DVD

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Such a simple idea--yet so fiendishly complex in the execution. 24, as surely everyone knows by now, is a thriller that takes places over 24 hours, midnight to midnight, in 24 one-hour episodes (well, 45-minute episodes if you subtract the commercials). Everything takes place in real time, which means no flashbacks, no flash-forwards, no handy time-dissolves. Every strand of the plot has to be dovetailed and interlocked so things happen just when they should, in the right amount of time. Not that easy. Creator Robert Cochran and his team of writers and directors have done an impressive job of putting the jigsaw together and keeping the tension ratcheted up high, as federal agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) runs around L.A. trying to stall an assassination attempt on an African American presidential candidate and rescue his wife and daughter from the clutches of the Balkan bad guys.

In the second season, Jack is no longer on the government payroll; unfortunately for him, this small fact doesn't seem to matter to the president and the NSA, who call him back in to the CTU and give him 24 hours to infiltrate a terrorist organization that is planning to detonate a dirty bomb in the city of angels. Fans of the original won't be disappointed, as there are more than enough shock moments in the first few hours to hint at the climactic build-up to come, while newcomers can quickly get involved in the lives of Jack and his family.

In the third season--three years after the events of "Day Two"--a vengeful terrorist threatens to release a lethal virus that could wipe out much of the country's population. Jack attempts to broker a deal for the virus involving a drug kingpin, setting the 24-hour clock ticking in a tight, action-packed plot involving a potential traitor in CTU's midst. The intricately woven subplots that are 24's greatest strength are masterfully developed here, and character arcs are equally strong. It's 24's superior casting that overcomes the series' occasional lapses in credibility, and season 3's twists make marathon viewing a nerve-wracking delight. As always, Sutherland anchors the series in the role he was born to play.

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You get two hostage crises for the price of one in Hostage, an overwrought but otherwise involving thriller grounded by Bruce Willis's solid lead performance. Making a dramatic pit-stop on his way to Die Hard 4, Willis plays a traumatized former Los Angeles hostage negotiator, now working as a nearly-divorced police chief in sleepy Ventura County, California. Willis suddenly finds himself amidst two potentially deadly stand-offs when a trio of hapless teenagers seize hostages in the fortress-like home of an accountant (Kevin Pollack) whose connections to organized crime result in Willis struggling to rescue his estranged wife and daughter, who are being held hostage by faceless thugs at an undisclosed location. Having directed two of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell video games, director Florent Siri brings plenty of slick, competent filmmaking to Willis's desperate dilemma, and the film boasts a gritty, graphic style that draws attention away from implausible plot twists. The bothersome, over-the-top performances by the teenaged villains also slightly compromise this gloomy but emotionally gripping adaptation of Robert Crais's novel, named as one of CS-Cart.com's best books of 2001. --Jeff Shannon

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Action superstar Bruce Willis (SIN CITY, DIE HARD, UNBREAKABLE, THE SIXTH SENSE, ARMAGEDDON, PULP FICTION) powers a nail-biting thriller that crackles with action and suspense! When Jeff Talley (Willis) became chief of police in a sleepy town, he thought he'd left behind the traumas of his career as a big city hostage negotiator. But when a random crime escalates into a deadly standoff, Talley finds himself thrust into a situation far more volatile and terrifying than anything he could ever imagine! Also starring Kevin Pollak (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE WHOLE NINE YARDS), Jonathan Tucker (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE), and Ben Foster (SIX FEET UNDER, THE PUNISHER), this acclaimed hit is based on the best-selling novel by Robert Crais.

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Lois & Clarkwas one of the sweetest surprises of the 1993 television season, and while it certainly enjoyed a devoted following until the series jumped the tall building in its later years, we can probably thank the Phoenix-like rise of Desperate Housewives' Teri Hatcher's career to thank for its arrival on DVD. The premise of Lois & Clark is one fraught with peril, particularly for core fans. This incarnation of the Man of Steel saga recasts Superman as romantic comedy. One of the series creators once described this series as "basically, Moonlighting, only Bruce Willis can fly." This is overstating the case by leaps and bounds. Clark Kent (Dean Cain) has not been reinvented as a wisecracking street-wise hipster. The chemistry between the new Metropolis arrival and rookie Daily Planet scribe and ace investigative reporter Lois Lane (Hatcher) is not as sexually charged as David and Maddie, and their banter is not as sharp. But as with Moonlighting it would be a few seasons before the two lovelorn characters consummated their attraction.

The dramatic arc of this inaugural season is "the fall of the house of Luthor," but at its heart is the triangle between Clark, Lois, and the charming snake Lex Luthor (John Shea), who, in the pilot episode, Superman vows to bring to justice ("Let the games begin," Luthor responds). Further complicating matters is that Superman has literally swept Lois off her feet. But until the episode "Barbarians at the Planet," in which Lex proposes to Lois, Lois professes her love to Superman, and Clark confesses his love to Lois, Lois & Clarkbreezily tweaks the touchstones of Superman iconography. "I've never noticed it before," a "drunk with love" Lois observes to a bespectacled Clark in "Pheremone, My Lovely," "You look a lot like Superman." Though special effects have progressed since the 1990s, Lois & Clark has lost little of its sparkle and panache, thanks to its super leads, whose fledgling careers soared to dizzying new heights. --Donald Liebenson

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Casting a fresh look on a timeless legend, this exciting, action-packed update of the DC Comics Superman captures the daring exploits of the mysterious visitor from another planet and brings the city of Metropolis to life. Originally aired in the 90's on ABC, this humorously romantic action/adventure hour-long series puts a modern twist on the time-honored, legendary superhero, bringing to life the comic book characters Clark Kent (Dean Cain); his superhuman alter-ego, Superman; and Lois Lane (Teri Hatcher), fiction's first lady of the press, in the most unrequited romance of all time.

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Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer production's multi-genre appeal. Nobody will ever accuse director Jon Turtletaub of artistic ambition, but you've got to admit he serves up an enjoyable dose of PG-rated entertainment, full of musty clues, skeletons, deep tunnels, and harmless adventure in the old-school tradition. It's a load of hokum, but it's fun hokum, and that makes all the difference. --Jeff Shannon

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John Wayne personally produced many of his '50s films, which is why some of them have languished in corporate limbo following his death. The High and the Mighty was one of his most popular vehicles (no pun intended). This long, necessarily sedentary drama aboard an endangered airliner is a CinemaScope bridge between 1932's Grand Hotel and 1970s disaster movies. Despite Wayne's iconic presence as a pilot--now copilot--who survived the plane crash that wiped out his family, it's an ensemble movie with an impressive cast: Robert Stack sharing the cockpit, Oscar® nominees Claire Trevor and Jan Sterling, Laraine Day, Robert Newton, Paul Kelly, John Qualen, Regis Toomey, the ubiquitous Paul Fix, and director William A. Wellman's good-luck character actor Douglas Fowley. Dimitri Tiomkin's score won the Oscar, though the fondly remembered theme song isn't as prominent as you'd expect. Wings veteran William H. Clothier shot the aerial footage. --Richard T. Jameson