Adventures in Home Theatre
Best Movies of 2005 Now in Video Stores

Last weekend, the only new movie that opened in Boone was the animated feature Ice Age II: The Meltdown. Fortunately for those people (like myself) not in the mood to sit in the dark for two hours listening to the voices of Ray Romano, Dennis Leary and John Leguizamo prattling on in a cartoonish manner, the video store is bursting to the seams with the best movies released in 2005.

Here’s a look at three of them that never made it to the movie houses of the High Country:

A History of Violence

“I hear you sling a mean pot of coffee. Let’s see what you got.” Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen star in the thriller A History of Violence.

Poet, artist and king of Middle Earth Viggo Mortensen stars as Tom Stall in this multi-layered modern thriller about a quiet Midwestern diner owner who kills a couple of murderous robbers who attack his clientele one evening. The fact that he saves the day is overshadowed by the efficient cold-blooded way that he subdues the bad guys—expertly shooting one in the chest and the other in the head. When news of his heroics airs nationally, three unsavory characters from Philadelphia pay Tom a visit. The leader of the three, Ed Fogerty (a malicious Ed Harris), claims that Tom is not who he says he is but rather, is a vicious former hit man for the mob named Joey Cusak.

A History of Violence—like V for Vendetta and The Road to Perdition—is one of an increasing number of fine movies derived from a graphic novel. Director David Cronenberg is at the top of his game here, and the pacing and suspense of this film is nearly flawless. Mortensen gives a fantastic, if understated, performance and Maria Bello is superb as his loving yet somewhat suspicious wife. The chemistry between Mortensen and Bello is another aspect of this movie that makes it head and shoulders above most of the films that were nominated for big awards last year.

A History of Violence is rated R for strong brutal violence, graphic sexuality, nudity, language and some drug use.

Junebug

“And if it’s a girl we’re going to name her Rhiannon after our favorite Fleetwood Mac song!” Amy Adams gives a wonderful performance in the new video Junebug.

Raved by critics last year, Junebug is worth seeing because of its setting in North Carolina and for the fine performances of the two lead actresses. Embeth Davidtz plays Madeleine, a Chicago art gallery curator and new sister-in-law of Ashley (Amy Adams). When Madeleine and her new husband, George (Alessandro Nivola), travel to South Carolina to visit a reclusive and somewhat racist primitive painter, they take a side trip to meet his family in central North Carolina (many of the scenes were actually filmed in Winston-Salem).

The next two hours are filled with some moments of genuine humor and a lot of emotional discomfort as George’s brother accuses him of deserting his roots while Madeleine tries to fit into her new surroundings. The savior of the film is Adams. Her Amy is eight months pregnant, perpetually optimistic and ready to bond with Madeleine at all costs. It’s a breakout performance that should lead to some peachy roles for the young actress.

Be forewarned, Junebug is not really a comedy and the end is a little dreary…if not downright depressing. For a true comedy with a similar theme, you might want to try The Family Stone when it comes out. Junebug is rated R for sexual content and language.

A Dirty Shame

If you are a John Waters fan, this is the movie for you. If you find his films crass and unfunny, head for the hills. After dabbling in what must be considered mainstream movies like Pecker, Serial Mom and Hairspray, Waters has returned to making the kind of movies that made him famous—or infamous, if you will. A Dirty Shame stars British comedian Tracey Ullman as Sylvia Stickles, an uptight housewife married to Vaughn (Chris Isaak). When she accidentally bangs her noggin during a traffic mishap, she becomes a sex addict.

Apparently, a group of similarly effected people populates her little suburb and meets regularly to act out sexual fetishes under the leadership of sex guru Ray Ray Perkins (Johnny Knoxville). A group of concerned citizens also meets in the town with plans to stop “all the sexing” going on.

It is all just patented Waters silliness and no new ground is broken here. There are some genuinely funny moments in the first half of A Dirty Shame (let’s just say you’ll never think of the Payday candy bar the same way again), but it becomes tiresome and repetitive during the last 45 minutes. A Dirty Shame is rated R for pervasive, strong crude sexual content, including fetishes.

Other New Releases

Just about all of the movies that had their theatrical releases in 2005 are now in the video stores. Some of the major titles now available include Capote, Good Night and Good Luck, The Chronicles of Narnia, Brokeback Mountain, Bee Season, King Kong, and Memoirs of a Geisha.