We’ve got a crowded week in the DVD/Blu-ray world, including a couple really solid options. However, the edge goes to what is one of my favorite films of the year so far: Tom McCarthy’s Win Win. This is a rare example of a movie loaded with fully-formed characters that you can trace all the way back to the womb, and as a result the audience is completely drawn in to their individual conflicts and stories. It is not a sports or wrestling movie, which it may look like from the outside. It is much better than that, and it shows how a movie doesn’t have to actually be about life-or-death situations in order to be enthralling. Some may dismiss it as a minor film, but that’s ignoring just how special this little achievement is.
Another pretty terrific movie is the latest—and best so far—from documentarian/edutainer Morgan Spurlock. Best-known for his fast food film Super Size Me, he has now taken his aim at the world of product placement and cross-promotion. But here’s the catch: the film is funded completely by product placement. Like his other films, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold doesn’t come up with any real revelations or controversy; it just lays the situation out on the table and has a little fun with it in the process. This is a topic that really is a perfect fit for Spurlock’s constantly smirking style, and he’s at his best when he’s dealing with topics that aren’t necessarily the end of the world. They’re just interesting and easy to have fun with.
If you’re looking for a movie that’s a trainwreck of “HOLY $#!*” proportions, then look no further than The Beaver. Directed by Jodie Foster and starring Mel Gibson, here is a film that wants to be so many things at once it just winds up being confusing. At first it seems to be a dark indie-style comedy, but then it turns wacky once Gibson finds a beaver puppet and puts it on his hand. Then it goes to really strange, dark places; places far darker than a movie about Mel Gibson making wacky voices has any right to be. You have to appreciate its ambition, and the performances are good across the board, but Foster’s direction plays every moment precisely the wrong way. That said, I’m not sure if there’s a filmmaker out there that could have pulled this off.
If that doesn’t convince you, here’s the Brady Bunch-style DVD case! Featuring a slightly annoyed Anton Yelchin!
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