Beth Barnes

Run, Fatboy, Run is very predictable, formulaic even, but has such good performances and pacing that you should be able to overlook all of that.Run, Fatboy, Run begins with Dennis running away, literally, from Libby on their wedding day.  If that’s not bad enough in itself, Libby also happens to be fairly pregnant at the time.Fast forward five years and Dennis is still running, this time after a c...[Read More]

 Busby Berkeley was known in the early days of Hollywood forhis lavish musicals featuring lots and lots of leggy girls (mostly blondes),silly story lines, and dialogue with all sorts of sexual innuendo.  A new Busby Berkeley musical was causefor great audience enthusiasm.Warner has gathered four of Berkeley’s films from the late1930s for this collection.  All arein black and white (although, inter...[Read More]

Snow Angels is a deeply sad film about people’s lives imploding.  Set in a small town somewhere in the north (you know it’s in the north because it snows a lot), Snow Angels begins with a high school marching band practicing its half-time routine.  The song they’re working on is “Sledgehammer”; as the movie unfolds, it’s obvious why that song was chosen.Snow Angels features three dysfunctional cou...[Read More]

 “I deal in human fulfillment.”  Remember that great line of Tom Cruise’s from Risky Business?  This is one movie that holds up perfectly 25 years later.  (Eeps … how old must we all be if Risky Business is celebrating 25 years?)For those who haven’t seen this somewhere along the line, this is arguably the movie that really launched Tom Cruise as a star.  Cruise plays Joel Goodsen, a high school s...[Read More]

Cool Hand Luke was released in theatres in 1967, and other than the opening credits, which are very, very 60s, it holds up extremely well today.Cool Hand Luke takes place primarily at a prison work farm, focusing on the men jailed there and particularly on Luke, a recent arrival (sent up for taking the tops off parking meters while under the influence).  Luke, played magnificently by Paul Newman, ...[Read More]

Duck is a quiet, charming story that has moments of great sadness but is ultimately uplifting.  It’s the story of Arthur and Joe.  At the beginning of the film, Arthur has pretty much given up on life.  Then Joe, a duckling, comes along.  Arthur saves Joe physically even as Joe is saving him spiritually.Producer/writer/director Nic Bettauer establishes Arthur’s situation through a series of still ...[Read More]

 So, what happens in the summer at DigitalChumps is people go on vacation, DVDs come in, and the person who might usually review a certain genre isn’t around, so the next hapless reviewer who happens down the hall gets a DVD thrust in their hands with the plea that they review it so that we can give you all a heads-up before the release date.  Really, that’s how it works.  And that’s how I came to...[Read More]

 That’s the premise of The Bucket List, an amiable film with great scenery.  Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are Carter and Edward, both cancer patients, and unwilling hospital roommates who come to be great friends. Edward’s the one who makes fulfillment of the bucket list (as in “kick the …”) Carter starts possible.  Edward’s very wealthy; in fact, he owns the hospital they’re in.  The only re...[Read More]

This three-disc set is part of a series of DVD collectionsbeing released in observance of the tenth anniversary of Frank Sinatra’sdeath. This is a great set,showcasing the three films Sinatra made with Gene Kelly. ">That means not only wonderful singing,but also marvelous, exuberant dancing.

I think we can all agree that sequels are tough. The little surprises that livened up the original film aren’t surprising any more, and depending on just how good the first film was, it can be hard to live up to that model, let alone outshine it. So, to get the biggest question out of the way, National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets isn’t as good as the first film. But, it’s still pretty darn good as...[Read More]