Year:  2011
Genre:  Kids, Period
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Sacha Baron Cohen, Christopher Lee, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer
Director:  Martin Scorcese
Run time:  126 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

                Martin Scorcese has done something that I never thought Martin Scorcese could do.  I knew he could make amazing gangster movies, great rock and roll documentaries, and intense thrillers.  But he’s made a kids movie with no murders at all, and it’s GREAT!

                Hugo is an incredible film, visually stunning and thoroughly charming.  It’s about a little boy named Hugo who lives in a massive railway station in Paris in the early 30s.  His parents are dead, his uncle has vanished, and Hugo runs around the inner workings of the clocks in the station, winding them and making them all run on time.  Hugo is trying to put together a puzzle left for him by his father, he’s running away from the station inspector, and he’s tentatively making friends with Isabelle, the god-daughter of the station’s toy store owner. 

               Together, Hugo and Isabelle set out to solve the mystery that connects his dead father with her god father.  The actors are wonderful, especially Chloe Grace Moretz as Isabelle and Ben Kingsley as her guardian Georges.  But what makes Hugo such a charming and wonderful fantasy is Scorcese’s palpable and infectious love of movies.

                Hugo is, in many ways, as much of a tribute to the silent movie era and film pioneers as is The Artist.  And coming to DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment on February 28th, two days after both movies tied with five Oscars apiece, is perfect timing.  Go out and get this movie.   Hugo is magnificent, and it’s for more than just kids.

Year:  2011
Genre:  Romance, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Alex Kingston
Director:  Drake Doremus
Run time:  90 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

                There was a commercial once, I think for jeans, that you might remember.  Two people, a hot young guy and a hot young woman, get on an elevator together.  They look at each other and this entire life together flashes in front of them.  They fall in love and get married have a kid get all blissful.  Then the elevator doors open and they go their separate ways.  I found it, here it is:

                I kept thinking about that commercial while watching Like Crazy, which comes to DVD March 6^th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  I couldn’t shake the feeling that this movie was just that commercial, stretched out from thirty seconds to ninety minutes.  It stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as a young couple who fall in love.  There is a montage to show us they are in love.  Music plays and they run on the beach and take a bike ride and sit and talk under trees. 

               Then she has to move back to England and there are problems with her immigration status and they are kept apart by circumstances beyond their control.  When they DO see each other, their relationship is strained by the distance between them.  We learn this through another long musical montage as they sit apart from each other under…a tree.  And mope about sadly on…a beach.

                There is (a bit of) a surprise ending and some very good performances in Like Crazy.  Yelchin is good, and Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence are both exceptional.  But I just couldn’t get into the film, because these constant long montages made it feel like it was taking an hour and a half to tell me a two minute story.

Year:   2010  
Genre:  Documentary
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Director:  Tim Wolff
Featuring:  New Orleans drag queens
Run time:  75 minutes
DVD distributor:  First Run Features

                Sons of Tennessee Williams, on DVD now from First Run Features, is a glittering documentary about glittering drag queens in glittering parades in glittering New Orleans.  It’s very shiny.  But it’s also quite deep, as interspersed with the joyous celebration of gay Mardi Gras is a considerable amount of sober reflection on civil rights. 

                The history of the gay Mardi Gras, the civil rights battles and the gay clubs in New Orleans is what really fascinated me about the documentary.  I mean, yes, the drag queens and their parade and their exuberance is fun, but when put in context it’s a far more interesting event.  The inclusion of archival footage goes a long way to putting today’s celebrations in context.  And the coolest characters in the movie are the old men – sometimes VERY old men – who were there when the whole thing started.

                Sons of Tennessee Williams is more than just a voyeuristic look into the world of drag queens and gay Mardi Gras.  Although it is that also.  It’s also a thought-provoking civil rights documentary that works on many levels.  I highly recommend it.

Year:   2011  
Genre:  Documentary
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Directors:  Vanessa Roth, Brian McGinn
Featuring:  American teachers
Narrator:  Matt Damon
Run time:  80 minutes
DVD distributor:  First Run Features

                American Teacher, on DVD now from First Run Features, is a documentary, narrated by Matt Damon, that looks at the teaching profession in America.  As its title would suggest.  And that’s about it.  There’s not much here that looks deeper at the education problems in the States, or presents solutions.  It just profiles a bunch of teachers.  For me, that’s more than enough.

                It’s amazing what it takes to be a teacher in the States.  Most of the teachers in the movie have second jobs.  We meet a football coach who works in a warehouse during his time away from school so he can provide for his family.  A woman who must work all the way through her pregnancy, and come back right after having her baby, because she gets so little maternity leave.  A great teacher who leaves teaching for a career in real estate because there’s just not enough money in the profession. 

                In the end, that’s the message we get from all the teachers in the movie.  There is NO money in it.  There’s a teacher in the film who, toward the end of the documentary, gets a job paying six figures in an experimental school.  The experiment is paying good teachers good money.  The point is made that almost none of the best graduates go into teaching, for the same reason.  Again, there’s no money in it.

