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Languages: English

Summary: This Jack Black vehicle seems, on the surface, like a perfect fit for the actor: an opportunity to showcase Black's unique style with the extreme facial gestures and exuberant physicality that have become his forte. Black plays Ignacio, a lowly cook in a monastery in central Mexico who feeds orphans by day, and wrestles in the town square at night. Ignacio teams up with Esqueleto (Hector Jimenez), a street urchin who tormented him, to form a tag-team duo that goes up against the strangest wrestlers Mexico has to offer. Besides doing it for money to feed the orphans, Ignacio is also fighting to win the forbidden affections of Sister Encarnacion (Ana de la Reguera) with predictable difficulty. While the movie has likeable characters and the plot is enjoyable enough, it can’t overcome its plodding pace and formulaic structure enough to keep the movie interesting throughout. Jack Black is a very strong comedic actor, and the wrestling scenes offer plenty of chances for slapstick, physical comedy, but watching him run around in red briefs and blue tights amounts to half the laughs in the movie, and there’s just not enough here for him to really work with. When he plays a more well-formed character, as in "School of Rock" and "High Fidelity", his strengths really show. But in "Nacho Libre" he’s saddled with a caricature. Weighed down by too much low-brow humor and a script that goes nowhere, "Nacho Libre" just can’t make full enough use of Black’s talents to overcome the obstacles. "--Daniel Vancini"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: David Zucker--of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker creative troika behind "Airplane!" and television's "Police Squad!"--directed this 1988 feature film based on the latter show. Leslie Nielsen returns to his old TV role of Lt. Frank Drebin, the deadpan idiot with a detective's badge. The reinvention of the failed series as a theatrical feature seems to have inspired everyone involved to make a pretty funny movie, and the jokes gather a momentum that lasts until the final act. Ricardo Montalban is a perfect foil as a villain whose aquarium is being invaded by Drebin during routine questioning, and George Kennedy is delightful in a self-parodying part as an earnest but obtuse lawman. There's a hilarious bit when Drebin--wearing a live police wire while going to the bathroom--can be overheard over the loudspeakers at a speech given by a flustered mayor (Nancy Marchand). Yes, that's O.J. Simpson as a detective who ends up on the wrong side of numerous Drebin blunders. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: It's more of Leslie Nielsen's Lt. Frank Drebin, the bumbling cop from the old "Police Squad!" television series. This time, Drebin uncovers a plot--led by supervillain Robert Goulet!--to sabotage America's energy policy. The jokes don't stick as well as those of the first film ("Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!"), but there are some very funny slapstick moments, including several involving former First Lady Barbara Bush (played by an actress, of course). "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The usual way of the world is that sequels amount to thinner and thinner carbon copies of the original. But not in the case of "Naked Gun" movies, which only seemed to get funnier with each new entry. This third episode in the series finds Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) retired from his police squad and married to the woman of his dreams (Priscilla Presley). But he is pressed back into action to infiltrate a group of terrorists who plan to blow up the Oscars. The filmmakers make hay with spoofs of prison films and, particularly, of the Oscars themselves, in an award-show send-up that includes such real-life stars as Raquel Welch and Pia Zadora--and Drebin being mistaken for Phil Donahue. The takeoff on the dreadful production numbers that always drag out the Academy Awards will have you howling. "--Marshall Fine"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: With hairy warts, a stern-looking unibrow and one extremely protruding buck-tooth, "Nanny McPhee" is a wonderfully comedic substitute for "Mary Poppins" in this entertaining family fantasy. By loosely adapting Christianna Brand's "Nurse Matilda" children's books of the 1960s, Oscar®-winning screenwriter Emma Thompson ("Sense and Sensibility") has also given herself the plum role of Nanny McPhee, who can tame even the most unruly children with a tap of her magic walking stick. Her latest challenge is the bratty brood of a recent widower Mr. Brown (Colin Firth), who's under pressure to find a new wife or lose his much-needed allowance from wealthy Aunt Adelaide (a tailor-made role for Angela Lansbury). His love for scullery maid Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald) remains unspoken as he wincingly woos the eagerly merry widow Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie), but Brown's raucous rugrats have a plan to make things right, especially after they've come under the benevolent influence of Nanny McPhee, whose peculiar brand of discipline works wonders for everyone involved. Both quintessentially British and universally appealing, this wildly colorful comedy (thanks to a bold palette of costume and production design) was capably directed by Kirk Jones, whose appreciation for comic actors was equally apparent in his critically acclaimed 1998 comedy "Waking Ned Devine". With just a hint of darkness to offset the whimsy, "Nanny McPhee" offers a splendid match of director, cast and material, guaranteed to please "Wallace & Gromit" fans and anyone else with a taste for British zaniness. "--Jeff Shannon"

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "Nanny McPhee Returns" is a simultaneously dark and funny film that features the formidable Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson), an ugly woman who has a magical way of helping kids mature and learn proper behavior--even against their will. Based on the "Nurse Matilda" books by Christianna Brand, "Nanny McPhee Returns" is not so much a sequel to the first "Nanny McPhee" film as a second, stand-alone story. While her husband is off fighting in the war, Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has her hands full taking care of her three children (Oscar Steer, Asa Butterfield, and Lil Woods), running the family farm, and refusing the constant entreaties of her brother-in-law (Rhys Ifans) to sell her share of the farm. When two cousins (Eros Vlahos and Rosie Taylor-Ritson) from the city arrive with a healthy disdain for their new surroundings and a better-than-you attitude, things begin to get really out of control. Nanny McPhee appears, as if by magic, and though Isabel won't admit she needs her help, McPhee immediately takes charge, vowing to teach the children five lessons that they simply must learn. While the film is somewhat dark, thanks to the family's monetary hardships and the uncertainty regarding the father's status in the war, it also offers abundant humor in scenes such as the spoiled cousins' arrival at what they call the "British Museum of Poo," and in imaginative gimmicks like an elaborately complicated farm invention dubbed the "Pig Scratch-O-Matic" and a litter of acrobatic piglets who occasionally engage in the art of synchronized swimming. Add in a putty-eating bird, the ever-stern Nanny McPhee with her magical walking stick and her dubious ties to the War Department, and a very scatterbrained shopkeeper (Maggie Smith), and there always seems to be something entertaining to chuckle about. (Ages 7 and older) "--Tami Horiuchi"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: One of the Great Lives gets the full-scale miniseries treatment in this lavish international co-production (which aired on A&E). Even at a six-hour running time, there's barely room for all the extraordinary twists and turns of Napoleon Bonaparte's turbulent career as Emperor of France, from his brilliant early military victories after the Revolution to his megalomaniacal attempts to reign over all of Europe. While there are battle scenes galore, and court ceremonies staged with eye-popping pomp and circumstance, this production keeps returning to the intent, watchful face of Christian Clavier's Napoleon. The hawk-eyed, pint-sized actor appears born to play the role, and he draws out the humanity within the icon. Clavier dominates the film, although Isabella Rossellini's Josephine is heartfelt enough to convince you of the passion between these two, which later turned into a kind of pragmatic contract. (Hard to keep your love life straight when you're trying to rule the world.) John Malkovich, in his exquisite-decadent mode, provides amoral political advice as Talleyrand. "Napoleon" has the usual problems of international moviemaking, including the toneless line readings of supporting actors and the patchwork of accents. And it must move from A to B to C in predictable fashion, the curse of the historical biography. Abel Gance's silent epic "Napoleon" remains the cinematic standard for this life, but A&E's version gives a satisfying dramatic overview. "--Robert Horton"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Stills from Napolean Dynamite (Click for larger image)

