Let's take a look at the best new movies on DVD for September, 2007.
September 4, 2007
The Wind That Shakes the Barley DVD
Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes, this is a human drama set against a bloody historical backdrop. The film was directed by Ken Loach and stars Cillian Murphy. In the 1920s, a young doctor (Murphy) joins the Irish Republican Army and insists that Ireland must be totally independent from Britain. His uncompromising position on this issue eventually puts him at odds with his brother (Padraic Delaney), who reluctantly concludes that as a practical matter, Ireland must settle for only partial independence. This leaves the brothers on opposite sides of the Irish Civil War.
September 11, 2007
Away From Her DVD
This poignant, intelligent, low-keyed drama stars Julie Christie and features a fine performance by Canadian actor Gordon Pinsent. Grant (Pinsent) and Fiona (Christie) are a devoted couple who have been married for 44 mostly good years. But Fiona grows concerned about her worsening Alzheimer's and checks herself into an assisted-living facility. There she forms a close relationship with one of the residents, a man who does not speak, and Grant struggles to figure out how he should deal with the situation. Ultimately, he turns to the man's wife (Olympia Dukakis).
The Graduate DVD
Dustin Hoffman catapulted to stardom in this iconic 1967 film that signaled changing times in American society and Hollywood too. "Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me," says recent college graduate Ben (Hoffman) to the wife (Anne Bancroft) of his father's business partner, the man who told him, "I want to say one word to you… Plastics." But Ben falls for Mrs. Robinson's daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross), and the movie ends enigmatically with Ben and Elaine riding a public bus toward an uncertain future. The soundtrack is famous for its Simon and Garfunkel music.
September 18, 2007
No DVD Recommendations
September 25, 2007
Knocked Up DVD
This comedy from Judd Apatow, the filmmaker who did The 40-Year-Old Virgin, stars Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. Ben (Rogen) is an unemployed slacker who lives with a group of pals in a state of extended adolescence. Alison (Heigl) is an ambitious young woman who goes out to a club to celebrate a promotion at work. There she meets Ben, and they end up having a one-night stand. But a few weeks later, Alison discovers she's pregnant, and she and Ben try to form some kind of relationship. Also in the film as a bickering married couple are Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.
