'The Golden Compass' (PG-13)
What we gave it: HHH ½

A surprise Academy Award winner for visual effects over blockbuster "Transformers," this fantasy adventure proved a critical and commercial lightweight compared to its studio stablemate, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Featuring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, the movie follows the otherworldly travels of a 12-year-old orphan (Dakota Blue Richards), who becomes the keeper of the last "golden compass" -- a mechanism whose magic powers include revealing the truth and offering glimpses into the future. The movie comes in two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets with commentary from director Chris Weitz and 11 featurettes including a segment on the show-stopping effects sequence that pits two armored polar bears in a duel. A bare-bones single DVD with just the movie also is available.

Parents' advisory: A fantasy too complex and probably too violent for younger children, but engaging and dazzling for 12-and-ups, and certainly less harmful than the shrill Catholic League and Christian conservative e-mail campaign against it would have you believe.

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' (PG-13)
What we gave it: HHHH

One of last year's most-acclaimed films also was an unlikely literary adaptation given its source material -- the memoir of French Elle Editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who was immobilized in the prime of life by a stroke that left him with locked-in syndrome, able to communicate only by blinking an eye. Mathieu Amalric stars as Bauby, who painstakingly dictates his memoir through blinks, one letter at a time. The DVD has a Charlie Rose interview and commentary with director Julian Schnabel, who earned a best-director Oscar nomination. The disc also has two behind-the-scenes segments.

'27 Dresses' (PG-13)
What we gave it: HH

The romantic comedy that's also a major mystery -- as in just how is it that a woman who looks like Katherine Heigl cannot find a husband? Heigl stars as the ultimate always-a-bridesmaid pal, a woman who has stood up as a member of the wedding 27 times without getting any closer to her own nuptials. She's finally jolted into action after her secret, unrequited love (Edward Burns) ends up falling for her own sister.

Parents' advisory: Not a bad date movie for teens, with good messages about friendship, selflessness, cynicism and love.