The Pink Panther (DVD)

The Pink Panther (1963) starring David Niven, Peter Sellers, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Wagner. Princess Dala (Cardinale) arrives at a posh resort with her precious "Panther" -- a large pink diamond with a flaw in the shape of a leaping panther. A debonair thief (Niven) tries to take possession of the jewel, while the comically clumsy Inspector Clouseau (Sellers) tries to protect her. The sight of a rather mature Niven trying to seduce the young and beautiful Cardinale is rather jarringly unfunny. Plus, there are long stretches of nonsense which do little to advance the plot and which contain no moments of humor. It's all terribly dated. Grade: B-

The General (DVD)

The General (1927) starring Buster Keaton, Marion Mack. Silent film in which Johnnie Gray (Keaton), rejected by the Confederate Army at the beginning of the Civil War, ends up battling Union spies who have stolen his beloved locomotive, the General. Meanwhile, coincidentally, his beloved Annabelle (Mack) has been kidnapped by the same men who stole his train. Pursuing them in a borrowed locomotive, Gray passes the advancing armies and ends up behind enemy lines. Hilarity (and slapstick) ensue. It's not much to get excited about, but as an example of early movies, it's harmless fun. Grade: B

Snatch (DVD)

Snatch (2000) starring Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Serbedzija, Jason Statham, Alan Ford, Mike Reid, Jason Flemyng, Stephen Graham. Director Guy Ritchie juggles several interlocking plots involving a stolen 84-carat diamond and everybody's desire to possess it. Set in London, the movie has many characters, all speaking different dialects of English. Luckily, the subtitles are excellent. Grade: B

Chariots of Fire (DVD)

Chariots of Fire (1981) starring Ian Charleson, Ben Cross, Ian Holm. Long-distance runners in post-World War I England face off in a quest to bring Olympic glory to Great Britain. More than just an athletic contest, their rivalry is framed as a clash between Christian and Jew. Based on a true story. Winner of the 1981 Academy Award for Best Picture. Instantly recognizable music by Vangelis. Grade: B+

The Wackness (DVD)

The Wackness (2008) starring Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck, Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby, Mary-Kate Olsen. Peck plays a teenage drug dealer named Luke in '90s New York City, coping with the summer between his high school graduation and college. He trades marijuana for therapy sessions from Dr. Squires (Kingsley), and falls for Dr. Squires' stepdaughter Stephanie (Thirlby). It's kind of a coming-of-age story; in the final act, the protagonist and his family get evicted from their upper East Side apartment. To top it off, the disc lacks English subtitles. Grade: D

The Sting (DVD)

The Sting (1973) starring Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Robert Shaw. Small-time con man Johnny Hooker (Redford) hooks up with veteran flim-flam man Henry Gondorff (Newman) to fleece a homicidal racketeer (Shaw) in 1930s Chicago. The fascination of the film, other than the chemistry of the stars, lies in learning how the "big con" works and watching it carried out. The first time you see it it's a real mind-blower. The movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture. Grade: B+

Liar Liar (DVD)

Liar Liar (1997) starring Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Jennifer Tilly. Lawyer Fletcher Reede (Carrey) is an expert liar. But his lying ways have destroyed his marriage to Audrey (Tierney) and threaten to damage his relationship with his son Max (Cooper). When Max makes a birthday wish that his dad can't lie, it comes true. Fletcher finds he's incapable of lying, and his uncontrollable urge to blurt out the truth threatens a case he's working on -- and his career. Carrey is at his rubber-faced best as he acts out the inner turmoil of a man striving to lie but unable to do so. In general, I like Jim Carrey; but in general, I don't like Jim Carrey movies. This one is an exception -- I loved it. Grade: A

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (DVD)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet. Former FBI agents Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) are drawn into a missing-persons case that soon becomes something much more sinister. It comes off as an extra long, extra gruesome episode of the old "X-Files" TV series -- not necessarily a bad thing. Grade: B

Appaloosa (DVD)

Appaloosa (2008) starring Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger, Lance Henriksen. A malicious, land-hungry rancher (Irons) kills the marshal of Appaloosa and two deputies, and two guns-for-hire (Mortensen, Harris) are brought in to restore law and order to the frontier town. The two lawmen are more than up to the job, but when the widow Mrs. French (Zellweger) arrives in town, the dynamics of the situation change. The movie could have used tightening up, and runs on about a half-hour too long. Plus, I'd swear some of the plot devices are recycled from other movies. Grade: B

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (DVD)

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) starring Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen. Frodo and Sam (Wood and Astin) continue their daunting quest, to carry the One Ring to Mordor and there destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. Meanwhile, the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron are on the move, preparing to attack Gondor, the realm of Men. It's a faithful adaptation of the book by J.R.R. Tolkien, but the battle scenes may not be to everyone's taste. Director Peter Jackson's epic fantasy won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Grade: A-

The Duchess (DVD)

The Duchess (2008) starring Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Dominic Cooper, Charlotte Rampling. Georgiana (Knightley) marries the Duke of Devonshire (Fiennes) and thus becomes the Duchess of Devonshire. But the time is the late 18th century, and they are a poor match. She fails to provide him with a male heir, which is basically all he wants from her, and he treats her wretchedly. She rebels, but all of the power is in his hands. There's a lot of sturm und drang, but basically this is a chick flick set in historic times. Grade: B

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (DVD)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) starring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken, and this second film in the trilogy picks up where the first left off -- with Frodo and Sam making their way to Mordor, pursued, then led, by Gollum, to try and destroy the One Ring of power. Whether anyone who has not read the book will be able to follow the movie, or will care to, I'm not sure. But it is beautifully conceived and majestically filmed -- although for some viewers the time spent on battles will be unwelcome. I find it to be the least of the three "Lord of the Rings" films. Grade: B+

Burn After Reading (DVD)

Burn After Reading (2008) starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton. A computer disk falls into the hands of a pair of not-too-bright private gym employees (Pitt and McDormand), and they conclude that it contains top-secret data. Hoping to turn a profit, they first try to blackmail the man who wrote the disk (Malkovich), then try to sell it to the Russians. It's a Coen brothers film with an all-star cast, so it is rather disappointing when it turns out to be not very entertaining or funny. Worst, perhaps, is the ending, which seems abrupt and fails to satisfy with any decisive climax. Grade: B-