DVD Review: Seven, Robocop, The Kids Are All Right

Alberto Lopez
Filmmaker and member, San Diego Latino Film Festival selection committee

With Thanksgiving approaching, here are two movies that I am most thankful for right now. One is David ­Fincher’s Seven because ­it’s not only a good movie but on top of that the title sequence (done by Imaginary Forces) really brought graphic design back into film. Before that, graphic design in film had really been stagnating.

The other film is Paul ­Verhoeven’s sci-fi action film Robocop. I love that film. As a child I watched Robocop and I wanted to be Robocop.

Seven (USA) 1995, New Line
List price: $26.98

Robocop (USA) 1987, MGM
List price: $19.98

Gloria Gonzalez
Member, San Diego Latino Film Festival selection committee

The films I feel most grateful for are Rojo Amanecer (Red Dawn) and The Kids Are All Right. The first one because I grew up in Mexico around the time the film is set. ­It’s about the 1968 riots and all the killings of all the students. I saw it when I was at the university and it made a real impact on me. It also lets you see how the country has evolved and to become more tolerant as a ­society.

And The Kids Are All Right, with Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo, for obvious emotional reasons. Because it shows that each family is different and unique but in the end we are all the ­same.

Rojo Amanecer (Mexico) 1989, Grupo Nuevo Imagen
List price: $14.89

The Kids Are All Right (USA) 2010, Focus Features
List price: $29.98

Lizet Benrey
Artist and member SDLFF selection committee

The first film I am grateful for is The Diving Bell and the Butterfly because it made me realize how amazing a painter can be as a cinematographer, and the different angles and perspectives that Julian Schnabel gave us in that film. It was very shocking to see such a different perspective in cinematography. I think his painting had a lot to do with ­it.

The other one I have to say is ­Fellini’s Amarcord. I just love every movie of his. I adore the way he portrays his characters and the close-ups that he uses to show them.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France), 2007, Miramax
List price: $14.99

Amarcord (Italy) 1973, Criterion Collection
List price: $39.95