DVD Releases for the Week of Nov. 4, 2008

The other shoe has dropped. Halloween has passed to the month of November, and the temperature outside is embittering. The shopping centers are decking the halls hilariously early, and the first few pre-holiday blockbusters are hitting the shelves, vying for your wallets after the market slump. From the grave, the original Maxwell Smart, Don Adams, is listening in from his own shoe to weigh in on the first big release this month: the remake of the classic series, Get Smart, starring Steve Carrell who plays on some of the same 1960s jokes. The consensus is 50/50, sort of the way things look with the elections down south.

The safest bets this week are animated films starting with the latest from Dreamworks: Kung Fu Panda. In the Valley of Peace, Po the Panda (Jack Black) must confront enemies that threaten the land by ending his lazy ways and training like Rocky. If pure entertainment is what you’re looking for - this is it. The only viable social impact this film may have inadvertently caused is a lawsuit by a Chinese artist who believes the film denigrates the panda, a symbol of China. Also heavy in the laughs department is the third straight-to-DVD film following Matt Groening’s succesful science fiction series. Futurama: Bender’s Game should please fans of the show, but is not the best starting point for newcomers. Lastly, Shrek the Halls is a thirty-minute special that aired on television last holiday season and is now being sold at full price on a disk that can hold six times more content. Worth a rent for the children - but please don’t encourage Dreamworks by purchasing it.

After putting the youngsters to bed, three films originating from the U.K. are worth a look. The strongest and most timely (weather-wise) is Brad Anderson’s latest film, Transsiberian. Set in the wintry landscapes along the train tracks from China to Russia, the film is an intense thriller in which an American couple is threatened by mysterious passengers. When Did You Last See Your Father? stars Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent as a father and son who must come to terms with the memories of their collective and blurry past when the father is diagnosed with terminal cancer. It is a film about “reflections and fragmented images… prisms [and] distorting glass.” (source) Cleverly released before his second stint as James Bond, Flashbacks of a Fool stars Daniel Craig who plays an aging Hollywood star forced to return to England to face the people of his youth. Also dealing with issue of memory, the press report on Baillie Walsh’s directorial debut in narrative film has not been as kind.

Milarepa is a film from Bhutan about an 11th century Tibetan monk who sought revenge for his father’s death, and through his dark and magical journey found the way to enlightenment. Directed by Neten Chokling, this mystical Buddhist biopic is a must for its story and setting. Also coming to DVD from overseas is Fraulein (Das Fraulein) about the relationship between three women from Yugoslavia now living in Zurich: a “murky drama about three displaced immigrant women with deep emotional scars.” (source) For less foreign drama and a little more foreign suspense, the botched heist film Unlucky Monkey (Anrakki monki) is a 1998 film from Japan making its first appearance on this side of the Pacific.

There is nothing particularly exciting this week in documentaries. Whaledreamers directed by Kim Kindersley tries to tie aboriginal Australian tribes, the migration and killing of whales and climate change in a film that is supposed to be part documentary, part spiritual journey. Swing State is an American doc about a family’s part in the political process in Ohio, which sees a timely release on the day of the presidential elections. While not strictly a documentary, the biopic What We Do is Secret documents the life of a punk musician, Darby Crash and his band, the Germs. Shane West, who has been a series regular on E.R. stars in the role in what is supposed to be a close representation of the artist.

In re-editions, two directors are in the limelight this week. Criterion Collection’s two releases are John Cassavetes films: Woman Under the Influence and Killing of a Chinese Bookie. Classic western films directed by Budd Boetticher are being collected in the Budd Boetticher Box Set. Films include The Tall T, Decision at Sundown, Buchanan Rides Alone, Ride Lonesome, and Comanche Station. A 40th anniversary edition of Planet of the Apes will also be available. Lastly, a film as unwelcome as the holiday cheer of the shopping malls is getting the re-release treatment: Bob Clark’s classic A Christmas Story. Make a mental note to come back to this one as of December 1st, when it’s decent to even think of the season.

Cinestrata’s Picks:
Kung Fu Panda, Transsiberian, Milarepa, When Did You Last See Your Father?