By Robin E. Simmons
PICK OF THE WEEK:
SPOTLIGHT
Shocking, repellant and lurid. The true and riveting story of the Boston Globe’s year-long investigation into the child abuse allegations and cover-up by the Catholic Church garnered not only a Pulitzer Prize for the paper’s Spotlight team, but also revealed a local and then international scandal at the highest levels of the once trusted religious institution. The news jolted Boston and then the world. The church that claims to be in a direct line of Jesus Christ was constantly reminded by media analysts and pundits of Jesus’s words recorded in the Book of Matthew: ” But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Director Tom McCarthy’s gripping, fact-based, investigative thriller recounts the process of the tense investigation that finally cracked the walls of a pedophile cult clothed in the pious robes of clergy and protected by fearful legal and government sympathizers.
The meticulous recreation of the place and time adds immensely to the impact of the finely crafted original screenplay by director McCarthy and Josh Singer. The pitch perfect supporting cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci, Michael Keaton, Live Schreiber, Billy Crudup and Rachel McAdams. This important, morally urgent and dramatically satisfying film will remind many of ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976), but is, in many ways, superior.
BY THE SEA
A lightweight film written, directed and starring Angelina Jolie — with husband Brad — is almost a parody of one of those 1960’s art-house Italian domestic dramas starring Marcello Mastroianni in an angst-ridden and talky relationship. Yes, the movie looks great, and Angie and Brad are easy on the eye, but this elevated vanity production about a married couple’s retreat to a picturesque 1970’s Italian seaside town in an effort to rekindle their marriage bond after a traumatic event is mostly a voyeuristic celebrity sideshow.
NEW FOR THE HOME THEATER:
AMY
AMY is a brilliantly horrific and profoundly sad tone poem to the dark allure of celebrity and the deadly consequences of addiction. Director Asif Kapadia’s brutally honest, unfiltered portrait of Amy Winehouse — certainly among the biggest icons in Britain’s history — is as heartbreaking as Winehouse’s best songs. In her music, she revealed her soul with a voice most often compared to Billy Holiday. She was a once-in-a-lifetime talent that connected globally and across cultures. This thrilling and heartbreaking documentary is an intimate and perhaps fitting epitaph that maybe even Winehouse would approve. The inclusion of her performances, sometimes with on-screen lyrics, makes this non-judgmental portrait more immediate. Reading her soul-baring lyrics reminds of her searing poetic gift. Her tragedy was etched in her music long before the chaos in her life made headlines. Much more than a cautionary tale, this is a dark celebration of our fragile humanity. Generous extras include commentary, interviews and deleted scenes. Lionsgate. Blu-ray.
MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL — 40th ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Once in a lifetime, there comes a motion picture that changes the whole history of cinema. A movie so stunning in its vast impact that it profoundly affects the lives of all who see it. MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL is not that movie, but the 40th Anniversary milestone allows for a fully immersive wallow in bounty of extras, only some of which include: Outtake and Extended Scenes, an Introduction by Python Terry Jones, Lost Animation with Introductions by Terry Gilliam, Scintillating Commentary from Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones and Even More Revealing Commentary by John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin, Quest for the Holy Grail Locations with Palin & Jones, Lego Knights of the Round Table, Special Japanese Version, How To Use Your Coconuts (An Educational Film) and much more. Sony. Blu-ray.
RICKI AND THE FLASH
This decidedly minor comedy is intermittently charming because Meryl Streep can apparently do no wrong when she inhabits yet another character pulled out of her deep pockets. The recipient of 19 Oscar© nominations (so far), the most in history, Streep plays hard-rocking singer and guitarist for Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme based on a screenplay by Diablo Cody. Streep is Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes following her dreams of rock stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right when she faces the music with her family. Streep’s real life daughter Mamie Gummer co-stars along with Rick Springfield and Kevin Kline. Extras include deleted scenes. Sony. Blu-ray.
robinesimmons@aol.com
