DVD Guide

Robots (PG)

Rodney Copperbottom (voiced by Ewan McGregor) heads for the big city to fulfill his dream of becoming an inventor. Crushed by a corporate shark, he hooks up with a bunch of "outmodes" led by Bender (Robin Williams, in manic mode) to foil a plot to turn poor robots into scrap metal. Robot City is visually inventive and sequences such as Rodney's first trip on the city's transit system are stunning. If only the same care had been lavished on the story. The movie's message, "You can shine no matter what you're made of," comes laced with crudity and violence. And the extras are a mixed bag: It's hard to imagine a kid watching the technical commentary or the dry Blue Man Group music feature, but they will likely enjoy the Robot Arcade. Both adults and kids should skip the unfunny short "Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty." Grade: B-
- Yvonne Zipp

Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman), an interpreter at the United Nations, overhears discussion of a nefarious plot in the General Assembly. (No, it's not the oil-for-food scandal.) Certain that she's stumbled across a scheme to assassinate an African leader, Broome tries to convince a skeptical Secret Service agent (Sean Penn). Reminiscent of such 1970s thrillers as "The Day of the Jackal" and "The French Connection," Sydney Pollack's film gets its kicks from plot corkscrews rather than nonstop action. "You rarely stop a thriller for a five- or six-page dialogue scene," says Pollack. "This film ... has five of those scenes." The extras include a wisely omitted alternate ending as well as interviews with real interpreters - don't call them translators - at the UN (none of whom look anything like Kidman). Grade: B
- Stephen Humphries