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Dailies (DVD)—April 2007
A roundup of the current best and rest in film. In this installment: Entourage: Season Three, Part 1; The Departed, Borat, Troy, Match Point.
Entourage: Season Three, Part 1 (Warner Bros, $39.95)
Riding a wave of good fortune, Season Three of HBO’s Entourage picks up where its fictional A-list movie star, Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), left off: as the egregiously handsome superhero lead in James Cameron’s mega-budget adaptation of Aquaman. On opening weekend, Vince and the boys sweat it out while everyone’s favourite power-mongering agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), paces the room for pending news on the film’s box office receipts. As the scriptwriters see it, not even Spiderman’s record gross stands in the way of Vince’s success; soon, he’s in talks with Warner Bros. for Aquaman 2, Crash-hack Paul Haggis for Medellín: The Pablo Escobar Story, and eccentric producer Bob Ryan (Martin Landau), a thinly veiled imitation of Robert Evans, here touting a Ramones script that’s too good to be true. As with previous seasons of Entourage, this latest (like The Sopranos, split into two halves) does not stray from the deal brokering and studio politicking that binds it so closely to the currency of Variety’s headlines, while its active commentary on the surplus and wealth posturing of Tinseltown’s rich and famous is as relevant, if indifferent as ever (when Vince buys his crew an Aston Martin and Ducati each, we’re not sure whether to scoff at or rejoice in his excess). Elsewhere, it’s business as usual: budding manager Eric (Kevin Connolly) gets to bed down with the gorgeous Sloane (and butts heads with a smug Seth Green), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) still mooches like a pro (despite being on the verge of signing rapper Saigon to a label), Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) continues to embarrass himself with all the best comedy (jerking off before performing a scene in an Ed Burn’s TV pilot is one of them), while Ari Gold, as loud and as obnoxious as ever, still manages to find new uses for the word ‘cock’. Even as a sexist, outwardly vulgar fraternization of Hollywood, Entourage is alarmingly enjoyable – a lifestyle that’s worth watching for guilty kicks, but a wasteful one you’d be mad to want to live for real. The DVD hosts two commentaries (Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara’s chemistry is evident even out of character), while a featurette dedicated to the Season’s blow-out Vegas episode highlights, among others things, the inadvertent authenticity of the show; i.e. in shooting on location or filming one of the entourage’s trademark street-strutting scenes, the actors needn’t worry about stray citizens staring, pointing or hijacking them for an autograph – fortuitously, it all plays for real. New to DVD. (optional English subtitles; Vegas, Baby Vegas! featurette; two audio commentaries).—Tim Wong
The Departed (Warner Bros, $39.95)
Very violent, intense, visceral, and, by its end, surprisingly emotional, The Departed is a loaded gun of a movie. Sleek and adrenalised, even at a weighty 149 minutes, Scorsese fires sweetly. There’s detail, tessellating texture, claret spray and a scorching soundtrack. “Patriot Act. Patriot Act. I love it. I love it. I love it,” Alec Baldwin, on form again, can’t restrain his wolfish glee. It was good to see Maestro Marty finally pick up the HO-cred for this mean streets cracker, which was banned in China. “Don’t laugh this ain’t reality TV,” the script crackles.Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a tough, troubled cop going undercover to bring down dominant Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is one of Frank’s boys, moonlighting as a cop and rising swiftly up the ranks. Both sides are unsuccessfully searching for the rat. Scorsese gives us vulnerability, and vulnerability as erotic. Billy and Colin end up romancing the same woman, Vera Farmiga’s comely shrink, with flavoursome boy-girl banter like “Does it get messy with all those feelings flying around?” New to DVD. (2-disc set; optional English subtitles; nine additional scenes; two documentaries; trailer).—Alexander Bisley
Borat (Roadshow, $34.95)
