The week’s DVDs begin in a Ukrainian sewer:
DVDs for June 12 by Boo Allen
This week, we begin underground:
In Darkness (****)
This Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nominee examines man’s sense of
survival. No one ever knows how much one could suffer until faced
with death, as the people in this horrific film can attest. Agnieszka
Holland directed, based on Robert Marshall’s book “The Girl in the
Green Sweater,” with screenplay from David Shamoon, It’s
the true story of a group of Polish Jews in German-occupied Lvov,
Ukraine who fought to survive the Holocaust. The film takes place
mostly in the sewers below Lvov after its ghetto has been evacuated,
with the Jews not shipped off to a death camp being killed
immediately. But some escape underground and find refuge in the
sewer’s endless labyrinth where they remain for 14 months. Into this
area overrun with rats, human waste, and a constant stench, a single
gentile (Robert Wieckiewicz) risks his life to save the captives as
his initial reluctance gives way to his own grudging redemption.
Meanwhile the group maintains its humanity—fighting, praying,
saying Kaddish for the dead, and even making love. Holland delivers a
difficult-to-film emotional roller-coaster in which, no matter how
bleak it looks in the film, the reality was far worse.
Rated R, 145 minutes. The DVD, in all formats, offers the 30 minute
featurette “An Evening with Agnieszka Holland,” narrated by Anne
Thompson, as well as the 28 minute interview piece “In Light: A
Conversation with Agnieszka Holland and Krystyna Chiger.”
Accident (***1/2)
In this Hong Kong psychological mind-bender, a man known as The Brain (Hong
Kong favorite Louis Koo) leads a group who performs carefully crafted
assassinations and makes them look like accidents. He has become so
proficient in his methods, he begins to suspect some of his
collaborators when a mission or two goes awry. He thinks, were they
truly accidents, or is someone out to get me? The viewer remains as
in the dark as The Brain, as more tension elevates from this question
than from any blood-spilling. Well crafted blend of suspense and action.
Not rated, 87 minutes. The DVD also offers a 13 minute “making of”
featurette.
Demoted (**)
A few laughs and a large dose of gross-out humor can be
found in this irreverent comedy that draws from The Office,
Office Space, and others. Two tire salesman, Rodney and
Mike (Michael Vartan, Sean Astin), respectively, belittle their
secretaries and harass fellow worker Ken (David Cross). When their
sympatico boss (Robert Klein) keels over dead at a strip joint, the
corporate office promotes Ken, who then demotes Mike and Rodney to
secretaries. Because of the tough economy and their spotty work
records, they remain, taking abuse from everyone who formerly abused
them until, alas, they become changed men–respectful and aware of
their formerly boorish behavior.
Not rated, 94 minutes.
A Necessary Death (**1/2)
G.J. Echternkamp plays Gilbert, a film student who orchestrates a plan to
film Matt (Matthew Tilley) in the days leading up to when he will
commit suicide. Some tension builds to see whether he will, while
other questions of honesty and film integrity play out. Written and
directed by Daniel Stamm
Not rated, 90 minutes.
John Mellencamp: It’s About You (***)
The well known singer went on tour in 2009, a sojourn chronicled here by
photographer Kurt Marcus and his son Ian. Mellancamp can be seen
composing songs, recording them in Memphis, and even sharing some
time with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Entertaining and a must-see
for Mellencamp fans.
Not rated, 80 minutes.
And, for kids this week:
Angelina Ballerina: Musical Moves
The dancing mouse returns in five new episodes in which
her friends learn new dances—Gracie and disco, Alice and jazz, AZ
and hip hop, while Ms. Mimi explores modern dance.
Not rated, 61 minutes. The disc offers a bonus episode.
Awesome Adventures: Races, Chases and Fun
In these six adventures, Thomas cautions not to speed, Sam teaches
Norman and James about safety, and Bob occupies his buddies with
teamwork exercises.
Not rated, 62 minutes.
Babar: The Classic Series: first season
This popular animated children’s series, first seen on HBO, debuts 13
episodes, on two discs, from the first season. Based on Jean de
Brunhoff’s 1931 youth classic, the title elephant, Babar, leaves the
jungle, visits the big city, and then returns to the jungle with
stories for his friends, providing many life lessons.
Not rated, 293 minutes.
And, finally, from our TV offerings:
Scandal—season one
The stunning Kerry Washington stars in this series that seems a natural. She plays
Olivia Pope, a lawyer who heads a Washington D.C. group of lawyers
and whiz kids who don’t practice law but “fix” problems, sort of
like Michael Clayton. Her high profile clients depend on her through
each of the seven episodes, on two discs, to keep them from the press
and to help safeguard their image, all this in a town out for blood.
Olivia used to work at the White House and resigned after having a
secret affair with the president (Tony Goldwyn), a dilemma weekly
squeezed for effect, particularly when an aid turns up pregnant with the president as the likely suspect.
Rated TV 14-DLSV, 301 minutes. The collection also holds three separate
featurettes on the cast, the stories, and on creator and producer
Shonda Rhimes.
Civilization: The West and the Rest with Niall Ferguson
In this excellent six part series, on two discs, from
B.B.C. Home Entertainment, noted and controversial historian Niall
Ferguson posits his theories about the West—why it achieved world
dominance and why it might eventually lose it. While traveling the
globe, he breaks his theses down (he calls them “killer apps”),
with each of the episodes concentrating on a different theory:
competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism, and work
ethic. Niall trumpets the theories as host, giving a non-stop
narration and rarely relying on outside commentary. The peripatetic Ferguson proves consistently entertaining, witty, and informative.
Not rated, 283 minutes.
Also on DVD: Entourage—season eight, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Too Big to Fail.