The Destructors

There is a workmanlike efficiency in this taut spy thriller from director Robert Parish. Anthony Quinn stars as a rogue American agent who hires a hit-man (Michael Caine) to kill a drug dealer (James Mason) after he runs out of legal ways to get him off the streets. It’s set in the seacoast town of Marseilles, and one can’t help but get the feeling that the three leading men took the job more for a paid vacation than what was in the script. They’re such old pros, though, that they show up, do their job and still manage to give the story a believable edge.

A Thousand Clowns

Jason Robards gives a fantastic performance as Murray, an out-of-work comedy writer who decides he’d much rather bum around New York City and see what the Big Apple has to offer him than get a job. That’s fine for him, but as the guardian of a young boy (Barry Gordon), he has certain responsibilities that the law, in the form of a social worker named Albert (William Daniles) won’t let him get away with it. Barbara Harris steals the show (no small feat against Robards) as the naive social worker who falls for Murray.

Patty Hearst

It’s strange to imagine that most audiences today probably know Patty Hearst more for her performances in a few John Waters films than for the real-life experiences she had in the 70s as a victim (if that’s the right word) of an American terrorist group called the SLA. This mesmerizing movie from director Paul Schrader will set the record straight. Natasha Richardson is fantastic in the lead role, letting the audience see the struggles — external and internal — that Hearst went through in making the transformation from prisoner to political outlaw, but it’s Ving Rhames work as the charismatic terrorist leader that will haunt you.

Almighty Thor

Cody Deal stars as the God of Thunder in this low budget version of the Norse myth about a god coming down from Valhalla to save the earth. He’s a bit too wooden to be believable, but few actors have what it takes to be believable dressed in ratty furs and fake armor as they stride around the back alleys of LA trying to look heroic. That’s why it’s so cool to watch Richard Grieco show the world how it’s done with his performance as the evil Loki.

Some Like It Hot

What else can be said about this Billy Wilder classic other than it you have never seen it, stop reading right now and go get a copy of your own. Make it a Blu-ray, too, not only for the extras, like the Nostalgic Look Back documentary, which enrich the experience, but because the lush black and white photography looks fantastic. The comic timing of Tony Cutis and Jack Lemmon as two Prohibition Era jazz musicians hiding out from the mob by posing as lady musicians in an all-girl orchestra is some of the best ever caught on film.

Leaving Las Vegas

Nicolas Cage won an Oscar for his portrayal of a failed Hollywood writer who decides to move to Las Vegas so he can drink himself to death, and deservedly so. Watching him self-destruct on the screen is a reminder of just how talented he is, especially when compared to the drek he’s been pumping out ever since. The real discover of watching this deeply disturbing film again on Blu-ray, though, is realizing that Elisabeth Shue matches him note for note wth her stunning performance as an angry Vegas hooker.

Rivers of a Lost Coast

Two things may keep you from settlng in to watch this documentary: either you think it’s an angry film about how man has ruined mother nature or you think it’s some boring compilation of old guys sitting around talking about fishing. To be fair, there are elements of both to be found, but they are small bumps in an otherwise enjoyable ride through a world many of us may think we aren’t that interested in to begin with, the world of fly fishing. Tom Skerrit, who starrd in the ultimate fly fishing movie (A River Runs Through It) is the perect narrator.