The Hoax (DVD)

The Hoax (2006) starring Richard Gere, Julie Delpy, Marcia Gay Harden, Alfred Molina, Stanley Tucci. Gere plays Clifford Irving, who in the 1970s wrote an "authorized autobiography" of reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes. It's rather entertaining to watch Gere play the consummate con-man who nearly gets his fake book published. Grade: B

Leprechaun (DVD)

Leprechaun (1993) starring Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston. Davis plays the title character, an evil leprechaun who goes on a killing spree when his hoard of gold is stolen. Aniston's appearance is notable mostly for this being her first movie. The script is totally laughable, and not in a good way. This might make a good scary film for 12-year-olds, except that it's rated R. Grade: D

28 Weeks Later (DVD)

28 Weeks Later (2007) starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Catherine McCormack, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots, Mackintosh Muggleton. The plague from "28 Days Later," which turns humans into zombies, seems to have run its course, and people are returning to repopulate Britain. But of course the plague returns and must be snuffed out again. Meanwhile, this movie is plagued by action scenes that consist of violent shaking of the camera and much gushing of blood. The director seems fond of things that flash -- jump cuts, for one, and lights that jitter on and off repeatedly. Epileptics should avoid this film. Plus, much of the "action" takes place in darkness. The whole film was so sickening and irritating that I could not watch it all the way through, so I must give it a Grade: F.

Stranger than Paradise (DVD)

Stranger than Paradise (1984) starring John Lurie, Eszter Balint. Willie isn't exactly thrilled when Eva, his cousin from Hungary, comes to stay with him in New York. But Eva eventually earns his grudging respect, and a year later Willie and a friend invite Eva to accompany them on a trip to Florida. Their destination is Miami, but suffice it to say they get sidetracked. Oddly involving little film from writer/director Jim Jarmusch, with an unsatisfactory ending. Grade: B-

Frida (DVD)

Frida (2002) starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina. Hayek plays Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter, 20th century icon, communist and bisexual. Molina portrays her philandering husband, the Mexican artist Diego Rivera. Frida struggled with a life of wracking pain following a trolley accident, a miscarriage, the amputation of a leg, and finally, alcohol and pain-medication abuse that killed her at age 47. This movie is a vivid portrait of her life. Grade: B+

1408 (DVD)

1408 (2007) starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson. A writer and paranormal debunker (Cusack) checks into room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel, a room purported to be "evil." Although he does not believe in "haunted rooms," he soon finds himself in his own personal hell. It's all pretty predictable and lacking in originality. Grade: C

Chocolat (DVD)

Chocolat (2000) starring Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench, Lena Olin, Johnny Depp. Binoche plays a wanderer, a free spirit who travels from town to town, and who changes people's lives with her chocolate concoctions. Along with her on her travels she takes her young daughter, who is not thrilled with all the constant moving. They move to a village in France where, surprisingly, everyone speaks English. She opens up a chocolate shop during lent and incurs the wrath of the mayor of the small town. It's all very whimsical and ultimately rewarding. Grade: A-

The TV Set (DVD)

The TV Set (2007) starring David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Bateman, Lucy Davis. Duchovny stars as the writer who has his script picked to be made into a network TV pilot; Weaver plays the network executive who screws with his vision for the show. Based on real-life experiences of writers and producers of TV shows, "The TV Set" is more amusing in concept than in execution. It's a kind of inside joke that people outside the movie-making business cannot entirely appreciate, but can still enjoy. Grade: B

American Graffiti (DVD)

American Graffiti (1973) starring Richard Dreyfuss, "Ronny" Howard, Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford, Suzanne Somers. The real star of this film is the music, which acts as the soundtrack to a 1962 night when a disparate group of high school students struggle with rites of passage. Beautifully evokes a moment in time. Directed by George Lucas. Grade: A-

Away from Her (DVD)

Away from Her (2006) starring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis. A long-married couple struggle with the wife's Alzheimer's Disease. As she slowly deteriorates, she realizes she must go into a nursing home. Some of the dialog sounds a little stilted, but this is otherwise a poignant story. Grade: B

Disturbia (DVD)

