April 3: Video View column
Near the beginning of each month, Video View looks at the DVD titles to be released in the next four weeks. A political tale (“Bobby”), a family picture (“Charlotte’s Web”), an involving thriller (Déjà Vu”), a memorable biography (“The Last King of Scotland”), a fantasy smash (“Night at the Museum”), an involving melodrama (“Notes on a Scandal”), a British import (“The Queen”) and a Spanish favorite (“Volver”) should help make April brighter for movie lovers.
The films are rated as follows: A (very good), B (good), C (fair), D (poor) and F (turkey). Films that have not been previewed are marked NP.
BLACK CHRISTMAS (Genius; $29.99, DVD; April 3; D): Teen favorite Michelle Trachtenberg (“Eurotrip”) stars in this dreadful remake of the 1975 slasher picture about members of a sorority house terrorized by a killer during the December holiday break. James Wong (“Final Destination”) directed. (84 minutes) Strong violence and gore, sex, nudity, harsh four-letter profanity. (Unrated and R)
BOBBY (Weinstein Company; $28.99, DVD; April 10; C+): Writer-director star Emilio Estevez has the very best intentions during this disappointing ensemble tale that revisits the night Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel in 1968. Unfortunately, Estevez, who blends some fictional people and real events, allows many of the performers to overact and continually has characters make speeches about social injustices. The newsreel footage of RFK is wonderful and sad to watch, but one wishes the filmmaker had made better use of his cast members, including Demi Moore (“A Few Good Men’), Sharon Stone (“Basic Instinct’), Anthony Hopkins (“The Silence of the Lambs’), Lindsay Lohan (“A Prairie Home Companion’), Laurence Fishburne (“The Matrix’), Elijah Wood (“Sin City’) and his father, Martin Sheen (“The Departed’). (120 minutes) Harsh four-letter profanity, drug use, sexual elements, violence. (R)
CHARLOTTE’S WEB (Paramount; $29.99, DVD; April 3; A-): Dakota Fanning (“War of the Worlds’) stars in this beautifully rendered live-action version of the children’s favorite written by E.B. White with illustrations by Garth Williams. Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Kathy Bates, Reba McEntire, Robert Redford and Andre Benjamin provide voices for the barnyard creatures (both real and computer generated) in this story about the optimistic Wilbur, a pig who’s the runt of the litter, and his relationship with a wise spider who spins magnificent webs and teaches the young animal that miracles can happen. Families should love seeing this film together. (97 minutes) Some intense moments for younger children (G)
CODE NAME: THE CLEANER (New Line; $27.99, DVD; April 24; C+): Comic Cedric the Entertainer (“The Honeymooners”) plays an ordinary guy who is hit over the head, wakes up and finds himself mistaken for a government agent and embroiled in a conspiracy. Lucy Liu (“Kill Bill, Vol. 1”) and Nicollette Sheridan (TV’s “Desperate Housewives”) co-star. Quality rating based on Web and wire-service reports. (91 minutes) Sexual content, crude humor, some violence. (PG-13)
COPYING BEETHOVEN (Fox; $27.99, DVD; April 3; B): Character actor Ed Harris (“Apollo 13′) plays musical genius Ludwig van Beethoven in a story about the composer’s professional relationship with a brilliant 23-year-old woman (Diane Kruger of “Troy’). The fictional character breaks tradition by traveling to Vienna to become the maestro’s copyist, a job normally held by a man, as he composes his Ninth Symphony. The project has TV movie production values, but the truly rousing sequence in which Beethoven introduces his Ninth Symphony makes it all worthwhile. (104 minutes) Some sexual elements, brief nudity. (PG-13)
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT (Lionsgate; $27.99, DVD; April 3; C-): This highly controversial conspiracy thriller from England stirred heated debate due to its computer-generated images of President Bush being shot. The film has some potential as a thriller, but the despicable assassination scene destroys it. (90 minutes) Violent images. (R)
DÉJÀ VU (Touchstone; $29.99, DVD; April 24; B): Anyone who needs a lesson in star power should immediately sit back and watch Denzel Washington (“Training Day’) fuel this old-fashioned popcorn picture. The 52-year-old actor lights up the screen in a fantasy thriller about a DEA agent who may be able to prevent a deadly incident by using state-of-the-art technology to travel back in time and stop a bomb from detonating. That space odyssey brings him into contact with a beautiful young woman (Paula Patton of “Hitch’) whose life is also in his hands. (128 minutes) Violence, intense scenes of peril, disturbing images, brief nudity, some sensuality. (PG-13)
FREEDOM WRITERS (Paramount; $24.99, DVD; April 17; B-): In this fact-based tale, a 23-year-old teacher (Hilary Swank of “Million Dollar Baby”) tries to win the hearts and minds of gang members in Los Angeles’ Long Beach section. She introduces “The Diary of Anne Frank” in an effort to have the students come to terms with the world around them by writing their own stories in a daily journal and then sharing them. Richard LaGravenese (“Living Out Loud”) directed. Quality rating based on Web and wire-service reports. (123 minutes) Violence, adult themes, harsh four-letter profanity. (PG-13)
