DVD Corner

“Brokeback Mountain”: Ang Lee’s celebrated drama begins in a picturesque nowhere of tall mountains and big skies, where cowboys and cattle roam, the air is clean, and the only stone wall here is the real thing, with nothing political muddying the mortar. It’s 1963, it’s Wyoming, and what’s even bigger than the sky is what is about to build between the two young men standing beneath it, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal). When these two meet in the vast reaches of Brokeback Mountain, they are unprepared for what is about to hit them – love – not to mention all of its ramifications. Over the course of more than two decades, Lee follows their relationship, which takes a dramatic shift one drunken night when they surprise themselves by having sex. Next day, Ennis reveals what will prove a years-long internal struggle. “I ain’t no queer,” he says. “Me neither,” Jack responds. Regardless of what they are, there’s no denying what they feel, which is more complex and meaningful than any label they could attach to themselves, or the world could pin on them. What matters in “Brokeback” is that nothing will change who they are – not Alma (Michelle Williams), the woman Ennis marries and who bears his two daughters, and not Lureen (Anne Hathaway), the wealthy Texas woman Jack marries who bears his son. This beautifully measured film, with its mounting passion, halting emotions, societal pressures, and devastating personal demons and frustrations that eat away at the fringes until they consume the center, is as much a love story as it is a tragedy. Bigots and homophobes will continue to vilify it, some will fear it and others will dismiss it because of its subject. It’s that unfortunate truth that suggests that some mountains, Brokeback or otherwise, remain just as insurmountable today as they ever have. And that fact is Lee’s coup de grace. Rated R. Grade: A-

“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”: The film startles for a few reasons – the intensity of its violence, which is surprising given its PG rating; the dramatic pull of its characters; and the seamless incorporation of the special effects. From director Andrew Adamson, this stirring epic based on C.S. Lewis’ children’s book is filled with masterful touches that resonate. The films opens in the midst of World War II, the place is London, bombs are exploding and the blitz is on, with the four Pevensie siblings – Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) – being whisked to a large manor house, where they allegedly will be safe from war. But when the youngest child, Lucy, steals into a wardrobe, what she finds inside is a magical world of great beauty and greater danger. The danger rests in the wicked Valkyrie warrior, Jadis (Tilda Swinton), who has put the kaputs on Christmas throughout this netherworld called Narnia. This most bitter and hateful of queens has turned Narnia into a snow-white wonderland frozen to its core, with its inhabitants – talking animals, fauns, centaurs, minotaurs, unicorns and any number of other assorted beasts, particularly two chatty, lovable beavers – eager to defeat her. To do so, they will need the help of the Pevensie children, who must dig deep within themselves to find the necessary mettle to join forces with the great lion, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), and his army. A ferocious war ignites, with the White Witch rising to her full power and the Pevensies unable to escape their share of tragic consequences or some difficulty thanks to Edmund, who goes wrong in ways that won’t be revealed here. Alongside the trilogy to which it will be compared – Peter Jackson’s take on J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” series – “Narnia” stands tall, building to an almost operatic tone. A terrific film. Rated PG. Grade: A

“Full House: Complete Third Season”: Needs an addition – the rooms are getting cramped. This third season of the popular series finds the sitcom grind chugging away, with the Tanner family of San Francisco going through the motions after the death of Danny Tanner’s wife, who was killed by a drunken driver. That’s a serious subject to explore and the series occasionally uses it to its benefit, particularly in scenes in which the Tanner girls long for their mother. But mostly, the series keeps it light, with Bob Saget, John Stamos and Dave Coulier balancing the mild mayhem that accompanies raising three girls, including one played by the Olsen twins. Includes all 24 episodes, a montage of Joey impersonations that is purely for the die-hard fan, but no commentary from the cast. Grade: C+

“Ice Age: Super Cool Edition”: Super cool? Maybe for the marketing department of Fox, but really this re-release of the 2002 hit is just promotional fodder for the upcoming sequel, “Ice Age 2: The Meltdown.” Still, what matters is the movie, and it’s good. Three bickering animals – a saber-toothed tiger, a sloth, a woolly mammoth – join forces to return a deserted baby to its tribe just as the world around them sinks into a deep freeze. The film may not rise to the level of the movies that preceded it – “Toy Story” and “Shrek” – but it has its moments, particularly when the scene-stealing Scrat is onscreen. On two discs, with Ray Romano, Jack Black, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary providing the voice work. The second disc offers plenty of mildly diverting extras for the film’s target audience of tots. Rated PG. Grade: B

“Planet of the Apes: Legacy Box Set”: Includes all five feature films – “Planet of the Apes,” “Beneath the Planet of the Apes,” Escape from the Planet of the Apes,” “Conquest of the Planet of the Apes” and “Battle for the Planet of the Apes.” The best remains the first in the collection, with Charlton Heston’s Col. George Taylor, an astronaut, slamming into a seemingly unknown planet inhabited by intellectual, highly evolved apes. The movie is one of the best sci-fi films ever made, with Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter somehow emerging beneath the heavy ape makeup, and the last scene bearing one of cinema’s most iconic images. The extras in this set are many and the writing is routinely good, with ideas driving the action, not the other way around. That alone is refreshing. The franchise weakens considerably after its brash start, but its themes hold up. Damn dirty apes? Depends on your point of view. Still, for the value alone, it’s a damn good boxed set from Fox. Grade: B+