Cheri

DVD » Director Stephen Frears' ("The Queen") re-teaming with Michelle Pfeiffer disappointed as it failed to produce another "Dangerous Liaisons." So how did Colette's passionate story of an aging courtesan and her young lover go wrong? Fingers of blame have been pointed at Frears, but more often at the leading man and lady. I liked Pfeiffer, others preferred Rupert Friend's performance, rarely was anyone (myself included) satisfied by both. I consider "Cheri" a guilty pleasure, but it should have been so much more.

Crank 2: High Voltage

DVD » "Crank 2" just might be the most outrageous film Jason Statham has ever made and considering this is the man who had all of the local film critics cheering at the absurdity of "Transporter 3" that's really saying something (in this case our cheers were not derisive, we were genuinely amazed and thrilled by the filmmakers' audacity). "Crank 2" has Statham's character Chev Chelios running around Los Angeles looking for ways to keep his artificial heart charged up long enough for him to track down his real heart. No, really. To be completely honest, this is the sort of film where too much of a plot gets in the way of the nonstop action. "Crank 2" isn't a smart or remotely realistic film (it might even be terrible) but it certainly is fun.

Next Day Air

DVD » Welcome to the comedic world of drug trafficking gone wrong. A world where pot-smoking delivery men accidentally deliver a million dollars worth of cocaine to the wrong address and set into motion a chaotic whirl of events. While music video director Benny Boom's feature film debut is a redundant retread of better films from Guy Richie and Quentin Tarantino, it does suggest that given better material, Boom could prove to be a formidable director. As it is, Blair Cobbs' script lacks many laughs and essentially squanders the talented young cast.

Night Watching

DVD » For his newest film, British film director Peter Greenaway ("A Zed & Two Noughts," "The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover") presents an interesting tale about Rembrandt's famous painting "The Night Watch." The story is based on the idea that Rembrandt has left a riddle or allegory within the painting as evidence of a conspiracy theory involving the militiamen who commissioned him to do the painting. In true Greenaway style, the film features a gratuitous amount of nudity, only this time he's added an alarming amount of profanity to balance out the sex. With that said, "Nightwatching" is still Greenaway's best film in ages, as he seems to have found a cinematographer in Reinier van Brummelen, who can match his artistic vision to recreate Rembrandt's visual style. Now if he could only find a more brazen editor, we might start comparing him to David Cronenberg again.