Whether in its original 1997 Austrian version or the new, meticulous shot-for-shot English language remake, Michael Haneke’s meta-thriller is a masterful provocation. The story of a wealthy family held captive and tormented by a pair of malicious young men in gleaming white polos and gloves, Funny Games is a scalding lesson in audience manipulation, simultaneously gratifying and denying our bloodlust with an astounding command of cinematic language. Rather than being redundant, watching the films back to back makes one realize just how ingeniously constructed they are and just how ruthlessly sharp (and still timely) Haneke’s message really is. (DVD; AMC Huebner Oaks 24, San Antonio, TX)