There’s plenty of gold hitting home video in February, from the mind-blowing Oscar-nominated documentary The Act of Killing to highly regarded indie comedies, directorial debuts from highly talented young actors, a doco on the great Harry Dean Stanton and some classic reissues. Read on to find out more about what you can enjoy from the comfort of your couch.
The Act of Killing
In a Nutshell: On many best of 2013 lists and nominated for Best Documentary at the 2014 Academy Awards, Joshua Oppenheimer’s surreal and disturbing documentary introduces the viewer to former Indonesian death squad leaders. Affectionately known as “gangsters” they proudly recollect their past as mass murderers of alleged communists, actions their country still celebrates. Things get really weird, though, when Oppenheimer gets them to re-enact their crimes – in the style of their favourite films. Soon, these unrepentant murderous film fans are offering up noir and cowboy interpretations of their killings.
The Buzz: 95% on Rotten Tomatoes from 128 critics. Village Voice describe it as “a supreme testament to the cinema’s capacity for inquiry, confrontation, and remembrance”, NPR call the film “a virtually unprecedented social document” and the Los Angeles Times says it “disturbs us in ways we’re not used to being disturbed”.
Reason to Watch: Because this will mess with your head and most likely f_ck you right up.
Prince Avalanche
In a Nutshell: A remake of Iceland’s Either Way, offbeat comedy Prince Avalanche stars Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch as an odd couple teaming up for a summer spent repainting traffic lines along a wildfire-ravaged highway. With no-one around, the solitude forces stern Alvin (Rudd) and Lance (Hirsch), dopey brother of Alvin’s girlfriend, to bond in unexpected ways. David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express, All the Real Girls, TV’s Eastbound & Down) directs, after being approached by the band Explosions in the Sky (who provide the score) to make a film in a national park that had recently suffered a massive fire.
The Buzz: 83% on Rotten Tomatoes from 99 critics. Time Out describe Prince Avalanche as “one of the most intriguing and thoughtful American films of the year”, “warmly enjoyable” say Variety, while Film.com reckon it “occupies a strange space between Green’s broadly comedic fare and devoutly character-driven dramas”.
Reason to Watch: Because it – like any movie really – will be about a billion times better than Gordon Green’s Your Highness.
Don Jon
In a Nutshell: Making his writing-directorial debut, Joseph Gordon-Levitt casts himself (of course he does) as Jon, a porn-addicted womaniser who develops a mutual attraction with hard-to-get Barbara (Scarlett Johansson – did we mention Gordon-Levitt is the director?). Jon finds himself in an unusual situation when forced by Barbara to court her for a month without having sex, but it may be a relationship with an older woman (Julianne Moore) that encourages him to truly change his ways. Tony Danza and Brie Larson co-star.
The Buzz: 81% on Rotten Tomatoes from 172 critics. “A bruisingly funny, bracingly smart comic dare” says Rolling Stone, “R-rating aside, it should be required viewing for every 15-year-old boy on the planet” argues the Boston Globe and Time Out praises Gordon-Levitt’s direction, saying he “demonstrates considerable technical flair through stylistic flourishes and coaxes great performances out of his co-stars”. Mind you, Entertainment Weekly are not the only major outlet to dissent when they call the film “Crude, repetitive and rigorously single-minded”.
Reason to Watch: Because Don Jon has an incredible cast – and to see if Gordon-Levitt can pull it off (please excuse the pun).
The Lifeguard
In a Nutshell: Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) stars as Leigh, a reporter living in New York with her 30s approaching – along with imminent disasters in her career and love life. Chucking in the big city life, Leigh slinks back to her suburban small town, moving back in with her parents and basically picking up where she left off at the end of her teens. Taking up her high school job as a condo complex lifeguard, Leigh’s regression leads her into some difficult places, not least of which is inadvertently entering into a questionable relationship with a troubled teen.
The Buzz: 13% on Rotten Tomatoes from 30 critics. As that suggests, critics were not particularly kind. Variety say “drowning in self-pity is about as fun to watch as it sounds”, and the Village Voice label The Lifeguard “a lifeless misfire”.But on the other hand, the New York Daily News compliments the film, saying “this sorrowful, achingly wise little drama has a lot to say about the dangers of hanging on to youth at all costs” while the Los Angeles Times says it features “a credibly flawed and conflicted heroine who holds interest”.
Reason to Watch: Because you really really really like movies about white people problems. Or just like Kristen Bell.
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
In a Nutshell: David Lynch, Wim Wenders, Sam Shepard, Kris Kristofferson and Debbie Harry lend their insights to this documentary portrait of Harry Dean Stanton – iconic actor, singer and musician. Not looking to rely on talking heads and typical info-dumping doco techniques, the film bridges archival movie clips with Stanton’s personal rendition of American folk songs in order to create an experience that seeks to be as mesmerising as the man himself.
The Buzz: 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from 24 critics. The Telegraph rewarded Partly Fiction five whole stars, regarding it as “warm, wise and wonderful,” while the Village Voice praised the doco for being “in perfect sync with its subject.” Hollywood Reporter said the film’s existence was simply “long overdue,” and we’re inclined to agree.
Reason to Watch: Because you’re either a fan of Harry Dean Stanton or you’ve never heard of Harry Dean Stanton and you need the education. Basically, if you’re human and breathing, you should watch it.
Also new in February
Boston Legal/How to Make it in America/Children’s Hospital actress Lake Bell directs, writes and stars in In a World…,, a well-received comedy about a young woman doing voiceover work for movie trailers and trying to overcome the male domination of that specialised job. Dark comedy thriller Bad Kids Go to Hell, based on a best-selling graphic novel, sees the shit hit the fan when a The Breakfast Club-style Saturday school detention turn murderous. Oh and Judd Nelson is in it. In Iron Doors a dude wakes up stuck in a concrete vault and has to escape, along with another trapped person, before they starve to death. Similarly, Stalled has a guy trapped in a small space and trying to survive – except in this case its the toilet during a zombie outbreak in this British horror comedy.
Reissues of the Month
8½
Using the motion picture as a means to explore his own fantastical memories, 8½ is often revered as an avant-garde masterpiece of Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini (who has received literally a dozen Oscar nominations). This Blu-ray re-issue is the holy grail of HD releases for any cinefile, with The Guardian stating it as “probably the most potent film about film-making,” and Terry Gilliam (Brazil) adding that “8½ somehow coalesces in me, in many ways, the essence of cinema.”
La Dolce Vita
One of the highlights of the NZ International Film Festival’s retrospectives programming in 2013, La Dolce Vita is another Fellini masterpiece crying out for addition to Blu-ray collections. A Palme d’Or and Oscar winner, the 1960 film follows a journalist through Rome in a series of sequences that will make you fall in love with the city, even as the film’s protagonist embarks on a romantic quest of his own.
Also reissued:
Andy Warhol’s shadow may loom large over these films – his name too, as you’ll see from the posters above – but director Paul Morrissey was adamant about being the creative force behind the films Flesh for Frankenstein, Blood for Dracula, Flesh and Heat. He took credit for other Warhol activities too, but these feature films show Morrissey’s creativity in full flight as he took on all decision-making for these cult arthouse classics.
