Mini reviews

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR ($29.98, 20TH CENTURY FOX): Monsters from space go head to head in this crass hybrid. The premise: The extraterrestrial hunters of Predator are using Antarctica as a proving ground for young bucks, who must battle beasties from the Alien series in a rite of passage. Writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson tosses in some puny humans as appetizers. Mr. Anderson and co-stars Lance Henriksen and Sanaa Lathan team for one commentary track, while visual- and creature-effects overseers provide separate commentary. The DVD also has deleted footage and a making-of feature.

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Also out is a new edition of Predator 2 ($19.98, 20th Century Fox), starring Danny Glover as a cop whose drug investigation leads him into a showdown with one of the alien hunters. The two-disc set has commentaries by director Stephen Hopkins and the screenwriters.

MONSTER, HEAD IN THE CLOUDS ($24.96 EACH, SONY): A Charlize Theron double feature. Her Academy Award-winning turn in 2003's Monster gets a DVD update, while last year's romantic drama Head in the Clouds debuts in a single disc. Monster earned Ms. Theron the best-actress Oscar as Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was executed for murdering some of her tricks. In Head in the Clouds, Ms. Theron co-stars with Penelope Cruz and Stuart Townsend in the story of a 1930s-era temptress trying to maintain her hedonistic ways as Europe tumbles into conflict. The two-disc Monster set has commentary from writer-director Patty Jenkins, plus deleted and extended scenes. The Head in the Clouds DVD includes a making-of feature.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES GANGSTERS COLLECTION ($68.92 SIX-DISC SET, $19.97 EACH, WARNER BROS.): James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart and Edward G. Robinson lead a crime-ridden wave of DVD debuts featuring six titles from the 1930s and '40s. Cagney stars in his most memorable street-thug roles with The Public Enemy, Angels With Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties and White Heat. In secondary roles that put him on the road to stardom, Bogart co-stars in Angels With Dirty Faces, The Roaring Twenties and The Petrified Forest, whose cast is led by Bette Davis and Leslie Howard. In 1930's Little Caesar, Robinson plays the brazen, despotic crime boss that helped set the

pattern in Hollywood gangster flicks for decades to come. Each DVD has commentary from cinema historians, vintage short films and background features.

MACGYVER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON ($38.99, PARAMOUNT): Before he traveled the cosmos in Stargate SG-1, Richard Dean Anderson was the hunky, resourceful action hero in this secret-agent series that debuted in 1985. Season one's 22 episodes are in a six-disc set.

ONE TREE HILL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON ($59.98, WARNER BROS.): The teen drama centers on half brothers (Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty), their family turmoil and the three high school babes in their lives. The first 22 episodes are featured in a six-disc set, which includes deleted footage.

FIRST DAUGHTER ($27.98, 20TH CENTURY FOX): Katie Holmes stars in a tale of the daughter of the U.S. president (Michael Keaton) trying to live the life of a normal college student. Ms. Holmes and co-stars Marc Blucas and Amerie Rogers join for commentary, and the DVD has deleted footage.

WHEN WILL I BE LOVED ($25.98, MGM): Neve Campbell gets down and dirty in the tale of a pampered woman who applies her icy brilliance to a cold-blooded course of female empowerment against any man she encounters. Writer-director James Toback offers commentary.

- David Germain,

Associated Press

Just out: Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Alien vs. Predator, First Daughter, He Knew He Was Right, Mean Creek, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Pauly Shore is Dead and The Story of the Weeping Cameltuesday: Ray, The Grudge, The Life, Mr. 3000, Mulan II, The Neighborhood, Shall We Dance, and Vanity Fair

Feb. 8: Bright Young Things and The Notebook

Feb. 15: Control, The Motorcycle Diaries, National Lampoon's Blackball, Raise Your Voice and The Yes Men

Feb. 22: Suddenly