Not sure which DVD to pull off the new release shelf? Need a new Blu-ray to show off in 1080p? Or maybe you're looking through the new releases on Netflix and don't know what to add to your DVD queue? Take my advice and either buy-it, rent-it, skip-it, or wait-for-it to become available on HBO, Starz, or Netflix instant queue. Watch #1 first then work your way down the list.
Here are the ten best new release movies that have been released on DVD and Blu-ray as of Tuesday, February 14, 2011.
1. Inception - Buy-it - Top 10 of 2010 - Let me preface this by saying I am a huge fan of Leo (yes, we are even on a first name basis) and Chris Nolan (and yes, I call him "Chris" for short), but Inception, a movie about a world where technology exists to enter the mind through dreams, was THE film of the year, and placed Nolan and DiCaprio at the pinnacle of their respective professions.
2. The Social Network - Buy-it - Top 10 of 2010 - Under David Fincher's direction (Se7en), Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake star in this film about the founders of Facebook (and Napster), and do so brilliantly. It is inspiring and entertaining on every level, a rare combination for Hollywood films these days. But so is a docu-drama. Like it or not, The Social Network is one of the best films of the year.
3. The Town - Buy-it - Top 10 of 2010 - The Town is the story based on a Hammet Prize winning book (an award for crime writing) about four plotting men in Boston under the watchful eye of an FBI agent and is Affleck's 2nd directorial homerun in 2 at bats.
4. Animal Kingdom - Rent-it - Top 10 of 2010 - This brilliant Australian cops and robbers drama staring Guy Pearce is so perfect it'll make you wish you lived in Australia and were best friends with this Guy.
5. Waiting for Superman - Rent-it - New This Week - If you are a parent, because this documentary about the education system in the United States today, and the number of students attending schools but failing to learn anything, is truly eye-opening.
6. Unstoppable - Rent-it - New This Week - Denzel Washington and that guy from the new Star Trek film are two men trying to slow a runaway train, and despite, or maybe even because it is based on a true story, it is completely entertaining from start to stop.
7. Despicable Me - Rent-it - The previews really don't give you any idea what this animated film is about, and though it is NOT a Pixar film, it's got that feel, with a creative story (a man with a secret hideout in a normal suburban neighborhood plans to steal the moon) and well-voiced characters by a list of big-name stars (Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, and Julie Andrews).
8. Salt - Rent-it - If you liked Jolie in Wanted, you will love her in this, but even an impressive performance from her can't save this film from the predictably impossible plot.
9. Knight and Day - Rent-it- The breezy action (I know, that's like "jumbo shrimp") along with the cast (Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, AND Peter Sarsgaard) make this formulaic summer action film worth seeing, or possibly even owning on Blu-ray, but it's nothing special.
10. Let Me In - Rent-it - With no recognizable faces (as all great scary movies should), this film about a bullied boy who meets a young vampire girl is as good, if not better, than the original foreign film.
11. Machete - Rent-it - This film about an ex-Federale out for revenge against the boss that betrayed him is the violent, over-the-top, shallow action film we all hoped Expendables would be.
12. Conviction - Rent-it - This remarkable true story starring Hilary Swank, Minnie Driver, and Sam Rockwell will have you vehemently rooting for a sister who puts herself through law school to help prove her imprisoned brother is innocent.
13. Paranormal Activity 2 - Rent-it - Even if you didn't see the first film in this terrifying low-budget horror series, this film about a haunted home will still entertain and scare. And though this prequel isn't quite as intense, it's actually better written and a more interesting plot.
14. Red - Rent-it - Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and John Malkovich are retired CIA agents who know too much, and therefore become targets for the Agency that trained them. But it is just another comic book adaptation that falls short, despite some big name actors doing things we aren't used to seeing them doing - at least not anymore.
15. Piranha 3-D - Rent-it - If you are in the mood for a bloody, gnarly, laughable, b-movie horror film filled with naked ladies and over-the-top gore, this is your ticket.
16. The Last Exorcism - Rent-it - This suspense/thriller possessed by a horror-movie will have you doubting your beliefs and reconsidering others. And though the demonic possession scenes are the best in nearly 30 years (since the original Exorcist) and the story leading up to the bizarre ending is truly unique and thoroughly suspenseful, The Last Exorcism will ultimately leave most movie-goers disappointed.
17. Takers - Rent-it - It's a new Rat Pack-ish Oceans-11-y heist film, starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Tip 'TI' Harris, Chris Brown, and Hayden Christensen.
18. The Other Guys - Rent-it - Hilarious at times, but altogether lacking from the usually super-funny duo of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Anchorman - The Legend Of Ron Burgundy)
19. The A-Team - Rent-it - It correctly captures the silly, over-the-top action-packed 80s TV show, so if you enjoy(ed) it, you will enjoy this.
20. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse - Rent-it - Expect god-awful performances from it's god-awful cast, but the story actually lacks cliche and the new director surprises with a new tone and style that should have been in the "saga" from the very start of this teen vampire love story.
21. Nowhere Boy - Wait-for-it - This drama about a 15-year old John Lennon is remarkably accurate, and therefore interesting, and Aaron Johnson is casted perfectly for the role.
