In the Valley of Elah (Warner) + Rendition (Alliance) + Redacted (First Run) Audiences’ display of resistance to these three Iraq war films upon their release was almost McCain-ian in its stubbornness. To be fair, it was a rough season for downer dramas of all stripes. But it’s hard to blame war fatigue, seeing as coverage of the Iraq debacle has mostly vanished from the news media. As a result, the everybody’s-­embedded image overload in Brian De Palma’s Redacted feels curiously dated — the whole war seems to be redacted by now. Though De Palma’s effort is too wilfully abrasive, at least it doesn’t feign its punches as often as Rendition does — of dubious value in Zodiac, Jake Gyllenhaal nearly sinks this soggy enterprise all on his own with his woeful performance as a dewy-eyed torturer. That leaves In the Valley of Elah, which may be the best yet most aggravating of the lot. Tommy Lee Jones’ Oscar-nominated turn as a bereaved army dad gives great power to the movie’s haunting early stretches. Too bad writer/director Paul Haggis squanders it with his logy symbolism, overwritten dialogue and overreaching effort to absolve soldiers of any responsibility for even their most appalling actions. EXTRAS: Redacted: featurette, refugee interviews, photo gallery. Rendition: director’s commentary, featurettes. Elah: featurettes, deleted scene.

Spiral (Anchor Bay) The star and director of last year’s retro gorefest Hatchet re-teamed on this straight-to-video thriller. More subdued and sophisticated than its predecessor, it’s the story of a psychologically fragile office drone (Joel David Moore, co-director with Adam Green) whose grasp on reality is further loosened by his relationship with a new co-worker (Amber Tamblyn). While the movie stumbles at times, Spiral mostly goes through the paces with panache. EXTRAS: commentary, featurette.

Also out this week
Michael Clayton (Warner) Tough, top-notch performances by George Clooney, Tilda Swinton and Tom Wilkinson anchor this superior corporate thriller. EXTRAS: deleted scenes, filmmaker commentary.

Shakin’ All Over (EMI) This engaging CBC doc (written by EYE WEEKLY alum Nicholas Jennings and based on his book Before the Goldrush) collects ace archival footage from the dawning of Can-rock. EXTRAS: bonus interviews with Gordon Lightfoot, Burton Cummings and more.

AmeRICAN GANGSTER (Universal) Some pimp-worthy flash saves Ridley Scott’s true-crime saga from getting too baggy. EXTRAS: extended cut, docs, deleted scenes.

Lust, Caution (Alliance) Underappreciated upon release, Ang Lee’s slow-burning espionage melodrama deserves another look. EXTRAS: featurette.

Margot at the Wedding (Paramount) Domestic warfare the Noah Baumbach way. EXTRAS: trailers, conversation with Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Out Feb 29
30 Days of Night, The Darjeeling Limited and Beowulf — see it as it was never meant to be seen: in 2-D on your ancient Zenith. 

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