DVD OF THE WEEK THE HURT LOCKER ***** Dir: Kathryn Bigalow, Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty It’s not often that the smallest-grossing Oscar-nominated film beats a film that has the highest box-office take of all time, but that’s what happened at the Oscars this year. And now, finally, the underdog winner has been released on DVD here. It seems odd to have two Iraq-set films as consecutive “Picks of the Week” but while last week’s More...

DVD OF THE WEEK GREEN ZONE **** Dir: Paul Greengrass. Starring: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendon Gleeson For obvious reasons people have been referring to this as “Jason Bourne in Iraq”. And you would be pretty hard-pressed to see any light between Matt Damon’s turn here and his role as the amnesiac spy. But, leaving aside comparisons, this is a crisply-made thriller, both exhilarating and involving. Based on a (non-fiction) book about life in More...

DVD OF THE WEEK CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT **** Starring: John C Reilly, Chris Massoglia, Ken Watanabe Dir: Paul Weitz Perhaps because of the school holidays I seem to have been deluged by fantasy films, or at least films starring fantasy creatures. And this – yet another crap vampire flick for kids I thought going in – was the pick of the bunch. Based on (of course) a popular series of books which I haven’t read, The Vampire’s Assistant centres More...

With the year half way done we’re on the second part of our regular mid-winter wrap up of the best of the year so far. Last week’s column (now on-line at sunlive.co.nz) looked at comedy, documentaries, sci-fi and animation; this week the rest of my favourites from the first half of 2010. Crime The first part of the Swedish trilogy that has become an international publishing sensation is an equally good film, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (*****). If you like a good mystery More...

It’s half way through the year so, as is traditional, I’m going to take a couple of weeks off from new DVDs and have a look back at the best so far. And, in general, it hasn’t been the greatest of years for DVD releases, particularly as far as the blockbuster movies are concerned. Action films have been particularly disappointing, but we can expect a lot more to emerge after the American summer. There have, however, been a fair number of smaller gems you may have missed. More...

DVD OF THE WEEK SILENT WEDDING ***** Dir: Horatiu Malaele Starring: Alexandru Bindea, Meda Andreea Victor, Alexandru Potocean To say that this is the best Romanian film I have ever seen doesn’t really provide much competition. Romanian cinema has apparently been going through something of a revival, with the likes of The Death of Mr Lazarescu, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than half a dozen films from the country. But this is, hands down, about the best film More...

DVD OF THE WEEK A CHRISTMAS TALE **** Dir: Arnaud Desplechin Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Anne Consigny This film actually came out on DVD a couple of months ago but I’ve been saving it, waiting for two and a half hours of free time to slip into the delicious French machinations on offer. And I’m glad I did, since the film is simply fantastic. It centres around the Vuillard family, as mixed-up a bunch as you could hope for, echoing other dysfunctional More...

DVD OF THE WEEK UP IN THE AIR **** Dir: Jason Reitman Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Danny McBride Up in the Air is that rarest of things – a grown-up drama dealing with the effects of the current recession which includes a delightful, believable love story, well written and beautifully made, with an honest witty script that is economical while at the same time delivering fully rounded characters. What makes it damn near perfect is the cast: George Clooney has never been More...

DVD OF THE WEEK BROKEN EMBRACES **** Dir: Pedro Admodovar Starring: Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo, Jose Luis Gomez It’s always a treat to get a new film from Pedro Almodovar. In the same manner as the Coen brothers, or Mike Leigh in the UK, he is a director with an absolutely individual style whose films – even the minor ones – are made with complete assurance. You know you’re in the hands of a master and can just relax and enjoy. Broken Embraces is More...

DVD OF THE WEEK CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY *** Dir: Michael Moore I must confess to have gone off Michael Moore in the last couple of years. I loved Roger and Me, his first film, and Bowling for Columbine was an eye-opener. But more recently, with Fahrenheit 9/11 – despite its win at the Cannes festival – and Sicko!, my level of irritation began to rise. Despite the constantly interesting (and frequently funny) filmmaking, the liberal left-wing arguments put forward – and More...