'Speed Racer'

2 stars = Mediocre
Ratings explained

Somehow, the brains behind "The Matrix" got the keys to this car and ended up driving it off the road and over the cliff.

In the hands of the Wachowski brothers, the film adaptation of the '60s Japanese anime series skews too young for teens (the humor is supplied by a little boy and a chimp) but is too convoluted, too violent and too long for the young ones. Basically, they over-thought it -- or, didn't think it enough.

That's a shame because the eye candy makes Willy Wonka pale. Shooting for the look of real-life anime, it's as if they set a bunch of kids loose with the boldest colors in the crayon box. In that sense, it's a blast to watch. And Christina Ricci as the adorable Trixie doesn't hurt.

But what kid is going to follow this tangled plot of Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer trying to navigate around an evil corporate giant, a blood-thirsty mob (did they really need piranhas?) and a double-crossing race team from Japan? One set of villains wasn't enough?

At 90 minutes, you check the time and realize there's 45 minutes to go, making that final gun way too long in coming.

For something breezy, flip to the featurette where little Spritle (Paulie Litt) takes us on a comical tour of the set.

-- Scott Mervis,
Post-Gazette Weekend Mag editor

"88 Minutes"

2 1/2 stars = Average
Ratings explained

Al Pacino is a college professor who moonlights as a forensic psychiatrist profiling serial murderers for the FBI and Seattle police. When he receives a death threat claiming he has only 88 minutes to live, he must use his skills to narrow down the suspects, including a disgruntled student, a jilted lover and a serial killer on death row. It's always fun to watch Pacino, even if he's slumming it a bit here in a film with lapses of logic. And no offense to them, but Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski and Amy Brenneman don't rank up high among his greatest female co-stars. Maybe that's why Pacino in this role is so uncharacteristically low-key. Extras include alternate ending and director commentary.

"The Love Guru"

1 star = Awful
Ratings explained

With "The Love Guru," multi-talented mega-comic Mike Myers has achieved the impossible: a comedy that's unfunny in every way. He plays Guru Pitka, the world's second-biggest guru -- after Deepak Chopra. His goal here is to restore romantic and professional bliss to a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey star. The all-star cast, including Justin Timberlake, Jessica Alba and Verne Troyer, is dwarfed by the film's huge quantity and low quality of juvenile humor.

"Made of Honor"

2 1/2 stars = Average
Ratings explained

Patrick Dempsey stars as a playboy who agrees to be "maid of honor" for his best friend, Hannah (Michelle Monaghan), even as he realizes he wants to marry her. The movie leans mightily on its picturesque, romantic backdrop of the Isle of Skye in Scotland and ends with a silly flourish that seems as if it's out of the 1940s.

"Young@Heart"

4 stars = Outstanding
Ratings explained

A New England senior citizens' chorus performs covers of songs from the Clash to Coldplay in this funny, inspirational and poignant documentary about youth, friendship and exceeding expectations.

• "Star Trek: Alternate Realities -- Fan Collective": Five-disc set features 20 episodes selected from all five "Star Trek" TV franchises.

• Special: "An American in Paris (Two-Disc Special Edition)"; "Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)"; "Gigi (Two-Disc Special Edition)"; "Risky Business: 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition."