Movies You May Have Missed - #5 The Cure (1995)

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This little forgotten film from 1995 stars Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park) and the late Brad Renfro (The Client, Sleepers) as two young boys who set off down the Mississippi River to find a cure for AIDS, a disease which the Mazzello character suffers from. This story could have been ripe fodder for a bad TV movie, but instead becomes much more.
Peter Horton, a frequent TV director of shows like thirtysomething and The Wonder Years, made his first and only theatrical feature with this film, and it's a shame that he's yet to make another. His direction is confident and assured, and he shows a particular strength for directing the young actors in the film. The screenplay by Robert Kuhn thankfully sidesteps melodrama and theatrics, and remains simple, nuanced, and deeply moving. So it's similarly puzzling that Kuhn has also disappeared from features, having co-written only one film since this.
Mazzello and Renfro are terrifically cast, and are able to lift already good scenes off the page and turn them into sensational, heartbreaking moments.
This movie was barely a blip on the radar back in 1995, barely making back its minuscule $3 million budget. But today it stands, in my opinion, right up alongside Stand By Me as one of the best films about childhood - and friendship - ever made.

Benjamin Button on Criterion too? Yes!

Wow. Pretty rare for a new-release title to debut on the Criterion label (except of course for Wes Anderson's movies), but I'm extremely happy that Button's going to be a Criterion release.
This was first reported over at The Digital Bits - visit the site for release info and cover artwork. I must also say I'm really happy with the cover artwork. It's a variation of the original poster, but it's nice and simple. Hope it stays that way.
It only sucks that The Wrestler is stuck over on the Fox Searchlight label. The DVD will only contain a few featurettes, and NO COMMENTARY from Aronofsky. Really sucks.

My Dinner With Andre coming to DVD - from CRITERION!!

Hey guys, I've been busy lately, so I haven't been posting that much. But the next few days you'll see some interesting stuff, mostly some older movies I've revisited lately after having not seen them in a while.
But anyway, the real reason for this post is the news I discovered this evening:
The awesome 1981 film My Dinner With Andre (starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, and directed by Louis Malle) is FINALLY coming back to DVD via the amazing people over at the Criterion Collection (www.criterion.com). Now, this movie was actually released on DVD before, back in 1998, but then went out of print. It was not uncommon the last couple of years to see a used copy of the DVD selling for over $200 online. I (thankfully) resisted the urge to buy it, and now the best DVD company in the business has it set for release on June 23rd of this year.
I guess this post is really for my brother, Jim - the person who introduced me to the movie years ago...I don't know if you have that DVD (or maybe an old VHS), but damn, man - finally! Great news, right? Anyways, click here for more info on the release specs and whatnot.

The Red Balloon

Boy, do I have a treat for you guys! Below I've posted the entire 34-minute short film The Red Balloon. A French film from 1956, written and directed by Albert Lamorisse, it's about a red balloon that seems to have a mind of its own, and follows a little boy through the streets of Paris.
A total masterpiece, it won the Palme d'Or (Best Picture) at the Cannes Film Festival, and also won the Oscar for Best Screenplay (the only short film to have ever won the award). So sit back with your kids, your grandkids, or just by yourself, and watch this great little movie.