New on DVD this week:
1) The Good Shepherd – RENT: Much like “Babel,” Robert De Niro’s second directorial effort didn’t exactly dazzle me as much as I would have liked, but there’s definitely a good film to be had on the cutting room floor. In this case, it might have actually worked better as a longer feature. Go figure.
2) Charlotte’s Web – BUY: I’ve yet to actually see this version of the classic E.B. White tale, but if all of my fellow critic brethern are to be believed, it’s one heck of a film. Plus, the single-disc DVD is jam-packed with special features.
3) Volver – RENT: Penelope Cruz’s best performance to date, and one of the best foreign language films of the year. Why this wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award is beyond me, but it’s nice to see that Almodovar only gets better with age.
4) Black Christmas – PASS: Go rent the original. You’ll have more fun.
Also out this week is “Entourage: Season Three, Part One,” reissues of “The Natural” and “All That Jazz,” new season sets for “Twin Peaks,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Roseanne,” and “The Brady Bunch: The Complete Series.”
