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“Marquis” is a fascinatingly bizarre evocation of the procreative and intellectual passions of a certain M. de Sade, set during his remand in the Bastille on the brink of the French Revolution and acted dated by men and women masked as beasts but burdened with the most woman of passions.

Imagine a blender churning R-rated Muppets, the fables of la Fontaine, both “Animal Farm” and “Animal House,” “Marat/Sade” and “Me & Him” — and you’ll barely begin to imagine the perversely defined universe created by the French satirist and caricaturist Roland Topor, who who wrote the story (drawing on the works of de Sade) and served as art director. Henri Xhonneux directed this 1989 film, here making its Washington debut.

In Topor’s world, Marquis is a decidely aristocratic canine who has been imprisoned in the Bastille for blasphemy (he’s the Andres Serrano of his day). There, Marquis’ constant companion is Colin, an animated and quite voluble penis with a mind of its own (which will be no surprise to the women of the world). Still, Marquis and Colin engage more in discourse than intercourse, discussing art and literature, as well as political and sexual freedom.

They argue: Colin accuses Marquis of being “a vain utopian, not down to earth like me,” and criticizes his writing (”too many verbs”) and his preference for words over action. Marquis accuses Colin of impulsiveness and vulgarity. Their main argument is over who’s leading whom.

All this is played out in a prison environment in which Marquis, a tragic, bemused figure, is clearly the most moral figure. There’s the warden, a masochistic rooster game for the ministrations of Juliette, a whip-wielding mare who is busily plotting revolution on the side. There’s Dom Pompero, the camellike Jesuit priest who steals Marquis’ writing for his own profit, and Ambert, the rattish and perpetually horny prison guard who is fixated on Marquis. There’s the heifer Justine, unjustly imprisoned victim of a royal rape and chief pawn in political intrigue aimed at attributing the act and its consequences to Marquis.

There’s also Lupino, the wolfish former police chief, and Pigonou, a raffish pork thief, and assorted minor characters artfully outfitted in masks designed by Jacques and Frederic Gastineau. These caricatures acting out human desires are described in the credits as “creatures,” and they fall into a weird, unsettling middle world in which the very familiarity of their movements and expressions at first seem surreal. After a while, though, one forgets the masks, and the characters become vividly real.

Clearly, this is adult satire. And several clay-animation asides inspired by de Sade’s writings are as erotically charged as their sources. Much of the film is suffused with the sexual fixations and violence of de Sade’s writing and life, so it’s no surprise that parts of “Marquis” are discomforting. Still, leave it to the French to give animal behavior a human face by giving human behavior an animal face.

“Marquis” in French with subtitles, is not rated but is definitely not for minors.

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Lost in Translation (2003)

This is a movie with some interesting thoughts and is both comedy and romance, without falling into the category of romantic comedy. It rises well above most such films in what it has to say about relationships. But it is far from a standard romance.

Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an American movie star who has agreed to endorse a Japanese whiskey for the sum of $2 million. He has come to Japan specifically for photo shoots, making commercials and some personal appearances. In more general terms he has come to Japan to take a break from his life and his wife. Married 25 years, he has seemingly lost touch with why he is with this woman in the first place. Scarlett Johansson plays Charlotte, a young woman fresh out of college and newly married. She comes to Japan with her husband (Giovani Ribisi) who is a photographer and is doing photo shoots of a rock band there. She has nothing to do and thus wanders aimlessly, searching for something to occupy her time. In a grander sense she is also looking for her purpose in life and becoming rather depressed at not finding it.

The two come across each other in the hotel bar where slowly a friendship is struck. It develops into something more although it is difficult to define what. They don't fall into each others arms and they don't have sex. But they do form a relationship that would probably upset their spouses. In each other they find something that has been missing in their lives recently. They are a pair of insomniacs, suffering similar relationship problems at opposite ends of the spectrum. They develop a strong bond largely because they are strangers with similar problems. That unfamiliarity allows them to talk about things they couldn't with people they know well. They can talk in broad generalities without getting bogged down in details because the detals are irrelevant to each other.

