Decades after the fact, many Little Feat fans are still mourning the death of founding member and guiding light Lowell George. But Highwire Act: Live in St Louis 2003 is nonetheless a beautifully filmed and recorded concert that proves that they remain a superior, distinctly (if not quite as distinctive as before) American rock band. Little Feat, who reformed some eight years after George died in 79, acknowledge his influence by continuing to perform much of the material they recorded during his era, including several of his best-known songs (such as "Tripe Face Boogie", "Fat Man in the Bathtub" and the countrified classic "Willin'"). But the now-seven-piece group (five members have been around for over three decades) can stand on thier own, with guitarist Paul Barrere, pianist Bill Payne and singer Shaun Murphy handling most of the vocal duties. The fans clearly love 'em; and why not? Playing for well over two hours, including encores, they certainly don't skimp, churning out a heady brew of funky, rhythmically diverse, blues-based fare. A 15-minute documentary rounds off the DVD. There's a companion CD also available. --Sam Graham

Jodie Foster and Dianne Wiest star in Foster's engaging directorial debut, Little Man Tate. Single mother Dede Tate is doing her best to raise her brilliant-but-lonely son Fred on a waitress' salary. Jane Grierson (Wiest), something of an expert on being brilliant but lonely, spots Fred's genius and wants to enrol him in her school for the gifted.

A simple story, but very well told. Foster and Wiest both give excellent, sensitive performances, conveying the selfishness in each characters desire to have Fred to herself, as well as the pain in not being able to fulfil all his needs on her own. Adam Hann-Byrd gives a remarkable performance as Fred, showing his intelligence without getting precious about it. Foster demonstrates a steady directing hand, but the best moments are the more whimsical ones in which she reveals the quiet exhilaration of Fred's mental leaps, like when a pool game suddenly becomes a beautiful collision of lines and forces. --Ali Davis, Amazon.com

Ariel and her husband, Prince Eric, have a little problem with their daughter, Melody, in The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea, the sequel to Disney's landmark The Little Mermaid. Melody is threatened by Morgana, the evil sister of the sea witch Ursula (both voiced by Pat Carroll). Before you can say "Briar Rose", Melody's parents decide to keep their daughter's roots a secret, forbidding her to learn about the ocean while Morgana is around. Now the budding teenager secretly frolics in the sea with Ariel's old friends, Sebastian and Scuttle. When she learns the truth from Morgana, Melody becomes an unknowing pawn in her scheme--and Mum has to take to the sea again to help.

As with Disney's other made-for-video sequels, The Little Mermaid 2 looks and sounds wonderful (and reunites much of the same vocal talent). Four to nine-year-olds who grew up with the original will certainly enjoy seeing the friends again. A new set of artists has come up with four catchy tunes and some fun new characters, including Tip and Dash, a pensive penguin and his blubbery walrus friend. Yet where Beauty and the Beast had a deliberate Christmas-themed sequel and Pocahontas told the tale of her historical trip to England, the plot here is somewhat forced. It is pretty much a rehash of the first film with different characters. Tip and Dash are a reincarnation of Timon and Pumbaa and Morgana is exactly like her sister, except thinner. Besides the stellar music, this unneeded sequel also misses another important aspect of the original--heart. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com