Latest DVD releases reviewed
ROBOTS***
Directed by Chris Wedge and Carlos Saldanha. Voices of Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Greg Kinnear, Mel Brooks, Jim Broadbent, Dianne Wiest, Stanley Tucci, James Earl Jones, Paul Giamatti PG cert
A young robot seeks adventure in the big city. Computer-animated comedy is not in the Pixar league, but it's a consistently charming piece of work, whose tone - wry, screwball, scatological - seems calculated to entertain both infants and their parents. First-rate DVD extras to boot. Donald Clarke
GUESS WHO***
Directed by Kevin Rodney Sullivan. Starring Ashton Kutcher, Bernie Mac 12 cert
In a comic spin on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, the races are reversed as a black family is faced with the prospect of a white son-in-law. Light and slight as it is, the film proves disarmingly appealing and breezily paced all the way towards its feel-good finale. Michael Dwyer
THE JACKET****
Directed by John Maybury. Starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, Daniel Craig, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brad Renfro, Kelly Lynch ?? cert
Even more gaunt and intense than in The Pianist, Brody is riveting as a traumatised, amnesiac Gulf War survivor subjected to horrific treatment at a mental institution. Maybury's genre-bending, uncompromising and stylish film demands and repays the viewer's alertness and willing suspension of disbelief. Michael Dwyer
BE COOL*
Directed by F Gary Gray. Starring John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Harvey Keitel, The Rock, James Woods, Danny De Vito 12A cert
Unforgivably dreadful sequel to Get Shorty in which Travolta's loan shark, previously a movie producer, launches himself into the music business. The film never finds a satisfactory way to tie together its several stupid plots. Suffice to say, The Rock's turn as a gay bodyguard is the absolute highlight. Donald Clarke
MONSTER-IN-LAW *
Directed by Robert Luketic. Starring Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan, Wanda Sykes, Adam Scott, Elaine Stritch 12A cert
The most unsatisfactory comeback since that lummox from Clones beat up Mike Tyson sees a far-too-serious Jane Fonda playing a woman angered by the news that her son is to marry Jennifer Lopez. We sympathise. Astonishingly, a special edition of the DVD comes with about a dozen documentaries. Who on earth is this stuff for? Donald Clarke
