Gary Thompson: 3 nods to the past: 'Red,' 'Secretariat' & 'Nowhere Boy'

LOOKS LIKE old-timers week on the DVD front, with the fogy-comedy "Red" and the nostalgia-themed "Secretariat" and "Nowhere Boy."

"RED" stands for Retired, Extremely Dangerous, adjectives that describe former networkers for American, British and Soviet intelligence (Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox), now allied to fight high-level corruption in the United States.

The action is pretty standard, but it's a good cast, and they have fun with it.

"Secretariat" is an exceedingly wholesome (by Randall Wallace) re-creation of the great horse's disco-era gallop through the Triple Crown. The movie works strenuously to make wealthy heiress Penny Chenery (Diane Lane) into an underdog, and a protofeminist icon. Plenty of special features on the DVD.

Further down memory lane is "Nowhere Boy," the story of young John Lennon (Aaron Johnson) in the years leading up to the formation of the Beatles. Includes extensive documentary about the Beatles' early days.

And there's also the final leg of the Millennium trilogy, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest."