It amazes me how much better the direct-to-video Batman cartoons are than the live-action films. I'm talking storyline, character development, motivations, moral complexities. Not to say that Batman Beyond: The Rebirth--a whole new direction for the caped creep--is 80 minutes of nuevo Dostoyevsky or anything, but it's certainly a pleasure to watch. With its cyberpunk setting and cranky, golden-aged Batman, it owes a lot to Frank Miller's Dark Knight. It also owes a lot to anime classic Akira, in ways subtle (how shadows move on faces) and not so subtle (the Joker's biker gang are dead ringers for Akira's Clowns).

Speaking of bats, some sonars may have picked up on a blip called From Dusk 'til Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money. A worthy sequel to Tarantino's over-the-top B-movie excursion, FDTD 2 is a ridiculous bordertown vampire shoot-'em-up that hits the ground running.

Not so much for renting as for buying is the new Bruce Lee: The Master Collection. A five-tape box set, it includes four of the kung fu demigod's best (Game of Death, Return of the Dragon, Fists of Fury and The Chinese Connection), as well as a bonus documentary tape. I guess the assumption is you already own the all-time classic Enter the Dragon, recently remastered, recut, redubbed and re-released. Hwaaah!

--Rupert Bottenberg