DVD Picks & Pans: Last-Minute Gift Ideas

Military.com - Tom Miller

In my world, procrastination is a four-letter word.  I was raised on the kind of aphorisms made famous by Poor Richard.   Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.  The early bird gets the worm.  That sort of forward-thinking stuff.  I'm the kid who raced home and finished the book report on the day it was assigned.  I can't help it.  I also finish my Christmas shopping BEFORE Thanksgiving.  Better to enjoy the holidays. 

But, I understand that not everybody is so disciplined.  Okay, obsessive.  And that it takes a looming deadline -- "Only two shopping days left before Christmas!" -- to motivate some.  At the risk of encouraging such dilatory -- okay, deliberate -- behavior, I'm here to help.  What can I say?  If too many of us get there early, there won't be enough worms to go around. 

I know exactly what you're thinking as you scan your list: So many names, so little time.  Well, I've got an idea: what about movies?   Almost everybody likes movies, and there's enough diversity -- chick flicks, action flicks, sci-fi, westerns, comedies -- to satisfy almost every taste.  Plus, you don't have to drive all over town.  One stop at Best Buy and you're done.  (Such is the penalty for procrastination: had you started earlier, you could have done this with a click from the comfort of your home.)

So, no more excuses.  Start now and you'll get home in time for some egg nog before Santa arrives.

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The Dark Knight (Two-Disc Special Edition),
DVD-2008 ($34.98, Warner) Also available in Single-Disc, Blu-ray, and Limited editions.

Director Christopher Nolan has outdone himself.  In his second installment (after "Batman Begins") in the Caped Crusader franchise, Nolan has fashioned perhaps the best super-hero film ever. 

This time out, Batman squares off against a Joker (played brilliantly by the late Heath Ledger) bereft of any shred of humanity that might temper his murderous ways. 

Moreover, Nolan's Gotham City is a dark, corrupt place, and Batman, often assailed as a vigilante, recruits the new District Attorney, and golden-boy, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to lead a crusade to clean up the city.  

With Dent leading the charge against crime and corruption, Batman figures he can retire the Batsuit for good and reunite with former squeeze and assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).  Dawes is dating her boss, but still carries a torch for Batman's alter ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne.  But, she insists that she'll take him back only when he gives up the Batman persona once and for all. 

Wayne is sorely tempted, but with the Joker terrorizing the city, Batman puts aside personal concerns and takes up the cause of good against evil. 

"The Dark Knight" has it all: a literate script, jaw-dropping action, intriguing characters, and an excellent cast.  Ledger steals the show as a psychopathic Joker, but Bale, Gyllenhaal, Eckhart, Michael Caine (as Wayne's venerable butler), and Morgan Freeman (as Wayne's lieutenant Lucius Fox) more than hold their own. 

Nolan has set the bar high for the Batman franchise and its super-hero rivals. 

Military.com Rating: ****

(DVD extras include "Gotham Uncovered: Creation of a Scene"; six The Dark Knight IMAX scenes; galleries of poster art, production stills and trailers; and six episodes of Gotham Cable's "Gotham Tonight.")

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American Teen,
DVD-2008 ($29.98, Paramount Home Entertainment)

For this award-winning documentary, filmmaker Nanette Burstein follows four Warsaw, Ind., teens through their senior year in high school. 

The four teens fit rather predictable stereotypes: Megan Krizmanich is the rich, over-achieving popular girl; Colin Clemens is the jock; Jake Tusig is the geek; and Hannah Bailey is the artsy rebel. 

That much said, there's enough drama in their young lives to draw viewers in and hold them tight. 

Despite her favored status at school, Megan is almost desperate to get into Notre Dame and please her alumni dad.  She frequently acts out and, in the process, alienates her friends, vandalizes a rival's home, and initiates an ugly episode of internet bullying. 

