TV show of the '70s and '80s. Among the 28 clips are Jackson Browne, Roger Daltrey, Joe Jackson, King Crimson, Supertramp, B.B. King, John Martyn and Richard Thompson. ``Baghdad ER'' is the unflinching HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy documentary of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad's Green Zone. Directed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, the real cost of the war -- American soldier's lives and limbs -- is brought home graphically. Advances in medicine may have allowed us to save more lives but the loss a limb is still a devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. price. Two others to note: The acclaimed suspense drama ``Epitafios -- The Complete First Season'' that aired on HBO's Spanish channel is available with English subtitles; and ``The Best of the Awful Truth'' are highlights from muckraker muckraker Any of a group of U.S. writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé literature. The term, first used derisively, originated in an allusion Theodore Roosevelt made in 1906 to a passage in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress about a man with a muckrake Michael Moore's Emmy-nominated series. THE PRICE TAGS TELEVISION ``Arrested Development -- Season 3'' (Fox; $29.98) ``Desperate Housewives -- The Complete Second Season'' (Buena Vista; $59.99) ``Nip/Tuck -- The Complete Third Season'' (Warner; $59.98) ``Will & Grace -- Season Five'' (Lionsgate; $44.98) ``South Park -- The Complete Eighth Season'' (Paramount; $44.99) ``The Tick Vs. Season One'' (Buena Vista; $34.99) ``Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Vol. 10'' (Rhino; $59.99) ``The Andy Griffith Show -- The Complete Seventh Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``Epitafios -- The Complete First Season'' (HBO; $59.98) ``The Best of the Awful Truth'' (Docudrama; $19.95) ``Baghdad ER'' (HBO; $24.98) ``The Old Grey Whistle Test, Vol. 3'' (BBC/Warner; $24.98) NEW FILMS ``Sentinel'' (Fox; $29.99) ``Take the Lead'' (New Line; $29.98) ``Akeelah and the Bee'' (Lionsgate; $28.98) ``Friends With Money'' (Columbia; $28.95) ``Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World'' (Warner; $27.98) ``Water'' (Fox; $27.99) ``The Swindle'' (The New Yorker; $29.95) ``The Zodiac'' (Velocity/Thinkfilm; $29.99 OLDER FILMS ``White Nights'' (Columbia; $19.94) ``Tap'' (Columbia; $19.94) ``The Lord of the Rings -- The Fellowship of the Ring: Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition'' (New Line; $28.99) ``The Lord of the Rings -- The Return of the King: Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition'' (New Line; $28.99) ``The Lord of the Rings -- The Two Towers: Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition'' (New Line; $28.99) ``Seduced & Abandoned'' (Criterion; $29.95)) ``The Jewel of the Nile'' (Fox; $19.98) ``Romancing the Stone'' (Fox; $19.98) FOR KIDS ``Brother Bear 2'' (Disney; $29.99) ``Darkwing Duck, Volume 1'' (Disney; $34.99) ``The Castle of Cagliostro (Lupin the III) -- Special Edition'' (Manga maNga is a popular Turkish nu metal/rapcore band. Their music is mainly a fusion of alternative metal and hip hop music, with a touch of Anatolian melodies; with heavy use of turntables, invoking comparisons with modern American nu metal bands. ; $24.98) CAPTION(S): 4 photos Photo: (1) Jennifer Aniston as Olivia, the friend without money, in ``Friends With Money.'' (2) no caption (``Sentinel'') (3) no caption (``Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World'') (4) no caption (``Nip/Tuck'') |
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