Children of Men

Universal. DVD, HD-DVD. 110 minutes. Rated R. $29.98.

Grade: B+

This fascinating and disturbing film based on a P.D. James novel envisions a future in which the world is in chaos and only London has retained a measure of stability.

Alcoholic bureaucrat Theo (Clive Owens) was an activist in his youth — a muscle he’s forced to exercise again when his ex-wife (Julianne Moore), now a rebel leader, presses him into service to smuggle a pregnant woman out of the country.

Why? Because her fetus represents the first baby to be born anywhere in 18 years. Both the government and the rebels would surely use the child for propaganda.

Director Alfonso Cuaron makes no attempt to salve our anxiety with cute touches; his movie, set in the near future of 2027, looks as sad as its characters. Still, it’s a fascinating study in the antihero.

Extras: several deleted scenes, features on design and special effects and a chat with futurists and philosophers about the bleak world of Children of Men.

Happy Feet

Warner. DVD, Blu-ray, HD-DVD. 109 minutes. Rated PG. $29.98/$39.98.

Grade: C+

An animated movie about saving the ecosystem? We haven’t seen that before.

Actually we have, but Happy Feet puts a new spin on the ecology message: It adds a huge measure of angst to animation.

That may sound harsh, but the filmmakers have loaded this movie with so much message that it leaves little room for pure entertainment.

Happy Feet tells the story of Mumble (voice by Elijah Wood), an Emperor Penguin born with a handicap. In a flock that prizes voices (that’s how you woo a mate), Mumble can’t sing, much to the shame of his parents. His compensating talent? He can dance, much to the chagrin of the flock’s elders.

Determined to find his place in the world, Mumble heads across the ice to find out where the fish have gone. He’s determined to learn why his fellow birds are starving (the area is overrun with fishing trawlers) and to put an end to it.

Happy Feet wants to be all things to all audiences: A cartoon for kids, a message movie for adults, and a soundtrack force for Warner Brothers, which must have made up with the artist formerly know as its employee. There are several Prince songs (including Kiss) woven into the plot.

Despite some impressive digital animation — the ocean chase scenes are amazing — Happy Feet never wins you over. It’s often so earnest that even the kids will be asleep before it’s done.

Extras: Two deleted scenes, including a tribute to the late Steve Irwin, a dance tutorial with tap master Savion Glover and two music videos.

Curse of the Golden Flower

Sony. DVD, PSP. 114 minutes. Rated R. $28.95.

Grade: B-

Compared to his last two films, Hero and House of Flying Daggers, director Zhang Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower is a bit of a puzzle.

It’s opulent, dramatic and larded with the saturated colors for which he’s known. It’s also badly paced, pivoting between exciting moments and endless ones.

Imagine King Lear and Macbeth filtered through Dynasty. Set 1,000 years ago during China’s Tang Dynasty, Flower is the story of a powerful emperor (Chow Yun Fat) and his dysfunctional family. Dad is trying to poison the empress (Gong Li), while she is plotting a palace coup with the help of one of her three sons. Another son — the crown prince — is in love with a servant. And the youngest son is seething with discontent. No one takes him seriously.

Curse of the Golden Flower is about what goes on behind the golden palace gates. Despite their wealth, none of the royals are happy. Old vendettas surface and warmth is a fleeting commodity. We don’t like the characters, but we marvel at their ruthlessness.

Yimou gets fine performances from his cast, especially Gong Li as a woman who knows she’s being poisoned, and the film is a visual tour de force.

Sadly, much of the intrigue comes in the form of whispered conspiracies. For every five minutes of battle footage there are 15 of verbal exposition.

Extras: A making-of featurette.