DVD 1/26/10: The Escapist, Surrogates, Pontypool, Pawn Stars S1, The Boys Are Back, Saw VI, WWII in HD, MI-5 V7, Top Gear V11 & V12, Country’s Greatest Stars Live V1 & V2
The Escapist (NR, 2008, IFC Films)
Is there room for another no-nonsense prison escape film in a world that’s already seen so many? If it receives the level of care this one receives, then yes, yes there is. “The Escapist” could not play it straighter in the plot department: An aging prisoner (Brian Cox) wants out of a London penitentiary when he learns his daughter is terminally ill, and he’ll form whatever alliances he deems necessary to make it outside. The film steers similarly clear of gimmickry and contrived plot twisting when moving from the planning stage to the eventual attempt. All that energy instead goes toward assembling a roster of deeply engaging characters (Damian Lewis, Seu Jorge, Joseph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Liam Cunningham, Steven Mackintosh) who embody characteristics one expects from hardened convicts while still managing to avoid the usual stereotypes and pratfalls that undermine so many prison films. Their interesting respective constructions provide more than enough ammunition for “The Escapist’s” own unique construction, and the little things that formulate these characters translate into the little scenes — shaky alliances, brilliant plans-within-plans, egos butting heads and, of course, things that fall apart — that make this simple but acutely intelligent film so much fun to watch in spite of its modest aims. Just be sure to give it your undivided attention: Though it plays it straight, “The Escapist” jumps between chronologies and continually hinges on minute details, and it expects everyone watching to keep up while it does.
Extras: Deleted scenes, making-of feature.
Surrogates (PG-13, 2009, Touchstone)
Hollywood’s sci-fi wing has continually screwed things up when it comes to imagining a future in which humans exhange their real existences for a virtual reality that inevitably goes awry. So it’s worth noting that “Surrogates,” while no picture of logical impregnability itself, at least manages to screw up less than most of its contemporaries eventually do. As often happens, “Surrogates” gets a little lost when things go awry, and in an attempt to quell the volcano of narrative contradictions that erupts, the film devolves into a typical thriller with sci-fi leanings instead of a sci-fi movie with a few thrills. Predictable twists arrive on schedule, and even if you can’t guess them, you likely will recognize them from any number of other movies. But these problems, while unfortunate, arrive after “Surrogates” has taken us pretty deep into the world it has constructed. And that world — including 14 years of history the film skillfully sums up within its first four minutes — is too intriguing to completely succumb to the formulaic twists and plot gaps that follow. All that scrambling still keeps “Surrogates” from being all it could’ve been, but what ultimately emerges (including an ending that rights the ship and pays off nicely) still provides a more interesting look at a worst-case-scenario future than most movies can assemble without making a much bigger mess. Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe and Ving Rhames star.
Extras: Director commentary, music video.
Pontypool (NR, 2008, IFC Films)
Making a refreshingly original zombie movie was tough enough five years ago, and it would seem to be borderline unimaginable after the recent glut of re-imaginations, spoofs and also-rans. So let’s hear it for “Pontypool,” which pulls it off by simultaneously reinventing and sidestepping the conventions that blazed its way. “Pontypool” overwhelmingly takes place in one room — a smallish-town Ontario radio station — and it almost constantly trains its sights on three station employees (Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle and Georgina Reilly) who are as normal as normal gets in this genre. Spilling the details of how that transforms into an original, slyly funny but legitimately creepy monster movie is to spoil the fun of watching it happen, and explaining the new ideas “Pontypool” puts in play to make it all happen would be similarly counterproductive. So let’s just say, without saying too much, that it works surprisingly well. “Pontypool” divides its priorities between smart, fun character development and a story that gradually but unmistakably bubbles to a boil, and the result could scarcely do more with so little.
Extras: Filmmaker commentary, original CBC radio show, three short films (“Eve,” “Dad Dum” and “The Death of Chet Baker”).
Pawn Stars: Season One (NR, 2009, History)
The History Channel has become thoroughly overrun with reality shows that seemingly have nothing to do with history, so one would be forgiven for dismissing the cheekily-named “Pawn Stars” — which looks in on the day-to-day dealings of a three-generation, family-run pawn shop in Las Vegas — as just another show in legion with those shows about truck drivers and fishermen. But while “Stars” is as much about the personalities of the grandfather, father and son running the store as it is anything else, it nonetheless manages to slip in a pretty hearty education about the services pawn shops provide. Turns out, the pawn shop has a pretty interesting history — and not simply as the vestige for drug addicts and thieving scoundrels that television and movies regularly portray it to be. And because a number of high-end collectors bring their wares to the Harrison family’s shop, any given episode of “Stars” can detour into history lessons about military-grade weapons, music, sports, autographs and pretty much anything else capable of churning out a good antique. The family dynamic is straight out of “American Chopper,” the lessons not far removed from “Antiques Roadshow,” and the sum total educates as much as it entertains.
