The making-of documentary is feature-length and fascinating. I didn't listen to the commentary track, but other reviewers indicate that it is expertly done, with many contributors. This is a fine disc with which to show off your new HDTV – or just to acquaint yourself with a terrific, under-appreciated movie. They absolutely do not make 'em like this anymore.

Nik Dirga
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Imagine a murder mystery narrated by Jerry Seinfeld. That gives you some skewed idea of the delightfully wacky Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, which rounds up some controversial actors, a former blockbuster movie writer, and all the detective-movie clichés you can shake a magnifying glass at. Pepper with hilarious one-liners, and you’re done. The 2005 movie finally hit DVD in 2006, and it's a favorite that holds up to repeat viewing.

Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is a thief who, through a series of ridiculous coincidences, ends up becoming an actor in Hollywood. In Tinseltown, he’s asked to job-shadow a stylish detective, Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), to prepare for a movie part. Perry’s got the nickname because, well, he’s gay, but he’s also one heck of a detective. They end up jumbled together in a murder mystery involving dead actresses, angry millionaires and lots of wince-inducing injuries (let’s just say someone loses a finger – a couple of times).

Kiss Kiss all comes from the mind of Shane Black, the writer of movies like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. Black, in his directorial debut, has made a movie that winks at all the clichés of detective movies, yet isn’t a flat-out Airplane-style parody. It’s full of excess, but in the way of a kid prodigy trying to impress you with how much he knows. A lot of the film’s style comes from the fact that he paid his dues in the Hollywood cesspool – he wrote The Last Action Hero, for cryin’ out loud — and this movie’s his chance to comment on it all.

The plot isn’t really the point and the less time spent trying to work it all out, the better. It’s Black’s jazzy rhythm, and the snappy mile-a-minute dialogue and style that elevates Kiss Kiss to a near-classic romp.

Does it all add up to anything profound? Well, no, not really, but it’s a hell of a ride for people who love movies.

Ray Ellis
Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest

Attempting to single out one DVD as the "best" of all the hundreds released is a daunting task at best, and one with which I'm not entirely comfortable. There are feature film releases, music releases, indies, documentaries, and on and on and on. Brothers of the Head made my list, as did John Fogerty's The Long Way Home. There were plenty of disappointments, too — need I mention Fantastic Four?