 
 



 

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Jittery camera moves and a gray-blue palette make it clear that "Narc" is a gritty police drama in the tradition of "The French Connection" and "Serpico". Jason Patric ("Rush", "Your Friends & Neighbors") plays Nick Tellis, a former undercover cop with an accidental death on his conscience, which may be why he's agreed to partner with Henry Oak (Ray Liotta), a lieutenant determined to track down the killers of his former partner. This could all be rote, but the grit sticks: writer-director Joe Carnahan takes a huge leap forward from his Tarentino-wannabe first film, "Blood, Guts, Bullets & Octane". The entire cast is excellent; Patric and Liotta give rich, textured performances that make their respective obsessions vivid and sad. "Narc" could use more of the dark humor that occasionally bursts out, but the movie's drive and energy make it more than a bleak tale of good intentions gone bad. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: The connection between "National Geographic" and "The Lord of the Rings" may seem tentative, but this illuminating TV special proves otherwise. While incorporating cast and crew interviews and film clips from director Peter Jackson's 2001 blockbuster "The Fellowship of the Ring", this hourlong documentary transcends timely opportunism to explore the myriad inspirations for J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy classic, beginning with the influence of Tolkien's idyllic childhood in rural England, which served as the model for Tolkien's threatened Hobbit paradise. Equally fascinating are the influence of Tolkien's experience in World War I, the "evil" of industrial development, and especially the influence of Anglo-Saxon poetry (notably "Beowulf") and the mythology of the Finnish "Kalevala", which formed the basis of Tolkien's elfish culture. Tolkien's passion for nature conservancy and cultural preservation is what ultimately serves the "National Geographic" agenda, but eloquent testimonials by archaeologists, anthropologists, and filmmakers make this a most agreeable hour of justified propaganda. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This is one of those movies that works for all the wrong reasons--disgusting, lowbrow, base humor that we are all far too sophisticated to find amusing. So, just don't tell anyone you still think it's a riot to watch John Belushi as the brutish Bluto slurp Jell-O or terrorize his less-aggressive fellow students. This crude parody of college life in the '60s spawned many imitations, but none could match the fresh-faced talent or bad taste of this huge box office success. (Remember all those toga parties in the '80s?) The first of the National Lampoon movies, this was originally released as "National Lampoon's Animal House". Keep an eye out for a very young Kevin Bacon in his first credited screen appearance. "--Rochelle O'Gorman"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: You know exactly what you're getting in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation": another goofball, slapstick comedy of chaos and catastrophe with Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) and family. This time, there's no traveling involved: Clark and Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) prepare for a nice Christmas with the kids (played by none other than Juliette Lewis and "Roseanne" star Johnny Galecki), when their home is invaded by backwoods cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his brood, along with assorted other crazy and/or stuffy relatives. Complications, of course, are inevitable. The film is preceded by "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983) and "National Lampoon's European Vacation" (1985) and followed by "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation" (1997). Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, who went on to do "Benny & Joon" and the Sharon Stone remake of "Diabolique". "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Georgian, Chinese, Thai

Sound: Dolby

Summary: After winning a tour package in a game show, the bickering Griswald family carve a trail of destruction through England (where they knock over Stonehenge), France, Germany, and Italy. Somehow Ellen (Bevery D'Angelo), the mom, gets kidnapped by gangsters, leading to a car chase that reunites the family, despite their differences. It's hard to believe that "National Lampoon's European Vacation" is only the second of the "Vacation" movies; it has the exhausted pallor of the last of a long series of sequels, drained of all zest or original ideas. The charmless smirk of Chevy Chase, mechanical in its idiocy, hangs over "European Vacation" like a death mask. It's hard to believe that this hack was once the funny and sexy hero of "Foul Play". D'Angelo keeps her chin up and gives the movie whatever class it may have; she deserves better. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono

