DVD 6/9/09: Gran Tornio, Ibid, Sisterhood, The Cleaner S1, Spinning into Butter, Baby on Board, Reaper S2, Woodstock DC
Gran Tornio (R, 2008, Warner Bros.)
Few actors do indignation quite like Clint Eastwood, and his turn as grumpy widower Walt Kowalski — whose distrust of all things non-white is on full display with the increased diversification of his neighborhood — is as good as any he’s ever taken. About the only thing the man seems to live for anymore is the film’s eponymous automobile, which he keeps pristinely under wraps in his garage, and it’s only when that situation faces unwanted change that Walt himself might have to do the same. There’s really only one way “Gran Torino” can go, and it’s pretty clear, once two of Walt’s neighbors (Bee Vang as Thao, Ahney Her as Sue) emerge as self-standing (and instantly engaging) characters, which general direction that is. But “Torino” is predictable only in the most abstract sense, and the constant threat of redemption serves more as source of comfort than a pending spoiler. It’s from the thoughtful details — of not only Walt’s life, but those of Thao, Sue and all their worlds entail — where “Torino’s” story really is told. Nothing Walt does feels terribly unforeseen when it happens, but that’s merely a testament to how skillful the film is in the brick-by-brick construction of its characters. Every word and tick, and every reaction and retaliation those words and ticks inspire, feels deliberate and handled with care, and each compounds all that preceded it to create a film that is, all the way to the credits, more satisfying with every passing minute.
Extras: Two behind-the-scenes features, digital copy.
Ibid (NR, 2008, IndiePix)
Some movies completely telegraph their intentions well before the halfway mark has even arrived. Others demand a more careful viewing. And then there are the films that, even if you devour every frame with your undivided attention, may nonetheless demand a second viewing before it all makes sense. And then, beyond all that and deep inside a forest few filmmakers or filmgoers dare tread, lies “Ibid,” which finds two mental patients (Christian Campbell as Lionel, Russell Friedenberg as Tin) busting out of their ward in hopes of both giving dramatic life to a script Lionel has written and getting to the bottom of the rather harrowing journey that is their own two lives. There’s a hostage (Heather Rae), some other mental patients on the prowl, the possible appearance of God himself, and a pursuit force that follows the script better than Lionel and Tin themselves do. Say what? Exactly. “Ibid” is a crazed, shameless, fearless mess of humanity, existentialism, demon slaying and narrative and stylistic non-sequiturs run absolutely wild. Arguably — very, very arguably — it also makes complete sense. “Ibid” completely blurs the lines between the script, the script within the script, and the separate principles of fact and fiction within the world. At no point does it explain these lines, either. That’s left up to you, the viewer, to mold and interpret your own way — a ridiculous proposition for 95 percent of us and a completely tantalizing cerebral dare for all who remain.
Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews, behind-the-scenes feature.
Sisterhood (NR, 2008, Cinevolve)
Catherine’s (Isabelle Defaut) mom and Shirley’s (Emily Corcoran) mom are both, within minutes of “Sisterhood’s” arrival, fatally electrocuted by separate but equally faulty vacuum cleaners. And while Catherine and Shirley don’t realize it or even know each other, this not-quite coincidence isn’t where their ties end. (Consider the title a clue.) Like just about any other movie you’ve ever seen about long-lost siblings, “Sisterhood” has some wacky ideas about what happens when a cultured, big-city sibling is forced to contend with a sister who can’t even walk in heels without risking a fractured tibia. “Sisterhood” also is fearlessly British in the “Benny Hill” vein, substituting ear-ratting screams and muscle-tearing mugs where most comedies would settle for grimaces and heads in hands. On its own and with nothing else to keep it going, that would probably prove a bit painful. But the dead moms and faulty vacs are merely the tip of a darkly comic iceberg that, in addition to giving the girls the extra dimension they need, rolls out the carpet for a show-stealing third character (Nicholas Ball as the girls’ father) who gives the film itself the extra dimension it needs. The mix of broad and dark comedy works strangely well in spite of “Sisterhood” never even trying to gel the two, and that’s all the film needs to sidestep the usual odd couple trappings and emerge rather magnificently as its own creation.
Extras: Interviews, six behind-the-scenes features, photo gallery.
