Grades for movies to be released this week on DVD

Be Kind, Rewind (2008) Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow. Written and directed by Michael Gondrey. An unambiguous celebration of the state of preadolescent fixation. The movie is perhaps best understood as a 12-year-old boy: You want to give it a hug and then yell at it to pick up after itself. Grade: C

Caramel (2008) Written and directed by Nadine Labaki. Beauty-parlor romantic comedy has been done to death and beyond, but what Caramel lacks in originality is redeemed by its exuberant sensuality and astute commentary on the way Lebanese women sit uncomfortably in the crosshairs of their country’s clash between patriarchal tradition and Westernized modernity. Grade: B

Chaos Theory (2008) Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer. Directed by Marcos Siega. The big reason "Chaos Theory" doesn't work is that the gears are visibly grinding away, cranking out neat little ironies and life lessons without any liberating surprises. Grade: C-

Fool’s Gold (2008) Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson, Donald Sutherland. Directed by Andy Tennant. It's a big, cheesy, familiar bore. With its garland of set pieces featuring McConaughey in mortal danger strung together by beach-groovy musical hooks, "Fool's Gold" feels at times like a third-rate Bond movie set to a Jimmy Buffett album. Grade: D

Jack and Jill vs. the World (2008) Freddie Prinze Jr., Taryn Manning. Directed by Vanessa Parise. Parise no doubt intends the pic's attention to the disease — plus animal adoption and fair trade coffee — to be socially enlightening, but it feels suspiciously like sympathy-mongering. Grade: D+

Rails & Ties (2007) Marcia Gay Harden, Kevin Bacon, Directed by Alison Eastwood. Nobody feels anything they're not explicitly told to feel. Not even the audience. Grade: C-

Under the Same Moon (2008) Kate Del Castillo. Directed by Patricia Riggen. A harmless feel-good movie that tries to tell audiences what it's like to be a victimized immigrant, and mostly winds up telling them what it's like to have their heartstrings yanked, gratuitiously and often. Grade: C+

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) Martin Lawrence, Margaret Avery, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, James Earl Jones. Written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee. Imagine a Three Stooges short with a feel-good ending, and you get the idea. Grade: C-