IN A BETTER WORLD (Blu-Ray and DVD)

Winner of the Oscar AND the Golden Globe (amongst others) for Best Foreign Language Film? One of Cyrus's favorite movies he saw this year? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiitt, that's all you had to say! I'm renting it now! Or, maybe, take a step back for a moment and breathe before I launch into the expository sequence of my praise, because the Danish/Swedish film "In a Better World" isn't really directed at the young or the even mildly impatient (re: ADD). So now, half my followers just scanned down to the next review, and rightly they should. "In a Better World" is a subtle, beautiful, and very adult exploration of the complications inherent in navigating the tricky moral waters of pacifistic humanism, and the difficulties of a father expressing these complexities to their son. Mikael Persbrandt plays Anton, a doctor who spends half his time in a Sudanese refugee camp, treating war victims, and the other half in Denmark trying to reconcile with his wife (Trine Dyrholm) and keeping up the positive bond he has with his all-too innocent son Elias. Enter Christian, a new kid at school dealing with the recent death of his mother by bottling up enormous amounts of anger at the injustice of the world, who takes it out violently on a bully who has been tormenting Elias all year. The two become friends, but Christian's world is one where all he sees is the evils of the world; a far cry from the optimistic and humanistic view that has been imparted to Elias since birth. Meanwhile, Daddy Anton finds himself in an impossible conundrum as the warlord who has been committing unspeakable atrocities upon the young women he regularly treats, comes in himself to his makeshift hospital with a potentially fatal injury in need of treatment. WHERE'S YOUR HIGH AND MIGHTY NOW, BUD? "In a Better World" doesn't provide any answers, per say, but if there were answers to these types of questions, we'd be living in a utopia. It does, however, illustrate in a thoughtful and conversation provoking way, the lack of simplicity behind making decisions based on moral absolutes. Now let's just see them make an American version where the lead character gets changed to Batman.

--CLICK HERE TO BUY In a Better World (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

HUNG SEASON 2 (Blu-Ray and DVD)...Guest Review by LEON

Outside of appearing virtually as Aquaman in the movie 'Deep Blue Sea', I've been no fan of Thomas Jane. He's one of those handsome-but-bland actors who people tend to like without ever reasoning out why. Probably the reason I like the series 'Hung' so much is because, even though he's the main star, it's not about him. Sure, Jane is the main character, Ray Drecker, a way down on his luck Detroit high school coach/ history teach, whose wife (Anne Heche) has left him for a nebbishy dentist. His uninsured house has burned to the ground leaving him even more strapped for cash but he does discover a way out. Ray finds that his only other marketable skill involves employing his larger than average penis. He's likeable enough, in an “oh-you-poor-bastard” sort of way, but it's the situations and supporting characters that make 'Hung' worth watching. His former fuckbuddy now pimp, Tanya (Jane Adams) is one big unchartable neurotic, insecure mess. As much as she was becoming more and more unraveled from her rivalry with the the cunning, alpha-female, sexy redhead Lenore (Rebecca Creskoff) in the first season, now it has heated to the point that Tanya has to take drastic measures. She seeks out sage teachings in the 'hood from a real pimp, Charlie (Lennie James), who schools her on the how-to's of handling ho's, punkin' rivals and dealing with her mother (played by Rhea Perlman). Of course, filtered through the mind of a skittish butterfly like Tanya, his advice produces mixed, though HI-larious results! Ray remains mostly oblivious to what's going on with Tanya as he deals with the horny wife of his asshole next door neighbor, the possible exposure of his double life as his best friend (Gregg Henry) falls in love with one of his clients, and a possible reconciliation with his ex-wife. The show getting so much funnier in the second season would've been plenty to keep me on the hook, but all of the dangling plot lines are the clincher as to what will have me definitely coming back for the third season.

--CLICK HERE TO BUY Hung: The Complete Second Season [Blu-ray]