DVDS `WTC' RECALLS THAT AWFUL DAY.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Oliver Stone Noun 1. Oliver Stone - United States filmmaker (born in 1946) Stone was a perfect fit to make ``World Trade Center'' -- or at least turned himself into one. The film re-creates the experience of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Stone, whose Oscar-winning ``Platoon'' graphically and emotionally brought home the Vietnam War Vietnam War, conflict in Southeast Asia, primarily fought in South Vietnam between government forces aided by the United States and guerrilla forces aided by North Vietnam. by concentrating on a small band of men, does something of the same thing here. ``World Trade Center'' concentrates on two police officers, John McLoughlin
The action begins before dawn on that terrible day and covers the next 24 hours or so, the story switching between the men's plight and their anguished families. The difference between ``World Trade Center'' and many of Stone's other films -- both good and bad -- is the restraint the director shows. This may be due to the fact that the director didn't write the script, as he usually does, and perhaps as a reaction to criticism of the the extravagance (or self-indulgence, depending on your viewpoint) of his last film, ``Alexander.'' Restraint in the telling, however, did not mean that Stone tamped down the emotion and trauma of the day. If anything, that focus and Stone's ability to portray such moments give ``World Trade Center'' its strength. In the hands of a less-skilled filmmaker, the project could have been, well, awful. There was a dignity in the way the overwhelming number of New Yorkers handled themselves that day. There was the heroism of ordinary men and women. And Stone captures this almost tenderly, drawing nuanced performances from the actors, including Maria Bello Maria Elana Bello (born April 18, 1967) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress. Biography Early life Bello was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania to an Italian American father and a Polish American mother. and Maggie Gyllenhaal Maggie Ruth Gyllenhaal (born November 16, 1977) is an American actress. She is the older sister of Jake Gyllenhaal and the daughter of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner. as the wives of the trapped officers. While there are glimpses of the bigger picture -- voices of TV anchors and politicians, ``World Trade Center'' is about the emotional reality of a day none of us will forget. The extras on the two disc-set include commentary by Stone, the real Jimeno and actual on-scene rescue workers as well as deleted scenes. NEW FILMS Will Ferrell has the big goofy doofus doo·fus n. pl. doo·fus·es Slang An incompetent, foolish, or stupid person. [Perhaps blend of doof, fool (from Scots) and goofus, fool (from goof). role down cold. So ``Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' is a perfect fit. There he plays NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. driver Ricky Bobby, who is about as slow on the uptake as he is fast on the track. With John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor known for his ability to act in a dramatic or comedic role with ease. Biography Personal life as Cal Naughton Jr., an even dimmer dim·mer n. 1. A rheostat or other device used to vary the intensity of an electric light. 2. a. A parking light on a motor vehicle. b. A low beam. bulb content to be No. 2, Ricky has climbed to the top of the NASCAR heap, only to be challenged by a gay French Formula One driver named Jean Girard, played by Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen[1] (born 13 October, 1971) is an English comedian, writer and actor most noted for his comic characters Borat (a Kazakh reporter), Ali G (a junglist-hip hop gangsta wannabe of ``Borat'' fame. The story follows a familiar route -- Ricky loses his mojo, goes through so many trials, etc. But ``Talladega Nights'' takes some wacky and very funny detours, along the way poking fun at the NASCAR culture without ridiculing it. Ferrell's got an everyman's quality about him; not the hero everyman but the guy who likes to drink beer and watch NASCAR racing or football. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. is his comic equal -- brilliantly weird. Since Ferrell comes from a sketch-comedy background and co-wrote the script, there are, as you'd expect, numerous outtakes and deleted and alternative scenes as part of the extras. All of which makes for a fun and funny time. Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly, the tyrannical editor of a slick fashion magazine called Runway in ``The Devil Wears Prada.'' So you can easily guess who's the Satan referred to in the title. Calling her imperious im·pe·ri·ous adj. 1. Arrogantly domineering or overbearing. See Synonyms at dictatorial. 2. Urgent; pressing. 3. Obsolete Regal; imperial. is like calling the Empire State Building big. Streep's Miranda could stop spring from springing with just a peek over her dark shades. Along comes Ivy Leaguer Andy (short for Andrea) Sachs (Anne Hathaway), who, unlike Miss Muffet, does not scare away, even though she is wearing the wrong shoes. Instead, she shines as Miranda's assistant, outdoing a frazzled Emily (Emily Blunt), who was the No. 1 slave. But does Andy lose her soul to the devil along the way. Do we care? I didn't particularly. Fashion is an absurd world, but so is Hollywood. So those entering into it should have their eyes wide open This article contains links, text or other information that has been inserted due to a business arrangement by the Wikimedia Foundation rather than the usual Wikipedia editing process. It may or may not comply with all of Wikipedia's normal editorial standards. , and Andy is too much of an innocent to draw sympathy. Even if the role is a cliche, Hathaway does little with it. Streep, however, with her silver hair, vampire paleness and with an unmistakable threat in the precision of her instructions, is a joy to watch on screen. She is a devil, but more sympathetic than Hathaway's Andy. Streep alone makes the film worth watching. Helping things are a smart performance by Stanley Tucci as Nigel, Miranda's loyal second in command, and Blunt, who might have made something better out of the role of Andy. Some of the extras include a look into the New York City fashion world and deleted scenes. OLDER FILMS Warren Beatty's role in ``Bugsy,'' as the star-struck mobster Benjamin ``Bugsy'' Siegel, bears a similarity to his turn in ``McCabe and Mrs. Miller,'' the dreamer and small-time small·time or small-time adj. Informal Insignificant or unimportant; minor: a smalltime actor. small hustler John McCabe. In the 1971 Robert Altman film, the gambler McCabe rides into a small, bleak frontier mining town, believing he can make his fortune, and begins to until large forces become interested. In the 1991 Barry Levinson movie, Siegel dreams of Hollywood stardom even while running the rackets rackets Game for two or four players with ball and racket on a four-walled court. Rackets is played with a hard ball in a relatively large court (approximately 9 × 18 m), unlike the related games of squash and racquetball. in L.A. His downfall comes when his idea for a grand casino, the Flamingo, in the dusty town of Las Vegas goes way over budget. (Visionaries aren't always recognized in their time.) There is a new extended version of ``Bugsy'' for its 15th anniversary, with some 15 minutes added. It doesn't enhance the film dramatically, but it doesn't detract, either. The film's strengths still lie with its performances. Beatty walks the line between killer and lover as well as or better than anyone in Hollywood (he was Clyde Barrow, after all). Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley and Harvey Keitel are also standouts. Also celebrating 15 years is Oliver Stone's ``The Doors'' with Val Kilmer as the legendary rocker Jim Morrison. It got mixed reviews at the time, but Stone captured the drug-fueled anarchic spirit of the era better than any other filmmaker, except for the Maysles brothers' 1970 documentary ``Gimme gim·me Informal Contraction of give me. adj. Slang Demanding material things or especially money; acquisitive: today's gimme society; tired of gimme letters. n. Shelter.'' ``James Bond Ultimate Edition Vol. 3'' and ``Vol. 4'' are a newer, slimmer way to complete your collection of 007 films (assuming you have ``Vol. 1'' and ``Vol. 2.'') and minus the new ``Casino Royale.'' TELEVISION The BBC's ``Ocean Odyssey'' is from the same group that did ``Walking With Cavemen Walking with Cavemen is a four-part television documentary series about human evolution produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It was originally released in April 2003. .'' This