New DVD releases this week

June 13, 2006

Steve Martin stars in "The Pink Panther."

The Pink Panther

Rated: PG (mild violence)
Starring: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles and Jean Reno
Time: 93 minutes
Summary: Steve Martin co-wrote and stars in this prequel to the Pink Panther series of caper comedies, reprising the role of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau made famous by Peter Sellers. The single-digit set will love all the pratfalls; parents will just have to grin and bear it.
— TOM MAURSTAD / The Dallas Morning News

16 Blocks

Rated: PG-13 (violence, strong language, intense action sequences)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mos Def and David Morse
Time: 102 minutes
Summary: An aging NYPD detective must take a petty criminal (the star witness in a corruption trial) to the courthouse 16 blocks away. Trouble is, a few people want the criminal dead, namely the detective's former partner. Richard Donner directs the believable yet derivative action drama with relatively low-key precision.
— MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

Aquamarine

Rated: PG (mild language and sensuality)
Starring: Sara Paxton, Emma Roberts, Joanna Levesque and Jake McDorman
Time: 109 minutes
Summary: You get a lot of Splash Jr. moments in this adolescent take on the boy-meets-mermaid tale, but once you plod past the slow start and wade through the déjà vu moments, the emphasis on the bond between two friends who find a lovesick mermaid sets this apart.
— NANCY CHURNIN / The Dallas Morning News

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Rated: R (language)
Starring: Dave Chappelle, Mos Def, Erykah Badu, the Fugees and others
Time: 100 minutes
Summary: If you believe that celebrities pay a terrible price for all the glitz and glamour, Dave Chappelle is here to reassure you that being famous can be fun. The film tracks a free concert the popular comedian gave in Brooklyn, packed with stellar musical performances and Mr. C's boundless enthusiasm.
— MATT WEITZ / Special Contributor

End of the Spear

Rated: PG-13 (intense sequences of violence)
Starring: Louie Leonardo, Chad Allen, Chase Ellison and Christina Souza
Time: 111 minutes
Summary: Fact-based film follows the aptly named Saint family on a mission to Ecuador in the mid-1950s to teach the Gospel to indigenous tribes. The film makes its points about perserverance and redemption without coming off as heavy-handed or overtly religious.
— STEPHEN BECKER / The Dallas Morning News

A Good Woman

Rated: PG (language, sensuality)
Starring: Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Umbers
Time: 93 minutes
Summary: Beguiling and profound comedy-drama set in 1930s Italy follows a former socialite (Helen Hunt) as she flees gossip and financial ruin to benefit from her estranged daughter's wealthy husband, with whom the socially elite think she's having an affair. Based on Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windermere's Fan.
— MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Rated: R (language, violence and sexuality/nudity)
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan and Corbin Bernsen
Time: 102 minutes
Summary: Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer star in this spoof of Hollywood and its action movie conventions. It's a funny exercise with a knowing comic performance from Mr. Kilmer. Written and directed by Shane Black, the man responsible for Lethal Weapon.
— CHRIS VOGNAR / The Dallas Morning News

The World's Fastest Indian

Rated: PG-13 (brief language, drug use and a sexual reference)
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Diane Ladd and Christopher Lawford
Time: 127 minutes
Summary: Anthony Hopkins plays a real-life Kiwi motorcyclist who traveled halfway 'round the globe in the '60s to break the world land-speed record on a torqued-up antique bike (the title's Indian). Unfortunately, this sappy, two-hour-plus journey feels as if it's aboard a genial camel.
— RICK HOLTER / The Dallas Morning News