DVDebut for the James Patterson/Dave Allsop/Alex Francis sci-fi nonsense, CAUGHT

When CAUGHT got its very limited theatrical run this past March, TrustMovies, after reading glowing reviews (glowing for that of a mini-budget sci-fi/alien invasion movie, at least) in both the NY Times and L.A. Times, determined to see it whenever possible. Now that it's out on DVD, he has, and you may consider this his warning.

The film has an interesting premise and an OK first fifteen-or-so minutes. And then it quickly grows dumber and more tiresome.

Written by Dave Allsop and Alex Francis and directed by Jamie Patterson (shown at right), Caught (that title is the most ironic and unusual part of the film) begins with a bunch of exposition (about half of which is unnecessary and misleading) and then one of those situations that fairly screams Don't do it!, which our course our leading characters immediately do.

It's one thing when people you suspect are aliens don't act like humans. Much more problematic is when the actual humans don't either. Add to this a top-heavy and ridiculously loud musical score (credited to Moritz Schmittat) that so effectively drowns out much of the dialog that is spoken once the unmasking occurs that yours truly wished desperately for English subtitles (there are none on the DVD) so that I could better understand the mostly drowned-out, British-accented dialog.

But then, once that music calmed down so that I could actually understand that dialog, it proved silly and tiresome enough for me to quickly wish composer Schmittat back on the job.

Caught combines the sci-fi and home invasion genres, pitting a couple of powerful aliens (above and further above) against a nitwit husband/wife team, but the struggle is so thoroughly unequal from almost the first, and our would-be heroes so incapable of doing much more than babble back and forth to each other rather than take any action. When they finally do, of course, it's too little too late.

Grizzly murder, endangered children and good old-fashioned photography (the film takes place in 1972, so no internet, cell phones and the like) come to the fore. Regarding that photography, however, one might wonder how any decent photographer could take a photo of something so clearly shocking and yet not be at all aware of what he had photographed. Better not to even address this.

Performances are as good as they can be, under these strained circumstances, but the movie consistently pulls its punches regarding everything from offering explanations to allowing us to see that shocking photo (our heroes view it, above, but we're not made privy -- undoubtedly for budgetary reasons). The single punch the film does not pull is its willingness to go the dark and ugly route. If dark and ugly is your thing, you may find Caught more worthwhile than I.

From Great Point Media and Cinedigm, the movie hit the street on DVD last Tuesday, May 1, and is available now for purchase and/or rental.

A TALE OF WINTER: One of Eric Rohmer's best makes its U.S. DVDebut this week -- in hi-def!

Another of Eric Rohmer's films that managed to get by me in its theatrical debut, A TALE OF WINTER is surely one of this master's best -- for folk who love listening to intelligent dialog, often in argument form, about some of life's great mysteries, in this case love and faith. Whatever your personal take on the latter (mine is agnostic), the joy of the late M. Rohmer can be found in how he gives most of his characters the opportunity to talk (and talk and talk) about how they feel and think, on whatever subject, as honestly as possible. In these days of less and less intelligent talk in films, this is bracing and often thrilling.

In this movie from 1992, we're hit immediately with something unusual from Rohmer: a hot sex scene and even a little full-frontal, as our heroine and (so we imagine) hero, frolic at the seashore and in bed. Then they must part, but only briefly, as she heads for Paris and he to... well, eventually we learn where and why.

What we saw at the beginning was indeed love, we soon learn, and our heroine, the thoughtful, bold, annoying and caring Félicie (played quite intensely and memorably by Charlotte Véry) is now seen five years later, embroiled in relationships with two different men, neither of them who seem particularly suitable for Félicie. Plus, she has a little five-year-old daughter (played by a charmer and one-film wonder named Ava Loraschi, above, center).

We meet and spend some time (and conversation, of course) with those two men (Hervé Furic, above, and Michel Voletti, below), and our vote would go to M. Furic to gain Félicie's hand, as his conversation is a hell of a lot more interesting that that of M. Voletti, who plays a hairdresser.

But, no, the young lady is a holdout for true love, and over time she does a pretty fair job of explaining exactly why. Some of the dialog (between Félicie and her sister) may sound a bit adolescent, but much of it between the rest of the cast (including friends of the Furic character and Félicie's mother) is smart, caring and important regarding the ways in which we think about and act upon "love."

If, in the end, we rather suspect what will happen, how it happens is quite wonderfully brought to life -- almost as wonderful as the brilliant scene from Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale (above) that is played out in front of us (and Félicie) at a theater performance. The magic of that scene, together with the similar magic of the film's finale, more than make up for any longueurs along the way.

A Tale of Winter -- from Big World Pictures and running 114 minutes -- hits the street on DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14.