Blades of Glory

Rated: PG-13, 94 minutes, $29.99, Paramount Home Video

Grade: B-

Will Ferrell is the main reason to see Blades of Glory, says critic Robert Denerstein. Ferrell and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) play figure skaters who are banned from the sport - until they discover a loophole that lets them compete as a male pair. Because the movie is built around a single joke, it doesn't have a whole lot of places to go, Denerstein says, but the comedy improves as the movie progresses.

Year of the Dog

Rated: PG-13, 97 minutes, $29.99, Paramount Home Video

Grade: B

Life's only solace for nondescript Peggy (Molly Shannon) is her beagle, Pencil. She's devastated when the dog dies, and her attempts to find another pet and human companionship don't go well. Year of the Dog is a mixed breed, says Denerstein, part comedy and part exploration of loneliness. Still, it has a sweetly off-kilter quality and an additional virtue: "It probably won't remind you of every other dog movie you've ever seen."