22. Stone - Wait-for-it - Robert De Niro and Edward Norton go head-to-head as a convicted arsonist and parole officer in a provocative story about forgiveness that tragically heads down Conflict Street though common sense would pump the brakes.
23. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole - Wait-for-it - This adventurous film will certainly entertain children, but Zack Snyder's animated directorial debut (300, Watchmen) is actually decent enough to entertain any fantasy/adventure movie buff.
24. The American - Wait-for-it - You'll be moved by the stillness of this film, starring George Clooney as a lonely and subdued assassin in a slow-paced and beautifully shot spy thriller.
25. Dinner for Schmucks - Wait-for-it - Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Zach Galifianakis are three of the funniest people alive right now, but even this hysterical trio can't save this film from being a bland appetizer that never reaches the fulfilling meal that was promised.
Eighteen other new releases on DVD/Blu-ray that didn't make the top twenty-five:
26. Catfish - Wait-for-it - Well actually, first make sure you see the trailer, because half of the intrigue begins with the intrigue, then wait patiently until this "true" story is in a theater close enough to completely "shock" you.
27. It's Kind of a Funny Story - Wait-for-it - This sentimental piece about a 16-year old boy befriending a psychiatric patient (Zach Galifianakis) is promising at times, including moving performances from the entire cast, but it will ultimately leave you shaking your head in disappointment.
28. Micmacs - Wait-for-it - This odd and stylish farce is thin at parts, but the story billed as a "satire on the world arms trade" about a boy who's father is killed by a bomb and then shot later in life as an adult.
29. Nanny McPhee Returns - Wait-for-it - A rare sequel that's better than the first, Nanny McPhee 2 puts an excellent cast on screen in an entertaining family film about a Nanny and her kids who are evacuated from the city to a farm during wartime.
30. Cyrus - Wait-for-it - This "smart" comedy about a man, down-on-luck, who finally finds the woman of his dreams is better than most of the mainstream comedies that will hit theaters this summer.
31. The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Wait-for-it - Another okay Disney film from the creators of the National Treasure franchise and once again starring Nicolas Cage, this time as a master sorcerer trying to defend modern-day Manhattan.
32. Case 39 - Skip-it - Of the two scary movies hitting theaters this week, this is hands down the worst! In fact, it is completely repulsive, illogical and just plain silly - despite stars like Bradley Cooper and Renee Zellweger.
33. Shrek Forever After - Skip-it - This Shrek film (like the 3rd) is a disappointment, cutting back on the pop-culture references that we loved in the 1st, and still missing the story that drew us back into the 2nd.
34. Resident Evil: Afterlife - Skip-it - Even in 3-D this "action" franchise lacks even one single interesting scene, unless of course you intend on laughing at a ridiculously boring zombie film.
35. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Skip-it - Skip-it unless you have already read the books or seen the previous two films, but if you're already invested in the trilogy this is a pleasant end and fond farewell to your beloved characters.
36. Saw 3-D - Skip-it - Believe it or not, this is hands down the worst installment in the once terrifyingly-grotesque-and-brilliantly-plotted-now-overly-grotesque-and-illogically-plotted series.
37. Twelve - Skip-it - You will remember seeing many of these faces before (Kiefer Sutherland, 50 Cent, that guy from Gossip Girl, and a Culkin) but you will want to forget this absurd story about high school drug dealer.
38. For Colored Girls - Skip-it - Janet Jackson and Oprah Winfrey (yes, you read those two names correctly as actresses starring in a feature film) are two black females in this Tyler Perry special interest/drama based on an award-winning play named "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf" (yes, "enuf" and not "enough") - I think you know my opinion by now - and probably have made your own.
39. Alpha and Omega - Skip-it - This 3-D animated film about two wolves in love is actually hard on the eye, and totally pointless to see.
40. Life As We Know It - Skip-it - Another predictable romcom starring Katherine Heigl, who only succeeds at one thing, making her male co-stars almost as uninteresting as the formulaic script.
41. My Soul to Take - Skip-it - Wes Craven misses again with this overly complex, incomprehendable tale about a murderer who swore to return and kill the children born the day he died. Confused yet?
42. You Again - Skip-it - Kristen Bell will never look hotter than she does standing next to Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver in this less-than-average, run-of-the-mill chick flick.
43. Wild Target - Skip-it - A lackluster British dramedy remake of a French film about an assassin who aims to please his mother, and despite the star-filled cast and laughable plot, the script lacks any laughs worth even recommending an on-demand streaming viewing of this film.
Comments
Great reviews, but you need to make a correction. Oprah Winfrey wasn't in "For Colored Girls." She hasn't acted in a non-animated, big-screen movie since "Beloved" flopped in 1998. You must have "For Colored Girls" confused with "The Color Purple."
The cast in TAKERS is solid, the filming and direction is not only terrifically stylized but distinctive and unique, the action scenes are terrific. I not only saw this movie at the theatre several times but I bought the DVD. Lowering the value of this movie by just saying "rent it" does not do it justice at all. It was number one at the box office in August and it's been number one in DVD sales and rentals since it came out on DVD. I think you need to rethink that one!
I liked TAKERS better than The Town, it had more to entertain you with!
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