Reds (DVD)

Reds (1981) starring Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson. Beatty plays John Reed, an American correspondent with radical politics who got caught up in the spirit, euphoria and aftermath of Russia's 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Beatty also directed this movie, for which he won an Oscar. He mixes romance and politics in telling Reed's story, and Keaton is appealing as the romantic interest and Reed's wife. But will you want to spend three hours-plus watching it? I doubt it. Grade: B-

Slither (DVD)

Slither (2006) starring Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks. Written and directed by James Gunn. Tongue-in-cheek horror about a small town being invaded by parasites that turn humans into zombies. Might be good if you enjoy gore. More gross-out than scary. Grade: C+

Click (DVD)

Click (2006) starring Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Walken, David Hasselhoff. Sandler, as a workaholic architect, discovers a "Universal" remote control which allows him to control real life. He uses it to skip through the bad parts of life, and some of the good. But the catch is, the remote is an intelligent device which learns his preferences and starts automatically controlling his life. Sandler is Scrooge in the last act of A Christmas Carol and George Bailey in the last act of It's a Wonderful Life, learning lessons about life even as he botches his own. It almost works, but I've never been able to actually like Adam Sandler. Grade: B-

Lucky Number Slevin (DVD)

Lucky Number Slevin (2006) starring Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley. A seemingly innocent man (Hartnett) is mistaken for someone else, and finds himself in the middle of a mob dispute. But all is not what it seems, and the film gradually spins into an elaborate revenge thriller. The script is, if anything, too clever. Grade: B-

A Prairie Home Companion (DVD)

A Prairie Home Companion (2006) starring Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Garrison Keillor. Directed by Robert Altman. The script, penned by Keillor, traces the last broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion," the fictional radio show based loosely on the real radio show of the same name. It's like watching an episode of the radio show brought to the screen, and if you're a fan of the radio show you're almost guaranteed to like the movie. Grade: B+

Pretty Poison (DVD)

Pretty Poison (1968) starring Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld. Perkins plays just-released-from-the-loony-bin Dennis Pitt. Posing as a secret agent, Pitt begins life anew in a tiny town and takes up with high school student Sue Ann Stepanek (Weld). At first it seems Pitt is the crazy one, but Stepanek proves more than his match. Grade: B+

Thank You for Smoking (DVD)

Thank You for Smoking (2005) starring Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy. Big tobacco spin doctor Nick Naylor (Eckhart) is on a mission to make the country forget the dangers of his product. He works to promote smoking in the movies and hush former employees who bad-mouth cigarettes (namely, the Marlboro Man, who has cancer) -- all the while trying to remain a role model for his young son. Mildly entertaining, but somehow lacks bite. Directed by Jason Reitman, based on Christopher Buckley's novel. Grade: B

The Lake House (DVD)

The Lake House (2006) starring Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock. Remake of a Korean film about a magic mail box which allows two strangers, a doctor and an architect, to communicate with each other across a gulf of two years. The architect lives in the lake house in 2004, the doctor in 2006, yet when they place letters in the mail box the letters are delivered to the other as if by magic. There is never any explanation as to how this occurs, so don't look for one. If you can suspend your disbelief (a big "if"), you may find this to be a charming romance. There is an abundance of logical contradictions, but the chemistry between the leads is certainly good. Grade: B-