Video: 4
Audio: 3
Extras: 1
Following a difficult breakup with his girlfriend, Peter (Marcus Thomas) decides to audition for a community-theater production of Cyrano de Bergerac, even though he lacks any acting experience. Despite a less-than-stellar reading with the theater's star actor, Michael (John Corbett), the show's producer sees a spark in Peter and gives him the part. With a lot of advice from the rest of the cast, Marcus eventually finds his inner actor—and learns a little bit about himself along the way.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 5
Earning the cinephile treatment in a new three-disc collection, the Bill & Ted oeuvre is a sweet-natured reminder that movies don't have to be art to entertain. For anyone who grew up in the neon-colored '80s, this proto-Wayne's World duo of bumbling wisdom represented the heart of teenage angst without all of the rough edges. Their concerns were simple: impending homework, elusive girls, and ill-gotten beer.
Video: 3
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
Originally devised as a Broadway-caliber musical for CBS in 1957, Cinderella is making its very first appearance on home video since it aired live on the network to a record-breaking audience.
Starring a youthful Julie Andrews as the girl who marries a prince, this musical looks and sounds surprisingly good for a television program that was thought to be lost for nearly 60 years. While the 1.33:1 black-and-white picture lacks detail and is marred by dust and dirt, it has a decent amount of contrast throughout. Meanwhile, the single-channel Dolby Digital soundtrack, though lacking a lot of dynamic range, still delivers the classic songs with aplomb.
Video: 5
Audio: 4
Extras: 3
Although Hollywood has been mixing genres and tinkering with styles since film began, few movies as adeptly combine action, romance, and comedy as 1984’s Romancing the Stone. And, while its 1985 sequel fails to re-create the same magic, both films have a carefree approach that holds up 20 years later on DVD—albeit one that seems almost quaint in such an age of political correctness.
Video: 2
Audio: 3
Extras: 4
If last year's contentious presidential race wasn't enough to demonstrate how ridiculous politics can be, Tanner 88 and Tanner on Tanner should drive the point home.
Video: 4
Audio: 4
Extras: 4
A twisting, turning, supernatural story, The Forgotten stars Julianne Moore as Telly, a woman grieving the loss of her 8-year-old son. The only problem is, everyone around her insists that the boy she misses so desperately never actually existed. As she continues to cling to her memories, she finds herself sinking further into a nightmare. Although the heart of the film is about the unbreakable bond between parent and child, the story offers enough government conspiracy and X-Files-type intrigue to give it wider appeal.
Video: 5
Audio: 5
Extras: 5
A sweet, charming story of enduring first love, The Notebook follows Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), two teenagers who indulge in a heated summer romance that Allie's mother frowns upon. However, despite efforts to keep the couple apart, a chance meeting seven years later brings the twosome back together again.
Christy Grosz
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