V Movie Reviews

"Men Are Messy" raises the stakes of the eternal argument of what is "lived in" and what's a pigsty when Lucy purposely trashes the apartment for Ricky's photo shoot, not realizing the magazine is Look. In "The Fur Coat," Lucy mistakes a mink rented for one of Ricky's dancers as an anniversary gift for herself. "Lucy Jealous of Girl Singer" finds the dutiful wife overlooking a gossip column item about her husband only to find torn black lace in his pocket, which, of course, requires a stint in the chorus line to straighten out matters. In "Drafted," the most forced of the episodes, Lucy and Ethel think their men are going off to war, while the men believe both wives are with child. Socks are knitted, party guests are stuffed in the closet, and at the end the entire cast sings "Jingle Bells" in a piece restored from the original Christmas Eve broadcast. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Sean Penn announced his retirement from acting, then wrote and directed this emotionally raw, somewhat sprawling film, suggested by Bruce Springsteen's song "Highway Patrolman." David Morse is the title character, an upstanding citizen and peace officer who tries to help his troubled--and troublesome--brother (Viggo Mortensen), recently returned from Vietnam. The brother and his girlfriend (Patricia Arquette) have bad news written all over them--but Morse does what he can to be protector, to no avail. Penn, whose model was John Cassavetes, favors long scenes that draw intense emotions from his cast, which includes Charles Bronson (in an unusually low-key role), Sandy Dennis, and Valeria Golino. But it's as depressing as Springsteen's song. --Marshall Fine

Grigory Chukhraj's poetic odyssey of an accidental hero on a six-day pass is a sentimental journey through the ideals of the Soviet state in World War II. Vladimir Ivashov is the fresh-faced signalman whose trip from the Russian front to visit his white-haired mother becomes a series of detours as he stops to help the loyal comrades, fellow soldiers, and salt-of-the-earth civilians (as well as a few shirkers and scoundrels) he meets along the way. On a transport train he even falls in love with a pretty young stowaway, a feisty blond girl-next-door on her way to visit a wounded boyfriend. Delicately photographed and gently paced, this deliriously romantic road movie is undeniably Soviet in its celebration of patriotism and collectivism, but Chukhraj transcends politics with delightfully vivid characters and a deft mix of comedy, melodrama, and romance. --Sean Axmaker

The middle film in George Lucas's enormously popular Star Wars science fiction trilogy is a darker, more somber entry, considered by many fans as the best in the series. Gone is the jaunty swashbuckling of the first film; the rebellion led by Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) suffers before the superior forces of the Empire, young hero Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) faces his first defeats as he attempts to harness the Force under the tutelage of Jedi master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), and cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is betrayed by former ally Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). In the tradition of the great serials, this film is left with a hefty cliffhanger. The leap in special effects technology in the three years since Star Wars results in an amazing array of effects, including a breathtaking chase through an asteroid field and a dazzling, utopian Cloud City, where Luke faces the black-clad villain Darth Vader (David Prowse, voice of James Earl Jones) in a futuristic sword fight and learns the secret of his Jedi father. Veteran director Irvin Kershner (The Eyes of Laura Mars, Never Say Never Again) took the directorial reins from creator and producer Lucas and invested the light-speed adventure with deeper characters and a more emphatic sense of danger. The special edition expands Luke's encounter with the Abominable Snowman-esque wampa and establishes the creature as a tangibly more terrifying beast, in addition to refining many of the existing effects. The trilogy is concluded in The Return of the Jedi. --Sean Axmaker

This second volume in a projected, definitive collection of the beloved I Love Lucy series includes broadcast episodes 4 through 7, which prove beyond doubt that the classic sitcom had hit the ground running by November 1951. "Lucy Thinks Ricky Is Trying to Murder Her" is the famous comedy of errors in which Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) misunderstands something her husband, Cuban bandleader Ricky (Desi Arnaz), says, and assumes he's out to get rid of her. In "The Quiz Show," restless housewife Lucy turns to a television contest for fun and the opportunity to win $1,000. "The Audition," one of the series' most beloved stories, finds Ball exercising her considerable skills as a physical comic by pretending to be a professional clown named Buffo. Finally, "The Seance" is one of the best of Lucy's misadventures with best friend, Ethel (Vivian Vance), this time participating in a riotous ritual to wake the dead. Marvelous stuff. Bonus features include a delightful "Behind the Scenes" photo gallery, a radio broadcast that helped shape a later television episode, guest cast information, and the series' original opening. --Tom Keogh