                American Teacher is full of fascinating people and interesting stories.  And for that reason, I really enjoyed it.  But if you’re watching it more for a message, I can boil it down for you right here.  American teachers make no money.  That’s it.

Year:  2011
Genre:  Kids, Cartoon, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Tom McGrath, Jeff Glen Bennett, John DiMaggio, Danny Jacobs, James Patrick Stewart, Andy Richter, Mary Scheer, Tara Strong, Nicole Sullivan
Director:  Bret Haaland
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     There’s another Penguins of Madagascar DVD coming out February 14th, from Paramount Home Entertainment, this one called Operation Get Ducky.  See, there’s this egg that Marlene finds, and she brings it to the penguins because they’re birds and ought to know what to do with it.  Apparently, these aren’t the penguins from March of the Penguins, where the males nurture the eggs until they hatch.

     No, these are the Madagascar penguins, who somehow manage to train the egg to be a super-commando before it hatches into a little computer animated baby duck.  The second episode is also about the duck, who comes back to the zoo as a fully-formed little ninja baby, and decides to beat up everyone in the place.  Including the elephants.  Because that’s what you would do, if you were a ninja commando duckling. 

     Of course, after that, the theme of the duck disappears entirely so the DVD can be filled out with six more episodes that have nothing to do with a vicious little duckling.  King Julien gets introduced to April Fool’s Day, Marlene goes outside the zoo for a while and becomes a feral otter, the crocodile comes to live in the penguins’ enclosure for a time, and some hornets keep showing up and threatening to sting everyone’s face. 

     Penguins of Madagascar is as entertaining as ever, and Operation Get Ducky is pretty much the same as every other DVD they’ve put out.  A few tangentially related episodes and a bunch of filler.  The way I figure it, you either like it or you don’t.  And nothing says Happy Valentine’s Day like the gift of a children’s animated DVD!

Year:  2011
Genre:  Comedy, Cartoon, TV series
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Creator:  Mike Judge
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Beavis And Butthead Volume Four hits DVD February 21^st from Paramount Home Entertainment.  I’ve always thought the funniest thing about Beavis and Butthead was their commentary on music videos.  But today, there are precious few music videos for them to skewer.  You can watch MTV for an entire day now, and see no music videos at all.

     But then, MTV has an awful lot of shows.  And if there was one reason to bring back Beavis and Butthead (and I will say that I am still not sure there WAS any good reason to bring them back), it’s Jersey Shore.  Oh, sure, it’s funny when they watch Teen Cribs or True Life, or comment on 16 and Pregnant.  But it’s Jersey Shore that really brings out the comic genius in Beavis and Butthead. 

     Even the seemingly innocuous clips from the show, like J-Wow talking about how cool it is that she gets to make pizza in Florence Italy, become absolutely hilarious when seen through the eyes of two high school losers.  Sure, there are still some music videos.  Apparently, MTV still does that.  Sometimes. 

     And there are of course Beavis and Butthead episodes, with plots and everything, like the one where the boys discover that they still get paid while taking bathroom breaks so they spend their entire shift in the bathroom.  But the only really funny stuff comes from Jersey Shore.

     It makes me wish, in a way, the Beavis and Butthead revival had happened a few years earlier, during the time of The Hills and A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila.  The thing is, they don’t watch Jersey Shore every episode.  Sometimes they watch The Ultimate Fighter instead.  Which is fine, but not nearly as good.  So I don’t know if I would recommend sitting through the entire two disc collection.  I can get just as much of a belly laugh from the reality show commentary on The Soup.

Year:  2011
Genre:  Drama, Crime, Dark
Country:  United States
Language:   English
Starring:  Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jessica Chastain, Annabeth Gish
Director:  Ami Canaan Mann
Run time:  105 minutes
DVD distributor:  Alliance Films

     I remember a few years ago, when the movie Kick-Ass came out, and everyone was ranting and raving about Chloe Grace Moretz and her performance as Hit-Girl.  Well, some were ranting and some were raving.  Such a young girl playing such an adult role!  She’ll be screwed up for life!  It’s totally inappropriate!  Also, she’s incredibly GOOD!

     I’m surprised that those offended by Kick-Ass haven’t said a thing about Texas Killing Fields, where Chloe Moretz plays a much, much darker and more horrific role than anything one could have imagined in Kick-Ass.  She plays a little girl whose drunken disgusting mother keeps kicking her out of the house so she can prostitute herself to the locals. There is a constant undercurrent of menace there too, like this unfortunate little girl could be abused at any time, or worse.  And there are much worse things going on in Texas Killing Fields. A serial killer is abducting, raping and murdering women, then dumping their bodies in the middle of nowhere in an oil field.  Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are the small town cops hunting down the killer and dealing with creepy locals.

