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By KAREN MARTIN TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

LITTLE ROCK — Recent DVD releases:

The Accidental Husband (PG-13, 91 minutes) A labored, overly complicated romantic comedy lazily directed by Griffin Dunne in which firefighter Patrick Sullivan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), stunned when his fiancee suddenly calls off their wedding at the suggestion of radio love expert Dr. Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman), devises a ridiculous plan to get revenge. Bonus features include a making-of featurette.

Grade: 77

The Echo (R, 96 minutes) A truly terrifying ghost story about an ex-con (Jesse Bradford) who moves into his dead mother’s apartment but finds that it’s not the empty space he expects it to be. Director Yam Laranas uses lighting, camera movement and shadows - not computer effects and gore - to make the mood ominous. The DVD includes a theatrical trailer.

Grade: 90

Enlighten Up! (not rated, 82 minutes) Filmmaker Kate Churchill, a yoga devotee, creates a lively and good-natured documentary by investigating the possibility of yoga’s ability to transform the life of journalist Nick Rosen, who has a decidedly skeptical outlook on the project. The DVD includes interviews with yoga luminaries such as B.K.S. Iyengar, deleted scenes, and a photo montage of northern India.

Grade: 84

Monsters, Inc. (G, 84 minutes) Pixar’s much-admired 2001 animated adventure, now on Blu-ray, is the imaginative, sweet story of the supposedly imaginary beasties that hide in youngsters’ closets - only they’re real and work in a factory that gets its energy from kids’ screams. Withvoicework from John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Jennifer Tilly. Bonuses include a filmmakers round table, a sneak peek at the new Monsters attraction at Tokyo Disneyland, an interactive gameand a digital copy of the film.

Grade: 91

Red Heat (R, 104 minutes) Walter Hill’s serviceable but unremarkable 1988 buddy comedy stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Russian cop who teams up with a Chicago cop (Jim Belushi) to pursue a Russian drug dealer. Culture clashes ensue. The Blu-ray version includes three featurettes, a making-of TV special, and original TV spots.

Grade: 79

The Ugly Truth (R, 96 minutes) This film borrows liberally from the middlebrow romantic comedy canon (The Philadelphia Story, Pygmalion, and When Harry Met Sally ... are all evoked) as it apes the blue-banter shtick of the Judd Apatow franchise.And if it achieves neither the genuine sweetness nor the affected raunchiness of those films, it’s not for lack of effort from Katherine Heigl or her leading man, Gerard Butler. These two game actors seemto be fighting their way out of a script that straitjackets their characters in cliches. Abby (Heigl), a successful TV morning show producer, is looking for a lot in a man. Mike (Butler), her obnoxious TV star, knows men only want one thing. Determined to prove she’s not romantically challenged, Abby takes Mike’s advice during a promising new romance, with predictable results. Blu-ray and DVD bonus features include a making-of featurette, additional scenes, deleted scenes, alternate endings and a gag reel.

Grade: 76

Up (PG, 96 minutes) The best Pixar animated film ever (and I’ve never seen a Pixar film I didn’t love) tells the funny, fantastic story of 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner), who embarks on a great adventure by tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying off to a remote corner of South America - unaware that an 8-year-old (voice of Jordan Nagai) has come along as a stowaway. Bonus features include commentary by director Pete Docter and co-director Bob Peterson, alternate endings, a couple of original short films and a documentary on the filmmakers’ trek to South America to research the unique design and story of the film.

Grade: 91

MovieStyle, Pages 37 on 11/13/2009

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