What to Watch: Jan. 7-13, 2014

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

What a great start to the year. We’ve got hot stars, big hit TV shows, an indie horror flick that you really must see, an Oscar winner, and two from a legend. Pick your favorites to start 2014. Here’s how I’d rank ‘em…

We Are What We Are
Photo credit: eOne

“We Are What We Are”

Jim Mickle’s Sundance hit is a dark, twisted gem, a film that plays more like a Gothic thriller than a modern horror flick. It’s a wonderful reimagining of the Mexican 2010 film that recasts the Parker clan as a family on the edge of collapse after the matriarch dies in a storm. Struggling to keep their family together, they face the inevitable decay of their disgusting traditions. Mickle takes a giant leap forward with this genre hit, finding a visual sense that has propelled him to the front of the list of young horror directors. His newest, “Cold in July,” premieres in competition at The Sundance Film Festival next week. See this one first.

From my Sundance coverage: “Mickle shows an amazing eye for composition, shooting large chunks of “We Are” with no dialogue, allowing visual storytelling to, pardon the pun, set the table for what’s to come. And when “We Are What We Are” does get to the inevitable chaos, Mickle pulls no punches, staging a climax that Sundance will never forget.”

Synopsis:
The Parkers, a seemingly wholesome and benevolent family, keep to themselves, and for good reason. As they struggle to keep their ancestral customs intact, local authorities begin to uncover clues that bring them closer to the secret that they have held closely for so many years.

Special Features:
o An Acquired Taste: The Making Of We Are What We Are
o Interviews With Director Jim Mickle, Bill Sage and Julia Garner
o Audio Commentary With Cast & Crew

Where to Watch: Blu-ray, DVD, Vudu, Amazon Instant Streaming, iTunes

The Killing Fields
Photo credit: Warner Brothers

“The Killing Fields”

The latest in the line of WB films released in hardcover book editions is Roland Joffe’s multiple Oscar winner, one of the most harrowing war films ever made. Too little is known or reported about the Cambodian uprising in the ’70s and this film pulls no punches in its representation if truly unimaginable horror. The film hasn’t held up quite as well as some of its ’80s peers but it’s still a strong drama that surely has fans that will appreciate the loving treatment given to it by Warner Bros., including a multi-page booklet housed in a well-designed hardcover case.

Synopsis:
Nominated for 7 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and the winner of 3, The Killing Fields is an epic true story of friendship and survival marking its long-awaited hi-def debut on a visually stunning, emotionally powerful Blu-ray. Sam Waterstone plays a correspondent who coverage of Cambodia’s 1975 Khmer Rouge uprising entraps him and other journalists. Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner Dr. Haing S. Ngor - like the hero he plays, a survivor of the “killing fields” - is the reporter’s aide and friend who saves the journalists from execution, but who is later sentenced to labor camps, enduring starvation, torture and the constant threat of death. This Deluxe 30th Anniversary Edition includes a premium 36 page book filled with rare photos, trivia, production history and more.

Special Features:
o Commentary by Director Roland Joffe
o Theatrical Trailer

Where to Watch: Blu-ray

Hail Mary
Photo credit: Cohen Media Group

Cohen Media Group made waves in 2013 with a fascinating series of arthouse hits and foreign films that were given HD upgrades in ways typically reserved for The Criterion Collection. They have started 2014 without missing a beat, pulling two controversial Jean-Luc Godard films from the archives and upgrading them with not just Blu-ray transfers but great, rare special features.

“For Ever Mozart”

Synopsis:
Jean-Luc Goddard’s densely packed rumination on the need to create order and beauty in the world ruled by chaos is divided into four distinct but tangentially related stories, including the attempts by a young group of idealists to stage a play in war-torn Sarajevo and an elderly director’s efforts to complete his film.

Special Features:
o Feature Length Audio Commentary By Senior Programmer For TIFF, Cinematheque and Film Critic James Quandt
o Booklet Essay By Critic/Author Fergus Daly and Hal Hartley Interview With Jean-Luc Goddard
o 2013 Re-Release Trailer

Where to Watch: Blu-ray

“Hail Mary”

Synopsis:
One of the most controversial films of all time by one of the world’s most provocative directors. Hail Mary is Jean-Luc Godard’s retelling of the story of the virgin birth, transposed to modern day and filled with the mundane aspects of any teenage girl’s life. Punctuated by beautiful cinematography and a lush score, it is a surprisingly heartfelt and reverential film by a master filmmaker.

The short The Book Of Mary was originally released with the feature as a companion piece. Directed by long0time Godard collaborator Anne-Marie Mieville, it tells the story of the break-up of a marriage as seen through the eyes of the couple’s young daughter.

Special Features:
o Short Film The Book Of Mary
o Notes On Hail Mary, Jean-Luc Godard’s Video Notebook
o Feature Length Audio Commentary By Director Hal Hartley And Museum Of The Moving Image Chief Curator David Schwartz
o Booklet Essays By Film Critic David Sterritt and Boston University Lecturer Charles Warren
o Trailers

Where to Watch: Blu-ray