Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, Nov. 7th:
“When Did You Last See Your Father?” finds a dour British poet (Colin Firth), coming to terms with the life and death of his boorish, brooding country doctor father (Jim Broadbent). This therapeutic memoir delves into how loss of a parent can create in grown children confusing waves of unbridled emotion: blame, resentment, remorse, fear and pride.
In “Get Smart,” self-effacing Steve Carell (“The Office”) plays secret agent Maxwell Smart, a role originated by Don Adams on the ’60s TV series. The Cold War is still on when Smart is drafted into action as Agent 86, paired with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), and sent on a dangerous Moscow mission. The ensuing silliness misses by that much.
“What We Do Is Secret” is the true-life story of Darby Crash (Shane West), who was an L.A. music icon before committing suicide in 1980. This dvd follows the rise and fall of The Germs, the birth of punk rock and the rise of hardcore.
For sports fans, “Ringside Muhammad Ali” is a four-disc Collector’s Set with a unique and comprehensive look inside the life and career of a living legend.
For foreign film fans, Swiss-Bosian director Andrea Staka’s “Fraulein” is a highly acclaimed drama about the intersecting lives of three émigrés from the former Yugoslavia, detailing their hardships in war-ravaged Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Debunking his own superstar image, versatile Daniel Craig plays a debauched Hollywood hunk whose taste for high-priced drugs, liquor and hookers has ruined his career in “Flashbacks of a Fool.” When he hears about the death of a childhood friend, he swims into the ocean and floats not only out to sea but also back in time, recalling his intriguing past, filled with youthful mistakes.