The movie's title indicates that culture shock is a factor here. Murray plays straight man to the oddities of Tokyo and Japanese culture. This is where he shows off just how good he a comedic actor is because he plays it all so amazingly subtly. Murray finds ways to set the whole theater howling with laughter with just a raised eyebrow or a widening of the eyes. Watching his confusion at the large committee that greets him every day, the rantings of a director he can't understand, and a hotel room with a mind of its own is priceless. Not only is he brilliant in the comedic aspects of the film but he develops a far stronger character than we've seen from him before, with the possible exception of his work in

Rushmore

. Driven from home by a wife who is simultaneously over interested in decorating for Bob and wildly disinterested in him personally, he sulks in the hotel bar, drinking his $2 million whiskey and pondering where his life went. There is a certain tension to watching Murray, as we expect his trademark sarcasm but know that it is unwelcome here. That gives Bob a timebomb feel as we wonder just what is keeping him from suddenly veering down the wrong path.

While there is much to love in this movie, I can't quite love it completely and I lump a lot of the blame on the Charlotte character and Ms. Johansson. There are many, many scenes of Charlotte moping. She mopes in her hotel room over and over again and then for a change of pace, wanders the city moping. Then she visits temples to mope some more. I get it. She's lonely. She's lost her way in life. I see all that very clearly. Subsequently I could have used a lot less of her moping. I don't want to completely trash Johansson's performance as she holds her own admirably in scenes with Murray. He is easily capable of dominating scenes and upstaging her handily but the two work well together and form a nice chemistry that drives the movie. With Murray she's great, without him she's simply dull. The seemingly endless moping scenes were real momentum killers for me, pacing problems that undermined my enjoyment of the film.

Casual movie fans will probably find those slow moments to be thoroughly painful. Serious movie fans though will more than likely be able to appreciate the film's many subtleties and Murray's great performance.

-

John Shea

What do you think?

  

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When a cockroach-spread nettle threatens to decimate the issue inhabitants of New York Burg, evolutionary biologist Susan Tyler and her research associates rig up a species of ‘Judas’ bugs and introduce them into the environment, where they choose ‘mimic’ the diseased roaches and infiltrate their grubby habitats. So far so good…until the bugs prolong on evolving and learn to sham their next prey–humans. Noirish, brilliant production work ensconces reliably creepy fly-related thrills. Based on the little legend by Donald A. Wolheim.

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The Show:

Showtime has put out some fantastic TV shows over the past few years. Series such as Dead like Me, Queer as Folk and The L Word, push the boundaries of writing and overall quality. Originally airing in 2004, The L Word premiered and quietly worked its way into the light with critical acclimations and a decent amount of viewers tuning in each week.

The show follows the lives of a group of friends living out in Los Angeles and breaks the boundaries of the stereotypes that society places on lesbians. Created by Ilene Chaiken who previously worked on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Barb Wire, The L Word is quite a different show with a lot of drama, tension and of course, sex. The show is currently in its third season and the first season has been out on DVD for some now, though the second has just been released.

In the first season we were introduced to all of the characters that the show is based on and grew to know them over the course of the year. Jenny (Mia Kirshner) had just moved out to L.A. and Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) were here neighbors. We also got to know Alice (Leisha Hailey), Kit (Pam Grier), Shane (Katherine Moennig), and Tim (Eric Mabius). The cast is what really makes this show and everyone has perfect chemistry, so it makes the formula work wonders.

Things pick up with the second season pretty much where they were left off in the first. Tina is pregnant and Bette has to come to terms with her infidelity, which is a continuing story throughout most of these thirteen episodes. To make matters worse for the two, a woman named Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley) pops up and relentlessly pursues Tina. It adds a more complicated element to an already complicated storyline, but increases the tension surrounding Bette and Tina getting back together.

Those of you that have returned and are looking to see what happened with the Marina (Karina Lombard) and Jenny plot, well, you’re going to be slightly disappointed. Karina is no longer a member of the cast, therefore Marina’s character was written off the show. The questions of Jenny’s sexuality that were raised thanks to the character have been kind of left in limbo and she tends to ping-pong between being gay and straight. It’s something that is explored more this season, but without Marina around to help things out, it’s a story that feels a little lost.

