DVD round-up from The TOMB

'The Three Burials', 'The Squid and the Whale' and 'Hostel' vie for Time Out's affections this week.

Aug  7 2006

It's a delightful day on the DVD front, with any one of three films worthy of my 'pick of the week' moniker.

First up is 'The Squid and the Whale', Noah Baumbach's autobiographical account of his parents' painful divorce. Set in 1980s New York, it's a touching tale of insecurity, jealousy and the implosion of a family from within. It's also very, very funny, featuring note-perfect performances from Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline, and a wicked cameo from William Baldwin as a chilled-out tennis instructor.

Secondly, we've got 'Hostel', Eli Roth's brutal tale of three young travellers getting more than they bargained for on the Eastern European holiday from hell. I won't go into detail here as we covered pretty much every angle of the shoot earlier in the year (click here for that coverage). But if you need to know more, check out this fantastically gory 18-rated DVD trailer.

However, as the 'Highlander' films taught us, there can be only one, and this week that one is 'Three Burials'. Without doubt one of the finest films of the year thus far, this old-fashioned oater revolves around a ranch foreman's efforts to give his recently deceased Mexican friend a proper burial. But more than that it's a slow-burning ode to friendship, loyalty, redemption and an American west of days gone by.

Working from a Guillermo Arriaga script that challenges the viewer at every turn, Tommy Lee Jones delivers a powerhouse performance as the foreman in question, and his confident, aggressive, Peckinpah-esque direction marks him out as a huge talent behind the camera as well as in front.

Finally, 'Twin Falls Idaho', 'The Big White' and 'Basic Instinct 2' are also out this week, and our advice is to seek out the first for its wonderfully quirky charm, check out the second film if you want to watch a poor man's 'Fargo' and avoid the latter like the plague.

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