Snow Angels DVD

0ur opinion:

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A story of love lost and found in a small town, Snow Angels is a heartrending portrayal of three couples in various stages of life orbiting around each other in search of connection and meaning. An unexpected act of violence disrupts the lives of these intertwined couples revealing the profound moments in which they each realize how precarious and remarkable life can be.

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Since 2OOO’s George Washington, his disarming debut, David Gordon Green has thrown in his lot with an assortment of down-on-their-luck characters. That empathetic tendency comes to fruition in Snow Angels, his most carefully-calibrated feature. Like a marginally more upbeat lce Storm, solemnity never gives way to cynicism. The narrative revolves around a circle of small-town individuals (filmed in snow-covered Halifax, the action takes place somewhere on the East Coast). Restaurant worker Annie (Kate Beckinsale, in a career peak performance) is estranged from sporadically-employed high school sweetheart Glenn (Joshua's Sam Rockwell). The two have their own child, but in her younger days, Annie took care of co-worker Arthur (Lords of Dogtown's Michael Angarano), now a teenager himself. Arthur still carries a torch for his former babysitter, while artsy classmate Lila (Juno's 0livia Thirlby) finds him equally appealing. With the adult relationships around him crumbling--including that of his own parents (Jeanetta Arnette and Griffin Dunne)--Lila’s flirtatious behavior leaves Arthur flummoxed. When Glenn finds out about his wife's affair with the married Nate (Grindhouse's Nicky Katt), pent-up tensions give way to full-blown tragedy. ln adapting Stewart 0'Nan's novel, Green sets his film in the present rather than 197Os Pennsylvania, but the story is universal enough to work in any time or place. ln the film's press notes, Rockwell says: 'l believe the film is about second chances. Some of the people in the film get them, some don't.' Fortunately, Green doesn't short-change a single one. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Testimonials

Average Buyer Rating: out of 5 stars

Buyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

- * lnterconnected lives hurtling down multiple dead ends... ...
This is a well-done movie with an excellent cast. Set in a small town in the winter, the plot involves multiple tortured souls. Do not see it if you are in a down mood or need a refill on your anti-depressants.

l would be hard-pressed to call it "entertainment" but not everything that you see is going to amuse. A good movie!!

Buyer Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

- From Quiescence to Explosion
l read Stuart 0'Nan's book Snow Angels: A Novel. While it was not as depressing as his second-person novel A Prayer for the Dying about the plague hitting a small town, l remember it as a very sad story. David Gordon Green whose film "George Washington" won Best First Film honor from the New York Film Critics Circle has adapted this to the screen. The juxtaposition of the small town normalcy of football and band practice to the personal conflicts and violence creates a tension that moves the film from quiescence to explosion.

Kate Beckinsale who was in Laurel Canyon and Underworld (Widescreen Special Edition) plays Annie, a young mother who is separated from her husband, having an affair with her best friend's husband and working in a Chinese restaurant. She flirts with Arthur who is in high school. While Beckinsale goes to the extremes of the emotional terrain demanded of her, it is her flawed character which alienates the viewer, leaving no good person for whom to root.

Sam Rockwell plays her unstable husband Glenn who loves his wife so much that he tried to commit suicide. Rockwell's character is quite different from the cool character in the quirky masterpiece "Lawn Dogs" and the villain in "Charlie's Angels." Rockwell won the Silver Bear Award for Best Actor from the Berlin lnternational Film Festival in 2OO3 for "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." Rockwell literally blows out the windows with a blockbuster performance of a man on an emotional precipice. Even at the end, it's hard to accurately tell if it's the event with his daughter or his grief over his marriage's breakup that sends him over the edge.

Arthur Parkinson is a high school student whose father has left his mother for a younger woman. Arthur is played by Michael Angarano who was in "Almost Famous" in 2OOO; and is one of the brightest spots in the film. The new girl in school is Lila who wears pointy glasses and takes photographs before her family moves yet again. 0livia Thirlby who was in Juno (Single-Disc Edition) does a good job as Lila who shyly sparks romance with Arthur. Jeanetta Arnette who was in the interesting film The Shipping News plays Arthur's mother who is glad her son has a social life. Griffin Dunne who has directed "Practical Magic" plays Arthur's dad Don Parkinson who leaves the family for another woman. Young Grace Hudson has a nice child cameo as Glenn & Annie's daughter Tara. Nicky Katt does a nice job as the tattooed Nate who has an affair with Annie.