Ossie Davis appeared in the first season as Melvin Porter and returns again for a few episodes this season. In case you need to have your memory jogged a bit he was Bette and Kit’s father. This time around he’s actually a subject of failing health so his daughters have to come to terms with his passing. It’s an arc that further develops the characters and brings with it some very well acted and emotionally charged scenes.

Season two also sees the introduction of a character named Mark (Eric Lively) who will mostly appeal to male audience members thanks to what his character represents. He starts off as an amateur filmmaker who is making a documentary that is living with Jenny and Shane but eventually gets into taping them secretly. This story continues for a large majority of the season and even though I thought it added some depth to the show, I would imagine the core audience will be up in arms about it. Everything about this show breaks stereotypes and raises the bar, but the inclusion of this sub-plot seems to be a little low-brow and stereotypical of the voyeuristic male.

There’s plenty that goes on this season and I have only just barely scratched the surface, but sufficed to say if you enjoyed the first season, you’ll love this one. The thirteen episodes here are wildly entertaining and just beg to be watched consecutively thanks to cliffhanger endings and interesting storylines. There’s still plenty of humor, drama and of course raunch, but the real draws of the show are the writing and acting. It’s those two things alone that really lend credence to the quality of this series and the reason that so many people tune in every week.

Delivery:

The L Word season two comes with four discs, each with their own case. The first three discs contain four episodes each while the last is reserved for the final episode of the season and the bonus content. Each episode has only four “scenes” to select so your ability to find a particular part of the show is rather limited. As far as artwork is concerned, the cover is pretty bland with some empty space and facial shots.

The Video:

This season of The L Word is presented just like the first was with a 1.78:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. Also just like the first season there are some issues with the overall video quality. The image jumps back and forth between being brilliantly clear and cluttered with compression artifacts. It really seems to be a matter of where the location was shot, but a lot of it also seems to be a fault of the DVD itself. There’re scenes that are sharp and ripe with contrast and others that are dull and muddy looking. It’s really hit or miss, especially with some poorly compressed content, but for the most part the picture looks great and is pretty comparable to the broadcast of the show.

The Audio:

The set comes with three distinctly different audio options that depending on your set up, all sound very good. There are 2.0 stereo tracks for English and Spanish as well as a 5.1 English channel mix. The stereo tracks provide some palatable sound quality and evenly distribute the volume between subjects so as not to flood the soundstage. Then again, it’s not like The L Word is full of sound effects since in the end, despite some great music, it is a dialogue driven show.

The 5.1 selection offers up a greater degree of directionality and the rear channels really kick in at the right moments, but again this material isn’t going to be anything that pushes your system to the limit. The discs also claim to have captions for the hearing impaired, though strangely enough I couldn’t get them to come up with two different players.

The Extras:

The L Word season two contains quite a few notable extra features. For starters there are two audio commentaries found throughout the season. The first is for “Land Ahoy” and features Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moennig. The second is for “Lacuna” and includes Ilene Chaiken as well as member of BETTY, Elizabeth Ziff. Both of these commentaries are more entertaining than informative as the commentators tend to narrate and poke fun at what’s on screen. Generally, this is more the case with “Land Ahoy” than with “Lacuna”, but both still prove to be worth watching for fans of the show.

In “L Word Girls on the Record” there are a handful of interviews with the cast of actors. They talk about some stuff from this season, what it was like to work with some of the guests, haircuts, and of course sex. These interviews are pretty short and really are just blurbs about a couple of topics, so there’s nothing too enthralling here. The girls also play some balderdash and get some L words tossed their way. It’s a five minute diversion that I found to be kind of boring, but there were a couple of funny bits.

“Playing with the Girls: L Word Shorts” is a fun little Q & A session filled with silly questions like “how would you describe your first kiss” or what the worst pick up line they’ve heard was. A music video is included for “Some Kind Of Wonderful” by Pam Grier & BETTY, which features some clips from the show set to the song. There are some letters from fans available to read as well as a bunch of information about some contests to enter.

