Halle Berry gets ‘The Call,’ now on DVD
“The Call” — Director Brad Anderson, with excellent camera work, lets us see for ourselves what it feels like to be an operator in a 911 call center. Jordan Turner (Halle Berry) is a veteran responder who is very good at her job.
She does make a mistake with a kidnap victim, and as a result, takes a leave from her regular job to become an instructor. When she returns to active duty, she receives a call from another kidnap victim, Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin), trapped inside a car trunk.
Tension builds as Jordan instructs Casey what to do next. Meanwhile, we see the kidnapper (Michael Eklund) and how unstable he is. Jordan gets little support from the police, whom she does not trust. She breaks the rules that she herself taught, and gets personally involved.
Jordan goes looking for the girl in this edge-of-your-seat thriller and has us rooting for her. There are many exciting extras included.
“No”— Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, this motion picture tells the true story of the events that took place in Chile in 1988. President Augusto Pincochet was a brutal dictator for 15 years.
Facing pressure from the international community, he decides to hold a referendum to let the people vote to extend his term. It will be simple.
“Yes” means he stays in office, and “No” means he has to vacate.
Rene Saavedra (Gael Garcia Bernal) is a young hot-shot advertising executive who is brought on to spearhead the campaign of getting out the vote to send Pincochet out to pasture.
Rene puts together some off-the-wall spots, as he is given only 15 minutes a day on television to tap into the young and dissidents to come out and vote.
“Best of Film Noir 2” — Classic film noir developed during the time of World War II and set a style and tone to films. They were dark, mysterious and moody and usually revolved around a disillusioned and hard-nosed male lead and femme fatale.
The camera work also added to the darkness of human nature and cynicism. The three films are “Pitfall” with Dick Powell,” “The Stranger” with Orson Welles and “The Strange Love of Martha Ivers” with Van Heflin and Barbara Stanwyck.
“Cesar Millan: Leader of the Pack” — Cesar Millan is amazing with dogs and stars on the successful television show “The Dog Whisperer” on the National Geographic Channel. He rehabilitates dogs with behavior problems and brings them back to live a normal life with their families.
It is as much about teaching humans many lessons as it is about helping the dogs.
In this new series, Cesar decides on who the best people are to adopt these difficult dogs, and fit them in the right homes. It is a moving and enlightening experience, and one you will never forget.
Available next week: “Best of Warner Bros. 20 Film Collection,” “Disney Parks: The Stories and Magic,” “Gordon Lightfoot Live,” “Linda Ronstadt: A Musical Documentary,” “The House I Live In,” “Venus and Serena Williams” and “Why We Laugh: Funny Women.”