August 2008
	by Max (with Walt Oleksy)	view previous issues here

The Dog Days of Summer

It’s hot in the Chicago area where I live, but that’s summer for you. I just wish they didn’t call these “The Dog Days of Summer” because it sounds like it’s putting down us dogs.

In case you didn’t know, the term “Dog Days” was used by both the ancient Greeks and Romans, named after Sirius, “the Dog Star,” the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun. Hot, sultry summer weather was considered to be an evil time “when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, people had burning fevers and went into hysterics, and dogs went mad.” Sounds just like reactions to today’s political situation, doesn’t it?  I prefer to refer to hot summer days as “The Cat Days of Summer.”

Here are my Best DVD Picks for August. My master and I suggest you will enjoy them even more with the a/c on.

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BRIDESHEAD REVISITED

A new movie of that title, based on Evelyn Waugh’s celebrated novel, is showing in theaters now, starring Emma Thompson as the religion-driven matriarch of a very rich and dysfunctional British family before and during World War II. It’s excellent, but not as good as the Masterpiece Theatre television miniseries which is being released in a terrific 25th anniversary collector’s edition that has been digitally remastered with retrospective documentary and companion guide. Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews both zoomed to stardom as college mates who may have crossed the line between friendship and love. Claire Bloom played Andrews’ mother in a part that may well win an Oscar nomination for Thompson. Diane Quick plays Andrews’ sister, with whom Irons falls in love, perhaps because she reminds him of Andrews. Nice story-telling, eh what? Sir John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier are memorable in supporting roles, Olivier having won an Emmy for his. In 2000, the series placed tenth on the British Film Institute’s 100 Greatest British Television Programs, and my master and I would place it among the top five. If you want great movie viewing, get this boxed set from Acorn Media that critics rave is “The best series ever,” “Lavish and beautiful,” “Virtually flawless performances,” and “One of the most remarkable adaptations from literature ever produced for television.” If you see the new BRIDESHEAD movie, you will most likely want to see the series which spends enough time to tell the whole story.

UNDER THE SAME MOON

This “sleeper” puts a human face on the immigration controversy, telling the story of a boy whose mother leaves him behind in Mexico to seek work in the United States, and his subsequent journey in search of her. Screenwriter and producer Ligiah Villalobos based the story on her own experiences and those of others she interviewed. “I wanted to capture the abandonment -- what happens to children as a result of immigration and being left behind while their parents cross the border to work. It’s not just another immigration story. It’s a story about the children and the emotional consequences of immigration.” She does an excellent job of bringing the controversy to life in a film that has become the third-highest-grossing Mexican movie of all time in the United States. From 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET

Another treasure from the Masterpiece Theatre archives, THE DUCHESS OF DUKE STREET COMPLETE COLLECTION includes all 31 episodes of the wonderful television series that ran during the 1979-1980 seasons. It tells of the rise of a woman from scullery maid to becoming the best chef in Edwardian London and manager of the most elegant hotel in town. Based on the life of Rosa Lewis, a culinary genius and owner of London’s Cavendish Hotel in the years preceding and during World War I, the BBC series stars Gemma Jones as the indomitable heroine and Christopher Casenove as the love of her life. My master and I love this series full of drama, humor, and heart. There also is a delightful dog in it, the doorman’s best friend. Another British classic from Acorn Media.

KINGS

Another story of immigration, this time from the Irish perspective. Six young Irishmen sail away from their beloved homeland in 1977 with dreams of a better life.
Thirty years later they reunite at the wake of one of them. An Irish Times critic called the film “Powerful, Terrific, maybe the best Irish-language feature.” Colm Meaney heads a strong all-Irish ensemble cast. In English or Irish Gaelic with English subtitles, from American Home Treasures and BFS
Entertainment.

FOYLE’S WAR, SET 5

One of my favorite British television mystery series, which is also one of the most highly acclaimed and popular programs on PBS, returns in this fifth set of three full-length dramas. Michael Kitchen is back again as police detective Christopher Foyle who investigates civilian crimes in a small English coastal town during World War II. The series was created by Anthony Horowitz who gave us POIROT and MIDSOMER MURDERS and written by Horowitz and Michael Chaplin. Anthony Howell and Honeysuckle Weeks also reprise their roles, and among the guest stars are two of my favorites, Julian Wadham and Phyllida Law, mother of Emma Thompson. Set 5 brings the series to 1945, as the war winds down and Foyle and his team prepare for what comes after. The three new features again combine mystery with history,
Involving a transportation fraud, the murder of a doctor, and as the war nears its end, a stabbing and an apparent suicide. Critics agree: “A triumph from start to finish” --Wall Street Journal; “One of the best mysteries you’ll ever see on the telly” -- San Francisco Chronicle; “For mystery fans, Foyle is a must see. Grade: A” -- The Houston Chronicle; “One of the most satisfying dramas on television” -- The New York Times. I just hope Set 5 isn’t the last we’ll see of Foyle or Michael Kitchen, who fits the role like a plum pudding at a British Christmas. The 3-volume boxed set from Acorn Media comes with special features including a making-of documentary, cast member reflections, and notes on a real-life Foyle.

