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Ray **'/. Universal, $29.98
Jamie Foxx deserves to win
the Oscar for Best Actor -but
more so for his marvelous lead
turn in "Collateral," the tough
B-movie he got a nomination
for under the Supporting Actor
category. He's terrific here, too,
but "Ray" is just a standard
biopic with a sappy ending.
Thank God for the great music
throughout that keeps it fun.
Extras include uncut
performances of those songs
and a mini-documentary about
Foxx's tral}sformation.
Mulan II *'/2 Disney, $29.99
Disney continues to churn out
direcHo-DVD titles like this
mild sequel to "Mulan," with our
heroine objecting to arranged
marriages and defending China
(again). A good voice cast -
including Ming-Na, B.D. Wong
and Harvey Fierstein -can't
rescue poor animation and even
poorer imagination. You're better
off with one of the new Chuck
Jones DVDs just out, like his
adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" (Lions Gate,
$9.98) narrated by Orson Welles.
Vanity Fair
*11> •
Universal, $29.98
Some actors just aren't
convincing in period films and Wonderfalls:
ComDlete Series *** Fox, $39.98
This quirkY drama
probably sets a record
for including the most
unseen episodes (nine in
all) for a TV show out
on DVD. Also out:
classic episodes from
"Frasier: Fourth Season,"
"Cheers: Fourth Season,"
"Taxi: Second SeaSon"
(Paramount, $38.99
each), "I Love Lucy:
Season 3" (Paramount,
$54.99), "Soap: Third
Season" (Columbia
TriStar, $29.95), and the
nicely crass Britcom
"Men Behaving Badly:
Seasons 1 and 2" (BBC
Video, $19.98 each).
Reese Witherspoon is one of
them. She didn't work in 2002's
"The Importance of Being
Earnest" and she comes up short
again in this confused Mira Nair
adaptation of the classic novel.
Hopefully, the upcoming Johnny
Cash biopic "Walk The Line" is
close enough in time that she
won't hit the wrong note as June
Carter.
Night and the City ***'/2 Criterion, $39.95
Noir films are often stolen by
great supporting actors and this
sad 1950 tale of the wrestling
racket in post-war London is no
exception. The most larcenous
actor? The implacable Francis L.
Sullivan, who also stole David
Lean's "Great Expectations" and
every other film he ever
appeared in. Extras include a
new 20 minute chat with
director Jules Dassin.
86
E o u ....: VI o
Co
-,~ c::
In o o
N
o ....
~
Cd
::l c:: .Cd .....
tf o C-
o:.: L. o >
~
C1I
Z
Ray **'/. Universal, $29.98
Jamie Foxx deserves to win
the Oscar for Best Actor -but
more so for his marvelous lead
turn in "Collateral," the tough
B-movie he got a nomination
for under the Supporting Actor
category. He's terrific here, too,
but "Ray" is just a standard
biopic with a sappy ending.
Thank God for the great music
throughout that keeps it fun.
Extras include uncut
performances of those songs
and a mini-documentary about
Foxx's tral}sformation.
Mulan II *'/2 Disney, $29.99
Disney continues to churn out
direcHo-DVD titles like this
mild sequel to "Mulan," with our
heroine objecting to arranged
marriages and defending China
(again). A good voice cast -
including Ming-Na, B.D. Wong
and Harvey Fierstein -can't
rescue poor animation and even
poorer imagination. You're better
off with one of the new Chuck
Jones DVDs just out, like his
adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" (Lions Gate,
$9.98) narrated by Orson Welles.
Vanity Fair
*11> •
Universal, $29.98
Some actors just aren't
convincing in period films and Wonderfalls:
ComDlete Series *** Fox, $39.98
This quirkY drama
probably sets a record
for including the most
unseen episodes (nine in
all) for a TV show out
on DVD. Also out:
classic episodes from
"Frasier: Fourth Season,"
"Cheers: Fourth Season,"
"Taxi: Second SeaSon"
(Paramount, $38.99
each), "I Love Lucy:
Season 3" (Paramount,
$54.99), "Soap: Third
Season" (Columbia
TriStar, $29.95), and the
nicely crass Britcom
"Men Behaving Badly:
Seasons 1 and 2" (BBC
Video, $19.98 each).
Reese Witherspoon is one of
them. She didn't work in 2002's
"The Importance of Being
Earnest" and she comes up short
again in this confused Mira Nair
adaptation of the classic novel.
Hopefully, the upcoming Johnny
Cash biopic "Walk The Line" is
close enough in time that she
won't hit the wrong note as June
Carter.
Night and the City ***'/2 Criterion, $39.95
Noir films are often stolen by
great supporting actors and this
sad 1950 tale of the wrestling
racket in post-war London is no
exception. The most larcenous
actor? The implacable Francis L.
Sullivan, who also stole David
Lean's "Great Expectations" and
every other film he ever
appeared in. Extras include a
new 20 minute chat with
director Jules Dassin.