Heath Ledger in "Casanova"
courtesy of Disney Home Entertainment
"To Nude Or Not To Nude"

"Casanova" is now out on DVD. This movie stars Heath Ledger of "Brokeback Mountain" fame in an R rated adventure set in Venice. Casanova was a legendary lover and with Ledger in the lead role you would expect it to be a wicked romp suitable mainly for adult audiences. But it isn't. This is a mildly told tale with more emphasis on comedy than on love.

Sienna Miller, Jeremy Irons, Lena Olin and Oliver Platt co-star in the film and the plot involves a lot of mistaken identities. There is also a lot of use of masks while at a masked ball and this aids Casanova's deception of who he really is. Miller plays the love of his life and she is not impressive in the role. To conquer a wild man like Casanova you need a woman who is one in a lifetime. Miller is not this.

Anyway some of you might enjoy this sweet and saucy adventure, but if you are expecting an adult look at Casanova's life, look elsewhere.

"Mrs. Henderson Presents" is also out on DVD. This is a movie based on a true story about a dignified English lady who opened a theater during World War II. It did alright at first but then bogged down. To spice things up Mrs. Henderson (Judi Dench) added an abundance of nudity to the revues.

This movie sounds like a sweet little tale that everyone should be able to enjoy. And it is a sweet story about one woman's plans to help the morale of the troops. But all the nudity you expected to find in "Casanova" is in this film. And that might be shocking to a large number of people.

Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins are excellent in the roles of Mrs. Henderson and her theater manager. Kelly Reilly makes an impression as one of the showgirls. 

"Mrs. Henderson Presents" is sugar and spice and everything nice. But just remember that "spice" is a lot of flesh on display.

Sean Bean seems to be in a rut. In "Silent Hill," his latest big screen outing he plays a father in pursuit of his missing daughter. In "The Dark," which is his latest movie on DVD, he plays a father whose wife is convinced their dead daughter is being held in a halfway world of evil.

I did not like "Silent Hill" though I did think Bean did an adequate job in it. I liked "The Dark" better but that may be because I am such a Maria Bello fan. She plays Bean's wife in the film. She is the one who becomes obsessed with the idea their dead daughter is in the land of "the dark."

There are actually some chills and thrills in this film, and you won't want to watch it in "the dark." You will want the lights on and shining brightly.

Three new DVD's have arrived from Disney and they are part of the cartoon series "Best Pals." The three DVD's are full of adventures with (1) Mickey and Minnie (2) Donald and Daisy (3) Mickey and Pluto. Each set contains a variety of stories about adventures the "friends" undertake.

Your kids will spend hours watching these shows and they are all family friendly. Nobody delivers movies like this but Disney, so join the bandwagon and get all three DVD's for your kids. Remember it is "Best Pals Minnie and Mickey," "Best Pals Donald and Daisy" and "Best Pals Mickey and Pluto."

If you are a dog lover then you will love "Bailey's Billions," a story about the richest dog in the world. In this movie a dog named Bailey inherits a billion dollars from his deceased owner. Of course the opportunists come out of the closet to try to weasel some money out of this situation. And could a dognapping be far behind!

Jon Lovitz is the voice of Bailey, while the human co-stars are Dean Cain, Jennifer Tilly, Tim Curry and Laurie Holden. Your entire family will love this action adventure that is family friendly.

Finally there is "Category 7, the End of the World." As you can tell form the title this is a movie in the tradition of "Earthquake," "Twister" and "The Day After Tomorrow." Mother nature goes on a rampage and humans are caught in the crosshairs of her fury.

Gina Gershon, Shannen Doherty and Randy Quaid play a few of the people caught up in the mammoth storm. The special effects are good and that is all you care about in a movie like this. There is excitement at every turn so don't overlook this one.

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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