DVDebut: Three knockout actors highlight Jason Lew's moving/flawed THE FREE W0RLD

There is so much that is so good about THE FREE WORLD, last year's film from writer/director Jason Lew making its DVDebut tomorrow, that it is too bad the movie doesn't quite hold up overall. Yet what's good here is good enough to warrant a watch. Mr. Lew, shown below, is interested in themes like justice, retribution, guilt and the demands of necessity, and for much of the film, he handles these with intelligence and skill, and his terrific cast puts it over with feeling and aplomb.

The movie begins with a man's voice speaking to what we might assume is some kind of support group -- maybe of parolees or soon-to-be ex-prisoners -- leading to the first of the film's pleasant (sometimes not so) surprises in this tale of an ex-con, the woman he becomes involved with, and his place of employment, which figures prominently in the plot.

Ms. Lew has cast his movie about as well as could be imagined, with every role -- the leads to the supporting parts -- written and played fully and exactingly.

In the role of that ex-con is an actor -- Boyd Holbrook (shown above and below) --that TrustMovies has now seen several times and found exceptionally good in quite a range of roles. Just the other night we saw him play the charming, good-looking "chef" in the better-than-you've-heard sci-fi thriller Morgan, and he was also excellent in, among other films, Little Accidents, Gone Girl and Run All Night.

The Free World proves his best film yet, and were the movie seen by more of our "cultural guardians," as well as by the public, it would have put him firmly on the map. As it is, it will stand as testament to what Holbrook is capable of, should he not finally get the kind of major roles he ought to be playing. As the woman who slowly becomes his "significant other," Elizabeth Moss (above, left, and below) adds yet another feather to her very densely populated cap.

Moss is particularly adept -- from Mad Men through Top of the Lake to the recent Queen of Earth -- at playing semi-losers, letting us experience the emotional states of these women while refusing to play for unearned sympathy yet never allowing us to lose our concern for them.

The third major performance is not a lead, but as it is played by the always wonderful Octavia Spencer (shown on poster, top), it becomes another reason the see the movie. Ms Spencer takes the role of Holbrook's employer, and she brings her usual charismatic warmth and engulfing love to the proceedings.

Around two-thirds of the way through, the film turns into a violent, action/chase thriller. This is certainly believable enough, given the set of circumstances we've already been shown. But Lew neglects to give us certain information that would be nice to know: Were the couple deliberately betrayed by their friend?  If so, why? And what the hell were the bad guys here going to do with the pair, and again, why?

These are not deal-breakers, for the movie still works on a certain level of excitement and adrenaline, and Holbrook clearly can play the heavy-duty macho hero with the best of them. But the abrupt change, together with the lack of context, flaws the film. Nonetheless, it offers a final scene that stays true to what I think Lew is trying to tell us about "the free world."

The movie, from IFC Films and running a well-paced and involving 102 minutes, arrives on DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17 -- for purchase and/or rental.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD? Another case of misplaced, if not imbecilic, critical hosannas

If you're a fan of nearly non-stop action, you'll probably go for MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, the third in a fortunately not-so-swift (the last one hit theaters in 1981) series of post-apocalyptic action movies about a taciturn non-hero who keeps saving the day. The first two films starred a much younger Mel Gibson; the mantle has now passed to Tom Hardy. The director of all three is Australian George Miller, whose best work is the under-rated but simply terrific Babe: Pig in the City.

Garnering a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, most of the plaudits seem to come from critics who are impressed that filmmaker Miller didn't go the constant CGI/green-screen route but used "reality" in his filming. Yeah, right. There's plenty of CGI here, folk, so don't imagine you're going to see amazing stunt work above all else. What you do see is lots of action and scenes of it that go on and on and on. They're impressive. For awhile. Mr. Hardy, above (and still seemingly wearing that mouthpiece from The Dark Knight Rises), has a nice face. So what's the point in keeping it covered, as it is through about half of this film? In any case, Hardy proves properly gruff with, of course, the required, caring interior.

Along for the ride -- she initiates it, in fact -- is Charlize Theron, above, complete with CGI-effected robotic wrist and hand, along with a flock of young ladies, below, who appear to be brides of

the weird-assed (and faced), power-mad -- gosh, aren't they all? -- dictator, played by Hugh Keays-Byrne (below), who gets to wear his own rather nonsensical facial mask throughout the film.

Tagging along, off and on, and with a very off-and-on sense of loyalty is a bizarre character played surprisingly well by Nicholas Hoult, below, who -- though covered in white paint -- does not have to wear any mask and thus provides the film's most compelling performance. In thrall to his crazy leader, as seem to be the entire populace, Mr. Hoult makes us care a bit about who he is what he is going through, which is more than can be said for anyone else in the film.

The problem here, for viewers who insists on more than mere action, is that the world depicted seems utterly free of  logic. How do these people we spend our two hours with (and the movie is at lest 30 minutes too long: the earlier Mad Maxes clocked in at around 90 minutes) manage to exist? We never see them eating (save a moment featuring a small surprise beetle), and only once does our hero take a drink of water. Mother's milk appears to be the meal of choice -- for the bad guys, at least -- but it that really enough to fully nourish a grown man?

The movie spends its first two thirds with the good guys running away from the bad guys toward some "greener" spot called home. The last third has them running back again toward their original and ghastly location, followed once more by the bad guys. That's the plot. The climactic chase, for all its ferocious action and death, is barely believable, while the result of that chase and the requisite toppling-of-the-villain is so ridiculously simple and easy as to approach camp.

