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 Green Zone is a pretty standard thriller, allowing you to see things that happen in the war zone, The Hurt Locker practically picks you up by the scruff of the neck and throws you into the middle of it, leaving you tense and white-knuckled after only its opening sequence, one of many scenes of bomb disposal that punctuate the film.
The set-up is dead simple and the thesis stated at the opening, that war, for some people, can be like a drug. That's the case for the new bomb-defuser, brilliantly underplayed by Australian Jeremy Renner. He is part of a three-man team, two of whom watch for hostile threats while he deals with the bombs. He is clearly a man for whom adrenaline is a life-force, leading to considerable tension with his less gung-ho colleagues.
The Hurt Locker is every bit as good as you would hope; it is simply riveting. I've also been surprised by the number of people who've told me they had no interest in watching this but confessed that after five minutes they were totally hooked. Give it a try – you won't regret it.

Crazy Heart (***) made everyone smile because it finally scored an Oscar win for long-time favourite Jeff Bridges. And he inhabits the skin of skin of fading country legend Bad Blake with effortless charm. The film itself is an underplayed character piece as Bridges hauls round the Midwest getting drunk and playing low-rent bars until falling for Maggie Gyllenhaal's smart solo mother. It's sweet stuff, reminiscent of Bruce Beresford's Tender Mercies, but the main attraction is the two leads, both of whom are terrific.

The French have been turning out some top-notch thrillers recently and Anything For Her (****) is another. It follows Vincent Lindon, a mild-mannered French teacher whose wife (Diane Kruger) is jailed for 20 years (murder). Sick and suicidal in prison, she seems unlikely to survive so he decides to break her out. The problem is exactly what most films ignore – he isn't a crim or a superhero, he's a French teacher. What makes the film so satisfying and tense is that you never forget that. Even as you cheer for him you know that he is completely out of his depth and it starts you thinking: what would I do? Great stuff, which will no doubt be ruined by an American remake.

Still grieving over the death of a child, pregnant Samantha Morton and her husband move to rural Ireland in The Daisy Chain (***). The village is, however, anything but sleepy and the copious unpleasantnesses occurring are blamed on a young autistic girl, the eponymous Daisy, who ends up living with the couple. Is the talk of changelings and fairies just old superstition or is she really a Bad Seed? The film – probably a little sedate for hardcore horror fans – walks a subtle and atmospheric line with fine work from Morton and a convincingly ambiguous turn from the kid.

Seventh Moon (**) is the latest from writer/director Eduardo Sanchez (Blair Witch Project) which finds a young American couple visiting his relatives in China. The title refers to the time when – according to Chinese myth – the dead rise and 'walk amongst the living”. Naturally this happens just as Amy Smart and hubby find themselves lost at night in the middle of nowhere. The result is pretty effective, if undemanding, though the shaky camera and constant darkness eventually grate. The risen dead themselves are intermittently creepy but even at 83 minutes things tend to drag.