DVDs This Week May 26

Pick of the Week

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days – The hugely acclaimed Cristian Mungiu humanist thriller about two girls seeking an abortion in communist Romania. A Palme D’Or winner and mini-masterpiece, this should be required watching for any film student or anyone put off by subtitles and tough subject matter. It’s an intense watch but rewarding on any level you need.

Also Out

In The Valley of Elah – Paul Haggis’ flawed but decent fist at exploring the difficulties of readjustment for homecoming Iraq soldiers in the US. The central performance from Tommy Lee Jones is great but again with Haggis the script is overwritten and loses its power due to stagy dialogue and a pretty awful turn from Charlize Theron.
Weeds: Season 3 – Mary Louise Parker shines as a suburban mom with a pot-dealing empire. She’s the star and the beating heart of the series but most of the adult performances are strong even if the series as a whole never rises beyond being just ‘good’.
The Hills: Season 1 – The Hills baffles me to my core. This is a show so post-modern that its almost post-post-modernist. Staged reality. It’s hideous, vacuous, irratating and manipulative. But I love it.
The Savages – Mostly loved actorly drama starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney as grown-up kids dealing with the deterioration of their father.
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead – Another Philip Seymour Hoffman movie, this time an uneven film overall but still interesting for his performance and the quality of Sidney Lumet’s direction.
Wristcutters: A Love Story – Awful, pretentious nonsense derived from a great concept: a purgatory for people who commit suicide. Only good when Tom Waits turns up for a cameo.
I’m a Cyborg – Oldboy director Park Chan-Wook makes a robot love story. Not seen it but his previous films are great so it’s likely worth a look.
The Sun’s Burial – Cult Japanese work from Nagisa Oshima that I’m really looking forward to checking out.
Alice in the Cities – Wim Wenders’ breakthrough film. Another I’m anticipating greatly. You can check out my review of the film on Screenjabber.
Paul Verhoeven Collection – The early Dutch films of the provocative and wildly unpredictable director of Showgirls. Likely better than that makes it sound.
Over the Edge – Matt Dillon-starring late-70s exploration of teen dislocation in small town America.
He Was a Quiet Man – Christian Slater plays loner psycho turned hero who forms a relationship with a disabled Elisha Cuthbert. Could be awful but seems at least interesting.

Region 1

Rambo – Literally nothing else of note from the US so it’s down to Sly Stallone to keep it going. This is a ridiculously violent ‘exploration’ of the human rights crisis in military-occupied Burma. It’s watchable but I would not allow the kids anywhere near it.