Penelope

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can also rent the complete fifth season of Reno 911 as well as the Raven-Symoné comedy (and that's being generous) College Road Trip.

The Bank Job
I wouldn't be surprised if you missed The Bank Job while it was in theaters because it may have been written off as yet another bank heist flick. Now that it's out on DVD I think it deserves your rental/Netflix queue consideration.

Like I said before, it's an entertaining movie that is supposedly based on a true story. It centers around a group of crooks led by Terry Leather (Jason Statham ), who catches wind of a vulnerable vault of safe-deposit boxes. Little does Terry know, however, that the heist will end up having much farther-reaching implications involving several parties with a keen interest in this particular vault. It's not rocket science, sure, but it is a whole lot of fun and smartly directed. I highly recommend you check it out for yourself.

Special features include commentary with director Roger Donaldson, actress Saffron Burrows and composer J. Peter Robinson, and an "Inside The Bank Job" featurette.

Two more fun picks, so read more

Despite earning the top spot at the box office, the predictable laughs in Will Ferrell's Semi-Pro only earned $15.3 million over the weekend. This is considered a disappointing sum, especially compared to opening weekends of other Ferrell films like Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory. Variety reports that this underwhelming performance by the basketball comedy may have been due to mediocre reviews and an R-rating.

Vantage Point was only bumped down one spot to No. 2 over the weekend followed by The Spiderwick Chronicles at No. 3. The adaptation of Buzz Book Club's February selection The Other Boleyn Girl took the fourth spot earning an estimated $8.3 million. Penelope starring Reese Witherspoon and Christina Ricci also opened this weekend coming in at No. 8 behind Jumper, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Fool's Gold.

Filling out the top ten were Oscar-nominated films No Country for Old Men and Juno.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

There are some intriguing issues buried within the story of Penelope: what it means for a woman to love and accept herself the way she is, the way beauty ideals are — sometimes cruelly — passed down from mother to daughter, society's eagerness to vilify those who are different and then, just as quickly, to embrace them as "cute" upon discovering that they're harmless. These things are touched on, but mostly with a glazing brush, leaving the pretty film with adorable people lacking anything resembling "oomph."

The story follows Penelope Wilhern who, due to a curse put on her wealthy socialite family long ago, was born with a pig nose. In order to break the curse, she must find "one of her own" (i.e. a "blue blood") to love her just as she is and marry her. Only then will the spell break and her nose take on a normal shape. Desperate to break the curse and have a normal daughter, Penelope's mother (Catherine O'Hara) devotes her life to finding Penelope a husband, but the men who meet Penelope keep jumping out the window at the sight of her. Meanwhile, a one-eyed journalist determined to get a photo of "the pig-faced girl" and a selfish blue-blooded young man pay a down-on-his-luck musician (James McAvoy) to try and woo Penelope. For more about the movie than just this plot — some spoilers ahead — read more

Reese Witherspoon, Christina Ricci and James McAvoy brought their quirky little movie, Penelope to LA last night. Reese had on her best businesswoman pants and a big smile on her face posing for the cameras as both a star and producer of the project. Check out how to get her cute look here. Hell, she even stopped mid-red carpet to take a phone call (too funny). Amanda Bynes who is never one to miss a chance to show off those stems these days was around in yet another LBD. While this movie didn't appeal to me right off the bat, it's hard to deny the great trio of Christina-James-Reese. Maybe I'll have to check out that pig snout for myself after all.

To see more from the premiere including Reese, Christina, James, Amanda and others just read more

Despite the star power of Reese Witherspoon (and James McAvoy for that matter), it seems like Penelope has been extremely reluctant to come out in theaters, though it has made the festival rounds since the fall of 2006. Even the newest trailer recently came online with as little fanfare as possible. Why, you ask? Perhaps because Penelope is an extremely strange-looking little film.

Christina Ricci stars as Penelope, a girl who was born with a pig snout for a nose. After years of being hidden away in her home by her mother (Catherine O'Hara), she is suddenly expected to find a husband, but all the men she meets run screaming from her. All the men except for Max (McAvoy). After she meets Max, she decides to strike out on her own and experience the world as she has never done before. With all the vibrant colors and the whimsical visual tone, the movie has the look and feel of a sort of dark fairy tale.

If nothing else, the trailer features Reese in the role of a badass and James McAvoy with a funny American accent, so to check it out before Penelope opens February 1, read more

I think we've all met "that girl" at some point in our lives. The hair-stroking, always talking, insecure girl who compulsively lies to one-up everyone on everything. You like cartoons? Well, she was born a cartoon. You have a cat? Yeah, she gave birth to hers. SNL calls her Penelope, but I call her plain annoying. So... (Thanks, i am bored!)