DVD Release Of The Week

State Filmmaker Gives Hometown Refreshing 'Exposure'

It's fun seeing a street in your town, someone you know or a place you hang out at, in a movie. Here's an excellent chance to do that. "Exposure," written and directed by Patrice Hamilton, an assistant professor of English and communications at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, just came out on DVD.

DVDS OUT TODAY

New On DVD: Ghost Writer, Inheritance, Kung-Fu Killer

Ghost Writer, Genius Products, 2008

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'Ghost Town' An Unappreciated Gem

One of the more underrated movies of the year, "Ghost Town" should have been a bigger hit.

New On DVD: Beethoven's Big Break, Towelhead, Baghead, Eagle Eye

Beethoven's Big Break Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 2008

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'The Women' Remake: Like Playing With Barbie

>>THE WOMEN: 2008 drama features Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith and Eva Mendes. Running time 114 minutes. Rated PG-13 for sex-related material, language, some drug use and brief smoking. Written and directed by Diane English, based on a play by Clare Boothe Luce and screenplay from the 1939 film by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin. A New Line Features release.

New On DVD: 'American Teen'; 'Burn After Reading'; 'Death Race'

American Teen

DVD

Release of the Week: 'Mamma Mia!'

I imagine "Mamma Mia!" will be more popular on DVD than it was in the cinemas, even though it was one of the highest-grossing movies of the year. People who felt like dancing and singing in the theater may have been inhibited by being in public and not knowing the lyrics.

DVDs Out today

New on DVD: 'Sangre De Mi Sangre', 'Bab'Aziz: The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul'

Sangre De Mi Sangre (Blood Of My Blood)

DVDS OUT TODAY

New on DVD: 'Anamorph', 'Horton Hears A Who!'

Anamorph

DVD Release of the Week: 'The Dark Knight'

" The Dark Knight," director Christopher Nolan's second Batman film, is a grim enterprise. Suggesting that the capacity for evil lurks everywhere, even in our heroes, the bleak worldview doesn't let up for any of the movie's 2 1/2 hours. Thanks to a smart script by Nolan and his brother Jonathan (they also wrote 2000's "Memento"), some bang-up special effects and a good cast, it's also one of the best movies of the year.

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'Wanted' Goes From Promising To Absurd

" Wanted," an action-heavy, plot-light film out on DVD today, turns into "Unwanted" about an hour into it.

DVDS OUT TODAY

New on DVD: 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

DVD Release of the Week: 'A Colbert Christmas'

Stephen Colbert parodies every cheesy celebrity holiday special ever made with this rude, funny yuletide romp. Those who take Christmas dead seriously will find it offensive or confounding. But they need to loosen up and embrace humor about getting high in a manger and blowing away people who say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

New on DVD: 'Beautiful Ohio' 'A Man Named Pearl' 'Sounder,' 'The Nutty Professor'

Beautiful Ohio

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'Tropic Thunder' Lacks Spark

" Tropic Thunder" has a good premise. It starts on the set of a Vietnam War movie being shot in Southeast Asia, and nothing is going right. The actors aren't getting along, and technical glitches culminate in a $4 million special-effects blast going off when there are no cameras rolling. All of which is bad news for fading action star Tugg Speedman ( Ben Stiller), who's banking on the film to revive his career.

DVDS OUT TODAY

New on DVD: 'Wall-E,' 'Garden Party'

Wall-E

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'

Writer/director Guillermo del Toro continues to present visually stunning movies (see "Pan's Labyrinth"). In "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," he returns to his unlikely superhero, a 7-foot-tall red alien with horns who came to Earth during World War II and was raised by Professor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), a psychic.

CD/DVD REVIEW

'Christmas on Mars: A Fantastical Film Freakout Featuring the Flaming Lips'

Finally, we have the makings of a holiday tradition for weird families -- and wouldn't you know it, the Flaming Lips are involved.

New on DVD: 'The Lone Ranger: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition;' 'Love Songs;' 'Opium: Diary of a Madwoman'

The Lone Ranger: 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition, Classic Media, 1949: Like every kid who grew up in the '50s, I learned to talk "Injun" from watching countless Saturday-morning episodes of "The Lone Ranger." "Him no enemy; him friend; me rescue him," we'd say to each other in countless rounds of cowboys and Indians.

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

'Waterworld,' Released Again, Has Its Good Points

When this disc arrived in my mail, I couldn't help but be amused. Hasn't "WaterWorld" given its producers enough agita and ridicule? Why bring on more by releasing an extended cut?

New on DVD: 'Spin City: The Complete First Season'

Spin City: The Complete First Season

DVD REVIEW

Release of the Week: 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'

Here's a perfect popcorn movie for parents and kids to share. The source material is a hit, courtesy of Jules Verne. Brendan Fraser is a solid action star. Josh Hutcherson has the proper gee-whiz blend of teen in need of a strong male role model. And Anita Briem is a can-do mountain guide with strong MacGyver qualities.

