From Deseret News archives:
Hidden gems among new releases
"Music Within" (MGM/Fox, 2007; R for language, drugs, sex; $27.98) I first saw this film on an airline flight in January, so, of course, the foul language was excised. Still, this is a movie that deserves better than its straight-to-video treatment; it's more involving and challenging than most films that have been in theaters this year.
This is the true story of a young, charismatic public speaker who returns from Vietnam as a hearing-impaired veteran, completes college and, adeptly hiding his deafness, sells insurance until he eventually finds his calling as an advocate for the rights of others with disabilities.
Ron Livingston is perfect in that role, with Michael Sheen frequently stealing the show as a wheelchair-bound victim of cerebral palsy whose anger is tempered by his sarcastic wit. Also in the smaller roles are Hector Elizondo as his prickly mentor, Rebecca DeMornay as his crazy mother, Leslie Nielsen as a sympathetic doctor and Clint Howard as a bigoted administrator.
The film is not perfect, a romantic subplot during the swinging '70s being the least effective element. But it's generally smart, often very funny and decidedly eye-opening in its look at how the disabled have been (and still often are) treated by society at large.
Extras: widescreen, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes
"My Blueberry Nights" (Weinstein/Genius, 2008, PG-13, $19.98). Annoying music-video-style camera tricks undercut this soap opera, an episodic road movie starring singer Norah Jones, who is adequate, as she encounters a string of better performances from Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz and David Straithairn. OK but should have been better.
Extras: widescreen, featurettes, photo gallery, trailer
"A Dirty Carnival" (Genius, 2006, $24.95). Interesting Korean melodrama about a hitman with identity issues who finds himself reluctantly caught up in a gang war. Wildly violent and profane.
Extras: widescreen, in Korean with English subtitles, deleted scenes, featurette
