Ardolino, Emile

The Nutcracker

Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008 Run time: 93 minutes

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker

Tchaikovsky's timeless Yuletide ballet is presented in an all-new movie version with as much eloquence as one would find in a live stage production. Replete with gorgeous costumes and scenery, George Balanchine's production, adapted by Peter Martins, features the New York City Ballet with narration by Kevin Kline. From the moment the Nutcracker prince winds toymaker Drosselmeier's life-sized dolls, viewers are ushered into the captivating story of a little girl's Christmas Eve fantasy of beauty, magic, and sugarplums. While several versions of this beloved tale are available in video, this one is distinguished for the magnificent performances of a large cast of young ballet dancers from the School of American Ballet. While Culkin lends his star-studded name, that is all he lends in what is mostly a wooden performance (he often appears on the sidelines looking quite blasé and detached). More deserving accolades go to Jessica Lynn Cohen as Marie, whose genuineness never wanes and dance steps never falter. Bart Robinson Cook is wonderful as the playful Herr Drosselmeier, and Darci Kistler is the graceful Sugarplum Fairy. Mostly this film belongs to children--both on the stage and in the audience. What is lacking in spontaneous energy of live theater is made up for in a perfectly polished performance. The only thing missing is the well-earned applause. --Lynn Gibson

Joining the new york city ballet for a sparkling version of the joyous holiday story with beloved tchaikovsky music and balanchine choreography. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 10/28/2008 Starring: Macaulay Culkin Jessica Lynn Cohen Run time: 92 minutes Rating: G Director: Emile Ardolino

Dirty Dancing (Ultimate Edition)

As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.

Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 04/03/2008 Run time: 108 minutes Rating: Pg13

Chances Are

Cybill Shepherd plays a pregnant woman whose husband is killed before their baby is born; once he gets to heaven, he begs for a chance to come back to her and his unborn child. The twist is that he returns in the form of Robert Downey Jr., boyfriend to Cybill's daughter (Mary Stuart Masterson). When the daughter brings him home from college, he gets his memory back--and starts coming on to her mom. Sounds like a Jerry Springer show--"Help! My dad has been reincarnated as my boyfriend!"--but this Emile Ardolino film actually has a passable amount of charm and wit, once it gets into gear. It gives you a sense of just how funny and charming Downey can be, given the right material. --Marshall Fine

When 23-year-old alex finch arrives on the scene of washington d.C. To start his new life as a reporter he is suddenly bombarded by memories of another lifetime and a wife he never knew he had. A heartwarming comedy that gives romance an unforgettable second chance. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/28/2005 Starring: Cybill Shepherd Ryan Oneal Run time: 108 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Emile Andolins

Sister Act

Whoopi Goldberg plays a Reno lounge singer who hides out as a nun when her villainous boyfriend (Harvey Keitel) goes gunning for her. Maggie Smith is the mother superior who has to cope with Whoopi's unorthodox behavior, but the cute script turns the tables and shows how the latter energizes the stodgy convent with song and attitude. A real crowd-pleaser and a perfect vehicle for Goldberg, this is a happy experience all around. --Tom Keogh

A reno lounge singer brings rock n roll to a choir of uns while hiding out from the mob in a convent. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 06/01/2004 Starring: Whoopi Goldberg Harvey Keitel Run time: 101 minutes Rating: Pg Director: Emille Ardolino

Three Men and a Baby / Three Men and a Little Lady

Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 02/08/2008

Baryshnikov Dances Sinatra and More, a.k.a Baryshnikov Dances Tharp/ Baryshnikov, American Ballet Theatre

The three ballets on this remarkable DVD tell no stories, but they are full of human drama. In one sense, they all tell the same story--of the vitality, daring, intelligence, and emotional depth that a great dancer possesses.They are also about a brilliant choreographer's vision of that dancer and of dance itself. As Mikhail Baryshnikov says in the breezy commentary that links the ballets, Twyla Tharp is "classical but in a new way." She has the classical artist's regard for form and technique and a musicality that some compare to that of George Balanchine, but her approach is always personal, radical and contemporary ."THE LITTLE BALLET" Music: Alexander Glazounov. Cast: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Deidre Carberry, Elaine Kudo, Amanda McKerrow, Nancy Raffa The Little Ballet, to music by Alexander Glazounov, offers Baryshnikov, Deidre Carberry, and three other American Ballet Theatre dancers in a sweet-tempered, fluid work that makes subtle allusions to the dreamer-hero-elusive-heroine ballets of the 19th century. "SINATRA SUITE" Performed to the music of Frank Sinatra. Cast: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Elaine Kudo In Sinatra Suite, Baryshnikov and Elain Kudo express the less innocent world of Sinatra's moody, bittersweet voice -from the tender "Strangers In The Night" to the tough and contentious "That's Life. ""PUSH COMES TO SHOVE" Music: Joseph Lamb, Franz Joseph Haydn. Cast:Mikhail Baryshnikov, Elaine Kudo, Susan Jaffe, Robert LaFosse, Cheryl Yeager and Members of American Ballet Theatre. Choreography: Twyla Tharp. Push Comes To Shove, created by Tharp in 1976 for American Ballet Theatre, can be seen as a witty and affectionate tribute to a major ballet company - its casual rehearsal behavior and backstage commotion, as well as its traditional grandeur and polished performing. - Deborah Dewitt, Village Voice

Three Men and a Little Lady

The trio of bachelors who found themselves taking care of a baby are back for more fun with tots. Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 07/01/2003 Starring: Tom Selleck Ted Danson Rating: Pg

Dirty Dancing (Collector's Edition)

As with Grease (1978) and Footloose (1984) before it, Dirty Dancing was a cultural phenomenon that now plays more like camp. That very campiness, though, is part of its biggest charm. And if the dancing in the movie doesn't seem particularly "dirty" by today's standards--or 1987's--it does take place in an era (the early '60s) when it would have. Frances "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey, daughter of ageless hoofer Joel Grey) has been vacationing in the Catskills with her family for many years. Uneventfully. One summer, she falls under the sway (as it were) of dance instructor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a pampered pup, but Johnny is a man of the world. Baby's father, Jake (Law and Order's Jerry Orbach), can't see the basic decency in greaser Johnny that she can. It should come as no surprise to find that Baby, who can be as immature as her name, learns more about love and life--and dancing--from free-spirited Johnny than traditionalist Jake.

Dirty Dancing spawned two successful soundtracks, a short-lived TV series, and a stage musical. It may be predictable, but Grey and Swayze have chemistry, charisma, and all the right moves. It's a sometimes silly movie with occasionally mind-boggling dialogue--"No one puts Baby in a corner!"--that nonetheless carries an underlying message about tolerance and is filled with the kind of exuberant spirit that's hard for even the most cynical to resist. Not that they'd ever admit it. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Alice at the Palace (Broadway Theatre Archive)

Meryl Streep displays the talent that would soon make her a movie star in Alice at the Palace, a musical theater adaptation by Elizabeth Swados of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Dressed in pink overalls, Streep sings and dances through such famous scenes as the Mad Tea Party and playing croquet with the Queen of Hearts. This production, from the early 1980s, lies somewhere between Hair and Into the Woods. The music ranges across a variety of styles (from calypso to barbershop quartet) and video manipulations enhance the inventive physical staging, but it's Streep that will carry you through--her sound effects as Alice changes size (after drinking from a bottle labeled "Drink Me") are delightful, capturing both a childlike imagination and the fluid reality of theater. Alice at the Palace features several other recognizable faces, including Mark Linn-Baker (My Favorite Year) and dancer-choreographer Debbie Allen. --Bret Fetzer