Entertainment

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Melanie Munk, Features Editor munk@heraldnet.com   Published: Friday, November 13, 2009 New on DVD/Nov. 17 “Is Anybody There?” As Edward in this sweet if not terribly innovative film, Bill Milner plays a boy who lives in a rambling retirement home in England where death is an inevitable occurrence. Enter Michael Caine as Clarence, a former magician who is getting a little dotty. Clarence sets out to divert Edward’s attention from the morbid side of life, and the two eventually forge a brief friendship. Rated: PG-13 for language, including sexual references, and disturbing images “The Limits of Control” Jim Jarmusch’s latest meditation on male soloism has no emotion, no compelling characters, no unity of effect and, consequently, no good reason to be seen. It does have great actors slumming as vague philosophical notions: Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt and Gael Garcia Bernal pass in front of Jarmusch’s camera and say weird things. Jarmusch has taken the idea of a caper, drained it of plot, action and suspense, and set it against an absurdist background, where every symbol, person and incident should convey meaning but doesn’t. Rated: PG-13 for violence and brief sexual and drug references “My Sister’s Keeper” Anna (Abigail Breslin) is an 11-year-old conceived by her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) to harvest umbilical-cord blood, bone marrow and various organs for their daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), who has leukemia. Anna has hired an attorney (Alec Baldwin), demanding to be “medically emancipated” from her parents: She doesn’t want to donate the kidney she was bred to give up. Then the focus turns to Kate’s story, when she meets a fellow patient and falls in love. Rated: PG-13 for mature themes, disturbing images, sensuality, profanity and brief teen drinking “Star Trek” “Star Trek” is an origin story that, unlike such recent downers featuring the Incredible Hulk and Wolverine, pays affectionate respect to its source material but never falls into the trap of slavish worship. Zachary Quinto plays Spock with surprising pathos, and a clever setup pits him against James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), giving the film its fraternal rivalry. Director J.J. Abrams proves to be an able steward of this narrative and these characters. Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content Also Downhill Racer: Criterion Collection,” “The Exiles,” “Farscape: The Complete Series,” “Gone With the Wind: 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition,” “How to Be,” “Michael Jackson: The Interviews, Vols. 1 and 2” and “Rome: The Complete Series.” The Washington Post READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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