Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Michael Mann revisits the iconic ‘80s TV show he helmed with this humorless, straight-for-the-jugular film adaptation, which puts Colin Farrell’s Crockett and Jamie Foxx’s Tubbs deep undercover against a drug cartel. In his audio commentary, the director terms the DVD the “more extensive” cut—completed weeks after the release of the theatrical version—rather than the “extended” or “director’s” cut. In any case, this unrated version runs six minutes longer and, presumably, includes some violent moments not seen theatrically.
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
Upon hitting play on the Midnight Cowboy Collector's Edition DVD, the first thing you'll notice is that this movie, which famously became the only X-rated Best Picture Oscar winner, has now been rated R. But time has done nothing to fade how interesting and powerful it is.
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 5
Leaving my first theatrical viewing of MirrorMask, I was reminded of the dream sequence in the middle of Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound, where Salvador Dali was given carte blanche to design a surrealist dream. It's a great sequence. Sixty years later, a top-notch visual artist and an accomplished storyteller had the limitless potential of computer-generated imagery at their disposal. It's as if Dali had been given today's technology, but, instead of melting clocks and big crutch-like sticks, there's Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman's lexicon of sphinxes, monkey-birds, and fish.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 3
If 3,000 hits is an automatic induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, what do you do if you only had 2,997? Go back to the team and get those missing hits—even if you haven't played in nine years and you're 47. That's the situation that Stan Ross (Bernie Mac) is in. He's alienated everyone, and he's egotistical, selfish, and immensely charming. Mac captures the swagger, cockiness, and self-promotion that some athletes revel in today. During the course of his comeback, he has a second chance with an ex-flame and ESPN reporter (Angela Bassett) and a second chance with the team after he realizes what's really important.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Steven Spielberg strikes a conciliatory tone in his introduction to this two-disc presentation of his acclaimed revenge opus. Clearly responding to some criticism, he notes that he is “in no way, shape, or form” attacking Israel in the film. We’ll take him at his word; however, Munich is a harsh look at how the country sought to avenge the kidnapping and murder of its athletes at the 1972 Olympics by implementing its own campaign of sanctioned murder.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 2
In this thought-provoking film inspired by a true story, acclaimed New Zealand director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) offers viewers another portrait of a courageous heroine breaking the gender barrier to overcome traditionally male-dominated roles.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 0
For those of you out there who are anticipating an even bigger party than the fun that was Ocean's Eleven, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. The beauty of the first film was that everything came together in the end, and you left feeling like you'd really been privy to geniuses at work. Everything, and I mean everything, was part of the big picture. Ocean's Twelve just makes you scratch your head. What happened to these seriously smart guys? How in the world did they end up in this situation, and where's the big heist that made the first film so much fun? But, most importantly, who thought it would be funny for Julia Roberts' character to pretend to be Julia Roberts? Has Hollywood completely lost its mind?
Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
Based on a comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis, Over the Hedge follows a group of critters who, after a long winter’s sleep, wake up to find a housing development in their backyard. Enter RJ, a self-serving raccoon who introduces them to the glory of potato chips, cookies, and other human scraps—and dupes the nave foragers into helping him repay a food debt to an ominous black bear. The film serves up likable characters, some laugh-out-loud moments, and a script that cleverly lampoons humans’ tendency to overdo, well, everything—yet it doesn’t quite possess the allure and enduring charm of a Shrek or Finding Nemo.
Ah, to be young again. As Finding Neverland taught us, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is really for the kids, but the overwhelming charm of this tale about an ageless boy’s carefree adventures makes it pretty much irresistible for the rest of us. That was true of the original stage production and of Walt Disney’s 1953 animated adaptation, with perhaps only its clichd Hollywood depiction of Native Americans looking the worse for wear these many years later.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 5
And so the pirate saga continues. Johnny Depp boards the Black Pearl once again in Dead Man’s Chest, taking the ever-flamboyant Jack Sparrow on a soul-searching journey…literally. As the legendary Davy Jones resurfaces, it seems our favorite cap’n has a huge debt to pay. Jack may be good, but his pirating skills won’t be enough unless he finds the fabled chest and barters its contents with the formidable Jones, brilliantly portrayed by Bill Nighy, who takes villainy far above sea level. Orlando Bloom also returns as the virtuous Will Turner, offsetting his pretty-boy charm by adding a bit more ruggedness to the character this time around.
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