     The one film I can compare this one to (for those still interested in watching a dark, freaky, gut-wrenching movie) is Winter’s Bone.  It’s similarly bleak, it’s just as creepy and dangerous a small town, but instead of crystal meth labs it’s underage prostitution rings.  Still want to see it?  Good, you should see it.  Texas Killing Fields may be bleak and harsh and dark but it’s VERY good, and it’s on DVD today from Alliance Films.

Year:  1970
Genre:  Blu-Ray, Romance, Drama
Country:  United States
Language:  English
Starring:  Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal, Ray Milland, John Marley
Notable bit part:  Tommy Lee Jones
Director:  Arthur Hiller
Run time:  99 minutes
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment

     Movies don’t get more chick flicky than Love Story.  Ali McGraw, Ryan O’Neal, two kids in love and defying the odds in this crazy world.  Parents that just don’t understand, the failed attempts to start a family, the sudden diagnosis of a horrible disease, and the bizarre decision to keep that diagnosis from the person it affects most.  And of course, it’s all about “love means never having to say you’re sorry” and the huge tear-jerker ending.

     Now, that being said, here’s the thing about Love Story.  It’s good.  Like, actually, geninuely GOOD.  Love Story is what chick flicks should be – it’s entertaining enough and the characters are likeable and genuine enough that I can stomach the maudlin boo-hoo business that closes out the film.  I actually LIKE Love Story.  It’s deservedly a classic, although sadly a classic that spawned a whole lot of inferior and putrid movies from the same template…Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant and Katherine Heigl, I’m looking at your careers…

     Now Love Story is on Blu-Ray for the first time, February 7^th from Paramount Home Entertainment.  It’s a good transfer, and the movie holds up well without feeling dated.  I would, however, just throw in a word of caution here. This is NOT a good way to suck up to your wife or girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. Not only can YOUR love never measure up to this one in any way, but you will also spend most of the rest of the evening wiping away tears and not getting laid.  Just sayin’.

     One more thing.  There is a small chance that you, too, will cry while watching Love Story.  If this happens, there is a good chance that your wife will notice, and an even better chance that she will bring it up at dinner parties for years to come.  So, watch this.  Cause it’s good.  But maybe do it alone, to preserve whatever masculinity you might have!

Year:  1989
Genre:  TV series, Drama
Country:  United States
Languages:  English
Starring:  Tom Bosley, Tracy Nelson, Mary Wickes 
Guest stars:  Leslie Nielsen, several other familiar faces whose names are…less familiar
DVD distributor:  Paramount Home Entertainment
DVD extras:  Not much of anything

     The Father Dowling Mysteries was a short-lived TV crime drama from the late 80s and early 90s.  The first season comes to DVD February 7th from Paramount Home Entertainment, I assume the other two will follow shortly and then we will all forget about the program for the rest of our lives.

     The show starred Tom Bosley (famous as Howard Cunningham on Happy Days) and Tracy Nelson (famous because her father was Ricky Nelson and her brothers were Gunnar and Matthew of the band Nelson).  Bosley was Father Dowling, a Catholic priest who became embroiled in all kinds of murder mysteries for one reason or another.  Some were plausible – a dying man seeks sanctuary in the church.  Some were not – evil twin.  Yeah.  Evil twin.

     Nelson was his faithful nun sidekick Sister Stephanie.  Or Steve, most of the time.  Her character is one of the silliest in TV history, and almost every morsel of enjoyment I took out of the Father Dowling Mysteries came courtesy of the totally bonkers nun character. 

     I found it totally hilarious when she beats the local tough-kid gang members in a game of basketball to get them to do something for her.  Or when she defeats pool sharks by sharking them at pool to get information.  She of course can also win a bicycle race, break into a house and a car and a safe if need be, and handle firearms. Oh, she has more talents – but you’ll just have to watch the show!

     Sister Stephanie, you see, was “saved” by Father Dowling once.  How, I’m not sure.  The Saving Of Steve is never really explained.  But we get hints as to her past – she may or may not have been a prostitute, she was definitely a pickpocket and a thief, she grew up in the tough neighbourhood, and was likely a drug addict of some kind.  (The show is about the church – it was a little too sanitized to really go into detail about that sort of thing.)

     At any rate, it’s clear to me that Steve was one of those people whose life was spiralling downhill at such a fast pace that she had two choices – either convert to a religion of some kind, or blow her own head off.  She chose the religion, apparently because it allows her to lie and cheat and steal and do all the things she was already doing – but now it’s in the name of God!

     The first season opens with a two-part episode starring Leslie Nielsen as an elected official embroiled in a murder-adoption-bribery-mafia scandal.  The church and Father Dowling are tangentially involved at best, but that doesn’t stop him from investigating.  By the end of the season, Father Dowling’s evil twin brother has shown up to mastermind a jewelry heist.  And I thought – once you play the “evil twin” card, where can you go from there? But apparently, there are two more seasons that show they managed to go somewhere!