DVD Corner

“The Adventures of Mimi” Blu-ray: Piercing, but in a good way. Mariah Carey might have a new CD out in “E=MC2,” but it pales in comparison to her previous album, 2005’s Grammy Award-winning “The Emancipation of Mimi,” which was the focus of her successful 2006 worldwide tour. Each was responsible for sending the singer back into the orbit she enjoyed during her heyday in the 1990s. If this enjoyable concert proves anything, it’s that once Carey finds her groove and connects with her “lambs,” she can be an excellent live performer, particularly when she actually sings melodies instead of huffing and puffing through the chaotic hip-hop jams that never have suited her voice. Since that’s mostly the case here, “The Adventures of Mimi” soars more often than not. Grade: B+

“Beverly Hills 90210: Fourth Season”: Takes humanity to new lows by the amusing wrecking ball that is Shannen Doherty’s Brenda Walsh. Too bad her off-screen antics led to her being fired from the show at the end of this season. Still, while she is here, there’s no question that she’s the star. With high school out of the way and everyone now at college, more turmoil is allowed to boil in Beverly Hills. This is the season, after all, in which one character starts popping pills, others steal away for a secret wedding, and another is accused of date rape. In between, there’s more gossip to fill a week’s worth of posts at PerezHilton.com, which is just how fans want it. On those terms, this fourth season succeeds. Grade: B

“Bewitched: Complete Sixth Season”: Out with the old, in with the new – Darrin, that is. With Dick York out, Dick Sergeant took over as Darrin in this sixth season of “Bewitched” and applied the necessary grease to smooth over what was a difficult transition. For the most part, it worked, likely because this season also saw the distraction of Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) giving birth to their son, Adam. The rest is just what you expect – Endora (Agnes Moorehead), Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde), Dr. Bombay (Bernard Fox), Tabitha (Diane Murphy) and Serena (Montgomery) creating their share of entertaining bombast. Grade: B+

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”: Cocooned. Julian Schnabel’s moving, real-life story follows Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Almaric), who, at 43, suffered a massive stroke that left him with something called “locked-in syndrome.” Though Bauby’s mind returned to full capacity upon waking from the coma induced by the stroke, his body was paralyzed. The only exception was his left eye, which he was able to use, and which became his only tool for communication. The film is based on Bauby’s own memoir, published days before his 1997 death. If it’s the fact that Bauby was able to write a book at all that makes the movie such a testament to the human spirit, then it’s his sometimes sarcastic, other times deeply regretful internal monologue that makes the movie so powerfully complex. Rated PG-13. Grade: A

“The Hottie and the Nottie”: What fresh hell is this? Why is Paris Hilton back to haunt another movie? Are people clamoring for more of her low-wattage performances? Can’t they just go and smell one of her perfumes, think nice thoughts about her and call it a day? That’s probably too many questions to ask, but the reason Hilton has existed so long in pop culture at least deserves some answers. I don’t have any. Maybe you do. This movie sure as hell doesn’t. In “The Hottie & the Nottie,” Hilton is Christabel, the glam “hottie” of the title who long has been lusted after by Nate (Joel David Moore). When they reconnect in Los Angeles, plain Nate tries to score with Christabel again, only to learn that she won’t hear of having a boyfriend until her ugly girlfriend June (Christine Lakin) has one, too. What ensues doesn’t feel as if it was directed by a human being, but by the sleeping pill Ambien. The movie lulls you into a hypnotic state of gross-out horror, with Hilton’s canned acting front and center. The only reason this movie isn’t being smacked down with an F is because of Lakin, who movies beyond her warts, mossy teeth and monobrow to eventually prove she has some appeal. Rated PG-13. Grade: D-

“The Romance Collection”: From the BBC via A&E, an impressive, 14-disc collection designed to give an Anglophile the vapors. The set includes eight films, not the least of which is the heated, 1996 version of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” with Colin Firth as Darcy and Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth. Also included are Nigel Hawthorn, Jonathan Pryce, Diana Rigg and Sir Peter Ustinov in 2001’s “Victoria & Albert”; Kate Beckinsale reminding us she can act in 1997’s “Emma”; Ciaran Hinds and Deborah Findlay in 1997’s “Jane Eyre”; and Max Beesley and Samantha Morton in the very good 1998 product of “Tom Jones.” Hinds appears again in 1997’s “Ivanhoe”; Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern star in “The Scarlet Pimpernel”; and challenging “Prejudice” as the best film in the lot is the 2001 production of “Lorna Doon,” with Martin Clunes, Richard Coyle, Aidan Gillen and Amelia Warner. It isn’t the best, but it does come close. Grade: A-

“Shall We Dance?” Blu-ray: This remake of Masayauki Suo’s 1996 Japanese romantic comedy of the same name is essentially the same movie charged with an American sensibility. In this case, that means more drama, more gloss, less grace, less sophistication. It’s a small movie that has been supersized, but not in a bad way. Richard Gere is John Clark, a disenfranchised Chicago lawyer unhappy with life’s daily grind and the fact that his wife (Susan Sarandon) is too busy to spend time with him. It’s then that he discovers the joy of dance via Miss Mitzi (Anita Gillette, excellent) and her dance studio. What he finds there is twofold – the beautiful Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), who’s as cold as a Chicago winter, and his dancing destiny. A groundswell of schmaltz with no surprises unfolds, but this well-acted, crowd-pleasing movie doesn’t fail. It isn’t as rich as the original and the ending slumps into a sleigh of suburban whining, but the dancing has chops, as does the excellent supporting cast. Rated PG-13. Grade: B