“Nacho Libre”** 1/2 This is not the best effort from Jack Black or director Jared Hess. There seemed to be a great breeding line for this wacky farce, with “Napoleon Dynamite” writer and director Hess teaming with his partner/wife Jerusha, “School of Rock” writer Mike White and the unstoppable Black. But the Hess technique doesn’t translate so well from Idaho to Mexico, and the long, slow pauses between jokes tie this wrestling movie into knots. Black plays a Mexican priest who dons a mask and wrestles anonymously to raise money for his orphanage. |PG|91 minutes|Released today |Michael Booth
“Monster House”** Something untoward is taking place at the house across the street from 12-year-old DJ (Mitchel Musso). Mr. Nebbercracker and his fixer-upper seem to be gobbling kids’ toys with greater frequency as Halloween approaches. What can DJ and friends Chowder and Jenny do? “Monster House” features a brief scene of marital bickering, longer instances of teenage nihilism and a troubling lesson on personal liberation. Director Gil Kenan and exec producers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg hoped for funny-scary. But they never pull off that transit between fright to delight and back again. Voice talent includes Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jon Heder. |PG|80 minutes|Released today |Lisa Kennedy
“The Road to Guantanamo” *** To retell the story of three British friends who traveled to Pakistan in October 2001 for a wedding and wound up detained at the U.S.-run camp in Cuba until 2003, directors Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross mix first-person interviews, re-creations and news reports. In his narrative feature “In This World,” about two Afghan refugees hazarding a journey to London, Winterbottom displayed a keen sensitivity to his subjects’ plight. He brings that same intelligent care to the Muslims who share their stories here. Given the Supreme Court’s recent rebuff of the Bush administration’s handling of Guantanamo detainees, the movie couldn’t be more timely. But Winterbottom’s smart hybrid is better than supplementary viewing. |R|95 minutes|Released today |Lisa Kennedy
“Slither”*** This is an old-fashioned creature-feature where the emphasis is on cheese. Or, in this case, Cheez Whiz. So that means it all comes down to the “ick” factor, which is plenty icky. A meteor crashes. Bugs get out. And the first person they invade is local rich guy and cradle-robber Grant Grant. But Grant Grant very slowly – too slowly – infects the rest of the town and hunts every bit of raw meat on the menu (he wipes out the local pet population). He becomes more squidlike by the minute, and yet somehow decides, rationally, not to impregnate his too-young, too-hot wife (Elizabeth Banks) with slug-spawn. |R|97 minutes|Released today |Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel
TV ON DVD
Big Love: Season 1 | Bill Paxton, left, stars as a family man times three a Salt Lake City businessman coping with the pleasures
and pains of having three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) in this HBO series. The first 12 episodes come in a five-disc set. | $99.98 | Released Oct. 17 | David Germain, Associated Press
OTHER RELEASES | These DVDs are also available today
The Addams Family Volume One
The Astaire and Rogers
Collection: Volume 2
Batman Beyond: Season 2
Beat Angel
Bewitched: Season 4
Body Heat: Deluxe Edition
The Facts of Life: Season 3
Father Christmas
Greg the Bunny: The Best of the Film Parodies
Hands Over the City
The Harry Smith Project:
Anthology of American Folk
Music Revisited
Heavv Metal: Louder Than Life
Invitation to a Suicide
Justice League Unlimited Season 1
The Kid & I
Kiss Me Again
The L Word: Season 3
La Commune (Paris, 1871)
Looking for Kitty
Mini’s First Time
Monsignor Renard
The O.C.: Season 3
Pizza
The Reading Room
Rolling Family
Saw II Special Edition
Slings & Arrows: Season 2
The Snowman
Sweetie
Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wings: Season 3
ONVIDEO.ORG
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING | This week’s top DVDs
SALES
1. The Little Mermaid
2. X-Men: The Last Stand
3. Curious George
4. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
5. X-Men: Trilogy
RENTALS
1. X-Men: The Last Stand 20th Century Fox
2. The Lake House
3. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
4. Thank You for Smoking
5. Lucky Number Slevin
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