A Little Old, A Little New

DVD releases today have a little bit of old and a little bit of new!

An anniversary edition of Mary Poppins brings us one of the true technical film masterpieces from 40 years ago.. I remember my Grandfather taking me to see this in the theater, when I was a little girl, at the Majestic Theater in downtown Providence! I thought it was genius on film then as I do now, and for a long time I thought Julie Andrews was the most beautiful woman in the world, even had a little crush on Dick Van Dyke!

Also released today is Top Gun, good action-love story with fantastic flight sequences. There is a special, expanded version on The Return of the King. DVD is probably the best way to see the Lord of the Rings films. It was my New Years Eve movie for three years, and after falling asleep in the first one, I was sure to always go early in the day!! These are brilliant films, but the DVD allows you to fast forward through the boring stuff, and the behind the scenes footage can be more interesting than the actual film. Lord of the Ring fanatics will be in their element!

New out today is I Robot, a clever sci-fi action vehicle for Will Smith. It's a pretty good story, and the action is good ... just fun to watch. Other fun film out today is The Princess Diaries 2. I took my niece H to see this in the summer, and was pleasantly surprised. It's your standard love story, told with humor and physical comedy.. it also throws in a gentle dose of feminism. Worth a look.

I know 2 of these films are already out in DVD, but in light of yesterday's Golden Globe nominations, I feel compelled to recommend 3 films featuring the wonderful Jamie Foxx. In Collateral he plays all range of emotion and becomes the unwilling hero in this crime drama. In Redemption he plays Tookie Williams, an LA gang member in jail for murder. I have trouble sympathizing with convicted criminals, but it is an interesting true story, and Foxx is brilliant. And then there's Ray. Still in theaters, this telling of the early life of Ray Charles is beautifully shot, well written, and Foxx gives an incredible performance (the whole cast is very strong but Foxx really shines). I'd be surprised if the Hollywood Foreign Prees would give him 3 awards, but the nominations are very deserving.