Sequel, eccentric import arrive on DVD this weekend
An outrageous sequel (“Basic Instinct 2”) and an eccentric import (“Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story”) are new to DVD outlets on this very quiet third weekend of July. The top DVD rental and sales titles are:
Best Renters
1. “Failure to Launch” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker in a lightweight romantic-comedy hit about a 36-year-old single guy who still lives at home and has no intention of leaving.
2. “Basic Instinct 2” (R and Unrated) Grade: D; with Sharon Stone returning as cool-as-ice killer Catherine Tramell and going to London for sex games in a sequel to the 1992 hit.
3. “Madea’s Family Reunion” (PG); Grade: B; with Tyler Perry again wearing a dress and wig to play his popular outspoken character. This time, the no-nonsense lady faces some problems as she prepares for a family reunion. Lynn Whitfield, Cicely Tyson and Dr. Maya Angelou co-star.
4. “Ultraviolet” (PG-13 and Unrated); Grade: D; with Milla Jovovich in a futuristic action tale about a rogue warrior who belongs to a vampire race marked for extinction by humans.
5. “Eight Below” (PG); Grade: B+; with Paul Walker and Jason Biggs in a fact-based adventure picture about an Antarctica expedition guide who is forced to leave his eight sled-dogs behind at a remote base due to a devastating storm and how they survive the elements.
6. “The Matador” (R); Grade: B; with Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear in a darkly humorous, decidedly eccentric tale about an international hit man going through a mid-life crisis and suffering from panic attacks.
7. “The Libertine” (R); Grade: C+; with Johnny Depp going to the dark side in this long-delayed period piece about a 1675 British playboy/poet who devotes himself to pleasures of the flesh.
8. “Annapolis” (PG-13) C+; with James Franco and Tyrese Gibson in a military melodrama about a working-class guy who joins the physically punishing Naval Academy boxing team.
9. “Syriana” (R); Grade: A; with George Clooney (who won an Oscar as best-supporting actor for his performance), Jeffrey Wright, Matt Damon and Amanda Peet in a timely and chilling political thriller about the manipulation of oil prices in the Middle East and the corruption that surrounds it.
10. “The Pink Panther” (PG); Grade: C+; with Steve Martin stepping into the shoes of the late, great Peter Sellers as bumbling French Inspector Clouseau, who trips all over himself while trying to locate a missing ring. Beyonce Knowles and Kevin Kline co-star.
11. “16 Blocks” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Bruce Willis, Mos Def and David Morse in an old-school action thriller about a burned-out cop protecting a marked-for-death witness on the mean streets of New York City.
12. “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” (R and Unrated); Grade: B+; with the comic having musical artists such as Kanye West, Mos Def, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott visit his old neighborhood and perform in concert.
13. “Glory Road” (PG); Grade: B; with Josh Lucas and Derek Luke in a fact-based sports drama about Don Haskins, the driven Texas Western basketball coach who started a much-needed revolution in the color-divided world of college sports by playing an all-black team at a 1966 NCAA championship game.
14. “Underworld: Evolution” (R); Grade: B-; with Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman returning from the original in this stylish but empty sequel that chronicles the continuing bloody war between vampires and werewolves.
15. “Firewall” (PG-13); Grade: B-; with Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany in an old-school thriller about a computer-security expert who is told his wife and children will be murdered if he refuses to steal millions from bank accounts for which he has designed state-of-the-art protection.
16. “Aquamarine” (PG); Grade: B-; with pop singer Joanna “JoJo” Levesque and Emma Roberts in a fantasy about a feisty 18-year-old mermaid who comes into the lives of two 13-year-old girls.
17. “The Hills Have Eyes” (R and Unrated); Grade: B; with Ted Levine in a grisly remake of Wes Craven’s 1977 cult favorite about a mutant family preying on people who become lost in a remote area. Alexandre Aja, who put plenty of scares in “High Tension,” directed.
18. “Running Scared” (R); Grade: B; with Paul Walker in an ultra-violent thriller about a low-level thug who comes into possession of a gun used in the mob shooting of a corrupt cop and then must protect his family when the criminals search for the weapon.
19. “Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story” (R); Grade: B; with Jeremy Northam and Gillian Anderson in a British import that follows two story lines, one a farce involving the action in the book “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” and the other a parody chronicling the efforts of the cast and crew to film it.
20. “Imagine Me & You” (R); Grade: C; with Piper Perabo, Lena Headey and Matthew Goode in an off-beat romantic comedy about a new bride who falls for a female florist who caught her eye during her wedding ceremony.
Best Sellers
1. “Failure to Launch” (PG-13); Grade: B-; $29.99, DVD
2. “Eight Below” (PG); Grade: B+; $29.99, DVD and PSP
3. “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (PG-13); Grade: B; $19.99
4. “Ultraviolet” (PG-13 and Unrated); Grade: D; $28.99, DVD
5. “Madea’s Family Reunion” (PG); Grade: B; $29.99, DVD
6. “Annapolis” (PG-13); Grade: C+; $29.99, DVD
7. “Madea Goes to Jail” (Unrated); Grade: B; $19.99, DVD
8. “The Hills Have Eyes” (R and Unrated); Grade: B; $29.99, DVD
9. “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” (R and Unrated); Grade: B+; $29.99, DVD
10. “Underworld: Evolution” (R); Grade: B-; $28.99, DVD
(Editor’s note: The partial sources for this listing was Video Business, wire-service and Web reports.)