This fiendishly entertaining investigative journalism grenade charts Borat and Azamat’s road trip across America. In addition to the Borat-Azamat smackdown, there are real lines and scenes you have to see to believe, like the Virginia rodeo. High-five Borat. Cohen’s method acting is mentally and physically fearless. He makes Larry David, Ricky Gervais and Robert De Niro seem like wusses. It’s fun putting the DVD into Russian and Hebrew and there’s a hilarious moment at the Toronto Film Festival where Borat mocks Michael Moore. Another energetic, raunchy laugh out this month is Eddie Murphy: Delirious. New to DVD. (optional English subtitles; deleted and extended scenes; various side-splitting featurettes).—Alexander Bisley
Troy (Warner Bros, $19.95 until 30/4)
Inspired by Homer’s The Iliad, one of the epics, Das Boot’s Wolfgang Peterson directs this vivid and entertaining account of the legendary, brutal war. The Greek siege of Troy is ignited when Prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) runs off with Menelaus, King of Sparta’s wife Helen (German beauty Diana Kruger). The other main players in the fragile Greek coalition led by the warmongering Agamemnon (Brian Cox) are the uber-warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) and the shrewd Odysseus (Sean Bean). In the Trojan corner there’s King Priam (Peter O’ Toole) and his son-prize fighter Hector (Eric Bana). Both sides claim the gods are on their side, though divine intervention is conspicuously absent. Like in Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom’s below par. Cox’s Machiavellian monster is hubris drunk, his macho “bring ‘em on” bluster makes him a man for our times. Bana slices his way across the screen with the assurance and panache he showed in Chopper. The other star of the spectacle is O’Toole. Scenes where he pleads for his son, surveys the menacing advance of the Greek army and watches Troy burn are stirring. There is some piquant dialogue and verbal sparring. “Imagine a King who fights his own battles,” “The greatest force the world has ever seen,” and “No son of Troy will ever submit to a foreign ruler.” The bloody battle scenes furnish brazen, physical shock and awe. You got caught up in the savage, visceral impact of the duels. (I can’t wait for The Odyssey; Martin Scorsese should direct, with Monica Bellucci as Calypso and Scarlett Johansson as Circe). Sure, there are weaknesses I could whinge about, like some overly creative license, some lacklustre and corny scenes and James “Titanic” Horner’s excessive, irksome score, but, why? Finely balancing the intoxicating qualities of war with its overwhelming tragedy and futility, Troy revives a grand story, bringing back colourful characters who craved immortality from the depths of Hades for a new audience. Troy didn’t receive a good critical rap, but I certainly liked it and Salient star reviewer Joe Sheppard described it as “spectacular and magnificent”. Available on DVD. (2-disc set; optional English subtitles; four documentaries; trailer).—Alexander Bisley
Match Point (Warner Bros, $14.95 until 30/4)
Bodice ripper Match Point is as toothsome and crisp as fresh French salad. The voluptuously dark movie’s immoral protagonist is Chris (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a working-class Irish tennis coach, inveigling his way into the hearts and minds of the seriously rich and powerful. He coaches Tom (Matthew Goode), and one thing soon leads to another: He romances and marries Tom’s sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer); their parents (Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton) take an unusual shine to him; he’s chosen for a top role in the family corporation. Scarlett Johansson scorches as Tom’s saucy girlfriend Nola Rice. “Men think I may be something special.” “Are you?” “No one’s ever asked for their money back,” goes the exchange when Chris meets Nola. There’s an instant connection and erotic charge, which develops over their passionate, bodice-ripping affair. Allen is, like Scorsese, indisputably one of the greats. Since 1972’s Play It Again, Sam he’s been writing, directing and acting in hilarious, affecting movies. Many greats fizzle out: the studio system tragically destroyed Buster Keaton, Jean-Luc “The cinema is dead” Godard bogged himself in pretentious egocosmania. The matchless Allen’s got plenty of life in him. And he has a splendiferous new muse in Scar Jo. Where is Scoop? Available on DVD. (optional English subtitles; no special features).—Alexander Bisley
