“The Sentinel”**|When President Reagan was shot, Secret Service agent Pete Garrison took a bullet. Now, years later, he protects the first lady, not the worst detail to pull, given that she’s played by Kim Basinger. When a plot surfaces to kill the president, Garrison has a source. He also has a secret that makes him a suspect.
Kiefer Sutherland plays former friend-now-nemesis David Breckinridge. Garrison is meant to be a complicated hero, flawed and honorable. Yet Michael Douglas’ talent for finessing that kind of ambiguity is wasted by a by-the-numbers script and Clark Johnson’s overheated directing. |PG-13|105 minutes|Released today |Lisa Kennedy
“Friends With Money” ** 1/2|Almost any of the great Victorian novels could have been titled “Friends With Money,” so it’s not a bad idea to update the concept of friendly envy to modern-day Southern California. Jennifer Aniston has tried many jobs but ended up as a house cleaner while her wealthier friends pursue careers, marriages and parenthood. It almost works, but there’s no one here to like and root for. The Victorians knew enough to supply a brave heroine or a nasty villain who made us care about the ending. |R|88 minutes|Released today |Michael Booth
“Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World”**|The most amusing moments in writer-director-star Albert Brooks’ tale of an underemployed comic named Albert Brooks enlisted by the U.S. government to learn what makes Muslims laugh (if indeed they do), happens before Brooks’ character ever boards a plane to New Delhi, India. When he takes a meeting with director Penny Marshall for a remake of the Jimmy Stewart classic “Harvey,” it’s a comedy kabob on which everyone is skewered. And the institutional and self-parody gets even sharper once he travels to Washington, D.C. to meet with a blue ribbon commission. Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Dalton Thompson plays himself. Yet once Brooks’ character lands in India – and for a very brief spell Pakistan – the humor loses its way. How do you say “ba-dum bum” in Hindi or Urdu? |PG-13|98 minutes|Released today |Lisa Kennedy
“Take the Lead”** 1/2|Running almost completely on the charm of Antonio Banderas, this latest version of urban dancing competitions follows on the success of the documentary “Mad Hot Ballroom.” Teacher comes to beleaguered school, proposes formal dancing as a way to motivate kids; kids scoff, try it, change their lives. A predictable formula, executed in mediocre spirit. |PG-13|108 minutes|Released today |Michael Booth
TV ON DVD | “House: Season Two”
Hugh Laurie returnswho leads a team of medical detectives taking on cases and seeking to cure ailments that leave other physicians baffled. A six-disc set has Year 2’s 24 episodes, with DVD extras that include a panel chat with cast and producers.| $59.98|Released Aug. 22| Associated Press
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING | This week’s top DVDs
RENTALS
1. Inside Man
2. V for Vendetta
3. The Benchwarmers
4. Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
5. The Shaggy Dog
SALES
1. Inside Man
2. V for Vendetta
3. Bring It On: All or Nothing
4. Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector
5. The Shaggy Dog
BILLBOARD.COM
OTHER RELEASES | These DVDs also are available today
After The Crash: Bob Dylan 1966-1978
Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures
Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection
Agatha Christie’s Marple Series 2
American Gun
Andy Griffith Show: Seventh Season
Apollo 13: Journey to the Moon and Mars
Arrested Development: Season Three
Brother Bear 2
Comedy Gold
Desperate Housewives: Second Season
The Hard Corps
Her Majesty
Hogan’s Heroes: Fourth Season
Hot Tamale
Humphrey Bogart: The Signature Collection Volume 2
The Jewel of the Nile Special Edition
Kill Your Idols
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Lonesome Jim
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Limited Edition
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Limited Edition
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Limited Edition
Mountain Patrol
NASCAR: Driven to Win Season 1.
Nip/Tuck: Third Season
Romancing the Stone Special Edition
Seduced and Abandoned
Shock
Some Kind of Wonderful
South Park: Eighth Season
Survivor Palau
The Swindle
Talking to Heaven
Tap
Washington the Warrior
Water
White Nights
SOURCE: ONVIDEO.ORG
