August 8, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 27 ‘Marley’ takes personal look at ‘70s superstar by Dennis Seuling “Marley” (Magnolia Home Entertainment) is a documentary about reggae king Bob Marley that covers the musician’s life with emphasis on the personal over the political. Director Kevin Macdonald (“The Last King of Scotland”) provides a portrait of Marley’s upbringing as mixedrace child in the slums of Jamaica plagued by poverty and an almost-always absent father. The film traces his rise to prominence and fame. However, this is not a concert film. Instead, Macdonald offers interviews with family members, musician friends, and politicians, and relies for visuals on archival footage and still photos. When his mother moved to Kingston, Marley turned to music and the Rastafari religion. He incorporated his spiritual views -- far from the mainstream of the time -- into both American-style pop melodies and Jamaican ska music. He is credited with turning reggae into a worldwide sensation. Marley became a vocal advocate of political peace in Jamaica, was once targeted for assassination, and was shot after a political squabble. He dated a beauty queen while remaining married to one of his backup singers, and fathered 11 children with seven women. All this happened while he was selling millions of adaptation of a 1971 children’s book that underscores the importance of preserving and valuing nature. Young Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) lives in the prefabricated town of Thneedville, where the landscape is composed of plastic houses and inflatable hedges and trees, and fresh air is sold in water cooler-sized bottles. Things have come about this way because years ago, the reclusive Once-ler (Ed Helms) cut down all the real truffala trees to obtain the soft tufts necessary to manufacture his invention: an all-purpose garment. The character of The Lorax (Danny De Vito) is an orange-maned, yellow-mustached, mystical character who acts as a spokesperson and conscience for nature. Directors Chris Renaud and Kyle Balda present this cautionary, but insubstantial tale in an explosion of color. The screenplay, expanded from the book, seems padded even though it clocks in at a Jamaican singer, songwriter, musician, and political activist Bob Marley is the subject of the documentary ‘Marley.’ record albums. Macdonald provides an objective look at Marley. Viewers see many facets of a complex man and realize that Marley, driven primarily by humanistic rather than commercial goals, was far more than just a pop star of the ‘70s. Special features on the Blu-ray release include extended interviews with Marley’s friends and colleagues, a photo gallery, audio commentary, and reminiscences by Marley’s children. “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” (Universal Home Entertainment) is the animated modest hour and a half. A few forgettable songs are tossed in more as filler than to move the story forward. The by-now familiar computer-generated animation gives the characters a rubbery, weightless look. The artistry here falls far short of the superior Disney Pixar features, which boast stronger scripts. The two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack contains several mini-movies, audio commentary, deleted scenes, three children’s games, a sing-along, and “Seuss to Screen,” a brief look at how “The Lorax” was adapted for the screen. “The Lorax” is also available in a three-disc combo pack (with 3D Blu-ray version) and a single-disc DVD. New from Warner Archive are three films starring Gene Kelly, whose musicals generally took so long to prepare that MGM kept him busy with non-musical (continued on Crossword page)