Chasing Amy/B+,A

Miramax/1997/113m

     One of the nicest aspects of Chasing Amy is that it is a thoroughly modern romance. It's a different twenty-somethings than we are used to seeing and director Kevin Smith exhibits a good amount of restraint and a great deal more polish than with his abysmal second  film Mall Rats. This is even an order of magnitude better than the excellent low profile Smith debut film Clerks.
     Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams star as Holden and Alyssa confused lovers with Jason Lee in the very funny role of Affleck's cartooning partner, Banky. Smith creates the world these characters inhibit in concise confident film strokes. Laughs may dominate the film, but the material leaves room for the actors to stretch into serious territory.

Smith and crew.

This beautiful special edition from Voyager as part of The Criterion Collection is presented widescreen 1.85. The color is extremely fine with accurate flesh tones and saturated comic book stills.  Detail is consistently revealing and NTSC artifacts are at a minimum. The Dolby Digital 5:1 sound is excellent making a dynamic platform for the entertaining music soundtrack. There's a weath of extras on the 2 disc set, including audio commentary from Smith and company, deleted scenes and outtakes. A real steal at a list price of $49.95.    

A Simple Wish/B-,A

Universal/1997/90m

    Young Mara Wilson is a delightful child actress. She delivers her dialogue with a sense of gravity and charm and has made movies like Mathilda that much better for her presence. A Simple Wish is another example of how her presence improves the picture.
     It looks like young Anabel's life is about to change unless her Dad can get a break as an actor. She needs help and it arrives in the presence of Murry(Martin Short), her eccentric fairy "Godmother." The chief obstacles in Anabel's way are Murry's bumbling, an ex-fairy Godmother turned witch(Kathleen Turner)and the typical politics of the entertainment business. Some of the adventure is a bit over the top and the more precious moments involve Turner and her sort of faithful assistant played with terrific energy by Amanda Plummer.

Wilson, Turner, and Plummer.©Universal

     This stunning disc is presented widescreen 1.85:1. Terrific colors and sharp images push laser to the limits, delivering consistently beautiful images. The Dolby surround is very active with a great deal of punch.

Tortilla Flat/B,B

     Watching Spencer Tracy and John Garfield play the simplistic characters of John Steinbeck's novel Tortilla Flat is a reminder of what these great character actors could get away with. Tracy's easy-going charm makes the "paisano" Pilon a delight to watch, and Garfield, normally the big city brooder in movies,  finds a patch of darkness along the California coast in which to assay Danny with equal parts of wonder and dismay. Gorgeous Hedy Lamarr proves up tot he challenge of her male co-stars.
     Set along the Northern California coast where Mexican immigrants deal with levels of poverty, Steinbeck's  affectionate portrait comes to life on the screen. Big changes are in store when Danny gets an inheritance. Pilon schemes, Danny caves in and there are good-natured laughs all the way.

Pilon and the Pisanos©MGM/UA

     This is a solid laser transfer. Contrast could have been pushed a little harder, but the images are very clean. There are many dark scenes in Tortilla Flat, but the shadowy corners of the image compositions are clear. The mono sound is all right.

Hard Eight/B,B

Columbia Tristar/1996/101m

     Before the much ballyhooed Boogie Nights, director Paul Thomas Anderson made this unusal, lean film about losers in Las Vegas. The hypnotic quality and hard edge of Anderson's debut feature in many ways surpasses the confused satire of Boogie Nights.
     John is down and out after losing his meager stake in Las Vegas. Sidney finds him outside a roadside diner somewhere outside of Las Vegas. Like a guardian angel, he rescues John from the brink of despair, brings him back to the city of glitter and teaches him to be a successful gambler.
     Along the way to "comped" hotel suites, John finds Clementine and the ressuraection becomes more complex. The film never fails to be surprisiong and original. The stars, Philip Baker Hall as Sidney, John C. Reilly as John and Gweneth Paltrow as Clementine are all very convincing.

Sidney and John get ready for another gamble.©Columbia Tristar

The widescreen 2.35:1 images are sometimes slightly soft, be this may be due to Anderson's shooting style. Color is accurate and captures the glitz of the casinos where the story plays out. Hard Eight has a solid if unspectacular Dolby surround mix.