Disturbia (2007) starring Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer, Aaron Yoo, David Morse, Carrie-Anne Moss. In this updated and dumbed-down version of Hitchcock's "Rear Window," LaBeouf plays a troubled teen who is stuck in his house because he is on house arrest. He starts spying on his neighbors, and soon begins to suspect that he is living next door to a serial killer. There's not much real suspense, and the movie seems aimed at a teen audience. Grade: C+

Zelig (DVD)

Zelig (1983) starring Woody Allen, Mia Farrow. It's weird to watch a charming, funny movie from Woody Allen, knowing what has happened since between him and Mia Farrow. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this mockumentary about Leonard Zelig, a man who first turned up in the 1920s and who had the chameleon-like ability to transform himself into the likeness of whomever he was hanging out with. Film trickery allows Zelig to turn up in some very surprising surroundings, and the film succeeds in being entertaining and, at times, funny. Grade: B+

Year of the Dog (DVD)

Year of the Dog (2007) starring Molly Shannon, Peter Sarsgaard, Regina King, John C. Reilly, Laura Dern. Shannon plays Peggy, an upbeat secretary whose life takes a nosedive when her beloved dog, Pencil, suddenly dies. Although it is billed as a comedy, I found this movie rather sad. Peggy tries to fill her empty life with her love of animals, especially dogs. Given the right treatment, this theme might have made a moving film; but here, it's told in vignettes that don't really fit together. Grade: C+

The Lives of Others (DVD)

The Lives of Others (2006). In 1984 in East Berlin, a secret police spy bugs the apartment of a high-profile couple. He spies on the successful playwright and his actress companion, but begins to feel himself drawn into their lives. Frankly, I didn't know quite what to make of this movie. It got excellent reviews elsewhere, but I felt that I missed something when I watched it. Grade: B

Fracture (DVD)

Fracture (2007) starring Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling. Legal thriller with Hopkins as the man who shot his unfaithful wife, Gosling as the prosecuting attorney who is trying to convict him of the crime. The twists and turns of the plot are too many to detail here, but when you think about it, it all doesn't quite hang together. Grade: B-

Sweetie (DVD)

Sweetie (1989) starring Karen Colston, Genevieve Lemon. Jane Campion's directorial debut plumbs the depths of a dysfunctional Australian family. There are no subtitles, and the Australian accents are impossible to understand. What would otherwise be just a strange movie becomes incomprehensible. Grade: D

Zodiac (DVD)

Zodiac starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards, Chloë Sevigny, Brian Cox, Dermot Mulroney, John Carroll Lynch. Gyllenhaal plays Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle in the 1960s and '70s who becomes obsessed with the Zodiac killer and eventually writes a book about the still-unsolved case. Unfortunately, this movie, which runs over two and a half hours, spends most of its second half showing him doing research for his book -- not exactly riveting viewing. Dates and places where action takes place are shown in fine white type which is not legible while viewing the DVD. Grade: B

Days of Glory (DVD)

Days of Glory (2006) starring a cast of unknowns. North African soldiers join the French army to help liberate France from Nazi occupation during World War II. The film dramatizes a lost chapter of history and pays tribute to the heroism of these forgotten troops. It also shows how little gratitude France showed to her Colonial soldiers. In various languages, with English subtitles. Grade: B

They All Laughed (DVD)

They All Laughed (1981) starring Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Audrey Hepburn, Dorothy Stratten. A private eye team is hired to track down two women suspected of infidelity, but they can't seem to separate business from pleasure. Makes great use of Manhattan locations, and many pretty actresses are on display, but mostly falls pretty flat. Hepburn and Gazzara both look past their sell-by dates. Notable for appearance by Stratten, young actress who was killed before the film was released. Grade: C+

Hot Fuzz (DVD)

Hot Fuzz (2007) starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost. A top London cop (Pegg) is transferred to a bucolic village because he's making everyone else on the force look bad. He gets more action than he bargained for when a series of grisly "accidents" starts hitting the people of the hamlet. Brought to you by Edgar Wright, director of "Shaun of the Dead," this is part action movie, part murder mystery, but mostly just goofy fun. Grade: B-