Twisted (2 out of 5 stars)
Paramount/ August 31

In my favourite Ashley Judd movie, Double Jeopardy, she plays a murder suspect. In pretty much every movie she’s done since then, she’s played a detective. In Twisted, she plays both—and not very well.
Judd plays a Homicide Inspector named Jessica Sheppard (who looks a little too much like Mariska Hargitay from Law and Order: SVU) who is super-tough and super-independent. Her dad went on a killing spree when she was little which ended with her mom’s murder and his suicide. This leads her to have some issues.
Her partner is played by Andy Garcia, who normally is quite good, but here just seems to have given up on the script and spends most of the movie just yelling or giving what I suppose are meant to be smouldering stares. Jessica is a bit of a skank, and she goes to bars and picks up men to have sex with. All of a sudden, these men start to get murdered and she finds she is her own prime suspect.
You see, she also has a bit of a drinking problem, and tends to pass out at night and not remember what she did at the time. All of this is way too contrived and silly, and you find yourself rolling your eyes on more than one occasion.
Why Judd keeps playing the same character over and over I’ll never understand, since she does have some talent hidden underneath the faux tough-guy cop-acting exterior.
The plot is too contrived, the acting seems lazy and the ‘twist’ in Twisted can be spotted a mile away.There are tons of DVD extras: commentary, three featurettes, and ten deleted scenes--but they don’t help.

The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride (3 out of 5 stars)
Disney/ August 31

Simba’s Pride is yet another straight-to-video sequel from Disney, and the second one to capitalize on the success of The Lion King (remember The Lion King 1.5?) But it’s not bad. The movie actually played in theatres in Europe and its quality is superior to most straight-to-video flicks.
Picking up where The Lion King left off, Simba and Nala now have a daughter named Kiara. In plot that’s very similar to the original, Kiara is full of adventure and mischief and goes off exploring. She meets Kovu, the son of the leader of a group of lions that follow in Scar’s footsteps and she falls in love. Trouble arises as Kovu’s mother and their pack still wants revenge for Scar’s death.
The DVD features many bonus features like animated shorts, info about lions and some games.
Kids will love this sequel and will be able to watch it over and over but adults will cringe at the cheesy music that just can’t compare to Elton John’s songs in the original film. The animation isn’t perfect, but it’s a lot better than some other sequels. All in all, not a bad effort from Disney and one the kiddies are sure to love.

If you missed watching The Apprentice last season, shame on you! What were you doing? Don't you know that The Bachelor is so five minutes ago? Thank goodness for you, this masterpiece has been released on DVD, and if you hurry, you can watch the entire thing before Season Two starts on September 9th! You get all of the episodes and can watch Omarosa get knocked in the head over and over. So satisfying. Also check out the sneak peek of Season Two with a reveal of the new candidates. See it or "You're Fired!" We always wanted to say that...

Connie and Carla (2 out of 5 stars)
Universal/ August 17

Although Connie and Carla tanked big time at the box office, it’s worth a watch on DVD. If you don’t expect it to meet the brilliance of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which I think many people did) you shouldn’t be disappointed.
Connie and Carla (Nia Vardalos and Toni Colette) are best friends and dream of hitting it big in dinner theatre. In an unfortunate turn of events they happen to witness a mob murder and are forced to go on the run and into hiding. They stumble upon a brilliant way to stay hidden but keep working as performers: they pretend to be drag queens and create a hit show.
Although the comedy routines fall flat in many places, there are some genuinely hilarious moments (look for the mob guy who is forced to go check out every theatre production in the country) and David Duchovny steals the film with his perfect and honest portrayal of a man struggling to accept his brother who dresses in drag.
To be perfectly honest, Vardalos gets a little annoying in this film, and it’s Colette who really shines in their scenes together. The movie also seems at times like it’s trying way too hard but in the end, endears itself to you. If you’re a fan of musical theatre you’ll probably enjoy the film on a different level as well. Give it a shot.

The Reckoning (4 out of 5 stars)
Paramount Classics/ August 3

We have quite the crush on Paul Bettany so we were quite excited to get this movie we had never heard of called The Reckoning where he is the star. Never mind that he plays a priest and is kind of sickeningly skinny, we still really enjoyed this dark movie about a priest in the Middle Ages who does a bad bad thing (obviously sexual) and has to run away.
He joins up with a group of traveling actors and they arrive at a village and find a woman is being sentenced to death for the murder of a local boy. The catch? She is mute and cannot tell her side of the story. Convinced of her innocence the actors decide to break their tradition of acting out biblical plays and put on a performance based on the crime. This leads to an entire whirl of events as the search for justice and temptation of evil go into the spotlight.
The movie is a little slow at times but makes up for it with it s fascinating storyline and great acting. Willem Dafoe plays the leader of the actors and is great, and Bettany is fabulous (and that’s not just our crush talking.)
If you’re looking for something different from all of the action/comedy Hollywood stuff that’s taking over the shelves, give The Reckoning a try.

