DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor Some movies meant to rent, not buy There are some weeks when watching the DVDs being released is like monitoring traffic during morning rush hour on the 405 Freeway. There are fender benders, manic driving, an occasional and inexplicable moment when everything flows, but mostly it's just slow going. Let's start with ``Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.'' This is the film Sandra Bullock was said to be committed to when offered Hilary Swank's role in ``Million Dollar Baby.'' The first ``Miss Congeniality'' was fun lightweight entertainment, but ``2'' isn't armed with good jokes and a long way from fabulous. Bullock reprises REPRISES. The deductions and payments out of lands, annuities, and the like, are called reprises, because they are taken back; when we speak of the clear yearly value of an estate, we say it is worth so much a year ultra reprises, besides all reprises. 2. her role as the graceless FBI agent Gracie - she snorts after she laughs - who had to learn charm when she went undercover at a beauty pageant. In ``2,'' after being dumped by her boyfriend (snorting 'snorting' Substance abuse A popular method for consuming cocaine and opiates–one nostril is held closed, the other inhales pulverized cocaine. See Cocaine, Crack. may have had something to do with it), she becomes the ``fabulous'' face of the FBI. Life is fine until her friend and reigning queen from the beauty pageant is kidnapped and an attempt at a plot breaks out. No one in this film, even the intense Regina King, looks convincing enough to be doing anything but taking home a paycheck - even Bullock, who has a producing credit and of whom I'm a fan. The film isn't terrible, just lackluster. There are a few laughs, but not enough for the nearly two-hour run time. Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is an American actor and singer. He came to fame in the late 1980s and has since retained a career as both a Hollywood leading man and a supporting actor, in particular for his role as John McClane in the Die Hard series. in an overwrought o·ver·wrought adj. 1. Excessively nervous or excited; agitated. 2. Extremely elaborate or ornate; overdone: overwrought prose style. action flick? What a concept. In ``Hostage,'' Willis is former L.A. police negotiator who, after a botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. case, has taken a job as a police chief in a small Ventura County town to escape the pressure. But - as you would guess - pressure finds him in a complicated plot in the form of a crooked accountant (Kevin Pollack) who has crossed the mob, who send a couple of gangs to shake him out of his mansion in order to find a DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. that contains numbers for offshore accounts. Things go awry, and Willis' skills are put to the test when the gang kidnaps his wife and daughter, saying they'll kill them unless he finds the DVD. Plausible enough? OK, maybe not, but if you like overwrought action flicks, ``Hostage'' delivers plenty of violence and impossible situations. Again, not the worst of the genre, but nothing to care about. ``Coach Carter'' - starring Samuel L. Jackson “Samuel Jackson” redirects here. For the senator from Indiana, see Samuel D. Jackson. Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning actor. in the true story of an Oakland-area high-school basketball coach - is sort of ``Stand and Deliver'' meets ``Hoosiers.'' In 1999, Carter benched his undefeated basketball team - much to the displeasure of parents and some school officials - because they had fallen behind on their academics. After taking the job, Carter made the players agree to dress properly and maintain a bit better than a C average. Not only did the team respond, they became winners. When some of the players got inflated egos, reneging on their pledge to study because they were winning, Carter took action. Jackson is convincing (isn't he always?) as Carter, and the story is meant to be inspirational. But ``Coach Carter'' never finds an edge - something that takes it into the ``Friday Night Lights'' realm - where you really find yourself looking inside the the world of high-school sports rather than watching the spectacle. ``The Jacket'' - starring Oscar winner Adrien Brody Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, the youngest actor ever to win the award. - is a loopy time- travel mystery. Brody plays Jack Stark, a vet from the first Gulf War who somehow has recovered from what seems to be a fatal bullet to the head. Later he winds up in Vermont, where he is set up for a murder he didn't commit and sent to a mental asylum run by aseemingly evil doctor (Kris Kristofferson). Inside his tiny cell, Jack can will himself into the future, where he meets a waitress (Keira Knightley) who tries to help him out. ``The Jacket'' brings to mind films like ``Jacob's Ladder'' and ``12 Monkeys.'' Like those films, ``The Jacket'' has its problems and is not as provocative as the Terry Gilliam film, but not as silly as ``Ladder,'' either. Brody proves himself again to be an interesting actor. This film will likely hold your attention better than the others, but you probably won't spend any time pondering its mysteries when it's over. If you're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a werewolf werewolf: see lycanthropy. werewolf In European folklore, a man who changes into a wolf at night and devours animals, people, or corpses, returning to human form by day. movie, there's ``Cursed,'' directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson
``Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' (Warner; $27.95) ``Hostage'' (Buena Vista; $29.95) ``Coach Carter'' (Paramount; $29.95) ``The Jacket'' (Warner; $24.98) ``Cursed'' (Buena Vista, $29.99) 'They Came Back,' 'In the Realms of the Unreal' ``They Came Back,'' from French director Robin Campillo, is unlike any zombie A computer that has been covertly taken over in order to perform some nefarious task. It is estimated that millions of PCs around the world have been compromised and, under the control of a third party, routinely transmit messages unbeknownst to the user. flick you ever seen. It begins with thousands of the undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. from the past decade pouring out of cemeteries, all seemingly returned to a healthy version of their former selves. They are not ravenous or deadly, but - despite seeming a bit dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. - ready to resume their former lives: The elderly aim to reclaim their pensions, the younger ones their jobs. This, as you might guess, puts a strain on everyone. The film moves along at an almost maddeningly deliberate pace, slowly revealing the secret behind the return. Campillo manages keep the tension up while bringing an interesting intelligence to the genre. Henry Darger Henry Darger (April 12[?], 1892–April 13, 1973) was a reclusive American writer and artist who worked as a janitor in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page fantasy manuscript called had a rich fantasy life, but no one knew of it until after his death in 1973. At that point, some 300 paintings and a lavishly illustrated 15,000-page novel were found in the Chicago janitor's apartment. Jessica Yu's fascinating documentary, ``In the Realms of the Unreal In the Realms of the Unreal is a 2004 documentary about outsider artist Henry Darger. Darger is most known for his 15,143-page fantasy manuscript entitled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused ,'' attempts to examine Darger's life but stops short of judging or psychoanalyzing him, although it's easy to see parallels between Darger's art and his troubled life. ``They Came Back'' (Wellspring well·spring n. 1. The source of a stream or spring. 2. A source: a wellspring of ideas. wellspring Noun ; $26.98) ``In the Realms of the Unreal - The Mystery of Henry Darger'' (Wellspring; $26.98) 'American Psycho,' 'Lifeguard' I can't imagine anyone needing an uncut version of ``American Psycho.'' Based on Bret Easton Ellis' vicious novel about a depraved de·praved adj. Morally corrupt; perverted. de·prav  ed·ly adv. Wall Street preppie, the 2000 film - directed by Mary Harron
- serves up the gore with seeming delight.
Christian Bale (``Batman Begins'') as the murderous Patrick Bateman gives a super performance as he morphs from wimp to predator. The underlying theme of the film and the novel - the underlying emptiness of materialism - however, wears quickly, like a bad joke too often repeated. Still, Bale is worth watching. On the gentler side is the small 1976 film ``Lifeguard,'' starring Sam Elliott as an old-timer still on beach patrol and wondering what to do with his life, knowing his days on the sand are numbered. Anne Archer play his longtime girlfriend, and Kathleen Quinlan is a teen who has a crush on him. The trio give sensitive performances in this intelligent little drama directed by Daniel Petrie. ``American Psycho (Uncut Killer Collector's Edition)'' (Lions Gate; $19.98) ``Lifeguard'' (Paramount; $14.99) Bewitched' and more TV With Nicole Kidman learning to twitch her nose for the ``Bewitched'' movie coming out Friday, it was time to bring the first season of the original series out on DVD. Elizabeth Montgomery will always be Samantha, the witch that wanted a normal life as a suburban housewife in the show that ran from 1964 to 1972. (The new film wisely doesn't make Kidman Samantha but instead plays off the old series.) Dick York played her husband Darrin, until health problems forced him to retire, and he was replaced by Dick Sargent. But ad man Darrin - who wanted his wife to abandon witchcraft - was mostly the foil for Samantha and her mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), who disapproved of her daughter's marriage. As delightful and amusing as it was then, ``Bewitched'' was smartly written and had the luck of having a star who not only could twitch her nose, but, along with her co-stars, also had magical comic timing. Other TV-related DVDs are listed below. ``Bewitched be·witch tr.v. be·witched, be·witch·ing, be·witch·es 1. To place under one's power by or as if by magic; cast a spell over. 2. To captivate completely; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. - The Complete First Season'' (Columbia; $39.95) includes 36 episodes on four discs and two featurettes. ``Oz - The Complete Fifth Season'' (HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy ; $64.98) includes eight episodes on three discs, commentary and deleted scenes. ``Degrassi The Next Generation - Season 2'' (Funimation; $59.98) ``The Outer Limits - The New Series (2005)'' (MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. ; $60.96) Rob Lowman, (818) 713-3687 robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: REGINA KING, left, ERNIE HUDSON and SANDRA BULLOCK in ``Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous.'' |
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