Zazie dans le metro

Although he was best known for his powerful dramatic movies, like Alamo Bay and Au Revoir Les Enfants, French director Louis Malle had a flair for comedy, too, as can be found in this colorful 1960 family film It’s the story of a young girl named Zazie (the charming Catherine Demongeot) spending a weekend with her relatives in Paris. When her dreams of riding the Metro are canceled due to a strike, Zazie runs wild in the city with often hilarious results. Watching the bonus interview with Malle talking, quite intensely, about how the movie is a serious satire of modern city life is a nice juxtaposition because it lets you go back and watch the film again through different eyes.

Wired

It all starts innocently enough as young bank executive Louise Evans (Jodie Whittaker) agrees to set up a phony bank account in exchange for some quick and badly needed cash. Once she starts taking money from the bad guys, though, the action quickly escalates to the point where Louise has to risk everything she has, including the life of her young daughter, to keep from landing in jail for a long, long time. The pacing of this British mini-series is tightly controlled, giving the audience plenty of ‘holy crap’ moments as the bad guys start closing in. The love story between Louise and a detective named Crawford (Toby Stephens) is less effective. Whittaker, however, is fantastic in every scene.

Weapons Races

Given the plethora of war documentaries available today, it takes a truly unique vision to make any box set rise above the rest to capture our imagination. This Military Channel set does it, and with style. Rather than be an overview of the war, it concentrates on the weapons that make modern warfare possible and gives us a detailed history of how it came to be, how the weapon changed the way men fight and some insight into how the future of war will be changed as the weapon evolves. It’s especially fascinating to watch the way different cultures work on on the same ideas at the same time without ever knowing what the other is doing. Watching them fail along the way is equally exciting.

Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall

Based on the book by Spike Milligan, this silly comedy follows a wise-cracking big band trumpet player (Jim Dale) through basic training for World War II. The jokes are a bit old, but Dale’s energy and charm make even the most tired puns and pratfalls worth at least smiling at. What makes the film work, though, is the way director Norman Cohen guides the cast through the emotional moments where the harsh reality of war comes crashing in on all the frivolity. It’s not an easy balance to find, but they pull it off with style.

Bad Company Live at Wembley

Bad Company is, without a doubt, one of the most influential band to ever plug in and play rock and roll. Why? Because they gave the world a series of simple catchy songs that inspired a generation of wannabe rockers to pick up a guitar and learn how to strum along to “Can’t Get Enough.” They may be a bit older and grayer than they were when their songs were staples on the FM dial, but the remaining members of the band — singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs and drummer Simon Kirke — play with the enthusiasm of men half their age. Rodgers, in particular, gives a performance that is a blueprint for anybody who thinks they have what it takes to lead a band and entertain a crowd.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

After two films playing legendary kung fu master Ip Man, reigning movie martial arts king Donnie Yen branches out to bring a new action hero to the screen with fantastic results. The film, directed by Wai-keung Lau, is a gangster movie with a twist, set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. Yen plays the right hand man of the local mob boss who moonlights as a masked crime fighter. The story is a bit overcomplicated at times, but the fight scenes are always top-notch. As an added bonus, the film looks gorgeous, particularly the sets that recreate Shanghai as the center of opulence/decadence.

Deep Purple’s Phoenix Rising

The concert footage is good, although the fact that there is only 30 minutes is a bit of a letdown given the high energy the band puts out on the eight songs they play. What makes this DVD worth watching, though, is the 90-minute Getting Tighter documentary that’s included in the package which captures the classic rock band at a critical point in its career as Deep Purple tries to reinvent itself after he departure of three of it’s key members (guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover). It’s a fascinating look at the rock and roll lifestyle gone off the rails, told through the stories of the ones who survived.