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This procedural heist film simply looks at the execution of a crime from start to finish. Gunmen take a subway train in NYC hostage and demand $1 million. City officials must decide what is the best course of action. All of this is set against a ticking clock. If the money isn’t delivered in one hour, the gunmen will start shooting hostages.

The four kidnappers go by code names. The leader is Mr. Blue (Robert Shaw, JAWS), a former assassin who’s a s cool as New York winter. Mr. Green (Martin Balsam, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN) is a disgruntled former subway driver. Mr. Grey (Hector Elizondo, PRETTY WOMAN) likes to flaunt his ruthlessness. Mr. Brown (Earl Hindman, TAPS) is the tall, angry silent type. Subway transit lieutenant Garber (Walter Matthau, GRUMPY OLD MEN) is the one negotiating with the hostage takers, while he tries to figure out how they plan on escaping from the subway tunnel after they get the money.
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A great cast does not a great rom-com make. At times the acting lifts this fairly surface level romantic laugher to an engaging level, but in the end everything is so predictable and trite that one wonders how the producers landed such a high-wattage lineup. Instead of focusing on one couple, this film tries to juggle interlocking stories, which just waters down the material even more. I definitely wasn’t into this one.

Gigi Haim (Ginnifer Goodwin, TV’s BIG LOVE) has a notorious track record of obsessing over each new guy she meets. Her latest obsession is real estate agent Conor Barry (Kevin Connolly, TV’s ENTOURAGE), but he is far more into the aspiring singer Anna Taylor (Scarlett Johansson, MATCH POINT). Gigi gets a dose of reality when she meets Conor’s friend Alex (Justin Long, DRAG ME TO HELL), who says to her that if a guy doesn’t call, he’s just not into you plain and simple. Gigi takes this bit of info like it’s the cure for some disease and tells all her friends. This makes Beth Bartlett (Jennifer Aniston, TV’s FRIENDS) wonder if she can handle being with her longtime boyfriend Neil Jones (Ben Affleck, JERSEY GIRL) when he has made it clear that he does not believe in marriage. Gigi’s other friend Janine Gunders (Jennifer Connelly, A BEAUTIFUL MIND) wonders if her marriage to Ben (Bradley Cooper, THE HANGOVER) is solid when she suspects that he is lying to her. Only if she knew that he has developed a crush on temptress Anna, who is good friends with Mary Harris (Drew Barrymore, CHARLIE’S ANGELS), who works for the magazine that runs ads for Conor.
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My thoughts of this film right after seeing it were THE HANGOVER isn’t going to change cinema, but it made me laugh. But boy did it make me laugh. In thinking about reviewing it, I kept thinking of all the things that I had issues with, but they amounted to minor quibbles really. What I kept coming back to was that it made me laugh. So many comedies these days barely elicit a chuckle. And surprisingly, as much as the film goes for the raunchy humor, more times than not, it roots its humor in its characters. And my final verdict on the film came down to them. While they’re broad characterizations, the actors made me believe in them, especially Zach Galifianakis. Thinking about his star-making performance convinced me this is a film I’d want to see again.

Galifianakis (WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS) plays Alan, the dimwitted soon-to-be brother-in-law of Doug (Justin Bartha, NATIONAL TREASURE). They will be accompanying Doug’s two best friends to Las Vegas for Doug’s bachelor party. Phil Wenneck (Bradley Cooper, HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU) is an alpha alpha-male, who is a teacher, but certainly not an Ethics teacher. Stu Price (Ed Helms, TV’s THE OFFICE), for a lack of a better description, is whipped. His girlfriend Melissa (Rachael Harris, TV’s RENO 911!) cheats on him, verbally abuses him, ridicules everything he does, and monitors over his every move, but he keeps coming back for more. Phil and Stu are the kind of opposite friends that would never be friends if Doug weren’t in the picture. This motley crew of partiers ends up having too much fun in Vegas. At the start, Phil makes a call from the desert to Doug’s fiancé Tracy (Sasha Barrese, TV’s LAX) and tells her that they lost Doug and that they’re probably not going to make the wedding.
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I’ve been kind of dreading my review of this film ever since I saw the film nearly a month ago. I don’t think it completely succeeds; yet I respect so many of the pieces that I’m recommending it. I’ve liked or loved everything that director Sam Mendes has done previously, but with this one he makes some awkward moves. McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers and his wife writer Vendela Vida wrote the sometimes-too-quirky screenplay, their first original script. It has some great characters, but little conflict. It just goes along. And yet the journey is not regrettable, because I liked whom I met.

