Hancock on blu-ray

Hancock turns the standard superhero movie inside-out: The title character (Will Smith) can fly, has superstrength, and is invulnerable, but he’s also a sloppy, alcoholic jerk who causes millions of dollars in property damage whenever he bothers to fight crime. When he saves the life of a public-relations agent named Ray (Jason Bateman, Arrested Development), Ray decides to improve Hancock’s image–starting by having Hancock surrender himself to the authorities and go to prison for his lawless behavior.

The idea is that once he’s in prison, the crime rate will go up, and people will start to realize Hancock might be of value after all. This is only the first act of Hancock–from there, the movie takes several clever turns that shouldn’t be revealed. Hancock isn’t a great movie (among other things, director Peter Berg overuses close-ups with a hand-held camera to a degree that may cause motion sickness), but it is an extremely entertaining one.

The script, which holds together far better than most superhero movies, has a propulsive plot, good dialogue, some compassion for its characters, and even an actual idea or two. The spectacular action at least gestures towards obeying the laws of physics, which actually makes the special effects more vivid. The three leads (Smith, Bateman, and Charlize Theron as Ray’s wife, Mary) deftly balance the movie’s mixture of comedy, action, and drama. All in all, a smart subversive twist on a genre that all too often takes itself all too seriously.

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Monster on Blu-ray

Charlize Theron (The Italian Job Trapped) explodes in a magnetic Oscar-winning (Best Actress 2003) performance as convicted killer Aileen Wuornos. Severely abused and unloved Aileen immersed herself in the dangerous world of highway prostitution…until she met Selby Wall (Christina Ricci Sleepy Hollow) a naive girl who was Aileen s last chance at a normal life. But ultimately all Aileen understood was violence and nobody imagined the nightmare that awaited the seven men standing in the way of her happiness.

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Sleepwalking on Blu-ray

A dark and troubling fable leavened by streaks of hope and redemption, Sleepwalking follows Tara Reedy (AnnaSophia Robb, Because of Winn-Dixie) and her young uncle James (Nick Stahl, Carnivale) after Tara’s mother Joleen (Charlize Theron) abandons them. After James loses his job and Tara suffers through the foster-care system, the two set off on a road trip that leads to a heart of darkness: The farm where James and Joleen grew up, where their father (Dennis Hopper) still lives.

The bleaker side of Sleepwalking is redeemed not so much by the affection that grows between James and Tara (which feels a bit forced and precious) as by the emotional commitment of the cast. Stahl turns in what may be his best performance yet, delving into the weak and aimless qualities of James yet keeping an active presence in the movie. Robb and Theron, two emotionally compelling actors well-cast as mother and daughter, turn in high-quality performances; Hopper creates another portrait of chilling brutality, all the more terrifying for being so ordinary. The rest of the solid cast includes Woody Harrelson, Matthew St. Patrick (Six Feet Under), and Deborra-Lee Furness (Shame) as a coworker sympathetic to James.
By Bret Fetzer

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