Blu-rays of the Week
Ai Weiwei—Never Sorry
(Sundance Selects)
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei—the compelling
subject of Alison Klayman’s smart, incisive documentary—is not placed on a
pedestal but shown as an actual person (with a family) who causes consternation
among Chinese officials. There’s an enormous amount of revealing footage of him
both in and out of China: when he disappears for awhile at the hands of the
authorities, real life usurps art. Never
Sorry aptly illuminates how our wired 21st century world is
helping to buckle the last remaining Communist regime. The Blu-ray image shimmers
beautifully; extras are a commentary, deleted scenes and interviews.
Brazil
(The Criterion Collection)
Terry Gilliam’s dystopian vision was
made in 1985, but its bleak look at a society crushed by an oppressive government
is as relevant today. Despite its subject matter—our hero is literally crushed
like the bug at the beginning that sets everything in motion—the movie is awash
with the brilliantly original visuals that made Gilliam one of our premier cinematic
stylists. The hi-def image is superlative looking, and the three-disc Criterion
Collection Blu-ray ported over numerous extras from the 1999 DVD set: Gilliam’s
sparkling commentary; on-set documentary What
Is Brazil?; The Battle of Brazil,
a one-hour documentary about the friction between Gilliam and Universal Studios;
and Universal’s 94-minute, mercilessly butchered “Love Conquers All” version of
the film.
Butter
(Anchor Bay)
Like the classic Smile and frivolous American Dreamz, Butter shows America in microcosm: here, it’s a small
town butter-carving contest. Too bad the satire’s obvious with characters not drawn
sharply enough to draw blood—just a few nicks. A game cast (Jennifer Garner,
Rob Corddry, Ty Burrell, Alicia Silverstone) trails two wonderfully drawn
portraits: Yara Shahidi’s 10-year-old butter-carving prodigy symbolically named
Destiny, and Olivia Wilde’s stripper wanting $600 a cheating husband owes her.
The Blu-ray image looks decent; extras include deleted scenes, extended scenes
and a gag reel.
The Dark Knight Rises
(Warners)
In his third overstuffed but
underwhelming Batman film, Christopher Nolan again tries to raise a comic book
movie to art but ends up with a 165-minute farrago littered with yawn-inducing
action sequences, flimsy characterizations and a sense of humor that, when not simply
juvenile, becomes infantile. Christian Bale is a blanker slate than Michael
Keaton or George Clooney, Anne Hathaway—as Catwoman—is no Michelle Pfeiffer, and
Michael Caine, Matthew Modine, Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard look
embarrassed. The Blu-ray image is first-rate; an extra disc has on-set
featurettes.
Godzilla vs. Biollante
(Echo Bridge)
This 1992 sci-fi entry—pitting
the terrifying giant lizard against, of all things, a massive but peaceful
plant created from Godzilla cells (don’t ask)—is as silly as the series’ other
films, so your mileage may vary depending on your tolerance for cheap-looking
Japanese monster movies. Too often, it comes off like outtakes from Woody
Allen’s satirical What’s Up Tiger Lily,
and far less entertaining. The movie looks equally cheesy in hi-def, which
might be a good thing here; extras are two making-of featurettes.
Hope Springs
(Sony)
This familiar but likable comedy
about a long-term couple perking up their marriage through counseling works, thanks
to Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep, both slumming but enjoying themselves.
Less good is Steve Carell in the rather bland role of their “genius” counselor.
But since it’s Meryl and Tommy’s show, Carell’s dullness doesn’t hurt. The
Blu-ray image looks excellent; extras include director David Frankel’s commentary,
featurette and gag reel.
Lady Antebellum—Own the Night
World Tour
(Eagle Vision)
America’s hottest country band
not only has top-charting hits and albums and a handful of Grammy Awards but also
sells out arenas worldwide. This 90-minute performance—of the final show of its
2011 tour in Little Rock, Arkansas—shows the trio on top of its game, as well
as offstage glimpses of the members’ humble demeanor with fans and the concept
of mega-fame. The hi-def footage is top-notch; extras include bonus song
selections and offstage/backstage footage.
Watchmen
(Warner Bros)
The ultimate edition of Zach
Snyder’s 2009 adaptation of the famous graphic novel, on special edition Blu-ray,
should please the movie’s fans: Malin Akerman and Carla Gugino’s appearances
should please others too. The set comprises the directors’ cut on Blu-ray (215
minutes), an hour of extra features on Blu-ray, and theatrical cut on DVD.
There’s also a stunning hardcover of the original graphic novel by Alan Moore
and David Gibbons. The Blu-ray image seamlessly combines live-action and
animated footage.
World Without End
(Sony)
Director Michael Caton-Jones’
six-hour sequel to the successful The
Pillar of the Earth, based on another massive Ken Follett novel, is less
involving only because of the truism that sequels are inferior to the original.
The cast—Cynthia Nixon, Miranda Richardson, Ben Chaplin and Charlotte Riley—is
fine, as are the set design and costumes; all are shown to their best advantage
on Blu-ray. The lone extra is a making-of featurette.
DVDs of the Week
Alps
(Kino Lorber)
Greek director Yorgos Yanthimos,
who garnered undeserved praise for his attitudinizing Dogtooth in 2009, returns with another pretentious drama about
people who help grieving family members by assuming the personalities of their
dead loved ones. The intriguing premise, as in Dogtooth, is ruined by a horribly inconsistent technique, stiffly inept
acting and a willful obscurantism that ill-serves the plot’s allegorical
aspects.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
(Fox)
Novice director Benh Zeitlin—who
wrote the script with the original play’s author, Lucy Alibar—has his heart in
the right place, but his fantasy about a spirited young girl living in the
bayou with her sickly but domineering father is ruined by his condescension and
sledgehammer directing. Still, Zeitlin deserves praise for casting
five-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis in the lead: she responds with a natural,
winning portrayal that towers over the movie. The lone extra is a making-of
featurette.
Unforgivable
(Strand)
Another Andre Téchiné film of
interlocking stories dramatizing life’s unavoidable messiness, this drama
convincingly dissects a middle-aged couple’s seemingly perfect relationship.
Téchiné, exploring society’s moral compass through a cross-section of
characters, has a technique that—as in his best films My Favorite Season and Strayed—subtly serves his
complex, involving characterizations. His masterly direction—subtly elliptical
editing compressing long periods of time, camerawork evocatively fading to
white during moments of emotional intensity, and effectively sparing use of Max
Richter’s chamber music—makes the script’s symbolic coincidence organic.
CDs of the Week
Carter and Elgar Cello Concertos
(Decca)
Composed 82 years apart in vastly
different musical eras and cultures, these masterly concertos are, as played by
the remarkably talented cellist Alisa Weilerstein, undeniably powerful and even
emotionally gripping. Although the Elgar concerto is an overplayed warhorse, its
haunting themes resonate in Weilerstein’s hands (and bow); Carter wrote his
concerto at age 92 in 2001, and its technical difficulties are smoothed out by Weilerstein
and the Berlin Staatskapelle, conducted by Daniel Barenboim.
Hitchcock—Original Soundtrack
(Sony Classical)
Danny Elfman’s score for Sacha Gervasi’s
biopic of the great director is a patchwork quilt resembling the music that propelled
the Master of Suspense’s classic films. The pastiche of Elfman tunes on the
soundtrack nicks the sounds of Bernard Herrmann, Hitch’s most formidable
composer. Overall, this brief CD is neither here nor there: it’s pleasant
enough, but you’re better off listening to—and watching—the real thing.
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