New movies to be released this week on DVD

88 Minutes (2008) * This is easily one of the silliest, most preposterous thrillers ever made, and the only reason it didn’t go straight to video has to be that it stars Al Pacino. However, I’m guessing it’s the pressure of an idiot script by Gary Scott Thompson and understandably clueless direction from Jon Avnet that forces Pacino to ham it up so vigorously that you want to garnish him with cloves and a slice of pineapple. Every actor and actress involved seems to have been instructed to act as guilty as possible and, in this at least, they’re entirely convincing. Not guilty of murder, perhaps, but of a really unfortunate career choice.

The Babysitters (2008) *½ It reads like a Cinemax special event, and as good as actors John Leguizamo and Katherine Waterston are, the skeevy, fantasy-fulfillment plot that drives David Ross’ movie is uncomfortably risky business.

Before the Rains (2008) ** A hodgepodge in the raj — a predictable patchwork of forbidden romance, English arrogance, a gun given as a gift, suicide, corruption, deception, rising Indian nationalism and a short-lived chase through the jungle. This tale of an idealistic local caught in the crossfire of an illicit affair is too pat and pretty to connect with upscale audiences. If there’s anything a story of interracial adultery needs, it’s passion. The film’s chief asset is its superbly atmospheric evocation of its period milieu.

Finding Amanda (2008) ** A slight, modestly funny comedy that offers a steady supply of clever lines but suffers from the patina of self-loathing common to industry lifers and the unfortunate miscasting of straight-arrow Matthew Broderick as a depressed, cynical hack.

The Love Guru (2008) * Insulting to anyone with a healthy sense of humor and the simple desire to laugh.

Made of Honor (2008) *½ At its worst (and this is where this film comes in), it can leave you with a bad taste, not just in your mouth but in your soul. What this really comes down to is the film’s central lie. It pins its hopes on a character who acts utterly without honor, and on an actor in Patrick Dempsey who has only two settings – sensitive or smarmy. The smarm wins.

Noise (2008) **½ Writer-director Henry Bean fills in some empty spaces with heady thoughts about the nature of power and beauty, but the movie’s real appeal lies in the simple but by no means inconsiderable pleasure of watching Tim Robbins take a hammer to a parked car as it wails pointlessly, deep into the night. Eccentric and generally entertaining.

The Rape of Europa (2007) *** A startling documentary. With impressive clarity and sweep, it recounts the Nazi theft and destruction of European art and architecture.

Snow Angels (2008) **½ This movie succeeds because of the depth of its well-drawn characters. With no cinematic sugarcoating, it’s an organic story that draws us in to these people’s lives, as flawed and destructive as they may be. What saves this heavy, heavy material from sinking into the chill, familiar turf of the Small-Town Midwinter Tragedy is writer-director David Gordon Green’s practiced ear for verbal idiosyncrasy and off-kilter conversation rhythms.
Speed Racer (2008) ** So hyperfrenetic that, in the end, you wonder if the Wachowskis aren’t trying to pull off an elaborate hoax — a deranged techno fantasia posing as retro-ish family fare.

Young @ Heart (2008) ***½ An irresistibly joyous, tearful and, most importantly, musical documentary about a band of senior pop singers whose repertoire includes "Golden Years," "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Stayin’ Alive." The movie offers an encouraging vision of old age in which the depression commonly associated with decrepitude is held at bay by music making, camaraderie and a sense of humor.