The Prestige

Actors: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo
Directors: Christopher Nolan
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Touchstone
DVD Release Date: February 20, 2007

The Prestige attempts a hat trick by combining a ridiculously good-looking cast, a highly regarded new director, and more than one sleight of hand. Does it pull it off? Sort of. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman play rival magicians who were once friends before an on-stage tragedy drove a wedge between them. While Bale's Alfred Borden is a more skilled illusionist, Jackman's Rufus Angier is the better showman; much of the film's interesting first half is their attempts to sabotage--and simultaneously, top--each other's tricks. Even with the help of a prop inventor (Michael Caine) and a comely assistant (Scarlett Johansson), Angier can't match Borden's ultimate illusion: The Transporting Man. Angier's obsession with learning Borden's trick leads him to an encounter with an eccentric inventor (David Bowie) in a second half that gets bogged down in plot loops and theatrics. Director Christopher Nolan, reuniting with his Batman Begins star Bale, demonstrates the same dark touch that hued that film, but some plot elements--without giving anything away--seem out of place with the rest of the movie. It's better to sit back and let the sometimes-clunky turns steer themselves than try to draw back the black curtain. That said, The Prestige still manages to entertain long after the magician has left the stage--a feat in itself. --Ellen A. Kim

Terminator 3

Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, David Andrews
Directors: Jonathan Mostow
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004

With a reported budget of $172 million, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines starts in high gear and never slows down. The apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of T2 was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing T2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being pursued yet again, this time by the advanced T-X, a sleek "Terminatrix" (coldly expressionless Kristanna Loken) programmed to stop Connor from becoming the savior of humankind. Originally programmed as an assassin, a disadvantaged T-101 cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger, bidding fond farewell to his signature role) arrives from the future to join Connor and his old acquaintance Kate (Claire Danes) in thwarting the T-X's relentless pursuit. The plot presents a logical fulfillment of T2 prophesy, disposing of Connor's mother (Linda Hamilton is sorely missed) while computer-driven machines assume control, launching a nuclear nightmare that Connor must survive. With Breakdown and U-571 serving as worthy rehearsals for this cautionary epic of mass destruction, director Jonathan Mostow wisely avoids any stylistic connection to James Cameron's Terminator classics; instead he's crafted a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, humorous and yet still effectively nihilistic, and comparable to Jurassic Park III in returning the Terminator franchise to its potent B-movie roots. --Jeff Shannon

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