New DVD Releases

Atom Egoyan wrote and directed this thought-provoking drama that takes on terrorism, cultural identity, Internet video chat rooms and other challenging issues. At a Toronto high school, a student named Simon writes a piece about how his pregnant mother unwittingly carried a bomb — put in her bag by Simon's father — onto an Israel-bound plane. Then on the Internet, Simon performs a dramatic reading of his piece, causing a firestorm of responses. Meanwhile, his Lebanese-born teacher has an agenda of her own as she insinuates herself into the life of Simon's uncle.

Filmmaker Sam Raimi became well known by doing horror films like The Evil Dead and Army of Darkness, and he returns to that kind of material in Drag Me to Hell. The main character is Christine (Alison Lohman), a loan officer at a bank where she seeks a promotion. Her troubles begin when a disgusting old crone named Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) comes in and begs for an extension on her mortgage. Christine rejects Mrs. Ganush's pleas, and the old hag puts a curse on Christine that turns her life into a living hell. Justin Long portrays Christine's boyfriend.

Will Ferrell stars in this comedy derived from the 1970s Saturday morning children's live-action TV series of the same name. Dr. Rick Marshall (Ferrell), said to be a quantum paleontologist, is on a field trip with two unrelated young adults (Anna Friel, Danny McBride) when the three of them are transported to a world where dinosaurs roam and there's a race of lizardlike creatures called the Sleestaks. But the humans find an ally there in the ape-man Chaka (Jorma Taccone). Dr. Rick douses himself with dinosaur urine, and later he is chased by a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Sandra Bullock is paired with Ryan Reynolds in this romantic comedy. Margaret Tate (Bullock) is an autocratic Manhattan publishing executive, but she is Canadian and about to be deported. She arranges for a marriage of convenience to her administrative assistant, Andrew Paxton (Reynolds), which will enable him to save his job. The newly engaged pair travels to the home of his parents (Craig T. Nelson and Mary Steenburgen) in a rustic part of Alaska. There Margaret and Andrew begin to fall for each other. There's a cute puppy, and Betty White plays Andrew's granny.