Summary: "Vacation" paved the way for the John Hughes movie dynasty of the 1980s. Written by Hughes (who would go on to write, direct, and/or produce "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Uncle Buck", "Home Alone", and so on) and directed by Harold Ramis ("Caddyshack", "Groundhog Day", "Stuart Saves His Family"), the first "Vacation" movie introduces us to the all-American Griswold family: father Clark (Chevy Chase), mother Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo), son Rusty (future Hughes staple Anthony Michael Hall), and daughter Audrey (Dana Barron). They all pile into the car for a cross-country road trip to Walley World, stopping along the way to view the world's biggest ball of twine. John Candy, Imogene Coca, and Randy Quaid (as yokel Cousin Eddie) pop up along the way. The movie was a big hit, and was followed by several sequels--"National Lampoon's European Vacation", "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", and "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation"--but this one is still probably the freshest and funniest of the bunch. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, "National Treasure" offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Da Vinci Code", it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer production's multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you've got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels, and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It's a load of hokum, but it's "fun" hokum, and that makes all the difference. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Less engrossing than its 2004 predecessor "National Treasure", Jon Turteltaub’s busy sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" is nevertheless a colorful and witty adventure, another race against overwhelming odds for the answer to a historical riddle. Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage), the treasure hunter who feverishly sought, in the first film, the whereabouts of a war chest hidden by America’s forefathers, is now charged with protecting family honor. When a rival (Ed Harris) offers alleged proof that Gates’ ancestor, Thomas Gates, was not a Civil War-era hero but a participant in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Ben and his father (Jon Voight) and crew (Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger) hopscotch through Paris, London, Washington DC, and South Dakota to gather evidence refuting the claim. The film is most fun when the hunt, as in "National Treasure", squeezes Ben into such impossible situations as examining twin desks in the queen’s chambers in Buckingham Palace and the White House’s Oval Office, or kidnapping an American president (Bruce Greenwood) for a few minutes of frank talk. Helen Mirren, the previous year's Oscar winner for Best Actress, wisely joins the cast of a likely hit film as Ben’s archaeologist mother, long-estranged from Voight’s character but as feisty as the rest of the family. Returning director Turteltaub takes excellent advantage of his colorful backdrops in European capitals and the always-eerie Mount Rushmore, and oversees some wildly imaginative sets for this dramedy’s feverish third act in an audacious and completely unexpected, legendary setting. If "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" doesn’t feel quite as crisp and unique as its predecessor, it is still ingenious and wry enough to laugh a bit at itself. "--Tom Keogh"
Stills from "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" (click for larger image)

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: Navy SEALs are a top antiterrorist unit that goes anywhere (SEa, Air, or Land) to fight for and protect the American Way of Life. When a SEAL team rescues American hostages in the Middle East, they discover the terrorists have a warehouse of deadly Stinger missles. Rather than risking his entire team, Lt. Curran (Michael Biehn) orders his men to leave without destroying the Stingers. But when civilian aircraft start getting shot down--and when one of Curran's men is killed by terrorists--the SEALs make it their personal business to track down and destroy the deadly missles--and the fanatics who want to use them. Made in the "Top Gun" mold, "Navy SEALS" features stock characters (including Charlie Sheen's loose cannon) and at times seems like a recruiting film for the SEAL program. But the action sequences are well done (especially the final battle in war-torn Beirut) and the special effects and cinematography are first-rate. There's also a certain gung-ho, testosterone-driven, adrenaline-junky sensibility that seems appropriate to the sort of impossible missions SEALs are asked to do. It's a good time, as long as you don't take it too seriously. "--Geof Miller"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: The word "vampire" is never mentioned in "Near Dark", but that doesn't stop this 1987 cult favorite from being one of the best modern-era vampire films. It put then-unknown director Kathryn Bigelow on Hollywood's radar and gave choice roles to "Aliens" costars favored by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron: Lance Henriksen is the leader of a makeshift family of renegade bloodsuckers, nocturnally seeking victims in rural Oklahoma; his immortal gal pal is "Aliens" and "Terminator 2" alumnus Jenette Goldstein; and Bill Paxton is the group's deadliest leather-clad ass kicker. Fellow traveler Jenny Wright lures Okie farm boy Adrian Pasdar into the group with a love bite, and he's soon turning toward vampirism with a combination of frightened revulsion and relentless desire. With Joshua Miller ("River's Edge") as the youngest vampire, "Near Dark" is Bigelow's masterpiece of low-budget ingenuity--a truck-stop thriller that begins well, gets better and better (aided by a fine Tangerine Dream score), and goes out in a blaze of glory. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Summary: Stephen King adaptations are strictly hit-or-miss propositions, and this supernatural thriller from 1993 is definitely a "miss," based on one of King's lesser novels and starring Max von Sydow as the evil proprietor of a small-town antique shop named "Needful Things." That's the place where anyone can go to find the one thing they cherish the most (the town's aging jock finds his old, high-school letterman's jacket there, for example), but of course there's a price for such priceless keepsakes. Yep, that's right ... von Sydow is Satan, and his customers pay for "needful things" with their souls. The sheriff (Ed Harris) catches onto this hellish predicament, and, well ... let's just say things go downhill from there, with von Sydow delivering sardonic wisecracks as he wreaks devilish havoc on the town. Lots of stuff gets blown to bits, by which time this movie has long since worn out its welcome. Harris and von Sydow do their best to liven up the dreary scenario (directed by Charlton Heston's son, Fraser), but this is strictly for die-hard King fans, and even then the recommendation is marginal. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Although it eventually runs out of smart ideas and resorts to a typically explosive finale, this above-average thriller rises above its formulaic limitations on the strength of powerful performances by Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Both play Chicago police negotiators with hotshot reputations, but when Jackson's character finds himself falsely accused of embezzling funds from a police pension fund, he's so thoroughly framed that he must take extreme measures to prove his innocence. He takes hostages in police headquarters to buy time and plan his strategy, demanding that Spacey be brought in to mediate with him as an army of cops threatens to attack, and a media circus ensues. Both negotiators know how to get into the other man's thoughts, and this intellectual showdown allows both Spacey and Jackson to ignite the screen with a burst of volatile intensity. Director F. Gary Gray is disadvantaged by an otherwise predictable screenplay, but he has a knack for building suspense and is generous to a fine supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti as one of Jackson's high-strung hostages, and the late J.T. Walsh in what would sadly be his final big-screen role. The movie should have trusted its compelling characters a little more, probing their psyches more intensely to give the suspense a deeper dramatic foundation, but it's good enough to give two great actors a chance to strut their stuff. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, French