Burt Farlander (John Krasinski, TV’s THE OFFICE) and his longtime girlfriend Verona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph, TV’s SNL) are expecting a baby. It wasn’t planned and Verona doesn’t believe in marriage. They live in a shack in the middle of the woods, but have decent jobs. They’re hoping to have Burt’s parents Gloria and Jerry (Catherine O’Hara, BEST IN SHOW, and Jeff Daniels, DUMB AND DUMBER) help out with the baby, but the grandparents surprise them with the news that they are moving to Europe. Without any support where they currently live, they head out on the road to meet with friends and family to see where they want to set down roots.
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The American Dream can be an elusive thing. With REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, a brutal and underappreciated drama, now on DVD and Blu-ray, This Weekend’s Film Festival takes a look at how the American Dream has been portrayed on the screen. Some find buying a house a major part of the Dream. Some work dog-eat-dog jobs just to provide for their family. Some do this for the whole life and are forgotten in the end. Some give up on it all and just rock out. Some plan for something better and then life gets in the way.
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The term “the man in the gray flannel suit” applies to the quintessential workaday businessman of the 1950s. A mid-level employee commuting from the suburbs to the city with thousands of other men in their gray suits. Mindlessly following the American Dream or at least the consumer dream advertised on TV. They’re often characterized as ineffectual yes men. Based on Sloan Wilson’s novel, this film by writer/director Nunnally Johnson (THE THREE FACES OF EVE) attempts to look deeper into why so many men of the 1950s fell into this lifestyle.

Gregory Peck plays one of these men, Tom Rath. He works a charity where he makes a small salary. His wife Betsy (Jennifer Jones, LOVE IS A MANY-SPLENDORED THING) is sick of their old home and dreams of bigger and better. She has become embarrassed of the weak man Tom has transformed into after returning from WWII. But she doesn’t see the scars that lie inside Tom from the war. He fell in love with an Italian girl named Maria (Marisa Pavan, THE ROSE TATTOO) and fathered a child with her. He had to kill in cold blood just to survive. Now he has three kids with Betsy and feels the pressure to succeed. To make his wife happy, he goes on an interview at a big TV station. The job would require him to write a speech for the company head Ralph Hopkins (Fredric March, 1931’s DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE), who is trying to set up a foundation to bring light to mental illness.
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Edward Zwick takes on WWII in his latest in a long line of war pictures. While it’s not on the same level as GLORY or even THE LAST SAMURAI and BLOOD DIAMOND, this Jewish refugee tale is engaging, especially due to solid performances from his principle players Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. There will never be a definite WWII movie, because the conflict was too big to capture fully, but this film does bring light to a chapter that hasn’t been portrayed fully on the screen before.

The Bielski family lives in Eastern Europe. When the Nazis arrive, they slaughter the Bielski brothers’ parents. Running for their lives, they flee into the Belarussian forests. Tuvia (Craig, CASINO ROYALE) insists they protect other refugees from the Germans, building camps in the woods. Zus (Schreiber, THE PAINTED VEIL) wants to fight. Asael (Jamie Bell, BILLY ELLIOT) and Aron (George MacKay, 2003’s PETER PAN) are torn between the ways of their other siblings. When they meet up with Russian soldiers, Zus decides to join the ranks of Viktor Panchenko (Ravil Isyanov, THE GOOD GERMAN).
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Nominated for 10 Emmys, this is a crowning achievement for television. TV movies rarely achieve the artistry that this production delivers. Director Volker Schlondorff (THE TIN DRUM) mixes theatrical presentation with cinematic use of framing to create a hybrid production that adds a touch of surrealism to the powerful drama. And yet Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich’s Emmy winning performances bring the movie down to Earth. Arthur Miller’s critique of the American Dream has been captured for the ages.

