- Sean Plummer

Johnny Depp, you've come a long way from A Nightmare on Elm Street. The quirky anti-star continues to show the subtlety of his work in FINDING NEVERLAND where he plays James M. Barrie, the playwright behind Peter Pan. Kate Winslet is flawless as the widow whose four boys inspire Barrie, and all props to little Freddie Highmore ­ the original Peter Pan. Director Marc Forster's follow-up to Monster's Ball evokes all the magic of Barrie's work as well as his quiet domestic tragedy. The extras are pretty typical, although the filmmaker commentary is pleasant. Unwelcome, though, is the car commercial that plays upon popping the disc into your DVD player.

 

There's no denying HOTEL RWANDA's dramatic pedigree, especially in the wake of its success during the recent awards season. Deserved Oscar nominee Don Cheadle brings home the horror of the Rwandan genocide that the world largely ignored in the role of Paul Rusesabagina, a real-life Kigali hotel manager who opened his doors to 1,200 Tutsis fleeing their Hutu pursuers. The horror of the massacre that snuffed out a million Tutsi lives shows in Cheadle's stark face, but director Terry George is keen enough not to dwell on the violence, instead focusing on the politics that prevented UN troops from stopping the bloodshed. Extras include an audio commentary with George and Rusesabagina himself, with select commentary by Wyclef Jean (he provided music) and Cheadle; 'A Message for Peace: Making Hotel Rwanda'; a 'Return to Rwanda' documentary; and the original theatrical trailer.

Sean Penn continues to distinguish himself. THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON (available April 26) casts him as Samuel Bicke, a real-life sad sack whose dogged belief in the American dream led him towards self-destruction and the convoluted titular plot. Naomi Watts, relatively subdued here, co-stars as Sam's ex-wife Marie, while Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) plays Sam's business partner Bonny. First-time director Niels Muller tweaks notions of race and class in a sparkling debut that is sometimes too painful to watch. Extras include a commentary with Mueller.

The 'what if' potential of most time travel movies (think Time Bandits, George Pal's The Time Machine, Time After Time) is squandered by my inability to suspend disbelief. Writer/director Shane Carruth's PRIMER avoids this problem by grounding its story of ambitious young engineers who must deal with the personal and metaphysical consequences of inventing a real-world time machine in plausible-sounding science and subdued performances. I don't know if multiple viewings will untangle the multiple paradoxes raised by Carruth's script or whether his plotting is just sloppy. Here's hoping Carruth's commentary sheds light on a simultaneously fascinating and maddening movie.

J-horror, make way for K-horror. Korean director Ji-Woon Kim's A TALE OF TWO SISTERS makes the case for horror fans to pay attention to Korea's cinematic output as well as Japan's. Based on a folk tale, Sisters tells the story of, well, sisters who have returned to their family home after a hospital stay in the wake of their mother's death. Father is barely there and their stepmother appears to be stereotypically evil. Oh, and the house is haunted. Or is it? What appears at first to be confused plotting on Kim's part (he also wrote the screenplay) reveals itself by film's end to be near genius. This is a scary movie, yes, but also surprisingly sad, with well-defined characters motivated by guilt and fear. The 2-disc set's extras are both extensive and innovative (including a 'Psychiatrist's Perspective' on the sisters' conflicted relationship). Like Japanese fright flicks Ringu and Ju-on before it, Sisters is set to get an American remake.

It's been a long hard road out of indie movie hell for director Jim VanBebber, and he isn't out yet. His 15-year labour of twisted love, THE MANSON FAMILY (available April 26), is a truly disturbing low-budget vision of the infamous murders that claimed Roman Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, and several others. But the film doesn't focus on Manson but his deranged followers ­ the actual killers. MPI's spectacular 2-disc set includes a few distinguished supplements, including 'The VanBebber Family', a candid look at the film's painfully protracted production and its maddening effects on VanBebber; 'In The Belly Of The Beast', a documentary on 1997's FanTasia film festival, featuring VanBebber and various other indie filmmakers; and the self-explanatory 'Interview With Charles Manson', who comes across as dangerous eccentric but not a complete whacko.

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, director Zyang Yimou's kinetic follow-up to the stylish Hero, is an equally beautiful wuxia (martial art) exercise set in 859 AD China. The lovely Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars as Mei, a member of the House of Flying Daggers, rebels dedicated to overthrowing the oppressive government. Policeman Jin (Japanese star Takeshi Kaneshiro) goes undercover to win Mei's trust (and love) and expose the rebels. Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau completes the romantic triangle as Leo, Jin's captain who may not be everything he seems. Bold wirework augmented by CGI makes for some amazing action sequences, but it's the melodramatic plotting that hooks the heart. Extras include rather conventional making-of and visual effects featurettes, and a subtitled commentary track featuring Yimou and his star Zhang. Available April 19.

Is ALFIE a selfish hedonist or a liberated singleton? Charles Shyer's surprisingly thoughtful remake of the 1966 British classic posits the ultimate playboy (Jude Law adeptly filling in for Michael Caine) as a British-born rogue cutting a swath through the female population of Manhattan. But his emotionally empty single status is contrasted with the relatively happy couples who surround him. Less vicious than the original, this re-imagining boasts an A-list cast (Law, Susan Sarandon, Omar Epps, Sienna Miller) and a smart script. The Special Collector's Edition includes extensive extras that are actually interesting, including two audio commentaries and a number of background supplements (including 'The World of Alfie' and 'The Women of Alfie').

As haunted house movies go, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR (1979) has it all: bleeding walls, creepy noises, monstrous apparitions, an axe-wielding husband, and it's based on a true story. Maybe. With a shiny new remake about to hit theatres, MGM has unleashed the original on DVD with some intriguing extras that cast doubt on the story's veracity. Briefly, six people were murdered in the house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, Long Island, on November 13, 1974. A year later, newlyweds George and Kathy Lutz and her three children moved in. Twenty-eight days later, they fled, telling tales of creepy goings-on. 'Amityville: Horror or Hoax?', a History Channel mini-doc, presents arguments for and against the Lutz's version of events, while Dr. Hanz Holzer, a ghost 'expert' involved in the case, provides a very colourful commentary track. There's also an on-location look at the remake (starring Canadian Ryan Reynolds). The original movie isn't as creepy as, say, 1963's The Haunting, but stars Margot Kidder and James Brolin are effective as stressed parents confronting the supernatural.