Digital Breakdown: 'Shutter' on remakes

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - Please — cut back on remaking horror movies based on films from Asia. It worked for a while with “The Grudge” and “The Ring,” but things went quickly downhill with “Pulse,” “Dark Water” and, now, here’s “Shutter,” based on a Thai film. This remake is a lame ghost story about an American couple (Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor), who, on their honeymoon in Japan, run over a poor girl in the country. When the police arrive, there’s no girl in sight. But after that, the protagonist, a professional fashion photographer, begins to see specks of light show up in his camera — or “shutters.” What follows is a yawn-inducing Hollywood stinker. It’s too bad, because this set has good extras: five featurettes, nine deleted scenes, an alternate ending, audio commentary, and on the Blu-ray version, Japanese videos from the set and more alternate scenes. Price: $29.98 to $39.98; Rent or buy: Rent, if that.

BIRDS OF PREY: THE COMPLETE SERIES

“Birds of Prey” is an alternate-universe comic book about the daughter of Batman and Catwoman and other vigilantes that team up to fight evil in New Gotham after Batman abandons the city. Starring Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer, “Birds of Prey,” the TV show, tried to capture the flair of the comic, but was canceled after 13 episodes. This DVD collects all the episodes; it also includes an animated short, “Gotham Girls,” and the pilot, which never aired. Price: $39.98. Rent or buy: Buy.

SAVING GRACE: SEASON ONE

Take one part gritty crime drama and one part “Touched By An Angel” and you have “Saving Grace,” an interesting show starring Holly Hunter that debuted on TNT last year. Hunter plays a hard-drinking, hard-living cop, who, after killing a teen in a drunk-driving accident, asks for God’s help. She gets Archangel Earl, a scruffy angel that pledges to help her find her right path. But is Earl even real? Or is he a figment of her imagination scarred from too many drinks and cigarettes? With the show’s new season starting this week, now is the time to catch up on what you missed. The DVD has featurettes about the characters, a behind-the-scenes look at working on a TV show, audio commentaries and a recap of the first season. Price: $49.98. Rent or buy: Buy.

THE BANK JOB — TWO DISC SPECIAL EDITION

This film isn’t a sequel or prequel to the enjoyable “The Italian Job.” It stars Jason Statham as a thief offered a job he can’t refuse, on a London Baker Street bank. But he’s soon involved in a web of corruption that threatens his survival. It’s a decent action drama. The DVD has extended scenes and a digital copy of the film that may be downloaded onto a computer or other portable media device. Price: $34.98 to $39.99. Rent or buy: Rent.

Other DVDs making their debut today: “Reno 911 — The Complete Fifth Season,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — Blu-ray,” “Eureka — Season Two,” “Trapped Ashes,” “Final Approach” and “Best of Manswers: Season One’s Top 25 Manswers.”

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