Friday Movie & DVD News

Disney and Pixar's latest, CARS, is opening to solid-to-"classic" reviews today. USA TODAY gives the film 3-1/2 stars. Entertainment Weekly calls it "a classic." The Seattle Post Intelligencer terms it "a joyous ride." ABC calls it "a wheelie good time," and The L.A. Times gives it a thumbs up as well.

A new DVD of MR. AND MRS. SMITH was released this week. Video clips, including the film's alternate ending, are available with this press release. The additional ending could be construed to fit in after the last scene of the film as it was released, and provides a fun peek into the future. The film's original DVD release was just six months ago, but this new set sounds like one of the rare cases where the "double-dip" is worth the cost for the film's fans.

National Review has a fun article on Disney's HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, which gets a lot of play around here, in both DVD and CD form. My 11-year-old was thrilled when the musical's star, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, sang the National Anthem at a Dodger game we attended last month. She did a fine job.

John Wayne and John Ford fans won't want to miss this week's gigantic DVD release of 8 of their films, as well as the separate John Ford collection. The Ford/Wayne set includes what sounds like a spectacular new release of THE SEARCHERS, reviewed by Mike Clark at USA TODAY.

Happy viewing!