new stuff (Criterion dvd, Alain Delon, and Dear Wendy on DVD)

To anyone who actually reads this blog, sorry i've not updated it in a while, but i'm back now.
First off, all through the month of May, i'll be reviewing recent releases from the Criterion Collection on my podcast Left Of Center. The DVD's to be reviewed are Louis Malle's ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS, Orson Welles' MR ARKADIN (AKA CONFIDENTIAL REPORT), Ingmar bergman's THE VIRGIN SPRING, and Robert Hamer's KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.
Check it out.
Also i wanted to bring notice to KINO VIDEO for recently releasing a collection of 3 films starring Alain Delon. A huge star in France in the 60's and 70's, Delon was like the French Steve McQueen. The 3 films (TWO MEN IN TOWN, BORSALINO & CO., and FLIC STORY) are all interesting films. Upon researching more of his films i found that there are quite a few movies starring Alain Delon available on DVD here in the US. Aside from the Criteion Collection releases, a simple browse through Netflix will reveal about 10 more films. If you like any of these films or French crime thrillers, check out the films of Alain Delon.

Now i want to talk a little about a film i just saw the other day: DEAR WENDY, directed by Thomas Vinterberg, and written by Lars von Trier.
The story takes place in a small Southern mining town and centers on Dickie, an outcast and self proclaimed pacifist who coes across an old revolver. He becomes obsessed with the gun, and his confidence grows when he and Stevie (a co-worker with a similar obsession with guns) begin to sneak off into the mine and fire their guns. They soon form a gang of misfits called the Dandies, all pacifists who love their guns and follow a strict and outlandish code of honor. The Dandies are jolted by the entrance of Sebastian, an outsider who has committed murder and is staying with his grandmother in town. He quickly becomes more popular amongst the Dandies than their leader Dickie, and it leads to a mission the Dandies embark on, one which may well lead to danger.
The film is very similar in look and feel to the von Trier works of DOGVILLE and MANDERLAY, but Vinterberg adds his own touches, making it seem more his. The soundtrack consists mainly of songs by the 70's band the Zombies.
The film, seen by some as anti-American, or anti firearm does not really warrant such terms. It simply looks at people's obsession with guns taken to the extreme. None of these characters want to hurt someone, quite the opposite. They believe through their mastery of guns, they can be better pacifists by not using the knowledge that they have gained.
Whether you believe all that or not is up to you, but this film is definately worth a rent to gather your own opinion.