“The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift”*** |”Tokyo Drift,” directed with revving, swerving awareness by Justin Lin, stars the twangy, appealing Lucas Black as Sean. A wild race in an uninhabited cookie- cutter subdivision gets this rebel without a clean driving record sent to Dad in Japan. There he meets Neela, Twinkie, and Han (played with magnetic calm by Sung Kang). He also makes a nemesis of D.K., reigning king of the drift, the high-speed hard turn made by the timely manipulation of the clutch and the emergency brake. Sounds technical? Nah. What it really is: silly summer fluff with some winking cultural critique topping off its tank. | PG-13|105 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“The Lake House”** |Reteaming Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock for the first time since “Speed,” this romantic fable begins when two people living exactly two years apart start communicating by letter. It doesn’t take long for Dr. Kate Forester and Alex Wyler, an architect-developer, to accept that by writing each other they are rewriting the laws of physics. What director Alejandro Agresti doesn’t help his personable leads do is achieve much chemistry. The closer Kate and Alex come to meeting in the same time zone, the more convoluted the movie becomes. Christopher Plummer plays Alex’s formidable father, and Shohreh Aghdashloo brings a husky warmth as Kate’s boss. |PG-13|93 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“The Notorious Bettie Page”*** |Director Mary Harron has a taste for the shadowier terrain of pop culture. Now the director of “I Shot Andy Warhol” and “American Psycho” along with co-writer Guinevere Turner bring ’50s pinup girl extraordinaire Bettie Page to life. Almost. Gretchen Mol does a grand disappearing act beneath Page’s dark hair and trademark bangs. Astute – even frisky fun – “The Notorious Bettie Page” never shakes being enamored of the mystery of Page. It’s not what is shown in the film that lingers. It’s what isn’t revealed in Harron’s teasing, pleasing film that leaves us wanting more. |R|94 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Down in the Valley”*** |Edward Norton plays another one of his deceptively innocent characters, this time a self-proclaimed and self-taught cowboy wandering the urban range of the San Fernando Valley. As “Harlan,” Norton pursues rebellious teenager Evan Rachel Wood and proposes to sweep her away on figurative horseback to a better life. A depressingly realistic portrait of unhappiness with a dystopia of aimless suburban life in Southern California. Norton excels at this kind of wide-eyed nice guy, a gentleman we want to embrace but know we probably shouldn’t. |R|112 minutes| Released today|Michael Booth
TV ON DVD
“The Chris Rock Show: Seasons 1 & 2″|Caustic comic Rock tells it like it is in his late-night show that features monologues, interviews, spoofs and musical guests, including Usher, Erykah Badu and Busta Rhymes. The three-disc set has the first 17 episodes, with commentary by Rock.|$39.98|Released Sept. 19|David Germain,
OTHER RELEASES | These DVDs are available today
The Adventures of Dick Tracy: The Complete Animated Series
Benny Hill: Complete and Unadulterated
Beowulf & Grendel
Best of the Kids in the Hall: Volume 1
The Big Animal
Bliss: Season Two
The Book of Daniel: The Complete Series
Brotherhood: Season 1
City of Men
The Clay Bird
Combat Diary: The Marines of Lima Company
Connor’s War
Dangermouse: The Final Seasons
Daniel Boone: Season 1
Daniel Boone: Season 2
Digging for the Truth: Season 1
Eleventh Hour
Ellen: Season 4
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
Laura’s Star
Mama’s Family: Season 1
A Nightmare on Elm Street
One Tree Hill: Season 3
Rounding First
Russian Dolls
A Slight Case of Murder
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Ultimate Edition
Three Times
The Wind in the Willows
Windy City Heat: The Uncensored Director’s Cut
ONVIDEO.ORG
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING | This week’s top DVDs
SALES
1. Lost: Season 2
2. United 93
3. Brother Bear 2: The Moose Are on the Loose
4. The Sentinel
5. Take the Lead
RENTALS
1. The Sentinel
2. United 93
3. Take the Lead
4. RV
5. Poseidon
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