  Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie fend off the paparazzi. |
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a hybrid romantic comedy and spy thriller, is the sexy movie that begat Brangelina.
For those living in blissful ignorance of Hollywood gossip, that is the nickname for the love affair between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, co-stars of Doug Liman's wildly entertaining picture.
The public sport is in watching the sparks fly on screen.
The DVD arrives tomorrow, in separate full or widescreen editions. Unfortunately for the curious, the extras are limited, with no peeks into the love affair. There are three pointless deleted scenes, a good featurette breaking down the bullet-in-the-windshield scene and a group crew commentary.
POETRY IN MOTION: Robert Redford cast Brad Pitt in the ensemble for his third directorial effort, A River Runs Through It (1992), adapted from the Norman Maclean autobiography. Pitt then still had the blush of youth and a career of promise, only some of which was realized in Twelve Monkeys, Fight Club and Snatch.
In weaving a saga about an American family united by fly fishing but divided by a father's stern disciplinary code, Redford's film plumbed Pitt's wild exuberance in a beautifully restrained way that could never be repeated.
A River Runs Through It is back on DVD tomorrow in a so-called Deluxe Edition. In this case, deluxe means a lustrous new widescreen transfer of the film itself. But the on-screen extras are limited to brief "talent files" which could better be explored on the IMDb. The only deluxe item is a glossy printed souvenir pamphlet.
ROMAN HOLIDAY: The mini-series Empire is now 257 minutes long, having been extended with more gore for tomorrow's enhanced widescreen DVD release.
The two-disc set allows viewers to burn through the overwrought saga with glee. Part history and part fiction, Empire shows the murder of Julius Caesar and the aftermath when a Civil War determined Rome's future.
The mini-series does not stand up to Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning Gladiator but it does carve out a different historical niche and boasts a strong cast, including Canada's Colm Feore as Caesar. The discovery is powerful Jonathan Cake as the fictional gladiator Tyrannus.
The DVD extras are meagre for such a lavish production, but there is a perky little featurette about shooting in Rome and a visual essay on how digital special effects can transform a modern location.
BLAST OFF: Mike Mitchell's Sky High, a comic romp about a family of superheroes and a high school full of kids trying to find and harness their powers, is tons of fun. Kurt Russell sets just the right giddy tone for the ensemble cast.
Sky High arrives tomorrow in separate full and widescreen editions with limited extras,including a music video by Bowling For Soup, an on-set featurette that turns into a romp, lame bloopers, a good look at stunts and a surprise bonus, the goofy alternate opening. A winner for families.
HEARTBREAKER: Quebec filmmaker Luc Dionne's Aurore dramatizes the brutal and tragic true story of the Gagnon family of Satine-Philomene de Fortierville. Early in the 20th century, the once-happy Gagnons devolve into a nightmarish world of adultery, child abuse and murder, while the townspeople and the parish priest are locked in denial, a cone of silence that dooms the victims.
The two-disc, widescreen DVD of Dionne's film is out tomorrow in its original French, with English subtitles.
MUPPET MAYHEM: In celebration of Kermit's 50th birthday this year, four Muppet movies are back on DVD: The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Caper, Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppet Christmas Carol, the latter with the most extras.
