Top DVD Rentals-Sales
Three titles – an international smash (“Casino Royale”), an intense thriller (“Harsh Times”) and a romantic comedy (“The Holiday”) – are landing in DVD outlets on this St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The top DVD rental and sales titles are:
Best Renters
1. “Casino Royale” (PG-13); Grade: A-; with Daniel Craig taking over the role of 007 and creating a much tougher secret agent in this gritty action tale with James Bond challenging an arms dealer.
2. “The Holiday” (PG-13); Grade: B; with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black in a breezy romantic comedy about two women from opposite sides of the globe who swap houses for the Christmas season.
3. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (R); Grade: B+; with Sacha Baron Cohen as a hilariously misguided foreign TV reporter who continually exhibits inappropriate behavior and asks insulting questions.
4. “The Departed” (R); Grade: A-; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in director Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning crime tale about Boston gangsters.
5. “Stranger Than Fiction” (PG-13); Grade: A-; with Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal in an inspired fable about a character in a novel who comes to life and then discovers the author plans to kill him off.
6. “The Prestige” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson and Christian Bale in a beautifully mounted thriller about two battling magicians seeking to create the ultimate illusion.
7. “Peter Pan: 2-Disc Platinum Edition” (G); Grade: A; with Peter, Captain Hook, Wendy, Tinker Bell and the other pen-and-ink characters in the 1953 animated classic from Walt Disney.
8. “Man of the Year” (PG-13); Grade: C; with Robin Williams in a tired political comedy about a stand-up comic who runs for the highest office in the land and, due to a voting-machine malfunction, wins the presidency.
9. “Flushed Away” (PG); Grade: C+; with the voices of Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet in a computer-animated film about a spoiled rodent accidentally flushed down a toilet and into London’s sewer system.
10. “Babel” (R); Grade: B+; with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in an Oscar-nominated ensemble drama about how an accidental shooting in Morocco sets in motion a chain of events that touches four families across the globe.
11. “Harsh Times” (R); Grade: B; with Christian Bale, Eva Longoria and Freddy Rodriguez in a gritty downbeat picture about a combat veteran who embarks on a self-destructive path after returning to his old neighborhood in South Central Los Angeles.
12. “Flags of Our Fathers” (R); Grade: A-; with Clint Eastwood directing a war epic about the 1945 battle for Iwo Jima by brave Marines and Navy personnel.
13. “A Good Year” (PG-13); Grade: C+; with Russell Crowe in a mild feel-good tale about a profit-obsessed Englishman who learns the errors of his ways after inheriting a vineyard in France.
14. “The Return” (PG-13); Grade: C; with Sarah Michelle Gellar in a supernatural thriller about a young woman who wants to find the source of the nightmarish images that have been haunting her for years.
15. “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Jack Black and his old music partner Kyle Gass in a broad comedy about two veteran rockers on an odyssey to find the ultimate guitar pick.
16. “Little Miss Sunshine” (R); Grade: B+; with Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Greg Kinnear in the highly acclaimed ensemble comedy about a dysfunctional family transporting a young girl to a beauty pageant. The film won Oscars for best original screenplay and supporting actor (Alan Arkin).
17. “The Guardian” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner in a military picture about a grizzled Coast Guard veteran discovering whether young recruits possess the strength and endurance to be rescue swimmers.
18. “Fast Food Nation” (R); Grade: B; with Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke and Greg Kinnear in director Richard Linklater’s unsettling ensemble drama about the exploitation and abuse in America’s immigrant-staffed slaughterhouses and fast-food outlets.
19. “Let’s Go to Prison” (R); Grade: C-; with Will Arnett and Chi McBride in a gross-out comedy about prisoners interacting in bizarre ways inside a penitentiary.
20. “The Illusionist” (PG-13); Grade: B+; with Edward Norton, Jessica Biel and Paul Giamatti in a romantic tale about a master magician using his skills in an attempt to save the woman he loves in turn-of-the-century Vienna.
Best Sellers
1. “Casino Royale” (PG-13); Grade: A-; $28.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc
2. “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” (R); Grade: B+; $29.99, DVD
3. “The Holiday” (PG-13); Grade: B; $28.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc
4. “Peter Pan: 2-Disc Platinum Edition” (G); Grade: A; $29.99, DVD
5. “The Departed” (R); Grade: A-; $28.99, DVD; $34.99, special edition DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc; $39.99, HD DVD
6. “Flushed Away” (PG); Grade: C+; $29.99, DVD
7. “Stranger Than Fiction” (PG-13); Grade: A-; $28.99, DVD; $38.99, Blu-ray Disc
8. “The Prestige” (PG-13); Grade: B-; $29.99, DVD; $34.99, Blu-ray Disc
9. “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” (R); Grade: B-; $27.99, DVD
10. “Babel” (R); Grade: B+; $29.99, DVD; $39.99, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD
Partial source: Video Business, wire-service and Web reports