Javier Bardem 3-Film Collection (Miramax/Lionsgate DVD set)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: D Films: C+
This is a
three film collection all featuring the great actor Javier Bardem in Biutiful, No Country for Old Men (which we have already covered on Blu-ray a
few times) and Mondays in the Sun. An enforcer father as he tries to make and
provide for his two children in the streets of Barcelona, a psychotic killer
along with other cops and mobsters after 2 million dollars of drug money and an
unemployed shipyard worker with his friends trying to look for work are his
roles in each respectively.
While
these movies have nothing to do with each other (except Bardem, currently the
star villain in the James Bond blockbuster Skyfall),
they are all similar in the fact they deal with the ugly/harsh side of reality.
Filled with violence and people take
advantage and stab you in the back, the films paint a picture of how evil and
unkind the world is. But through it all
the characters struggle to find some bit of hope, a reason why they live.
Biutiful
An
Enforcer father who works for an illegal sweatshop to provide for his children,
but he is not the only desperate one, the workers, friends, and his ex wife all
want some money. As he struggles to help
make ends meet and those around him, he must not only deal with the law, his
broken marriage but the fact he has terminal cancer. His only special ability is to see the souls
of the dead soon after they die.
No Country for Old Men
After 2
million dollars of drug money goes missing after a deal gone wrong, hitmen,
psycho killers, bounty hunters, cops and FBI are all after the missing money. The man who found it suddenly finds himself in
a dangerous cat and mouse game, where the slightest mistake means death. The only thing catching up to all of them is
their time is running out.
Mondays in the Sun
Five old
friends have been out of work since the shipyard closed. Stumbling like drunken sailors from
interviews, relationships and the courthouse the only thing they can look
forward to at the end of the day is each other's company at the bar. Virtually penniless, they screw back at the
world for screwing them over in this least-seen of the three films here.
There are
no extras here, but they all look a little softer and sound a little weaker
with their Dolby Digital sound mixes than expected. This is a nice, handy set if you have not
seen the films, but Blu-ray fans will want to go for those editions instead.
- Ricky Chiang