Hoffman plays the coveted role of Willy Loman, a 60-something salesman who is losing his relevance. His loving wife Linda (Kate Reid, ATLANTIC CITY) supports him at every turn and hides his failing mind from the world. Malkovich plays Willy’s son Biff, the one who was supposed to make it. Willy resents that Biff is now working odd jobs, taking it as a person slight to what he wanted for his son. His other son Harold, nicknamed “Happy,” (Stephen Lang, TOMBSTONE) has been trying to step out of his brother’s shadow all his life. He’s followed his father into the rat race, but hasn’t turned it into a big success either. Charley (Charles Durning, TOOTSIE) is Willy’s friend and neighbor, who Willy insults and tears down just to make him feel like a bigger man.
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Buy It Now!

Director Sam Mendes has always used color wonderfully in his cinematography. The Blu-ray release crisply delivers Roger Deakins work for our home viewing pleasure. Using a less bold palette than he did in AMERICAN BEAUTY, the ’50s color scheme pops in 1080p. Paramount’s release also highlights the depth of field that Mendes and Deakins use. And unlike many Blu-ray titles, this one keeps a rich film quality, not looking like video. The picture quality is matched by the disc’s 5.1 surround sound, giving added depth to this difficult drama. Keep the volume low during the most brutal fights or the neighbors might call the cops.

As for the extras, Mendes and writer Justin Haythe discuss the challenges of adapting Richard Yates’ complex novel to the screen. Mendes is known for his comprehensive commentary tracks and he doesn’t hold back here. For film fans this is like a film class at home. Mendes add little additional insight into the film in the “Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road” featurette, but we do get Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet talking about their on-screen reunion and the emotional landminds of the material. A nice Blu-ray-only bonus is “The Wages of Truth,” which chronicles the life of Richard Yates’ life and work. It goes deeper into the writer’s life than one would expect from a Blu-ray extra. The deleted scenes, which also have commentary tracks, are treats for fans of the book and film. They’re not repetitive, but give more depth to the already deep characters. I found the scene with Frank and his kids very interesting and it was nice to see the flashback scene when Frank and April buy their house, which was used in the trailer. Additionally, there is a flashback to when April was a kid that seems particular peculiar, considering there are no other flashbacks to when the couple were not together. As they say, artists have to kill their babies sometimes and these powerful moments were lost only to serve the film’s great pacing. You also get that great trailer in HD as well.

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Buy It Now!

DEFIANCE looks great in 1080p. Some of the forest scenes have a 3-D quality due to the clarity of the picture. It’s one of those Blu-ray discs where actors might not like how their imperfections are exaggerated, but along makes for a more engaging experience for the viewer. Director Edward Zwick uses a muted color palette for this film and the disc accentuates the dark colors from the flashes of color, especially in the forest. Greens especially pop. As for the soundtrack, the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 creates a rich forest landscape, bringing out the subtle touches the filmmakers added. The battle sequences use the surround sound well, using the various speakers to create a sense of chaos happening all around.

The extras include a commentary track from Zwick, who lays out what brought him to the project, how the tried to stay true to the real life story and production trivia. The “Defiance: Return to the Forest” featurette is fairly standard making of doc, where Zwick waxes poetic about how the plight of refugees reaches both forward and backward in time. “Children of the Otriad” interviews the Bielsky brothers’ children. It’s the best extra on the disc, bringing a real emotional touch to the true story. “Bielski Partisan Survivors” collects photos from real survivors and behind-the-scenes pics from Zwick. A special treat for the Blu-ray is “Scoring Defiance,” which chats with composer James Newton Howard and violinist Joshua Bell on the creation of the Oscar-nominate score. The disc also includes the theatrical trailers in HD.

Read a review of the film here!