CASINO ROYALE
3 ½ STARS
Sony, $26.98

Daniel Craig quickly distinguished himself by being the best loved James Bond

since Sean Connery, and “Casino Royale” made more money than any 007 flick in

history. Like Connery, Craig manages to be manly, suave and wry – with a

dollop of ruthless menace. Extras are typical big-budget fare, though it’s

hard to resist the campy carnality of the 2002 TV special “Bond Girls Are

Forever.” For just a bit more cash, Sony offers a package that includes

“Layer Cake,” the excellent 2004 crime thriller that gave Craig his break.

SHORTBUS
1 STAR
Velocity/ThinkFilm, $27.98

It takes nerve to make unsimulated sex boring, but John Cameron Mitchell has

always had plenty of nerve – gumption, even. The “actors” in “Shortbus” have

fantastic bodies and twist themselves into origami-like figures, but every

time they speak they say something utterly unbelievable or trite. In his tale

of a frustrated New Yorker in search of her first orgasm, Mitchell tries to

turn graphic sex into a metaphor. Instead, he gets sexy but insipid. The DVD

extra “How To Shoot Sex” is an utterly non-instructive primer for anybody

looking to document an orgy.

Also out:

The Holiday (Sony, $28.95) You’ll wonder how Kate Winslett could ever fall

for Jack Black. Jude Law and Cameron Diaz are along for the ride.

Ghost: Collector’s Edition

(Paramount, $14.98)

So cheesy it could serve the world nachos for a year, “Ghost” re-haunts us

with extras like “Cinema’s Great Romances.”