Bargain Bin Bounty

It really is worth your time to spend a few minutes digging through those racks of cheap DVDs at Wal-Mart and Target. You know the ones I'm talking about, the displays full of DVDs for $5.50 or less. Sometimes they're in temporary, cardboard shelves … sometimes on the end-caps of aisles. In worst-case scenarios, they can be thrown together in one big 4x4x4 bin. Nonetheless, it's worth your time to look through them. You might be surprised at the number of quality films you'll often find in there, and at prices that are comparable to the rental price at your local Blockbuster store. Why pay a few bucks to rent it when you can pay a few bucks and own it?

I hope to make this a reoccurring feature here at film geeks, a compilation of quick reviews of movies we found on-the-cheap at the Wal-Mart down the road. These are movies that are worth seeing, DVDs that are well worth owning, and as good an entertainment investment of five bucks as you're likely to find anywhere.

• The Conversation
  
  A quiet, understated masterpiece from Francis Ford Coppola, this movie somehow slipped between the cracks of his big budget epics, such as the Godfather movies, Apocalypse Now and The Cotton Club. In fact, The Conversation was actually released between The Godfather and The Godfather II, and remains overlooked largely due to the Corleone hype.
  
  The Conversation stars Gene Hackman, acting against type as Harry Caul, a quiet and reserved surveillance expert who's get's caught up in an apparent murder plan when his morals interfere with his work ethic. Caul has always had the attitude that his surveillance work is "just a job," and that he doesn't want to know what becomes of the conversations he records, the pictures he takes, or the information he obtains. It's his job to obtain the information. What his buyer does with it isn't Harry's business.
  
  Harry's a devout Catholic, but as the movie progresses we learn that his religious beliefs are little more than a way of keeping his personal guilt over his line of work from overwhelming him. The recording of the actual conversation at the heart of the film becomes an obsession for Harry when he becomes convinced that it might lead to the murder of at least one of the people he's recorded. Ultimately, though, this specific conversation is really simply the straw that broke the camel's back, and a lifetime of guilt and fear begins to take it's toll.
  
  Hackman's performance is amazing. It's hard to believe that this is the same actor who brought Popeye Doyle and Lex Luthor to the screen. Hackman may have fewer lines of dialogue in this film than in any of his other staring roles, but he develops a completely convincing and compelling character with body language, facial expressions, and small nods. You can't take your eyes off the screen as you watch Harry Caul's life come apart. The movie takes a number of twists and turns, but never relies on gimmicks. And, the closing scene of the film is shocking, believable, and hard to shake.
  
  In 2006, the recording and application of private conversations for surveillance purposes is more a part of the national debate than it has been since Watergate. This film is a profound and effective study of the topic and the way that surveillance effects people on both sides of the tape recorder. It doesn't offer clunky, adamant judgments … instead, The Conversation simply, clearly and concisely focuses on the moral and human elements of this hotly contested political matter.
  
  The DVD features, among other things, a full audio commentary by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola isn't always a focused or even coherent commentator on his own work, but he's always interesting.
  
  



• Fire In The Sky
  
  Horror films work best when they focus on the people effected by horrific things or events rather than on the horrors themselves. Fire In The Sky is a nice example of a horror film done well, with nice performances by D.B. Sweeney, Robert Patrick, James Garner and others, and with restrained direction by Robert Lieberman.
  
  Fire In The Sky purports to be the true story of Travis Walton, a logger from Arizona who claims to have been abducted by aliens in 1975. Part of the reason that Fire In The Sky works is that it doesn't set out to tell Walton's story so much as the story of his co-workers, the men who were suspected of his murder after his mysterious disappearance. James Garner, always fun on screen, evokes George C. Scott with his classic tough-guy performance as a federal investigator who doesn't buy UFO stories and is determined to find the murderer. The investigation comes to an abrupt halt when Walton turns up a week later, shaking and naked at a closed gas station in the middle of the night.
  
  The movie's climax, a vivid flashback of Walton's abduction, is among the scariest alien scenes I've seen any any film. It is a tribute to the movie makers that the scene relies more on suspense and claustrophobia than on gore, keeping the movie safely in PG-13 territory. The main reason that the movie works, however, is the chemistry between Sweeney (as Walton) and Robert Patrick (as Mike, Walton's friend who becomes a prime suspect in the murder investigation.) Their relationship is complex and interesting even before things get extra-terrestrial, and the movie keeps us focused on that relationship throughout instead of getting caught up in horror-film convictions. By focusing on the people involved, and developing them enough that we find ourselves actually liking them, the horror is all the more effective. It works, it works well, and you might find yourself thinking about it in the wee hours of the night.
  
  



• A Simple Plan
  
  Young movie goers probably know Sam Raimi as the director of the Spider-Man movies. Older folks remember his cult-classic Evil Dead horror films. However, in 1998, Raimi released a quiet and surprisingly moving film about family, secrets, lies and greed. A Simple Plan is, arguably, his finest film.
  
  Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton star as Jacob and Hank Mitchell, two brothers who find a cache of money in a crashed single-engine plane in a snow-covered wood. And not just a little money, either. Four million dollars. Money big enough to not only change the way people live, but to actually change who people are. Within minutes of finding the money, a shocking act of violence occurs that places the brothers squarely on a one-way course.
  
  Bridget Fonda does great work here as Sarah, Hank's long-suffering and quietly seething wife. It's a performance on the same level as Sissy Spacek's work in In The Bedroom. Sarah sees the money as an irresistible opportunity, and as a cure for everything that's wrong in her life. If Hank hadn't already wanted to keep the money, Sarah's dominance would have guaranteed his decision.
  
  As good as Fonda is, it's the interactions between Paxton and Thornton that make A Simple Plan so special. Thornton's Jacob is the kind of guy that most people would call "a little slow," and Paxton, as Hank, has spent his life looking out for his brother. But can Jacob be trusted to keep secrets? And does Jacob really trust Hank, or does he see Hank's guidance simply as necessary interference? Thornton's performance in A Simple Plan is among his best, but don't see the movie expecting a retread of Carl Childers. Jacob is slow, but not simple… and certainly not the introverted guardian angel from Sling Blade.
  
  Raimi's direction here is the icing on the cake, mostly because he keeps his camera fairly still and lets his actors tell their story. The jarring edits and strange points of view that mark Raimi's action and horror films is absent, here. Instead, his direction is immediate and intimate, placing the viewer squarely in the middle of the story. We feel the cold, the claustrophobia, the anger and the sadness. The movie's conclusion is unavoidable, and while it is surprising, you may feel (just as I did) that it's the only way that a story like this could have ended. A Simple Plan is a keeper, and it's $5.50 or less at a store near you.
  
  
  
  
• Auto Focus
  
  I reviewed Auto Focus in depth earlier. You can read the review if you like. I paid $4.88 for this DVD at Wal-Mart. Money well spent.

Like I said, I hope to make this a regular film geeks series. There really is treasure to be found in the discount DVD racks at a store near you. It's worth the browsing.

  ¶ 10:26 AM