Best Movie Releases of January 2010

Best Film of the Month – The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker, with its adept ability to depict the realities of war, its gorgeous slow-motion scenes, and its paralyzing suspense, is, by far, the best film of the month. At times, during this captivating film, I could feel the heat and dryness of the desert sand, the anxiety of being inches away from a deadly explosive, the heartbreak of losing a fellow comrade, and, despite all the danger and uncertainty, the euphoria of having the ability and confidence to do what you love. Powerful, emotional, and exceedingly suspenseful, The Hurt Locker should not be missed!

Watch the Trailer  |  Buy the Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon


'Under the Radar' Film of the Month – The Escapist

The Escapist is a not a typical prison escape film... it's much better! With its "Twilight Zone"-style ending and its enthralling characters and story, this film easily receives my pick for 'under the radar' film of the month. In the film, a con, serving a life sentence, learns that his estranged daughter has fallen terminally ill. He then enlists the help of some other inmates—who each have unique and useful skills—and, together, they plot their escape. Tense and dramatic throughout, this film should not be ignored. Unfortunately, however, I know many people will not like the ending. Probably the same people who dislike the ending to No Country for Old Men. I, for one, love open endings, which allow me to ponder the fate of the characters of a film. I don't need, nor want, every loose end in a film spelled out for me. If you feel the same way, watch this film soon!

Watch the Trailer  |  Buy the DVD from Amazon

Before I move on to the next category, I wanted to mention a few more 'under the radar' films I enjoyed this month: Bright Star (Watch the Trailer); Trucker (Watch the Trailer); and, last year's Academy Award winner for best foreign language film, Departures (Watch the Trailer). I predict, in the months to come, this 'under the radar' section will become my favorite category. And with that, it could be challenging to pick just one film. So, like this month, I will mention any other films that, I feel, may have been overlooked, but deserve to be seen by a wider audience.


Blu-ray of the Month – Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas, one of my top 10 favorite films, has been given a first-class Blu-ray release, thanks to the Criterion Collection. The picture quality is magnificent; the audio quality, exquisite; and the supplements, bountiful! The talent that created this film, for me, is dreamlike. It is directed by Wim Wenders; written by, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Sam Shepard; and stars Harry Dean Stanton. I love what these three gentlemen create separately. But when all three came together, back in the early 1980s, to create one film, it was destined to become a cinematic masterpiece. I am thrilled to own this film on Blu-ray. As I now love it even more—though, I didn't know that was possible!

Visit the Criterion Collection  |  Buy the Blu-ray or DVD from Amazon


DVD of the Month – Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy

The Criterion Collection finally reached spine number 500 with this three film set, which includes Rome Open City, Paisan, and Germany Year Zero. The more well-known of the three, Rome Open City, had previously been released on an atrocious DVD, which had extensive damage and large amounts of the dialog not even subtitled! However, all of this is now in the past, as the picture quality has never looked better, and the subtitles are now complete. (To see how much Criterion has improved these films, check out the comparisons on DVDBeaver.) Knowing the terrible quality of the previous DVDs, I was waiting for the day that these films were given a proper release, before ever attempting to watch them. Now, with that proper release finally available, I couldn't wait to watch each film.
The first film in the set is Rome Open City. Many times, I've heard this film being touted as one of the most influential films ever made. As usual, I was skeptical of such a proclamation. But after watching the film, I completely agree! With the creation of this film, the director, Roberto Rossellini, became known as one of the originators—if not the originator—of Italian neorealism. [From Wikipedia, "Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors. Italian neorealist films mostly contend with the difficult economical and moral conditions of post-World War II Italy, reflecting the changes in the Italian psyche and the conditions of everyday life: poverty and desperation."] In addition to being widely influential to any or all movies which came after, I can, specifically, see Rome Open City being influential to any subsequent World War II Resistance movie. Recently, I have noticed how much I really enjoy World War II Resistance movies—including older films such as Army of Shadows, and newer films such as Black Book and Flame and Citron. Now I wonder, would any of these films be as good, if not for Rome Open City, which was made well before any of them, back in 1945? Needless to say, I loved this film and highly recommend it!
The next film in the set is Paisan, which means "friend" or "fellow countryman." This film is much different than the previous, as this one is composed of six independent episodes. The only similarity of the episodes is that they show what life was like for American or British soldiers in Italy during WWII. All of the episodes were interesting. My favorite was episode 1, my least favorite—though not bad at all—was episode 2, with the rest falling somewhere in between.
The final film in the set is Germany Year Zero. This time, the setting is in Berlin, Germany, not long after WWII has ended. The narrative of the film follows a young boy, and his interactions with his family, and other various people, who live in the war ravaged city. Sadly, he, his family, and the other people around him are all struggling to survive the lack of food, jobs, and shelter; all the while, attempting to return their lives and city back to normal.
This is a great DVD set. I can only imagine the extensive amount of restoration work that went into these three films, but it was well worth the effort.

Visit the Criterion Collection  |  Buy the DVD from Amazon

For information about the criteria I use to choose the best movie releases of the month, please read my other blog post, located here.