The Spirit

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.

The Reader
If you didn't catch this provocative movie about the Holocaust (and so much more), now is your chance to do so. This is the performance that won Kate Winslet the Golden Globe and the Oscar and if you bring this movie home it won't be hard to see why.

She's mesmerizing as Hanna Schmitz, a German woman who strikes up an affair with a teenager named Michael Berg. In college, Berg learns that Hanna harbors many secrets when she goes on trial for Nazi war crimes. Ralph Fiennes plays an older Michael who struggles to reconcile his feelings for the woman he had an affair with, while comprehending the crimes she's committed.

Special features include deleted scenes, "Adapting a Timeless Masterpiece: Making The Reader," Kate Winslet talking about how to play an aging Hanna Schmitz, and the trailer.

One more up next so read more

From dime-store digests to lush graphic novels, the comic-book genre has fully established itself as part of high culture. Along with the literary upgrade have come equally artful films, including The Dark Knight and Sin City. But for all its highbrow hopes, The Spirit plays like a B movie.

Written and directed by Frank Miller of Sin City and 300 fame, The Spirit is no Sin City or even the less cerebral 300. As both artful sketch and pure entertainment, The Spirit is lacking. For all the highs and lows, read more

The Spirit whisked into LA last night for another red carpet premiere. Eva Mendes continued to look stunning in color while Scarlett stuck with neutrals, letting her hair do the talking. As usual, no Mr. Reynolds to go along with his Mrs., but even so they're some of our favorite newlyweds of the year. Earlier this week we got a peek at Scarlett and Samuel L. Jackson's rapport, and it looks like the red carpet was one more night of the Lucy and Ricky show. Jaime King looked all wrapped up like a present as all the beautiful women showed off their comic book movie due out Christmas Day.

To see more from the premiere just read more

Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes continued their The Spirit press tour, stopping off in London last night. The dynamic duo was joined by costar Samuel L. Jackson and director Frank Miller for this red carpet and it looks like this group isn't sick of each other yet. Scarlett and Eva are both already showing off an impressive dress collection, even if the new Mrs. Reynolds is half of your second favorite newlyweds of 2008, she doesn't need her hot husband to make a hot appearance.

To see more of the premiere just read more

Scarlett Johansson posed for a photo call for The Spirit in Madrid today — what do you think of her new hair color? As usual, her hot husband Ryan wasn't by her side, but she had the company of her gorgeous costars Eva Mendes and Paz Vega. There were plenty of smiles to go around even without the male counterparts of the cast, but maybe we'll see a bigger turnout for promotional events when we get closer to the Christmas release date of the comic book film.

To see more of the lovely ladies, just read more

The ad campaign for The Spirit is so sexy, intriguing, and dark that I can't help but admire the creative team behind it. In particular, this ad, featuring Sarah Paulson, makes me want to live my life in black-and-white, punctuated by a splash of coral-colored lipstick. Sure, this ad has been retouched to perfection, but a girl can dream, right?

The closest lipstick match I can find is MAC's Slimshine lipstick ($14.50) in Missy. It's shiny but not overly glossy, and it adds color without looking heavy. I'd love to find a drugstore duplicate. Any suggestions?

Via their upcoming film The Spirit, stars Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes have teamed up with the Environmental Media Association to promote the importance of cell phone recycling to reduce CO2 emissions.

The spots start running today on the Answer the Call website, with the ladies in character as Sand Saref and Silken Floss, respectively. I was already a big proponent of cell phone recycling, but glamming it up with two of the hottest celebrities ever? Irresistible.