Susan Granger’s dvd update for week of Friday, August 22:
The ’30s and ’40s were the heydays of romantic screwball comedies, a sparkly genre that’s revived in “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day,” starring Frances McDormand as a sensible, middle-aged British governess who becomes the social secretary for a reckless American actress/cabaret singer (Amy Adams).
“Nim’s Island” is a children’s fantasy, featuring Abigail Breslin as a resourceful 11 year-old who lives with her scientist/writer father (Gerard Butler) on a remote volcanic island in the South Pacific. When he disappears at sea, she summons her hero, Alex Rover, the fictional creation of an agoraphobic writer (Jodie Foster), based in San Francisco; it’s family-friendly fare, complete with flying lizards and a flatulent sea lion.
Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker team up in “Street Kings,” an action crime thriller about an LAPD cop who finds life difficult after the death of his wife when evidence implicates him in the murder of another officer.
In “Deal,” Burt Reynolds plays a retired poker legend who invests his hopes in a rookie (Bret Harison) headed to the World Poker Championships. Directed by Gil Cates Jr. (son of the longtime producer of the Oscar telecast), its antecedents go back to “The Color of Money” but this one falls far short.
The boring remake of the slasher thriller “Prom Night” follows a Bridgeport High School senior (Brittany Snow) who is stalked by a psychopathic teacher (Johnathon Schaech). The only memorable line of dialogue is delivered by a nasty teen who dismisses her prom date, noting, “If he were any dumber, I’d have to water him.”
PICK OF THE WEEK: Fans of the hugely popular “Hannah Montana” TV show can experience the excitement of a front-row seat to see “Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert.”