The latest video releases reviewed
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
Directed by Luc Jacquet. G cert
Perfectly charming, perfectly average French documentary following a year in the life of a group of Emperor penguins, which became a worldwide success thanks to its anthropomorphic sensibility and its glutinous English-language commentary by Morgan Freeman. The DVD comes with the cartoon 8 Ball Bunny, in which Bugs Bunny annoys a penguin from New Jersey. Now that's a classic. Donald Clarke
GRIZZLY MAN ****
Directed by Werner Herzog 15 cert
Truly masterful documentary by Herzog, the laureate of the extreme, focusing on the life and untimely death of one Timothy Treadwell, who lived happily among grizzly bears until they ate him. The contrast between Treadwell's insane buoyancy and Herzog's glum nihilism makes for fascinating viewing. Whereas the naturalist believes in universal harmony, the director thinks the planet is ruled by "chaos, hostility and murder". The DVD is disappointingly short on extras. Donald Clarke
MATCH POINT *****
Directed by Woody Allen. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Brian Cox, Ewan Bremner, Penelope Wilton, James Nesbitt 15 cert
For his most satisfying film in well over a decade, Allen turns serious again and stays behind the camera for an arresting moral drama that plays with all the accumulating tension of a finely honed thriller. Rhys Meyers is assured and charismatic as a suavely ambitious young Irishman drawn to the affluent lifestyle of a wealthy English family. Michael Dwyer
LADY VENGEANCE/CHIN-JEOL-HAN GEUM-JA-SSI ****
Directed by Park Chan-Wook. Starring Lee Yeong-ae, Choi Min-sik, Oh Dal-su, Kim Si-hu, Lee Seung-shin 18 cert
The concluding film in Park's South Korean revenge trilogy is a challenging, unsettling psychodrama in which a child-killer is released from jail with a score to settle. As its warped secrets are revealed, the movie reflects acutely on the nature of revenge and its consequences for all concerned.Michael Dwyer
