V for Vendetta takes place in the not-too-distant future, where society is ruled by a totalitarian/Big Brother iron fist. The film’s “hero,” a freedom fighter who goes by the sole letter V, has a lot going on behind his Guy Fawkes mask. He wants to set free the residents of England by performing various acts of terrorism that target the powers-that-be, and will hopefully lull them from the sleep state they now reside in.

V, portrayed and voiced by Hugo Weaving (who played Agent Smith in The Matrix flicks and Mitzi in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) has chosen Nov. 5, Guy Fawkes Day in England, to carry out his master plan of blowing up Parliament.

In the meantime, he rescues waif Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) from the secret police. She then witnesses his assault on the television station where she works and aids in his escape, which makes her a marked woman.

Yet she wants to help V fight “The Man.” After a rather brutal initiation to test her mettle, Evey stays in his underground lair, which is full of artifacts that the Big Brother militia has deemed unacceptable.

Along the way, Evey finds wells of strength within her and ends up sporting a buzz cut (like Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3) as a sign of her solidarity to fight the injustices thrust upon her. Portman manages to come across as simultaneously vulnerable and strong.

V for Vendetta is a stylized action/thriller based upon the graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The film version was written and produced by the Wachowski brothers, the men behind all three Matrix films, and is light years better than the last two Matrix movies combined. The themes of future totalitarian rule seem on par with the current administration, and there are even gay themes in the film, including a very touching lesbian subplot and another character who is outed.

Failure to Launch is receiving a tepid “skip it”; I didn’t outright hate it, nor did I go ga-ga over this mildly entertaining celluloid romp.

The film, starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker, does at least have a slightly original premise going for it. McConaughey portrays Tripp, a 35-year-old man still living at home with parents, played by Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw, who are so eager to have him gone that they hire the services of Parker’s Paula, an “interventionist.”

In actuality, Paula is hired to be a girlfriend to men who have the “can’t leave home without it” syndrome, helping them to fly away from the nest.

Launch is a tad on the predictable side, as Paula repeatedly tells her roommate (scene-stealing Zooey Deschanel) that she never falls for clients. It doesn’t take Dionne Warwick and her team of psychic friends to see the obvious plot twists coming.

Tripp is “out of tune with nature,” explains his friend (the hunky Bradley Cooper), and indeed animals attack Tripp at least three times during the course of the film. These scenes belong somewhere on an episode of FOX’s “When Animals Attack 5” rather than in this romantic comedy, as they really don’t move the story along.

Parker’s Paula character has traces of the gal we fell in love with on “Sex and the City” – including a few Carrie Bradshaw type squeals – but, alas, one can only hope Parker will choose better vehicles for her talent.

The biggest irkers of the movie are three butt shots of Terry Bradshaw – not exactly what I would term “money shots” by any stretch when McConaughey could have easily performed that duty. And the forced-hilarity of the movie’s finale defies logic even for a comedy.

The Ellen Show: The Complete Series gives you Ellen DeGeneres’ pioneering sitcom in one package. The premise here is that her character, Ellen Richmond, is burned out on big-city life after her dot com business fails and she hoofs it back to her hometown. Yes, this Ellen is also a lesbian, but it isn’t the focal point of the show. Aiding and abetting this incarnation of Ellen are Cloris Leachman and Martin Mull.

Noah’s Arc: The Complete First Season is Logo’s original series about a quartet of African-American gay men experiencing life and love in Los Angeles. It will be available on Aug. 8, as will Prison Break: Season One, which should quench your thirst for the show’s second-season premiere on Aug. 21. Personally, I’ve been having Wentworth Miller withdrawals!