Entourage: Season Three, Part 1 (Warner Bros, $39.95)Riding a wave of good fortune, Season Three of HBO’s Entourage picks up where its fictional A-list movie star, Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), left off: as the egregiously handsome superhero lead in James Cameron’s mega-budget adaptation of Aquaman. On opening weekend, Vince and the boys sweat it out while everyone’s favourite power-mongering agent, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), paces the room for pending news on the film’s box office receipts. As the scriptwriters see it, not even Spiderman’s record gross stands in the way of Vince’s success; soon, he’s in talks with Warner Bros. for Aquaman 2, Crash-hack Paul Haggis for Medellín: The Pablo Escobar Story, and eccentric producer Bob Ryan (Martin Landau), a thinly veiled imitation of Robert Evans, here touting a Ramones script that’s too good to be true. As with previous seasons of Entourage, this latest (like The Sopranos, split into two halves) does not stray from the deal brokering and studio politicking that binds it so closely to the currency of Variety’s headlines, while its active commentary on the surplus and wealth posturing of Tinseltown’s rich and famous is as relevant, if indifferent as ever (when Vince buys his crew an Aston Martin and Ducati each, we’re not sure whether to scoff at or rejoice in his excess). Elsewhere, it’s business as usual: budding manager Eric (Kevin Connolly) gets to bed down with the gorgeous Sloane (and butts heads with a smug Seth Green), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) still mooches like a pro (despite being on the verge of signing rapper Saigon to a label), Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) continues to embarrass himself with all the best comedy (jerking off before performing a scene in an Ed Burn’s TV pilot is one of them), while Ari Gold, as loud and as obnoxious as ever, still manages to find new uses for the word ‘cock’. Even as a sexist, outwardly vulgar fraternization of Hollywood, Entourage is alarmingly enjoyable – a lifestyle that’s worth watching for guilty kicks, but a wasteful one you’d be mad to want to live for real. The DVD hosts two commentaries (Kevin Dillon and Jerry Ferrara’s chemistry is evident even out of character), while a featurette dedicated to the Season’s blow-out Vegas episode highlights, among others things, the inadvertent authenticity of the show; i.e. in shooting on location or filming one of the entourage’s trademark street-strutting scenes, the actors needn’t worry about stray citizens staring, pointing or hijacking them for an autograph – fortuitously, it all plays for real. New to DVD. (optional English subtitles; Vegas, Baby Vegas! featurette; two audio commentaries).—Tim Wong
The Departed (Warner Bros, $39.95)Very violent, intense, visceral, and, by its end, surprisingly emotional, The Departed is a loaded gun of a movie. Sleek and adrenalised, even at a weighty 149 minutes, Scorsese fires sweetly. There’s detail, tessellating texture, claret spray and a scorching soundtrack. “Patriot Act. Patriot Act. I love it. I love it. I love it,” Alec Baldwin, on form again, can’t restrain his wolfish glee. It was good to see Maestro Marty finally pick up the HO-cred for this mean streets cracker, which was banned in China. “Don’t laugh this ain’t reality TV,” the script crackles.Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a tough, troubled cop going undercover to bring down dominant Irish mob boss Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is one of Frank’s boys, moonlighting as a cop and rising swiftly up the ranks. Both sides are unsuccessfully searching for the rat. Scorsese gives us vulnerability, and vulnerability as erotic. Billy and Colin end up romancing the same woman, Vera Farmiga’s comely shrink, with flavoursome boy-girl banter like “Does it get messy with all those feelings flying around?” New to DVD. (2-disc set; optional English subtitles; nine additional scenes; two documentaries; trailer).—Alexander Bisley