Let me be clear: The movie isn't horrible; it's simply stunted. Sure, the action is well-executed, but a good movie, just like a good life, requires something more. Mad Max: Fury Road -- a B-movie raised, thanks to its multi-million-dollar budget, to something beyond its grasp -- arrived to surprisingly small box-office, considering its hype. I would expect a steep decline in its second week grosses, as well, once word-of-mouth sets in (the cinema we frequented had maybe a dozen in attendance at a late afternoon showing), so if you plan to see the film in theaters, better do it soon. Or wait for the Blu-ray/DVD.

Oh, yes: one more thing. Here's another 3D movie being shown in theaters that don't bother to get the projection right (we saw it at AMC's Kips Bay in NYC). Consequently the 3D looked dark and muddy throughout. And don't use the "Yes-but-this-is-post-apocalyptic" excuse, either, since most the movie takes place in the bright and sunny desert. Theaters are charging us more for 3D (which did not used to be the case), while giving us a third-rate viewing experience: One more reason why box-office grosses continues to decline, even as admission prices go up.

Time-waster worth watching: WILD CARD -- West & Goldman's ode to addiction & justice

The first thing you may notice about WILD CARD is how leisurely it rolls along, especially considering that it stars Jason Statham in another of his many action-hero roles. Never uninteresting -- not for a moment -- the movie still ambles and zig-zags blithely on its way, stopping now and again for one those expected action set-pieces, each of which is very nicely done, though no more or less believable than any other action-heroics of recent times. Yet the movie works pleasantly and smartly enough to qualify as decent entertainment, thanks mostly to Statham's grace in both action (below) and repose (at bottom: he's quieter and more thoughtful here than I've seen him in some time) and to a more unusual screenplay than we are used to getting in this genre, by a fellow named William Goldman.

Mr. Goldman, a rather famous screenwriter (Butch Cassidy..., The Princess Bride and author of that immortal line about the industry, "Nobody knows anything"), has here written a journeyman screenplay filled with interesting characters and situations that wax and wane with a different rhythm than usual for this genre and allow for some good actors to register strongly in a bunch of nearly-throw-away roles.

These would include the likes of Hope Davis (below, as a casino dealer); Jason Alexander (above), as a helpful friend;

Anne Heche, below, right, as a friendly waitress (Ms Heche gets two scenes in the film);

Stanley Tucci (below, in a terrific hairpiece), as a casino owner (of possibly gay predilection) called Baby;

and a interesting young actress named Dominik Garcia-Lorrido (below, who spends most of the film looking very beaten-up and who, according to the IMDB, turns out to be the daughter of Andy Garcia) in the pivotal role of an abused prostitute who wants vengeance.

Directed professionally and economically by Simon West, the film's plot takes in themes of addiction, con games, justice, and finding oneself -- and if it does not deepen these to any extent, it at least gives them a decent hearing, while providing a nice forum for Statham's abilities as action star and actor-in-progress.

That's Sofia Vergara, above, looking as beautiful as ever, but this time in a role in which she seems sweeter than usual. (Most of these actors have but a single scene, yet, together they register as an enjoyable group.)

Also in the starry cast is Michael Angarano (above) as a young man who hires the Statham character as a protector/guide, and as usual Angarano proves equal to the task while adding extra interest to the proceedings.

No great shakes, of course, and yet, while been-there-done-that would seem to hang over this movie, by the end, it has become something a little different -- and pleasantly welcome. Wild Card, from Lionsgate and run-ning 92 minutes, is out now on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and digital platforms.

Streaming choice for Hong Kong action: Clarence Fok's silly-but-entertaining toss-up, SPECIAL ID

Although the Koreans have given Hong Kong action movies some competition of late (most recently via the superlative Snowpiercer), Hong Kong is what many of us still think of first when it comes to exciting man-on-man (sometimes on-woman, and occasionally in-car) action. A recent example of this would be SPECIAL ID, by a director new to me, Clarence Fok, who together with his prize star, Donnie Yen, has staged a hefty handful of terrific action scenes, each one seemingly better than the last.

Mr. Fok, shown at right at a press conference for the film, has also made a movie that often seems silly -- yet because the silliness also seems intentional, this allows us to relax and just go with the flow. That flow takes in the three characters shown on the poster, top. Mr. Yen, who really is a terrific performer, fighter and actor, here plays Dragon, a police-man who, due to a problem in the past, is remanded to working undercover to get the goods on a certain criminal gang. All poor Dragon wants, how-ever, is to rejoin the police force as a cop.

The new leader of that criminal gang is an old friend of Yen's named Sunny (Andy On, above, left), a very nasty type who believes in nothing but power and brute strength. The third wheel is a very pretty, by-the-book woman cop (Tian Jing, below, right), who is rather extraordinarily gifted in gunplay and fighting.

The plot also involves Dragon's delightful mother, who has clearly raised her son well, plus various assorted criminal types and other cops. But really, we just move from one great action set piece to an even better action set piece -- all which display Mr. Yen's skills to amazing effect.

One of Yen's biggest assets is his charm, along with the all-out enjoyment he seems to be having throughout much of the film. He can be serious as needed, of course, but often he seems to be showing us what a lark this all is -- so just lean back, relax and enjoy.

Special ID can be viewed on Netfix streaming now, as well as on DVD. To bad it's not also on Blu-ray, but Netflix's high-definition will cover that base almost as well.