New DVD Tuesday

Predators (2010): Adrien Brody, Topher Grace
Yet another relatively worthless installment of a once great series. This one finds humans being brought to an alien game preserve to be hunted by the predators. Because, I mean, if you can just bring the game to you, why bother going to earth yourself? It hasn't always worked out in the past so really, it's a decent enough plan for the predators. Plus, if you want to guarantee an easy kill, wouldn't you bring in Topher Grace? It's almost too easy.

Seriously, I'm not kidding, that is the only mainstream new release to hit shelves this week. How that's even possible I don't know. Thankfully there are some Blu Ray releases of note.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2003) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2004) - Ultimate Editions
You could make the case that the third installment of the "Harry Potter" film series is the best of the bunch. It should be a case study in how to transition from kid's stuff to darker subject matter. In my opinion "Azkaban" is the film that took this series (both the movies and the books) from pretty good children's fiction to the demographic-shattering success that it is today. I've got the first and second installments in the Ultimate Edition series and while some special/ultimate/limited edition DVD/Blu Ray sets are pretty sparse, these are chock full of nerdy goodness. A must-have for any Potter freak like myself.

Apocalypse Now (1979): Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando
The dark-and-twisted war classic that somehow I've never seen. This is a super-awesome edition of the film that includes the original movie, the redux from 2001, and "Heart of Darkness." Adding this to the queue.......now.

Psycho (1960): Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles
Another classic that is finally getting the Blu Ray treatment for its 50th anniversary. From a suspense standpoint, there might not be a better movie ever in the history of film. I'm just sayin'. By the way, anyone remember back in 1998 when acclaimed director Gus Van Sant, fresh off the success of "Good Will Hunting", directed a remake of "Psycho" that sucked so bad that it almost ruined the career of everyone involved? No? Me either.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon
The fact that I put this is in today's column displays a.) how committed I am to just giving you the news of the day regardless of my personal opinion, and b.) how very bad New DVD Tuesday is this week. I HATE "RHPS." Actually "hate" might not be a strong enough word. I borderline "Travolta" this movie. Since I despise John Travolta above all pop culture entities in the history of the world, that should tell you how much I hate "RHPS." I just felt like it needed to be said. No movie has wasted more people's time than this one. Absolute rubbish.

Moulin Rouge! (2001): Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman
I know so many people who swear that this is a good, even great, movie but I just don't get it. It's pretty generic for the most part highlighted by director Baz Luhrmann's standard over-the-top glamour. The music is really, really strong but the movie? Pretty weak sauce in my book. BUT. If given the choice between watching this 12 times consecutively or watching "Rocky Horror" only once, I would gladly suffer through "Moulin Rouge!" again and again.

Romeo+Juliet (1996): Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes
Another Luhrmann production that I don't quite understand the allure of. To be fair, however, while I'm a huge Shakespeare fan, I think "Romeo and Juliet" is perhaps the worst of his well known works. It bothers me that this is the play that most people first associate with such a great writer. Regardless, while this definitely isn't my cup of tea, the modern interpretation that Luhrmann is quite bold if altogether uninspiring.