Borat (Roadshow, $34.95)This fiendishly entertaining investigative journalism grenade charts Borat and Azamat’s road trip across America. In addition to the Borat-Azamat smackdown, there are real lines and scenes you have to see to believe, like the Virginia rodeo. High-five Borat. Cohen’s method acting is mentally and physically fearless. He makes Larry David, Ricky Gervais and Robert De Niro seem like wusses. It’s fun putting the DVD into Russian and Hebrew and there’s a hilarious moment at the Toronto Film Festival where Borat mocks Michael Moore. Another energetic, raunchy laugh out this month is Eddie Murphy: Delirious. New to DVD. (optional English subtitles; deleted and extended scenes; various side-splitting featurettes).—Alexander Bisley
Troy (Warner Bros, $19.95 until 30/4)Inspired by Homer’s The Iliad, one of the epics, Das Boot’s Wolfgang Peterson directs this vivid and entertaining account of the legendary, brutal war. The Greek siege of Troy is ignited when Prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) runs off with Menelaus, King of Sparta’s wife Helen (German beauty Diana Kruger). The other main players in the fragile Greek coalition led by the warmongering Agamemnon (Brian Cox) are the uber-warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) and the shrewd Odysseus (Sean Bean). In the Trojan corner there’s King Priam (Peter O’ Toole) and his son-prize fighter Hector (Eric Bana). Both sides claim the gods are on their side, though divine intervention is conspicuously absent. Like in Kingdom of Heaven, Bloom’s below par. Cox’s Machiavellian monster is hubris drunk, his macho “bring ‘em on” bluster makes him a man for our times. Bana slices his way across the screen with the assurance and panache he showed in Chopper. The other star of the spectacle is O’Toole. Scenes where he pleads for his son, surveys the menacing advance of the Greek army and watches Troy burn are stirring. There is some piquant dialogue and verbal sparring. “Imagine a King who fights his own battles,” “The greatest force the world has ever seen,” and “No son of Troy will ever submit to a foreign ruler.” The bloody battle scenes furnish brazen, physical shock and awe. You got caught up in the savage, visceral impact of the duels. (I can’t wait for The Odyssey; Martin Scorsese should direct, with Monica Bellucci as Calypso and Scarlett Johansson as Circe). Sure, there are weaknesses I could whinge about, like some overly creative license, some lacklustre and corny scenes and James “Titanic” Horner’s excessive, irksome score, but, why? Finely balancing the intoxicating qualities of war with its overwhelming tragedy and futility, Troy revives a grand story, bringing back colourful characters who craved immortality from the depths of Hades for a new audience. Troy didn’t receive a good critical rap, but I certainly liked it and Salient star reviewer Joe Sheppard described it as “spectacular and magnificent”. Available on DVD. (2-disc set; optional English subtitles; four documentaries; trailer).—Alexander Bisley
Match Point (Warner Bros, $14.95 until 30/4)Bodice ripper Match Point is as toothsome and crisp as fresh French salad. The voluptuously dark movie’s immoral protagonist is Chris (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a working-class Irish tennis coach, inveigling his way into the hearts and minds of the seriously rich and powerful. He coaches Tom (Matthew Goode), and one thing soon leads to another: He romances and marries Tom’s sister Chloe (Emily Mortimer); their parents (Brian Cox and Penelope Wilton) take an unusual shine to him; he’s chosen for a top role in the family corporation. Scarlett Johansson scorches as Tom’s saucy girlfriend Nola Rice. “Men think I may be something special.” “Are you?” “No one’s ever asked for their money back,” goes the exchange when Chris meets Nola. There’s an instant connection and erotic charge, which develops over their passionate, bodice-ripping affair. Allen is, like Scorsese, indisputably one of the greats. Since 1972’s Play It Again, Sam he’s been writing, directing and acting in hilarious, affecting movies. Many greats fizzle out: the studio system tragically destroyed Buster Keaton, Jean-Luc “The cinema is dead” Godard bogged himself in pretentious egocosmania. The matchless Allen’s got plenty of life in him. And he has a splendiferous new muse in Scar Jo. Where is Scoop? Available on DVD. (optional English subtitles; no special features).—Alexander Bisley