DVDS OUT TODAY

New on DVD: 'Tinker Bell', 'The Donna Reed Show' , 'Annie Liebovitz: Life Through a Lens', 'Death Defying Acts'

The Donna Reed Show

DVD RELEASE OF THE WEEK

Release of the week: ''Kiss of the Spider Woman'

Many movies don't hold up decades after release, especially movies about subjects that were cutting-edge then and aren't so much now, like homosexuality. "Kiss of the Spider Woman," being released on DVD for the first time today, is a wonderful exception. Maybe that's because it isn't really about homosexuality.

New on DVD: 'The Incredible Hulk,' 'Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed,' 'The Strangers,' 'The Stone Angel,' 'Sunday School Musical'

The Incredible Hulk ( Universal Studios, 2008) - Derided as it was for the cartoony monster and psychobabble-driven plot, at least Ang Lee's 2003 "Hulk" made some bold choices and showed some story-telling ambition. The newest take on the green monster, directed by Louis Leterrier, does little that you wouldn't expect.

New on DVD

Indy Tips His Famous Hat To Connecticut Several Times

It's always fun when you recognize your hometown in a movie. Locals can see plenty in " Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," out on DVD today. In the excellent extras disc, director Steven Spielberg and company describe their location shots for the fourth installment in the adventure series starring the still-game Harrison Ford as the archaeology teacher who looks good in a leather jacket and fedora.

New on DVD: The Night of the White Pants; Standard Operating Procedure

The Night of the White Pants, Image Entertainment, 2008: Tom Wilkinson is fun to watch in this otherwise uninteresting comedy. It's about Max, a Dallas millionaire on the skids. His trophy second wife left him, he lost his business, he's ill, his son is on drugs and his daughter is in love with Raff, her brother's dealer. Max goes on a tear with Raff and winds up in chaotic situations. Wilkinson has Southern-fried charm to burn — which is noteworthy, since he's British — and his scenes with Frances Fisher, as his sexy first wife, have spark. It's nice to see Geri Jewell, an actress with cerebral palsy, portray the force that keeps the family together. But the story is contrived and the levity feels forced. R, for drug use and language.

DVD REVIEW

Richard Jenkins Makes 'The Visitor' Fly

Character actor Richard Jenkins is probably best known for his role in the TV series "Six Feet Under," but he's been in a ton of other things and you'll recognize him even if you don't know his name. He gets the starring role in "The Visitor," and is the best thing going for the movie.

SHORT TAKES ON NEW DVDS

Short Takes: The Happening, You Don't Mess With The Zohan, Boy A, Mobile

The Happening (20th Century Fox, 2008) — Let's face it. M. Night Shyamalan peaked with "The Sixth Sense." This latest film involves a mysterious plant-produced toxin spread by the wind that incites humans to kill themselves. The moral: Humans better clean up the planet or Mother Earth will get rid of them. Unwatchable, no matter how cute Mark Wahlberg is. R.

DVD REVIEW

An Ironclad Choice For Downey

IRON MAN• 2008 superhero action movie, starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau. Paramount Home Entertainment. 125 minutes. Rated PG for warfare and cartoonish violence. DVD includes making-of documentary, Downey's screen test, and a six-part "History of the Hero."

SHORT TAKES ON NEW DVDS

Short Takes: Bigger Stronger Faster, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, Taxi to the Dark Side

Bigger Stronger Faster (Magnolia Home Entertainment, 2008) Chris Bell's absorbing documentary about performance-enhancing drugs is remarkably even-handed and wide-ranging. The movie criticizes people who are addicted to anabolic steroids, including his two brothers. It also slams public overreaction to drug use. In addition, the film debunks myths about the drugs — such as 'roid rage and the drugs' effects on the body — by citing hard statistics. Bell interviews a terrific array of people, including disgraced Olympian Ben Johnson, his rival Carl Lewis, other athletes, doctors, gym rats, sportswriters and even artist Stan Lee, whose comic-book heroes instill in young boys a desire to be superhuman. In the final analysis, Bell places the blame not on the drugs but on Americans' obsession with being the best at everything, even if it means cheating.

DVD review

No Touchdown For Renée Zellweger This Time Around

LEATHERHEADS 2008 period comedy directed by George Clooney, from a script by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly. Universal Studios Home Entertainment, 114 minutes, PG-13 for language. DVD has deleted scenes, making-of documentary, feature on the film's football sequences, outtakes reel, audio commentary by Clooney and producer Grant Heslov.

DVD REVIEW

'Young@Heart' Documentary Sings Of The Power Of Growing Old

In the documentary "Young@Heart," filmmaker Stephen Walker shows there is drama in even the most ordinary events.

DVD

Short Takes: 'Noise'; 'Before the Rains';. 'Finding Amanda'; 'Snow Angels'; 'Tortured'

Noise (Anchor Bay Entertainment, 2008) — Fed up with car alarms that go on forever, Tim Robbins' David Owen begins his anti-noise mission by deflating the cars' tires. This leads to breaking into cars to disconnect the alarms and eventually to becoming a full-blown vigilante known throughout the city as the Rectifier. He gets arrested, his wife (Bridget Moynihan) leaves him, and he takes up with a young Russian woman (Margarita Levieva) who convinces him to go legit and take his cause to city hall.

