DVD REVIEWS OF NEW RELEASES.

Byline: Rob Lowman Entertainment Editor

'24' still adds up for Kiefer Sutherland

Kiefer Sutherland says ``no'' right away to the obvious question. He's not tired of playing Jack Bauer, the counterterrorist agent he portrays on Fox's hit show ``24.''

On a recent rainy day in Chatsworth, Sutherland took some time out from filming new episodes for the series - which returns for a fifth year in January - to talk about the fourth season, out on DVD today.

The actor, who is also one of the show's producers, says he originally feared being stuck in the part, but over time he has learned to appreciate the changes his character has to go through.

The fourth season of ``24'' was the best since its first year. Bauer - shorn of family considerations (his daughter, played by Elisha Cuthbert, was no longer in the series) - began the day working for Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane) and having a romantic relationship with Heller's daughter, Audrey (Kim Raver), who works for her father and is separated from her husband. When Heller and Audrey are kidnapped by terrorists on a visit to Los Angeles, Jack finds himself back working for CTU, the counter-terrorist unit he had left under clouded circumstances.

Sutherland says the scene last year where Bauer let Audrey's husband die in order to save a terrorist so he could get vital information from him, knowing that it would drive a wedge between the couple, taught him something as an actor.

``When they first told me about that, I remember thinking, 'Ooh - that's kind of over the top.' But then I thought, 'Let's give it a go, and it was one of those moments where, if you get past your initial fear, it's unbelievable what you might find in it. I learned ... the only thing that's bad that can happen from trying something like that is if it doesn't work, you don't use it. And it's taken me a long time for whatever reason to learn that.''

Sutherland says that another thing he loves about the character is that Bauer fails.

``For every success, there is an equal failure. He saves his daughter, but he loses his wife. Nothing is black and white - there is no concrete victory. And I think that is very real, and I think that is very human.''

Besides talking to experts, the 38-year-old actor - a veteran of more than 40 films - watches a lot of documentaries dealing with terrorism. One that impressed him involved a small group of Special Forces men who went into Afghanistan before U.S. troops were there. Sutherland says he marveled at how they developed relationships with people in the townships - and they did it in a nonaggressive way.

``They always had their guns on their backs and pointed down, which would have made it very difficult to get to them. It was just amazing how they dealt with the Afghani people, and during the course of the war they ended up losing a couple guys. ... This was a very close unit of men that had worked together for up to 10 years - and two of them were dead. I remember that, because it affected me in such a strong way - and it is something that we would like to maintain in Jack Bauer as well: that nothing is black and white. At best, it's either a darker gray today or a lighter gray today.''

Last season's ``24'' also brought concerns from the Muslim community about its portrayal. Nestor Serrano and Oscar nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo played a husband and wife in the Valley who were part of terrorist sleeper cell. Sutherland says he did a public service announcement about tolerance to allay concerns.

``I think the Muslim community within the United States is an incredibly vital, important aspect of this culture - and to talk about any one group because of the actions of a few and lump them as a larger group is a very dangerous, dangerous situation.''

But Sutherland - who wouldn't let on much about next season, although there is a segment on the new DVD box set that gives you hints - is aware that ``24'' was created before 9/11. ``The truth is that we're making a show about terrorism. And to pretend there are not terror cells and people working at that level across the United States is simply foolish. It does exist, and it is a reality.''

``24 - Season Four'' (Fox; $69.98)

'Cinderella Man,' 'The Dukes of Hazzard,' 'Fantastic Four,' 'Ladies in Lavender'

Ron Howard's ``Cinderella Man'' is so earnest, so seemingly obvious in its attempt to be an award-worthy film, that it is nearly knocked out by its own ambitions. Yet the sports drama, based on the true story of Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, fights back with some exciting, bone-crunching scenes in the ring and a convincing, effective performance by Russell Crowe as the pugilist who must battle his way back to the top.

Married to Mae (Renee Zellweger) and with three kids, onetime top contender Braddock falls on hard times after breaking his hand and losing his boxing license. Unable to box, Braddock takes whatever menial job he can to feed his family as the country reels from the stock-market crash. Then his loyal manager (Paul Giamatti in another terrific performance) gets him a last chance at a comeback and redemption.

The outcome is (historically) foretold. We know Braddock will succeed, but Crowe, who may not be the flavor of the month in Hollywood, shows again that he is among its elite in the acting ring, giving the simple man depth and nuance and an honest dignity. Howard supplies the power, with the fight sequences being visceral and emotional.

There are two DVD versions of the film, with the collector's edition, of course, providing more extras, including a 30-minute film of the championship fight between Braddock and Max Baer. Both editions include a segment with top boxing manager Angelo Dundee talking about how Crowe adapted to Braddock's style.

``You know what's gonna happen,'' says Daisy Duke, played by Jessica Simpson squeezed into a pair of Daisy Dukes, in the big-screen version of ``The Dukes of Hazzard.'' ``They're gonna get caught and get thrown in jail. Then I'm gonna have to shake my ass at somebody to get them out.''

Well, Simpson got her one talent right. Remaking the dumb but apparently loved (by somebody) TV show ``The Dukes of Hazzard'' into a big-screen movie must have been a hoot for somebody. My guess is it was the cast and crew, judging by the outtakes. But for the rest of us ...

There are car chases and Daisy shaking this body part and high jinks from the Duke boys, played by Seann William Williams and Johnny Knoxville, and Daisy shaking another body part and Willie Nelson seemingly along for the ride and Daisy Duke shaking ... you get the picture.

