FullReviews Index

Pick of the Week: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" DVD
Although it's very silly and sometimes taxes my patience, I’ve loved Monty Python and the Holy Grail for years because of its dark humor, irreverent imagination, and quirky originality. I recently watched this film on the two-disc Collector’s Edition DVD set, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the movie was just as entertaining as I had remembered.

DVD Pick: "Bend It Like Beckham"
Bend It Like Beckham is a movie that really lifted my spirits. It follows the pattern of many ethnic coming-of-age stories, yet it does so in such a way as to make an old story seem fresh. Read a full-length DVD review of Bend It Like Beckham.

DVD Pick: “A Mighty Wind”
There are lots of laughs in A Mighty Wind, but the edge of the humor in this film is a little gentler than in some of Guest’s others. He’s made funnier films, but this is one of my favorites.

Pick of the Week: "School of Rock" DVD
I never expected to describe a movie as being both a quirky indie and a family comedy, but that's how I'd characterize School of Rock. Backed up by some talented and charming grade-schoolers, Jack Black creates a memorable character in the film, which I predict will appeal to viewers over a wide age range. Read a full-length review of School of Rock on DVD.

Pick of the Week: “Lost in Translation” DVD
I loved the bittersweet mix of comedy and drama in the movie, and the Tokyo location shooting set a mood that drew me into the story. Sofia Coppola managed to capture the spirit of the Japanese notion that transience is at the heart of poignancy, mono no aware, the feeling that I had seen something delicate that could not last and I was lucky to have caught it before it transformed into something less lovely. Read a review of Lost in Translation on DVD.

Pick of the Week: “American Wedding” DVD
Although American Wedding offers little other than entertainment, I recommend this sweet-natured, laugh-out-loud comedy. However, it's not for people who don't like sophomoric, raunchy, vulgar humor. Read a full-length review of American Wedding on DVD.

Pick of the Week: "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" DVD
George Clooney makes an assured directorial debut with this biopic based on Chuck Barris' cult book, and Charlie Kaufman's witty script strikes the right balance between the comic and the tragic. In addition to creating TV's The Dating Game and The Gong Show, Chuck Barris claims in his autobiography he was an undercover assassin for the CIA.