If watching the new president field questions last night made you reflect on the guy who used to be in charge, you may want to check out W., Oliver Stone’s better-than-its-reputation biopic of George W. Bush. Stone tries too hard to turn famous Bush malapropisms into dialogue, but his recreation of the ex-president’s rise to power is engaging and insightful, and well-acted by Josh Brolin. It’s by no means a great movie, but it should make a diverting video rental.
Also in the good-but-not-great category this week: the gripping indie melodrama Frozen River, starring the Oscar-nominated Melissa Leo as a single mother turning to human trafficking in order to pay for a new trailer; and two smartly assembled documentaries about artistic expression, Obscene and The Universe Of Keith Haring.
On the other end of the scale, if you're behind on your crushing 2008 disappointments, this week would be a good time to catch up with Spike Lee’s irritatingly simplistic WWII adventure Miracle At St. Anna and Fernando Meirelles’ ridiculously shrieky adaptation of José Saramago’s novel Blindness. Forget economic indicators—the first sign that times had gotten hard was when the movies started sucking.
Against The Dark
Sony, $24.96
Amadeus
Warner Blu-ray, $35.99
Blindness
Miramax, $29.99
The Boondock Saints
Fox/MGM Blu-ray, $34.99
Chocolate
Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
Cross Creek
Lionsgate, $14.98
Death Note II: The Last Name
Viz, $24.98
Dennis Potter: 3 To Remember (Cream In My Coffee/Blade On The Feather/Rain On The Roof)
Koch, $39.98
Donnie Darko
Fox Blu-ray, $34.98
The Enforcer
Weinstein/Dragon Dynasty, $19.97
Essential Art House, Vol. 2 (Black Orpheus/The 400 Blows/Ikiru/The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp/Pygmalion/La Strada)
Janus/Criterion, $99.95
The Exterminating Angel
Criterion, $39.95
Friday The 13th – The Series: The Second Season
Paramount, $49.99
Frozen River
Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95
Gospel Hill
20th Century Fox, $26.98
The Guitar
Starz/Anchor Bay, $26.97
Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle And The Drum
Koch, $19.99
Kennedy: The Complete Series
MPI, $19.98
The Lodger
MGM, $19.98
Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie
MPI, $19.98
Melrose Place: The Fifth Season, Vol. 1
Paramount, $39.98
Miracle At St. Anna
Touchstone, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99
My Name Is Bruce
Image, $27.98; Blu-ray, $35.98
The New Detectives: Seasons 1 & 2
Timeless, $34.98
Nights In Rodanthe
Warner, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99
Obscene
Arts Alliance, $29.95
Otto; Or, Up With Dead People
Strand, $27.99
The Paradine Case
MGM, $19.98
Pretty Woman
Touchstone Blu-ray, $34.99
Raging Bull
MGM Blu-ray, $34.98
The Romance Of Astrea And Celadon
Koch, $26.98
Rona Barrett’s Hollywood: Nothing But The Truth
Infinty, $24.98
Route 66: Season Three, Vol. 1
Roxbury, $29.98
Sabotage
MGM, $19.98
She Stoops To Conquer
Acorn, $39.99
Simon & Simon: Season Two
Shout! Factory, $49.99
Simon Of The Desert
Criterion, $24.950;
Soul Men
Weinstein, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.99
Tales From The Darkside: The First Season
Paramount, $36.98
Terminal Invasion
Image, $14.98
Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!: Season Two
Warner, $19.98
The Universe Of Keith Haring
Arts Alliance, $29.95
W.
Lionsgate, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.99
Way Of War
First Look, $28.98
Whale Wars
Animal Planet, $19.95
What Makes Sammy Run?
Koch, $24.98
The Whole Shootin’ Match
Watchmaker, $29.98
Wild At Heart: Series One
Acorn, $39.99
Young & Innocent
MGM, $19.98