If traditional 2D animation leaves Billy scratching his head, the little moppet will probably enjoy the computer-animated high jinks in DreamWorks Pictures' Jack Black–voiced KUNG FU PANDA (DVD, $29.99; Blue-ray, $39.99), also available in a special two-pack, which includes THE SECRETS OF THE FURIOUS FIVE (DVD, $34.98), a follow-up story of the karate-kicking panda's cohort.
Meanwhile, Billy's sister Susie (or perhaps Billy himself; we don't know the kid) might enjoy Disney's straight-to-video TINKERBELL (DVD, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99), which finds the fairy flittering out of Neverland and discovering her voice in this feature-length computer-animated tale. Wait — she talks? Does she sing too? Who cares, when Suzie can sing along with MAMMA MIA! — THE MOVIE (DVD, $29.98; two-disc special-edition DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98), featuring Meryl Streep belting out the tunes of ABBA? Just make sure she turns down the volume when Pierce Brosnan starts to murder a number.
Shaken, stired, and in triplicate
Brosnan was much better gunning down goons as James Bond, but he's hung up his license to kill. Luckily, all of Brosnan's Bond adventures can be found in the JAMES BOND ULTIMATE COLLECTOR'S SET (DVD, $289.98), which collects all 21 official Bond films into one package. (A 22nd, Quantum of Solace, is in theaters now.) Prefer a hi-def view to Bond's kills? You can choose among JAMES BOND BLU-RAY: VOLUME ONE ($89.98), a three-film set containing Dr. No, Live and Let Die, and Die Another Day; and JAMES BOND BLU-RAY: VOLUME TWO ($89.98), a three-film set comprising two Connerys and a Roger Moore — From Russia with Love, Thunderball, and For Your Eyes Only. For the 21st-century Bond enthusiast, a new collector's edition of the Daniel Craig–starring Casino Royale (three-disc DVD, $29.95; two-Disc Blu-ray, $38.96) has also just been released.
For the Sean Connery fans who might not like Bond (they exist?), perhaps they'd enjoy his turn as Indiana Jones's dad, which can be found as part of Spielberg and Lucas's INDIANA JONES: THE COMPLETE ADVENTURE COLLECTION (DVD, $99.98), which collects all four Jones adventures into one convenient set. For those who already own the original trilogy, a standalone version of 2008's INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (DVD, $34.99; two-disc special-edition DVD, $39.99; Blu-ray, $39.99) is also available.
Fans of Lucas's other trilogies, completists that they are, might be interested in the budget-priced repackaging of the STAR WARS TRILOGY (DVD, $49.98) and the STAR WARS PREQUEL TRILOGY (DVD, $49.98), which should be enough to hold them over until the inevitable Blu-ray releases. If not, you could also give them a copy of the computer-animated feature film STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (two-disc special-edition DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $35.99), the only Star Wars film to lose money in the theater — so why not give Lucas your dollars now? But, if you're willing to do that, might I also suggest you . . .
Random film harvest
GET SMART (DVD, $28.98; two-disc special-edition, $34.99; Blu-ray, $35.99), starring Steve Carell as Special Agent Maxwell Smart, is a fairly decent big-screen update of the classic Mel Brooks sitcom, which might look good sitting on the shelf next to GET SMART — THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET (DVD, $199.95), a 25-disc set including all 138 TV episodes starring Don Adams.
Get her SEX AND THE CITY — THE MOVIE (two-disc special-edition DVD, $34.98; Blu-ray, $35.99) and she'll think you're the smartest guy in the city. Give her SEX AND THE CITY — THE COMPLETE SERIES (DVD, $299.98) and you might even get some of that sex, unless that sort of thing will send you to Hell.
For those into that sort of thing, give 'em Guillermo del Toro's HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (DVD, $29.98; three-disc special-edition DVD, $34.98; DVD collector's set, $64.98; Blu-ray, $39.98), and they'll get their superhero fix at the same time.
If your gift target is really interested in a tango with Satan (and his or her tastes run toward the art house), you can do no better than SÁTÁNTANGÓ (DVD, $79.95), a little-seen 1994 black-and-white epic by Hungarian auteur Béla Tarr that the late Susan Sontag hailed as "Devastating, enthralling for every minute of its seven hours." Our own Peter Keough referred to the enigmatic Tarr's "Beckett-like fable" as a "sui generis masterpiece."
Another lengthy masterpiece that would make a great gift is THE GODFATHER: THE COPPOLA RESTORATION (DVD, $69.99; Blu-ray, $124.99), a compilation of all three films, looking far superior to any previous video release. If they can't get enough of the Mafia, they're sure to love THE SOPRANOS — THE COMPLETE SERIES (DVD, $399.98), a TV landmark that owes Francis Ford Coppola a kiss on the hand.
La cinémathèque formidable
For any film lovers you'd like to send a kiss to, look no further than the Criterion Collection, those purveyors of impeccable cinematic taste for the home. (Let's just forget about their 1999 release of Michael Bay's Armageddon, shall we?)
