DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

Gilliam's magic beans fail to sprout

There are moments in ``The Brothers Grimm,'' Terry Gilliam's latest, that feel like you're watching a series of the director's surreal animations for ``Monty Python's Flying Circus.''

While filmmakers like Neil Jordan (``The Company of Wolves'') and writers like Donald Barthelme and Robert Coover have reimagined fairy tales usually to play with the psychosexual underpinnings of the stories, the only purpose Gilliam seems to have in this film is to create a playhouse atmosphere in which to spin out his anarchic imaginings.

The film begins with the Grimm brothers as boys, with the younger, Jacob, being chastised by older brother Will for buying beans he believes are magical. Fifteen years later, during Napoleon's reign over the German countries, the brothers have grown up to be charlatans, bilking superstitious country peasants out of their money by saving them from fake visitations by witches and spirits.

French authorities, aware of the boys' frauds, arrest them, but instead of executing them, they send them off to uncover what they believe is a bigger fraud - a haunted woods outside a town where young girls are going missing. The rub, as you will have guessed, is that the woods are really cursed by an evil queen, who lives in a tower.

While Will (Matt Damon) has steadfastly derided the idea of a fairy-tale world, Jacob (Heath Ledger) has been collecting stories. As the brothers' tale is told, a princess figure emerges in Angelika (Lena Headey) and the hag queen (Monica Bellucci) who only looks beautiful in a mirror (Who's the fairest of them all?). Pieces of fairy-tale lore are then left like the bread crumbs of Hansel and Gretel to solve the mystery, but are gone so quickly that they are of little purpose except to be cloying.

In the end, Gilliam's film resembles a big-screen trip to a curio shop - with items here and there of interest - but nothing that holds it together. Ledger, who has drawn raves in ``Brokeback Mountain,'' acquits himself well here.

John Singleton's ``Four Brothers'' - an urban version of the John Wayne Western ``The Sons of Katie Elder'' - uses Marvin Gaye's ``Troubled Man'' to set its tone. It's the story of four adopted sons - Mark Wahlberg (Bobby), Tyrese Gibson (Angel), Andre Benjamin (Jeremiah) and Garrett Hedlund (Jack) - who try to find out who is responsible for the murder of their foster-care mother (Fionnula Flanagan) in Detroit.

The four brothers (two African-American, two white) are indeed troubled and troublemakers - but, then, the movie's script, too, is troubled, often stretching credulity. Singleton also spends a lot of time showing us the brothers interacting without really showing us much about them, except that they all felt this debt to the woman who raised them. The action sequences, though, are smoothly directed.

Thanks to fans, Joss Whedon was able to resurrect his short-lived Fox sci-fi series (with Western aspects) and turn it into the film ``Serenity.'' The movie using essentially the same cast is bigger and rowdier than the show. But while somewhat diverting, it's neither as cool as another of Whedon's creations, ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' nor as compelling as the Sci Fi Channel's ``Battlestar Galactica.'' But for DVD, it's OK.

``Must Love Dogs'' is a serviceable romantic comedy for the undemanding because of its two likable leads - John Cusack and Diane Lane. But there's no fire here because there is little chemistry between the pair. That may not be Lane and Cusack's fault, though. The script is so flimsy that if it were a dress, the person wearing it would be arrested.

``The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' does have Laura Linney to carry much of the load, but having a great actress doesn't turn this strange blend of horror film and courtroom drama into a satisfying mix. Supposedly based on a true story, ``Emily'' tries to play both sides of the question of whether the possession was real. It seems, in this case, it could have used the Brothers Grimm to give it some life.

Other recent releases are listed below.

``Serenity'' (Universal; $29.98)

``The Brothers Grimm'' (Miramax; $29.99)

``Must Love Dogs'' (Warner; $28.98)

``Four Brothers'' (Paramount; $29.99)

``The Exorcism of Emily Rose'' (Columbia; $28.95)

``Once Upon a Mattress'' (Disney; $19.95)

``The Great Raid'' (Miramax; $29.99)

``Cry Wolf'' (Universal; $29.98)

``Chicago - The Razzle-Dazzle Edition'' (Miramax; $29.99)

`Battlestar Galactica' and more TV

I was a reluctant viewer of the new ``Battlestar Galactica,'' having no love for the old version. But this new series on the Sci Fi Channel is one of the best shows on television. What sets it apart from other sci-fi shows is that instead of losing viewers in the mythology of its futuristic plot, ``Battlestar'' has succeeded because it's a smartly drawn drama with strong characters - and, OK, a sexy cast.

Other TV-related sets are listed below.

``Battlestar Galactica - Season 2.0'' (Universal; $49.98)

``ER - The Complete Fourth Season'' (Warner; $49.98)

``Party of Five - The Complete Second Season'' (Columbia; $49.95)

``The Amazing Race - The Seventh Season'' (Paramount; $39.98)

Rob Lowman, [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) HEATH LEDGER and MATT DAMON in ``The Brothers Grimm''

(2) ``BATTLESTAR GALACTICA''