If the PG-13 version isn't enough for you, there's an unrated one with nudity, worse language - and Nelson, an apple and a joint. There's even more nudity in the outtakes, and it seems old Willie knows a lot of naughty limericks.

Every year, some studio greenlights a film based on some long-revered comic book series. Most of the time, the characters are as flat as the pages they were lifted from - exceptions being last summer's ``Batman Begins'' and the two ``Spider-Man'' films - and all the special effects in the world, or out of it, won't bring it to life.

So you can guess my reaction to ``Fantastic Four'' was less than fantastic - puzzling was more like it. On one hand, it seemed to want to be campy, like the old ``Batman'' TV series, but it wasn't funny. On the other, it tries to play up the relationship between two of the four, who through genetic mutation, gain superpowers. One of them is Ioan Gruffudd's somewhat nerdy scientist Reed Richards, and the other - don't laugh - is Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, an MIT-trained scientist who specializes in genetic research. The chemistry between Alba, who seems better-suited to roles involving a lasso or a bikini, and Gruffudd, who was a moody Lancelot in ``King Arthur,'' is nonexistent. But the dialogue is so wooden that anybody would look like a stiff trying to say it with a straight face.

And don't look for the action to pick things up - the special-effect set pieces are dull. It's amazing the film made more than $150 million in the U.S. and over $300 million worldwide. And now, believe it or not, somebody has greenlighted a sequel.

Watching two great actresses like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith play spinster sisters Ursula and Janet Widdington is one of the few pleasures of the tweedy British drama ``Ladies in Lavender.'' Set in the 1930s, the sisters find a handsome young man washed up on the shore near their house in Cornwall.

After calling in the local doctor (David Warner) to set his broken ankle, the sisters begin to learn more about their mysterious visitor, named Andrea Marowski (Daniel Bruhl). He is Polish and doesn't speak English, and communication is difficult, but they are taken with him. When they learn that he can play the violin magnificently, they grow possessive.

Andrea's presence awakens something in the sisters. Janet (Smith) lost her husband in World War I, and Ursula (Dench) is aware of a life passing by. The film then follows a predictable and comfortable arc. Its other pleasure is the romantic score - along with some classical pieces - performed by Joshua Bell. Bell's exquisite playing - as in ``The Red Violin'' - is transporting enough to give the project a few grace notes.

``Cinderella Man'' (Universal; $29.98; $44.98 for the collector's edition)

``The Dukes of Hazzard'' (Warner; $28.98 for the PG-13 edition or the unrated version)

``Fantastic Four'' (Fox; $29.99)

``Ladies in Lavender'' (Columbia; $26.98)

'Forbidden Games'

French director Rene Clement's poetic 1952 film ``Forbidden Games'' looks at war through the eyes of children. Set in France as the the Nazis are taking Paris in World War II, ``Forbidden Games'' follows the plight of a young girl named Paulette who loses her parents and dog during the attack. During the panic, she is taken in by a young boy, Michael, and his parents. But after seeing her parents buried, Paulette decides she needs to bury her dog. After doing so, the two children expand their pet cemetery as a way of coping with the horrors around them. More often than not, Clement lets the the expressions of the children - exquisitely played by then 5-year-old Brigitte Fossey and 11-year-old Georges Poujouly - tell the story, giving the film its power.

``Forbidden Games'' (Criterion; $29.95)

'The Rockford Files,' 'Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,' more TV

Who didn't like Jim Rockford, the slightly oddball L.A. private detective as played by James Garner? In fact, ``The Rockford Files'' - season one is out today) thrived on its collection of slightly oddball characters, including Rockford's dad Rocky, a retired truck driver played by Noah Beery Jr., and Angel (Stuart Margolin), Jim's ex-con friend. No one would ever call ``Rockford'' landmark television, but the show worked because of the good-natured humor that the detective brought to every situation - including being shot at - and Garner's likable presence. And I bet you know Mike Post's theme song.

Want a laugh? ``Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica - The Final Season'' is also available. The final season - they got that right.

``The Rockford Files - Season One'' (Universal; $39.98)

``Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica - The Final Season'' (Paramount; $26.99)

``The West Wing - The Complete Fifth Season'' (Warner; $59.98)

``M*A*S*H - Season Nine'' (Fox; $39.98)

``Full House - The Complete Second Season'' (Warner; $29.98)

``Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Vol. 4'' (Turner; $29.98)

``Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume Two (1942-1946)'' (Disney; $32.99)

``Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s-1960s'' (Disney; $32.99)

``Everybody Loves Raymond - The Complete Fifth Season'' (HBO; $44.98)

``Murder She Wrote - The Complete Second Season'' (Universal; $49.98)

``Law & Order - The Fourth Year'' (Universal; $49.98)

``Felicity - An American Girl Adventure'' (Warner; $19.98)

``Green Acres: The Complete Third Season'' (MGM; $29.95)

``Jackass - the Box Set'' (Paramount; $54.95)

``Roseanne - The Complete Second Season'' (Anchor Bay; $39.98)

``MacGyver: Complete Fourth Season'' (Paramount; $38.99)

``NOVA: Einstein's Big Idea'' (WGBH; $19.95)

``Star Wars - Clone Wars, Vol. 2'' (Fox; $19.98)

Rob Lowman,'' [phone]

robert.lowman(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Kiefer Sutherland)

(2) RUSSELL CROWE in ``Cinderella Man'')

(3) JAMES GARNER in ``Rockford Files''