Old School Reviews: Movie and DVD reviews by John Nesbit

WALL-E

The surest best in entertainment, Pixar produces another winner with a lonely trash compacting robot learning about love from an old Hello Dolly videotape. The first half is especially wondrous, laying its science fiction themes on a Chaplinesque silent film foundation.

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Features

Before the Rains

Merchant-Ivory produces another luscious looking tale from southern India, set a decade before the country's independence. Not a political treatise, this melodrama unfolds predictably into the realm of allegory. (Full Review ... )

Standard Operating Procedure

We all remember those infamous Abu Gharib photos, and the shame they brought to the U.S. But there's much more to the story than anything you've seen on CNN, and Errol Morris's latest documentary is begining to make its way into arthouses to fill us in on shocking background details. (full review ... )

In Theatres

On DVD

The Visitor (2008)

A widowed Connecticut professor is shaken from his zombie-like existence after encountering a pair of immigrants living in his Manhattan apartment. Outstanding character study is making its way into U.S. arthouses.

Google Me

Ever Google your name and wonder about all those people listed? Jim Killeen does this and takes it several steps further, by developing a film about his personal search. (full review ... )

Son of Rambow

Charming homage to indie filmmaking, director Garth Jennings sets this tale in the 1980s in the days before the Internet and cell phones where kids made friends in more creative ways.

Saawariya

Sony Pictures is releasing this Bollywood melodrama this week on regular DVD and Blu-ray. Lavish set designs and lively song and dance numbers make this an entertaining introduction to Bollywood fare. (full review ... )

Taxi to the Dark Side

Devastating documentary about the Bush administration's use of torture when dealing with political prisoners. Alex Gibney interviews a wide spectrum of knowledgable sources for this Oscar winning film.

Jimmy Carter Man from Plains

Jonathan Demme turns his documentary focus to the 39th U.S. President to paint an intimate portrait of an active octogenarian, committed to making the world a much better plae. (full review ... )

Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. brings Marvel Comic billionaire playboy/genius character Tony Stark to life on summer blockbuster screen in entertaining and surprisingly provocative style.

I Was Born, But ...

Once again the Criterion Collection supplies film lovers with another treat—this time via their Eclipse series, featuring legendary Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu's early work with silent comedies. The most anticipated in the box set of three is I Was Born, But ... (full review ... )

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

It's been over two decades since Indiana Jones first thrilled us in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and now a worthy sequel to the saga (certainly surpassingThe Temple of Doom) showing that the old guy still has mileage left in the tank.

Gandhi, My Father

Bollywood production begins with great promise, taking a unique and critical point of view towards Mahatma Gandhi. But by the final act, the film devolves into an ordinary and forgettable biopic. (full review ... )

U2 3D

Ground breaking film from National Geographic Entertainment brings a live concert from U2's recent Vertigo tour to your local IMAX theater like you've never experienced before. (full review ... )

Salaam Bombay!

Mira Nair's first feature is far grittier than most films coming from Bombay. A neo-realist drama filmed on location in the streets and brothels, it spins an unforgettable portrait. (Full Review)