Check out reviews of this week's releases on DVD and Blu-ray
Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz in a scene from the 2011 movie "Hugo"
By CHRIS BALL
Cleveland Plain Dealer
"Hugo' - An orphan good at fixing things keeps the clocks running at a Paris train station, where he lives inside the walls. Hugo swipes food and collects spare parts to repair a mysterious contraption his father left him. Director Martin Scorcese’s first film suitable for his grandchildren grabbed a leading 11 Oscar nominations, including best picture, though none for acting. The period film sacrifices story for spectacle, with wondrous twirling gears and clicking mechanisms everywhere. There’s a message, too, about the importance of preserving early films, a subject Scorsese knows a little about. Ben Kingsley plays a dark figure with a shadowy past. The 2011
film co-stars Sacha Baron Cohen (“Borat”), Chloe Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”), Emily Mortimer, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Jude Law, and young Asa Butterfield in the lead role of Hugo Cabret. Scorsese won the Golden Globe for best director for “Hugo.”
"Johnny English Reborn" - Most sequels sink or sag, but “Johnny English Reborn” keeps the laughs flowing. Better known as Mr. Bean, Rowan Atkinson revives his second-best character in this hilarious spy spoof sequel. Johnny English, a bumbling British agent, was blamed for failing to stop an assassination, then exiled to an Asian monastery, where he masters his powers of concentration. But now his country needs him to catch some killers. He is summoned by new MI7 boss, played by Gillian Anderson, though she has her doubts. It’s a wonder former “X-Files” star Anderson keeps a straight face opposite Atkinson’s manic physical comedy.
"Puss in Boots" - Lover. Robber. Sword fighter. Milk lapper. Puss in Boots is one cool
cat, ready for action in this swashbuckling “Shrek” spinoff. The Oscar nominated animated feature tells how Puss got his boots. He also meets his female match, Kitty Softpaws, while on a quest for magic beans. Antonio Banderas oozes machismo as the voice of Puss, paired with frequent co-star Salma Hayek as Kitty and Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Dumpty. Other voices are provided by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris.
"London Boulevard" - Filmmakers seem fascinated with stories of convicts getting out of prison and trying to go straight. This 2010 crime thriller stands out from the rest in several ways. Colin Farrell pulls us in right away as hard-nosed but likeable Mitchel, a rare criminal who reads books and rescues ladies in jeopardy. Fresh out of lockup, he resists resuming a life of crime, wanting to avoid a return to prison. But his former partners are persuasive. Soon he’s going along on shakedown runs collecting money owed to a vicious crime boss (Ray Winstone). Out of the blue, he gets an outside job, doing security for a scandal-plagued movie star (Keira Knightley) whose every move is chronicled by paparazzi. She’s isolated, scared, depressed and on the cover of every tabloid in England. It’s an eye-opening look at what it must be like to be super-famous. Feeling trapped himself, he can sympathize, and it doesn’t take long for them to connect. But as a couple, they’re a tricky package, coming with excess baggage. William Monahan, who won an Oscar for his screenplay of 2006’s “The Departed,” makes his directing and producing debut. He also wrote the screenplay of “London Boulevard,” based on Ken Bruen’s novel.
"BuzzKill" - This low-budget comedy by all rights shouldn’t be funny, but somehow it is. The 2010 Second City production stars little-known comedy actor Daniel Raymont as an uptight screenwriter who stubbornly refuses to sell out. Reduced to living in a squalid apartment and dealing with an idiotic agent, he still somehow manages to find a potential buyer for his great work, a film called “Great Shame.” He sets out on a cross-country road trip to deliver his revised script, accompanied by a moronic teenager (Krysten Ritter of “Breaking Bad”). But along the way, he runs into the Karaoke Killer (Darrel Hammond of “Saturday Night Live”). There’s just enough deranged humor in this nightmarish
adventure to keep one hooked.
“American Teacher” - Do teachers have it easy, with lots of vacation time including summers off? Or are they underpaid, unappreciated public servants crucial to the development of children, our nation’s future? This 2011 documentary co-directed by Oscar winner Vanessa Roth looks at this much-debated
profession and finds that almost two-thirds of American teachers need to work a second job to pay the bills. With nearly half of our teachers leaving the profession in the next decade, the film focuses on why teachers aren’t paid more and urges a re-examination of the educational system. The film, narrated by Matt Damon, visits four inspiring teachers in different parts of the country.
