A Gathering of Old Men

• GATHERING OF OLD MEN (DVD MOVIE)

ALWAYS - DVD MovieConsidered by many to represent a low point in Steven Spielberg's career, 1990's Always did suggest something of a temporary drift in the director's sensibility. A remake of the classic Spencer Tracy film A Guy Named Joe, Always stars Richard Dreyfuss as a Forest Service pilot who takes great risks with his own life to douse wildfires from a plane. After promising his frightened fiancée (Holly Hunter) to keep his feet on the ground and go into teaching, Dreyfuss's character is killed during one last flight. But his spirit wanders restlessly, hopelessly attached to and possessive of Hunter, who can't see or hear him. Then the real conflict begins: a trainee pilot (Brad Johnson), a likable doofus, begins wooing a not-unappreciative Hunter--and it becomes Dreyfuss's heavenly mandate to accept, and even assist in! , their budding romance. The trouble with the film is a certain airlessness, a hyper-inventiveness in every scene and sequence that screams of Spielberg's self-education in Hollywood classicism. Unlike the masters he is constantly quoting and emulating in Always, he forgets to back off and let the movie breathe on its own sometimes, which would better serve his clockwork orchestration of suspense and comedy elsewhere. Still, there are lovely passages in this film, such as the unforgettable look on Dreyfuss's face a half-second before fate claims him. John Goodman contributes good supporting work, and Audrey Hepburn makes her final screen appearance as an angel. --Tom KeoghSAVING GRACE:SEASON 1 - DVD MovieThere are very few television shows that revolve around a single figure to the extent that Saving Grace does. Then again, there are even fewer that can boast an actor as good as Oscar winner Holly Hunter in the lead role, and Hunter draws on her ! considerable chops and charms to bring to life a character who! , while certainly sympathetic, isn’t always especially likable. Her Grace Hanadarko, a detective working for the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Major Crimes division, is a mess. We’re barely into the pilot episode (the first of thirteen comprising the show’s first season) before we discover that her married partner is just one of Grace’s many bedmates (promiscuous is one way to describe her; slut is another), and that she’s a heavy smoker and drinker and a foul-mouthed, habitual liar. And that’s on her good days. There are reasons for all of this, of course--turns out that the death of her sister in the 1995 terrorist bombing that claimed 168 lives is just one of them--but it’s only when Grace commits a particularly stupid and reckless act that the potential for redemption appears in the form of Earl (Leon Rippy), a tobacco-chewing good ol’ boy who just happens to be an angel. A "last chance angel," to be exact, who suggests that if Grace will simply turn hersel! f over to God, good things will ensue.

It won’t be easy. Despite Earl’s good-natured appeals (along with an occasional spectacular display of God’s awesome powers), Grace is nigh on incorrigible. And while each episode features a crime of some sort, ranging from murder and child abduction to the theft of a million-dollar statue of a steer, creator-writer Nancy Miller (who was an executive producer for The Closer, another TNT series with a strong female lead) focuses much more on Grace’s ongoing struggle to accept Earl’s presence ("Why me?" she asks. "I don’t know," comes the reply) and do something to clean up her life. The show’s bluesy, authentic music (including Everlast’s title tune), dry sense of humor, and sexy tone (Hunter, looking very buff, is nearly nude on numerous occasions) are all positive elements; so’s the supporting cast, especially Rippy and Laura San Giacomo (as a police examiner who’s Grace’s best pal). But Saving Gra! ce is all about Holly Hunter, and by and large that’s a ! very goo d thing. Bonus features include audio commentary by Miller and others on two episodes and several short featurettes. --Sam GrahamCarnelle isn't happy with her life, so in order to improve herself she enters a local beauty contest, trying to emulate her cousin Elain's win many years ago. Few think she can win, even her closest friends and relatives (e.g. slightly mad cousin Delmount) think she's heading for a big disappointment, but Carnelle is ever hopeful, seeing a win as a ticket to escape her small town in Mississippi.HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS - DVD MovieHolly Hunter plays a Chicago-based single mom who--on the day before Thanksgiving--loses her job and is informed by her daughter of the latter's intention to surrender her virginity while on a weekend-long affair. If that's not enough, Hunter's character then has to fly to Baltimore to join her fractious family for another difficult Thanksgiving. Robert Downey Jr. is terrifically charming as her prankish, gay brother, ! and Anne Bancroft and Charles Durning show plenty of comic resilience during the predictably interesting Thanksgiving dinner scene. The script by W.D. Richter (Brubaker) avoids the usual clichés in family dramas--the deepest, darkest secret revealed here involves the painfully sweet revelation of a 40-year-old crush. Jodie Foster, directing her second feature, focuses instead on the inevitable softening of old grudges and disappointments with time. This is a wise as well as wonderfully fun movie. --Tom Keogh Considered by many to represent a low point in Steven Spielberg's career, 1990's Always did suggest something of a temporary drift in the director's sensibility. A remake of the classic Spencer Tracy film A Guy Named Joe, Always stars Richard Dreyfuss as a Forest Service pilot who takes great risks with his own life to douse wildfires from a plane. After promising his frightened fiancée (Holly Hunter) to keep his feet on the g! round and go into teaching, Dreyfuss's character is killed du! ring one last flight. But his spirit wanders restlessly, hopelessly attached to and possessive of Hunter, who can't see or hear him. Then the real conflict begins: a trainee pilot (Brad Johnson), a likable doofus, begins wooing a not-unappreciative Hunter--and it becomes Dreyfuss's heavenly mandate to accept, and even assist in, their budding romance. The trouble with the film is a certain airlessness, a hyper-inventiveness in every scene and sequence that screams of Spielberg's self-education in Hollywood classicism. Unlike the masters he is constantly quoting and emulating in Always, he forgets to back off and let the movie breathe on its own sometimes, which would better serve his clockwork orchestration of suspense and comedy elsewhere. Still, there are lovely passages in this film, such as the unforgettable look on Dreyfuss's face a half-second before fate claims him. John Goodman contributes good supporting work, and Audrey Hepburn makes her final screen appe! arance as an angel. --Tom KeoghRichard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter lead an all-star cast in this critically acclaimed tale of life, love and chance. Jilted by her boyfriend, Renata (Hunter), the oldest daughter of a close-knit Italian-American family, falls in love with Sam (Dreyfuss), an abrasive and forcefully charming businessman. But neither her spirited sister (Laura San Giacomo), her down-to-earth father (Danny Aiello), or her supportive mother (Gena Rowlands) can tolerate Sam's often obnoxious intrusion into their family circle. Aggressive and overwhelmingly generous, Sam proceeds - with only the best intentions - to disrupt and nearly demolish Renata's family. Love, humor and forgiveness go once more around as the Bellas try to balance Renata's happiness with their family's survival in this funny and often touching story, directed by Lasse Hallstrom.GATHERING OF OLD MEN - DVD Movie