On Demand picks

By Wesley Morris, Globe Staff  |  November 29, 2008

GOLDENEYE

(Comcast Pay-Per-View) James Bond, restored to kicky new life in the crime-ridden new Russia. Pierce Brosnan (above, with Famke Janssen) carries him back unapologetically and successfully to the land of male escapist action fantasy, and the explosions and other set pieces have panache. (PG-13; runs through Nov. 30)

X-MEN

(Comcast Pay-Per-View) It could have been more than a big-screen version of the popular comic series, but it isn't. Dark, handsome visuals that might have resonated provocatively with themes of bigotry and alienation settle instead for slick good mutant-bad mutant stuff, with Patrick Stewart as the good mutants' guru and Ian McKellen as his opposite number. Hugh Jackman, as the pained, steel-clawed Wolverine, comes off best among the action figures. (PG-13; runs through Nov. 30)

THE RUINS

(Comcast Pay-Per-View) Four American tourists vs. one sea of man-eating Mexican vines. Smart, suspenseful, well acted, gross. (R; runs through Nov. 30)