DVD Corner

“The Black Dahlia”: From Brian De Palma, this debauchery of James Ellroy’s book misinterprets the underpinnings of noir, amplifies elements that should have remained nuances, and turns the production into an overbearing joke. The movie is based on the legendary Hollywood murder in which 22-year-old Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) came to Tinseltown in search of fame and fortune but instead found death and dismemberment. While there are some pleasures to be had in the movie’s camp, it’s unlikely that laughter is what De Palma was seeking, though that’s what he gets. With Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank and a sorely miscast Scarlett Johansson, the film’s tin dialogue and confused plotting join the phony performances in failing to come through. Rated R. Grade: C-

“A Christmas Story,” HD DVD and Blu-ray: One of the best movies ever about childhood – never mind Christmas – focusing on one boy’s tumultuous, often hilarious life during the holiday season. In a performance that’s something close to genius, Peter Billingsley is Ralphie, the naive yet calculating boy fighting for one gift – a Daisy Red Ryder 200-shot Carbine Action BB Gun – while chaos blooms around him. This modern-day classic gets the small details right and, for many of us, offers a nostalgic trip back. Rated PG. Grade: A

“Derailed,” HD DVD: Tucked in the middle of this modest thriller is a swell twist that’s better than anything else in an otherwise rote movie. Clive Owen is Charles, a frazzled ad executive with an unhappy home life who meets on a train the lovely Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston), who has a pretty face and the sort of legs that stretch up to here. Charles would prefer that they hook around there, meaning his waist, so their flirtation heats up at a hotel, where things get dicey in ways better left for you. This is a movie more concerned with technique than ingenuity, with too much of it borrowed from “Double Indemnity” and “Fatal Attraction” to suit. Rated R. Grade: C+

“The Descent,” DVD and Blu-ray: Follows six women who regroup a year after tragedy leaves one of the women, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), nearly destitute. Their new outing – spelunking in a little-known cave system in the Appalachian Mountains – is meant to bring the women closer together. Unfortunately, stumbling blocks abound – mostly the inhuman sort. While none of the actresses leave much of a mark, they nevertheless are served by a skilled director who isn’t afraid to play with the conventions of the horror genre while also taking it seriously. There are some genuine jolts here, most of them beneficial. Rated R. Grade: B+

“Flightplan,” Blu-ray: Six-year-old Julia Pratt (Marlene Lawston) goes missing at 37,000 feet on a transatlantic flight from Berlin to New York. Was it the hasenpfeffer and the currywurst that did her in? Fear not. Jodie Foster is her mother, Kyle, a propulsion engineer facing a sketchy flight crew with no record of Julia existing. All they have is Kyle’s word, which is becoming increasingly shaky as Kyle’s fears escalate into instability, and particularly when the crew learns she recently lost her husband to suicide – he’s now in a casket in the belly of the plane. The action that escalates is a well-acted, well-assembled product for the masses, though one wishes the movie itself had a soul. Rated: PG-13. Grade: B-

“Jackass: Number Two:” When it comes to pulling the sort of outrageously stupid stunts that inspire laughter as well as shock, Johnny Knoxville and his “Jackass” team remain tough to top. Essentially, their latest is about grown men exploring and celebrating what it means for boys to be boys – especially if the boys in question happen to be deranged, self-destructive, insane fools willing to do anything to get a laugh while testing the limits of the human body. Irresponsible? Sure. But for the most part, also funny – and that’s the point. Rated R. Grade: B

“Kung Fu Hustle,” Blu-ray: Crazed cartoon moviemaking made with real people who feel as if they sprung from the loins of Warner Bros. powerhouse Chuck Jones. Digging deep into the chopsocky genre, director Stephen Chow joins Quentin Tarantino in challenging the genre’s conventions and pressing its humor against its raw edges. It works. The film is filled with inside jokes and surprises, veering in directions you don’t anticipate because the movie has no rules other than to stand apart and to entertain. It succeeds beautifully. Rated PG-13. Grade: A

“The Matador,” HD DVD: Pierce Brosnan is Julian Noble, a successful, longtime international assassin who gradually becomes a train wreck, dipping so deeply into the business end of a tequila bottle you half expect him to be dewormed by the end of the movie. While in Mexico, he meets straight-laced Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), who gets involved with Julian for the sort of wrong reasons that tend to make for a satisfying movie. The film can be very funny, particularly given Brosnan’s cynical performance, which at once courts his James Bond persona and kicks it to the pond, and because of Hope Davis as Danny’s wife, Bean, who relinquishes her suburban polish to become another highlight in a movie filled with them. Rated R. Grade: B+

“Scary Movie 4,” HD DVD: Splintered piffle that goes nowhere. It starts off on a bad foot – literally – and then hobbles toward an ending that suggests the series hasn’t just run its course, it has exhausted it. Laughs are not entirely absent, but old ideas and laziness plague it, cutting the series down from the high perch its brand once enjoyed. This time out, what’s scary is how boring and unimaginative it all has become. This isn’t the ribald spoof you expect, but a movie that confuses reference for wit, as if our recognition of what is being lampooned is enough. It isn’t. Rated PG-13. Grade: D+