The flicks available on DVD this week include two of my top 10 of 2010.
The slow but rewarding “Never Let Me Go” is the dramatic offering that should be seen by everyone this week. The film is director Mark Romanek’s and writer Alex Garland’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s science fiction tome. A thinking person’s science fiction movie, it stars Carey Milligan, Keira Knightley, and the new Spider Man Andrew Garfield. The story concerns a world where beings are created and raised to be harvested for their organs. The cold and very civilized telling of the otherwise outlandish story feels horribly real. Few movies had as much heart as “Never Let Me Go” in 2010.
Although it was not recognized by the Academy with an Oscar nomination, “The Tillman Story” was my pick for the best documentary of 2010. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (“My Kid Could Paint That”) the film takes a very intimate look at Pat Tillman’s decision to leave the NFL an enlist in the military. Ultimately Pat Tillman lost his life in a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan. The cover-up by the military and the government was a national embarrassment, and while “The Tillman Story” reminds us of that sorry moment in our nation’s history, the real story here is one man’s commitment to his principles.
Also in release for your home viewing enjoyment is “Let Me In,” the scary remake of “Let The Right One In.” Watch this one for no other reason than to see young actress Chloe Moretz’ second surprising performance of 2010. While she’s already signed up to reprise the role of Hit Girl in the irreverent sounding “Kick Ass ” sequel, I’m keenly interested in her involvement in the upcoming Martin Scorsese movie “Hugo Cabret.” That period film set in 1930s Paris is due out this December.
The indie “District 9” like creature feature “Monsters” is finally out of DVD. Some critics liked that film so much it made their top ten of the year. “Monsters” stars Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy and descriptions comparing it to “Before Sunrise” are wholly accurate. To be honest, I found “Monsters” a little slow, but in an intelligent way. The script from what I read was largely improvised. And I do hope that the exposure McNairy got from this film helps pull him out of commercials and into a more prominent place in movies.
The stern “Conviction” rolls out on DVD today as well. I found “Conviction” to be a bit somber but well-acted and the story of a man wrongfully convicted of murder worthy of feature film treatment. However, star power alone (with the likes of Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Melissa Leo, and Minnie Driver) can’t shake the feeling that this movie would be right at home on the Lifetime channel.