New on DVD: Stocking Stuffers

Just in time for your Christmas shopping, the studios have released a bevy if DVDs that they hope will make it into your family's stockings. Which ones are the equivalents of coal? We're here to help you figure it out.

Despicable Me

Animated film

The Gist: Gru aspires to be the world's most terrible evil dictator supervillain, partly to show up his smug rival Vector and partly to finally please his mother. His latest scheme requires three orphans to pose as girl scouts selling cookies. The problem? The orphan girls might just warm his ice-cold heart.

The Ups: Funny and heartwarming, this film about a villain gone good is absolutely delightful. Plus, the DVD has some additional shorts featuring those silly minions. Read our full review.

The Downs: No downs.

The Verdict: Rent or buy it. This is a fun family flick.

Be Aware: Rated PG for rude humor and mild action. I didn't find the humor rude in a nudge-nudge, wink-wink way, more like an occasional fart joke.

Nanny McPhee Returns

Children's movie

The Gist: Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal) cares for her own three children and their two cousins as her husband is off at war. She thinks she can handle it, but as the children's rivalry spirals out of control, she needs help. That's when the magical Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) comes in to teach them lessons that will make them better people.

The Ups: A sweet story and shockingly good acting for a kids' flick add up to another delightful movie. Read our full review and interview with star Emma Thompson.

The Downs: Only that this film didn't get the recognition it deserved. Maggie Gyllenhaal's performance is luminescent and the film is a solid and joyful addition to family films.

The Verdict: Rent or buy it.

Be Aware: Rated PG for rude humor, some language and mild thematic elements. Appropriate for upper elementary school children.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

Animated Film (released Friday, Dec 17)

The Gist: Young owlet Soren hears tales of the Owls of Ga'hoole, a knight-like parliament of owls who protect the owl kingdom from their fortress of Ga'hoole. When Soren is kidnapped by owls working for the evil Metalbeak, he must find friends and make his way to Ga'hoole for help.

The Ups: Magnificent animation of owls flying through storms and wind is absolutely breathtaking. The story, a classic tale of good versus evil, is wonderful. This is another fantastic family film. Watch our interview with director Zack Snyder and read our full review.

The Downs: Again, that this movie didn't get the recognition it deserved.

The Verdict: Rent or buy it. Especially if you have little boys in your life, this is the kind of story that will stir their souls.

Be Aware: Rated PG. Be aware that in the opening sequence, an owl catches a mouse. Most kids handle it with ease, but a few animal lovers may be disturbed.

The A-Team

Action

The Gist: A band of fugitives, wrongly accused of crime they did not commit, fight for the underdog and the helpless.

The Ups: Delightfully impossible stunts like flying a tank while it's falling from an airplane by shooting its guns. Yeah. Read our full review.

The Downs: Didn't quite capture the characters or delight of the original TV show.

The Verdict: Watch it for mindless, popcorn fun.

Be Aware: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking. The violence consists of lots of bullets but few hits. The language is mostly implied.

Micmacs

French foreign film

The Gist: Like the A-Team, this group of misfits fights injustice, but in a distinctly French way. Which means that a contortionist and a human calculator, among others, work to bring down two weapons manufacturers.

The Ups: The group of misfits lives in the dump and becomes a family, each using their wacky abilities for the cause.

The Downs: French philosophy means corporations, especially any connected with the military are inherently evil. If we just stop them from manufacturing weapons, all wars will cease, right? Right?

The Verdict: If you're into French films, it's enjoyable. Otherwise, skip it.

Be Aware: Rated R for some sexuality and brief violence. And perhaps French swearing. I couldn't really tell.

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