This week, things slow down a bit on DVD, with the quality heading downward to a degree. Keep in mind, the top selection is still a strong film, but there's not a whole lot going on besides that, in my humble opinion. There have been worse weeks, but there's also been far better ones as well. For my PICK OF THE WEEK, I honestly just went with the only film that I liked. That being said, it luckily is a film I did enjoy quite a bit. It's:Fish Tank
This intimate character study of a troubled English youth featured a stunning performance from newcomer Katie Jarvis. She absolutely blew me away as Mia, the volatile youth with a rough family life who finds an outlet to her anger in dance. Michael Fassbender is excellent as well, playing the boyfriend of Mia's mom who complicates Mia's life even further. The third act of the flick is a bit of a letdown, but it's still a movie (and a performance) well worth seeing.
-Other releases this week include the inoffensive but bland cartoon Megamind, the disappointingly unfunny comedy Due Date, and the letdown that was the would be Oscar hopeful drama Get Low. The first flick mentioned is fair but nothing special. The second is just pointless, and the third left me shaking my head at what might have been. If any of these worked for you, however, then go pick them up and enjoy.
-Also out this week are two films that I didn't see but heard good things about. They are the crime flick Mesrine: Killer Instinct and the documentary Last Train Home. I can't speak to their quality, but as previously mentioned, I heard good things, so if you enjoyed them, now you can own them!
-My Vintage pick is, in honor of this week's release of Drive Angry 3D, the best work that Nicholas Cage has ever done, in my opinion. It's Leaving Las Vegas, and it's simply one of my all time favorite films. Cage deserved the Oscar he won, and it's just a beautiful movie. I can't recommend it enough.
-What will you be watching on DVD this week?
It's a "could be better but could be worse" type of situation this week...
ReplyDeleteYou know what I liked about Katie Jarvis' performance? Her mediocre hip hop dancing. It would have been a cliché if she was some You Got Served wunderkind, but the fact that she was just average lent a real poignancy to her already interesting character. And Michael Fassbender's role was far more difficult to pull off than most people gave him credit for, and he nailed it. He's going to be a big star, I just know it.
ReplyDeleteWith due respect to Banksy, Last Train Home was arguably the best documentary released in 2010.
Indeed. It was a small detail that really worked.
ReplyDeleteI've only heard good things about Last Train Home, but for me, the top doc of the year was The Tillman Story, then Exit Through the Gift Shop.