Chocolat

Ever wanted to change the world? This movie will inspire you. If you have not already seen it, you are in for a treat. Juliette Binoche is magical, and her supporting cast, which includes greats such as Dame Judi Dench, Lena Olin, and Johnny Depp all weave together a delicious dramedy.

It is a story of good versus evil, right versus left, old versus new, and yin versus yang. The parties all discover that it is only when they embrace each other that they can stand themselves. Even if you don't have an addiction to chocolate, you will find this movie intoxicating. The more often you watch it, the more you learn from it.

Nominated for best picture and 4 other academy awards in 2001, "Chocolat" was a risky venture. The script and setting were better suited to Masterpiece Theater audiences, but Disney, via it's Miramax label, decided to give the viewing public a taste of smart story-telling that raised the bar for other studios.

Eating popcorn during this movie seems odd, so choose the milk duds or bon bons instead. It is a great movie to watch in front of the fire on a dark and stormy night.

Shoot Em Up & War

Lest anyone think I gave up on my mission to bring comments on worthwhile DVD movies, I should provide some kind of update. Since my last post it is not that I've been on vacation, nor that there were holidays to celebrate. It is not that there are not good movies recently released or old ones to share with you.

It IS however, combination of holidays and vacations mixed with the fact that I've not seen anything worth talking about. That lack of good material is purely the fault of my bad choices on Netflix for sure.

"War", with Michael Stratham and Jet Li is a sad attempt to tell an otherwise interesting story about an FBI Agent's quest to revenge his partners assignation by Asian gangsters. I assume you can guess who plays whom? It is set in San Francisco which has made for fun chase scenes since the days of Steve McQueen, but the acting is atrocious. None of the Asian gangsters I know talk that way. I dislike Hollywood's' use of mechanical machismo to portray Asian thugs. "War" has an unexpected plot twist at the end, twice in fact, but that is not enough to make it worth the watch.

On the other hand, if you rent "Shoot Em Up" expecting to get a dazzling display of action adventure thrills, you'll probably be disappointed. But, if you approach "Shoot Em Up" as a satire on every such movie ever made, you are in for quite a ride. Every cliche, and a few I had not seen before, were there and spoofed. I'm not sure how Clive Owen keeps a straight face through the script, or how Paul Giamati keeps from tossing his cookies, but they both pull it off and make it fun to watch.