“VIPs” - Top Brazilian actor Wagner Moura (“Elite Squad”) stars as a famous
impersonator and con man in this 2010 biopic. A self-taught pilot and talented mimic, Marcelo goes from drug smuggling to organizing high society parties, always a step ahead of the law, never sure what he really wants to be. Winner of six film festival awards, the film was produced by Fernando Meirelles, director of “City of God” and “Theonstant Gardner.” Unrated, 96 minutes. DVD extras: interviews.
“Poldark: The Complete Collection" - British nobleman Ross Poldark returns home after being wounded in the Revolutionary War and finds his family’s estate in bad shape. Robin Ellis stars in this hit BBC production, which aired for two seasons from 1975 to 1977 and later in America on “Masterpiece Theater” on PBS. As the program begins, Poldark finds his father is dead, his fiancee is now engaged to his cousin, and his family’s tin mines are falling
apart and threatened by ruthless competitors. The changes have an effect on the heroic Poldark, who takes steps to help the downtrodden against greedy foes. The musical score was nominated for an Emmy. The show is based on the novels by Winston Graham.
“Police Woman: Season 2” - Angie Dickinson jumped from the movies to television to play L.A. police sergeant Pepper Anderson, who specializes in risky undercover assignments. Fortunately, she has dependable partners ready to jump in
when she needs help, led by Lt. Bill Crowley (Earl Holliman). A spinoff of “Police Story,” the gritty cop show ran from 1974-78 on NBC. Season two guest stars included Robert Goulet, Roddy McDowall, Michael Constantine, Bruce Boxleitner, Ida Lupino, Lonnie Anderson, Frank Gorshin, Erik Estrada, Amy Irving, Joanna Pettet, Joan Collins, Brooke Adams, Edd Byrnes, Robert Loggia, Robert Vaughn, Barry Williams, Donna Mills, Charles Haid, James Darren and Gerald McRaney.
“Retreat” - Thandie Newton and Cillian Murphy play a couple trying to rebuild their marriage after losing their baby in childbirth. They head for a deserted
island retreat off Scotland’s western coast, but soon after arriving, bad weather and technical problems cut off their communications. Then their problems get worse. A man (Jamie Bell) washes ashore, bloody and injured, with news of a deadly airborne virus wiping out European populations.
“My Tehran For Sale” - A young Iranian actress leads a secret life after authorities ban her from performing in the theater in this bold 2009 drama. An inside look at Tehran’s underground cultural scene, which is thriving despite government oppression, the film is loosely based on actual events. Lead actress Marzieh Vafamehr was imprisoned in 2011 for her role in this film, though the initial sentence also calling for 90 lashes reportedly was reduced.
“Ocean Heaven” - Action star Jet Li takes a serious turn in this sensitive 2010 drama, playing Sam, an aquarium worker and widower whose grown son is autistic. The pair share a special bond, and life for the two of them is good,
until Sam learns he has a fatal illness and must race to make sure his son is taken care of properly after he’s gone. The Chinese film is making its U.S. debut direct-to-video.
“Billy the Kid” - Mythologized and demonized, the outlaw Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid, lived a short but fiery life that ended in a hail of bullets in 1881. But his legend lives on, obscuring the real story behind this New Mexico gunfighter. This episode of “American Experience” on PBS dusts off the history books to share some fascinating facts about the man. The Irish-American developed a love of Mexican culture, and the Hispanic community returned his affection by helping to hide him from posses and later mourning his death.
“Conflict” - Humphrey Bogart plays a wealthy engineer who loves his nagging wife’s younger sister (Alexis Smith) in this dark 1945 film noir. After five years of unhappy marriage, he carefully kills his wife (Rose Hobart) in what he thinks is the perfect crime — or did he? Directed by Curtis Bernhardt, the suspenseful thriller also stars Sidney Greenstreet, Bogart’s co-star in “The Maltese Falcon.”
“The Double” - Richard Gere and Topher Grace play U.S. agents hunting a mysterious Russian assassin on a killing spree in Washington, D.C. Tables are turned a bit too often in this disappointing direct-to-video thriller. With Martin Sheen, Stephen Moyer and Odette Yustman.