mixture of live documentary footage and excellent animation looks at the life of a sperm whale, nature's largest predator, which can dive to amazing depths to search for prey on the ocean's floor. ``Ocean Odyssey'' follows one whale through its 80-year life as it swims through some of the Earth's deepest canyons, amid giant submerged mountain ranges and as it battles its natural enemy, the colossal squid. Little of this has been caught on film (the giant squid has never been filmed in its natural habitat), so the animation gives us a view into a world even scientists can only imagine. Though it's a bit too dramatic at times, ``Ocean Odyssey'' is, nevertheless, fascinating. ``Putting It Together: A Musical Revue'' stars Carol Burnett in a stage celebration of the work of Stephen Sondheim, America's foremost musical-theater composer. Burnett leads a stellar cast in the story that uses Sondheim songs from other musicals -- ``Anyone Can Whistle,'' ``Company,'' ``Follies,'' ``A Little Night Music,'' ``The Frogs,'' ``Sweeney Todd,'' ``Merrily We Roll Along,'' ``Sunday in the Park With George'' -- to tell the stories of five guests at a Manhattan cocktail party. Well worth it. Rob Lowman (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman@dailynews.com NEW FILMS ``World Trade Center'' (Paramount; $29.99 and $34.99 for the two-disc commemorative edition) ``Devil Wears Prada'' (Fox $29.99) ``Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' (Columbia; $28.95) ``She's the Man'' (Paramount; $29.95) ``Loving Annabelle'' (Wolfe; $24.95) ``Material Girls'' (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $29.99) ``Failure to Launch'' (Paramount; $29.95) ``America -- Freedom to Fascism'' (Cinema Libre; $19.95) ``Mozart & the Whale'' (Columbia; $24.96) OLDER FILMS ``James Bond Ultimate Edition Vol. 3'' (``Goldeneye goldeneye or whistler Either of two species of small, yellow-eyed diving ducks that produce a whistling sound with their rapidly beating wings. The common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere; Barrow's goldeneye (B. ,'' ``Live and Let Die,'' ``For Your Eyes Only,'' ``From Russia With Love,'' ``On Her Majesty's Secret Service'') (MGM; $89.98) ``James Bond Ultimate Edition -- Vol. 4'' (``Dr. No'' ``You Only Live Twice,'' ``Octopussy,'' ``Tomorrow Never Dies,'' ``Moonraker'') (MGM; $89.98) ``Bugsy -- Extended Cut'' (Columbia; $24.98) ``The Doors -- 15th Anniversary Edition'' (Lionsgate; $19.98) ``Fiddler on the Roof'' (MGM; $14.98) ``The Dean Martin Double Feature (``How to Save a Marriage -- and Ruin Your Life,'' ``Who Was That Lady?'') (Columbia; $19.94) KIDS/FAMILY ``The Chronicles of Narnia-- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Four-Disc Extended Edition''(Disney; $42.95) ``Barnyard -- The Original Party Animals'' (Paramount; $29.95) ``The Fox and the Hound 2'' (Disney; $29.99) ``Air Buddies'' (Disney; $29.99) TELEVISION ``Ocean Odyssey'' (BBC/Warner; $19.98) ``Putting It Together: A Musical Revue'' (Image; $19.99) ``Keeping Score: Copland and the American Sound'' (San Francisco Symphony  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. ; $28.98) ``Law & Order Criminal Intent -- The Second Year'' (Universal; $59.98) ``Full House -- The Complete Fifth Season'' (Warner; $29.98) ``Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. -- The Complete First Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``The Andy Griffith Show -- The Complete Final Season'' (Paramount; $38.99) ``Back in the Day With Dale Jr. -- The Complete Season One'' (A&E; $24.95) ``Blue Collar Comedy Tour The Blue Collar Comedy Tour began in January 2000 when Jeff Foxworthy started touring with three of his comedian friends, Bill Engvall, Ron White, and Larry the Cable Guy. Foxworthy had already established himself as a well-known, Grammy-award winning stand-up comedian, best known -- One for the Road'' (Paramount; $24.99) ``Stacked -- The Complete Series'' (Fox; $29.98) ``Masters of Horror Masters of Horror is an American television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. New episodes premiere every Friday at 10pm EST throughout the season. : Fair Haired Child'' (Anchor Bay; $16.98) CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Officer John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) is buried in Twin Towers rubble in ``World Trade Center.'' |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion