Best Movies By Farr Newsletter - December 2008
What's New on DVD
Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008)Documentary. Brainy/Offbeat. Color. 107 mins. Rated PG-13. Directed By Christopher Bell. First looking back at the'80s, at the height of Hulk Hogan and Arnold Schwarzenegger's fame, Bell offers a probing and well-balanced look at how rampant steroid use has become among athletic ... Read More >   |  |
Easy Living (1937)Comedy/Romance. Farr-cical/Witty. Black & White. 89 mins. Unrated. Directed By Mitchell Leisen. Starring Edward Arnold and Jean Arthur. The great Preston Sturges ("Sullivan's Travels") penned this farcical, rags-to-riches romance, in which an innocent secretary is assumed by her snitty coworkers and a hotelier to be the mistress of ... Read More > |  |
Four Minutes (2006)Drama/Foreign. Fast-paced/Intense/Moving. Color. 112 mins. Unrated. Directed By Chris Krauss. Starring Hannah Herzsprung and Monica Bliebtrau. Director Chris Krauss's intense drama is fueled by a scorching performance from young Herzsprung in the central role of Jenny, whose fury and pain project off the screen like daggers. Monica ... Read More > |  |
Mafioso (1962)Comedy/Drama/Foreign. Farr-cical/Offbeat/Scenic. Black & White. 102 mins. Unrated. Directed By Alberto Lattuada. Starring Alberto Soldi and Ugo Attanasio. Long before Don Corleone was a household name, Italian director Alberto Lattuada made this darkly hilarious little gem, one of the first films to deal with La Cosa Nostra. Casting his own ... Read More > |  |
Midnight (1939)Comedy/Romance. Farr-cical/Fast-paced/Witty. Black & White. 95 mins. Unrated. Directed By Mitchell Leisen. Starring Don Ameche, John Barrymore and Claudette Colbert. Claudette Colbert was never better than in Mitchell Leisen's classic screwball comedy, "Midnight," which has lost none of its punchy wit or saucy flair with time. That has a lot to do with the cheeky ... Read More > |  |
Othello (1965)Drama. Brainy/Intense. Black & White. 166 mins. Unrated. Directed By Stuart Burge. Starring Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith. Shakespeare's oft-staged tragedy about jealousy and murder gets the royal treatment from London's National Theatre troupe, but the center of fascination in this riveting adaptation is the inimitable, ... Read More > |  |
Reprise (2006)Drama/Foreign/Romance. Brainy/Fast-paced/Offbeat. Color. 105 mins. Rated R. Directed By Joachim Trier. Starring Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman-Hoiner and Viktoria Winge. Trier's frisky, effervescent drama about the friendship between two aspiring novelists in Oslo has the playful energy and visual flair of a classic New Wave film: quick cuts, freeze frames, ... Read More > |  |
Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)Documentary. Brainy/Intense/Spine-tingling. Color. 100 mins. Rated R. Directed By Alex Gibney. Gibney's pointed look at the Bush Administration's global war on terror takes a dreadful incident as a starting point, illustrating Dick Cheney's decision to use the tactics of torture and unlawful ... Read More > |  |
The Edge of Heaven (2007)Drama/Foreign/Romance. Intense/Moving/Scenic. Color. 116 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Fatih Akin. Starring Tuncel Kurtiz, Baki Davrak and Nurgul Yeslicay. Fatih Akin burst onto the scene a few years back with his provocative cross-cultural romance "Head On." But with "Heaven," he has truly joined the ranks of great living filmmakers, concocting an ... Read More > |  |
The Second Track (1962)Foreign/Mystery/Suspense. Brainy/Spine-tingling. Black & White. 80 mins. Unrated. Directed By Joachim Kunert. Starring Albert Hetterle, Horst Jonischkan and Annekathrin Buerger. A taut Cold War thriller in the vein of classic Hitchcock or Fritz Lang, Kunert's "Second Track" is legendary in postwar German cinema for dealing squarely with everyday citizens' complicity in the ... Read More > |  |
The Westerner (1940)War/Westerns. Fast-paced/Scenic. Black & White. 100 mins. Unrated. Directed By William Wyler. Starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Doris Davenport. William Wyler's ultra-restrained cowpoke drama is a gorgeously photographed, superbly acted psychological Western featuring two great talents: the laconic Gary Cooper, who turns in a modulated, ... Read More > |  |
Theme of the Month: Family Movies for the Holidays
It seems that just because we're approaching Christmas, every movie we watch as a family has to involve the topic, or at least have a jingle in the soundtrack. I'm all for screening the perennial Yuletide classics, but if you're feeling a slight sense of wear-out on "It's A Wonderful Life", "Scrooge", or even "Santa Clause 1-4", there is a solution.
Regardless of faith, at its core the holidays involve gatherings of extended family spanning all life-stages, so it makes sense to lay in a store of films that all generations can watch and enjoy together. And risking heresy, these titles don't have to concern Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hannukah specifically—they could simply reinforce human and social themes that inspire our New Year's resolutions. Each one will make for a nice change of pace from all the commercial hoopla and economic anxiety besetting us this season.
So adopting this broader outlook, here's my first varied grab-bag of outstanding but under-exposed movies suitable for multi-generational family viewing over the holidays.
As always, to see more great titles, visit our website at www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.
Regardless of faith, at its core the holidays involve gatherings of extended family spanning all life-stages, so it makes sense to lay in a store of films that all generations can watch and enjoy together. And risking heresy, these titles don't have to concern Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hannukah specifically—they could simply reinforce human and social themes that inspire our New Year's resolutions. Each one will make for a nice change of pace from all the commercial hoopla and economic anxiety besetting us this season.
So adopting this broader outlook, here's my first varied grab-bag of outstanding but under-exposed movies suitable for multi-generational family viewing over the holidays.
As always, to see more great titles, visit our website at www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com.
Breaking Away (1979)Comedy/Family. Scenic/Wholesome/Witty. Color. 100 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Peter Yates. Starring Dennis Quaid and Dennis Christopher. Peter Yates's heartfelt, life-affirming movie will prove a winner for older kids and adults. Christopher is appealingly quirky in the central role and the film also showcases the budding talents of ... Read More > |  |
Captains Courageous (1937)Family/Action/Adventure. Wholesome/Moving. Black & White. 111 mins. Unrated . Directed By Victor Fleming. Starring Melvyn Douglas, Freddie Bartholomew and Spencer Tracy. Based on a Rudyard Kipling story, this heartwarming adventure saga follows the transformation of a bratty pantywaist into a decent young man under the tutelage of Tracy's gentle fisherman. ... Read More > |  |
Chuck Jones: Extremes & In-Betweens, A Life in Animation (2000)Documentary/Family. Wholesome/Brainy/Witty. Color. 90 mins. Unrated. Directed By Margaret Selby. Starring John Lasseter and Chuck Jones. Peering inside the head of master animator Jones and revisiting sequences from some of his most famous shorts is half the fun of watching Selby's up-close-and-personal documentary. The rest comes ... Read More > |  |
Junior Bonner (1972)War/Westerns/Family. Moving/Scenic/Wholesome. Color. 100 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Sam Peckinpah. Starring Robert Preston, Steve McQueen and Ida Lupino. Sam Peckinpah's most subtle, gentle movie is a perfect showcase for the mellowing McQueen, who wears the part of Junior like a pair of old jeans. "Junior" also boasts a fabulous late ... Read More > |  |
Max Dugan Returns (1983)Comedy/Romance. Wholesome/Moving/Witty. Color. 98 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Herbert Ross. Starring Jason Robards, Matthew Broderick, Donald Sutherland and Marsha Mason. Neil Simon's light, charming tale about an elderly ex-con trying to make amends with his daughter and grandson is a fun, heartwarming affair under Herbert Ross's able direction. Mason and Robards ... Read More > |  |
Millions (2005)Family. Moving/Witty. Color. 98 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Danny Boyle. Starring Alex Etel, Lewis McGibbon and Leslie Phillips. Quirky, ingenious and altogether charming fantasy/comedy from director Danny Boyle combines warmth, humor and suspense, as predictably, the previous owners of the ill-begotten cash become vitally ... Read More > |  |
October Sky (1999)Family. Wholesome/Moving. Color. 108 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Joe Johnston. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Laura Dern. This sterling family entertainment demonstrates the always relevant life lesson of adhering to your own passions and interests. Director Joe Johnston imbues the film with an authentic '50s feel, and ... Read More > |  |
The Little Fugitive (1953)Drama. Moving/Scenic. Black & White. 80 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Ray Ashley. Starring Richard Brewster and Richie Andrusco. This sublime, touching little film became a landmark in independent film-making, winning the Silver Lion Award at Cannes, and influencing what would become the French New Wave with its ... Read More > |  |
The Miracle Worker (1962)Drama. Moving/Wholesome/Intense. Color. 107 mins. Rated Unrated. Directed By Arthur Penn. Starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. Adapted from the hit Broadway play which the leads also starred in, director Arthur Penn preserves two incredible performances (both Oscar nominated) and one amazing story for posterity. Lean and ... Read More > |  |
The Secret of Roan Inish (1995)Family. Scenic/Wholesome/Moving. Color. 102 mins. Rated PG. Directed By John Sayles. Starring Mike Lally and Jeni Courtney. Set on the West Coast of Ireland in the late 1940s, John Sayles's splendid "Secret" tracks one youngster's attempt to uncover a mystery that sheds light on her family's history and the fate of her ... Read More > |  |
The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003)Drama/Foreign Language. Moving/Scenic/Wholesome. Color. 87 mins. Rated PG. Directed By Byambasuren Davaa. Starring Enkhbulgan Ihkbayar and Uuganbaatar Ikhbayar. Refreshingly simple but sweet, this poignant saga of a nomadic family unfolds as gently as the sands that blow across Mongolia's scorching Gobi desert, where directors Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi ... Read More > |  |
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