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By KAREN MARTIN SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Photo by AP

Odd Horten (Baard Owe) finds himself caring for an aging dog in Norwegian writer-director Bent Hamer's dry and whimsical O'Horten.

ADVERSTISMENT

LITTLE ROCK — Recent DVD releases:

Battle for Terra (PG, 85 minutes) This 3-D oddity is a naive, ambitious war movie grafted onto an anti-war message. Here's the story: When environmental destruction forces people to leave the earth, remaining survivors, including a fighter pilot (voice of Luke Wilson), head into space in search of a new home. He finds one on beautiful Terra, but brings earth's problems with him. Blu-ray features include a making of featurette, audio commentary with director Aristomenis Tsirbas, an original short film on which this film is based, storyboards and theatrical trailer.

Grade: 70

Beer Wars (not rated, 89 minutes) This cheerful, focused documentary by Anat Baron inspires admiration for underdogs as it investigates how the power held by big players in the beer industry is being challenged by small independent brewers such as Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware and Rhonda Kallman of New Century Brewing Co. in Massachusetts.

Grade: 80

Gojira (not rated, 98 minutes) This powerful 1954 black-and-white Japanese monster movie makes its Bluray debut, complete with 40 minutes of footage not seen as part of the reedited and redubbed, Americanized Godzilla: King of Monsters! (the U.S. version dropped the anti-H-bomb message and added Raymond Burr). In Japanese with English subtitles. The disc includes a making-ofthe-monster-suit featurette, a story development featurette, and audio commentary from Godzilla experts Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski.

Grade: 88

Ghost Cat (PG, 90 minutes) This 2003 Canadian film, originally titled Mrs. Ashboro's Cat, was an Animal Planet original movie. Thanks to the presence of Ellen Page (Juno) in the cast, it's getting a DVD-Blu-ray release. A subtle drama with some bright moments, it's the story ofNatalie (Page) who, having lost her mother the year before, is starting a new life with her father in the New England countryside, where she encounters a phantom feline at a neighbor's house. Bonuses includea stills gallery and closed captioning.

Grade: 82

Lymelife (R, 93 minutes) You've seen this coming-ofage story before, but it still has plenty of appeal. Scott (Rory Culkin) gets caught up in his first love while watching his parents' relationship fall apart in suburban Long Island during the 1970s. The DVD and Blu-ray editions include deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and commentary by director Derick Martini.

Grade: 82

O'Horten (PG-13, 90 minutes) A surreal, often funny, occasionally melancholy and completely unpredictable look at aging through the eyes of train engineer Odd Horten (Baard Owe), who's forced to retire at the age of 67. In Norwegian with English subtitles. Bonus features include an interview with director Bent Hamer and composer John Erik Kaada.

Grade: 86

Rage (not rated, 95 minutes) This adventurous but flaccid fashion satire/mystery from writer/director Sally Potter employs individual performances to construct a portrait of people persuaded to reveal their secrets in the middle of a crisis. Fourteen actors - among them Judi Dench, Dianne Wiest, Steve Buscemi, Bob Balaban, Jude Law, John Leguizamo and Eddie Izzard - play characters who confide personal truths to an unseen schoolboy with a phone camera. The film premieres this week as a seven-part release on mobile devices followed by a DVD release, international theatrical launch and online streaming.

Grade: 78

Six: The Mark Unleashed (not rated, 104 minutes) A low-budget 2004 Christian film that takes on difficult questions and allows both sides to state their case, Six follows a small band of rebels planning a risky escape from a high-security prison, even though their freedom could endanger the only hope of salvation in a condemned world. Good performances are delivered by JeffreyDean Morgan, Eric Roberts and Stephen Baldwin. Bonus features include commentary with director Kevin Downes, a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and a blooper reel.

Grade: 80

MovieStyle, Pages 37, 39 on 09/25/2009