"Red Tails" (PG-13, 125 minutes, 20th Century Fox)
The complexions of its heroes aside, this George Lucas-produced dogfight epic could have been made during the same decade the Tuskegee Airmen helped beat Hitler. The war-movie clichés are as abundant as the anti-aircraft fire, and the dialogue is as wooden as a balsa glider. The leading characters are issued one personality trait apiece, and some don't even get that. Cuba Gooding Jr., for example, plays Maj. Stance as a man who smokes a pipe. The African American fliers' great achievement merits a great movie. "Red Tails" isn't it.
Contains war violence and alcohol use. Blu-ray extras: "Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airman at War" mini-documentary and featurettes on Lucas, director Anthony Hemingway, composer Terence Blanchard and the cast.
"Woman in Black" (PG-13, 95 minutes, Sony Pictures)
Daniel Radcliffe plays a London lawyer sent to the middle of nowhere to settle the estate of a deceased woman. "The Woman in Black," based on Susan Hill's 1983 novel, delivers a better-than-serviceable, if less than "Sixth Sense"-worthy scare. Director James Watkins knows how to make a body jump out of its skin. At the same time, the film is kind of silly. Radcliffe, for his part, carries off the role of Arthur with reasonable aplomb.
Contains disturbing thematic material, some blood and frightening imagery. DVD extras: Commentary with Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman;
"This Means War" (PG-13, 96 minutes, 20th Century Fox)
This romantic action comedy stars Reese Witherspoon as a woman trying to choose between two handsome suitors. But as this sloppy, scattered, utterly synthetic piece of Hollywood widgetry unspools, it becomes increasingly clear that the romantic tension at play exists mostly between the men in question. As super-spies and best friends whose professional and personal relationship begins to fray as they vie for alpha-dog status, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy can barely conceal their characters' longing and heartbreak. Even when the three finally face off in the movie's pre-posterously ballistic third act, it's the guys who only have eyes for each other. That "This Means War" is graceless, lazy and visually incoherent can be laid squarely at the feet of its director, McG. His career at least provides a reminder that the word "hack" didn't always refer to computers. Contains sexual content and references, some violence and action and profanity. DVD extras: alternate endings, uncensored gag reel, deleted scenes, alternative opening concept and commentary by McG.
"The Secret World of Arrietty" (G, 94 minutes, Walt Disney Video)
This gorgeous little movie is sure to be beloved by your little people, who may discover what it means to find magical beauty in the things we can't altogether see. "Arrietty," based on Mary Norton's children's book series "The Borrowers," is the story of tiny people who live under floorboards and swipe what they need from the Beans (what they call humans) upstairs. A piece of delicious art, much like the other films from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, it was the highest-grossing Japanese film in Japan in 2010. Contains mild animated peril. DVD extras: "Summertime" music video and making-of featurette. Also, on Blu-ray, storyboard presentation, original Japanese trailers and television commercials and "Arrietty's Song" music video.
Also
"Perfect Sense," "Route 66: The Complete Series" (1960-64, a 24-disc set with all 116 episodes), "Worried About the Boy," "The River: The Complete First Season," "Love, Etc." (2011, Oprah Winfrey Network), "United," "Eclipse Series 33: Up All Night With Robert Downey Sr." (two-disc box set of five films, including "Putney Swope," dating from 1964 to 1975), "Certified Copy" (2010, France, Criterion Collection), "Beyond," "Black Cobra," "Mega Builders" (Discovery), "The First Beautiful Thing" (2010, Italy), "The Kane Files," "Metal Tornado," "Sade: Bring Me Home" and "All God's Creatures."
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