DVD Corner

“4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”: Cristian Mungiu’s harrowing film is set in 1987 Romania toward the end of Nicolae Ceausescu’s tyrannical rule. The time in which the film is set is significant for several reasons, chiefly because it was Ceausescu, long before his Christmas Day execution in 1989, who reversed Romania’s stand on abortion, thus making the procedure illegal and punishable (with few exceptions) whereas beforehand, women had the right to choose. Ceausescu criminalized abortion upon his ascension to power in 1966. Twenty-one years later in 1987, his corrupt dictatorship had turned Romania into a country of chaos, poverty and turmoil, so much so that Romania became a country of outlaws forced to turn to the black market to have their needs met. There, cigarettes were a popular choice. So was finding someone who would perform an abortion. It’s in this atmosphere of fear and risk that this outstanding film takes place with roommates Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) and Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) initially seen preparing for Gabita’s abortion. Whereas Gabita is flighty and unfocused, Otilia is a force, balancing in one harrowing day Gabita’s sketchy abortion and the birthday party being thrown for her boyfriend’s mother across town. The abortion comes first. Performed by Mr. Bebe (Vlad Ivanov), a gruff man whose surname proves Mungiu isn’t without a dark sense of humor, Bebe is a brute who uses his power over the situation to his benefit. He does so in ways that turn this drama into part tragedy and part thriller, particularly when he learns that Gabita lied to him about how far along she is in her pregnancy. There’s a price to be paid for that lie, and so Bebe becomes determined to exact a higher payment from each woman, though through means that have nothing to do with money. Throughout this tense, superbly crafted movie, it’s as if a camera is nowhere near the actors – their performances are that good, that natural. Helping to that end is the dialogue, which seems unscripted. Every corner of this movie speaks to authenticity. Not rated. Grade: A

“Fool’s Gold” DVD, Blu-ray: Essentially, this movie is about two fools pimping their abs with the high-definition Blu-ray version making those abs appear especially cut. You’re looking for something more? Sorry. Clocking in at nearly two hours, this movie feels as if it was directed, written and performed by a ship of fools – and, my, how that ship belches when it sinks. After teaming once before in 2003’s “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson are back to prove they have zero chemistry as Finn and Tess, a married couple who are about to divorce as the film begins. They still love each other, sure, and their sex life is hotter than crab cakes, but after years of trying to find a hidden treasure off a Bahamian reef, Tess wants to give up and go to graduate school in Chicago. Finn refuses to go with her, which says it all for the kind of people we’re dealing with here. But not so fast. Turns out Finn might be on the cusp of finding the sunken, 16th century Spanish loot they’ve been seeking for so long. Will Tess help him find it? Is that even a question? Along with her employer, the billionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland, pitiful), as well as the billionaire’s air-head daughter, Gemma (Alexis Dziena), two token gay men, a boat captain (Ray Winstone) and an irritating dork (Ewen Bremner), Tess joins the fray to take on a gun-toting villain named Bigg Bunny (Kevin Hart) – yes, Bigg Bunny – who wants the treasure for himself. Does Bigg Bunny haul in the big carats? Do Tess and Finn fall back into each other’s arms? Is it even necessary to go on? I didn’t think so. Rated PG-13. Grade: D-

“Face/Off” Blu-ray: This live-action cartoon, now on Blu-ray, stars John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer, who agrees to switch faces with his archenemy, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), in an effort to defuse a bomb Castor planted somewhere in Los Angeles. (One suspects that a possible sequel might be called “Toupee/Off,” in which each actor trades wigs.) There isn’t a shred of good writing or a believable character in this film, which could have been a fine parody of the amplified action genre if only it hadn’t taken itself so seriously. But it does, and it stinks. Rated PG-13. Grade: F

“The Grand”: From Acorn Media, a soapy confection of lies, deceit, sex, suicide and glamour set at a swank Manchester, England, hotel in the 1920s. The series echoes “Hotel,” the nighttime potboiler from the ’80s that starred James Brolin, Connie Sellecca and Anne Baxter, but it does all so much better with an “Upstairs, Downstairs” vibe heightened by class distinction and more drama than one can handle. Excellent performances abound with Mark McGann, Michael Siberry and Julia St. John doing fine work mixing with the elite while Rebecca Callard and Susan Hampshire handle the formidable strife brewing down below. Grade: B+

“The Incredible Hulk: Complete Third & Fourth Seasons”: Just in time for the new movie version, which opened Friday, comes the third and fourth seasons of the popular television show, itself based on Stan Lee’s long-running 1962 Marvel comic book series. Once again, Bill Bixby is back as David Banner (changed from Bruce because the producer didn’t want the show to be perceived as a comic book series), an emotionally detached research geneticist whose blood is so temperamental, it reacts disastrously when he’s accidentally zapped with a lethal dose of gamma radiation. Instead of dropping dead, as one would expect, Banner becomes a ticking time bomb waiting to erupt into the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) the moment he gets ticked off, which is often. All of it is a fine, kitschy primer to the new film starring Ed Norton. Grade: B-

“Waiting for God – Season 3”: Tom (Graham Growden) and Diana (Stephanie Cole) might be waiting for God, but they aren’t doing so quietly. At the Bayview Retirement Village, where death is everyone’s last visitor and the food is notoriously bad, these two refuse to go out gracefully – particularly Diana, whose last breath, one senses, will be spent sticking it to somebody with a complaint. Tom exists more in the ether, but he’s far from out of it. Together, they’re a team, occasionally taking breaks from their long conversations to steal away from Bayview, which ignites panic for the impossible staff. From the BBC, which usually comes through, as it does here. Grade: A-

WeekinRewind.com is the site for Bangor Daily News film critic Christopher Smith’s blog, video podcasts, iTunes portal and archive of hundreds of movie reviews. Smith’s reviews appear Mondays, Fridays and weekends in Lifestyle as well as on bangordailynews.com. He may be reached at Christopher@weekinrewind.com.