08/23/11 Recommended New Releases

Things are back up to speed with a handful of releases making their way to shelves this week, two of them from South Korea's Lee Chang-dong:

Troll Hunter (André Øvredal, 2010) - Magnet Releasing brings us this critically acclaimed Norwegian pseudo-documentary. The official synopsis reads: "The government says there's nothing to worry about it's just a problem with bears making trouble in the mountains and forests of Norway. But local hunters don't believe it and neither do a trio of college students who want to find out the truth. Armed with a video camera, they trail a mysterious poacher, who wants nothing to do with them. However, their persistence lands them straight in the path of the objects of his pursuits: trolls. They soon find themselves documenting every move of this grizzled, unlikely hero the trollhunter risking their lives to uncover the secrets of creatures only thought to exist in fairy tales."

Format: DVD - Typical of most Magnet releases, the two formats sport identical supplemental features, so I opt for the DVD version, which is available at Amazon for only $10.99.

Poetry (Lee Chang-dong, 2010) - Official synopsis (via Amazon description): "Mija (Yoon Jeong-hee) is a beautiful woman in her sixties who moves gracefully through life, contemplating a trivial daily routine that is ill-suited to her refined persona. With elegance and a dash of eccentricity, Mija takes care of her ungrateful grandson Wook (Lee David) and makes a living by cleaning house for an elderly man who, though paralyzed by a stroke, still responds to her charm with bouts of drug-induced arousal. On a whim, Mija enrolls in a poetry class at the local cultural centre and begins a personal quest to find the perfect words to describe her feelings. However, she s plagued by the onset of Alzheimer's disease, and struggles with new vocabulary and the challenges of the creative process. When her world is turned upside down by the discovery of a monstrous crime, it is Mija's unique and touching poetry that allows her to defy the weight of shame and distance herself from a painful proximity to violence." Poetry won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Format: Blu-ray or DVD - Though there is nothing exclusive to the format, the Blu-ray is only $2.00 more than the DVD at Amazon, making it $20.99, so it boils down to a matter of whether or not you own a Blu-ray player and/or which format you prefer.

Secret Sunshine (Lee Chang-dong, 2007) - Another Chang-dong film is out this week, this one via the Criterion Collection. The synopsis from the Criterion webpage for the film reads: "A master of intensely emotional human dramas, director Lee Chang-dong is a luminary of contemporary Korean cinema, and his place on the international stage was cemented by this stirring and unpredictable work examining grief and deliverance. An effortless mix of lightness and uncompromising darkness, Secret Sunshine (Miryang) stars Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon as a widowed piano teacher who moves with her young son from Seoul to her late husband’s provincial hometown for a fresh start. Quietly expressive, supple filmmaking and sublime, subtle performances distinguish this remarkable portrayal of the search for grace amid tragedy."

Format: DVD - As I have mentioned in the past, I prefer my Criterions on DVD, as that is how my collection began. Amazon has it available for $18.99; the Blu-ray is $24.99.

Win Win (Thomas McCarthy, 2011) - Paul Giamatti stars as Mike, a struggling New Jersey attorney as well as a volunteer wrestling coach for New Providence High School, where the team is in the midst of a losing streak. Scheming to keep his practice alive, Mike becomes the legal caretaker of an elderly client, whose presence breeds complication when the his grandson, Kyle (Alex Shaffer) shows up at Mike's home seeking a place to stay. However, when it is discovered that Kyle is a gifted wrestler and he becomes the star athlete of the team, Mike thinks he has the perfect win-win scenario, until Kyle's mother shows up fresh out of rehab and threatens to ruin his newfound stability.

Format: DVD - The Blu-ray holds nothing unique in the way of special features, so I opt for the DVD format, which is available for $14.99 at Amazon.






On the video game front:  

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (developed by Eidos Montreal; published by Square Enix) - the third installment and prequel to the popular series that debuted back in the summer of 2000 - is out today. A cyberpunk-themed first-person role-playing game, the prequel is set in 2027 - twenty-five years before the original title - where players assume the role of Adam Jensen, a security officer for Sarif Industries - a company specializing in human augmentations. After an attack from a black ops team leaves Adam near death, he receives cybernetic augmentations to keep him alive. Upon awakening, he sets out on a mission to find the truth behind the attack.

In addition to the standard release ($59.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360; $49.99 for PC), there is a limited edition ($69.99 for PS3 and Xbox 360; $59.99 for PC) available, dubbed the "Augmented Edition."




It includes:

-Premium packaging
-40-page art book
-A bonus DVD containing a 44-minute "making of" documentary, the game soundtrack, the E3 trailer and animated storyboard, and a motion graphic novel adapted from the official series by DC Comics.

(Click to enlarge)

If you are looking to take advantage of the best deal available for Deus Ex this week, K-Mart is offering a $20.00 Gaming Coupon* for Shop Your Way Rewards members (which is free to join) with the purchase of either edition. However, if you are seeking the limited edition, K-Mart stores have an extremely limited number available nationwide (only 300 were shipped per platform, meaning many stores will not even carry it). With this in mind, it is possible - though stores do vary - that you can match this deal at your local Best Buy and thus receive a $20.00 gift card (or perhaps have the $20.00 value subtracted from your total, depending on how your local store operates).

*Gaming Coupons are issued with your receipt and are generally valid beginning on the following Sunday for a set period of time (one to two months). Furthermore, as the name implies, they are only valid on gaming products.