Our Picks Reviews - Page 40

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” “Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.” “Leave the gun—take the cannolis.” The Godfather contributed dozens of memorable quotes to the pop-cultural lexicon, and this handy little collection of its many durable bits of wisdom, advice and assorted crime-family counsel—illustrated with photos and other graphics that evoke the epic’s time and place—enshrines the dynamic dialog of the classic 1972 movie into a digest that cinema lovers will treasure.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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The latest fractured-fairy-tale adventures of Hollywood’s loveable computer-animated ogre zips along on a steady stream of witty jokes, clever sight gags and the all-star voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake and Monty Python alums Eric Idle and John Cleese, all of whom sound like they’re having a ball. Ample extras include unused scenes, bloopers, instructions on how to do the “Donkey Dance” and numerous other interactive “Shrek-tivities.”
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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No, this book won’t reveal the mysteries of ancient Egypt. It will, however, keep puzzle fanatics entertained for hours with more than 1,000 word challenges, numerical conundrums, visual brainteasers and other mental “parlor games” that have delighted and bedeviled for the past century. There’s also a fascinating overview of some of history’s greatest puzzles and the people who invented them, including showman P.T. Barnum, author Lewis Carroll and others who loved giving the ol’ grey matter a brisk workout.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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A fanciful frolic, Stardust is the story of a beautiful princess who falls to Earth, the young man who risks his life to protect her, and a magical kingdom of unicorns, flying ships and other eye-widening visual surprises. Robert De Niro has a show-stealing turn as a crazy, cross-dressing pirate, Michelle Pfeiffer is delicious as a nasty witch willing to kill for a chance at eternity, and Claire Danes shines as the crash-landed “celestial body” around which everything wildly spins. Retaining enough of the dark, sometimes grisly undertones of traditional fairy tales to make it meaty for grown-ups, this frisky combination of adventure, romance and comedy comes to DVD with deleted scenes, featurettes and blooper outtakes. (Rated PG-13).
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Originally released in 1991 and now on DVD for the first time, this award-winning documentary about the making of director Francis Ford Coppola’s problem-plagued Vietnam saga, 1979’s Apocalypse Now, is a wild story on its own. Between the hurricane that completely destroyed the movie’s Philippines set, the heart attack that sidelined star Martin Sheen and the bedlam that beset the cast and crew as the bloated, out-of-control production stretched on for most of a year, it’s a miracle a movie—much less a modern masterpiece—ever emerged on the other side of the mayhem. (Rated R)
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Vincent Price plays a scientist whose immunity to a catastrophic plague has made him the only surviving human on the planet while transforming everyone else into ravenous, flesh-craving zombies. If the plot of this 1964 creepshow sounds familiar to the current theatrical blockbuster I Am Legend, starring Will Smith, it should—both films were based on the same science-fiction novel by Richard Matheson. Price, best remembered for his roles as evil geniuses, urbane villains or twisted madmen, does a solid job here on the “normal” side of the street as a lone-wolf survivor desperately trying to hold on to the last shreds of his humanity in a post-apocalyptic nightmare world…before making a startling discovery that could change everything.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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One of the greatest filmmakers of all time, John Ford directed more than 50 movies for 20th Century Fox from 1920 through 1952. This hefty, humongous collection corrals nearly half of them, including such masterpieces as The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley and Drums Along the Mohawk, plus 21 other westerns, wartime sagas, historical dramas and other cinematic capstones featuring John Wayne, Peter Fonda, James Cagney, Shirley Temple, Will Rogers and a parade of other stars. Extras include commentary on several films, a 168-page photo scrapbook and a feature-length documentary on the only filmmaker ever to win four Academy Awards for Best Director.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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The Man of Steel gets a scholarly breakdown from his comic-book origins to his portrayal through the years by actors Clayton Collyer, Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Smallville’s Tom Welling. Intensely researched and painstakingly detailed, it may be a bit of heavy lifting for casual readers. But diehard Super-fans across the generations will relish its meaty, meticulous look at the life, legacy and indestructibility of an all-American icon.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Anyone who grew up on the “monster movies” of the late 1950s and ‘60s will roar with delight at these 8 re-mastered rampages by one of Japan’s most famous cultural exports. In addition to the original, unedited Japanese classic from 1954 in which Godzilla first raises his gigantic, reptilian head, the collection also includes its 1956 “American-ized” version (with inserted scenes featuring a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr), plus six other drive-in classics in which the big green guy ultimately morphs from bad to good and battles an assortment of flying, fire-breathing, city-crumbling beasties from the East. The guilty pleasures also include a generous assortment of DVD extras, including audio commentaries by “Godzilla experts” and a featurette that takes you inside the famous rubber lizard suit.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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If you’ve ever longed for classic country music from stars you never see or hear anymore, this hefty set of 120 performances from the stage of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry is a real slice of honky-tonk heaven. Ranging from the 1950s through the ‘70s, many of them were taped for non-broadcast, archival purposes and have never been seen before. It’s a bountiful barn-full of hits, signature songs and other musical-scrapbook memories from Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, Tammy Wynette, Connie Smith, Grandpa Jones and many more of country’s most significant singers.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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