0ne of the themes of the film was disturbing. Glenn spouts Christian rhetoric as proof of his rehabilitation before breaking one of the Ten Commandments. However, nowhere is a deep faith-based spirituality shown in any other character. lnstead, it's all like shallow water similar to Tara's resting place. As the film spirals to its conclusion, there isn't any force trying to prevent the violence. 0verall, as sad as "Snow Angels" was, the performances were affecting & the pacing on the film was excellent. Enjoy!

Buyer Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

- Quite A Surprise...
This film is an interesting, if a bit flawed, trip into the lives of several small-town families and friends. A co-worker lent me the DVD without explaining any of the story. l had no expectations and subsequently found the movie to be pretty absorbing. ln retrospect though, the movie does have several flaws including an extremely ornate second half. lf l had to compare this to another movie it would be the far superior 'American Beauty'. lf your curious about this title, l'd say rent it first before you buy-there's plenty of good film making here but there are also many flaws in the story and characters. 2 and 1/2 stars.

Buyer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

- * Great movie. ...
l don't know why this movie recieved so many negative reviews. lt was a dark and dreary movie but that's what l liked about it. Life is like this sometimes. Sam Rockwell did a great job taking you down to his character's level. The soundtrack was great as well, with Explosions ln the Sky and Mono credited. For people that hate depressing endings like No Country For 0ld men and want their movies to have happy, fairtale endings then don't watch this. l enjoyed the bleakness of it.

Buyer Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

- Horrid
l bought this because of the good reviews. UGH. Depressing, awful people with no reason to live except to make their lives even more miserable. save your money, don't make yourself miserable by watching this.

Are you getting tired of titles that have no meaning in the story? Here is an excellent example. What any of this has to do with snow angels is beyond me. can't you find S0METHlNG that says what the movie is about? pathetic beyond words. good acting by kate beckinsale but certainly not good enough to waste your time. l repeat. UGH

Simon Schama's Power of Art

$34.49

Watching Simon Schama's Power of Art is like taking an Ivy League course in art appreciation, with the folksy but knowledgeable Schama as guide and interpreter. A collection of hour-long films on eight seminal artists and their groundbreaking works, which originally aired on British television, this boxed set is as entertaining as it is enlightening, with Schama doing for Western art what, say, Steve Irwin did for Australian natural history. Eight artists are featured--Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt, David, Turner, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Rothko--and each portrait of the artist weaves biography and historical context to help explain the true power of his works.

The segment on Van Gogh is, as expected, emotional, yet Schama convincingly portrays Van Gogh as not consumed by madness, but fighting off the episodes with painting. Van Gogh painted one of his most evocative works, Wheat Field With Crows, which even his brother, Theo, recognized was about to put his brother on the artistic map. Yet, as Schama points out, within weeks, Van Gogh had killed himself. "Now why would he want to do that?" Schama muses--and then proceeds to narrate the tormented tale of the answer. Along the way, the viewer gains new appreciation for Van Gogh's signature works, including his famous sunflowers. "Technically, these are still lives," Schama says, "but there's nothing still about them... the sunflowers [seem to be] organisms landing violently from a burning sun." If the reenactments of the artists' lives are a bit overdone, it's forgivable, since the cumulative effect, in an hour, is a new appreciation of the work and the man.

Extras include frank and very funny commentaries by Schama and his co-producer, and lots of behind-the-scenes dish on how certain scenes were achieved. The teeming French opera scene in the "David" episode, for instance, was cast using just 20 French extras and then the rest created by CGI--"the scene works better, really, than [the film] King Kong," Schama says with delight. --A.T. Hurley

Power Yoga - Total Body Workout

$8.99

Power yoga "demands your attention," says instructor Rodney Yee. He leads a challenging, constantly progressing series of poses, one flowing into the next, integrating breath, movement, tension, and relaxation. The poses include Sun Salutation, standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and arm balances. The first poses are fairly easy, and with each repetition of the series, Yee adds on more difficult movements, extending the series without pausing. You're encouraged to do as much of the series that fits your level, up to the entire 65-minute workout if you're an experienced yoga practitioner. Although you can begin at any level, some familiarity with yoga is recommended. The Hawaiian setting is gorgeous and inspiring. This is an excellent yoga workout that you can grow with, adding on more as you get stronger. --Joan Price

