Amazon.com video review: After the drudgery of Sudden Impact, the fourth and worst sequel to Dirty Harry, no one could have expected the fifth to have any signs of life. But The Dead Pool is fairly inspired, even playful--check out a "chase" scene between Clint Eastwood's Harry Callahan character and a remote-controlled toy car wielding a bomb--and it ended the long-running series on an unexpectedly positive note. This time, Callahan investigates a series of murders that appears to be on a "death list," while becoming romantically involved with a television reporter (Patricia Clarkson). Jim Carrey has a small but memorable part as a doped-up rock star, and Liam Neeson is on board, too. Directed by Eastwood surrogate Buddy Van Horn (Any Which Way You Can). --Tom Keogh
Amazon.com video review: Five--count 'em, five--chances to wallow in the shoot-first, ask-questions-later ethos of San Francisco cop Harry Callahan, who became a signature character for actor Clint Eastwood. The first one, Dirty Harry, is the best, a Don Siegel film in which Harry flouts rules about police brutality to capture a serial killer. In Magnum Force he tracks rogue cops and utters his "Do you feel lucky, punk?" speech. In The Enforcer he gets a female partner (future Cagney and Lacy star Tyne Daly). Sudden Impact featured him tracking a female serial killer and offered a new catch phrase: "Go ahead. Make my day." And The Dead Pool, aside from offering a smart little chase involving a radio-controlled model car, brought him face to face with Liam Neeson. You can't ask for much more firepower in one box than this. --Marshall Fine