The Magic Christian
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Despite an all-star cast headlined by Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, this black comedy bombed on release in theatres in 1969, and now it bombs again on Blu-ray and DVD. Sellers plays Sir Guy Grand, a filthy rich Londoner who adopts a homeless young man (Starr) and takes him on all sorts of outings to show how everyone can be bought off with wads of cash. To the tune of Badfinger's "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney) and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air," the duo crash Sir Guy's company board meeting, go out on a grouse hunt, take a train ride, bid wildly at an art auction, and finally steam off to New York on a luxury ocean liner, The Magic Christian. Curiosity at all the celebrity cameos is the only reason to screen this unfunny exercise in sketch satire written by Terry Southern (Dr. Strangelove, Easy Rider). There's Raquel Welch, Christopher Lee, Richard Attenborough, Roman Polanski, Yul Brynner, Spike Milligan, Wilfrid Hyde-White, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Laurence Harvey, who subverts a performance of Hamlet by turning it into a striptease. Ha-ha. The outdoor scenes are marred by amateurish studio post-dubs of dialogue, adding to the unreality. No extras or subtitles on the Olive discs. Jeff Heinrich
Life is Sweet
Rating: 4 out of 5
This third feature film by Mike Leigh (Topsy-Turvy, Naked, Secrets & Lies) marked the British writer-director's big international breakthrough with the critics. Released in 1990, it's a family dramedy about wildly different 22-year-old twin sisters in a working-class suburb of London: Natalie (Claire Skinner) is the good but rather boring old soul, Nicola (Jane Horrocks) is the screwed-up one with a bulimia problem. Jim Broadbent and Alison Steadman play their well-meaning parents, Andy and Wendy, who struggle to get into food-vending and the restaurant business but don't have much luck. The acting is first-rate and true, the story having been sketched out Leigh-style through improvisation and long rehearsals prior to filming, lending an authenticity to the high and lows of "normal" family life that makes this movie instantly accessible and memorable. Roger Ebert, may he rest in peace, called it "funny, spontaneous and free" and "close to the stuff of life itself," and said watching it "made me realize how boring and thin many movies are." See for yourself with this fine-looking Criterion Blu-ray (also available on DVD), whose extras include a director's commentary, an-hour long audio interview with Leigh from 1991, five short films by the director totalling 28 minutes, and an illustrated booklet. JH
Dark Skies
Rating: 2.5 stars
Is it the house? Is it the people? Or is it an alien presence that's haunting the nice family down the street? In the end, it doesn't really matter what plasma force is circulating through the frames in Dark Skies because the movie handles the horror in a completely generic fashion. From strange noises and bizarre stunts with canned food, the paranormal symptoms are ramped up over the course of the film until someone starts levitating. Because the movie handles a great deal of the weirdness in broad daylight, and offers two grown-ups (Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton) who recognize how psychotic they appear to the rest of the world, the audience has a pretty sympathetic touchstone, and enough intellectual distance, to make this camp trip worth the deja-vu view. Special features include commentary with director Scott Stewart, deleted scenes and more. Katherine Monk
Becoming Redwood
Rating: 3 stars
Vancouver director Jesse James Miller brings a long-gestating script to the big screen with the bittersweet Becoming Redwood, a coming of age story set against the neon-green world of golf. Young Redwood (Ryan Grantham) is having a hard time accepting the separation of his parents, not to mention the recent incarceration of his hippie dad on drug charges, so he imagines a fantasy golf showdown that pits his nascent skills on the links with the Golden Bear himself, Jack Nicklaus. Though heavily contrived and frequently sappy, Becoming Redwood still boils the heartbreak of youth down to a tasty syrup. Special features include cast and crew interviews, behind the scenes footage. KM
Hellbound
Rating: 3.5 stars
Is there a Hell or isn't there? Thank goodness none of us knows the answer for sure, but eternal damnation is still a surprisingly fun topic to chew on all the same. Writer-director Kevin Miller takes a look at the whole burning ball of wax in this ambitious, fragmented but perpetually fascinating discussion that explores the religious fundamentals, and why we're so focused on an abstract version of retribution instead of figuring out the pragmatics of justice in the here and now. It all boils down to personal responsibility, but also our understanding of the basic mechanics of storytelling. One of the more interesting sources quoted in the film is screenwriting "guru" Robert McKee, who happily describes himself as an atheist. McKee says dealing with the consequences of one's actions is the basis of good storytelling; it keeps suspense in the picture. Hell is an example of what he calls "junkie logic" - and the urge to deal with things later instead of now. Thoughtful and provocative, if entirely too broad to say anything specific, Hellbound still has plenty of sizzle. Special features include outtakes, featurette and commentary. KM
Open Road
Rating: 2 stars
Put on your travelling pants, sisterhood! A politically correct estrogen-fuelled vehicle just pulled up to the DVD drive, and it's looking for some company. Granted, it's not going anywhere too fast. And it's not exactly a turbo-charged dream machine with plenty of curb value. Open Road is a sensible sedan of a movie starring Camilla Belle as a young painter who takes to the road in a quest to find her long lost father. She meets an interesting cast of predictable characters, including a wise old man named Chuck (Andy Garcia) - whom she paints in various poses. The two form a tender bond, but the outside world has a habit of intruding on such pastoral, campfire moments among the homeless. Quaint but completely clich?d - right down to the art show climax - the only thing that redeems this oddly shot feature is the supporting cast. Garcia does wonders with the throat-closing lines and Juliette Lewis hands in yet another little gem of a turn as a diner waitress diva. Belle is watchable, but a little too mushy when it really matters. Special features include digital copy, the making-of and trailer. KM
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