Jonas Brothers’ fans will enjoy ‘Experience’
“Jonas Brothers: The Concert Experience”
Youngsters who adore the Jonas Brothers will have fun at this movie. It contains virtually nothing offensive, unless parents are bothered by the mildly sensual style of dance the Jonas boys do onstage or the hilariously Freudian foam spray they aim at their audience in one silly concert bit.
The film is a contrived and commercial bit of nothing. Even the supposedly “candid” moments backstage or in hotel rooms come off as awkwardly staged, with the brothers unable even to fake spontaneity.
DVD extras: 2-D extended movie with two additional performances; two additional bonus songs; featurette; digital copy of extended movie in 2-D. (1:16; rated G)
“Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li”
Though it’s based on the arcade video game, this movie aims for a marginally coherent, humanized tale of good vs. evil in the martial arts genre. It is only semi-successful and too often a bore.
One good thing: Kristin Kreuk (of TV’s “Smallville”), who is effortlessly charming as Chun-Li, a young woman adept at martial arts. Chun-Li remembers her father’s violent kidnapping. A mysterious scroll points to the man who took him, so Chun-Li studies with Gen (Robin Shou), a martial arts master, who goes with her to Bangkok in search of the evil Bison (Neal McDonough) and his enforcer.
DVD extras: Contains both rated and unrated versions of the film; cast commentary; deleted scenes; featurettes. (1:36; rated PG-13 for violence and sensuality)
“Two Lovers”
In James Gray’s quiet, unadorned romantic drama, Joaquin Phoenix is his old, clean-shaven self as Leonard Kraditor, a troubled young man who has moved back in with his parents in Brighton Beach, N.Y.
Torn between a gorgeous if unstable shiksa goddess (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the nice Jewish girl (Vinessa Shaw) his mom and dad are clearly crazy about, Leonard ultimately has to decide which self to express: the romantic but doomed artist or the settled but thwarted family man.
Movies have visited this terrain before, from “The Graduate” to last year’s wonderful “Momma’s Man.” But this film has its pleasures, even if Paltrow seems wildly out of place in a drama committed to adamantly un-starry realism.
The movie’s chief value is to preserve Phoenix at the height of his wary physical grace, which recalls a young Marlon Brando. (1:48; rated R for profanity, sexuality and brief drug use)
“Tokyo!”
The city of Tokyo is the most obvious link among the three short films that make up this feature-length triptych.
The first chapter, “Interior Design,” begins with the arrival of a young couple into the world of crowded streets, heartless landlords and entry-level jobs. The comic yet nightmarish second installment, “Merde,” takes us under the streets, where a psychopathic man takes refuge when he’s not terrorizing the social world above.
The final installment, “Shaking Tokyo,” shows us a society of recluses, in retreat from the stress and strain of urban life. If there are thematic connections, they are abstract. All three films deal with things hidden, or disappearing, or suppressed.
In Japanese with English subtitles. (1:50; unrated, contains mild violence)
Also available: “12 Rounds,” “Eastbound & Down: Season 1,” “The Human Contract,” “Entourage: Season 5,” “Monk: Season 5,” “Stargate Atlantis: Season 5”