“50/50”
This account of a 27-year-old man’s cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease works because the filmmakers realize that cancer can be faced with humor.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns in a powerful and believable performance as Adam, the young cancer patient. Gordon-Levitt delivers a controlled performance. Instead of showing his emotions with large gestures, most of his acting is done through his eyes.
The best acting, other than the Oscar-worthy performance by Gordon-Levitt, comes from Seth Rogen. Comic relief with such a serious topic is tricky. Director Jonathan Levine gets a thoughtful — and still funny — performance from Rogen, the best he’s ever delivered.
Grade: A-
“Wings”
The wait is finally over: The film that won the first Best Picture Academy Award is available for the first time on Blu-ray and DVD.
The World War I drama has been beautifully restored one frame at a time. The original negative was lost decades ago but a duplicate negative, housed in the Paramount archive, was used to make this release. The process was slow because the duplicate was scratched and had deteriorated. Even the original score was re-recorded using a full orchestra.
All the work was worth it. The movie’s unbelievable aerial dogfights and battle sequences look brilliant.
This is a film any lover of movies has to own.
Grade: A
Also new
“Annie Hall”: The Woody Allen masterpiece is being released on Blu-ray.
“The Whistleblower”: An American police officer (Rachel Weisz) uncovers corruption in post-war Bosnia.
“Real Steel”: Hugh Jackman stars in this film about the near future when boxing goes high tech.
“Underdog: Complete Collector’s Edition”: There’s no need to fear, the set includes all 62 episodes.
“Queen of the Sun: What Are The Bees Telling Us?”: Documentary looks at the global bee crisis.
“Kojak: The Complete Movie Collection”: Film stars the detective played by Telly Savalas.
“The Woman”: Evil lurks behind a suburban American family.
Rick Bentley, The Fresno Bee (Fresno, Calif.)
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