August 24, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES I, II, III & IV • Page 19 Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster star in ‘The Beaver’ by Dennis Seuling “The Beaver” (Summit Home Entertainment) is one of the most unusual films of the past year. Walter Black (Mel Gibson) is in a grand funk. His toy business is tanking, his teenage son, Porter (Anton Yelchin), hates him, and Walter’s wife, Meredith (Jodie Foster), is anxiety-ridden over his increasing depression. He is in such a bad way that he can’t even manage his own suicide. Just when things are at rock bottom, Walter finds a ragged hand puppet. He slips it on, and it begins talking to him, providing self-help advice and inspirational aphorisms. Finding the energy and hope he had lost, Walter continues wearing and speaking through the puppet, telling people it’s a new form of therapy. Life improves dramatically for Walter professionally and personally with the beaver puppet’s constant support. On the surface, “The Beaver” sounds like a broad screwball comedy but, under the direction of Jodie Foster, it explores the detrimental impact of mental illness on a family. Gibson has had more than his share of tabloid headlines, but he succeeds in a role that not every actor could sell. Foster, Yelchin, and Jennifer Lawrence (playing a cheerleader who attracts Porter’s attention) are all excellent, and the quirkiness of the movie is at its best. Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes, audio commentary with Jodie Foster, and a making-of featurette. It is also available on DVD. “Poetry” (Kino Lorber), winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival, is a portrait of a woman’s fight against Alzheimer’s and her guilt over a relative’s brutal crime. This Korean drama stars Yun Jung-hee, voted her country’s best actress in a public poll. She plays Mija, an aging part-time maid and full-time guardian of her apathetic grandson. Concerned about her frequent forgetfulness, she takes a poetry class at the local arts center to sharpen her mind and begins to appreciate the wonders of the natural world. But a schoolgirl’s suicide initiates a chain of tragic events that will alter her life forever. Often, foreign films surpass American films when it comes to character studies. More leisurely paced, less dependent on action, and willing to peer deeply into the thoughts of the protagonist, they typically offer a richer view of an individual. Mija is not a saint. She is vain and overly flighty for her age, which gives her an interesting edginess. The film takes the audience in an unanticipated direction, so it is far more than a sad tale of an old woman watching her health deteriorate. Available in Blu-ray and DVD, “Poetry” is in Korean with English subtitles. Bonus features include a making-of featurette, interview with actor Ahn Nae-sang, trailers, and stills. “Super Hybrid” (Anchor Bay) is about a killer car. Late one night, a mysterious car is brought into the Chicago police impound garage after a deadly traffic accident. The on-call mechanics soon discover the car has a mind of its own. With hundreds of horsepower and two tons of reinforced steel, the car is an unstoppable killing machine capable of outrunning and outthinking humans. Proving this reviewer’s long-held belief that the how and why of fantastic occurrences should never be excessively detailed, the movie tells viewers the car is actually a shape-shifting monster that chooses to look like a car and can morph into different kinds of vehicles in order to attract specific kinds of people. The concept of the killer car has been treated far more eerily is such pictures as Steven Spielberg’s “Duel” and John Carpenter’s “Christine.” Available on Blu-ray and DVD, “Super Hybrid” is heavy on action, poorly acted and, ultimately, pointless. There are no extras. “Bambi II” (Walt Disney Home Entertainment) continues Disney’s policy of (continued on Crossword page) Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster in a scene from ‘The Beaver.’ story keeps viewers involved throughout. A scripting misstep occurs when Walter’s odd “therapy” attracts national media attention. These scenes distract from the family dynamic and seem superfluous. When Foster focuses on how Walter and the puppet affect other family members, the