DVD Corner

Each week, NEWS film critic Christopher Smith will contribute reviews to DVD Corner.

“COACH CARTER”: Samuel L. Jackson as a high school basketball coach who could find work at a pulpit. What do you suppose the odds are that he’s here to turnaround a team trotting in the wrong direction? It’s how he does so that generates interest – he benches the whole team when a few get out of line. When controversy unfolds, as it must, it does so within a true story patted into shape by formula. Jackson and the rest of the cast are key. Without their good performances, the movie would have been suffocated by cliches. Grade: B-

“CURSED”: A hammy horror movie from Wes Craven. Christina Ricci is Ellie Hudson, a television producer doomed to the dark side with her brother, Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg), when each is attacked by a werewolf. Who took a bite out of them? Take your pick – Hollywood is filled with wolves. The film promises loose, kitschy fun, but it’s too self-conscious to lift you to the moon. Working against it is a weak script and lazy special effects. It’s up to the cast to get the job done, but in this case – Scott Baio is featured in cameo – that’s like applying modest pressure to a hemorrhaging wound. Grade: C-

“A DIRTY SHAME”: No shame here. From John Waters (“Pecker,” “Hairspray,” “Pink Flamingos”), the director’s latest tackles nymphomania, with Tracey Ullman onboard as an unhappy purist who becomes a raging nymphomaniac after being conked on the head. The rest of the cast are also game for the gags. Selma Blair is outrageous as busty Ursula Udders; Johnny Knoxville apparently was hired for his tongue. Hardly for everyone, but it is prankish fun. The film wears its NC-17 rating like a badge. Grade: B

“HOSTAGE”: The title says plenty about the story – Bruce Willis tries to save a family taken hostage – and even more about how audiences might feel while watching it. The problem isn’t just that the movie becomes increasingly claustrophobic as the violence escalates, but that Willis is so familiar in the role, he robs it of surprise and energy. The overblown ending is preposterous, causing unintended laughter. Grade: C-

“MISS CONGENIALITY 2: Armed and Fabulous”: “Armed with a Few Laughs” would have come closer to the mark. “Amputated by a Weak Script” would have nailed it. Sandra Bullock follows 2000’s “Miss Congeniality” with a weaker sequel. The film is too long – a predictable, straight shot to the end – with a sweet-as-soot closing manufactured to put dimples in our cheeks. It doesn’t. What it does have is Bullock, who is likable as FBI agent Gracie Hart, and Regina King, who co-stars as her nemesis. Both work hard here, pressing against mediocrity to create a worthwhile diversion. Fans of each will appreciate the effort. Grade: C+

Other reviews

“THE JACKET”: A bizarre time-travel mystery that unfolds principally through the central character’s mental perceptions – which may be distorted by his specific circumstances – this thriller casts Oscar winner Adrien Brody as a Gulf War veteran accused of killing a police officer. He’s sentenced to an asylum where he undergoes sensory-deprivation experiments while clad in a straitjacket. The ability to deal with the tale’s reality-bending twists will dictate the viewer’s enjoyment level here. Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kelly Lynch also star. (Jay Bobbin, Zap2it.com)

“BEWITCHED: The First Complete Season”: With the Nicole Kidman-Will Ferrell movie update hitting screens, the original 1960s television series makes its video debut, available in black-and-white and colorized editions. Elizabeth Montgomery became one of the home screen’s top stars as Samantha, the beguiling beauty who enchants advertising man Darrin (Dick York). He’s stunned to learn her secret – she’s a witch – and after they marry, she just can’t keep her trademark nose twitching under wraps. Agnes Moorehead plays her Darrin-disapproving mother, Endora. DVD extras: “making-of” documentary; outtakes. (Jay Bobbin, Zap2it.com)

Coming soon

“DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN” (June 28): Playwright Tyler Perry’s comedy-drama casts Kimberly Elise as a woman with mixed emotions over her husband’s divorce plans. (PG-13: AS, P)

“THE PACIFIER” (June 28): Vin Diesel plays a Navy SEAL who acts as guardian and confidant to the children of a scientist he couldn’t save. (PG: P, V)

“HIDE AND SEEK” (July 5): A psychiatrist and recent widower (Robert De Niro) begins to worry about his young daughter’s (Dakota Fanning) eerie behavior. (R: AS, P, V)

“MILLION DOLLAR BABY” (July 12): A female boxer (Hilary Swank) seeks coaching from a veteran trainer (Clint Eastwood) in the Oscars’ latest best picture. Morgan Freeman also stars. (R: AS, P, V)

“CONSTANTINE” (July 19): Keanu Reeves plays a fighter of the undead who relies on a dead woman’s twin (Rachel Weisz) to carry out his campaign against evil. (R: AS, P, V)

“MAN OF THE HOUSE” (July 19): A veteran Texas Ranger (Tommy Lee Jones) reluctantly protects several cheerleaders who have become murder witnesses. (PG-13: AS, P, V)

Oldies but goodies

If your local video store is fresh out of the newest titles, give these attractions a try:

“AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON” (1981): While backpacking overseas, two American pals (David Naughton, Griffin Dunne) suffer bites from a werewolf and suffer bizarre fates.

“LIFEGUARD” (1976): A perceptive performance by Sam Elliott elevates this drama about a veteran beach guard whose reunion with an old flame (Anne Archer) makes him re-evaluate his life.