Tuesday, October 24, 2006
"Nacho Libre": For his follow up to "Napoleon Dynamite," writer-director Jared Hess essentially does "Nacho Napoleon Dynamite," transplanting things south of the border for another tale of odd outsiders finding kinship. With a shock of hair reminiscent of Napoleon's, Jack Black stars as a cook at a Mexican orphanage who moonlights as a masked lucha libre wrestler to buy better food for the kids and earn respect for himself. And, like Napoleon, he finds a stoic sidekick and strikes up a chaste relationship with a wallflower, in this case one of the orphanage nuns. Black and his producing partner, co-writer Mike White, join Hess for audio commentary. The DVD also has deleted scenes and five behind-the-scenes featurettes. DVD, $29.99. (Paramount)
"Monster House": Something different rises up among this year's rush of animated movies featuring cute talking animals. This one's a story about humans, created through the same motion-capture technique used in the holiday tale "The Polar Express," in which live actors are filmed with dozens of infrared cameras that render 3-D images of movements and facial expressions, which animators use as the basis for the finished characters. The story centers on three intrepid kids who try to unravel the spooky mysteries lurking in the home of a crazy old recluse. The DVD comes with seven featurettes examining the technology and methods of motion-capture, along with commentary from the filmmakers. The movie is available in regular DVD format or as a high-definition Blu-Ray disc. DVD, $28.95; Blu-Ray disc, $38.95. (Sony)
"Astaire and Rogers: The Complete Film Collection": Following up on an earlier five-film collection, all 10 of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers' song-and-dance collaborations are gathered in a 12-disc set: "Top Hat," "Swing Time," "Follow the Fleet," "Shall We Dance," "The Barkleys of Broadway," "Carefree," "Flying Down to Rio," "The Gay Divorcee," "Roberta" and "The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle." The films are accompanied by vintage shorts and cartoons, plus a new documentary on Astaire and Rogers. If you already bought the "Volume 1" boxed set, "Volume 2" with the last five films is available separately. For those who bought the earlier set but want the whole thing in one tidy box, there's a partial "Complete Film Collection" set for sale with the final five movies plus empty cases for the first five. The films also are available as single DVDs. "Complete Film Collection" DVD set, $119.98; "Volume 2" DVD set, $59.92; single DVDs, $19.97 each. (Warner Bros.)
"An American Haunting": Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland star in the story of a 19th-century farmer's daughter (Rachel Hurd-Wood) who's the focus of manifestations by a wicked spirit. Available in the PG-13 theatrical release or an unrated version, the DVD has deleted scenes and commentary with director Courtney Solomon. DVD, $28.98. (Lionsgate)
"The Road to Guantanamo": Directors Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross mix interviews with real people and dramatizations to spin a powerful story about three British Muslims caught in the crossfire in Afghanistan and held for two years without charges in the U.S. military prison in Cuba. DVD, $24.96. (Sony)
"Slither": Nathan Fillion heads a cast of small-town yokels battling killer slugs from space in this gory spoof of horror conventions. Fillion and writer-director James Gunn team for commentary, and the DVD has deleted footage and making-of featurettes. The movie comes in DVD format or in a combo disc with the DVD release and HD DVD high-definition version. DVD, $29.98; HD-DVD disc, $39.98. (Universal)
-- Associated Press
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