Now on DVD

A little something for everyone in the DVD releases this week.

Bad Education was one of my favorite films last year. If you're unfamiliar with the work of director Pedro Almodovar you might want to start here or here. Otherwise check out this dark, twisty and very twisted tale that owes a debt to Hitchcock and film noir but remains uniquely Almodovar. The dense plot isn't to everyone's taste, and it may take two viewings to grasp it all, but there's much to appreciate in this work of a consummate filmmaker. I also think it's the best performance yet from rising international star Gael Garcia Bernal. Just beware, Education is available in both R and NC-17 rated versions, the NC-17 is the theatrical version.

Ocean's Twelve might be the only mega-budget Hollywood sequel in history to be proudly influenced by the French New Wave. Further proof that Steven Soderbergh will do whatever he wants, no matter what the budget is, Ocean's Twelve is hardly one of the director's best efforts but it's a considerable pleasure for what it is: a lot of good actors goofing off in exotic locations under the supervision of a visually inspired director. Some people call it a self indulgent mess. I call those people poopyheads.

Hotel Rwanda may just be a glorified TV movie but it's a story worth telling and the film benefits greatly from a remarkable performance by Don Cheadle. It landed him his first Oscar nomination and suggests even bigger things are still to come. Sophie Okonedo also got Oscar attention for her more limited role as Cheadle's wife.

The Woodsman failed to drum up the awards attention for lead actor Kevin Bacon that its distributor, Newmarket, was hoping for but that's not too surprising. Not only was last year one of the most competitive years for lead actors in Oscar history but also, like much of Bacon's work, his performance as a pedophile struggling with his inner demons is a low-key affair. I think the movie is more respectfully observed than deeply felt but there are some good performances (especially Bacon, his real life wife Kyra Sedgwick and Mos Def) and director Nicole Kassell has a nice visual style. It'll be interesting to see where she goes next.

Last and least of the new releases I'd recommend is Criminal. Although what I really want to recommend is the Argentinean film it is a remake of: Nine Queens. The American remake is adequate with a good cast led by John C. Reilly in a departure from his regular nice guy roles. Diego Luna is very good as Reilly's partner in crime and there's a brief, but spirited, turn by Maggie Gyllenhaal. It's a fun and twisty con artist story, reminiscent of David Mamet, but the film is best appreciated in its original incarnation.