RED (SPECIAL EDITION)
Coolest Extra: “Access Red”: six-part interactive feature including pop-up trivia, videos, interviews and more
Complex Says: Explosion-heavy and story-light action films rarely gain attention for their Academy Award-winning casts. There's a reason why Sylvester Stallone's gang of heavyhitters in The Expendables was considered an action lover's dream team. As long as the guns are loaded and the pyrotechnics don't look cheap, audiences with a taste for the extreme should remain content. That's what makes Red worth a look, even though, ultimately, the geriatrics-with-guns flick doesn't take things as far as it could've, settling for a PG-13, B-level romp that's a bit too restrained for its own good. Even though it's not as dynamite as its early trailers promised, Red does have its fair share of unique charms. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren star as former CIA agents under attack after being framed for an assassination, but, again, the plot is inconsequential here. The best moments in director Robert Schwentke's lighthearted shooter feature classy elders taking their SAG-issued gloves off and having some guiltless fun. Malkovich amps his eccentricities up to cartoonish levels, while the regal Mirren fires off extensive rounds using everything from Gatling guns to Uzis. Moments like those are fun, but there's not much replay value, sending Red to the "rent, don't buy" tier. Unless the sight of 65-year-old women with guns is your bag, in which case, this is as hot it gets.
Buy it now:Red (Special Edition)
SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Coolest Extra: Deleted and extended scenes
Complex Says: To label Saw: The Final Chapter as the worst of the series is as funny to type as it is to say. Such negative sentiments toward the biggest horror series of the new millennium weren't always in fashion, though; the truth is, 2004's Saw and 2005's Saw II were both cleverly plotted and brutally staged successes. And, believe it or not, the nearly-as-good Saw VI restored hope in the once-powerful Saw name. Unfortunately for the franchise's most outspoken apologists and unconditional supporters, Saw: The Final Chapter (released in theaters this past October as Saw 3D) isn't even half as good as the piss-poor Saw IV. It's the worst possible send-off for a brand that, despite existing well past its expiration date, deserved better. "Send-off" in the loosest sense, of course; it's hard not to think that Lionsgate will need some quick bucks in the years to come and green-light Saw VIII. Until then, Saw heads will have to settle for a conclusion that's more mindless slasher than, well, grotesquely inventive Saw (Costas Mandylor's random throat-stabbing spree during the final act completely disregards the franchise's own set of rules). At least we'll be spared yet another crappy sequel come this October. In its place: Paranormal Activity 3. Here we go again.
Buy it now:Saw: The Final Chapter
ENTER THE VOID
Coolest Extra: Director’s Cut not seen in theaters
Complex Says: No other filmmaker works with as much reckless abandon as Gaspar Noe, a point driven home by his latest feature, the phantasmagoric and sexually perverse Enter the Void. Essentially a speculation on what happens after we die, Enter the Void presents its afterlife in freakishly creative ways, employing a first-person POV technique as the camera hovers above characters heads throughout painful flashbacks and present-day events. Lest you think this one's on a religious life-after-death tip, realize that Noe's previous films, I Stand Alone and Irreversible, are infamous for an ex-con father sleeping with and then killing his daughter and an extended rape sequence, respectively. The man is clearly sick, as well as, frankly, pretty brilliant. Enter the Void's deceased story-mover is a low-life drug dealer, whose life overflowed with sex, hallucinogenic narcotics, and a sexy younger sister (Boardwalk Empire's Paz de la Huerta) who just happens to strip and love intercourse. In the end, though, Noe's renegade filmmaking touches, not the narrative elements, are what elevate this one-of-a-kind experience. The finale's porno-by-way-of-acid-trip Love Hotel sequence alone is a bravura sight to behold.
