Superheroes and international spies

"Watchmen: Director's Cut" (R/NR, 2009, Warner Bros.): If Batman's badly needed cinematic reboot put comic book films on a new kind of notice, "Watchmen" - which brings the cherished 1986 graphic novel both to the big screen and into the mainstream - essentially raises the bar beyond reach. That's in equal parts due to how well the film brings to life the anti-superheroes and villains (Jackie Earle Haley, Billy Crudup, Malin Akerman, Patrick Wilson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Matthew Goode) that comprise the cast, how faithful it is to the source material in doing so, and how perfectly it makes the alternate-history United States in which they exist practically a starring character in its own right. "Watchmen" checks in at a bloated 162 in theatrical form and 24 minutes heavier in Zack Snyder's director's cut. But outside of a few momentary lulls and the occasional narrative redundancy, it utilizes that time to pay meticulous tribute to the source material without drowning in the details. It also captures, unflinchingly, just how savagely violent the original comic was.

Extras: Feature on the "Watchmen" graphic novel, 11 video diaries, music video, digital copy.

"Dakota Skye" (R, 2008, E1 Entertainment): As super powers go, soon-to-be high school graduate Dakota Skye's special ability - being able to literally see the truth, like a subtitle, whenever people lie to her - rates pretty low on the excitement scale. It also has opened her eyes to just how prevalent an activity lying is, which in turn has reduced her to the world's youngest and prettiest grumpy old man. But then one of her boyfriend's (J.B. Ghuman) best friends (Ian Nelson) comes to town for a visit, and she discovers that she either can't see his lies or that he simply isn't telling any. And, thus, an arch-nemesis is born. Sort of. From here, "Dakota Skye" gradually transforms from a slyly amusing picture of disillusionment to a reasonably entertaining story about things that girls and guys go through when girls and guys meet. That's all well and good, but when the focus goes from A to B, the film loses its edge, and the super power gimmick simultaneously gets watered down and left out to dry.

Extras: Writer/director commentary, outtakes, making-of feature, cast interviews, bloopers.

"Echelon Conspiracy" (PG-13, 2009, Paramount): Contemporary international espionage thrillers are slicker, prettier, more meticulous and generally more careful than ever about tying up even slightly loose ends before barreling toward a climax. Sometimes, though - and absolutely in lieu of viewing "Echelon Conspiracy" - the obvious needs to be stated: They're still just movies. "Conspiracy" gets off to a perfectly fine start, with a network security expert (Shane West as Max Peterson) receiving a mysterious cell-phone gift, followed by a series of anonymous but extremely fortuitous text messages, during a work-related trip in Bangkok. Things get more interesting when, as expected and teased with another character in the film's first scene, the messages begin inducing more danger than good luck, and "Conspiracy" peaks when we finally get a sniff of just how many parties are involved and what's at stake. But things take a rough turn when that sniff turns into a full-on reveal. Edward Burns, Ving Rhames, Tamara Feldman, Martin Sheen and Sergey Gubanov also star.

No extras.

- McClatchy-Tribune Information Services