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Although it eventually runs out of smart ideas and resorts to a typically explosive finale, this above-average thriller rises above its formulaic limitations on the strength of powerful performances by Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey. Both play Chicago police negotiators with hotshot reputations, but when Jackson's character finds himself falsely accused of embezzling funds from a police pension fund, he's so thoroughly framed that he must take extreme measures to prove his innocence. He takes hostages in police headquarters to buy time and plan his strategy, demanding that Spacey be brought in to mediate with him as an army of cops threatens to attack, and a media circus ensues. Both negotiators know how to get into the other man's thoughts, and this intellectual showdown allows both Spacey and Jackson to ignite the screen with a burst of volatile intensity. Director F. Gary Gray is disadvantaged by an otherwise predictable screenplay, but he has a knack for building suspense and is generous to a fine supporting cast, including Paul Giamatti as one of Jackson's high-strung hostages, and the late J.T. Walsh in what would sadly be his final big-screen role. The movie should have trusted its compelling characters a little more, probing their psyches more intensely to give the suspense a deeper dramatic foundation, but it's good enough to give two great actors a chance to strut their stuff. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: Media madness reigns supreme in screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's scathing satire about the uses and abuses of network television. But while Chayefsky's and director Sidney Lumet's take on television may seem quaint in the age of "reality TV" and Jerry Springer's talk-show fisticuffs, it's every bit as potent now as it was when the film was released in 1976. And because Chayefsky was one of the greatest of all dramatists, his Oscar-winning script about the ratings frenzy at the cost of cultural integrity is a showcase for powerhouse acting by Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (who each won Oscars), and Oscar nominee William Holden in one of his finest roles. Finch plays a veteran network anchorman who's been fired because of low ratings. His character's response is to announce he'll kill himself on live television two weeks hence. What follows, along with skyrocketing ratings, is the anchorman's descent into insanity, during which he fervently rages against the medium that made him a celebrity. Dunaway plays the frigid, ratings-obsessed producer who pursues success with cold-blooded zeal; Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis. Through it all, Chayefsky (via Finch) urges the viewer to repeat the now-famous mantra "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" to reclaim our humanity from the medium that threatens to steal it away. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English

Summary: Let's get this straight: Drew Barrymore started a production company to develop original scripts outside of Hollywood and the first project she chose to produce was this, a romantic comedy written by USC grads Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein about a nerdy, virginal woman who returns to high school as an undercover reporter, finally gets to be popular, and falls in love. And Barrymore decided, as producer, that the perfect actress to play this virtuous, clean-cut, and downright annoying geek would be... Drew Barrymore? It's hard to believe that after "The Wedding Singer" Barrymore's not getting enough dopey, formulaic, predictable romantic comedies coming across her desk. The complete inability to buy Barrymore as unattractive, awkward, and unpopular ruins "Never Been Kissed" from the start, but it's doubtful a better actress could have saved it. The jokes fall flat, the romance between Barrymore and her English teacher (played by Michael Vartan) lacks chemistry, and the portrayals of high school and the newspaper newsroom is clichéd and uninspired (big surprise here: the director, Raja Gosnell, previously made "Home Alone 3"). Gosnell can't even give the gifted character actor, John C. Reilly, anything to do. Only David Arquette, who plays Barrymore's out-of-control brother, brings any energy to the film. "--Dave McCoy"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: There's nothing like a violent, foul-mouthed, drug-laden, misogynistic, post-adolescent gangsta fantasy to teach you (heh heh) that crime doesn't pay. Whassup with "Never Die Alone", bro? Here's a pulp-driven movie that wants it both ways, glorifying virtually every negative black-male stereotype in the book (illiterates with absentee parents, gold-toothed pimps, hooded gangstas, bling-bling drug dealers, thugs, and assorted hip-hop wannabes) while presenting a gritty neo-noir crime story of an ill-fated heroin dealer and woman-hater (rapper-turned-bad-actor DMX) who seeks redemption but has too much bad karma to survive. Based on the influential 1974 novel by Donald Goines and directed with plenty of dark-city style by Ernest R. Dickerson, this hard-hitting but woefully trashy crime thriller is rather ambitious in its narrative structure, weaving past and present in telling a doomed man's tale. David Arquette brings urgent desperation to his role as a seedy writer whose inner-city research turns into a violent nightmare, and Michael Ealy is equally good as a vengeful gangsta with blood ties to DMX's character. But what's the real lesson here? In a movie with no moral compass, it's no wonder everyone's spinning off in all the wrong directions. "--Jeff Shannon"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Wolfgang Petersen ("In the Line of Fire") made his first English-language film with this 1984 fantasy about a boy (Barret Oliver) visualizing the stories of a book he's reading. The imagined tale involves another boy, a warrior (Noah Hathaway), and his efforts to save the empire of Fantasia from a nemesis called the Nothing. Whether or not the scenario sticks in the memory, what does linger are the unique effects, which are not quite like anything else. Plenty of good fairy-tale characters and memorable scenes, and the film even encourages kids to read. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Filled with a few imaginative moments and a child actor who looks like a miniaturized Sharon Stone, "II" isn't as neverending as the third headache in the series, but it's not on par with the original. Versions of Atreyu, the brave warrior, Rockbiter, and Falcor, that flying, pink, poodle-dragon, return to travel across the storybook world of Fantasia. This time our protagonist and reader, Bastian, is actually in the story the entire time instead of looking on from outside the pages. The interaction doesn't help, as it's the same crisis and the same story line (well, okay, he "is" reading the same book), but at least the film is not as unrelentingly melancholy as the first one either. Children may be frightened by the "giants," large dung beetles on two legs, that threaten our heroes. "--Keith Simanton"

Languages: English

Summary: The legend of Pocahontas and John Smith receives a luminous and essential retelling by maverick filmmaker Terrence Malick. The facts of Virginia's first white settlers, circa 1607, have been told for eons and fortified by Disney's animated films: explorer Smith (Colin Farrell) and the Native American princess (newcomer Q'orianka Kilcher) bond when the two cultures meet, a flashpoint of curiosity and war lapping interchangeably at the shores of the new continent. Malick, who took a twenty year break between his second and third films ("Days of Heaven" and "The Thin Red Line"), is a master of film poetry; the film washes over you, with minimal dialogue (you see characters speak on camera for less than a quarter of the film). The rest of the words are a stream-of-consciousness narration--a technique Malick has used before but never to such degree, creating a movie you feel more than watch. The film's beauty (shot in Virginia by Emmanuel Lubezki) and production design (by Jack Fisk) seems very organic, and in fact, organic is a great label for the movie as a whole, from the dreadful conditions of early Jamestown (it makes you wonder why Englishman would want to live there) to the luminescent love story. Malick is blessed with a cast that includes Wes Studi, August Schellenberg, Christopher Plummer, and Christian Bale (who, curiously, was also in the Disney production). Fourteen-year-old Kilcher, the soul of the film, is an amazing find, and Farrell, so often tagged as the next big thing, delivers his first exceptional performance since his stunning debut in "Tigerland". James Horner provides a fine score, but is overshadowed by a Mozart concerto and a recurring prelude from Wagner's "Das Rheingold", a scrumptious weaving of horns fit to fuel the gentle intoxication of this film. Note: the film was initially 150 minutes, and then trimmed to 135 by Malick before the regular theatrical run. It was also the first film shot in 65mm since Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet". "--Doug Thomas"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/02/2008 Run time: 78 minutes Rating: Pg

