Susan Granger’s video/dvd update for week of Friday, May 16:
On the 10th anniversary of his death, celebrate Frank Sinatra’s remarkable career with “Sinatra: The Miniseries.” Produced by his daughter Tina, it recalls Sinatra’s music and life with some astonishing personal revelations. There’s also “Frank Sinatra: The Early Years” (his first five movies), “Frank Sinatra: The Golden Years” (five more movies) and the “Frank Sinatra/Gene Kelly Collection” (three M.G.M. musicals).
From the sublime to the ridiculous, in the implausible, improbable comedy caper “Mad Money,” Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and Katie Holmes form an unlikely sisterhood when they decide to rob American’s Federal Reserve Bank.
If you’re into thrillers, Diane Lane stars in “Untraceable” as an FBI agent tracking a tech-savvy internet predator who displays graphic murders on his website, leaving the grisly fate of each of his captives in the hands of the public; the more hits the site gets, the faster his victims die.
Because Li Yu’s sex drama “Lost in Beijing” shows a modern, if melodramatic, slice of 21st century city life, it was banned in China; basically a morality tale, it involves innocence and corruption along with poverty and wealth. A far better choice is the powerful documentary “Nanking” which chronicles the infamous 1937 Rape of Nanking, when 200,000 residents of what was then China’s capital were massacred by invading Japanese troops; Woody Harrelson and Mariel Hemingway, among others, read from journals and letters from a handful of Westerners who risked their lives to help.
For toddlers: “Bob the Builder: The Three Muskettrucks” and favorite friends in “Summertime Fun!”
PICK OF THE WEEK: Inspired by the remarkable story of Wiley College’s winning team, “The Great Debaters” stars Denzel Washington as the volatile, controversial coach who uses the power of words to influence a group of African-American students.