DVD REVIEW

Release of the Week: 'The Fall'

In simplest terms " The Fall" is a love letter to early movie making and the power of imagination. But there is nothing simple about the film. Tarsem Singh spent four years touring the world to find the right locations to tell his fantastical story.

SHORT TAKES

New on DVD: 'The Case for Faith,' 'Married Life,' 'Outsourced,' 'Water Lilies'

The Case for Faith ( La Mirada Films, 2008) — The documentary version of Lee Strobel's book, in which he chronicled his journey from atheism to Christianity, is certainly passionate. And it is being released at an appropriate time, because Bill Maher's atheist-rallying-cry documentary, " Religulous," is coming out soon.

DVD REVIEW

'Son Of Rambow' Is An Indie Treasure

SON OF RAMBOW — 2007 comedy written and directed by Garth Jennings. Running time: 96 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some violence and reckless behavior. A Paramount Vantage release.

New on DVD

'The Wire: The Complete Fifth Season'

Not much more can be said about the greatness of "The Wire," the HBO series that ended its brilliant five-season run in March. Put simply, it's one of the great achievements in television history.

Release of the Week

Amy Adams Steals Every Scene In 'Miss Pettigrew'

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY

Short Takes: 'Bra Boys,' 'CJ7,' 'Irina Palm,' 'The Killing Gene' 'Juncture'

Bra Boys (WEA Corp DVD, 2007) — This documentary is about Australian surfing tribes, focusing on men in Sydney's Mourebra projects, among whom are some of the world's best surfers. The Bra Boys are like a street gang, and have gotten a lot of bad ink in the Aussie press. This film gives their side of the story. It's interesting in an anthropological sense, as a study of how gangs come to be. Also, the surfing footage is terrific; every wave is a crystalline, shoot-perfect curl. But the film's target audience lives on the other side of the world. It's difficult to imagine American audiences caring much. "Bra Boys" also has the disadvantage of being directed by Sunny Abberton, whose family is front and center in the story. The lack of any attempt at objectivity is, increasingly, a common problem with documentaries. But interviewing yourself goes too far. Couldn't they have hired someone else to make the film? Unrated, with violence, language.

TV on DVD: 'Caroline in the City: Season 1'

Caroline in the City: Season 1 — Single good-looking girl, good-looking sometimes-boyfriend, good-looking male assistant, good-looking female neighbor — and good-looking New York City loft — how can you lose?

Good Video Hunting: "Camp Out"

Camp Out (Liberation Entertainment, 2006) — This Kirk Marcolina and Larry Grimaldi documentary about a camp for devoutly Christian gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) teenagers is heartwarming. The 10 teens who camped there in 2004 are an endearing bunch. They're open about the societal pressure to give up either their faith or their sexuality, and they're thankful for the counselors who urge them to keep both, because the counselors understand that giving either up is impossible. (There are Gs and Ls here, but no Bs or Ts. If the camp ever gets any, that would make a good sequel because different, important questions might arise.) One of the counselors has a story of his own, about being accepted as a gay pastor by his whole congregation, that is so beautiful, it may make you cry. "Camp Out" has a nice message, which needs to reach a wider audience: If God created these people, and God makes no mistakes, that leaves haters with no leg to stand on. Not rated.

DVD

Release of the Week: 'Pete Seeger: The Power of Song'

What a terrific movie. It's not just a biography of a remarkable man, but a history of 20th-century American progressive politics. From the late '30s until today, Pete Seeger was there, in the forefront, working to do what he thought was the right thing.

PRODUCTION NOTES

'Vampyr' DVD One For The Ages

Disembodied shadows dance on a wall. Invisible assailants attack a man. Barks are heard, but there are no dogs. A vampire, and the vampire's assistant, lurk in the shadows.

New on DVD: `Nim's Island'

Past child star Jodie Foster and Hollywood's current go-to girl

New on DVD

'Step Up 2: The Streets'

If you're the kind of person who liked "Step Up" enough to check out the sequel "Step Up 2: The Streets," then no precautions needed about suspending disbelief or loving dance to the exclusion of needing a compelling story. Since DVD rentals often involve less enthusiasm and more curiosity, however, it's good to note that the bonus features do a creditable job of capturing the passion of street dancing and first-time director Jon M. Chu's love for the film.

DVD

Release Of The Week: 'Snakes On A Plane'

It's impossible for anyone aware of pop-culture phenomena to approach "Snakes on a Plane" without preconceived notions, positive, negative or neutral. If you're a member of its online, pre-release fan community, you'll think it's gonna rock. If you're not, you'll just wonder what the big deal is. If the thought of the nameless masses interfering in the production of a movie annoys you, you'll want to hate it.