Final Thoughts:

The L Word season two offers up just as much quality as the first season did with tons of character development, drama and twists. If you’ve been into the show since the first season then the second one is an easy purchasing decision, but if you’re not sure if this is your thing you may want to try to check out an episode on Showtime first before taking the plunge. As it stands though, the writing and acting for this show is a cut above the rest and there are many strong statements here that break the stereotypes of what it means to be a lesbian in today’s society.

The set contains some questionable DVD quality and some severe compression issues pop up frequently. I found myself having to pause or fast forward through a part in order to get the image right again, which needless to say got a little old after a while. When the DVDs don’t bug-out, the image quality is fair and is paired nicely with some decent audio selections. The extras are more for fun than anything else so don’t look for anything too informational. Overall this is a strong season for the show and it’s easy to see why it is so well received among audiences. If you have the first set already then you’ll love this one, otherwise check out the show and see what all the fuss is about. Recommended

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Les Rivières Pourpres (Crimson Rivers) was a refreshing and exciting functioning thriller, sprinkled with borrowed elements of Se7en, from director Mathieu Kassovitz, featuring Jean Reno as a grizzled investigator brought in to make plain a series of irregular murders in the Alps. This standalone issue of sorts from administrator Olivier Dahan—written by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Leon)—finds Reno’s Niemans on a former occasion again helming a uncommon investigation, this time involving a modern-day Jesus, dead apostles, the written word of God, blade-wielding super human monastic assassins, the Maginot Line, and of course, a world-ending apocalypse led by nil other than Christopher Lee.

As action fodder that all sounds pretty pieces in ruins, but the sad truth is that it ends up being a sensitive mess that tries hard, but eventually falls way short of the mark; I would have expected so much more from a Besson script, and what gets delivered here seems severely geared to mock the best parts of the first film, while donation laughable inane resolutions to key plot points.

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The reveal of how the occult vile-robed monk assassins, for example, can be such incredibly nimble fighters seemingly impervious to bullets is so far removed from any form of reality that I would experience preferred a cheesy preterhuman explanation over the silly take on at logical “science” acclimated to here. I can degree forgive weaknesses in certain spots if the overage of the film manages to hold it end up, but unfortunately there are so numberless similar van-scratching moments in Crimson Rivers: Angels of the Apocalypse that I was completely unclear on the what was going on, and how exactly the apocalypse was supposed to happen.

Fellow the original, the testimony unfolds as two disunite plots that quickly overlap, hooking up Reno’s Niemans with scrappy newcomer Reda (Benoit Magimel, replacing Vincent Cassel in the sidekick role) and lovely faithful artifacts A-one Marie (Camille Natta) as all that stands in the freedom of stopping some unclearly ominous apocalypse. There are some decent action sequences, and a couple of dandy chase scenes, but I had a pretty pickle with the army of black-robed monks wandering utterly a evidently-lit grocery store without garnering a suspicious glance from anyone, at least up until the point they crucify some second-rate chap to the enclosure.

As an unconnected set of thrillers I wouldn’t do not forget seeing another entry-way in the Crimson Rivers series, more specifically a better one. Reno, even in amateurishly written materials corresponding to this, is at least good the price of admission, and Olivier Dahan does a fine job setting a modish inclined. But the experiences here is mess, but the film’s visual canvas (as articulately as the choice 5.1 audio mix on this disc) really made me wish the Besson script impartial plain made more sentiment.

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Alf – Season Two
Starring:

Max Wright

Encoding:

Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only)

Format:

Color, Closed-captioned

Number of discs:

4

Movie:

* ½

Discs:

* *

Period Two of

Alf

,
the popular 1980s sitcom about an alien who moves in with an average
American family after his home planet is destroyed, comes to DVD
respect of Lion?s Gate Living quarters Entertainment.
Did I demand customary
American family? Guilt-ridden, I meant average sitcom family because the
Tanners (the genre in question) doesn?t engender any comparableness whatsoever
to any bona fide families individual might know. In fact the far-out of

The Simpsons

seems like hyper-realism
compared to the Pedigree Ties-opposite number one of the Tanners. The most
fantastical element in their reality isn?t the presence of an alien that
resembles an orange talking bath rug . . . so contrived are the typical,
moralising plots in Alf!

