On DVD/Blu-ray – The Woman in Black (2012)
by NIR SHALEV
Hammer Films, the company that brought us classics such as The Horror of Dracula (1958) and The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) brings us this gorgeously shot, well acted, and thoroughly creepy film about a young widower who discovers that the vengeful ghost of a woman is causing the mysterious suicides of children in an English village. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Chronicle (2012)
by NIR SHALEV
The found footage style of filmmaking has gotten out of hand as of late, becoming more annoying than interesting. However, Chronicle managed to turn that right around by being a character-driven found footage film centered on three utterly normal teenagers who happen to develop telekinetic abilities. Read more 
On DVD/Blu-ray – Review of The Edge (1997)
by NIR SHALEV
Billionaire Charles Morse (Sir Anthony Hopkins), his supermodel/trophy wife Mickey (Elle Macpherson), her photographer Robert Green (Alec Baldwin), and his crew arrive at an enormous and beautiful lake house in Alaska. They are surrounded by beautiful mountains and lakes that stretch to forever. Charles is book smart; almost too smart. His people skills, outside the business world, are essentially non-existent. He’s awkward, quiet, always inquisitive, and always reading one book or other. But he sees the way in which Robert looks at Mickey. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Let the Bullets Fly (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
“Pocky” Zhang (Jiang Wen), a notorious bandit, robs a train that’s transporting a man who’s soon to be inaugurated as governor. He assumes the identity of that man and with the help of his newly acquired counselor Ma Bangde (Ge You), they ride on to Goose Town where Zhang takes up the governor’s position. However, Goose Town’s tyrannical local nobleman Master Huang (Chow Yun-Fat) plays mind games with Zhang from the get-go. Together with his six brothers, Zhang starts a war of wits and periodical gunfights with Huang. (Almost every character in the film is equipped with the Luger pistol, later to be popularized by the Germans.) Only one will survive. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Death and Taxes
This post was originally published for Tax Day 2010. It is being reprinted in observance of Tax Day 2012.
by HELEN GEIB
The annual day of reckoning is upon us. Soon we Americans will be released from the prolonged agony that inevitably precedes every April 15. In recognition of Tax Day, I’ve decided to devote this week’s DVD post to movies about death and taxes.* The spotlight shines on three films that revolve around the two great inescapables. To set the stage and for the edification of my lucky readers who do not have to prepare their own tax returns, I’ve also included a few representative tidbits from the 2009 Form 1040 and accompanying 100-plus page Forms and Instructions.
42 Exemptions. If line 38 is $125,000 or less and you did not provide housing to a Midwestern displaced individual, multiply $3,650 by the number on line 6d. Otherwise, see page 37.
The Untouchables
On DVD/Blu-ray – Review of King of Devil’s Island (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
Based on true events, King of Devil’s Island takes place at Norway’s Bastøy Boys Reformatory School in 1915. The movie shows that it was much more of a labor camp for boys of all ages than it was an actual school. The boys had reading classes and Bible studies but most of the time they were chopping down and stripping trees, digging, cleaning up the place, and so forth. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Review of Battle Royale (2000)
by NIR SHALEV
This is a beast of a movie. Koshun Takami’s novel was first adapted into a manga (Japanese comics) and then made into this feature-length film. Battle Royale tells the story of what happens when adults in Japan decide to strike back against rebellious youths. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – A Dangerous Method (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
When David Cronenberg deals in the grotesque he’s more hit than miss with my taste, so when he decided to tone down his style and focus on a more realistic vision, following normal, everyday people, I grew slightly upset. That being said, A History of Violence (2005) is one of the goofiest films that I’ve ever seen and Eastern Promises (2007) is one of the best and most accurate (toward its roots) crime thrillers of its decade. Now comes his take on the birth of psychoanalysis and the end result is great. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Review of The Descendants (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
The Descendants has three stories that overlap stealthily. In the first story, Matt King (George Clooney), a lawyer by trade is tasked with selling thousands of acres of Hawaiian land that his family has owned for generations, dating back to the reign of King Kamehameha. There are many willing buyers and he needs to choose one to sell to. The second story has Matt taking his oldest daughter, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) out of private school so that she could help him raise her younger sister Scottie (Amara Miller) because their mother is in a coma. The third story deals with Matt finding out through Alexandra that his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) had cheated on him for many years. Read more
On DVD/Blu-ray – Review of Hugo (2011)
by NIR SHALEV
There exist countless films exploring mankind’s love for film made throughout the past 127 years and many have delivered on their premise. But as of late, none have delivered a more beautiful looking, heartfelt film than Scorsese has with Hugo (yes, I’ve watched The Artist). Read more
