New on DVD: Lust, Caution, American Gangster, Michael Clayton and Margot at the Wedding

by John P. Meyer

Releasing on DVD this Tuesday (Feb. 19) are four entertaining films reviewed during their theatrical runs here on Pegasus News.

Tony Leung gets taken for a ride by Wei Tang in Ang Lee's totally un-nominated Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution might be the first you should rush out to buy (or rent; or move to the top of your Netflix or Blockbuster list), just so you can try to figure out why the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences left it un-nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category (or any other). NOTE, however, that this Ang Lee film about the Japanese occupation of China during WWII is decidedly adult fare, featuring both fevered copulation and at least one scene of unflinching (and unsettling) murderous violence. For those preferring a toned-down version of the tragic tale (wimps!), there's an R-rated version available which is 9 minutes shorter than the NC-17 one.

Next up - listing the films in order of my personal preference - comes American Gangster, which finds Russell Crowe sharing top billing with Denzel Washington - though he (Crowe) garners far less screen time. Mr. Washington commands respect and fear as a thriving and innovative drug lord (loosely modeled on the real-life career of Frank Lucas) operating out of Harlem during the Vietnam War years. Look for a great bad-guy supporting turn turned in by Josh Brolin (my pick - along with Casey Affleck - for breakthrough star of 2007) in the role of a bad badass NYPD cop.

Tilda Swinton struggles (briefly) with her conscience in Michael Clayton

Michael Clayton (one of the Oscar nominees for Best Picture) is notable more for its toe-to-toe acting dogfight between George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson than it is for the rather hackneyed legal shenanigans/corporate corruption plotline. Oh, and there's an incredibly courageous performance by Tilda Swinton (as a corrupt corporate lawyer) which by itself makes the rental/purchase expense a worthy outlay.

Finally, there's Margot at the Wedding, during the course of watching which you may find yourself wondering how Nicole Kidman's character can simultaneously be so beautiful and so abhorrent. Jack Black excels in the role of a sniveling self-indulgent waste of humanity; not sure whether this means he's a great actor or he's simply playing to his strengths. The talented and seemingly ageless Jennifer Jason Leigh makes a welcome appearance - we haven't seen enough of her in recent years. (Since she got hitched to director Noah Baumbach, come to think of it...)

A final home video note: it appears that the HD DVD folks (aka Toshiba) may be about to give up the ghost by conceding the disc-delivered high-def playing field to Sony's Blu-ray format. A final decision from Toshiba should come by the end of the week.