Languages: English, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: The clock is ticking for Johnny Depp in Nick of Time, a twist-filled, race-against-time thriller directed by John Badham (Drop Zone, Saturday Night Fever). And indeed it is a race, filmed in "real time" so that onscreen events unfold minute by nail-biting minute as they would in real life. No sooner does accountant Gene Watson (Depp) arrive at L.A.'s Union station with his six-year-old daughter than he's plunged into a nightmare. Two shadowy strangers (Christopher Walken, Roma Maffia) separate Watson from his little girl, slap a gun into his hand and present a devil's bargain: kill a top government official before she leaves a nearby political rally... or never again see his beloved child.

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: An irresistible concept meets computer-generated wonders in Night at the Museum, inspired by a 1993 children's book by Milan Trenc. Ben Stiller stars as Larry Daley, an underachieving inventor waiting for his ship to come in while getting evicted from one apartment after another for lack of funds. Larry's son needs some stability, so the well-meaning ne'er-do-well takes a job as night watchman at New York City's Museum of Natural History. What the soon-to-retire guards (Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs) don't tell him is that an ancient pharaoh's tablet in the museum causes everything on display to come to life at night. Thus, Larry meets representations of Teddy Roosevelt, Attila the Hun, fire-worshipping cavemen, and Roman Empire soldiers, and learns to cope with an excitable T-Rex and man-eating, ancient animals. The film might have left things at that, but an added story element gives Night at the Museum some extra urgency and excitement, especially for kids: Larry becomes responsible for keeping this nightly miracle going and preventing anything in the museum from dying due to exposure to sunrise. Computer effects, as well as wildly imaginative costumes and makeup, help make the film appeal to the 8-year-old in everyone. Director Shawn Levy (The Pink Panther) works with a hugely talented cast, including Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Ricky Gervais, Carla Gugino, and Steve Coogan. --"Tom Keogh"
"Night at the Museum" Extras
Ben Stiller on Director Shawn Levy

Ricky Gervais on the size of his trailer and eating cheese.


Beyond "Night at the Museum"
See What DVDs Meant Special Effects to Amazon DVD Editors As Kids
More Adventure Films for Kids & Family
"The Night at the Museum" Paperback Book


Stills from "Night at the Museum"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Ben Stiller wrestles with extinct beasts, historical figures, and meddling monkeys in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", the sequel to the popular 2006 special-effects extravaganza. This time, the ancient Egyptian tablet (the one that brings all the exhibits at New York's Museum of Natural History to life at night) is being shipped off to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.--which, as the movie diligently tells us, is the largest museum in the world. Naturally, former museum guard Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) heads down to rescue it (and, by extension, keep his magical museum friends alive). He ends up fighting with a nasty pharaoh who talks like Boris Karloff (Hank Azaria, "The Simpsons") and falling in love with Amelia Earhart (Amy Adams, "Enchanted"). All the old gang are along for the ride, including Dexter the monkey; much face-slapping and special effects ensue. There aren't many surprises, but "Battle of the Smithsonian" is cheerful enough to entertain everyone who enjoyed the first movie. Extras include commentaries by the director and the writers, the usual self-congratulatory making-of featurette, deleted scenes that are actually as good as the rest of the movie, an alternate ending, and an entirely pointless second disc about Crystal, the capuchin monkey who plays Dexter (the monkey disc has less than a half-hour of material, including two mediocre games). The great supporting cast from the first movie returns, including Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, and Robin Williams. "--Bret Fetzer"

Stills from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Click for larger image)


 

Languages: English, French, German

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: A slick, sometimes over the top action adventure set in New York City during the end of the disco era, "Nighthawks" stars Sylvester Stallone as a hotshot New York cop with a troubled personal life drawn into an international terrorist vendetta. Stallone and partner Billy Dee Williams are recruited into a covert operation to stop an infamous terrorist named Wulfgar (Rutger Hauer), whom they believe to be in New York. Soon a cat-and-mouse game ensues between the blue-collar cop and the refined terrorist through the streets, discotheques, and subways of the city. And then things get personal as Wulfgar targets Stallone's wife (Lindsay Wagner). A fairly routine but well-photographed action thriller with the usual fast-paced adrenaline rush sequences for which Stallone has become famous. "--Robert Lane"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is! The full title is "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas", which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of "Pee-wee's Big Adventure", "Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands", and the first two "Batman" movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful " James and the Giant Peach"), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0

Summary: In the trinity of modern horror films, there's the father (Michael Myers of "Halloween"), the son (Jason of "Friday the 13th" fame, a knockoff), and the unholy spirit, Freddy Krueger of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films. The spectral man who haunted the nightmares of unsuspecting teenagers with deadly consequences, Freddy (as played by Robert Englund) was a truly frightening bogeyman and icon for the '80s. Unlike the hockey-masked Jason, who dispatched horny teenagers with mechanical and monotonous ease (he never talked, never took off his mask), Freddy was a truly creative and diabolical villain, with a sadistic and blackly funny personality. The hallmarks of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series were imaginatively gruesome suspense pieces, set in the overactive imaginations of the teen victims. The first film of the series, Wes Craven's truly intelligent and scary film, was so hugely successful it begat not one, not two, but "six" more sequels, each pretty much diluting the originality and horror of its predecesor. (Horror fans will fondly remember Drew Barrymore's assertion in "Scream" that the first "Nightmare" film was great but all the rest sucked.) Still, there's fun to be had in the remaining films in the series, seeing as a number of aspiring filmmakers cut their teeth on the continuing saga of Freddy. Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption") and Chuck Russell ("The Mask") worked on the third installment, "Dream Warriors" (starring a young Patricia Arquette), and Renny Harlin ("Die Hard 2") came to prominence with the ingeniously macabre fourth film, "The Dream Master", coscripted by Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential"). Craven and original star Heather Langenkamp did return for the last film, "New Nightmare", which presaged the tongue-in-cheek postmodernism of the "Scream" films and resharpened Freddy's ability to scare. "--Mark Englehart"

