Black Sheep's Blu-Tuesday

It is an extremely busy day for film releases and most of them are actually pretty good too.  What are the odds?! Maple Pictures releases KICK-ASS, the critically acclaimed R-rated anti-superhero movie failed to connect in theatres but will surely find its audience on Blu-ray.  If it doesn't though, that sequel is pretty much done for.  20th Century Fox puts out medium sized family hit, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID as well as Kevin Costner/Susan Sarandon baseball hit, BULL DURHAM.  I've not seen either but BULL DURHAM should be arriving shortly so I will know soon enough. And the 25th anniversary edition of THE BREAKFAST CLUB finds its way to Blu-ray, courtesy of Universal.  Here are a few more highlighted titles ...

THE GHOST WRITER

Roman Polanski's latest thriller is fairly devoid of thrills I'm afraid.  This is mostly because he can't seem to decide whether his intention is to make a point about pushing the boundaries of torture in the name of preventing terror or whether it is simply to tell a strong story.  His complete lack of focus makes for a fairly disjointed mystery and a mediocre experience.  Ewan McGregor takes on an assignment to ghost write the memoirs of a past British Prime Minister but gets himself into way more than the paycheck is worth when the PM (Pierce Brosnan) finds himself at the center of an international war crimes scandal at the same time.  THE GHOST WRITER is a functional piece of film but ironically, it feels as though someone other than Polanski actually called the shots.  (E1 Entertainment)

JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH

Like many other people, I did not catch this film upon its initial 1996 release.  It was Henry Selick's follow-up to one of my all time favorite films, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, but yet it could not grab my attention.  I've grown now, as has my palette and I think it is time to take a great big bite of this big old peach.  JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH tells the story of young orphan James trying to find his way in the world.  It features voice work by  David Thewlis and Susan Sarandon and is based on a Raold Dahl book (FANTASTIC MR. FOX) so all the elements are in place for it to be real juicy.    Perhaps it was just ahead of its time or perhaps we were all just behind on our own time. (Walt Disney) 

BLOOD SIMPLE

I'm very excited about this title.  BLOOD SIMPLE is the debut feature from Joel and Ethan Coen.  You likely know them better as the Coen Brothers and they began their tradition of complication and quirk long before they made contemporary classics like FARGO and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.  This one is about a guy who hires another guy to kill his cheating wife and her boyfriend; only the guy he hires to kill them has got some plans of his own.  I am thrilled to have this title on Blu-ray as I have not seen the 1985 film in quite some time. (I only first saw it about ten years ago; I won't pretend to have been on the Coen Bros. band wagon since the beginning.) I do remember though that you can see their genius being born and knowing where their careers go, it is a delight to see where they began. (MGM)

ALSO AVAILABLE NOW: As if there weren't enough titles already listed, right?  I reviewed the brilliant Franch film, A PROPHET (click the link for review) last week and you can buy it now. Uh, and you should ... buy it now.  I personally found ROAD TO PERDITION and NATURAL BORN KILLERS to be lackluster films from reputed directors but their loyal followings will be happy to get their newly remastered incarnations, I'm sure.  And nearly 30 years after its initial release, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, starring a young, strapping Kurt Russell - or at least, an eye-patch wearing Kurt Russell anyway - gets its day on blu-ray.

Source: Blu-ray.com

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Blu-Review: UN PROPHETE

Written by Thomas Bidegain and Jacques Audiard

Directed by Jacques Audiard

Starring Tahar Rahim and Niels Arestrup

A prophet is either one chosen by God to spread his word or an individual capable of telling the future.  In UN PROPHETE, Malik El Djebena (relative newcomer, Tahar Rahim) has found himself in prison at the age of nineteen so it doesn’t appear that God has anything intended for him.  One day though, he is mistaken for a prophet when he predicts an accident with a deer after having seen the event take place in a dream.  Malik is not a prophet though because he doesn’t predict the future.  Malik makes the future.

At nineteen, he has no friends in prison or out.  Seeing this, a group of imprisoned Corsican mafia men, led by Cesar Luciani (the ferocious Niels Arestrup) approach Malik with an offer he cannot refuse.  It has only been hours since he has been in prison and the men who are clearly in charge are offering him protection.  All he has to do is kill another Arab inmate who is being housed in the prison until he testifies in court.  Malik has never killed anyone before but if he says no, then he will be killed.  The situation is inescapable and it shapes Malik into the man he is destined to become during his six-year sentence.  Director Jacques Audiard then follows Malik’s growth, balancing back and forth between the numerous different prison gangs with ease, while Malik learns the trades, meets the right people and plots to overthrow the kings that made him.

UN PROPHETE may have lost the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this past year but anyone who watches it will know and feel that they are watching a contemporary crime classic while every unexpected turn unfolds before them.  It’s a good thing its so good too because the Blu-ray options, safe for a director/star French audio commentary complete with English subtitles, are scant and forgettable.  The film is anything but.

FILM RATING

BLU-RAY RATING

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