Predator (5 out of 5 stars)
Fox/ August 10

As much as we don't enjoy scary monster movies, Predator is a classic that shouldn't be missed by anyone. You must watch two future govenors in all their glory and you must do it on the new Widescreen Digital transfer with Dolby Digital sound on the Collector's Edition 2-Disc DVD. It's the only way to watch Ah-nold pulverize some aliens in the jungle.
This is the DVD set you’ve all been waiting for, with a huge and impressive list of special features including (deep breath): Alien vs Predator sneak peeks and trailer, deleted scenes, documentary, seven featurettes, three outtakes, three “Red Suit” special effects, two camouflage tests, a still gallery, Predator profile and three Easter Eggs. Whew.
Everyone knows the story by now of the group of U.S. Army Commandoes who stumble upon a really smart extra-terrestrial (not quite as nice as E.T.) who gives them kind of a rough time.
This is a great DVD package and a definite must-have for any DVD collector. Snap it up.

Taking Lives (4 out of 5 stars)
Warner Bros/ August 17, 2004

Ethan Hawke became really weird-looking after Uma dumped him for cheating on her (and she looks fabulous, see Kill Bill) and that works to his advantage in the super-creepy Taking Lives.
Hottie Angelina Jolie plays a detective kind of obsessed with lying in graves who is trying to catch a killer who takes the identities of the people he murders. Seems very much a role that Ashley Judd should be playing but perhaps she was busy.
The film isn’t very original, the acting isn’t great but what makes it good is that it’s an old-fashioned, jump-out-of your-seat scary good time. The director has plenty of moments to freak out the audience and you’ll find yourself jumping more than once (then doing that nervous, embarrassed laugh, especially if you’re watching it with other people).
Taking Lives is a great freaky film, with a couple of twists you may or may not see coming. We recommend not watching it alone at night.

I am a huge fan of anything that gets kids and adults interested in classics and this movie definitely fits the bill. Based on the Alexandre Dumas classic, this short (68 minutes) film has plenty of laughs and great animation.
Mickey, Donald and Goofy are janitors in the Queen’s (Minnie Mouse) court. They dream of adventure but are held back by the head of the Musketeers, Peg-leg Pete. Pete is trying to get rid of the Queen and decides the best way to do so is to have her guarded by the bumbling threesome.
The movie brings on some powerful nostalgia for the days when watching these three characters was a weekly event (on Magical World of Disney, remember?). The voices are spot-on and the movie includes great music from Tchaikovsky, Strauss, and Beethoven as well as six songs.
The dvd features extras like deleted scenes, commentary, an Opera game, the Many Hats of Mickey (where you explore Mickey’s movie career, pretty cool) and a music video.
A great way to bring knowledge of classics into kids lives and a wonderful trip down memory lane for adults, The Three Musketeers makes the grade.

The Prince and Me (3 out of 5 stars)
Paramount Pictures/ August 3

Okay first of all, let me get this off my chest: it should be The Prince and I!! Improper grammar drives me nuts and it almost made me refuse to see this movie on principle.
But then I kind of got over it and watched this silly, over-dramatic tale of a pre-med student who falls in love with a Prince about to be made King and decides to see how being Queen suits her.
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (sorry I couldn’t resist) with this movie.
Julia Stiles plays a med-student/bartender named Paige who falls for her lab partner, a seemingly normal, although stuffy, foreign exchange student named Eddie. She even brings him home for Thanksgiving where he gets all up in the farm, milking cows and racing lawn-mowers. Then Paige discovers Eddie is really His Highness and first she gets peeved that her lied to her, and then the realization that she might actually get to wear a tiara without people laughing at her hits home.
While the premise is cute and I’m all for girls dreaming of becoming royalty, I can’t help but compare this to The Princess Diaries, which I also just watched, and see that it falls very short. The humour is unoriginal, the characters are flat (the prince is a real dud) and the clichés abound. Stiles is utterly unconvincing as a country girl and yet again stars as the feminist-strong-willed-intelligent character she always seems to choose. Except this time around, she gets to wear a ball gown and some diamonds. Good for her.
The ending seems extremely tacked-on, as if the flick didn’t test well with audiences the first time. Those 13 and under will probably love it, but you’ll most likely find yourself trying to will some zombies into the flick.

Hidalgo (3 out of 5 stars)
Touchstone Pictures/ August 3

Take a little bit of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Seabiscuit and The Mummy, improve on the special effects, and you’ve got Hidalgo. Does that mean it’s a bad movie? Actually, no. Hidalgo, while not entirely original, is quite entertaining.
Based on the life of Frank Hopkins, Viggo Mortensen plays a washed-up soldier working for Buffalo Bill Cody. Being half-Indian, he never quite felt like he belonged anywhere, and after witnessing the massacre at Wounded Knee, was never the same. He gets a chance to participate in a great race across the deserts of Arabia for a large prize.
The odds are stacked against Hopkins. The race is a grueling 3,000 miles and every year many of the contestants die. The participants must face locusts, sandstorms, quicksand, and desert raiders. Worse, everybody looks down upon Hopkins for being American, and Hidalgo. Hidalgo is a mustang, racing against snooty thoroughbreds who can trace their lineage back generations. The race begins in earnest, and is there ever any doubt who will win by a nose?
A little long on running time (there are many scenes that just seem kind of dropped in) Hidalgo is still a superficial good time.