DVDs of the week, Dec. 2

Rocky Mountain News

Published December 1, 2008 at 6 p.m.

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Wanted

Rated: R, 110 minutes, $29.98, Universal Studios

Grade: B+

Wanted is the "ideal mindless summer thrill ride," said Associated Press critic Christy Lemire, an enjoyably outlandish action movie based on graphic novels showing the transformation of an office dweeb (James McAvoy) into an assassin at the hands of a member (Angelina Jolie) of a 1,000-year-old group known as The Fraternity. The organization's purpose - to kill evil people - sets up a stylized story a la The Matrix that features slow-motion and sped-up sequences, curving bullets that defy physics and a "tremendous car chase that will make you apprehensive about driving through Chicago anytime soon," Lemire said.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Rated: PG, 149 minutes, $29.99, Walt Disney Video

Grade: B+

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a big step up from 2005's The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: darker, funnier, better technically, more engaging and more violent, Lemire said, though seeing the first is vital to following the second.

The Pevensie children have been gone from Narnia for just a year, but 13 centuries have passed in the magical land, now in ruins. They're accidentally recalled to help Caspian fight his power-mad uncle, leading to spectacular special effects, battle scenes and intrigue more suited to tweens than younger kids.

ALSO IN STORES TODAY:

* The X-Files: Fight The Future: Agents Mulder and Scully, now handling antiterrorism cases, investigate a bombing only to uncover such typical X-Files fare as deadly viruses, extraterrestrials and government conspiracies.

* Step Brothers: Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly play 40-year-old stepbrothers forced to share a room when their parents marry in this "painfully unfunny game of one-upmanship," the AP's Lemire says.

COMING NEXT WEEK:

* The Dark Knight

* Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!

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