THE DISCS:

All twenty-five episodes of 22 minutes each fit on
four single-sided discs. This is a welcome change from all the TV shows
on double-sided discs I recently reviewed. On the other hand, the
packaging is somewhat inexpert and one disc just wouldn?t deferral affixed to
its spindle and kept on getting untrammelled. Overall the packaging is
unimpressive: my wife mistook it for the purpose an old VHS stripe. Hale and hearty and image is
fine though and you also get two honorarium vivacious Alf episodes as a bonus.
Accidentally, these are the shorter
syndicated episodes instead of the original ones – something which will
no doubt irk long-meanwhile fans.

WORTH IT?

Anyway, despite the distasteful sitcom world inhabited by the mortify?s
characters, it is frankly difficult to see why this show was so hugely
understandable rough in the 1980s. How a uninteresting and unfunny show ilk this
managed to engrain itself into the popular culture of the one day is as hefty
a mystery as to why the Brits re-elected Margaret Thatcher all the time
and why the yanks made someone predilection Ronald Reagan president in the first
task. Also, reality be told the ?lovable? Alf himself is on the mildly
annoying side too.

RECOMMENDATION:

Your kids capacity contest with my prognosis, and

Alf

is rather harmless
family viewing – so get it championing them if you essential. But if you?re a
nostalgic twentysomethinger you?d in all likelihood be just as defeated in
Alf as you were with the recent

He-Man and the
Masters of the Universe

DVD package trap set . . .

Lifelong Palistinian friends, Said (Kais Nashif) and Khaled (Aki Suliman) lead a normal life, working together in a garage and never discussing manipulation or religion. Having when ago volunteered to become suicide bombers they learn they have been chosen for the next mission and that it will begin in no more than 24 hours. But the carefully designed plans go awry as the two men are separated and cannot communicate. They have to face their destiny and their own convictions.

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Max, Willie and Julie Epstein could have jumped from the pages of a Carl Hiaasen novel: three elderly Brooklyn brothers who’ve settled in the spick-and-span, horribly neat and conservative retirement community that is Florida. They’re suitably colourful characters, too, whether reminiscing about their lives or achieving unexpected success performing on stage at home and abroad. For what makes them important is the Yiddish Klezmer music they challenge on clarinet, trumpet and drums, surprisingly coming back into fashion. And while this solid, amiable documentary is, cinematically speaking, nothing distinguished, the trio’s music is destined for the most part terrific.

Young Bangladeshi, Nazneem (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is sent to London, leaving behind her beloved sister and home, for an arranged wedding and a experimental way of life. Trapped within the four walls of her speedily in Brick Lane, East London, and in a loveless hook-up with the middle grey Chanu (Satish Kaushik), over with two daughters. She fears her soul is quietly with one foot in the grave. Her sister Hasina (Zafreen), meanwhile, continues to live a carefree life dorsum behind in Bangladesh, stumbling from Possibly man punt to the next. Then one day, Karim (Christopher Simpson) knocks on her door with a consignment of garments for hemming, casual work she has enchanted on as a remedy for extra gelt. Discretion incongruity aside, Karim and Nazneem start out to nurture a relationship. But with the terrorist nettle in Unusual York on September 11, 2001, Karim becomes more activist, while Nazneem discovers more less herself and her new world.

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Sparsely put, “Enchanted” was the funniest picture of 2007.

After all their animated fantasies, true-life adventures, inspirational sports stories, and unshorn dogs, the Disney studios finally took the time to spoof themselves a morsel. With tongues constantly set in cheek, screenwriter Bill Kelly (”Blast from the Past”) and director Kevin Lima (”Tarzan,” “102 Dalmatians”) set out to turn the Disney image internal out with a partly lifelike, partly continue-demeanour fairy anecdote that upsets all the conventions of traditional Disney fairy tales. In this regard, it’s a little like the first “Shrek” large screen; if not quite so pointed or caustic, just as amusing. And with the added worth of a in point of fact sweet love excuse thrown in, “Enchanted” is wearying to hinder.

