Cairo Time (Blu-ray) CityNews.ca Pick of the Week -
Upon arriving in Cairo to meet her husband (who works for the UN),
Juliette (Patricia Clarkson) is informed he has been held up at his
base in Gaza and will not be able to meet her for a few days. Instead
of spending the time alone she befriends Tareq (Alexander Siddig), an
acquaintance of her husband's who lives in Cairo. During their time
sightseeing together Tareq and Juliette begin to have feelings for one
another. Will their new friendship become more than they anticipated or
will they control their feelings and go their separate ways? Cairo Time
is an all-around beautiful film with some wonderful performances and a
very strong script. The Blu-ray release is well worth checking out as
it shows off the background visuals of Egypt much better than the
regular DVD. Special features include a making-of featurette, commentary with director Ruba Nadda, Q&A with Clarkson and Siddig, plus more. Film **** Blu-ray **** (out of
5 stars).
Big Fan - Paul (Patton Oswalt) is a huge New
York Giants fan. He calls into the local sports radio show to talk
about them nightly, never misses a game, and worships his favourite
player, Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm). At 36 years old and working
as a parking attendant and still living in his mother's house, football
is the one thing that he lives for. So when he approaches Bishop at a
bar one night to tell him he's a big fan, and Bishop and his posse beat
him senseless, he refuses to press charges. Big Fan is a dark,
weird film written and directed by Robert Siegel (who previously wrote
The Wrestler). Seeing Oswalt shed his funny sidekick routine to play
the obsessed Paul is quite a refreshing role that I didn't expect from
him. Ninety per cent of the film works but that last ten per cent is a
major letdown that makes it hard to recommend the film to anyone other
than big sports fans. Special features include a Q&A with Oswalt
and Siegal, outtakes, a downloadable poster, an interview with Terry
Gross from NPR's Fresh Air with Oswalt and Siegel, plus more. Film *** DVD *** (out of 5 stars).
Che: Special Collector's Edition (Blu-ray) - Steven Soderbergh's two-part masterpiece about revolutionary Che Guevara (portrayed by Benicio Del Toro). In Part 1: The Argentine we see him battle in the Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro (portrayed by Demián Bichir) and in Part 2: Guerrilla
we follow his life to Bolivia where he starts the Latin American
Revolution. Soderbergh spares no details as each part is 135 minutes
long but seeing Del Toro deliver what is arguably the best performance
of his career will keep you mesmerized. My recommendation is to take a
Saturday afternoon where you'll have no distractions and watch the full
film. The Blu-ray set has an amazing image and features interviews with
Del Toro, Soderbergh, and Che expert John Lee Anderson. Film ****
Blu-ray **** (out of 5 stars).
Pandorum - When Earth
becomes
overpopulated in the future, a ship with thousands of passengers on
board (including crew and civilians) is sent out to inhabit another
planet. Over the course of the mission something goes wrong, and that's
where the film begins. Waking from hyper-sleep, Corporal Bower (Ben
Foster) has no memory of who or where he is. Bower's lieutenant, Payton
(Dennis Quaid), wakes next and the two of them try to piece it all
together as their memory slowly returns. The visual and sound effects
are good, I give it that. If this
was a video game it would be
groundbreaking but as a film it lacked something and didn't grab me as
I had hoped it would. Special features include a behind-the-scenes
featurette, commentary with director Christian Alvart, deleted scenes,
plus more. Also available on Blu-ray. Film ** DVD ** (out of 5 stars).
Whiteout (Blu-ray) - Nothing. That's what Whiteout
made me feel -- absolutely nothing. I would have rather watched snow
for an hour and a half on my television set instead of sitting through
this mess. It's so bad I'm not even going to tell you what it's about.
The graphic novel it's based on is worthy of your money but the film is
not. Special features include additional scenes, two behind-the-scenes
featurettes, and a digital copy of the film. Film * Blu-ray * (out of 5
stars).
Across the Hall (Blu-ray) - Terry (Danny Pino)
believes his wife June (Brittany Murphy) is having an affair. One night
he follows her to a hotel and gets the room directly across the hall so
he can find out who the guy is and kill him. He calls his friend Julian
(Mike Vogel), who has a connection to the hotel, to come help him
finish the job. Across the Hall is a decent thriller that
borrows its cinematography, score, and story from other films, which is
fine, because it works. First time writer-director Alex Mekin is
obviously a fan of Hitchcock too and if nothing else I'm curious to see
what he follows this up with. Special features include a making-of
featurette, interviews and the trailer for film. Film *** Blu-ray **
(out of 5 stars).
The Invention of Lying (Blu-ray) - Imagine a world where lying doesn't exist and people say everything
that is on their minds (hurtful or not). Now imagine that it's the
basis of a movie written, co-directed and starring Ricky Gervais, the
funny Brit behind the BBC shows The Office and Extras.
Then add in the
fact that Gervais's character Mark can actually lie and people,
naturally, believe everything he says (since lying doesn't exist).
Makes you smile just thinking about it, right? Unfortunately, it
doesn't work and gets annoying after the first 30 minutes. If this was
a sitcom it could have been something but as a feature film it's a
major yawn. Special features include video podcasts from Gervais and
co-writer/director Matthew Robinson, a making-of featurette, a digital
copy of the film, plus more. Film ** Blu-ray *** (out of 5 stars).
Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (Blu-ray) - This straight-to-DVD release holds nothing to the first Smokin' Aces when it comes to action, fun or story. I actually found Assassins' Ball to
be shockingly boring and plain. The good news is that it comes in a set
with the first film which is a major guilty pleasure of mine. Special
features include behind the scenes footage, deleted scenes, commentary
with director Joe Carnahan, plus more. Film ** Blu-ray ** (out of 5
stars).
More New DVD releases this week: The Bourne
Identity (Blu-ray), The Bourne Supremacy (Blu-ray), Artie Lange: Jack
& Coke, Magnolia (Blu-ray), Fifty Dead Men Walking
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
Top image: Patton Oswalt and Kevin Corrigan in Big Fan. Courtesy VSC.