CLOVERFIELD (Paramount) Even if its upwardly mobile NYC protagonists seem to have stepped out of a Captain Morgan commercial, Matt Reeves’ Godzilla-gone-handheld thriller quickly works itself into a cold sweat: as a high-concept scare machine, Cloverfield works just fine. But its various visual allusions to the aftermath of Sept. 11 feel cynical rather than audacious — this canny and faintly noxious film doesn’t evoke or address cultural anxieties so much as package them for easy consumption. EXTRAS: deleted scenes, alternate endings, “Clover Fun” outtakes reel, commentary with director Matt Reeves, I Saw It! It’s Alive! It’s Huge! featurette, Document 01.18.08: The Making of Cloverfield featurette, Cloverfield Visual Effects featurette.
THE ORPHANAGE (Warner Bros.) You could say that Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona’s chiller — about a woman who is maybe being menaced by dead (and, yes, hilariously deformed) children — has a “classic” feel, or you could say it’s relentlessly, unproductively derivative of other, better horror films. It’s entirely up to you (though if it were up to me, the similarly unimpressive Pan’s Labyrinth wouldn’t have been a big hit and we wouldn’t have a litany of high-toned retreads/rip-offs to look forward to). EXTRAS: When Laura Grew Up: Constructing The Orphanage, Tomas’ Secret Room (The Filmmakers), Horror in the Unknown: Makeup Effects, Rehearsal Studio featurettes.
Also out this week
CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR (Universal) + THE SAVAGES (Fox) Whoever said that the great ones never let you see them sweat obviously forgot about Philip Seymour Hoffman. EXTRAS: Charlie Wilson’s War: The Making of Charlie Wilson’s War and Who is Charlie Wilson? featurettes. The Savages: About the Savages featurette, director’s snapshots, extended scene.
ECLIPSE SERIES 10: SILENT OZU — THREE FAMILY COMEDIES (Criterion) The prize here is the Japanese master’s 1932 feature I Was Born, But…, which skilfully mines the eternal gap between parents and their children (and the double-tight bond between brothers) for humour and insight. EXTRAS: all-new scores by composer Donald Sosin.
ONE MISSED CALL (Warner) Takashi Miike’s typically sly satire of lame J-horror films gets remade in the states as an obliviously lame J-horror film. EXTRAS: none.
Out April 29
27 Dresses, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Red Balloon and in case you made like everyone else in North America and declined to see it in theatres, The Golden Compass.