On Demand picks

January 09, 2010

TARZAN

(Comcast Movies: All Movies) This lively take on the ape man as a sensitive superstar athlete reinvigorated the lagging Disney animation franchise. It allows Tarzan (pictured) to do things no live version could, and finds the animators confidently working in the traditional Disney house style, abetted by computers. Tony Goldwyn voices Tarzan, Minnie Driver voices Jane, and Glenn Close is another vocal plus as Tarzan’s adoptive gorilla mom. (G; runs through Jan. 11)

MULTIPLICITY

(Encore on Comcast) This comedy is a showcase for Michael Keaton, with a simple and appealing premise. He’s too busy to be worker, husband (of Andie MacDowell) and dad, so he has himself cloned - and then has to deal with the pitfalls and the personality differences among his replicants, a challenge that shows off Keaton’s acting skills. (PG-13; runs through Jan. 21)

THE DOCTOR

(Encore on Comcast) High-handed surgeon William Hurt is jolted back into the human race when he becomes a cancer patient and moves to the other end of the pecking order. Beautifully nuanced acting and perceptively understated direction from Randa Haines make this an unusually tough-minded enterprise of quality, facing the intimacy shortfall as few American films do. (PG-13; runs through Jan. 21)