DVD pick of the week: "Rabbit Hole"

On paper, John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole" would seem to be the most dour of viewing experiences: A movie about a couple dealing with the death of their young son, and how to continue in its wake. What it has in common with Mitchell's debut movie, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," however, is that in spite of it subject matter its a little joy to watch and is spiked throughout with humorous touches that make it all the sweeter to take in.

And it certainly doesn't hurt that the couple at the center of this is played by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Kidman, in particular, is at her very best here, and received a Best Actress Oscar nomination, though of course lost out (rightly) to Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" in a very talented field.

From the very beginning of "Rabbit Hole," it's impossible to keep your eyes off of Kidman's Becca. Even when she's clearly just going through the motions of her daily life (standing in front of the dryer, for example, the whole time that clothes are drying), you can see in her face everything that she craves and fears all at once, mostly re-engagement with the world around her. That starts with her husband, Howie (Eckhart), from whom she's been distant ever since their young son Danny was killed in a car crash several months earlier. Though the role as written is pretty much to react to Kidman's emotional ride, Eckhart nonetheless delivers a nuanced performance.

And as Becca's world slowly starts to re-expand, a wicked humor creeps into the script by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his stage play. It comes first with her family, including misfit sister Izzy (who for unspecified reasons has just managed to somehow get fired from Applebee's), played by Tammy Blanchard, and her over-empathetic mother, played with natural ease by Dianne Wiest, mostly in the form of what you can and can't talk about in such situations.

The humor gets more wicked as Howie and Becca attend a support group for parents who have suffered the same tragedy with a child, an activity Becca just can't stand. It's an uncomfortable delight to watch the contempt unfurl on her face before she explodes on some poor sap who had the gumption to say "God needed another angel." It's here also that we meet Gaby (Sandra Oh), whose natural face for empathy belies the role she will play of temptress.

Mitchell and Abaire slowly add to their tale a mystery that keeps the story moving, cleverly introduced and framed by the drawing of what we eventually find out is a comic book. As Becca first stalks and then confronts a young man in the neighborhood (I won't spoil it by telling you who he is), their secret encounters are increasingly poignant without ever being too mawkish.

And Mitchell, who shows a deft directing hand throughout, is at his best in the final third. Without ever hitting us over the head with it, as Becca starts to slowly re-engage with the world, he equally slowly lightens the color palette, giving the movie a "Virgin Suicides"-kind of dream-like feel by the time she reaches the long night that will bring her back.

Be warned: This is a world of extremely raw emotions, and none of them are held back here. But what makes Mitchell's movie so entertaining is that it's ultimately about life rather than death, and just how to go about living it. In the end, that - and a sublime performance from Nicole Kidman - are what make "Rabbit Hole" well worth checking out on DVD.

A real "Battlestar Galactica" prequel? Bring it on!

When the second incarnation of "Battlestar Galactica" left the Syfy airwaves in 2009, it left a real void for fans of genuine, smart sci-fi, so this is certainly good news

Executive producer David Eick, one of the big brains behind the version that began in 2004, has pitched to the station a prequel of sorts called "Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome," and it has so far picked up at least a 2-hour pilot. The show takes place in the 10th year of the first Cylon war, and follows the exploits of young ensign William Adama, a recent Academy graduate and now a rookie viper pilot. In the 2004 show, of course, Adama was played by the great Edward James Olmos, but they'll now clearly have to cast some new blood for this.

According to the plot synopsis, Adama "finds himself assigned to the newest battlestar in the Colonial fleet, the Galactica. The talented but hot-headed risk-taker soon finds himself leading a dangerous top secret mission that, if successful, will turn the tide of the decade-long war in favor of the desperate fleet."

Nothing but epic awesomeness there, and though there's no word yet if co-creator Ronald Moore will once again be involved, here's a final word from Eick to give "Battlestar" fans a sense of just how good this could be.

"While maintaining the themes of politics, social propaganda, and the timeless question: what does it mean to be human? - 'Blood & Chrome' will also return us to the authentic, relentless depiction of combat and the agony and ecstasy of human-Cylon war, which was the hallmark of 'Battlestar Galactica's' early seasons."

I don't have too much after that today before the videos because, before working on a Saturday, I have to go swimming and then do my laundry, but there is a bit of goodness to get to for fans of Wes Anderson.

No, unfortunately, it isn't any more details on the film he apparently plays on shooting next spring or so, but it is a glimpse of his writing before he went on, with his first three movies, to make three of my favorites in "Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums."

Thanks to the head's up from Hitfix.com for this link to a short story he wrote for the University of Texas literary journal Analecta. I haven't read it yet, but I just printed it out, so will do so today to take my mind off of laundry for a bit. Enjoy the story here.

OK, on to the videos. I can't remember a movie in recent history that's had as much trouble simply coming out (no pun intended, really) as "I Love You Phillip Morris." Is it simply that the characters played by Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor are gay? I suppose so, and that's truly sad, because as you'll see from this first full trailer I know of for the movie by "Bad Santa" creators Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, it looks pretty wickedly funny. Look for this in what surely will be a limited release Dec. 3, and enjoy the trailer.



I'm a big, big fan of the UK teen skeen "Skins," and an even bigger fan of Baltimore, but sadly, I can't see this turning out to be anything but awful. It seems that MTV is remaking the great show (which aired on BBC America here, I believe) with a cast of way-too-fresh-faced (the original cast was rather scruffy) young Americans, and somehow transporting the action from the north of England to Charm City itself. If you've seen the original, you'll see that they at least kept a few of the characters' names, but seemingly none of the spirit of the original show. "Enjoy" this trailer for the show, apparently coming in January.

MTV Shows

OK, where better to end up today then with the trailer for a movie I'm definitely psyched to see at the end of this year, even if it does look rather morose. John Cameron Mitchell is best known as the stage and later movie creator of Hedwig, the star of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," still by a wide margin the greatest botched sex change/punk rock movie ever made. As you'll see below, he's come up with something completely different for "Rabbit Hole," his new movie starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, set to come out hopefully everywhere in December. It's about a couple dealing with the death of their very young son, and though that indeed sounds thoroughly depressing, I love Mitchell's work and I'll watch Kidman in just about anything, so I'm there. Enjoy the clip, and have a great weekend. Peace out.