OUTSOURCED

Most people who lose their jobs to outsourcing may not find this movie humorous or even satisfying, but if that calamity has not struck them, this romantic comedy could make for fun viewing. Josh Hamilton, a young actor worthy of wider recognition, plays a man who learns his job at a telephone call center has been outsourced to India. Adding insult to injury, he must travel to Bombay to train his replacement. Along the way he encounters romance and learns not only about India and America, but about himself. Roger Ebert called it “a film bursting with affection for its characters and for India.” From PorchLight Home Entertainment.

ALFRESCO

Britain’s version of Chicago’s Second City and television’s Saturday Night Live, ALFRESCO is a laugh-filled, irreverent sketch comedy series that launched the careers of Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Robbie Coltrane, and others. A 2-DVD boxed set from Acorn Media contains all 13 episodes of the inventive comedy series seen on British television in the 1980s. Also included is the wild and wacky series’ three-episode pilot show. The sketches lampoon everything from bureaucrats and religious zealots to those who wouldn’t be happy in any counter culture world.

THE DICK FRANCIS THRILLER: THE RACING GAME

Dick Francis, a champion jockey who got off his horse to become a highly successful author of mysteries, became the source of a very popular PBS Mystery television series of mystery on the hoof, four of them, to be exact. All six episodes of the first season are now on DVD from Acorn Media. THE RACING GAME, about a star steeplechase rider who is injured and after recovery becomes a private detective investigating track mysteries, was shown in U.S. television in 1980 and stars Mike Gwilym, Mick Ford, and Susan Woolridge.

POPE DREAMS

A 19-year-old who works for his hard-case father by day and plays drums nights in a heavy-metal band should have enough to occupy his time. But he has something else driving him… he wants to help his ailing mother, a devout Catholic, to meet the Pope before she dies. Philip Vaden stars in the coming-of-age story that has earned awards at films festivals across the country. From PorchLight Home Entertainment.

INSPECTOR LEWIS 1

The protégé of legendary Inspector Morse (John Thaw), Inspector Lewis and his new partner cover the streets of Cambridge and the halls of Oxford University in three new mysteries. Kevin Whately stars as Lewis, with Laurence Fox as Detective Sergeant Hathaway, in attempting to solve mysteries involving the murder of a young female Oxford student, the questionable hanging of a Cambridge housewife, and the suspicious death of an Oxford graduate who may have been murdered by a college principal. Good sleuthing in the traditional Inspector Morse style from WGBH Boston Video.

BLUE MURDER, SET 3

A young British single mom who makes her living as a detective chief inspector has her hands full in this new set of mysteries first shown on British television. Catherine Quentin plays the lady gumshoe in three contemporary, gritty police procedural mysteries enhanced with warm-hearted domestic subplots. Good juggling of career and child-raising from Acorn Media.

TYRONE POWER MATINEE IDOL COLLECTION

Ten of the handsome star’s films, including some from his first years of stardom in the late 1930s, are now on DVD In a boxed set from his home studio, 20th Century Fox. Titles include GIRLS’ DORMITORY, CAFÉ METROPOLE, LOVE IS NEWS, DAY-TIME WIFE, and SECOND HONEYMOON, mostly with Loretta Young, as well as THIS ABOVE ALL with Joan Fontaine, JOHNNY APOLLO with Dorothy Lamour, THAT WONDERFUL URGE with Gene Tierney, and LUCK OF THE IRISH with Anne Baxter. Come and get it, girls, some of the best movies starring the man for whom “matinee idol” fits like a dog and its bone. And Ty wasn’t just pretty. The man could act.

MYSTIC IRAN, THE UNSEEN WORLD

Most of us think of Iran as a backward, tyrannical, and fanatical country. This documentary attempts to explain the complex tinderbox Middle East country in more depth and accuracy. Filmmaker Aryana Farshad returns to Iran after a 25 year absence to capture the rites and rituals hidden for centuries from Western eyes. Critics call the documentary “eye-opening, an enlightening portrait” and “a beautiful, stirring film.” From Questar Entertainment.

GULF STREAM AND THE NEXT ICE AGE

Subtitled “A Planet on the Brink of Catastrophe,” this documentary demonstrates how the disruption of ocean currents, the natural circulation of water known as the Gulf Stream, will provoke unstoppable changes that will result in the next ice age. Filmmakers Nicolas Koutsikas and Stephen Poulle offer insight into man’s influence on climate change through the eyes of some of the most noted scientists of our time. From American Home Treasures and BFS Entertainment.

A WALK TO BEAUTIFUL

This documentary offers the inspiring stories of three Ethiopian women who were rejected by their husbands and ostracized by their communities because they suffer from obstetric fistula. Once common in the pre-industrial United States, this life-shattering complication of childbirth now is relegated to the poorest regions of the world. The three women of the documentary go in search of treatment for the disease which affects an estimated 100,0900 Ethiopian women alone. >From WGBH Boston Video.

