Miss Congeniality

Actors: Sandra Bullock, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson
Directors: Donald Petrie
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: March 15, 2005

It's a good thing Sandra Bullock knows her strengths and weaknesses, because without Bullock as star and producer, Miss Congeniality would be an insufferable mess as opposed to being a mildly enjoyable trifle that is custom-made for Bullock's established screen persona. Only Bullock's fans could really appreciate this fluff (even then they'll wish its ripe premise had been more intelligently handled), but it's not without some highlights to accompany Bullock's reliable charms. Here she plays clumsy, nerdy FBI agent Gracie Hart, who is given the horrific pseudonym Gracie Lou Freebush (one example of the movie's juvenile tendencies) when assigned to infiltrate a beauty pageant to investigate threats of a terrorist attack.

Transforming Bullock from frumpy to stunning is a piece of cake (although she gives pageant coach Michael Caine a run for his money), so the movie's premise is trivial at best. More enjoyable is her character's uncouth disdain for pageant contestants and her mistaken perception that they're all a bunch of bimbos. The movie nicely charts Gracie's realization that her own pageant makeover provides a much-needed ego boost. In addition to Caine's effortless scene-stealing, pageant host William Shatner and organizer Candice Bergen are smart choices for comedic support (Shatner's a perfect Bert Parks wannabe), but the movie desperately needs a credible foundation for its comedy to really pay off. Bullock's bureau boss (Benjamin Bratt) is an unconvincing dimwit, and none of the plotting is as smart as say Beverly Hills Cop in combining procedure with laughs. That leaves Bullock to carry the burden of a comedy that
just barely works in her favor. --Jeff Shannon

Coffin Joe Trilogy, R1

Actors: Coffin Joe
Studio: Fantoma
DVD Release Date: October 7, 2003

Unholy undertaker, evil philosopher, denizen of dreams and hallucinations...Coffin Joe, with his trademark top hat, black cape and talon-like fingernails, is a horror icon in his native Brazil. Revered as the national boogeyman, Coffin Joe has been immortalized in films, TV shows, radio programs, comic books and popular songs. He is the creation of writer-director-star Jose Mojica Marins whose perversely original and strangely personal filmmaking style has been compared to an unholy blend of Mario Bava, Luis Bunuel and Russ Meyer. Fantoma is proud to present new director approved editions of these three seminal tales of terror in a specially priced limited-edition boxed set.

The Valiant, R3

Actors: Annette Badland, Jim Broadbent, Tim Curry, Alison Dowling, Christopher Fairbanks
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
DVD Release Date: December 13, 2005

A host of great British thespians, from Ewan MacGregor to John Cleese, lend their voices to Valiant, a computer-animated bird's-eye-view of World War II. Valiant (MacGregor, Big Fish, Down With Love), though but a small pigeon, is determined to join the homing pigeon brigade and do his part to help win the war. He and a handful of other misfits are assembled into a motley squad and suddenly find themselves thrust into combat with the responsibility of delivering a crucial message. Unfortunately, the villainous Von Talon (Tim Curry, The Rocky Horror Picture Show), a Nazi falcon, intends to tear them to feathers over the English Channel. Aside from some delightful voice work from Ricky Gervais (The Office) as a filthy but cunning pigeon, there's not much to recommend about Valiant. The story is clunky, cliche-ridden, and underdeveloped; the design is charmless and inexpressive; the characters are so generic that even a cast as talented as Jim Broadbent (Topsy-Turvy, Iris), Hugh Laurie (House), and John Hurt (1984, The Elephant Man) can do little to make them anything but bland stereotypes from a long-exhausted movie genre. Overall, poorly conceived and clumsily executed. --Bret Fetzer

Corpse Bride, R3

Actors: Johnny Depp, Emily Watson, Helena Bonham Carter
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2006

Donnie Darko, R2

Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, James Duval, Mary McDonnell
Studio: Prism Leisure Corporation
DVD Release Date: 2 Feb 2004

Cars

Actors: Owen Wilson, Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Rodger Bumpass, George Carlin
Directors: John Lasseter
Studio: Walt Disney Video
DVD Release Date: November 7, 2006

The House of the Flying Dagger, R6 China

Actors: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau, Ziyi Zhang, Dandan Song, Hongfei Zhao
Directors: Yimou Zhang
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Release Date: April 19, 2005


No one uses color like Chinese director Zhang Yimou--movies like Raise the Red Lantern or Hero, though different in tone and subject matter, are drenched in rich, luscious shades of red, blue, yellow, and green. House of Flying Daggers is no exception; if they weren't choreographed with such vigorous imagination, the spectacular action sequences would seem little more than an excuse for vivid hues rippling across the screen. Government officers Leo and Jin (Asian superstars Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro) set out to destroy an underground rebellion called the House of Flying Daggers (named for their weapon of choice, a curved blade that swoops through the air like a boomerang). Their only chance to find the rebels is a blind women named Mei (Ziyi Zhang, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who has some lethal kung fu moves of her own. In the guise of an aspiring rebel, Jin escorts Mei through gorgeous forests and fields that become bloody battlegrounds as soldiers try to kill them both. While arrows and spears of bamboo fly through the air, Mei, Jin, and Leo turn against each other in surprising ways, driven by passion and honor. Zhang's previous action/art film, Hero, sometimes sacrificed momentum for sheer visual beauty; House of Flying Daggers finds a more muscular balance of aesthetic splendor and dazzling swordplay. --Bret Fetzer