Seasame Street: Old School Vol. 1 (1969-1975)

A DVD collection of episodes and segments from the first five seasons of the PBS perennial. Some of these segments were recycled enough that I recall seeing them when I religiously watched the program in the early 1980's. Of course the show has changed a lot over the years with a current Elmo fixation that’s arguably overly cutesy. A major virtue of the shows earlier years was a stronger sense of its urbaneness, and a 1970's good natured frankness, Oscar was a grouch, Cookie Monster a gluten, things that have been PC’d out a bit since that time. Anyway fascinating as nostalgia. Included is an early pitch presentation for the program to President Johnson’s newly created Public Broadcasting System.

I Am Legend (2007)

While essentially the same story has been made before, once with Vincent Price, and once with Charlton Heston, it is Will Smith who gets the accolades of comparison with Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy, for his ability to effectively hold the screen alone for much of the picture (though I think the dog stole the show). You know the plot with this one already, man messed with nature and released a virus that killed off most of us, and left most of the survivors viscous albino’s. Smith survives of course, he’s a cool Bob Marley loving virologist who has memorized all of the dialogue from the first Shrek, and who either created a cure of limited transportability or is conveniently naturally immune. His three years unkept New York is beautifully rendered, grass grows through every crack in the pavement, dear and escaped zoo lions run free, wilted Christmas decorations hang from empty buildings, some of which are covered in plastic shields, evidence of ultimately unsuccessful efforts to contain the contingent that cancer researcher Emma Thompson accidently unleashed on us. Smith is such a likable everyman that the film survives on at least first viewing, and is probably the best cinematic rendering of post-apocalyptic loneliness. A little more contemplative then your average summer block buster, its sentimental streak make it a perfect mass audience fit for the holidays.

Dexter: Season 1 (2006)

A sympathetic portrait of a serial killer as the crux of a cable drama, perhaps not so weird sounding until you factor in that it stars Michael C. Hall, Nate’s gay brother David from ‘Six Feet Under’, in the title role. The series is sharp and tight, with a 12 episode arc that’s among the most satisfying I’ve ever seen. The show even manages to make the Miami setting its own, carving out a distinctly separate identity as a southern Florida crime drama apart from both ‘Vice’ and ‘CSI’. Most of all it makes an ‘emotionless’ serial killer someone you’d like to hang out with.

Golden Boy (1939)

Clifford Odets wrote the stage play for John Garfield, but when Columbia made the movie version, they decided to mount a search for a new face to play the young man torn between a passion for the violin and a career in boxing. William Holden was the actor they found to play Joe Bonaparte, and in that profession his career would be a largely undistinguished one for the next decade, until achieving superstardom with Billy Wilder’s ‘Sunset Blvd’. This film itself seems largely undistinguish throughout much of its running time, but achieves near greatness through the stunning denunciation of the sport that appears near the end of the film, and the performance of Lee J. Cobb as Bonaparte’ father. Despite the schmalzy and overly period seeming conceit of the film, it’s new theater sensibilities makes it interesting as a for shadower of changes that would grip American drama on both the stage and screen in the late 1940's and 50's.

Enchanted (2007)

It’s perhaps a long time in coming that Disney would put a post modern spin on its venerable fairytale franchise, adjusting the ‘true love’ dynamic for contemporary times, and give us a send-up of the story conventions of earlier films that’s warm hearted and delightfully non-mawkish. ‘Enchanted’ is throughly so, an enjoyable romp that worked for me as well as it could for any child. Amy Adams becomes the new it girl with her wide-eyed turned heroic performance, and Patrick Dempsy ensures a place in my ‘don’t hate them’ list by proving the perfect fit for the role of a divorce lawyer (que Irony) who takes in the banished fantasy princess while she awaits rescue from her surpassingly likable prince.. There’s even a character named Nathaniel who gets to overcome his self doubts and publish a best selling book, how could I not like this film. Heck, I even liked Pip.

La Vie En Rose (2007)

France and the U.S.; 1918-1963

Marion Cotillard should be Oscar nominated for her portrait of French singer Edith Paif in this effective bio-pic. The movie is concentrated despair, it seems little that was not sad happened in her brief 47 years of life, the last four spent in ever increasing levels of bodily decay following a collapse onstage in New York in 1959. While the film goes through a slow period about an hour in, and tragically skips over most the second World War era, its still a powerful piece of work, owing to Cotillards conviction of performance and to some wonderfully composed sequences, most notably Paifs debut at 'the music hall' and her death sequence. I have to get this soundtrack.

Carnivale: Season 2 (2005)

Setting: U.S. from Texas to California; mid 1930's)

Second and sadly final season of ‘Carnivale’ started out fairly strong, but then got a little slow for my taste, seemingly relying on filler for most of each show. However it all wrapped up quite impressively, bringing things to another level and creating a very strong and satisfying mythology, one that I’m saddened I’ll never get to see further developed. Aviaters, Omega's, blind confederate widows, delimbed Russians, and Methodists ranging from good to evil, oh yes, and the Dreyfus’s.