DVD Reviews7: September

The Interpreter - Nicole Kidman, Sean Penn, Syndey Pollack [D]
Drama, Thriller - Excellent movie with convincing performances from both leads who often disappoint me. Gripping direction keeps the plot teasing the audience and ever heightening the tension in this political thriller. Excellent score, production, visuals and supporting cast bring a tightly written though world unspecific script to life. Film access to the UN Building adds to the realism. 4 stars.

Coach Carter - Samuel L. Jackson
Drama, Sports - Very decent, although lacks the gritty, emotional feel of movies like Friday Night Lights. Will appeal to most. Based on a true story, Jackson's character seems almost too good most of the time. 3 stars.

Treasure Planet - Disney
Disney - An adaptation of the classic. Good animation, entertaining story inherited, no sing along songs. 2.5 Stars.

Thunderbirds - Bill Paxton (minor char), Jonathan Frakes [D]
Children - An entertaining children's movie. The teen romance elements are sickiningly written, and the whole mystical power is left unexplained. But shows what a good director can do with a sordid script and challenging premise. Commander Riker report to the director's chair! 2.5 stars

Atlantis - Disney
Disney - An original story with usual Disney themes, being a good guy, beating the bad guy. Good animation, original concept art, sterotypical sidekick types, no sing along songs. 2.5 Stars

Ring 2 - Naomi Watts, Hideo Nakata [D]
Horror - For a horror film, almost entirely unscary except for 2 exceptional prosthetic masks. Bathtub scene is fantastic in imagination and execution, but not scary. Inferior to its root, and one suspects that where the Ring lost some of its scare in the cultural translation - Ring 2 has lost all of it. Trivia: Ring in Japanese ping-yin is Ringu! 2 stars

5 Children and It - Freddie Highmore, Eddie Izzard
Children - Based on a presumably 'well-loved' children's novel, follows the adventure of 5 children and the naked, ugly, farting monster they encounter. Freddie Highmore is getting plenty of work. The story remains in the period it is set (written?) 1914-18, but failed to excite. 1.5 stars

Edward Scissorhands - Johnny Depp, Wynona Ryder, Tim Burton [D]
Drama - Classic. Must be watched! A perfect movie. 5 stars