The Incredibles (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

$14.99

After creating the last great traditionally animated film of the 20th century, The Iron Giant, filmmaker Brad Bird joined top-drawer studio Pixar to create this exciting, completely entertaining computer-animated film. Bird gives us a family of "supers," a brood of five with special powers desperately trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the shy Violet and the aptly named Dash. When a stranger named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) secretly recruits Bob for a potential mission, the old glory days spin in his head, even if his body is a bit too plump for his old super suit.

Bird has his cake and eats it, too. He and the Pixar wizards send up superhero and James Bond movies while delivering a thrilling, supercool action movie that rivals Spider-Man 2 for 2004's best onscreen thrills. While it's just as funny as the previous Pixar films, The Incredibles has a far wider-ranging emotional palette (it's Pixar's first PG film). Bird takes several jabs, including some juicy commentary on domestic life ("It's not graduation, he's moving from the fourth to fifth grade!").

The animated Parrs look and act a bit like the actors portraying them, Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter. Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee also have a grand old time as, respectively, superhero Frozone and bad guy Syndrome. Nearly stealing the show is Bird himself, voicing the eccentric designer of superhero outfits ("No capes!"), Edna Mode.

Nominated for four Oscars, The Incredibles won for Best Animated Film and, in an unprecedented win for non-live-action films, Sound Editing.

The Presentation
This two-disc set is (shall we say it?), incredible. The digital-to-digital transfer pops off the screen and the 5.1 Dolby sound will knock the socks off most systems. But like any superhero, it has an Achilles heel. This marks the first Pixar release that doesn't include both the widescreen and full-screen versions in the same DVD set, which was a great bargaining chip for those cinephiles who still want a full-frame presentation for other family members. With a 2.39:1 widescreen ratio (that's big black bars, folks, à la Dr. Zhivago), a few more viewers may decide to go with the full-frame presentation. Fortunately, Pixar reformats their full-frame presentation so the action remains in frame.

The Extras
The most-repeated segments will be the two animated shorts. Newly created for this DVD is the hilarious "Jack-Jack Attack," filling the gap in the film during which the Parr baby is left with the talkative babysitter, Kari. "Boundin'," which played in front of the film theatrically, was created by Pixar character designer Bud Luckey. This easygoing take on a dancing sheep gets better with multiple viewings (be sure to watch the featurette on the short).

Brad Bird still sounds like a bit of an outsider in his commentary track, recorded before the movie opened. Pixar captain John Lasseter brought him in to shake things up, to make sure the wildly successful studio would not get complacent. And while Bird is certainly likable, he does not exude Lasseter's teddy-bear persona. As one animator states, "He's like strong coffee; I happen to like strong coffee." Besides a resilient stance to be the best, Bird threw in an amazing number of challenges, most of which go unnoticed unless you delve into the 70 minutes of making-of features plus two commentary tracks (Bird with producer John Walker, the other from a dozen animators). We hear about the numerous sets, why you go to "the Spaniards" if you're dealing with animation physics, costume problems (there's a reason why previous Pixar films dealt with single- or uncostumed characters), and horror stories about all that animated hair. Bird's commentary throws out too many names of the animators even after he warns himself not to do so, but it's a lively enough time. The animator commentary is of greatest interest to those interested in the occupation.

There is a 30-minute segment on deleted scenes with temporary vocals and crude drawings, including a new opening (thankfully dropped). The "secret files" contain a "lost" animated short from the superheroes' glory days. This fake cartoon (Frozone and Mr. Incredible are teamed with a pink bunny) wears thin, but play it with the commentary track by the two superheroes and it's another sharp comedy sketch. There are also NSA "files" on the other superheroes alluded to in the film with dossiers and curiously fun sound bits. "Vowellet" is the only footage about the well-known cast (there aren't even any obligatory shots of the cast recording their lines). Author/cast member Sarah Vowell (NPR's This American Life) talks about her first foray into movie voice-overs--daughter Violet--and the unlikelihood of her being a superhero. The feature is unlike anything we've seen on a Disney or Pixar DVD extra, but who else would consider Abe Lincoln an action figure? --Doug Thomas

