New on DVD - 9/16/08

I've been having problems with my laptop's AC adapter again, so my apologies for my sudden disappearance. My new one should be in this week and I'll be back posting regularly again in no time. But for now here's a rundown of some notable new DVD releases:

88 MINUTES (**)

Armed with a weak script, director Jon Avnet has fashioned a scattershot thriller whose logic is filled with so many holes, coincidences, and stretches in believability that it's hard to take seriously. We all know who the bad guy is from the get-go, and the "mole" so to speak isn't really that hard to spot.

SPEED RACER (**½)

It jumps from manic silliness to some exciting action scenes to headache-inducing video-game special effects to moments that border on moving - it was up and down, and I was in and out the whole time, sometimes hating it, sometimes actually getting into it and going with the flow. It has a schizophrenic nature that prevents it from adding up to a satisfying whole. Add that to an aimless subplot about Speed's older brother who was killed in a racing accident when Speed was just a child that doesn't really work, and you have a film that is an uneven experience at best. The Wachowskis simply bit off more than they can chew and made a film that is about 30 minutes too long, and a little too busy, for its own good.

YOUNG @ HEART (***½)

It's also painfully bittersweet. As we get to know each member, with all their unique personalities and stories, the chorus loses two members during the course of the seven weeks in a poignant reminder of their own mortality during the twilight of their lives. But the resilience and determination of this group is nothing short of inspiring, and the chorus' performance and dedication of Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" to one of their recently deceased members during a concert at a nearby prison stands as the most deeply moving moment in film I have seen all year.