Sound: AC-3

Summary: "Be Italian!" comes the thundering command from one of the catchiest songs in "Nine", and the movie version of this Broadway musical hit is undeniably solid on that point. It's drenched in cool cars, glamorous Italian threads, and cozy Roman neighborhoods, all circa 1962. That, you will note, is the vintage of Federico Fellini's classic film "8 ½, the source for both the stage show and Rob Marshall's frantic musical picture. As in the Fellini, the story revolves around film director Guido Contini, a glamorous public genius who's expected to begin shooting his expensive new movie in a few days. The only problem is, the maestro has no idea what his next film will be about, and he spirals through a week of mistresses, cigarettes, and robust fantasy as he avoids the subject. Marshall's approach to musicalizing this massive case of writer's block is to shunt the songs off into the giant studio where the sets for Guido's new movie have been built; the idea, presumably, is to frame them so the audience isn't perturbed by the old-movie convention of characters breaking into song in the middle of a scene. Fair enough, maybe, but did the numbers themselves have to be so aggressively vulgar? All of Guido's women have their turn to vocalize (and invariably writhe around in slutty underwear): Marion Cotillard plays his faultless wife, Penélope Cruz a hot-tempered mistress, Nicole Kidman his elegant star, Kate Hudson a horny journalist, Black Eyed Peas member Fergie the voluptuous beachside prostitute of Guido's childhood. And that's not the end of Guido's feminine carousel; Judi Dench plays his loyal costumer, and Sophia Loren lends her iconic stature to the role of Guido's mother. The man himself is played by Daniel Day-Lewis, who doesn't have the sheer movie-star presence of Mastroianni in "8 ½", even if he creates an intriguing visual figure--all bony intensity and nicotine jags. The film's empty flash is quickly numbing, and even fans of the original musical will likely find it a chore sorting through the glitz. On the upside, it may make you want to watch "8 ½" again. "--Robert Horton"




Stills from "Nine" (Click for larger image)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: The entertaining, adrenaline-packed "Ninja Assassin" wastes no time cutting quite literally to the guts and gore of the mysterious world of ninja warriors--the blood flows as freely as champagne on New Year's Eve. Only 3-D might have made it even better. Taken from the streets as a child, the orphan Raizo (Korean pop artist Rain, in his first leading role) is molded into a deadly assassin through methods that might make even the strong of stomach wince. The story flows from present-day Berlin to Raizo's brutal training by the Ozunu, one of the mythical Nine Clans that perform political assassinations around the world. Refusal to follow an order by the clan leader forces Raizo into a life on the run. When Mika (Naomie Harris), a Europol researcher, gets too close to the truth, Raizo risks detection by his former clan-mates to protect her, and to exact his revenge. Fans of ninja films will rejoice in the classic story, while action aficionados will find plenty of heart-pounding thrills in every fight scene. Admittedly, the plot, especially Europol's interest in the mythical clans, exists merely to move the story from one fight scene to the next. But who cares when the action shots--especially the literal firefight at the end--are so exciting. "--Jill Corddry"

Languages: English, Japanese, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: A peak achievement of Japanese anime, "Ninja Scroll" is a propulsive mix of samurai action adventure and supernatural fantasy from writer-director Yoshiaki Kawajiri ("Supernatural Best City"). This is defiantly animation for grown-ups, complete with fountains of blood, plenty of naked flesh, and (in both the subtitled and dubbed versions) some decidedly strong language. (Students of Japanese language could pick up some useful expressions.) The plot sounds like a 16th century variation on the "X-Files": An entire village has been wiped out by a mysterious plague and an anti-government conspiracy of invulnerable demons seems to be responsible. A wandering ninja, Jubei, and his female counterpart, Kagero, team up to defeat the plotters. Jubei is a classic reluctant hero, agreeing to participate in the mission only after being fed a slow-acting poison; the antidote will be supplied after he cooperates. And Kagero, a looker whose embrace is lethal, is a femme fatale with a difference that seems distinctively Japanese: sexual contact itself is poisonous, especially for a warrior with a pure soul. "--David Chute"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: I approached this DVD with caution, never having seen the film before and noting its three-star review here, but I came away incredibly satisfied.

I partially blame the trailers for this film for the disappointment expressed in some of these reviews (the rest of the blame rests simply on the closed minds of today's moviegoers). When I first saw the trailer I expected a terrifying occult film filled with demons and supernatural happenings. That would've been an easier film to make. What I saw, however, was so much better.

This is a slow-paced film, which moves along quietly, gracefully, and keeps you glued to the screen for its entirety. Cast performances are all wonderful, especially Depp, of course, who continues to choose the most interesting projects in film today. There are no grotesque demons and very few special effects. Polanski's subtle touch creates images that etch themselves in your mind nonetheless. One example is the wheelchair-bound Baroness careening across the room to burst into her office (don't want to spoil any more). Suffice it to say that certain images in this film are as terrifyingly memorable as Kubrick's twins in THE SHINING, for example.

Although this film is not a "horror" film by any standards, I found myself genuinely scared throughout. Evil is always just around the corner. You never doubt its existence and you're terrified of the moment when it may reveal itself.

