Let's take a look at the best new movies on DVD for April, 2007.
April 3, 2007
Charlotte's Web
Dakota Fanning stars in this 2006 screen adaptation of E.B. White's beloved children's book, which was done back in 1973 as an animated musical. This time around most of the animals are real with mouth movements added when they talk. However, the title character, Charlotte the Spider (voice of Julia Roberts), is computer-animated. The story is about how Charlotte saves the life of a pig. Voices heard include Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Cedric the Entertainer, Kathy Bates and Robert Redford.
Volver
Pedro Almodóvar wrote and directed this Spanish-language movie starring Penélope Cruz and Carmen Maura. The main character is Raimunda (Cruz), whose drunken husband is stabbed to death when he comes on to her teenage daughter. Raimunda puts his body in a restaurant freezer. Also, Raimunda's mother (Maura), who died in a fire several years earlier, seems to return from the dead and reside with Raimunda's sister (Lola Dueñas). Almodóvar has created a tragicomedy that celebrates the world of women.
April 10, 2007
No DVD Recommendations
April 17, 2007
Freedom Writers
Hilary Swank gives a fine performance in this inspiring drama based on a true story. The movie is set in 1994 Long Beach, California, and centers around racially troubled Wilson High School. Idealistic Erin Gruwell (Swank) joins the faculty and finds a way to reach students previously considered unteachable: she gets the youngsters to keep journals. Also, the students read The Diary of Anne Frank. In real life, the written output of Gruwell and her students was published as The Freedom Writers Diary.
The Last King of Scotland
Forest Whitaker gives a strong performance as historical figure Idi Amin in this drama based on Giles Foden's novel. The story is set in the 1970s and told by a Scottish doctor named Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy). After Garrigan finishes school, he chooses to provide medical services in a remote village in Uganda. Then the naïve Garrigan accepts the job of personal physician to the country's charismatic new leader Idi Amin. But Garrigan comes to realize he's working for a monster, and he must decide what to do.
Notes on a Scandal
Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett star in this drama based on Zoë Heller's novel. The story is told by Barbara (Dench), a lonely, older woman who has taught for years at a London school. When the much younger Sheba (Blanchett) joins the faculty there, Barbara goes out of her way to befriend the new teacher. The attractive Sheba lives with her husband and two children, but she begins a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old working-class male student. The ensuing events reveal much about both women.
April 24, 2007
The Queen
Helen Mirren gives a towering performance as Elizabeth II in this drama based on recent history. The story takes place in 1997, mostly in the days following the death in a car crash of Diana, Princess of Wales. The queen at first remained aloof on grounds that Diana was divorced from the royal family, but the public became outraged that Elizabeth was making no public gesture of mourning. That's when Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) began trying to convince the queen her behavior was threatening the monarchy.