The Cleaner: The First Season (NR, 2008, CBS/Paramount)
Sometimes it’s worse when a show comes close instead of misses entirely. And “The Cleaner” comes close on so many levels. The premise — recovering drug addict William Banks (Benjamin Bratt) uses his experience and the literal help of God himself to save other would-be addicts from themselves in conventional ways — is pretty cool. The cases are fairly compelling, as are resolutions. But “The Cleaner” can neither leave well enough alone nor build on it from the inside out. William’s a moderately interesting character, but rarely more than that. His cast mates (Grace Park, Kevin Michael Richardson, Esteban Powell, Amy Price-Francis, Brett DelBuono, Liliana Mumy) generally fare worse as forgettable archetypes too often forced to spout attitudinal but completely empty drivel when it’s their turn to speak. “The Cleaner” wastes too much energy building an edge that obscures rather than alludes to the story it’s trying to tell at the same time. All that posturing doesn’t completely undermine those situations and the premise at large, but it most definitely keeps the show from being all it could have been.
Contents: 13 episodes, plus commentary, interviews, two behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes, bloopers, music excerpts.
Spinning into Butter (R, 2007, Screen Media Films)
Spirited debate and beautiful scenery are two of a long list of things that shouldn’t inspire feelings of depression. But there’s just something unintentionally funereal about “Spinning Into Butter,” which takes us to the campus of a prestigious and picturesque Vermont college that finds itself making news after a student (Paul James) receives a handful of anonymous racial threats. “Butter” unspools itself largely from the perspective of the college’s second-year dean (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose own brush with racial tension led her to Vermont from Chicago in the first place. Parker herself helps orchestrate some gutsy exchanges with her students, colleagues and especially a reporter (Mykelti Williamson) who has a past of his own. But even when the debate reaches its highest volume, there’s some serious drab in “Butter’s” air. The characters emit a downtrodden aura that runs counter to those fiery exchanges, and there’s an irreconcilable but heavily implied air of hopelessness that seems to envelope the entire campus. All this unspoken glumness gives “Butter” a dated “Movie of the Week” quality it neither wants nor necessarily deserves, and the unfortunate trajectory the story takes in the final act just knocks that notion home. Mykelti Williamson, Beau Bridges and Miranda Richardson also star. No extras.
Baby on Board (R, 2009, National Entertainment Media)
In comedy as in life, it is not advisable to be caught out in the open with your pants down. But that’s where “Baby on Board” finds itself — stranded in a clumsy middle between cute comedy, gross-out comedy, black comedy and a sad attempt at something heartwarming. “Board’s” premise isn’t rocketry: Angela (Heather Graham) and Curtis (Jerry O’Connell) are married and on the precipice of starting a family when a series of misunderstandings separately leads each to believe the other is cheating on them. Their best friends (John Corbett and Katie Finneran) find themselves in the same predicament, and the stage is set for one of those completely unbelievable farces that either darkly or goofily plays on all that disbelief. But “Board” tries instead to be cute and ugly at the same time, and in the resulting self-confusion, it weakly picks scraps from both sides. From that emerges a foursome of unlikable characters — something of an achievement given how likable Graham is by default — that might play if “Board” had the gumption to send the story spiraling down a black-comedy stairwell. But it doesn’t, instead grasping for cutesiness that misfires completely and a resolution that lacks any kind of satisfaction given how little sense these misunderstandings make in the first place. Pity the poor child that would have to grow up in either of these families.
Extras: Director/producer commentary, photo gallery.
Worth a mention
— “Reaper: Season Two” (NR, 2009, Lions Gate): The good news is that there even is a second season of one of the sharpest comedies not nearly enough people are watching. The even better news is that it’s better than the first. The not-so-good news? This might be the last we see of Sam (Bret Harrison), Sock (Tyler Labine) and television’s best-dressed demon (Ray Wise). Includes 13 episodes, plus deleted scenes, bloopers and a making-of feature.
— “Woodstock: 3 Days of Peace & Music: Director’s Cut” (R, 1970, Warner Bros.): Every five years seems like an excuse to trot out some Woodstock anniversary material, and 2009 officially is no different. Available in a two-disc edition and, for Amazon shoppers, an exclusive four-disc collector’s edition with cooler packaging. Extras include hours of bonus performance and interview footage.