Languages: English, Russian

Summary: Oliver Stone's controversial drama about the Nixon years in the White House stars Anthony Hopkins in a genuinely great performance as the scandal-plagued president. The film attempts to wed suggestions of Nixon's formative experiences as a boy to his political connections with shady movers and shakers and finally to his self-destructive tenure in the Oval Office. The Watergate scandal is revisited rather impressionistically--it may be hard for viewers who weren't alive then to get a sense of what the crisis was about. The parade of stars playing figures in Nixon's orbit--J.T. Walsh as John Ehrlichman, James Woods as Bob Haldeman, David Hyde Pierce as John Dean, etc.--is fun if a tad distracting. Joan Allen got a well-deserved Oscar nomination as First Lady Pat Nixon, and Hopkins got one as well. "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English, Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish, French

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since "Fargo" with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Not that there aren't moments of intense violence, but "No Country for Old Men" is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he's going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he's being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh's weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way--or loses a coin toss (as far as he's concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II vet, is on Moss's trail, Chigurh's former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful--except Moss has a conscience, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, "a prophet of destruction"). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, "No Country for Old Men" doesn't move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. "--Kathleen C. Fennessy"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: AC-3

Summary: Eddie Murphy stars and stars in this very broad and raucous comedy that finds the Oscar-nominated "Dreamgirls" actor revisiting the multiple-character shtick that worked so well for him in "Coming to America" and "The Nutty Professor". The latter's makeup-effects artist, Rick Baker, once again transforms Murphy into a variety of grotesques and caricatures, including the hugely fat, monstrous Rasputia, the Asian Mr. Wong, and the timorous Norbit, a nervous orphan raised by Wong and married to Rasputia. The latter, a member of a construction family with a plan to turn Wong's orphanage into a strip club, is a relentlessly narcissistic shrew who puts the screws on Norbit at every turn, especially when he rediscovers his love for an old friend, Kate (Thandie Newton). Kate's wish to buy and maintain the orphanage herself is secretly compromised by her fiancé (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is in cahoots with Rasputia's family and using Norbit to further their agenda.
Extraordinarily silly, frequently crude and mean-spirited to an extreme, "Norbit" is far more sour than "The Nutty Professor". But there are moments of inspiration, especially a wedding interrupted by wannabe pimps who launch a profane gospel groove, and a dog that talks to Norbit while he is semi-conscious. For the most part, though, "Norbit" impresses as a technical marvel utilizing careful shot design and skillful editing. Murphy participates in several remarkable, three-character scenes in which he happens to be all three characters, and those moments move so briskly it's easy to forget one is looking at a comic stunt. "--Tom Keogh"
Stills from " Norbit " (click for larger image)

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: This obligatory girls' version of "Stand by Me" begins with actors Melanie Griffith, Rita Wilson, Demi Moore, and Rosie O'Donnell doing a lousy job of playing adult versions of the film's youthful protagonists. The idea is that this quartet of characters is having a reunion, which serves as a preface to the main story about school chums who make a pact to stay close and supportive through thick and thin. The trouble is that Griffith, Moore, Wilson, and O'Donnell look like they've rehearsed their scenes for no more than a few minutes, and after boring us silly there's little reason to get excited about anything else. Still, it's nice to have a supporting cast that includes Janeane Garofalo and Bonnie Hunt, while among the girls are three young actresses who have been burning up the road in recent years: Christina Ricci ("The Opposite of Sex"), Thora Birch ("A Clear and Present Danger"), and Gaby Hoffmann ("Strike"). "--Tom Keogh"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: Jim Carrey as a schizophrenic murderer isn't convincing, in this melodramatic film about a man obsessed by the "Number 23". Joel Schumacher ("Batman Forever, St. Elmo's Fire") has unintentionally managed to make a comedy of horrors that really is quite humorous in parts. Walter Sparrow (Carrey) becomes engrossed in a homespun novel about Detective Fingerling, whose life degrades into mayhem because of his obsession with 23's esoteric numerical puzzles. Sparrow's preoccupation with the book follows his botched attempt to catch a nasty dog that bites him, leading one to believe that Sparrow's contraction of rabies might be the cause for his mental degradation. As the story progresses, Sparrow retreats further into Fingerling's world, rife with suicidal sexpots and hardboiled detective sleuthing. His wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen), also plays Fingerling's girlfriend, sex-crazed Fabrizia, who taunts Fingerling until he stabs her. Back in reality, Walter aims to solve the unresolved crimes in the book, taking it as a murderer's diary rather than as an imagined work. The story is half-baked, though Carrey's portrayal of a mentally disturbed person is what makes "The Number 23" comedic. Long, contemplative stares, and over-dramatized acting renders Sparrow a clichéd character, rather than one odd enough to engage viewers. For a better version of almost the exact plot but with a terrorist's twist, see "Thr3e" instead. "--Trinie Dalton"

Languages: English, German

Summary: The trial of Nazi war criminals following the Allied victory in Europe in World War II is dramatized in this uneven TV movie starring Alec Baldwin as Robert Jackson, a U.S. Supreme Court justice who served as the chief prosecutor for the Allies. The gravity of the controversial concept of having a war crimes trial, and the political maneuvering between Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union that made it possible, is explained fairly well in the early portions of the film, even if Baldwin at times delivers lines that seem to have been lifted from a high school history textbook. Scenes of Nazi officers being rounded up and jailed are evocative, as are scenes of a ruined Germany. But a subplot involving Baldwin's character having an extramarital affair with his secretary, played by Jill Hennessy, seems utterly extraneous. Perhaps the intent was to show that even someone taking a moral stand on a global stage can be flawed, but Baldwin's Supreme Court justice faces no consequences from his infidelity. Baldwin dominates the courtroom scenes as the outraged prosecutor, while Hennessy has little to do beyond looking great in her 1940s wardrobe. And as the film progresses the brilliant performance of Brian Cox as Hermann Goering simply seizes all attention, as Hitler's deputy is uncannily portrayed as a brilliant manipulator to the very end. "Nuremberg" is consistently interesting, and to its credit it does contain much serious material on the Nazi war crimes, but it is in the end a flawed production. "--Robert J. McNamara"

Languages: English

Sound: DTS Surround Sound

Summary: Lucky for Eddie Murphy he got ahold of the rights to this 1963 Jerry Lewis classic before Jim Carrey did. Murphy had a comeback of sorts with his Jeckyll-and-Hyde-derived fable of awkward chemistry professor Sherman Klump (Murphy), who discovers a potion that transforms him into the suave, cocky lady-killer Buddy Love (also Murphy). The big difference between the two versions is that Murphy's Sherman is not only a nerdy intellectual but is also grossly obese, which provides the opportunity for some hilarious digital transformation effects, as well as some gentle satire of our culture's attitudes toward fat people. As he did in the hit "Coming to America", Murphy plays multiple roles, and the scenes at the Klump family dinner table, in which he plays everybody, are brilliantly funny. (Murphy won the National Society of Film Critics' award for best actor of 1996 for these performances.) Lewis based his Buddy Love on the 1960s ideal of cool exemplified by Sinatra and the Rat Pack; Murphy stumbles a bit by playing up the oily phoniness of his latter-day Love a little too soon, but for the most part "The Nutty Professor" represents a welcome return to form for Eddie Murphy. "--Jim Emerson"