THE HISTORY BOYS (Fox; $27.99, DVD; April 17; B): British actor Richard Griffiths recreates his Tony Award-winning Broadway role as the aging maverick teacher of eight unruly British high-school students who want to talk about sex and sports and harbor hopes of attending Oxford or Cambridge. Griffiths’ character tries to inspire them to be free thinkers rather than narrow-minded businessmen. The project, which seems more like a filmed theatrical production than a motion picture, is based on the play by Alan Bennett. (109 minutes) Harsh four-letter profanity, sexual content. (R)
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND (Fox; $29.99, DVD; April 17; B+) Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker (TV’s “The Shield’) delivers a powerful performance as the equally charismatic and chilling Idi Amin. In the 1970s’-set story, a young Scottish doctor (James McAvoy of “Starter for Ten’) becomes the personal physician of the Ugandan dictator, a post he lands because of Amin’s respect for the Scottish people due to their fight against England’s oppression. Kerry Washington (“She Hates Me’) co-stars. (121 minutes) Some strong violence, gruesome images, sexual content, harsh four-letter profanity. (R)
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM (Fox; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, two-disc special edition DVD; Blu-ray Disc; $39.99; April 24; B-): In this family-friendly comedy, a night guard (Ben Stiller of “Dodgeball”) at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History discovers that all of the displays – including one of a T-rex’s skeleton – come to life and run wild each night. Robin Williams (“Good Will Hunting”) and screen veterans Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney co-star. (108 minutes) Mild action, brief rude humor. (PG)
NOTES ON A SCANDAL (Fox; $29.99, DVD; April 17; B): In this intense melodrama, a married teacher (Cate Blanchett of “The Aviator”) begins an affair with one of her teenage boy students. She is then blackmailed by an older instructor (Judi Dench of “Casino Royale”), a closeted lesbian with her own possessive agenda. Bill Nighy (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”) co-stars as the husband who can’t understand how his wife could do such a thing to him and their children. The film, which features flawless performances from the two British actresses, is based on the 2003 novel “What Was She Thinking?: Notes on a Scandal” by Zoe Heller. Dench and Blanchett received Oscar nominations as best actress and best-supporting actress, respectively. (92 minutes) Harsh four-letter profanity, strong sexual content involving a minor, adult themes. (R)
OFF THE BLACK (ThinkFilm; $27.99, DVD; April 17; B-): During this modest independent film, Nick Nolte plays an aging high-school umpire who strikes up a friendship with a young man in need of a father figure. It’s an offbeat tale that benefits from Nolte’s gruff performance. (90 minutes) Crude sexual remark. (R)
THE QUEEN (Miramax; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc; April 24; A-): British favorite Helen Mirren (“Calendar Girls’), who won a well-deserved Oscar as best actress for her performance, plays Elizabeth II in this involving import about the seemingly indifferent reaction of the queen to the death of Princess Diana in 1997. Mirren delivers an often icy, sometimes warm performance. Stephen Frears (“Dirty Pretty Things’) received an Oscar nomination as best director for his work. (103 minutes) Brief strong language. (PG-13)
VOLVER (Sony; $28.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc; April 3; A-): Spanish actress Penelope Cruz (“Vanilla Sky”) stars in this striking comedy-drama import about two sisters who discover the mother they believed died years ago in a fire may be alive. Talented Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar (“Bad Education”) directed the colorfully enjoyable tale. Cruz received an Oscar nomination as best actress for her work. (121 minutes) Sexual content, adult themes, harsh four-letter profanity. (R)
THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Universal; $29.99, DVD; April 3; C+): For many years, Robert De Niro, who previously directed “A Bronx Tale’ (1993), worked on bringing this drama about the first 40 years of the CIA as seen through the eyes of one of the agency’s founders (Matt Damon of “The Bourne Identity’) to the screen. It’s an ambitious, rambling work that runs far too long and can’t decide whether it wants to be a history lesson or a political thriller. Angelina Jolie (“Mr. & Mrs. Smith’) is wasted as the unhappy wife of Damon’s composite character, and Joe Pesci (“Raging Bull’), who plays a mobster with interests in Cuba, disappears from the narrative far too quickly. (167 minutes) Violence, sex, harsh four-letter profanity, adult themes. (R)