Contents: 14 episodes, plus bonus footage and two behind-the-scenes features.
The Boys Are Back (PG-13, 2009, Miramax)
Clive Owen is one of those effortlessly likable actors who often makes a movie better than it might otherwise be were someone else at the helm. That’s good news for “The Boys Are Back,” because, all good intentions and heartwarming results aside, it needs the help. “Back” stars Owen as Joe, a twice-married, two-time parent who suddenly finds himself alone with youngest son Artie(Nicholas McAnulty) after wife and mother Katy (Laura Fraser) passes away. That, skeletally speaking, is pretty much the full gist of it, too. Joe struggles with single parenthood, Artie struggles to understand and cope with his mother’s death, Joe’s older son (George MacKay) and first marriage enter the picture, and the story does what stories do. But while “Back” has its share of well-written moments, those moments take the film backward and sideways as often as they do forward. The mood repeatedly shifts from hopeful to dour and back, and too many of those shifts feel like repeated motions under different guises but with similar results. Good performances and a thoughtful script offer some semblance of payoff, and Owen’s presence at the center of it all alleviates some of the frustration brought on by the spinning wheels. But viewers waiting for “Back” to turn a corner and stay on track might be too weary to appreciate it when it finally happens.
Extras: 16-minute behind-the-scenes photographic feature (with optional director commentary), one other behind-the-scenes feature.
Saw VI: Director’s Cut (NR, 2009, Lions Gate)
It’s strangely fitting, however unintentional, that the downward spiral “Saw” has endured since the great first film has been as metaphorically torturous as most of the traps the Jigsaw Killer (Tobin Bell) sets for his victims in any given “Saw” film. “Saw VI” deserves some credit for being better than the pointlessly awful film it succeeds, and it’s only fair to acknowledge that the sixth “Saw” film to appear in a five-year span is good about bringing back old faces and closing plotlines the previous films opened. Problem is, those storylines are so completely bland that it’s conceivable to have seen all six movies and retain no memory of why Jigsaw’s legacy lives on three films after he died — or even how the first film’s simplicity of message degenerated into a muddy story about legacies in the first place. “VI” strives to recharge its relevance by centering itself around greedy insurance company executives and the health care issue, but if it’s really trying to send a message here (and you get the feeling, some attempts at humor aside, that it is) it’s thoroughly ill-equipped to actually do so. Considering yet another “Saw” movie is in development for yet another October, the posturing about everything coming full circle feels similarly pointless. All “Saw” has left are its trap designs, but past the first scene, even those have run out of gas.
Extras: In a tactic to emphasize the full-circle theme (or, more cynically, in a desperate plea to kickstart the franchise’s DVD sales), Lions Gate includes the superior “Saw I” DVD as a bonus feature. Extras relating to “VI” include filmmakers commentary, writers/director commentary, two behind-the-scenes features and feature about the “Saw: Game Over” maze at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Worth a Mention
— “WWII in HD” (NR, 2010, History): New footage of World War II seems to emerge from vaults on an annual basis, so what makes History’s “WWII in HD” so special? The answer lies in the wholly utilitarian name: The footage is in color, and because it was shot on film and since has been restored, it’s presented here in true high definition. If images of the war fascinate you on any level whatsoever, this seven-hour document is not to be missed. Available both in DVD and, for an experience of the most eye-popping kind, Blu-ray. Extras include two behind-the-scenes features and profiles of the people featured in the footage.
— Latest British TV on DVD: The BBC’s newest wave of DVDs includes the seventh volume of the excellent espionage thriller “MI-5″ (think “24″ without Jack Bauer or the ticking clock, but with considerably more respect for logic). The set includes all eight season seven episodes, plus commentary, a behind-the-scenes documentary and two shorter behind-the-scenes features. Also out: volumes 11 and 12 of “Top Gear,” which for car fanatics has no equal that merits any kind of comparison. “The Complete Season 11″ features six episodes but no extras, while “The Complete Season 12″ includes eight episodes plus commentary, deleted scenes, some extended cuts, an extended interview with London Mayor (and “Gear” guest star) Boris Johnson and a photo gallery.
— “Country’s Greatest Stars Live: Volume One” and “Country’s Greatest Stars Live: Volume Two” (NR, 1978, Shout Factory): With respect to fans of what passes for country today, the best collection of country music to release so far in 2010 probably sits on these DVD sets, which collect 86 performances (35 on volume one, 51 on volume two) from the likes of Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, Merle Haggard and numerous others who descended on the Grand Ole Opry House for a seven-hour tribute in 1978. Glen Campbell, Dolly Parton and Roy Clark (all of whom also perform) handle hosting duties on volume one, while Charley Pride, Tennesse Ernie Ford, Crystal Gayle and Eddy Arnold (same) emcee volume two.