New on DVD: Mar. 16

New DVD’s This Week: March 16

The film centers on three people whose personal stories collide tragically. College professor Paul Rivers (Sean Penn) is mortally ill and in need of a heart transplant, and gets one when the husband of Cristina Peck (Oscar-nominated Naomi Watts) is killed in a hit-and-run accident along with the couple’s two young daughters. Ex-con Jack Jordan (Oscar-nominated Benicio Del Toro), a devout Christian trying to get his life back in order, is the cause of the tragic accident. If spiritual equilibrium is to be regained by any one of them, it could come at great cost to the others. Yet the will to live, and the instinct to reach out to another person for support, remains ever present among them all.

What’s Cool:

“21 Grams: In Fragments” featurette
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

For more on the movie, click here

Dr. Suess’ The Cat in the Hat

Conrad and Sally Walden (Spencer Breslin, Dakota Fanning) are not to leave the house while their mother (Kelly Preston) is at work; furthermore, they are forbidden from making a mess or misbehaving in any way. The kids are left with little to do besides sit and stare out of the window. Until their unexpected guest–a six-foot-tall talking feline (Mike Myers)–sporting a red-and-white-striped stovepipe hat–appears. The original party animal himself arrives to turn their world upside down by showing Sally and Conrad that “it’s good to have fun–but you have to know how!”

What’s Cool:

Commentary by star Alec Baldwin and director Bo Welch
Dance-a-Long with The Cat
Deleted Scenes
Outtakes
Featurettes: “Suessville U.S.A.”; “The Cat”; “The Cat Stacks”; “The Dirt on D.I.R.T.”; “The Fish”; “The Hat”; “The Kids”; “The Mother of All Messes”; “The Music”; “The Purrr-fect Stamp”; “The Real Dr. Seuss”; “The S.L.O.W.”

	From Our Review:
	Have no fear; shed no tear. The Cat in the Hat is too cute and too sunny, but you’ll have good fun ’cause Mike Myers is funny. More. . .

Veronica Guerin

In the mid-1990s, Dublin was nothing short of a war zone, with a few powerful drug lords battling for control. A courageous journalist, Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett), covered the crime beat with unmatched intensity, investigating and exposing the “pushers,” while balancing her home and family. She became a national folk heroine to the people of Ireland, with each attempt on her life only galvanizing her legend. Her brutal murder in 1996 forced a dramatic revision of Ireland’s laws and, as well, led to the arrests of the nation’s top criminals.

What’s Cool:

Commentary by director Joel Schumacher
Featurettes: “A Conversation with Producer Jerry Bruckheimer”; “Public Mask, Private Fears: Making of the Movie”; “Producer’s Photo Diary With Jerry Bruckheimer”
Deleted scene: Veronica Guerin speaks at the committee to protect journalists, along with footage of the real Guerin’s speech for the committee.

	From Our Review:
	Veronica Guerin is a good story gone mediocre in the hands of Hollywood hotshots Jerry Bruckheimer and Joel Schumacher. More. . .

Still Hot

Mona Lisa Smile

In 1953, a time when women’s roles were rigidly defined, free-spirited, novice art history professor Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts) begins teaching at the prestigious all-female Wellesley College–which despite its academic reputation, is an environment where success is measured by how “well” the students marry. Encouraging these women to strive for a more enlightened future, Watson challenges the administration and inspires her students to look beyond the image of what is, and consider the possibilities of what could be–contrary to popular belief. Also stars Kirsten Dunst, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Julia Stiles.

What’s Cool:

Featurettes: “Art Forum”; “College Then and Now” and “What Women Wanted: 1953”
Music video: “The Heart of Every Girl” by Elton John
Subtitles: English, French

	From Our Review:
	Mona Lisa Smile‘s lesson of the day–that the ’50s were an oppressive decade for women–is delivered in an unoriginal manner through such shallow and unlikable characters that its message lacks an emotional punch. More. . .

Schindler’s List

This Oscar-winning opus from director Steven Spielberg looks at the true story of Austrian industrialist Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who harbored Polish Jews during WWII by using them as workers in his factory and saved 1,100 Jews from certain death. The film also stars Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes and Embeth Davidtz.

What’s Cool:

About Oskar Schindler
Cast and filmmakers
“The Shoah Foundation Story” with Steven Spielberg Voices from the List

Compiled by Anne Reiman

- Advertisement -