DVD Verdict reviews: ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of AVALON, DANNY DECKCHAIR, EARLY
SUMMER: CRITERION COLLECTION, I HEART HUCKABEES, KITCHEN STORIES (SALMER
FRA KJOKKENET), LA COMMARE SECCA: CRITERION COLLECTION, LEAVE HER TO
HEAVEN, A LETTER TO THREE WIVES, ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER,
PORTRAIT OF JENNIE, THE SNAKE PIT, THE SPECIALS: SPECIALS EDITION, TAXI
(2004), THAT MAN BOLT, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED / CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED,
and WHEN WILL I BE LOVED:


AVALON (reviewed by Mike Pinsky, overall score 90/100):
"Avalon has an ethereal, elegiac quality that makes its vision of
virtual reality more of a religious experience than the act of rebellion
normally seen in cyberpunk tales."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/avalon.php

DANNY DECKCHAIR (reviewed by Diane Wild, overall score 86/100):
"However -- and I mean this as a big however -- if you are willing to
park the logic center of your brain, you will be rewarded with a
terrifically sweet movie. And not sickly cotton candy sweet, but
perfect, milk chocolate covered almond sweet."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/dannydeckchair.php

EARLY SUMMER: CRITERION COLLECTION (reviewed by Mike Pinsky, overall
score 93/100):
"All this could easily veer into melodrama. But Early Summer is like the
rhythm of the ocean surf: relaxing and precise, rolling over the viewer.
Ozu's mastery of composition and precise timing means that the film
never lulls the viewer to sleep, as so many family melodramas can do.
The characters are complex, and their social situation as members of
Japan's lower-middle class is painstakingly realized."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/earlysummer.php

I HEART HUCKABEES (reviewed by Brett Cullum, overall score 93/100):
"It's amazing to me when a group of people get together and agree to
take pay cuts just to produce something they truly believe in. I Heart
Huckabees is the kind of reality I wish I lived in."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/ihearthuckabees.php

KITCHEN STORIES (SALMER FRA KJOKKENET) (reviewed by Elizabeth Skipper,
overall score 92/100):
"Perhaps this is because I set low expectations and was therefore caught
off guard by finding anything worthy of even a snicker in this film, but
I prefer to believe that the humor in Kitchen Stories has nuances that
most other films don't understand and that a little bit of high-quality
humor goes a lot further than a truckload of fart jokes."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/kitchenstories.php

LA COMMARE SECCA: CRITERION COLLECTION (reviewed by Dan Mancini, overall
score 80/100):
"Bernardo Bertolucci wouldn't make a big splash in world cinema until
the release of his second, more personal film, 1964's Before the
Revolution, but his debut makes a fascinating study in burgeoning
cinematic potential."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/lacommaresecca.php

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (reviewed by Amanda DeWees, overall score 94/100):
"Lavishly produced, filmed in glorious Technicolor on scenic locations,
and starring one of the most beautiful actresses in film history at the
height of her beauty, it is packaged to ravish the eyes. The story is as
addictive as chocolate, if no more substantial. It's not the kind of
movie that's designed to enhance your understanding of the human
condition. It's pure, undiluted entertainment -- cinematic dessert."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/leavetoheaven.php

A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (reviewed by Amanda DeWees, overall score
98/100):
"On the surface, it belongs to that genre called (sometimes
contemptuously) the woman's film, placing women at the fore and focusing
on the problems characteristic of women's lives -- which are, as here,
often romantic and domestic. Just beneath that seemingly conventional
surface, however, is some often astringent commentary about middle-class
America, its social snobbery, pretension, and materialism."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/lettertothreewives.php

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER (reviewed by Brett Cullum, overall
score 77/100):
"On A Clear Day You Can See Forever does have a dated feel, because
Minnelli pushed psychedelic effects and stop-motion photography of
blooming flowers to make it seem cutting edge for its time. Now it
almost feels like 'Austin Powers, International Man of Shagadelic
Musicals' with its kooky '60s clothes and colors. That's not always a
bad thing, but it certainly seems more silly now than when it debuted."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/oacdycsf.php

PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (reviewed by George Hatch, overall score 89/100):
"For Portrait of Jennie, Selznick pushed his own limits by including
imaginative and dynamic special effects, which earned the film its only
Academy Award. Portrait of Jennie is an outstanding production that
should lure you under its spell, and capture your heart with its unique
and timeless love story."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/portraitjennie.php

THE SNAKE PIT (reviewed by George Hatch, overall score 95/100):
"The vivid depiction of ice baths, shock treatments, and inmates
desperately wrestling inside of straitjackets were pretty shocking
images for 1948, and many remain so today."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/snakepit.php

THE SPECIALS: SPECIALS EDITION (reviewed by Maurice Cobbs, overall
score 78/100):
"I found this movie charming, for the most part, but I'm a hardcore
comics geek, the kind who can name all the members of Marvel's Defenders
and who can tell you Superman's birthday (and Clark Kent's, as well).
People who aren't so into comics, or who thought Daredevil kicked ass,
might not get so much out of it."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/specialsse.php

TAXI (2004) (reviewed by Patrick Bromley, overall score 69/100):
"When someone actually needs to use dialogue to advance the plot, it's
done as an afterthought; in one scene, Fallon wakes up from a night's
sleep and instantly remembers a conversation he heard the bank robbers
having in Portuguese (and yes, there are many of us who do dream of
Brazilian supermodels, but that's not what they're going for here --
even that joke isn't capitalized on). And it just so happens that Queen
Latifah speaks Portuguese! And that this one piece of information,
recalled at random, is a key piece of information for cracking the case!
Man, that was easy!"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/taxi2004.php

THAT MAN BOLT (reviewed by Paul Corupe, overall score 74/100):
"With his cigar and exceptional poise, Williamson projects a menacing
cool, and he's well suited to this character. Unlike many of the lower
rent blaxploitation stars, Williamson is an extremely reliable action
actor, and handles himself consistently well in all types of scenes."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/thatmanbolt.php

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED / CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (reviewed by George
Hatch, overall score 85/100):
"Village of the Damned was such an unexpected success in 1960, MGM
attempted a follow-up, Children of the Damned, four years later.
Although the latter film has its proponents, its heavy-handed,
drastically altered premise was a disappointment that proved disastrous
for most audiences."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/damnedchildren.php

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED (reviewed by Patrick Bromley, overall score
73/100):
"I'm glad Roger Ebert saw When Will I Be Loved and was able to watch a
great film. I only wish I could say the same."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/whenwillibeloved.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com