ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY RECOMMENDS: MOVIES

Reviews: 'In the Bedroom,' 'Star Trek II'

Video review: 'In the Bedroom'

Watching "In the Bedroom" in the bedroom creates a more intimate mood.

(Entertainment Weekly) -- In the theater, watching ''In the Bedroom'' was an emotionally overwhelming experience. Charting the psychological fallout from an act of violence on an American family, first-time feature director Todd Field set a remarkably sustained tone of escalating dread.

Watching the film at home -- in the bedroom, if you will -- creates a more intimate but no less potent mood. You feel like you're peeking into real people's personal lives in a way you never will with ''Big Brother 3.''

Transforming their faces into masks of implacable grief, Oscar nominees Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson bury their accents (hers Southern, his British) along with their characters' anger as a Maine couple struggling to cope with profound loss. They're supported by a standout ensemble, including Marisa Tomei (''My Cousin Vinny'') in a career-redeeming performance as an abused spouse.

Yet what really makes ''Bedroom'' are Field's fearless artistic choices, most notably a deliberate pace and a morally ambiguous ending. He lets the story breathe, even as the characters -- and the audience -- can't.

-- Bruce Fretts

Grade: A

DVD review: 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- The Director's Edition'

Don't laugh, but when you think about it, James T. Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise, really is one of the towering characters of 20th-century pop culture, and the reason why ''The Wrath of Khan'' remains the best of the Trek flicks is because it recognizes that and treats him as such.

Under the guidance of director Nicholas Meyer, Kirk gained a strong, Ahab-like nemesis in the genetically enhanced ''Khan'' -- while William Shatner gave his last great performance before becoming an interstellar punchline.

RESOURCES EW.COM: All about 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'

There's not that much footage added to this ''Director's Edition'' -- less than five minutes -- and it's mostly scene extensions and alternate takes; they add a little flavor to an already hearty dish.

There's also a pleasant commentary from Meyer, as well as a running subtitle commentary from ''Trek'' expert Michael Okuda, pointing out little bits of trivia that might win you drinks at a ''Star Trek'' convention happy hour.

The highlights of the second disc are a bundle of interviews, both new (from Shatner, Meyer, Leonard Nimoy, and producer Harve Bennett) and old (check out the groovy pink pimp suit Nimoy wears in a 1982 spot), that detail the making of the film that, by most accounts, saved ''Star Trek'' as we know it.

-- Marc Bernardin

Grade: A-