FLYING IN THE SECRET SKY

An exciting aviation documentary about U.S. airmen volunteers who ferried airplanes to the Royal Air Force in Britain before the United States entered World War II, relieving allied fighter pilots to battle Germany’s advancing army in Europe. Never-before-seen aerial footage tell the previously untold stories of the forgotten U.S. heroes who risked their lives to deliver aircraft across the ocean. From WGBH Boston Video.

TERRY PRATCHETT’S DISCWORLD COLLECTION

These are animated adaptations of science fiction and fantasy novels, WYRD SISTERS and SOUL MUSIC. Brits buy almost as many of them as they do the Harry Potter books. WYRD SISTERS is about how three witches get into a royal mess when they’re given a murdered king’s baby to protect.
SOUL MUSIC follows a teenage rock musician from obscurity to stardom after making a deal with Death. Yes, that may sound a bit like the Faust legend, put to rock music. A 2-DVD boxed set is from Acorn Media.

ANIMALIA

Preteen friends go on a beautifully animated adventure when they are swept from their local library into Animalia, a world of animals who can talk. With the help of a friendly gorilla and an iguana, they try to solve mysteries that threaten to destroy the animal world. Based on the popular picture book by Graeme Base, the animated DVD version is highly recommended for preteens, from Burberry Productions and PorchLight Home Entertainment.

ADVENTURES FROM THE BOOK OF VIRTUES

The best-selling books and PBS television series comes to DVD this month with three lessons for children: Adventures in Honesty, Adventures in Courage, and Adventures in Faith. Important behavioral and life lessons are taught through animated classic international heroes and stories, from PorchLight Home Entertainment.

Now we wish they’d do an updated one on “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” the folk tale about a boy who cried out that a wolf was after him, until one day when a wolf actually was chasing him, everyone ignored his cries. Parents used to teach their children that safety lesson, but today they let them scream while at play. But a scream may be a child’s best defense in today’s often violent times against being kidnapped or killed. Yell, shout if they must while at play, but kids today ought to save their screams for when a wolf, or bad man or woman, is after them. One mother I know who has three screaming little ones showed me how she solves the noise problem: she puts ear plugs in her ears. I don’t think that’s the solution.

BACK TO SCHOOL

The Preschool Prep Company’s new back to school DVD release, MEET THE SIGHT WORDS, teaches kids ages 15 months to 6 years to identify more than 45 basic sight words. The DVD can be purchased at www.preschoolprepco.com

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

The popular children’s character takes up dancing in the new DVD release, STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE ROCKABERRY ROLL, from Fox Home Entertainment. Included are coloring pages and a music video.

SUPER FUN SHOW

Shawn Brown, the “Pied Piper of Early Childhood,” gets kids moving and grooving, learning and burning (calories) in a curriculum enhancement DVD program that encourages kids to explore the world around them. The combined animation and live action entertainment helps develop children’s motor skills, increase their aerobic activity, and get a kid’s level workout for the mind, body, and spirit, all while at a party. From Role Model Productions. For more information, visit www.superfunshow.com

COUNTRY MOUSE AND CITY MOUSE

Two of the most beloved characters in children's literature make their DVD animated debuts from Reader’s Digest and Questar Entertainment. Country mouse Emily and her city mouse cousin, Alexander, travel the world making new friends and introducing young viewers to adventures in the late 1800s. The globe-trotting mice attempt to solve the mystery of who is stealing precious artifacts in Greece in THE MYSTERY OF THE MOUSE PHARAOH’S TOMB and other stories. ADVENTURES ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS takes the pair aboard the famous train to rescue a kidnapped mouse emperor in China’s Forbidden City. Great fun for kids while they learn some history and geography.

It was like getting attacked by a legion of fleas to see in my master’s morning's newspaper a 56-page advertising insert for products related to the new preteen movie KIT KITTREDGE, AN AMERICAN GIRL. Everything from dolls and their clothes, doll houses and furniture, washing machines, ironing boards, complete kitchens rooms, desk and chair, stuffed doggies. And they’re not cheap, either!

The movie is being hyped everywhere, but this product tie-in must be an all-time high, even after all the Disney movie products. It's disgusting and just shows how parents over-indulge their kids with everything they want (or the marketing people shove onto them.) Movies have been merchandising franchises for many years, going back at least to Shirley Temple dolls, but this new movie takes the practice to hyper-space.

And can anyone tell my master and me the appeal of the American Movie Classics cable television series MAD MEN? We watched the second season premiere the other night and were bored out of our minds. Is it winning awards and getting high viewer ratings because it is so much better than most of the other shows on television that leave us yawning? We stayed with it the full hour just to see if it could catch our interest, but it didn’t. It was like a soap opera without any suds. Maybe we’re elitists, but this show is a good example of why we hardly ever watch series shows on network and cable/satellite television. Most television is truly still the “vast wasteland” that Newton Minow, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, called it in 1961. Sadly, movies today aren’t much, if at all, better.