More Incredibles at Amazon.com

The Incredibles Toy Store	CD Soundtrack	The Art of The Incredibles Book
Game Boy Advance	On VHS	The Essential Guide Book

The Pixar Feature Films

Toy Story, 1995
A Bug's Life, 1998
Toy Story 2, 1999

Monsters, Inc., 2001
Finding Nemo, 2003
The Incredibles, 2004

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Favorite Animated Performances	Previous Animated Oscar Nominees	If You Like The Incredibles...
Our Disney DVD Store	Looney Tunes Golden Collection	Walt Disney Treasures

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Excavating Occaneechi Town: Archaeology of an Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina (CD-ROM)

by R. P. Stephen Jr. Davis, H. Trawick Ward

$49.95

Average customer rating: ISBN: 0807865036

Builders' machinery and equipment,: Dealing with lifting equipment, steel scaffolding, small tools, concrete mixers, excavating machinery, and temporary timbering, (Building practice series)

by Edward Molloy

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Cost Guide for Remediation Equipment at Ust Sites

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We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes

$11.98

On their debut album, 1999's Something About Airplanes, Death Cab for Cutie proved there's a reason why Northwest music critics continue to sing their praises. The foursome combined the emo sounds of Modest Mouse and 764-Hero with an inventive, and often sly, sentimentality. It worked wonders, but still sounded a little too lo-fi. Luckily, on We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes the group has figured out all the production nuances that flawed that auspicious debut. The opening "Title Track" begins by sounding both crappy and shallow, but the band is merely pulling your leg; two minutes later, the tune expands into a gorgeous, well-produced masterpiece. The album never looks back. Ben Gibbard's songwriting continues to evolve--"Company Calls" segues into, what else, the slower "Company Calls Epilogue"--while the simple lyrics of "For What Reason" and "405" tell infectious stories that demand repeated listenings. Proof positive the Northwest is still churning out great music. --Jason Verlinde

The Facts of Life

$16.98

The first Black Box Recorder album, 1998's England Made Me, was originally conceived by Auteurs and Baader Meinhof frontman Luke Haines as a typically baleful response to the cultural and political hysteria--respectively, Britpop and Tony Blair--then gripping Britain. Recorded with the help of former Jesus & Mary Chain drummer John Moore and singer Sarah Nixey, it did for Britpop roughly what the film Carrie did for the senior prom. The Facts of Life, the follow-up, maintains the withering glare but fixes it this time on the personal. The songs here obsess with unnerving clarity and mordant wit on the banal, cruel details of human relationships and are narrated perfectly by Nixey. Where her perfectly English-accented whisper infused England Made Me with the air of a bored aristocrat finding contemptuous amusement in the misery of others, on The Facts of Life she has located an edge of taunting viciousness all the more diabolical for being so understated. The tunes, as ever, are sweet and insidious, perhaps best thought of as Saint Etienne turned feral. Highlights on an album full of them are "English Motorway" and "The Art of Driving"--BBR triumphantly reclaiming the American rock & roll prerogative of the road song for their damp, claustrophobic homeland. The Facts of Life is a masterpiece. --Andrew Mueller

The Facts of Life

$8.97

DVD : Snow Angels

DVD : Snow Angels

Snow Angels

starring: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Chase Duffy, Peter Blais, David Pezzaniti
directed by: David Gordon Green

Angels Snow

Love loss and stock losses both cost

30-year Fixed Mortgage rates remain unchanged in the United States Wednesday

12 ways to cut cooling costs

12 ways to cut cooling costs

State by state 529 plans

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DVD : Snow Angels

DVD : Snow Angels

Snow Angels

starring: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Chase Duffy, Peter Blais, David Pezzanitidirected by: David Gordon Green

Angels Snow

Love loss and stock losses both cost

30-year Fixed Mortgage rates remain unchanged in the United States Wednesday

12 ways to cut cooling costs

12 ways to cut cooling costs

State by state 529 plans

Fed creates new winners, losers

starring: Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Chase Duffy, Peter Blais, David Pezzaniti
directed by: David Gordon Green