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9 to 5: Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical, Bigot Edition (PG) Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Dabney Coleman. In this satirical farce from 1980, three office workers (Fonda, Tomlin and Parton) discover they share the same resentment towards their egotistical, sexist boss (Dabney Coleman). When they get an unexpected chance to take revenge, they turn their dreadful workplace into a model office — even as their scheme spins wildly out of control. 110 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes audio commentary by producer Bruce Gilbert and actors Fonda, Tomlin and Parton; the featurettes “Nine @ 25” and “Remembering Colin Higgins”; 10 deleted scenes; a gag reel; plus “Nine to Five” karaoke.

Brokeback Mountain (R) Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Cardellini, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Randy Quaid. The much ballyhooed “gay cowboy movie” is a sad, beautiful story of two young men tending sheep in 1963 Wyoming who have sex with each other one cold, liquor-laced night. So what does one cowboy say to the other on the morning after? Not much. “You know I ain’t queer,” Ennis (Ledger) mutters, to which Jack (Gyllenhaal) states, “Me neither.” But the sex continues and turns to love, though neither man is able to verbalize the tender emotions he feels. Ang Lee (The Ice Storm) is a polite filmmaker, and he is perhaps a bit too polite with his adaptation of Annie Proulx’s superb 1997 short story. Still, the production, brimming over with great acting (especially by Ledger and Gyllenhaal) in front of gorgeous scenery, is a very good film, one of the best of 2005. 134 minutes. DVD INFO: Two separately packaged DVDs are available: One preserves the film in the anamorphic widescreen format, while the other hacks off nearly a third of the picture for the fullscreen (aka pan & scan) version. Shop carefully. Both versions include the featurettes “Sharing the Story: The Making of Brokeback Mountain,” “Directing from the Heart: Ang Lee” and “On Being A Cowboy”; plus “From Script to Screen: Interviews with Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana.” Hmmm, the extras appear to be a tad skimpy for such an acclaimed film. My bet is that a great big juicy special edition is in the works. —EJO

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe (PG) Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton. Adaptation of the C.S. Lewis classic about four young siblings in World War II England that are magically transported to the land of Narnia, where they become key figures in a battle between good and evil, complete with a Christ figure. The film is surprisingly simple, but generally effective, though it takes forever to get rolling. Honestly, you could easily skip the first 30 minutes and still catch all the good stuff. My guess is that children will enjoy re-watching the movie once they squirm their way through that boring early stretch. For the adults, the acting is fine (standouts include Swinton, Keynes and Henley) and the special effects range from serviceable to positively striking (check out the detail on the lion). Bottom line: Though entertaining, this is perhaps the thinnest spectacle I’ve ever seen. I wonder, is there such a thing as a minor epic? 140 minutes. DVD INFO: Three separately packaged DVDs are available: Two of them preserve the film in the anamorphic widescreen format, while the other hacks off nearly a third of the picture for the fullscreen (aka pan & scan) version. Shop carefully. The two regular versions include audio commentary and fun facts. The two-disc collector’s edition also includes bloopers; the featurettes “Chronicle of a Director,” “The Children’s Magical Journey,” “Anatomy of a Scene: the Melting River,” “Cinematic Storytellers” (film diaries), “C.S. Lewis: From One Man’s Mind” and “Creating Creatures”; an “Explore Narnia” 3-D map; and a “Legends in Time” Narnia timeline. —EJO

Crash: 2-Disc Director’s Cut Edition (R) Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Dashon Howard. One of the best films of 2005. Like Grand Canyon, Short Cuts and Magnolia, the L.A.-based drama tells a series of interlocking stories. The common link between the various characters concerns displays of racial bigotry, but the screenplay does not brow beat the audience. Filmmaker Paul Haggis (who also co-wrote the script) is careful to show the human side of his characters, even the ones that say or do the vilest things. Though the film deals with some grim themes, it is consistently entertaining and sometimes even funny, with fine performances from its big cast. Highly recommended. 114 minutes. DVD INFO: The two-disc director’s cut, which has four additional minutes of footage extending several scenes, includes audio commentary by filmmaker Paul Haggis, actor/producer Don Cheadle and co-writer Bobby Moresco; an introduction by Haggis; deleted scenes with director commentary; “Behind the Metal and Glass” making of Crash; the featurettes “On Paul Haggis” and “L.A. — The Other Main Character”; Bird York “In the Deep” music video; music montages; script-to-screen comparisons and storyboard-to-screen comparisons. —EJO

New York Doll (PG-13) Arthur Kane, David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain. Well-reviewed documentary about a faded rocker. Arthur “Killer” Kane of the legendary band the New York Dolls rocketed to the top of the glam rock scene. Then, between infighting and the death of a band member, the group bottomed out and eventually split up. Arthur disappeared from the music scene and in a surprising twist of fate, became a Mormon librarian. Years later, Morrissey (of the Smiths) offers Arthur the opportunity to go back into the spotlight and revisit a life he thought was lost forever. New York Doll is a heartfelt story about second chances and an incredible music journey. 77 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes a 20 minute interview with Morrissey; an interview with the director; plus David Johansen “dolls” up a classic hymn.

The President’s Last Bang (NR) Han Seok-gyu, Baek Yun-shik, Song Jae-ho, Kim Eung-su. From Variety: South Korean cinema finally gets its first full-blown political satire with The President’s Last Bang, a virtuoso slice of sustained black humor centered on the real-life 1979 assassination of Gen. Park Chung-heui by his secret service chief. Imagine a ramped-down, Korean version of Dr. Strangelove, and you’re not far from the satirical tone of this fourth feature by writer-director Im Sang-soo (A Good Lawyer’s Wife). 104 minutes. DVD INFO: Includes an interview with director Im Sang-soo.

TV on DVD Mr. T kicks ass in THE A-TEAM: SEASON 4, erudite teens get steamy in DAWSON’S CREEK: SEASON 6, twin girls warm the hearts of naïve children and forgiving adults in FULL HOUSE: SEASON 3, things are really gross in GARBAGE PAIL KIDS: COMPLETE SERIES, a talking car outacts its human co-star in KNIGHT RIDER: SEASON 4, Tom Selleck has adventures and numerous affairs while getting warmed up for Monica Gellar in MAGNUM P.I.: SEASON 4, a once-trendy comic book gets watered down to tickle kiddies in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SEASON 4 and broad comedy hits the Sci-Fi channel in TRIPPING THE RIFT: SEASON 2. NOTE: Some studios have the nerve to market box sets of TV series containing episodes that were trimmed down by several minutes each for airing in syndication. Before laying down your money, make sure the box set includes the words “original and uncut.”