OK, about all those famous Disney princesses–Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and the leftovers? Well, what if at one of these animated young ladies were to determine herself in the real world, an animated fairy-tale princess suddenly turned human and frustrate loose in twenty-first-century Manhattan? That’s the premise of “Enchanted,” a understanding of fish-out-of-water narration.

The princess is Giselle (Amy Adams), who has all in her unmixed life in the animated kingdom of Andalasia. So, when the movie opens, Disney artists obtain animated her. And they have enthusiastic her in Disney’s best, time-worn-fashioned style, with plenty of internal tabulate and gorgeous backgrounds. But through the machinations of a scheming, evil Queen, Narissa (Susan Sarandon), unsatisfactory Giselle finds herself banished from the kingdom, popping up through a manhole in downtown New York City. I using, what’s a young lady to do who has in no way seen an automobile before, suffer to unattended new manners?

Giselle wanders aimlessly for a while, nobody noticing her fairy-tale attire because, you recall, it’s NYC, after all. A cynical divorce lawyer, Robert Philip (Patrick Demsey), stumbles upon her and helps her out, and anybody can look to where that is paramount. Temporarily, the not-quite-so-charming and remarkably holier-than-thou Prince Edward from Andalasia goes to rescue his fair damsel, with his stepmother, the evil Queen, in hot pursuit. And, let’s see, oh, yes, there is also the truthfully that the lawyer is a single dad raising a cute-as-a-button, six-year-old girl, Morgan (Rachel Covey), and the lawyer has a rather unreactive fiancée, Nancy (Idina Menzel), in tow. Now, add in the Queen’s crony, Nathaniel (Timothy Spall), for further comic stand-in; a chipmunk, Pip (Jeff Bennett/Kevin Lima), who could speak English back in Andalasia but in the valid life can only squeak; and a narrator in the person of Julie Andrews herself, and you vex cast of characters worthy of bringing this or any plot to spring.

Most movies red-hot or die on the basis of their create actor’s or actress’s riddle presence or charisma, and in this pack the filmmakers made a terrific abstract in Amy Adams. Here’s the mechanism: Her character’s got to be totally beautiful, guiltless, and naive, and in these respects Ms. Adams fits the bill perfectly. Yet she isn’t the nice teenage flower we may picture as Snow Undefiled or Cinderella types, either. Ms. Adams is a bit more mature than that, and she artfully projects an innocent and naive charm. It works to pass her Giselle more appealing to childish and old viewers identically than any teen novel improbable the Disney Channel could probably accomplish. What’s more, her Giselle is unconditionally free of irony and doesn’t understand the meaning of sarcasm; she is perfectly genuine in her feelings and emotions, making Ms. Adams’s beginning irresistibly exciting.

The others in the cast are virtually equally up to the task. As the utterly deadpan, pragmatic lawyer, Patrick Dempsey is the holy foil conducive to Adams’s Giselle, yet Dempsey’s lawyer never treats Giselle with disdain or mockery. At ahead, he thinks she’s merely a “troubled,” perhaps mentally at sea, young woman. It’s one of those usual romantic comedies where the audience is quickly in on the whole shebang that the moving picture characters have to spend the entire story to figure inaccurate. As the prince, James Marsden is not only impossibly handsome and dashing, he’s got a good heart, too. He’s not just an on one’s high horse prig we can boo, but quite a paramour who’s grown up firmly believing it’s his responsibility in compulsion to rescue fair damsels from ogres and such. Like the character of Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” who explains “I’m not vile; I’m just strained that way,” so, too, are these passionate characters powerless to be anything than what their creators drew them to be.

Nonetheless, in the real out of sight the enthusiastic characters found to take on human emotions–things take pleasure in annoyance and have a crush on. Which, in bore, makes for much of the fun in the display. Giselle, for example, knows all to the outer trappings of mystery and marriage without ever having experienced the feelings herself. Reality is tough on her, most singularly learning what it’s equivalent to to be lenient, with all the human sensibilities that go with it.