“The Da Vinci Code”** 1/2 Not so dark – or gripping – the con of man, it turns out. Ron Howard’s big-screen version of Dan Brown’s megaselling thriller isn’t nearly as volatile a cocktail of the sacred and the profane. Brown mixed history with conjecture about the life of Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene and the founding of the Catholic Church. As Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, Tom Hanks takes too long to deliver the type of performance that makes him such a classic American actor. Audrey Tautou plays French police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, whose grandfather’s murder sets off the intrigue. Ian McKellen enjoys himself as Sir Leigh Teabing, Holy Grail expert and exquisitely enunciating expositor of way too much back story.|PG-13|148 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Who Killed the Electric Car”*** If the the EV1, General Motors’ short-lived, zero-emissions car, were a Shakespearean character, it would be Julius Caesar. There are that many bloodied hands. No wonder director Chris Paine borrowed a trick or two from “Murder on the Orient Express” to shape his entertaining if dismaying documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” “I wanted to do something like ‘This is Spinal Tap,”‘ Paine said. While the movie has wit and comes fully loaded with telling interviews and car cultural history, it takes a turn toward the sad. “What was going to be a docu-comedy,” he said, “became a docu-tragedy.” Et tu, GM?|PG|91 minutes|Released today|Lisa Kennedy
“Accepted”** 1/2 Misfits go to, um, college. So maybe “Accepted” isn’t the most original movie in the world. It’s a little like “Animal House,” a little like “Revenge of the Nerds” and a lot like “Old School.” It also calls to mind elements of “Real Genius,” “National Lampoon’s Van Wilder” and “PCU,” which starred a then-unknown Jeremy Piven and seems to be playing somewhere on cable television 24 hours a day – even though it came out in 1994. And maybe its premise isn’t the most plausible: A few of slackers and weirdos form their own college, where “liberal” doesn’t even begin to describe the liberal arts education. Doesn’t matter. “Accepted” is a lot more fun than you’d expect from a comedy coming out in the dead of summer, and it’ll make you laugh out loud even though you probably know better.|PG-13|92 minutes|Released today|Christy Lemire, Associated Press
“Cars”*** Pixar is like the most gifted student in a classroom full of talent. Even its weakest effort has a gleam. “Cars” idles at times. And more than any other of the animation studio’s treats, this toon could easily exist in a live-action, albeit lesser, version. Yet the G-rated ride about Lightning McQueen, a cocky race-car who takes a wrong turn into a dusty burg on Route 66 and gets an attitude tune-up, revs in its final laps. And the carbureted citizens of Radiator Springs are a carlot of fun, especially a battered tow truck with an aw-shucks demeanor named Mater (the voice of Larry the Cable Guy). Whatever you do, stay through the closing credits.|G|116 minutes|Released Nov. 7|Lisa Kennedy
TV ON DVD
The West Wing: The Complete
Series|Along with a six-disc set packing season seven’s final 22 episodes of the White House drama, this beautifully packaged 45-disc set arrives with the entire 154-episode run. The complete series set comes with commentary on about two dozen episodes, a huge range of featurettes and a copy of the pilot script with a foreword by series creator Aaron Sorkin. It also comes with a hefty price. |$299.98|Released Nov. 7|David Germain, Associated Press
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING | Top DVDs
SALES
1. Monster House
2. Over The Hedge
3. Nacho Libre
4. The Break-Up
5. The Little Mermaid
RENTALS
1. Nacho Libre
2. The Break-Up
3. Click
4. Monster House
5. An American Haunting
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MORE RELEASES | Other DVDs available today
Adventures of Superman: Seasons 5 and 6
Annie Oakley
Bing Crosby: Screen Legend Collection
Brothers of the Head
Cary Grant: Screen Legend Collection
Columbo: Seasons 6 and 7
Drop Dead Gorgeous
Family Guy: Volume 4
Forbidden Planet
Friends: The Complete Series
Get Smart: The Complete Collection
The Golden Girls: Season 6
The Green Mile: Special Edition
The Hamburg Cell
Hate Crime
Home Improvement: Season 5
Jesse James
John Tucker Must Die
Joyeux Noel
King Kong: Deluxe Extended
Limited Edition
NCIS: Season 2
Northern Exposure: Season 5
Open Cam
Paul Mccartney: The Space Within Us
The Paul Newman Collection
Pollyworld
Quantum Leap: Season 5
Reba: Season 4
Rock Hudson: Screen Legend Collection
Six Feet Under: The Complete Series
Strangers With Candy (2006)
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