Languages: English

Sound: Dolby

Summary: Eddie Murphy's remake of "The Nutty Professor" used the good professor's alter ego, Buddy Love, in much the same way that Jerry Lewis did in his brilliant original: a representation of the id out of control that plays like an admission of the actor's off-screen sins. In the sequel, Murphy expands on his Klump family from the first film and makes them major characters. Consequently, his dark side has plenty more places to express itself, particularly through the oversexed grandmother, Sherman's aggressively impotent father, and his just plain surly uncle, as well as Buddy Love (all played by Murphy). The movie opens with professor Sherman Klump barely holding onto his sanity as his internal Buddy Love makes him say inappropriate things. He decides to extract his mutant Buddy Love gene (a sort of genetic version of electroshock therapy), but afterward is unable to maintain his original personality and intelligence. Sherman is the most bland character of the bunch, and the audience gets stuck with his boring romance with fellow professor Janet Jackson, his struggle to be nice, and generic intrigue surrounding a Fountain of Youth formula he developed. When it's not trying too hard to be nice--heck, one character is anally raped by a giant hamster--the movie works. The moral of the story is that Sherman needs to reconnect with their inner Buddy Love. That goes for Murphy, too. "--Andy Spletzer"

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: Within the first few minutes of the pilot episode, it's clear what made "NYPD Blue" stand out from the rest of the cop show pack, as the characters express themselves in startlingly colorful language. This, combined with glimpses of nudity, earned "NYPD Blue" the reputation as R-rated television--but just about every episode demonstrates the propulsive storytelling and superb ensemble acting that put substance behind the flash. The show revolves around two detectives: Tough, moralistic, but passionate John Kelly (David Caruso) and hair-trigger Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz), who wrestles with booze and racist tendencies. Caruso rose to prominence as the star, but his intensity bleeds too easily into preening self-righteousness; it's Franz, with a much more complex role, who really drives the show.
"NYPD Blue"'s writers skillfully navigate both single-episode criminal cases (ranging from tense procedural sequences like Kelly slowly drawing a confession out of a man who killed a cab driver, to lighter cases like a stolen Oscar statuette) and storylines that stretch dizzily across the entire season. These sustained plots are the real meat of the show: Kelly's hardline ethics are humanized by watching him clumsily come to a professional relationship with his ex-wife Laura (Sherry Stringfield) and work through an affair with Officer Janice Licalsi (Amy Brenneman), who is herself entangled with mobsters; while Sipowicz's near-death in the pilot has repercussions that crop up throughout the series, threatening his sobriety and his developing relationship with a lawyer (Sharon Lawrence)--and then there's his tense relationship with African American Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel), which affords some trenchant looks at racism inside and outside the department. The writing, directing, and acting only gets more subtle and complex as the show goes on, making this set a must for any fan. "--Bret Fetzer"

Languages: English, Spanish, French

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 4.0

Summary: Originally broadcast in 1994, the second season of "NYPD Blue" was disrupted by the departure of star David Caruso (Detective John Kelly) after just four episodes, under apparently less than amicable circumstances. He was ably replaced as Detective Sipowicz's partner by Jimmy Smits as the smoother Detective Bobby Simone, and the series managed not to miss a beat.
More streamlined and downbeat than its predecessor, "Hill Street Blues" (also created by Steven Bochco), "NYPD Blue" continued second time around to mix near-the-knuckle detective work to foil New York's scummiest with more character- and relationship-based drama. Although it's regrettable that its ethnic minority characters, such as Lieutenant Fancy, are increasingly marginalized here, the series is more comfortable--and even has fun--with regular characters such as the nervy Detective Medavoy and his on-off paramour Donna Abandando. Andy Sipowicz's simmering, tough-nosed recovering alcoholic is increasingly and amusingly put to the test in a number of situations, including: a murder investigation in a gay bar; being sung to at his own wedding by Nic Turturro's Detective Martinez; and a love scene in the shower in which we experience the dubious pleasure of seeing his bare rear.
New female introductions, such as the strong but sympathetic Detective Lesniak, also helped to shake up the series with a much-needed estrogen boost. There's also fun to be had in spotting a number of guest appearances by up-and-coming actors destined to make it in their own right such as Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing") and Debra Messing ("Will & Grace").
The DVD set contains a number of extras, primarily a one-hour documentary in which the cast and crew discuss the series episode by episode, the self-congratulatory mood broken only by some subtle digs at departing star David Caruso (apparently, he walked straight off the set following his final take into a waiting limo without any farewells). There's also a small piece paying tribute to the music of theme-writer Mike Post and an item covering the relationship between Sipowicz and Assistant DA Sylvia Costas, in whose marriage this series culminates. "--David Stubbs"

Languages: English, Greek, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.1

Summary: One of the most acclaimed and beloved dramas in television history, NYPD Blue has finally signed off from network TV. Relive all the passion, brotherhood, joy, and heartbreak of the 15th precinct as NYPD Blue is immortalized on DVD with Season 3. In this season Dennis Franz won his second of 4 Emmys for Best Actor in a Drama for NYPD Blue; Franz character, Det. Andy Sipowicz, experiences the highs of falling in love and the lows of experiencing the loss of his son Andy Jr. to a violent murder.

Languages: English, French, Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

Sound: Dolby

Summary: In the fourth season of this award-winning show, the action at New York City's 15th Precinct is as hectic as ever. While Lieutenant Fancy continues as precinct commander, Detective Andy Sipowicz, although still a bit rough around the edges, has mellowed with the birth of his son. Detective Bobby Simone and Detective Diane Russell take the next step in their relationship, James Martinez becomes the Squad Delegate, and Greg Meadavoy considers becoming a surrogate father. But one thing that hasn't changed is the squad's determination to make sure the bad guys get their day in court and to also attempt to maintain a touch of normalcy in their personal lives even as they investigate cases that often put them directly in the line of fire.