Half Nelson

When Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor award at this year’s Oscars, nobody really batted an eyelid. After all, he was the red-hot favourite up against such un-fancied opposition as Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness, Peter O’Toole in Venus and Ryan Gosling in some flick named after a wrestling move. Well, perhaps we should have all paid a little more attention to the latter film, because in it Gosling gives easily the most exciting and vivid performance you’ll see from an up-and-coming actor this year. He plays Dan Dunne, a brilliant history teacher who also coaches the school's basketball team in his spare time. Such dedication makes him well-loved by pupils, as does his inspiring approach to his job which sees him challenge his class, rather than merely lecture to them. However, Dunne's talents inside the classroom make way for an emotional crisis outside of it. A failed children’s author with nothing but a string of one-night stands and unfulfilling affairs to his name, he turns to drugs in an attempt to blot out his feelings of emptiness. Casting someone as young as Gosling (he’s only 27), in such a frustrated and regretful role may seem like a mistake then but his youth actually lends the film much of its tragedy. Hidden behind a scuzzy beard, thin, unkempt hair and skin which looks like it hasn’t been washed in about a week, the life and vitality which marked him out in previous, more clean-cut, films such as The Notebook is gone. What exists in its place is a world-weary wistfulness which has more in common with the sad, remorseful reflection Jack Nicholson displayed in About Schmidt than the happy-go-lucky performances of many of his peers. Dunne’s dejection at the world eventually takes a turn for the worst when he is found overdosed in the girls’ toilets by Drey, one of the class' most gifted students and the only person, including his own family, that Dunne can build a sense of connection with. Played with great skill and charm by newcomer Shareeka Epps, Drey, like her teacher, is at a crossroads in her life. Down one road, there’s Dunne, well-meaning but deeply flawed, while down the other is Frank, a charismatic local drug dealer whose misdeeds landed her brother in prison. That the film manages to trade in these well-thumbed staples of the inspirational high-school drama genre and yet still avoid Dangerous Minds-style clichés is down to the skill of writers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, the latter of whom also directs. Aside from Gosling, it is they who make this film come to life and on an impressive DVD package, they give a sensitive and insightful commentary. The disc also includes interviews and a Q&A session along with deleted scenes and out-takes. But the most interesting extra is the short from which the film grew, Gowanus Brooklyn. Twenty minutes long, it’s more centred on Drey (still Epps) and although it’s quite unpolished it displays a raw talent from Fleck, Boden and Epps that proves they are all ones to look out for in the future.

Tokko - The Complete Series

The world of anime can be a scary one to try and get into if you're a novice and even if you like the increasingly popular Studio Ghibli anime films, but obviously there's a big difference between that and the kind of stuff that is usually known as anime, ie TV series. Tokko is one such series, based on manga comics, and very much aimed at the older teen/young adult market, full of swearing, violence and even brief nudity. The story is fairly stock horror sci-fi stuff, with demons rising from hell, turning people into mindless zombies who rip other people to shreds. There's a shady government agency called Tokko going round with big swords slashing up the zombies but not telling the police what's going on. Ranmaru Shindo is a newly-qualified cop who just happens to be a survivor of the Machida Massacre, which, it turns out, was done by demons, so it's not long before he's well and truly entangled in the world of Tokko. This being anime, there's also some strange Japanese touches, like Ranmaru's younger sister Saya, who wanders round their flat in tiny underwear, heaving her bosoms in his face and offering to scrub his back in the bathtub. It's kind of funny, but in a rather disturbing way, and hers are far from the only pnuematic breasts bouncing around, with Tokko officer Kureha Suzuka spending most of her time in a magic leather jacket that displays almost everything without ever having a wardrobe malfunction. Well, at least until she opens it up and gives Ranmaru a good glimpse of what she's got on offer. However, it's far from anime porn, with much more blood and guts than cleavage on display, and Tokko certainly isn't for the faint-hearted. However, it is a really entertaining show despite its occasional eccentricities and cliches. There's plenty of action, lots of twists and turns and no shortage of humour and interesting characters, all hallmarks of anime. This DVD set doesn't have much in the way of special features, but with the whole series here on three discs, you don't really need much else.