Buy it now:Enter the Void
DOGTOOTH
Coolest Extra: 13-minute “Interview with Director Yorgos Lanthimos”
Complex Says: If art-house films tend to bore you, skip over Dogtooth at your local DVD shop and stick with the aforementioned Red. This bizarre little Greek movie is slow-paced, often quiet, and thematically enigmatic. More importantly, though, it's one of the most original and disturbing films to arrive in some time. Directed and co-written by Giorgios Lanthimos, Dogtooth is a domestic nightmare about three twentysomething siblings (two sisters and one brother) shut off from the rest of the world by their manipulative and overbearing father. They're not allowed to leave their home's property, their tyrant of a dad assigns new meanings to words not taught by him directly ("zombies" are tiny flowers, for example), and a paid woman checks in frequently to have passion-less sex with the son. To keep his kids on the grounds, the twisted pops invents a story about a fourth sibling who was mauled by vicious cats. Sound a bit off? That's not even cracking the surface. Based off Dogtooth, Lanthimos seems to be Greece's own Harmony Korine, but on cinematic steroids, injecting the latter's (known for such off-kilter flicks as Gummo and Trash Humpers) subversiveness with messages about familial dysfunction and youthful revolt. He's a talent to watch.
Buy it now:Dogtooth
CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER
Coolest Extra: Extended interviews with Spitzer and others
Complex Says: Before he resigned as the Governor of New York in March 2008, Eliot Spitzer was a high-ranking politician who had a thing for gorgeous prostitutes. Like us, you may have asked yourself, "So what's the big deal?" Chances are, nine out of ten political figures are doing the same thing on a daily basis (not that we'd judge them or anything), but there's more to Spitzer's saga than closed-door tricks. As detailed in Alex Gibney's fascinating documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Spitzer was known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street," a title earned during his NY Attorney General days. Gibney's doc shows how the treacherous Wall Street big-wigs celebrated Spitzer's resignation, which curiously happened just as the financial markets imploded and our economy hit the skids. The interviews included offer all sides of the issue, from escorts to Spitzer's enemies to the former governor himself. As a case study, Client 9 feels uneven, opting for well-researched facts and candid testimonials without in-depth expert analysis. But, like many solid documentaries before it, Gibney's political examination finds a way to make objectivity work.
Buy it now:Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Coolest Extra: “Access Red”: six-part interactive feature including pop-up trivia, videos, interviews and more
Complex Says: Explosion-heavy and story-light action films rarely gain attention for their Academy Award-winning casts. There's a reason why Sylvester Stallone's gang of heavyhitters in The Expendables was considered an action lover's dream team. As long as the guns are loaded and the pyrotechnics don't look cheap, audiences with a taste for the extreme should remain content. That's what makes Red worth a look, even though, ultimately, the geriatrics-with-guns flick doesn't take things as far as it could've, settling for a PG-13, B-level romp that's a bit too restrained for its own good. Even though it's not as dynamite as its early trailers promised, Red does have its fair share of unique charms. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mirren star as former CIA agents under attack after being framed for an assassination, but, again, the plot is inconsequential here. The best moments in director Robert Schwentke's lighthearted shooter feature classy elders taking their SAG-issued gloves off and having some guiltless fun. Malkovich amps his eccentricities up to cartoonish levels, while the regal Mirren fires off extensive rounds using everything from Gatling guns to Uzis. Moments like those are fun, but there's not much replay value, sending Red to the "rent, don't buy" tier. Unless the sight of 65-year-old women with guns is your bag, in which case, this is as hot it gets.
Buy it now:Red (Special Edition)
SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTERCoolest Extra: Deleted and extended scenes
Complex Says: To label Saw: The Final Chapter as the worst of the series is as funny to type as it is to say. Such negative sentiments toward the biggest horror series of the new millennium weren't always in fashion, though; the truth is, 2004's Saw and 2005's Saw II were both cleverly plotted and brutally staged successes. And, believe it or not, the nearly-as-good Saw VI restored hope in the once-powerful Saw name. Unfortunately for the franchise's most outspoken apologists and unconditional supporters, Saw: The Final Chapter (released in theaters this past October as Saw 3D) isn't even half as good as the piss-poor Saw IV. It's the worst possible send-off for a brand that, despite existing well past its expiration date, deserved better. "Send-off" in the loosest sense, of course; it's hard not to think that Lionsgate will need some quick bucks in the years to come and green-light Saw VIII. Until then, Saw heads will have to settle for a conclusion that's more mindless slasher than, well, grotesquely inventive Saw (Costas Mandylor's random throat-stabbing spree during the final act completely disregards the franchise's own set of rules). At least we'll be spared yet another crappy sequel come this October. In its place: Paranormal Activity 3. Here we go again.
