Repeat Performance

It looks like it’ll be just another one of those Hollywood pseudo-suspense-filled action adventure crap fests. And then the film does everything to surprise and titillate and blow the boundaries of what it means to make a truly exciting film experience. As soon as Jason Statham wakes up, realizes he’s been poisoned and the only antidote is adrenaline, the race begins—like Speed, except if his body slows down, all bets are off. But it’s all the odd little details and unapologetic piling on of insanity that really make this one of the most original and creative action flicks in years: a drug thug getting a blowjob while hand-feeding his rottweiler raw meat? Deciding to screw in a Chinatown market in front of tourists (to keep his heart-rate up, of course)? It’s the sheer joy that’s taken in the well-coordinated violence and jokes that keeps the movie from ultimately suffocating under all the shakey cam and action—and makes Crank a must-see by anyone who takes pleasure in a voyeuristic thrill. (Jerry Portwood)

Water’s fascinating story, captivating performances and exquisite cinematography establish a sense of time and place that’s as evident and engaging on DVD as it is in theaters. Additionally, the disc features Mehta’s enlightening commentary about the story, real life segregation of widows (then and today) and how difficult it was to make Water, including relocating shooting to Sri Lanka because of rioting against the project in India. (Jennifer Merin)

As the follow-up to his 2005 surprise hit Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog released his most experimental film to date, The Wild Blue Yonder. The film’s only actor to speak of is Brad Dourif, unfortunately best known as the voice of Chucky in the Child’s Play series. This “science fiction fantasy” is assembled entirely out of footage from a deep-sea dive in the Antarctic, a NASA space mission and Dourif ranting directly into the camera while standing in front of an abandoned “mall” in the middle of nowhere. Released on DVD just weeks after its embarrassingly limited theatrical release, Blue Yonder is in many ways the ultimate Herzog experience, and one of the best films of 2006. (Matt Peterson)

This exceptional package of Almodóvar’s films offers an unparalleled opportunity for fans to observe the Spanish director’s personal career arc—watching as his distinctive cinematic personality and style develop with each successive film. The nine-disc set includes newly remastered prints of his breakout Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and award-winning All About My Mother, as well as Talk To Her, The Flower of My Secret, Live Flesh, Bad Education and the never-before-released on DVD Matador (a 1986 thriller starring Antonio Banderas and Assumpta Serna) and Law of Desire (a 1987 comedy starring Eusebio Ponsela as a filmmaker with romantic issues that include a graphic sex scene with Banderas). Plus: three exclusive featurettes about Almodóvar and making the films along with insightful comments from two of the director’s most influential muses—Carmen Maura and Penelope Cruz—as well as the erudite Richard Peña. Whether you’re ready for the camp classics or the more mature later works, it’s now all there for an extended weekend trip to the Iberian peninsula guided by the Spanish film master. (Jennifer Merin)

Forget about pirates—magicians are where it’s at. Two of the most engaging films of last year included plenty of sleight of hand and tricks up intense, handsome actors’ sleeves. The Illusionist plays out like a spooky Usual Suspects, while The Prestige also delves into the tricks of the trade by trying to trick its viewers—but with more of a Memento twist (it is Christopher Nolan directing after all—he talks a bit about the filmmaking process on the DVD extras). If you’re more inclined toward Alan Moore than Merchant Ivory then The Prestige’s rival magicians—played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman—have more lurid attraction. Plus it has a creepy David Bowie as Nikola Tesla.

In The Illusionist, Ed Norton plays Eisenheim the Illusionist who, instead of sticking to his act, gets bogged down in too much steamy longing for Jessica Biel. The love triangle involving them and Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell) gets a bit cumbersome, but the gauzy camerawork and Prague locations add to the visual pleasure until all is revealed in the final moments. Neil Burger provides an intellectual commentary that could be superior to the actual movie, explaining the changes he made to adapt Steven Millhauser’s short story “Eisenheim the Illusionist.” (JP)