DVD Releases for the Week of Mar. 10, 2009

What a great week for releases! Award nominated films, more than half decent comedies (this is rare), naturalistic filmmaking hits, a classic Disney re-release, and the Swedish vampire masterpiece Let the Right One In (Lat den ratte komma in). This twisted tale of a girl vampire who befriends a disturbed young boy should not be missed; nor should any of the following highlighted films.

Synecdoche, New York
Directors, actors and actresses always seem to get all the credit when it comes to filmmaking. Sure there are awards given to the lesser people during gala ceremonies, but nobody watches the Oscars to see who mixed the sound on the last Transformers or who designed the costumes for The Duchess. Charlie Kaufman is a screenwriter, and one who has brought audiences to his movies as opposed to the actors or directors. After his brilliant screenplays for Being John Malkovich, Adaptation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, his directorial debut comes out this week on DVD. Like his previous efforts, it is a complex (and sometimes maddening) story of magic realism that is as difficult to describe, even though its title pretty much sums up its major theme.

* * *

Milk
Most have heard of this biopic that is as much as it about Harvey Milk as it is a showcase for the gay lifestyle in 1970s California. Sean Penn’s performance has received much acclaim, and Gus Van Sant’s direction has similarly been positively acknowledged. Those who have yet to see this version may want to educate themselves with the excellent documentary, The Life and Times of Harvey Milk.

* * *

Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway is not playing a princess. Anne Hathaway is playing a recovering drug addict. That in itself makes Jonathan Demme’s latest a title of interest, even if the title ‘villain’ may not be as horrific as Hannibal Lecter. In this title, Hathaway plays Kym who has recently been released from a rehabilitation program and returns to her family. More a slice-of-life movie, the real draw are the performances and the family dynamics.

* * *

Happy-Go-Lucky
Mike Leigh’s very optimistic film also takes a naturalistic take on filmmaking, preferring to follow the protagonist from situation to situation rather than developing a plotted narrative. As opposed to Hathaway’s Kym, Sally Hawkins’ Poppy is an exuberant young schoolteacher whose silly and smiley attitude is contagious to all around her. Watching this and Rachel Getting Married back-to-back may be a good indication of how diverse a feel the return to slice-of-life filmmaking can let out.

* * *

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Based on a short book of the same name, this is a movie about the Holocaust told from a unique perspective: that of an eight-year old German whose father works at a concentration camp. One critic points out: ”that these boys could not fathom what was actually going on in the camps also rings true and is the reason why stories like this one must endure.” (source) If you’re in the mood to bawl, check it out.

* * *

Role Models
The perfect antidote to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a little old-fashioned stupid comedy partly written by and starring Paul Rudd. The maniacal looking Seann William Scott stars alongside him. These two immature actors play immature energy drink vendors who are forced to act as Big Brothers as punishment for a driving accident. “It may be slight, it may be derivative, but this comedy for (if not quite about) adults is also deliriously funny.” (source)

* * *

Other Region 1 Releases
Battle in Seattle
Cadillac Records
Japan Japan
Palimpsest
Pinocchio - 70th Anniversary Edition
Secret, A
Transporter 3