Untraceable

Tomatometer: 15%

The ladies of fellow new release Mad Money are in good company as Diane Lane's stab at girl power -- the gruesome thriller Untraceable, which pits Lane as a female cop on the trail of a modem-empowered killer -- also makes its way to DVD this week.

Bonus Features:

Director Gregory Hoblit (Fracture, Frequency, Primal Fear) provides some insight into what he was thinking in a commentary track; watch picture-in-picture interviews, storyboards, and clips during the feature in Blu-ray.


The Great Debaters

Tomatometer: 79%

Denzel Washington directs his way to Certified Fresh territory for the second time (after 2002's celebrated Antwone Fisher) and stars in a true story about a debate coach (Washington) leading his all-black college team to the national championships.

Bonus Features:

Genius Products and The Weinstein Co. are releasing a single-disc version with no extra features, but we say go for the 2-disc package for a commentary, documentary, and informative bonus materials about the actual events and figures that inspired the Oprah Winfrey-produced film.

Mad Money

Tomatometer: 20%

Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah and the Cruise-bot formerly known as Katie Holmes seemingly cashed in for this all-female heist movie, which earned dismal ratings from critics.

Fun fact: Mad Money is directed by Callie Khouri, the same woman who made one of the best female empowerment flicks of all time: Thelma and Louise.

Bonus Features:

Who really watches extras like "Behind the Scenes of Mad Money??"





Youth Without Youth

Tomatometer: 29%

Francis Ford Coppola's pet project about a man (Tim Roth) supernaturally touched by youth was, to put it mildly, not quite a success. Is it still worth a shot, considering it's Coppola's first film in a decade?

Bonus Features:

Again, Coppola the Auteur is what's appealing about Youth Without Youth, sprawling failure or no. Check out his commentary track and three making-of featurettes for insight into the mind of a modern legend.




The Lovers

Tomatometer: 100%

It's Criterion time! Delight in not one, but two Louis Malle releases this week: The Lovers, Malle's second film about an adulterous woman (Jeanne Moreau) and The Fire Within, about a suicidal writer.

Bonus Features:

Criterion serves up a newly restored, unedited version of The Lovers, which caused quite a stir when it censored upon debut in 1958 and sparked a Supreme Court obscenity case. But with more new material like video interviews with cast members and a 2005 documentary featuring Mathieu Almaric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Quantum of Solace) Criterion's The Fire Within has a smidge more to offer. Who are we kidding -- get them both!




The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Blu-ray

Tomatometer: 75%

With Prince Caspian gearing up for a big opening this Friday, Disney and Walden Media are releasing the first film of the franchise, 2005's The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, on Blu-ray for the first time -- which means you'll be able to see every hair on Aslan's furry frame in inscrutable detail. Woot!

Bonus Features:

Use Blu-ray's picture-in-picture element to watch extras like pop-up trivia. A second disc full of features should provide all that you ever wanted to know about the making of the hugely popular adventure.




Indiana Jones - The Adventure Collection

Tomatometer: 75%

The best collection of the week has arrived! Compiling all three Indiana Jones adventures -- Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom, and the misnamed Last Crusade -- this three-disc release is all you need to get ready for Indy's return on May 22. We made a marathon out of all three discs in one weekend, and you'll want to do the same.

Bonus Features:

The notoriously press-shy Steven Spielberg and George Lucas make appearances "introducing" each film, sharing memories of casting and filming the series while simultaneously offering glimpses of the forthcoming sequel, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Each disc has its own bonus menu of related materials, including features on the ladies and sidekicks of the series and the famous "melting face" effect.

Fun fact: George Lucas tells us he wasn't so keen on casting his Han Solo, Harrison Ford, as Indiana Jones. He also reveals he thought Sean Connery wouldn't work as the elder Dr. Jones. (Good thing Spielberg convinced him otherwise.)







'Til next week, happy viewing!