Blu-ray Buzz – Charades & Oscar Winners Are Blu

This is a lighter week leading up to some packed weeks to come. The Pick of the Week is the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never directed. Two Oscar winners and two interesting new releases are also here.

Pick of the Week
Charade
Stanley Donen's thriller is what many have called the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never directed. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this thriller that surrounds Hepburn's dead husband, stolen money and hidden identities. The repartee between the leads with the sharp dialogue is a highlight of the pure joy of this picture. The stars are stalked by James Bond-esque villains, played by James Coburn, George Kennedy and Dominique Minot. Additionally, Walter Matthau plays a CIA agent who keeps us in tune with how dangerous the situation is getting. The plot keeps the audience guessing what is really going on right up until the fantastic conclusion. In preparing this week's column, I ran over an interesting trivia fact about the film too. Universal Pictures mistakenly did not include a copyright at the end of the credits and therefore the film fell into public domain immediately on release due to the pre-1978 U.S. copyright law. Now that's a serious oops.

Buy "Charade" on Blu-ray Here!

Queue Qualified
American Beauty
Oscar winner Sam Mendes' debut feature is one of most impressive debut films in Hollywood history. Nominated for eight Oscars and taking home five, the film told the right tale of suburban malaise for the end of the millennium. Oscar winner Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham who quits his crappy job to indulge in an epic midlife crisis. Oscar nominated Annette Bening plays his career driven real estate agent wife who starts up a passionate affair with colleague Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher). Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) looks at them like they're freaks, while Lester ogles her best friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) and she hooks up with the strange neighborhood drug dealer Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), who lives under the violent control of his military father Col. Frank (Chris Cooper). Mendes directed from Alan Ball's Oscar winning script. The Best Picture winner is highlighted by the visual artistry of legendary cinematographer Conrad L. Hall, who took home his second Oscar for his work. Hilarious and heartbreaking, the film deserves its status as a modern classic.

Buy "American Beauty" on Blu-ray Here!

Buzzed About
Ondine
THE CRYING GAME's Neil Jordan wrote and directed this tale of an Irish fisherman who comes to believe that the woman caught in his net is a mermaid. Colin Farrell stars opposite Polish actress Alicja Bachleda, who is now the mother of Farrell's son. The critical reception for the film said it was imperfect, but enjoyable. I like Jordan and Farrell and the trailer gave me the vibe of THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH, which I liked a great deal.

Buy "Ondine" on DVD Here!

Buy "Ondine" on Blu-ray Here!

The Secret in their Eyes
Juan José Campanella's mysterious drama surprised many at last year's Oscars beating out THE WHITE RIBBON and A PROPHET for Best Foreign Language Film. In an effort to find some closure, a judge pens a novel dealing with one of his unsolved murders and his unrequited love for his boss. The film was released earlier this year in the U.S. and those that I know who have seen it say it is powerful stuff. Reviews have called it film noir for the modern age. Oscar winning noir? Call me excited.

Buy "The Secret in their Eyes" on DVD Here!

Buy "The Secret in their Eyes" on Blu-ray Here!

(Untitled)
This indie critique of the contemporary art world stars Adam Goldberg (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), Marley Shelton (GRINDHOUSE), Eion Bailey (ALMOST FAMOUS) and Lucy Punch (DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS). From the trailer, Jonathan Parker seems to know the pretentiousness of the avant-garde, especially performance artists. Hoping it's half as good as the overlooked ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL.