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Blu-ray Buzz – Classic Thriller Smiles on Blu-ray

A defining British thriller

This week seems like one dedicated to British films. Some classic thrillers and a cult classic for the U.K. A new version of a classic tale from Britain. We also have a new thriller from Down Under. Additionally, there's another zombie flick from the master of the zombie flick and a trio of classics from Josef Von Sternberg.

Pick of the Week
Mona Lisa
I had seen Bob Hoskins in films like WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and MERMAIDS before I saw this film. After seeing his performance here I have never been able to think of any other performance of his since when I first hear his name. He plays a lower-level thug who has just been released from jail. His gangster boss, played villainously by Michael Caine, sets him up as the driver for a high-class prostitute (Cathy Tyson). The relationship between the con and call girl is unique. Hoskins’ George comes to care for the vulnerable young woman, who desperately needs his help with her abused friend. It twists and turns all along the way as we try to get to know the secretive leads. One of the best thrillers with a shocking conclusion that left me reeling.

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Queue Qualified
Withnail and I
This British cult comedy finds two unemployed actors in 1969 taking a holiday to the cabin of a gay uncle. Richard E. Grant solidified his career as the acerbic Withnail who lords his superiority over everything to mask his failure at life in general and his inability to stop drinking. Marwood (or I), played by Paul McGann, is completely paranoid and is only being brought down via his friendship with Withnail. The often hilarious character piece also has something to say about the excesses of the 1960s. I can’t forget to mention Richard Griffiths as Withnail’s gay uncle Monty. A performance of deep sadness and subtly. It’s one of those films that’s in a category all of its own.

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Buzzed About
City Island
This off-beat comedy has been mentioned in many circles as one of the best of the first half of 2010. Andy Garcia plays a corrections officers who brings an ex-con home to stay with his family. Co-stars include Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin. Director/writer Raymond De Felitta did the remarkably underrated romance TWO FAMILY HOUSE. So there is no way I’m missing this one.

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Dorian Gray
Oliver Parker, who directed by fun film adaptations of AN IDEAL HUSBAND and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, adapts another tome to film, this time Oscar Wilde’s fantasy drama. Word from critics I trust is that the film deserved better treatment in the U.S. than a direct-to-DVD release. Ben “Prince Caspin” Barnes stars as the un-aging title character. Cast includes Colin Firth, Ben Chaplin, and Rebecca Hall.

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The Long Good Friday
Another ‘80s tough guy role for Bob Hoskins. This time he plays gangster Harold Shand, who is dealing with bombings and a new crime syndicate muscling in on his turf. Co-stars include the always fetching Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan as the 1st Irishman. Considered by some to be the ultimate British gangster flick.

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The Square
This Australian thriller is being compared to the work of the Coen Brothers. The story follows a man whose mistress wants to steal the ill-gotten gains of her husband, set fire to their house and run. In the grand tradition of film noir, these plans never go as expected. Director Nash Edgerton is a stuntman who invests his earnings into directing, producing and editing his own work. Here he works with his brother Joel who wrote the script, produced and acted. I love myself a good thriller.

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Survival of the Dead
George A. Romero returns to the genre he defined in the first straight sequel to any of his zombie films. This one follows up DIARY OF THE DEAD, which I really enjoyed. I’m a fan of all his zombie films, so I look forward to seeing this one as well. The reviews weren’t so good, but the reviews for DAY OF THE DEAD weren’t so good either and I think that’s an underrated horror gem, which has influenced a great deal of the modern wave of zombie productions especially 28 DAYS LATER.

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Three Silent Classics By Josef Von Sternberg (Underworld / Last Command / Docks of New York) (Criterion Collection)
Josef Von Sternberg is considered one of the greats. Now Criterion brings three of his silent films to DVD. UNDERWORLD (1927) won an Oscar for writing. It tells the story of gangster Bull Weed who lives it up in the Roaring 20s, but his weak spot is for moll Feathers. THE LAST COMMAND (1928) won Oscars for lead actor Emil Jannings and for its script. The story follows a Czarist General who becomes destitute after the fall of Imperial Russia. THE DOCKS OF NEW YORK (1928) follows a waterfront worker whose life changes forever when he stops a woman from committing suicide. I’m certainly not a von Sternberg expert so this looks like a good place to start.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks