Home Media Magazine - February 23-March 1, 2009 - (Page 16) Edited by John Latchem REVIEWS BLU-RAY SPOTLIGHT I STOMP LIVE Well Go USA, Music, $34.98 Blu-ray, $19.98 DVD, NR. www.homemediamagazine.com tomp is something of a curiosity to me. The dance troupe specializes in crafting musical numbers using everyday items such as brooms, newspapers, basketballs and their trademark trashcans. The result is a unique brand of performance art that finds the rhythms of life. But it’s a bit like forming a band that’s all percussion. Still, the routines are clever and the talent level is undeniable, and this Bluray puts it all on display with a full concert recorded last year at England’s Brighton Dome theater, where Stomp was born. This special performance S brings together for the first time performers from Stomp branches in Las Vegas, New York and the West End. The performance was filmed in full HD, so it looks good on DVD. But it’s amazing on Blu-ray, and fans will swear it’s almost as good as being there. It captures all the spontaneity of a live performance without the hassle of a crowd or the cost of a Broadway ticket. Just to whet audience appetites, extras include an interview with the Stomp creators, clips from other performances, a preview of new routines, cast bios, and a fascinating behind-thescenes featurette that’s basically a timelapse overview of setting up the stage for the performance. – John Latchem I GARDENS OF THE NIGHT Prebook 2/24; Street 3/24 City Lights, Drama, B.O. $0.01 million, $26.98 DVD, ‘R’ for disturbing content involving sexual exploitation of a child, language, sexual content and some drug use. Stars Tom Arnold, John Malkovich, Jeremy Sisto, Ryan Simpkins, Evan Ross, Harold Perrineau. I f there’s one “take away” from this film, it is that Tom Arnold is a very good actor. Instead of his typical comedic roles, he plays a smooth-talking pedophile who kidnaps an 8-year-old girl, convinces her that her family no longer wants her, and peddles her as a prostitute. It’s difficult to watch, but Arnold’s stellar performance is worth the squeamishness some might have about watching a film dealing with such a horrific topic. That said, the film itself deserves high marks for its overall tone and composition. Writer-director Damian Harris has masterfully avoided the exploitation factor that is often a characteristic of films of this nature and woven together a frank and realistic tale of child abduction and where it can lead. The opening scenes constitute a great “stranger danger” sequence that all school-age kids should see and take to heart, but 15 minutes into the film it’s time to put the kiddies to bed and enjoy the film on your own. “Enjoy” isn’t really the right word. However, the relationship between the young girl and her fellow sex prisoner, a young boy, and how they come to depend on each other and genuinely love each other is one of the finest cinematic love stories I’ve seen in recent years. – Thomas K. Arnold I TELL NO ONE Prebook 2/26; Street 3/31 MPI, Thriller, B.O. $6.2 million, $27.98 DVD, $34.98 Blu-ray, NR. In French with English subtitles. Stars Kristin Scott Thomas, Francois Cluzet, Marie Josee-Croze. hen Dr. Alexandre Beck (Francois Cluzet, often hailed as France’s Dustin Hoffman) mysteriously begins receiving e-mails and video clips about his murdered wife, Margot (Marie-Josée Croze), who was killed eight years earlier, the pediatrician’s life is quickly turned upside down. Winner of four César Awards (France’s Oscars) in 2006, Tell No One is a first-rate contemporary suspense thriller. With a frenzied plot played in and around Paris, it helps to pause and rewind parts of the DVD to stay abreast W of the non-stop twists and turns. Based on the 2001 novel by American author Harlan Coben, Tell No One is enhanced by the bilingual talent of Kristin Scott Thomas playing Beck’s lesbian friend Hélèn Perkins. Scott Thomas’ ability to play icy cool and vulnerable, often in the same scene, helps Beck keep his bearings in the face of unrelenting acrimony. Scott Thomas’ impressive résumé of supporting and leading roles in foreign and major studio movies is underscored by a fluency in French that is reminiscent of Jodie Foster’s memorable turn in the 2004 French World War I movie A Very Long Engagement. She also appears in the new theatrical release Confessions of a Shopaholic and recently earned a Golden Globe nomination for another French film, I’ve Loved You So Long. – Erik Gruenwedel 16 Home Media Magazine February 23–March 1, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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