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.

John Stockwell's CAT RUN: Was Janet McTeer nominated for the WRONG movie?

Yes, yes: Of course, Albert Nobbs was wonderful, and Janet McTeer was expectedly brilliant in her Oscar-nominated role. However, for unexpected brilliance -- I'll bet most of you didn't even know that our Janet graced the likes of this ultra-violent, nasty, gory but oh-my-god, it's so funny, clever, surprising and special movie -- CAT RUN is the film to see. Out now on DVD and Blu-ray -- and with its gorgeous Montenegro/Bosnia/Herzegovina coastal settings, Blu-ray is the one to choose -- the movie is solid enough to bypass any waft of guilty pleasure (thanks to Ms McTeer, there's oodles more pleasure here than guilt).

Directed by John Stockwell, more or less in the fast, smart style of his under-rated Turistas (rather than the sleep-inducing manner of his later Dark Tide), the movie initially has a little trouble joining together its two elements: goofy comedy, essayed by two best friends played by Scott Mechlowicz (above, left) and Alphonso McAuley (above, right), and dark thriller, in which would-be star Paz Vega (below) and real star McTeer do the heavy lifting. (The writers here are  Nick Ball and John Niven.)

Mechlowitz always has an air of sweetness about him that often saves the day, and so it is here. McAuley, initially off-putting, slowly works his way into our good graces. Vega is gorgeous, as ever, but has little to do in the acting department. Also on hand are Christopher McDonald and Karel Roden as the villains -- both are enjoyably reprehensible -- and D.L. Hughley, shown at bottom, as a triple amputee (two legs and one arm) office manager (don't ask -- but he's terrific).

It is Ms McTeer however (above and below), who provides the film's fuel. As as assassin named Helen Bingham who looks like a modern-day Mary Poppins, appears to know every trick in the book, and will stop at nothing to get her job done, she is one ghastly delight: equal parts frightening and funny. She knows her way around, not just one-liners (though she is quite good at these) but around dialog in general, and as much of it as you'd care to throw her way. Her line readings, every last one of them, are impeccable. They keep goosing the movie into some kind of lame-brained art.

McTeer is scary as hell for about half the movie, and then something even more wonderful happens: We begin to learn a little more about her, and then occurs what may be a "first" for films in this thriller/chase genre known for sporting outsize villains like this one. The last half of the film is simply top-notch, and even those two disparate elements mentioned earlier, the humor and the thrills, start working together beautifully -- once again, thanks to this phenomenal actress, who along with everything else she does so well, gets to do a nifty martial arts fight scene and show us some quite appealing cleavage, too. Janet, dear: Is there nothing you can't do?

McTeer is better than any Bond villain so far -- perhaps any villain the movies have yet given us. Which is why members of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences, should they ever deign to view a movie not earmarked as Oscar-bait, might discover and then honor a role and a performance for the ages. I doubt we shall see its like again, this combination of unique character, amazing actress and all-stops-out performance.

So you, dear reader, better get hold of Cat Run before it becomes a collector's item. It's available now for purchase or instant video rental from Amazon, rental from Netflix or Blockbuster, and probably a lot of other smaller venues, too.