February 22, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 17 Leonardo Di Caprio shines as FBI mastermind by Dennis Seuling “J. Edgar” (Warner Home Video) examines the public and private life of one of the most powerful and controversial figures of the 20th century. The movie shifts back and forth in time so viewers see the ambitious young Hoover (Leonardo Di Caprio) in relation to the established older man. Starting as a lawyer for the Justice Department, Hoover rises to a position where he is able to mold the Federal Bureau of Investigation into a modern operation characterized by the latest in scientific forensics. The older Hoover is shown well entrenched in the fiefdom he created with rumors about secret files he kept on influential people, including several presidents. By then one of the most powerful and feared men in the country, he is shown dictating his memoirs, which he feels are important for posterity and how he will be remembered. A substantial amount of screen time is devoted to the relationship between Hoover and his constant companion, Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), a young lawyer who soon became Hoover’s right-hand man. Hoover never married and was devoted to, and lived with, his mother (Judi Dench) until her dying day. Yet the movie never goes so far as to overtly portray Hoover as homosexual. The known facts are presented and viewers are left to form their own conclusions. The scope of the movie extends from the 1920s to 1977, and director Clint Eastwood touches on the most newsworthy events: the hunts for criminals such as John Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly, the Lindbergh kidnapping, Hoover’s appearances before Congress, and his bristly relationship with his boss, Attorney General Robert Kennedy. This encyclopedic narrative holds viewers’ attention but is ultimately Hoover-Lite. Eastwood piques curiosity, but never fully satisfies it. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack also contains a digital copy. As of this writing, Warner Home Video had not released a list of extras. “Tower Heist” (Universal Home Entertainment) is an action/comedy drawing upon recent headlines and a big-time scam artist who profited at the expense of average, hard-working men and women. It is easy to side with the group of novice thieves when they band together in an elaborate attempt to get back their lost money. Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is manager of The Tower, a luxury Manhattan apartment building whose staff prides itself on impeccable, 24-hour service to residents. One of these is Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), a Wall Street financier recently indicted on charges of fraud. He has made bail and is now under house arrest at The Tower. Josh feels personally responsible to his Leonardo Di Caprio and Naomi Watts in ‘J. Edgar.’ co-workers because he drew upon a good relationship he had with Shaw to invest the retirement accounts of his colleagues. Those funds are now missing. Josh enlists these colleagues in an elaborate plan to get Shaw out of his apartment so they can search for a cache of money they believe he is hiding. Caper films are fun, but when they strain credibility, they fall apart. This is the problem with “Tower Heist.” Extras on the two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack edition include a digital copy, two alternate endings, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and making of featurettes. “Retreat” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) is a gruesome thriller about a young couple trying to overcome a personal tragedy. Taking an isolated break at a family cabin on an uninhabited island, Martin (Cillian Murphy) and Kate (Thandie Newton) (continued on Crossword page)