Doing his best to save ‘Village’

The Village

Joaquin Phoenix, William Hurt

Touchstone, $30

The 1999 “I see dead people” thriller, “The Sixth Sense,” rightfully put its young writer/director M. Night Shyamalan on the map and turned him into a major Hollywood player. But his subsequent films have become increasingly self-important and portentous. The big twist at the end of “Sixth Sense” was a real corker, but his reveals in “Unbreakable” and “Signs” bordered on ludicrous.

Shyamalan hit a new low of absurdity with “The Village,” a thriller about a 19th century burg whose town is bordered by vicious, weird creatures. The fine cast, which includes Ron Howard’s twentysomething daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, can’t save this turkey.

Shyamalan has never done DVD commentary, but he is certainly front and center on “Deconstructing the Village,” a slick series of mini-documentaries on the making of the film. There’s also a production photo gallery -- Shyamalan is in most of the pictures -- and a home movie he made as a youngster. The best extra finds Howard reading excerpts from her literate diary about the production.

Without a Paddle

Seth Green, Matthew Lillard

Paramount, $30

This distasteful youth comedy should have been titled “Without a Laugh.” Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard are funny guys, but this “Deliverance”-esque comedy -- Burt Reynolds even makes an appearance -- is best enjoyed by undiscerning teenage boys. The three actors play childhood friends who reunite after the unexpected death of a buddy. When they find their friend’s map to the alleged treasure of D.B. Cooper, they decide to canoe down a river to find the loot. Along the way, a big bear mistakes Green for his baby and they run afoul of two pot-growing, good old boys (Ethan Suplee, Abraham Benrubi).

The digital edition includes additional scenes, a making-of featurette, interstitials that appeared on MTV and a gag reel. The commentary track by director Steve Brill and the three stars is far more amusing than the film.

Paparazzi

Cole Hauser, Tom Sizemore

Fox, $30

Mel Gibson produced (and appears in a cameo) this torpid, over-the-top revenge thriller that’s not worth its weight in celluloid. Or even plastic.

Directed by former movie hairstylist Paul Abascal (stick to the mousse, Paul), “Paparazzi” stars Cole Hauser as a Montana family man-turned-action film star. His family is beset by a throng of vile tabloid shutterbugs led by a particularly bloodthirsty, soulless cameraman (Tom Sizemore).

Among the DVD extras are deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes mini-documentary, a look at the film’s stunts and dull commentary with Abascal.

Silver City

Danny Huston, Chris Cooper

Sony, $25

Iconoclastic director John Sayles always challenges himself as a writer/director, but as is the case with any auteur, he has had both hits and misses. Here the film noir/political lampoon is middling, with the satire far sharper than the murder mystery element thanks to Chris Cooper’s witty performance as a George Bush-esque son of a senator who is running for governor of Colorado.

The DVD features a better-than-average featurette and erudite commentary from Sayles and his companion, the film’s producer, Maggie Renzi.

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Susan King

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Also this week

“Touch of Pink” (Columbia Tristar: $24.96).

Top video rentals

1. “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”

2. “I, Robot”

3. “Collateral”

4. “The Manchurian Candidate”

5. “Open Water”

What’s coming

Tuesday: “Friday Night Lights,” “The Forgotten,” “Cellular,” “Catwoman,” “Mean Creek,” “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster,” “Rosenstrasse,” “The Cookout” and “Stella Street”

Jan. 25: “Alien vs. Predator,” “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,” “First Daughter,” “When Will I Be Loved,” “Head in the Clouds” and “Story of the Weeping Camel.”