DVD/VIDEO REVIEWS week of April 20, 2009

This week's DVD and Blu-ray releases

The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and Blu-ray releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Theatrical movies have a USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account the discs' extra content.

Decoding Christianity

A lavish, though somewhat sensational and occasionally erroneous documentary series that explores the Christian faith through classic artwork and interviews with clergy, theologians and art historians. Over six 45-minute episodes, host and co-writer Christy Kenneally visits historic sites in Turkey, Ireland and Italy to explore developments in doctrine and the expression given them by painters and sculptors. The first two parts deal, respectively, with the meaning of the Crucifixion and the different paths to salvation as laid out by Catholic and Protestant theology. While the visual portion is often devoted to a study of medieval and Renaissance masterpieces, the script sometimes goes awry. Kenneally asserts that Orthodox Christians believe the Eucharist to be merely symbolic, whereas in fact they share with Catholics the doctrine of the real presence. He also claims that the Catholic teaching on purgatory dates only to the 15th century, whereas it can be found in the writings of several of the early Christian theologians a millennium or more earlier. Subsequent portions of the letterboxed DVD deal with secrecy, mysteries and symbols; miracles; angels; and the divisions within the Christian community. (Smithsonian Networks/Infinity Entertainment Group) 2008

Dog Days of Summer

Strained coming-of-age fable about two young friends (Devon Gearhart and Colin Ford) living in a seemingly perfect small town who come under the influence of a mysterious stranger (Will Patton) and begin to see the corrupt reality below their community's placid surface. Despite game performances from Patton and its preteen leads, director Mark Freiburger's slowly evolving, occasionally evocative tale, which recalls some of novelist Ray Bradbury's work, ultimately descends into melodrama. Mature themes and a few references to infidelity. A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Anchor Bay Entertainment) 2008

Frost/Nixon

Successful expansion of Broadway and London stage hit about the genesis of talk-show host David Frost's (Michael Sheen) historic TV talks with disgraced former U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) in 1977. Director Ron Howard and writer Peter Morgan build a good deal of suspense into Frost landing the interview and then getting Nixon publicly to admit for the first time his wrongdoing in the Watergate break-in scandal, with the stars giving pitch-perfect performances. Some conversational rough language, brief profanity and crude expressions, implied nonmarital relationship and fleeting rear nudity; acceptable for older teens. Spanish titles option. A-III -- adults. (R) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray) 2008

Notorious

Gritty but powerful biography of rapper Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious BIG (gifted newcomer Jamal Woolard) from his working-class childhood under the care of his stern but devoted mother (Angela Bassett) and his sudden rise from streetwise drug dealer to musical star, to his tangled personal life and the events leading up to his murder at age 24. Director George Tillman Jr.'s warts-and-all portrait shows the excesses of its subject's lifestyle, but also his efforts to become a responsible father and to reconcile with his friend turned violent rival, Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie). Strong sexual content, including brief but graphic nonmarital sexual activity, adultery, full female nudity, drug use, pervasive rough and crude language, and at least one profanity. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

The Wages of Fear

Stranded in Central America, four down-on-their-luck Europeans (Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli and Peter Van Eyck) jump at the money offered to drive two truckloads of volatile nitroglycerine over primitive roads crossing mountains and jungle to blow out a fire raging in an American-owned oil field. French director Henri-Georges Clouzot's classic thriller builds the suspense as the dangers of the fearsome journey take their toll on the desperate drivers. In French. Subtitles. Extreme menace, brief stylized violence and sordid situations of life among the impoverished. A-III -- adults. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Image Entertainment, Inc.; also available on Blu-ray) 1953

The Wrestler

Seamy but powerful character portrait of an aging professional wrestler (a superb Mickey Rourke) whose marginal career is threatened by a heart attack, as he initiates a tentative romance with a stripper (Marisa Tomei) and makes fumbling efforts to reconnect with his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood). Director Darren Aronofsky's study of loneliness, set in a landscape of trailer parks and strip malls, is unsparing in its portrayal of the titular sport, the sadistic impulses of its fans, and the demeaning sexuality of the strip club where the protagonist unwinds, but the drama's artistic intent and achievement are clear, as are the fundamentally decent aspirations of the troubled man at its core. Strong sexual content, including graphic nonmarital sexual activity, some nudity, brutal wrestling scenes, drug abuse, pervasive rough and much crude language, and some uses of profanity. Spanish titles option. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2008