Buy it now:Saw: The Final Chapter
ENTER THE VOIDCoolest Extra: Director’s Cut not seen in theaters
Complex Says: No other filmmaker works with as much reckless abandon as Gaspar Noe, a point driven home by his latest feature, the phantasmagoric and sexually perverse Enter the Void. Essentially a speculation on what happens after we die, Enter the Void presents its afterlife in freakishly creative ways, employing a first-person POV technique as the camera hovers above characters heads throughout painful flashbacks and present-day events. Lest you think this one's on a religious life-after-death tip, realize that Noe's previous films, I Stand Alone and Irreversible, are infamous for an ex-con father sleeping with and then killing his daughter and an extended rape sequence, respectively. The man is clearly sick, as well as, frankly, pretty brilliant. Enter the Void's deceased story-mover is a low-life drug dealer, whose life overflowed with sex, hallucinogenic narcotics, and a sexy younger sister (Boardwalk Empire's Paz de la Huerta) who just happens to strip and love intercourse. In the end, though, Noe's renegade filmmaking touches, not the narrative elements, are what elevate this one-of-a-kind experience. The finale's porno-by-way-of-acid-trip Love Hotel sequence alone is a bravura sight to behold.
Buy it now:Enter the Void
DOGTOOTHCoolest Extra: 13-minute “Interview with Director Yorgos Lanthimos”
Complex Says: If art-house films tend to bore you, skip over Dogtooth at your local DVD shop and stick with the aforementioned Red. This bizarre little Greek movie is slow-paced, often quiet, and thematically enigmatic. More importantly, though, it's one of the most original and disturbing films to arrive in some time. Directed and co-written by Giorgios Lanthimos, Dogtooth is a domestic nightmare about three twentysomething siblings (two sisters and one brother) shut off from the rest of the world by their manipulative and overbearing father. They're not allowed to leave their home's property, their tyrant of a dad assigns new meanings to words not taught by him directly ("zombies" are tiny flowers, for example), and a paid woman checks in frequently to have passion-less sex with the son. To keep his kids on the grounds, the twisted pops invents a story about a fourth sibling who was mauled by vicious cats. Sound a bit off? That's not even cracking the surface. Based off Dogtooth, Lanthimos seems to be Greece's own Harmony Korine, but on cinematic steroids, injecting the latter's (known for such off-kilter flicks as Gummo and Trash Humpers) subversiveness with messages about familial dysfunction and youthful revolt. He's a talent to watch.
Buy it now:Dogtooth
CLIENT 9: THE RISE AND FALL OF ELIOT SPITZERCoolest Extra: Extended interviews with Spitzer and others
Complex Says: Before he resigned as the Governor of New York in March 2008, Eliot Spitzer was a high-ranking politician who had a thing for gorgeous prostitutes. Like us, you may have asked yourself, "So what's the big deal?" Chances are, nine out of ten political figures are doing the same thing on a daily basis (not that we'd judge them or anything), but there's more to Spitzer's saga than closed-door tricks. As detailed in Alex Gibney's fascinating documentary Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Spitzer was known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street," a title earned during his NY Attorney General days. Gibney's doc shows how the treacherous Wall Street big-wigs celebrated Spitzer's resignation, which curiously happened just as the financial markets imploded and our economy hit the skids. The interviews included offer all sides of the issue, from escorts to Spitzer's enemies to the former governor himself. As a case study, Client 9 feels uneven, opting for well-researched facts and candid testimonials without in-depth expert analysis. But, like many solid documentaries before it, Gibney's political examination finds a way to make objectivity work.
Buy it now:Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
