Recommended
Restrepo (Virgil Films and Entertainment) — To say that Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s Restrepo starts with a bang is not to dabble in generic wordplay. This one-year chronicle (mid-‘07 to mid-‘08) of a platoon of American soldiers stationed in Afghanistan’s deadly Korengal Valley lets you know right away that the sole agenda of Restrepo is to present a faithful document of soldiers who are on the ground and in combat. And this is exactly what gives the film its raw power. While Junger and Hetherington include the typically more detached technique of talking head interviews, they only do it with these particular soldiers, whose eloquence and intensity only makes the overall experience more enlightening and engrossing. Read the rest of my full review, then buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Videodrome (Criterion) — I actually haven’t seen this earlier era David Cronenberg’s gem in so long that I can’t remember anything about it, really, but I do remember it packing an unsettling punch. Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Four Days in October (30 For 30) — To be honest, this film is probably most useful for Red Sox fans and/or Yankees haters, but it nonetheless captures an objectively historic moment in MLB history. Read my full review, then buy it on DVD.
Reformat the Planet (Indieblitz Releasing) — Are you a fan of the ChipTunes music movement? Have no idea what that is? Then this is the documentary for you. Buy it on DVD.
Have Not Seen But Really/Kinda/Sorta Wanna
Cronos (Criterion) — Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
The Milk of Sorrow (Olive Films) — Buy it on DVD.
Lennon NYC (A&E Home Video) — Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Mademoiselle Chambon (Lorber Films) — Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
Jaffa (Film Movement) — Buy it on DVD.
Only When I Dance (Film Movement) — Buy it on DVD.
Wild Card of the Week
Inception (Warner Home Video) — I actually had an ambivalent reaction to Christopher Nolan’s latest multiplex spectacle (as opposed to my fury over The Dark Knight). But I guess it’s worth mentioning here? Or maybe not. Anyway, you can now buy it on DVD or in a 3-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo/Digital Copy pack.