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Due to its subject matter, this film should be called sci-fi. But its tone is far closer to a somber period piece. Mark Romanek, whose only other feature film was the sad thriller ONE HOUR PHOTO, has kept the same straightforward tone of the book from Kazuo Ishiguro, whose novel REMAINS OF THE DAY was adapted into a somber film as well. Romanek never sensationalizes the material into some kind of conspiracy thriller. He asks one philosophical question and spends the film answering that question in an emotionally powerful way.

Kathy (Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION), Tommy (Andrew Garfield, RED RIDING TRILOGY) and Ruth (Keira Knightley, PRIDE & PREJUDICE) have grown up together at the highly controlled boarding school Hailsham. The headmistress Miss Emily (Charlotte Rampling, SWIMMING POOL) does not stand for anyone breaking the rules. The children were told stories that if they left the grounds even for a second they might be savagely murdered. They wear wristbands to make sure they are all accounted for. The new teacher Miss Lucy (Sally Hawkins, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY) begins to question the morality of how the children are being treated, but her views are seen as subversion.
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Many critics put this as one of the lowest, if not the lowest point, in Disney Feature Animation history. While it’s not as big a failure as a film as so many say, its financial disaster has put an extra pall over its history. Getting crushed by THE CARE BEAR MOVIE at the box office will do that. The straightforward fantasy adventure is undercut by weak characters mainly.

Based on Lloyd Alexander’s CHRONICLES OF PRYDAIN book series, the LORD OF THE RINGS-like adventure with a coming of age twist seemed like a perfect story for the Disney animators to tackle. Taran (Grant Bardsley) is an assistant pig farmer who dreams of becoming a great warrior. His mentor Dallben (Freddie Jones, DUNE) is really an enchanter who is protecting the mystical pig Hen Wen from falling into the clutches of The Horned King (John Hurt, THE ELEPHANT MAN), who wants to use the swine to locate the Black Cauldron, which could allow him to raise an army of the undead and take over the world.
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When I was five, there were two films that completely captured by imagination — STAR WARS and CLASH OF THE TITANS. The original is a campy classic epic adventure punctuated by Ray Harryhausen’s awesome special effects. In this remake, I looked forward to seeing some of the plot hiccups reworked and combined with modern visual effects. All I got was more plot hiccups that ultimately render the modern visual effects less than thrilling.

Zeus (Liam Neeson, TAKEN) and the gods need the prayers of humans to retain their power. When humans challenge the gods, they seek revenge. King Acrisius (Jason Flemyng, KICK-ASS) challenges the gods’ rule, so Zeus rapes his wife, impregnating her. In defiance, Acrisius nails his wife and bastard son Perseus in a coffin and plans to drop them into the sea. Right when he’s about to carry out the deed, he is struck by lightning. Disfigured, he changes his name to Calibos and goes into hiding. The coffin is recovered by a fisherman named Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER), who finds Perseus alive and adopts the boy.
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American classic flies to Blu-ray

This is a full week. Classics and cult flicks abound on Blu-ray. The Buzzed About section is full of interesting indie titles arriving on DVD only. So let the list begin.
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In the 1950s, science fiction began to step out of kid adventure mode and deal with more adult themes. This coy sci-fi adventure dealt with the secret thoughts that lurk within us all. Its influence on the genre is endless, most notably inspiring the tone and psychological themes of STAR TREK.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, the story follows Commander J.J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen, NAKED GUN) as he leads an expedition to the distant planet of Altair IV where a previous expedition has gone missing. When they arrive at the planet, the only surviving member of the last crew, Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon, MADAME CURIE), warns them to turn around and go home. Adams ignores the warning and lands to find that the previous crew was wiped out by an unseen entity. Dr. Morbius has utilized the highly advanced technology of the previous inhabitants of the planet, the Krell, to build an advanced robot named Robby (Marvin Miller, M*A*S*H). What he’s less willing to reveal is his beautiful daughter Altaria (Anne Francis, BLACKBOARD JUNGLE). How Lt. “Doc” Ostrow (Warren Stevens, THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA) and Lt. Jerry Farman (Jack Kelly, TV’s MAVERICK) react to her, he might have legitimate concerns.
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Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope was supposed to be a haven for young San Francisco filmmakers. But Warner Bros. backed away from its deal with the company before it really got started. However, this wasn’t before a young George Lucas had the chance to do a feature length version of his short from USC. This low-budget sci-fi film set the groundwork for Lucas to get the funding for STAR WARS. Yet this film is a starkly different kind of sci-fi than the Flash Gordon serial adventure that came in 1977.

In the 25th century, humans live in a highly controlled underground society. They are feed drugs to dampen their emotions. Physical sex is outlawed and roommates are simply assigned. One deity called OMM 0910 has been approved to worship. (He looks a lot like Hans Memling’s Christ.) Androids police the human population.
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One of the best true-life crime films comes to Blu-ray

After a solo showing last week, this week has eight featured titles. Classics and some fun fill the Pick of the Week and Queue Qualified sections, while some critical acclaimed films from earlier this year are coming to DVD and Blu-ray for the first time in the Buzzed About section. Lots of interesting flicks to consider.
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This comedy comes from Raymond De Felitta, who made the wonderfully charming romance TWO FAMILY HOUSE. The title takes its name from the mile and a half island in the Bronx. It’s a fishing town and seems completely alien to the rest of NYC. Each of the members of the film’s central family seem completely alien to the other members. It’s a film about secrets and how they bring unneeded chaos to this one family.

Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia, THE MAN FROM ELYSIAN FIELDS) is keeping something from his family. He tells them that he’s going to a weekly poker game, but really he’s taking an acting class. His wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies, TV’s THE GOOD WIFE) is pretty tough on him for being a prison guard. She also rides him for sneaking a smoke, despite the fact that she does the same. Oh, he has another secret. He has a grown son from a previous relationship that he walked out on and now that son Tony (Steven Strait, SKY HIGH) has been transferred to his prison for boosting cars.
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I heard a story once about Melvin Van Peebles going to see his SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG on opening day with only one other person in the theater, a Black Panther. He went to a later showing and the house was full. That one Black Panther had come back and brought all this friends, who loved the film. I can see the same scenario playing out with this film, only replacing the Black Panther with an illegal immigrant.

Machete (Danny Trejo, HEAT) was a Federale when his wife and daughter were killed by drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal, UNDER SIEGE). Left for dead, he managed to survive and make his way to the U.S. where he finds work as a day laborer. A businessman named Booth (Jeff Fahey, TV’s LOST) makes him an offer of $150,000 to assassinate Senator McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro, HEAT), who is running on an extreme anti-illegal immigrant platform in Texas. What is unknown is that the politician is linked to a border vigilante group led by murderous cop Lt. Stillman (Don Johnson, TV’s MIAMI VICE). But when dealing with corrupt men like these men nothing appears as it seems.
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This isn’t a thriller in the American sense of the term. It certainly has more in common with meticulously paced French thrillers, which were as much character studies as they were genre pieces. Director Anton Corbijn has no intentions of making this film for the ADD crowd accustomed to lightning fast editing and adrenaline-fueled action sequences at regular intervals. He is certainly asking his audience to be patient.

Jack, or Edward, (we’re really not sure which name is true) (George Clooney, SYRIANA) is a master assassin. He’s as cold and remote as the wintery mountain setting the film begins in. He is being hunted by Swede assassins. His handler Pavel (Johan Leysen, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) says he is slipping and needs to lay low. He doesn’t like the safe house set up for him, so he changes the plans. One might expect this to really piss off his boss, but Jack is the best at engineering weapons to precise specifications and Pavel has a new client.
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