"Inkheart"

: Based on the Cornelia Funke best seller, this is a fantasy adventure about a man named Mortimer "Mo" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) who belatedly realizes he is a "silvertongue" or someone who can speak the written word into reality. Just reading a few lines from "Little Red Riding Hood" can make a ruby-colored cloak drift down onto a nearby laundry line. But, as we learn, Mortimer triggered a series of unforeseen events when he read "Inkheart" to his daughter, Meggie, when she was 3. Now, fact and fantasy collide in a dangerous way as Mortimer, 12-year-old Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett) and Great Aunt Elinor (Helen Mirren), a fussy book collector, are caught in a tug of war over "Inkheart" and Mortimer's magic powers. The movie takes advantage of the beauty of locations such as Liguria, Italy, but it isn't playful with the idea of reading a story and making it come to life. One classic is re-created, a few others get brief nods and a much-needed jolt of levity is supplied by a refugee from "The Arabian Nights." It also may be frightening for young children. The DVD includes Bennett sharing one of her favorite passages from the book that did not end up in the movie. The Blu-Ray adds additional scenes and features like Funke talking about what goes on in the mind of the writer.

"The Pink Panther 2"

: Steve Martin reprises his role as the bumbling French detective, this time joining a team of detectives and experts on the hunt for the thief stealing historic treasures. Martin, working with John Cleese as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, gives it his all. He drives a teeny Smart Car, he skulks, he dangles from balconies, he dances, he pronounces "hamburger" and other words with a funny accent, he sports a wackily whimsical mustache, he awkwardly courts a colleague (Emily Mortimer) and thwarts the American (Lily Tomlin) who attempts to school him in political and social correctness. He does everything except make us laugh enough, or at all.

TV on DVD: "The Girls Next Door: Season Five"; "Reba: Season Six."