Eros

Recalling the 1960s vogue of releasing omnibus feature films comprised of short films from notable directors, the best entry in this trilogy is Wong Kar Wai's “The Hand,” which serves up a stylish and subtle display of sexual metaphors in its tale of a young (and perhaps virginal) tailor (Chang Chen) and a “kept woman” client who's been around the block a few times (a drop-dead gorgeous Gong Li). Less restrained is the second piece, Steven Soderbergh's “Equilibrium,” in which a high-strung 1950s ad executive (Robert Downey Jr.) discusses the woman of his—literal—dreams with his psychiatrist (Alan Arkin); the delightfully hammy actors make the most of a none-too-clever sketch that ultimately wears out its welcome. And speaking of a worn-out welcome, the third offering Michelangelo Antonioni's apparent self-parody “The Dangerous Thread of Things,” involves an opaque relationship between a bored but very good-looking couple and a beautiful female horseback rider, serving up pretentious and pointless (not to mention badly-dubbed) dialogue on matters of life, love, and emotional chaos (perhaps chic four decades ago, but today, only unintentionally funny). An uneven curio, Eros is strictly an optional purchase. [Note: DVD extras include Antonioni's unexceptional short film “Michelangelo Eye to Eye” (20 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for an uneven film.] (P. Hall)