Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley and Clive Owen in "King Arthur"
courtesy of Disney Home Entertainment
"A Different View of the Arthurian Legend"

The new DVD "King Arthur" stars Clive Owen ("Closer") as the king who inspired legend after legend. This version shows the nitty gritty side of the man and of the woman he loves, Guinevere (Keira Knightley). In this film she is as fierce as he and as much a warrior as he.

I loved this film and enjoyed the DVD version even more because it is even grittier than the theatrical version was. The battle sequences are more intense and you get the idea this is the vision of what Director Antoine Fuqua wanted it to be all along.

So if you have only seen the theatrical version don't miss this DVD "special edition." It is more intense and more enjoyable.

"The Manchurian Candidate" isn't any better on the DVD version than it was in theaters - and that means that both are disappointing revisions of the original film. Denzel Washington, Liev Shreiber and Meryl Streep take on the roles originated by Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey and Angela Lansbury and none of the three makes as much of an impact as the original star did.

If you are going to redo a classic you ought to pay strict respect to it. This Jonathan Demme directed film does not. It changes key plot elements and switches characters around. Streep's vindictive and malicious mother is especially changed. As played by Lansbury she was evil incarnate. With Streep she is just misguided.

"The Manchurian Candidate" is a good story gone wrong. For better entertainment search out the original.

"Two Brothers" is a movie your kids might enjoy, and you might not. The film tells the story of two Bengal tiger cubs that are being raised in the jungle by their mother but are captured and sent on different journeys.

The movie is directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, who directed "The Bear." Once again he uses beautiful scenic photography and superb camerawork of the animals to tell his story. Guy Pearce is the major actor in the movie.

As wonderfully photographed as the story is, it is also boring. On video it does work better than in theaters because you are not trapped for the full length of the performance. You can shut it off or walk out of the room and come back - and psychologically this helps. Your kids will probably be glued to the screen but you can get relief.

A better animal, or more specifically reptile, adventure in my opinion is "Anacondas: The Hunt For the Blood Orchid." I loved the first "Anaconda" film that starred J Lo and Jon Voight. It was loads of fun, and so is this second installment.

This new adventure stars Johnny Messner, KaDee Strickland, Matthew Marsden, and Morris Chestnut. No big names there but that means they can get gobbled up and you never know who is going to be next. In this movie there is a big Anaconda snake back for more munching and it brought some friends. Oh its fun!

I kept hoping a big snake would gobble up Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder) as I watched his adventures in the film of the same name. This movie is a cult favorite among young people and I thought it was brutally dull. The only way for anyone over twenty-one to survive this film is to go into it thinking it is about nothing. Sort of a Jerry Seinfeld-esque type of story.

If you have low expectations as to plot then you might just enjoy the series of misfortunes that plague Napoleon. Plus you can concentrate on the presence of Tina Majorino ("Corinna, Corinna") who is now grown up enough o play in a movie like this.

I know people who think "Napoleon Dynamite" is an amazingly funny film. I just don't happen to be one of them.

A really interesting dramatic film is "Stander." This movie starring Thomas Jane is based on a true incident in South Africa. Stander was a policeman who became disillusioned with things that occurred on the force. He was so disgusted by what he saw that he went to the dark side and became a bank robber.

This movie tells about his life in crime, and is a fascinating study of human behavior. Jane is at his best as Stander and makes quite a dramatic impact. This is a movie to sink into and enjoy.

The weather being cold and dreary always adds to the enjoyment of a chilling horror film. One of the best at the video store is "Pulse." This creepy tale concerns a mother and her daughter who pull in at a rest stop off the freeway. It is late at night and all kinds of terror await them there.

Every parent's nightmare comes true in this film as a cult of bloodthirsty people tries to get the girl to join them. The mother must use every resource available to her to protect her daughter and keep her from harm. And that means an intense battle to the finish.

The cast of this movie is super with Madeleine Stowe strongest of all as the mother. Bijou Phillips, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Mischa Barton round out the cast. If you want to be thrilled and chilled pick up this video and take it home.

An even creepier film is "Shadows of the Dead." This film is one of those which concerns a flesh rotting disease, and is reminiscent of "Cabin Fever." Once again we have a couple stranded in the woods who come upon what they think is a dead body but soon they are infected with a disease that turns them into killers. And of course this killing will only spread the horror further.

At the core of the film it is also a love story and that gives the movie its edge. Jonathan Flanagan and Beverly Hynds play the couple and they are pretty good in the roles. It is not a great horror flick but it is one that will creep you out and hold your interest.

 

 

 

 

 

©2004 Jackie K. Cooper

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