Guess Who's Coming to Dinner 40th Anniversary Edition
Forty years may have passed, but Stanley Kramer's Oscar-winning 1967 film is still worth your time and attention. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn play a man and wife whose daughter (Katharine Houghton) is bringing her doctor boyfriend home for dinner. The twist -- he's Sidney Poitier, and he's black. To top that off, they've fallen in love, they want to get married, and it all has to be decided before a 10 p.m. flight -- not the most realistic circumstances, but that's forgivable with a cast like this. While the subject is heavy, Kramer tackles it in a light manner with powerful performances pulled from the all-star lineup. Note: This was Spencer Tracy's last film. He died shortly after filming.

Please, forget the terrible, insulting abomination that is Guess Who. This is the only dinner that matters.

Being 4 decades old, this is one heck of a solid DVD, offering intros by the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Brokaw, Quincy Jones, and Karen Kramer, a number of featurettes, and awards footage.

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Romance and Cigarettes
John Turturro's Romance and Cigarettes is a musical about a man's infidelity and redemption, and also boasts one heck of an irresistible cast -- Gandolfini, Sarandon, Winslet, Buscemi, Cannavale, Moore, Parker, Walken, Sukowa, Stritch, Izzard, and Sedaris. You really can't get much better than that for a stylish and musical look on working class New York. But really, Susan Sarandon and Christopher Walken going old-school is enough. The one downfall, which disappointed me long ago when the film screened at TIFF -- the performances are given over a real soundtrack, so both voices can be heard. It's a shame that they have to battle with the greats who performed the songs, but it's still a fun, modern musical with real flair, rather than razzle dazzle.

The film might not have gotten a lot of play nation-wide, but the disc does get some love -- there's a commentary by John and Amedeo Turturro, intros to both the film and deleted scenes, and a featurette.

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Other New DVD Releases (February 12)

Becoming Jane -- This could've been a contender, but I just can't feature Jane every week.
No Reservations
We Own the Night
Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?
Martian Child

Once again, Film Threat has released its annual list of the Coldest People in Hollywood -- the ones whose careers are in the most trouble according to them. Strangely, the actress I would have thought was the natural contender for #1, Nicole Kidman, only makes #6. Of course, if The Golden Compass is a huge hit, it'll reverse a string of box-office misfortunes. Film Threat's advise is for Kidman to seek a job on George Miller's projected Mad Max 4. Hilary Swank, star of a robust contender for worst of '07, is advised to choose her work with more care ("She may have grown up eating sawdust in Gooberville, Washington, or wherever, but it's no longer necessary to accept every script that comes her way"). And there's no arguments here with choices Eli Roth (#8), scandal plagued actress Vanessa Hudgens (above), and Jennifer Lopez ("there doesn't seem to be any measure that can stop her from making more bad movies."). Certainly, Natalie Portman (#41) deserves a remembrance for her dual role in Goya's Ghosts, not even mentioned in the citation.

Naturally, this list offers more bones to pick than a washtub-sized bucket of KFC. Jessicas Alba and Biel share #12 (hey, Jessica Biel can act, you ruffians!); Eddie Murphy (#16) who is still quite A-list, is derided for Norbit, a popular hit that had a few defenders. Quentin Tarantino (#22) is hardly out of the game, despite the mixed feelings people had about Death Proof, and Ray Liotta (#29) has a wicked cameo in a Top Five movie right now. Lindsay Lohan charts at #51 on a list of 50. Guys, where was Eddie Izzard on this list: Across the Universe and Romance and Cigarettes within months of each other! Film Threat's number 1 pick isn't even an actor, though I doubt if anyone feels like returning his phone calls right now. In the meantime, bad-film fans can wait breathlessly for the Golden Raspberry awards coming up later this year.