Into the Wild

Like the landscape its young idealist traverses, Sean Penn's "Into the Wild" is exhilaratingly beautiful and other times dark and depressing.

Christopher JohnsonMcCandless (played in what should have been an Oscar-nominated performance by Emile Hirsch) was a young adventurer who tried to find some sort of purity of life in the Alaskan wilderness but met an unlucky fate. His true story was the subject of a book with the same title, which Penn turned into a movie that captures the charm and the intelligence of the young adventurer.

The son of wealthy parents, McCandless leaves his dysfunctional family behind shortly after college in Atlanta in 1990, abandoning his car and money for a carefree life on the road. Calling himself Alexander Supertramp, an "aesthetic voyager," McCandless zigzagged around the country for two years before ending up in Alaska. Along the way, the likable youth met and affected a number of people, many who saw him as a surrogate son.

These include a wildman grain dealer (Vince Vaughn), a retired military man in the California desert (Hal Holbrook) and an aging hippie couple (Catherine Keener and Brian Dierker). They all looked upon McCandless with love. Certainly, it's hard not to love the kid — especially given Hirsch's touching performance — even if you think his self-awareness journey is a bit too precious and naive.

Unfortunately, Penn weighs the film down with too much voice-over by McCandless' younger sister, Carine (Jena Malone). Some of it works as explanation, but most of it is unnecessary philosophical rumination best left to the page. Beautifully shot, though, the film is filled with lovely and memorable moments.

The tragedy of "Into the Wild" comes at the end when McCandless, writing in his journal, realizes that one of the things he was running from is what he needs to give for his life meaning. It gives all that came before even more poignancy. Seeing the real McCandless in a photo taken not long before his death as the final shot of the film only adds to it, as well as bringing home just how much Hirsch inhabited the role.

Extras on the DVD include more on McCandless and the making of the film — but thereis always the book.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Dustin Hoffman's 243-year-old proprietor of a magic toy store is both truly weird and equally lovable. "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" may be aimed at kids, but oldsters will appreciate the eccentric's love of knowledge and books.

"Magorium" was written and directed by Zach Helm, who wrote the screenplay for Will Ferrell's most interesting comedy, "Stranger Than Fiction." As with "Fiction," there's a whimsical intelligence about the film and like it there'sa strange narrative — this one has chapters that seem based on little lessons or incidents.

The story involves Mr. Magorium's plan to leave his shop after 114 years. And that means to leave the Earth, all because hishe is down to the last pair of thehis favorite shoes that he has been stockpiling for years. He wants his devoted clerk Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman), a once-promising classical pianist and composer who has lost her inspiration, to have the shop.

Mr. Magorium hires an accountant, Henry Weston (Jason Bateman), whom he calls Mutant, to figure out the store's worth and makes sure it goes to reserved Molly. But the young woman is unsure what she wants to do. (And the magical store with its whirling, spinning toys isn't happy either, rebelling in its own way.)

The store is also home to the movie's narrator, Eric Applebaum (Zach Mills), a lonely 9-year-old who has no real friends. The movie has a simple message: You've got to believe in magic to make it work.

101 Dalmatians

"101 Dalmatians" is spot-on children's entertainment (bad pun intended). Disney is now giving its animated masterpiece special treatment with its two-disc platinum edition. The extras include the usual games and such for kids: "Virtual Dalmatians," where you adopt, name, train and care for your very own virtual puppy, and "Puppy Profiler," where you find out which dog you're most like most. (OK, adults can play, too)

There are also making-of featurettes for those interested in Disney animation. ("Dalmatians" was one of the last features Walt was involved with.) Plus there's "101 Pop-up Trivia Facts for the Family" and "101 Pop-up Trivia Facts for the Fan" to go along with watching the film.

Throw in a new video of "Cruella De Vil," a very cool song once covered by the Replacements, and what's not to love about this dog story?

The Love Boat

Every week starting in 1977, people would board "The Love Boat" looking for romance. The anthology series ran for eight seasons with Gavin MacLeod as Capt. Merrill Stubing and his crew aboard the Pacific Princess, which sailed from California to Mexico and back, overseeing the romantic high jinks. This mostly consisted of a series of interlinked sketches with big-name guest stars. Milton Berle, Charo and Bill Bixby were on the fourth episode, which is on "Season One, Vol. 1." It contains 12 of the first year's 25 episodes.

out tuesday

NEW FILMS

"Into the Wild" ($29.98 and $35.98) for the two-disc special collector's edition and $39.99) for HD)

"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" ($29.98 and $39.98) for Blu-ray)

"Things We Lost in the Fire" ($29.98)

"Awake" ($28.95)

"My Kid Could Paint That" ($24.96)

CLASSIC/OLDER FILMS

"101 Dalmatians — Two-Disc Platinum Edition" ($29.99)

"12 Angry Men — 50th Anniversary Edition" ($19.98)

"Billy Wilder Gift Set" ($39.98)

"TCM Archives -— Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Vol. 2" ($49.98)

"Mrs. Doubtfire — Behind-the-Seams Edition" ($19.98)

TELEVISION

"The Love Boat — Season One, Vol. 1" ($36.98)

"The Other Boleyn Girl — 2003 BBC Version" ($19.98)

"Frontline: The Medicated Child" ($24.99)

"Trading Spaces: Specials" ($14.95)

"American Experience: Buffalo Bill" ($24.99)

"Magnum P.I.: The Complete Eighth Season" ($49.98)

FOR KIDS

"Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who — Deluxe Edition" ($19.98)

"The Pink Panther Classic Cartoon Collection, Vol. 6" ($14.98)

"My Friends Tigger & Pooh — Friendly Tails" ($19.99)

"Thomas & Friends — Engines & Escapades" ($14.98)

"Yu-Gi-Oh: The Complete 2nd Season" ($49.98)

"Archie's Funhouse: Complete Series" ($29.95)

"Thomas the Tank Engine: Percy Takes the Plunge"($14.98)

OF SPECIAL INTEREST

"The UCLA Dynasty" ($19.98)