By DNA Smith
PICKS OF THE WEEK
“Hot August Night/NYC: Live From Madison Square Garden” — One Neil Diamond; four sold-out nights; 26 hit songs (27 if you count the fact that he sings “Sweet Caroline” TWICE). Recorded in August 2008, Neil proves that even though he’s 112 years old, he still has the pipes to belt out a great show. The DVD also includes the featurette “Welcome Home, Neil,” about Diamond’s pilgrimage to his boyhood home in Brooklyn.
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” — Eric Bana stars as Henry, a librarian who is blessed/cursed with the power to travel through time. He can’t control this power, so he doesn’t know where in time he’ll end up or for how long. Rachel McAdams co-stars as Clare, his wife. Henry finds himself appearing during various points in Clare’s life, and the two are forced to somehow make the relationship work, knowing that Henry will disappear at any point.
I thought “The Time Traveler’s Wife” was OK. Not a great romantic film, but it didn’t suck, either. If you’re looking for a very good Rachel McAdams romance film, then rent or buy “The Notebook.” If you’re looking for a great romantic movie with a time-travel plot, then by all means find a copy of 1980’s “Somewhere in Time,” starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. And if you thought “The Time Traveler’s Wife” had a hokey premise, Chris Reeve’s ability to travel back in time involves him getting dressed in old-timey clothes and Wishing Real Hard.
“Studio One: Twelve Angry Men” — Most of us are more familiar with the 1957 Sidney Lumet production starring Lee J. Cobb and Martin Balsam, but “Twelve Angry Men” was originally a made-for-TV play that aired in 1954, starring Norman Fell and Robert Cummings. This riveting drama about a jury deciding the fate of a teen boy accused of stabbing his father to death won three Emmys and is still as relevant today as it was more than a half-century ago.
TV SERIES
“Gary Unmarried” The Complete First Season
“The Guild” Season Three
“JAG (Judge Advocate General)” The Complete Series
“Sarah Silverman Program” Season Two, Vol. 2
“Vega$” The First Season, Volume 2
“The Patty Duke Show” Season Two
“Jockeys” Season 2
“Army Wives” The Complete Third Season
“JAG (Judge Advocate General)” The Final Season
“Stargate SG-U: 1.0”
“The Life and Times of Tim” The Complete First Season
© 2010 King Features Synd., Inc.