Out on DVD: Dogs of the box-office and flea-bearing varieties

Today's new DVDs include an old-fashioned romp that died at the box office, adorable talking dogs, naughty gay animation and an Asian epic.

Read on!

U.S. audiences pretty much lined up not to attend Australia, the latest from Baz Luhrmann, and more's the pity. It's a sumptuous, old-school romantic historical soap opera (think Giant) about a prim English lady (Nicole Kidman) and the Australian roughneck (Hugh Jackman) who sweeps her off her feet. Throw in aboriginal struggles, evil cattle barons and the onset of World War II, and you have a thrilling, cheesy tear-jerker that's lots of fun if you're willing to take it for what it is.

My friend who collects pug magnets — with no irony — insisted I tell you about Beverly Hills Chihuahua, also out on DVD today. While the story is mostly about a pampered pooch and the heroic doggies who help her find her way home, many scenes are stolen by gay pug Sebastian (voiced by Ugly Betty's Michael Urie). What better way to take your mind off economic crises than by watching adorable talking canines?

After the kids have gone to bed with visions of chihuahuas dancing in their head, pull out Rick & Steve: Season Two, the continuing stop-motion adventures of "the happiest gay couple in all the world." This series has a hilarious wicked streak to it as it satirizes queer culture at its silliest. Guest voices include Margaret Cho, Peter Paige and Alan Cumming.

Celebrate the legacy of the late Leslie Cheung — one of Hong Kong's greatest actors and practically the only Asian superstar to come out — with Ashes of Time Redux, an expanded version of the historical epic directed by Wong Kar-Wai (Happy Together, In the Mood for Love). It's Wong's only period-swordplay movie, but it's as moving and thought-provoking as his more contemporary pieces.