New movies to be released tomorrow on DVD

Crossing Over (2009) *½ The latticework of social meaning that makes up this film is ultimately a flimsy structure that pays lip service to liberal values while only occasionally inventing anything of dramatic significance. If writer-director Wayne Kramer’s outrage felt honest, his film would be easier to respect. But time and again, he undermines his own righteousness by pumping up the violence and stripping down his talent.

Fired Up (2009) * It’s like being trapped for an hour-and-a-half in a pound full of yappy puppies.

Gran Torino (2008) *** This is not a masterpiece, but it is a fun character drama that features a knowing but winning final performance by Clint Eastwood and just enough commentary to make it worth discussing. Until it starts rumbling headlong toward its tone-deaf, self-serious ending it is often enjoyable, satisfying and funny.

The International (2009) ** An action thriller with some decent action and a few thrills, but all embedded in a yarn so hopelessly tangled that even the loose threads have knots. I couldn’t help feeling that it was stuck in second gear, like it couldn’t decide whether to be fun or meaningful and so settled for being neither. It’s almost worth seeing, though, for the incredible action set piece at the center.

Spinning Into Butter (2009) ½* Approaches its ideas of reverse racism and the hypocrisies of tolerance with a heavy hand and odious moralizing. Less a movie than an essay.