Video releases 09/21
Billie
Coffee and Cigarettes: (3 stars) A comic series of 11 short vignettes --
created and directed by Jim Jarmusch beginning in 1986 and continuing through
the present -- that build on one another to create a cumulative effect as the
characters discuss things as diverse as caffeine popsicles, Paris in the '20s,
and the use of nicotine as an insecticide -- all the while sitting around
sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes. As Jarmusch delves into the normal pace
of our world from an extraordinary angle, he shows just how absorbing the
obsessions, joys and addictions of life can be. Filmed in black and white.
Director: Jim Jarmusch. Stars: Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Steve Buscemi,
Roberto Benigni, Alfred Molina, Steven Wright, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Meg and
Jack White of the White Stripes, RZA and GZA of Wu-Tang Clan. 2004, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 96 min., Comic vignettes, Box office gross: $1.711 million, MGM, No
VHS SRP, Priced for rental. DVD: yes
Mean Girls: (2 stars) Fifteen-year-old Cady's (Lindsay Lohan) life changes as
she goes from being home-schooled in Africa by her zoologist parents to
entering public high school in the States. The law of the jungle takes on a
whole new meaning as she falls prey to the psychological warfare and unwritten
social rules of teenagers. Forming a friendship with two outcasts, Cady soon
finds herself invited to join the "in-crowd," which consists of three girls
called the "Plastics." Once Cady discovers that the Plastics are out to get
her, she decides to turn the entire school against them, only to find that she
has become a mean girl herself. It's an at-times mean and nasty film that may
gives young girls some bad ideas. Director: Mark Waters. Stars: Lindsay Lohan,
Tina Fey, Rachel McAdams, Tim Meadows. 2004, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 96 min.,
Teen comedy, Box office gross: $83.820 million, Paramount, No VHS SRP, Priced
for rental. DVD: yes
John Cassavetes: Five Films: (4 stars) John Cassavetes has been called a
genius, a visionary, and the father of independent film. But all this rhetoric
threatens to obscure the humanism and generosity of his art. The five films
included here represent his self-financed works made outside the studio system
of Hollywood, on which he was afforded complete control. While about beatniks,
hippies, businessmen, actors, housewives, strippers, club owners, gangsters,
and children, all of them are beautiful, emotional testaments to compassion.
Cassavetes has often been called an actor's director, but this body of work --
even greater than the sum of its extraordinarily significant parts -- reveals
him to be an audience's director. Criterion here provides stunning new
transfers of "Shadows," "Faces," A Woman Under the Influence," The Killing of a
Chinese Bookie," and "Opening Night," in an eight-disc box set for $124.95.
Director: John Cassavetes. The Criterion Collection. DVD: Only.
Epidemic: From controversial director Lars von Trier ("Breaking the Waves,"
"Dogville," "Dancer in the Dark") comes the bizarre story of a director (played
by von Trier himself) and a writer who create a script about a mysterious
plague that engulfs Europe, only to find their horrific scenario coming true in
real life. Featuring Udo Kier ("Andy Warhol's Frankenstein," "Suspiria,"
"Armageddon"), "Epidemic" is a dark and original horror film with a twist: Is
the epidemic real, or is it only a dark figment of von Trier's imagination? In
Danish with optional English subtitles. Director: Lars von Trier. Stars: Lars
von Trier, Udo Kier. 1988, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 106 min., Sci Fi Horror, Home
Vision Entertainment. DVD: Only.
The Demon: Famed director Nomura Yoshitaro ("Castle of Sand," "The Incident")
and bestselling Japanese mystery author Seicho Matsumoto combine forces on "The
Demon" (Kichiku), a chilling and complex tale of betrayal and murder. A strange
relationship develops between a man, his wife, and his mistress, and a young
boy becomes the pawn in a dangerous game of passion and intrigue that ends in a
shocking climax. Photographed in sumptuous color, "The Demon" will keep the
most avid mystery buff guessing as it weaves an unforgettable tale of greed,
lust, and obsession. In Japanese with optional English subtitles. Director:
Yoshitaro Nomura. Stars: Ken Ogata. 1977, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 110 min.,
Thriller, Home Vision Entertainment. DVD: Only.
How to Draw a Bunny: Ninety-minute documentary on the fascinating life of
artist Ray Johnson. The film looks deep into the comical, eye-catching and
mysterious world of underground idol Ray Johnson and centers around his
puzzling suicide on Friday, January 13, 1995. To many enthusiasts of his works,
as well as the general public, his suicide was thought to be Johnson's "last
performance." Though Johnson is known by some as "the most famous unknown
artist," he has contributed to the art community for almost 50 years and has
had his collages displayed worldwide in major museums including the Museum des
Geldes, the Whitney Museum of American Art and The Museum of Modern Art. "How
to Draw a Bunny" itself was filmed like a collage and includes art work, home
movies and videos, photographs, letters and interviews that create a complete
masterpiece when combined. Director: John W. Walter. 2002, CC, MPAA rating: NR,
90 min., Documentary, Palm Pictures, under $30 VHS SRP. DVD: yes
Carandiru: Based on a gripping true story, this is a harrowing and humanistic
tale of hope and survival in the notorious, overcrowded prison in the heart of
Sao Paulo, Brazil. The film follows the point of view of a doctor who worked in
Latin America's largest jail, Sao Paulo's infamous Casa de Detentio, better
known as Carandiru. Over 12 years during his social work visits, he hears
hundreds of prisoners' stories about love, passion, crime, revenge and
friendship that portray a sweeping and varied tapestry full of humor and
pathos. The prisoners included Ebony, an honorable thief and respected leader;
Highness, a smooth operator with two families to support; Ezequiel, an
ex-surfer turned crack addict; Dagger, a brutal killer with God on his side.
They were among the prison's elite, the select few who ruled Carandiru by their
own codes and laws. A rule that would end in bloodshed and shock the world,
culminating in the fateful and tragic massacre in October 1992 when police
stormed the facility and brutally murdered 111 unarmed inmates. In Portuguese
with English subtitles. Director: Hector Babenco. Stars: Luiz Carlos
Vasconcelos, Milton Goncalves, Ivan de Almeida, Ailton Graia. 2004, CC, MPAA
rating: R, 145 min., Drama, Columbia TriStar, No VHS SRP, Priced for rental.
DVD: yes
Billie
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