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 another of Almodovar's twisty family sagas, telling the story of a now-blind film director who recalls to a young relative the story of Penelope Cruz's character, the mistress of a rich and powerful man, who was once an aspiring actress and met – we assume – an unhappy end. The plot unfolds at a controlled and steady pace, keeping us involved while slowly revealing deeper relationships and the ties that bind the characters.
Central is Cruz, who turns in a simply outstanding performance, one that should have seen her nominated for another Oscar – it is refreshing to see her in a role that allows more depth than the usual one-note Spanish diva that she plays so often in American films.
Fans of Admodovar will be amused to note that the 'film within a film” being made seems to be the director's earlier Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – still possibly the finest of Almodovar's earlier funnier films – and although the ending here is slightly flat there are many pleasure to be had along the way. And is there any director who makes the Spanish language sound so beautiful? It's almost worth watching just for the richness of the voices.

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez' Grindhouse project meets its blaxploitation brother in the form of Black Dynamite (***), kicking in with a fake period ad and hitting every pillar of seventies Afro-cool from the music to dodgy acting, extravagant camera zooms, visible mics, cheesy fighting and 'can you dig it?” dialogue. With obvious affection for the cheap vintage likes of Dolomite!, this is hardly the first blaxploitation parody but, as the titular hero ass-kicks a path of revenge to find his brother's killer, the genre has rarely been dissected in such fine funny detail.

Somewhere buried on my list of Things to Avoid Before I Die – an anti-bucket list if you like – was to watch Astro Boy (***). Yet despite the flat and primitive animation (presumably honouring the old TV show – never saw that either) I found myself warming to the bug-eyed little tyke and a script that is considerably more complex and layered than I had expected. And, while it might not follow through on the early themes raised, and the lack of bells and whistles animation may have sunk it at the box office, this has a good story, a great vocal cast, and is occasionally pretty funny.

What can I say about It's Complicated (***)? Well Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin are fantastic, effortlessly classy and never less than entertaining to watch. Other than that the film is the safest of middle-of-the-road adultery comedies as ex-husband and wife get it back on despite the complication of his new young wife. Why is it that similar French rom-coms can seem sophisticated and fresh while this, like so many American examples, is bland and predictable. And too long. But it does get an extra smiley, just for Meryl Streep's sterling brilliance.

I'm Not Harry Jenson (**) is yet another disappointing Kiwi film. The cover is littered with apparently good reviews, which is baffling given that, once again, this looks like a cheap student project, devoid of an engaging story, character development or anything of visual interest. Basically, a bunch of people go hiking. The central character is a true-crime writer who is blocked and a bit freaked by his own bloody subject matter. Then people start getting killed and the group look for someone in their number to blame. A good New Zealand cast is wasted amongst the ensuing melodrama.