Similarly, basketball stud Colin must impress college scouts or forget about college.  His dad tells him bluntly that it's a basketball scholarship or the Army.  The resulting pressure seems to suck all the joy out of the game for Colin. 

Jake is so clueless socially that he's painful to watch at times. 

Hannah lives with her grandmother and dreams of escaping Indiana for San Francisco after high school.  Bright but rebellious, and even fragile, she's easy to root for. 

There's an old joke that there's only two people who are happy in high school: the head cheerleader and the quarterback.  That's two more than you'll find here. 

Military.com Rating: *** 

(DVD extras include deleted scenes, character trailers, cast interviews, and Hannah's blog.)

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Generation Kill,
DVD-2008 ($59.99, HBO/Warner Home Video) Also available in Blu-ray.

In 2003, Rolling Stone reporter Evan Wright embedded with the elite 1st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion for the Iraqi invasion.  He rode with the recon Marines as they spearheaded the advance through Nasiriyah and Al Kut and on to Baghdad. 

The 1st Recon's mission was to flush out ambushes, and by the time they finally arrived in Baghdad, they were being referred to by some as the "First Suicide Battalion." 

Wright returned to the U.S. to write a series of award-winning articles for Rolling Stone and a best-selling account of his experience, Generation Kill.  In the summer of 2008, HBO aired a seven-part mini-series based on the book, produced by David Simon and Ed Burns.  The mini-series is now available in this 3-disc set that includes all seven episodes and an array of bonus material. (See below)

The series introduces us to the Marines while they're still in Kuwait waiting for the invasion to start.  Because Wright -- and the producers -- include so many Marines in the story, it takes the viewer several episodes to sort everybody out. 

The leading characters are Sgt. Brad Colbert (Alexander Skarsgard), a team leader in 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company (Bravo Two); his driver Cpl. Ray Person, who survives on Ripped Fuel and chatters non-stop; Lt. Nathaniel Fick (Stark Sands), Bravo Two platoon commander; and Lt. Colonel Stephen Ferrando (Chance Kelly), known to one and all as "Godfather" because of his raspy voice.  Reporter Wright (Lee Tergesen) rides along with Colbert's team. 

The characters are sharply drawn and most of the portraits ring true.  The enlisted Marines are, overall, profane, irreverent, politically incorrect, and plain spoken.  Just what you'd expect. 

That's not the case with two captains identified as "Encino Man" (Brian Wade) and "Captain America (Eric Nenninger).  These two junior officers are so inept that their presence in an elite recon unit seems incongruous. 

The series is very good at capturing the essence of war: long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of terror.  The action feels authentic and the Marines' reactions genuine.  And, the ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. 

It was too much to hope that "Generation Kill" would measure up to HBO's brilliant World War II mini-series, "Band of Brothers," which is destined to become a classic.  So, the fact that it doesn't is no surprise.  (HBO has recently released "Band of Brothers" in Blu-ray, and the original widescreen edition is still available.  If your shopping list includes members of the Greatest Generation, consider saying "thank you" this holiday season with "Band of Brothers.")

"Band of Brothers" benefited from its association with historian Stephen Ambrose.  Reporter Wright doesn't bring the same perspective and sense of history to "Generation Kill."  As a result, the series fails to replicate the sense of essential honesty and humility that distinguished "Band of Brothers."

That doesn't mean that it's not worthwhile.  Perhaps it's too early to try to distill the Iraqi War into popular entertainment.  We still don't know how it ends.  HBO deserves credit for trying and for coming closer to the truth than Hollywood. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include audio commentaries, deleted dialogues, "A Conversation with the 1st Recon Marines," "Making Generation Kill," and "Eric Ladin's Video Diaries.")

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Military.com Picks & Pans Rating Scale
* Pan -- Save your time
** Borderline Pick -- Okay but only as a last resort
*** Pick -- Worthwhile & enjoyable
****Enthusiastic Pick -- Excellent 
*****Not to Be Missed -- A Classic

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Copyright 2009 by Tom Miller