August 7, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 35 DVD collection features Biggers’ popular detective by Dennis Seuling “The Charlie Chan Collection” (Warner Home Video) is a four-disc DVD box set featuring the famous Asian-American detective Charlie Chan. Made in the late 1940s, these films are among the last pro- duced in a long-running franchise begun in 1931 with Warner Oland, who starred in 16 Charlie Chan pictures. This collec- tion contains four films starring two sub- sequent movie Chans: Sidney Toler, who made 22 films in the series; and Roland Winters, who made six. Charlie Chan was created by Earl Derr Biggers, who based the character on Honolulu detective Chang Apana. Big- gers’ Chan is benevolent, gentlemanly, and heroic, with an apt aphorism for any occa- sion. Although he works for the Honolulu police, his adventures take him to various parts of the world. In “Shadows over Chinatown,” Chan (Toler) heads for San Francisco on a murder case, where he encounters a mother trying to find her missing daughter and a young man searching for his missing girlfriend. Chan determines they are both looking for the same person and soon uncovers a gang that has been benefitting illegally from the insurance of the dead. In “The Golden Eye,” an Arizona gold mine is suddenly making a huge amount of money. The mine’s owner confides to Chan (Winters) that something is wrong and he fears for his life. When Charlie goes to the mine, pretending to be a visi- tor, he learns that the mine is being used as a cover for some major crimes and that someone will soon be murdered. Roland Winters stars in ‘The Charlie Chan Collection.’ The other two films in the set -- “Docks of New Orleans” and “Shanghai Chest” -- both star Winters. There are no extras. “Oblivion” (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) is set after an invasion of Earth by aliens who blew up the moon. Narrator Jack (Tom Cruise) tells view- ers, “We won the war, but lost the planet,” since the nuclear weapons used against the aliens also devastated the world. Now, survivors are being gathered and sent to the Saturn moon Titan to begin anew. A few people, Jack and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) among them, have been assigned to stay behind to monitor and repair drones that hunt out lingering Fiona’s: New name; same owner Fiona’s Restaurateur Eddie Meto has changed the name of his new restaurant in Midland Park from Casa Bellisima to Fiona’s. Located at 118 Godwin Avenue, the former site of Legend’s Steakhouse, Fiona’s features fine Italian cuisine and excellent service. “It’s the same ownership, quality food and efficient service customers have come to expect since we opened in May, but with a new name,” said Meto. Fiona is his daughter’s name. Diners are invited to bring their own wine to complement their meal. The name change, Meto said, was made to avoid any confusion with his former Montvale restaurant, Bellissimo, which he sold to his nephew this year. “There is no connection now,” Meto said, noting that Jimmy Zeba, a former waiter at Portobello in Oakland, is his partner at Fiona’s. Call 201-857-5800. aliens, called Scavengers. Director Joseph Kosinski has fash- ioned an antiseptic-looking film that draws upon sci-fi clichés and better films, particularly “Planet of the Apes,” “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Dark City,” and “Star Wars.” The human characters act much like the robots they mind, and seem to have given up emotion. The tone is deadly serious -- even somber -- and the movie’s sense of self-importance soon becomes grating. This is a movie that thinks it is profound, but is not. Cruise continues to pursue action hero roles even though the time may have come for him to seek out more challenging, age- appropriate roles. There is a sad sameness and predictability to his performances of late. The two female leads are bland at best, and fail to create believable portrayals or elicit empathy. Both are as cold and lifeless as the dying planet they inhabit. Morgan Freeman, as the leader of a group of human survivors, brings to mind his body of work as a wise old codger. “Oblivion” attempts far too much, with expectations that the audience will go along for the ride and buy into all the plot tendrils. A lackluster, overly long picture that fails to provide ample payoff, it slogs along, sterile and lifeless, trying hard to be something more than it is. Extras on the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack include feature commentary with Cruise and Kosinski, deleted scenes, iso- lated score, and a multi-part making-of featurette. “Ishtar” (Sony Pictures Home Enter- tainment), written and directed by Elaine May, is a comic tale of two inept songwrit- ers, Rogers and Clarke (Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman), down on their luck and desperate for money. Taking the advice of their shifty agent (Jack Weston), they are whisked off on a tour of the mystical republic of Ishtar where, upon arrival, they are separately recruited into spying for opposing sides of a planned revolution, while simultaneously vying for the atten- tion of a gorgeous female freedom fighter (Isabelle Adjani). Clarke and Rogers, however, make worse spies than they do songwriters, and soon they are stranded in the desert with only a blind camel and several CIA assassins for company. Intended as an homage to the Bing Crosby/Bob Hope “road” pictures, “Ishtar” falls flat with lame jokes, two miscast leads, running gags that are more annoying than amusing, and Paul Wil- liams songs that are intentionally bad. The film was a costly bomb at the box office. These days, the movie doesn’t seem that bad, but it does wear out its welcome (continued on Crossword page)