DVD Picks & Pans: SAD Movies

Military.com - Tom Miller

No, you won't need the hankies.  That's SAD, as in Seasonal Affective Disorder, more commonly called Cabin Fever.  It's caused by too little sunlight and too much time stuck inside during the short days of winter.  It's worse the farther north you go.  Here in Hog Heaven where I live, we're suffering through an abnormally cold and snowy season and last week posted the coldest temperature (-29) ever recorded locally. 

This isn't supposed to be happening of course.  Didn't Al Gore win a Nobel Peace Prize--not to mention an Academy Award--for discovering Global Warming?  Or, was that the internet?

Whatever, it's cold outside over much of the nation, and that means Cabin Fever.  If you're suffering from this malady, you can spell relief in several ways.  S-- is one.  But, any activity that can be measured with an egg timer isn't going to make a dent in an entrenched case of Cabin Fever.  Maybe you should try M-O-V-I-E.  Two hours of timed-released elixir.  Don't be SAD.  Follow our prescription.
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"RocknRolla: 2-Disc Special Edition," DVD-2009 ($34.99, Warner Home Video) Also available in Single-Disc and Blu-ray editions. 

Guy Ritchie--Madonna's latest castoff--directs this labyrinthine thriller with humor and panache. 

Set in Ritchie's native London, the film follows the misadventures of gangsters large and small.  The fun starts when two hustlers hoping to make their mark in real estate, One Two (Gerard Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba), are cut off at the knees by crime boss Lenny Cole (Tom Wilkinson).  Unable to repay a loan from Cole, the two—along with pal Handsome Bob (Tom Hardy) set out to rip off Russian billionaire Uri Obamavich (Karel Roden) with inside help from the Russian's sexy accountant Stella (Thandie Newton). 

There's more, of course.  Much more.  There's the rivalry between old-time boss Cole and the arriviste Russians who are trying to horn in on the action.  And, there's punk rocker Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell), Cole's junkie stepson, who's stolen a painting from his stepfather's study.  To complicate matters, the painting actually belongs to Obamavich who loaned it to Cole to show his good faith.  It's Obamavich's lucky painting, and when his luck begins to go bad, he wants it back.   

The plot tangents--including flashbacks and flash-forwards--come fast and furious, and if you're not paying attention, you might miss something integral to the eventual denouement.  If you're the obsessive type, you might find some loose ends, but for the rest of us, Ritchie ties everything up satisfactorily. 

"RocknRolla" is a slick production, moves at warp speed, and features some notable performances, including Butler, the perpetually stoned Kebbell, and the criminally sexy Newton. 

Military.com Rating: *** ½

(DVD extras include commentary by writer/director Ritchie and co-star Mark Strong, additional scenes, and "Guy's Town," a featurette on Ritchie's fascination with London.)
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"Pride and Glory: 2-Disc Special Edition," DVD-2009 ($34.98, New Line/Warner Home Video) Also available in Single-Disc and Blu-ray editions. 

Most of this dark corrupt-cops drama is derivative and predictable, but it's not without its virtues.

When four Manhattan cops are killed in an apparent ambush, the fallout shakes the family of Chief of Detectives Francis Tierney, Sr. (Jon Voight) to its foundation.

The dead cops' boss is elder son Francis, Jr. (Noah Emmerich) and they worked alongside son-in-law Jimmy Egan (Colin Farrell).  Dad soon recruits younger son Ray (Edward Norton) for a task force investigating the killings. 

When Ray unearths evidence that points to police corruption and the involvement of brother-in-law Egan, he's encouraged to look the other way.  Suspended between family and duty, the beleaguered Ray wages an internal struggle with no happy ending.

Director Gavin O'Connor has made an unremittingly dark film.  Most of the seven deadly sins are here including misplaced pride, anger (wrath), despair (sloth), gluttony, and especially greed.  The despair is ubiquitous:  the good suffer along with the wicked.  Francis, Jr.'s wife is dying of cancer; Ray is despondent over his impending divorce; Francis, Sr. drinks too much, and innocent shopkeepers are brutalized by venal cops. 

Even so, the action is fast-paced and addictive; the plot, however dark and derivative, tells an engaging story; and the ensemble cast, led by a taciturn Norton, is solid.  To sum up, it's not "Serpico," but it's worth seeing. 

Military.com Rating: ***

(DVD extras include a comprehensive documentary: "Source of Pride: The Making of Pride and Glory.")

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"The Lucky Ones," DVD-2009 ($27.98, Lionsgate)

Hollywood still doesn't get it.  After a plethora of well-publicized failures--the toxic "Redacted," the pretentious "Lions and Lambs," the regrettable "War, Inc.," et.al.--the left/liberal elite that dominates la-la land continues to grind out Iraq War movies that nobody wants to see. 

This is the latest, and while it's better than most, it still misses the essential point badly.  The great majority of today's troops are not victims of a misguided and unpopular war.  They are professionals, understand the threat facing this country, and accept the heavy burden of two, three, and more deployments.  That's why reenlistment rates among the active-duty military are at such high levels. 

Here, three returning Iraq War soldiers bond during a cross-country road trip to Las Vegas.  The three--Colee (Rachel McAdams), TK (Michael Pena), and Cheever (Tim Robbins)--find themselves stranded in a New York airport when a blackout cancels most flights.  Facing a two-day wait, they agree to share a rental van to St. Louis where Cheever's wife and son wait.  From there TK and Colee plan to catch a flight to Vegas where Colee is delivering a guitar and TK is seeing a specialist about his war injury.

All three are already victims of the war: Colee was wounded in the leg in an attack that killed her boyfriend; TK was wounded in the groin by an IED and is at least temporarily impotent; and Cheever was injured when a portable latrine fell on him.  But, they are "the lucky ones."  Draw your own conclusions. 

Their victimization continues as they progress across the country: college girls make fun of Colee's limp; TK frets that his fiancé will leave him when she discovers his impairment.  Cheever's not home five minutes when his wife announces that she wants a divorce.  It seems that separation didn't make her heart grow fonder. 

So, with nowhere to go, Cheever rejoins his new buddies in the van for the trip further west. Along the way, Colee recruits a trio of "sex workers" to try to cure TK.  The Army doctors couldn't do it; maybe a whore can.  Why not try Viagra?  For product placement, if nothing else. 

The three amigos finally make it to Vegas where they all have important decisions to make. 

Writer/director Neil Burger likely thinks that he's made a soldier-friendly movie instead of a condescending one.  That's because, like most of Hollywood, he doesn't get it. 

Despite its anti-soldier bias, there are some good things here.  First, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously.  Light moments alternate with darker ones.  As a road/buddy movie, it's formulaic but fun.  The characters are interesting, there are some compelling situations, and the ever-changing scenery is striking.  Pena and Robbins are adequate and the radiant McAdams is excellent as the needy Colee. 

Military.com Rating: ** ½

(DVD extras include a featurette: "A Look Inside The Lucky Ones.")

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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 2012 by Tom Miller