I'm glad I'm not the only one having this problem. I bought "GoldenEye" from Walmart and it would freeze on the expensive DVD player, but my $90 portable and the computers play it fine. Go figure.
We bought a 27 dollar DVD player at Wallyworld. I think it is an APEX or something like that. Had it over a year and it works beautifully and plays every DVD we throw at it, including ones the kids have scratched up.