Home Media Magazine - February 24, 2008 - (Page 26) REVIEWS I EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION Prebook 2/26; Street 3/25 BFS, Drama, $24.98 DVD. Stars Andy Serkis, Omar Berdouni. www.homemediamagazine.com I n last year’s Hollywood film Rendition, the process of extraordinary rendition was explored in dramatic form, with Jake Gyllenhaal playing an inexperienced CIA analyst finding himself unexpectedly in charge of a brutal interrogation of a suspected terrorist. The film in effect challenged the practice of transporting, interrogating and torturing suspected terrorists without benefit of due process. Filmed before that was Extraordinary Rendition, a British film with similar themes and presenting similar moral challenges. Berdouni plays a London college professor of Middle Eastern descent who asks his class to consider the necessity of human rights and examine issues from all sides. One day, the professor is whisked from the streets, spirited by plane to an unknown location where he is chained inside a storage shed. Mysterious men show up occasionally to verbally batter him with only vague hints of their intentions. He is then taken to a faraway country and imprisoned and forced to answer the questions of a determined interrogator, played by Serkis. After it’s apparent that his captors desire the prisoner name names as much as admit any guilt himself, the professor is unceremoniously dumped somewhere close to home, bruised and emotionally battered, where he must now begin to put the pieces of his life back together, still scared and uncertain about what exactly just happened to him. Extraordinary Rendition is an often brutal and compelling story — a psychological drama that isn’t afraid to show the torture it charges goes on during such incidents. Though difficult to watch, it features some strong acting, especially in the quietly devastating scenes between Berdouni and Serkis. Special features include a making-of documentary, trailer, filmographies and an interview with director Jim Threapleton and Berdouni that explores many of the film’s darker themes and implications. – Dan Bennett I WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY Prebook 2/27; Street 3/25 Lionsgate, Comedy, B.O. $0.4 million, $26.98 DVD, ‘R’ for language and disturbing content involving suicide. Stars Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Will Arnett, Tom Waits, Leslie Bibb, Abraham Benrubi, Azura Skye, Jake Busey, Shea Whigham. A romantic dark comedy about a sort of afterlife for people who commit suicide, Wristcutters has, at once, both something for everyone and a selfinflicted case of sabotaging its chances of ever finding a wide audience. In his English-language feature debut, Croatian writer-director Goran Dukic brings a European arthouse sensibility and fiercely independent vision to a distinctly American landscape. The story, adapted from a short story by Israeli writer Etgar Keret, focuses on Zia (Fugit), who, despondent over his lot in life and a romantic setback, ends it all only to find himself apparently damned to eternity in a washed out wasteland that curiously resembles many postsuburban sprawl semi-rural towns and several long, lonely stretches of crum- bling highway. He soon befriends Eugene (Whigham), an intense Russian wouldbe rock star who electrocuted himself onstage in response to a heckler. Zia begins to make his way through his new existence. But in the afterworld life is, by nature, sort of meaningless, or at least pointless until he learns that the ex-girlfriend who inspired his trip to the grave has taken her own life. He sets off to find her and seek some sort of resolution to a situation which seems to have already achieved finality. Heading on a metaphysical and literal roadtrip, Zia and Eugene pick up Mikal (Sossamon), a young woman who insists on trying to come back to life because her suicide was accidental, as well as the wise and weary Kneller (Waits), a spiritual leader in a commune of deep thinkers whose spirituality plays by a whole different set of rules. When you’re dead, you’re dead, right? So, what’s the point of love? Wristcutters poses these questions with a pitchblack wit and style to spare. – David Greenberg Q U I C K TAK E Not Quite Home Video Those interested in the art of filmmaking will appreciate The Amateurs, a witty indie comedy that deserves to be seen. First-time director Michael Traeger, who also wrote the screenplay based on his own life’s reflection, breaks down the fourth wall with a story about a group of friends in a small town hoping to make their mark by making an amateur adult film. Jeff Bridges stars as their leader, Andy, a lovable loser desperate to find some success in life and impress his son. It’s as if The Dude had turned his life around and styled himself a poor man’s Jackie Treehorn (yes, that’s a Big Lebowski reference). Traeger deftly balances zany hilarity with surprising sweetness, with a great cast that includes William Fichtner, Joe Pantoliano, Lauren Graham and Patrick Fugit. The DVD, recently released from First Look Studios at $28.98 and on HD DVD and Bluray at $34.98, includes a photo album from Jeff Bridges, a behind-the-scenes featurette and a commentary. – John Latchem 26 Home Media Magazine February 24–March 1, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.undoingmovie.com http://www.indicanpictures.com http://www.indicanpictures.com http://www.undoingmovie.com
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