Bruce Lee: Dragon Immortal :: Each week I have been featuring one dvd release, and I have usually gone for the big movies, but this week I gotta go with my heart. My heart says that this week, the coolest thing out there is this 3-disc, 10-film dvd set of “Bruceploitation” flicks. It’s the genre that was accidentally kicked off by Bruce Lee’s untimely death. In his wake emerged scores of Bruce Lee imitators, hoping to cash in on his popularity. These 10 films collect the best of the genre, including starring roles by Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Lai and Dragon Lee.
 Open Season 2 :: In the sequel to 2006’s Open Season, Elliot and Giselle are set to be married. After Mr. Weenie is kidnapped, Elliot, Boog and McSquizzy set out to rescue their old friend. Along the way, they run into the terrible toy poodle Fifi and his gang. In order to save Mr. Weenie, Elliot and his friends will have to enter the scary world of domesticated animals.
 Vicky Cristina Barcelona :: I’m not usually partial to Woody Allen movies, but anything with Scarlett Johansson is gonna get a couple of eyeballs from me. In this one, Ms. Johansson stars as Cristina, who along with her best friend Vicky (Rebecca Hall) are traveling to Barcelona. While there, they both meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), who wants to take them away for a vacation and make love to both of them. Cristina is up for it, but Vicky plays the prude. Eventually a love triangle grows between the three, and into the fray jumps Juan Antonio’s insane ex Maria (Penelope Cruz), fresh off a suicide attempt.
 The Gene Generation :: Bai Ling stars in this futuristic thriller where DNA scans are everywhere and assassins are hired to take out DNA hackers. Pollution and global warming have taken their toll on the planet, and those with inferior DNA are forced into exile to wander the wastelands. Michelle makes sure that none of the outcasts make it back into the city. She’s terribly good at her job.
  The Lucky Ones :: Starring Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams and Michael Pena as Iraq War veterans, The Lucky Ones is essentially a road movie. The three friends rent a car to travel across country from New York to St. Louis after their flight is cancelled. When they get there, though, they hit hard times as they try to work through their troubles.
 Lakeview Terrace :: Samuel L. Jackson stars in this high-strung thriller as a racist LAPD officer who takes it upon himself to terrorize his new interracial neighbors. Newlyweds Chris and Lisa think they have the perfect life, but all that changes when their neighbor (Jackson) begins harassing them because of their interracial marriage. What starts out so harmlessly erupts into a life-threatening situation.
 Final Remains :: Deerhaven is a quiet little town caught in the grip of a horrible curse. Over the years, numerous people had just vanished, never to be seen again. An eccentric psychiatrist is convinced that the local mortician is the culprit, and sets out to prove his guilt. Meanwhile, Monte, Sky, Tina and Tony (known collectively as those meddling kids) show up in Deerhaven looking to stir up trouble by pulling a nasty prank at the local mortuary. Unfortunately, things don’t do quite as planned and the kids must struggle to live through the night. They might just unravel the mystery behind the curse along the way.
  Pride and Glory :: I’m a huge fan of Ed Norton. There, I said it, and I feel better about it. Now that you know, you will understand why I am a little excited about this new release from Director Gavin O’Connor. It stars Norton as a homicide detective, a good cop, who is assigned to investigate his older brother’s precinct. The corruption he finds there seems to originate with one man: his brother’s best friend (Colin Farrell).
  The Rocker :: Rainn Wilson confuses me. He’s funny in The Office, but not anywhere else. Or he is funny in other places, but only when he’s basically doing the dude from The Office (Dwight Schrute, the Schrutebag). It’ll be interesting to see if he can carry a movie (doubt it). In The Rocker, Wilson portrays a Fish, a drummer who lost his one shot at fame when he was kicked out of his band the night they signed a big record deal. 20 years later, Fish gets another chance when his teenage cousin needs a drummer for his high school garage band. The movie co-stars Christina Applegate.
Fireproof :: This is Kirk Cameron’s faith-based drama that explores the deeper meaning of marriage. Faced with a disintegrating marriage at home, Caleb Holt (Cameron) accepts a challenge from his father. Faced with years of arguments over career, housework, finances and everything else, Holt embarks on a last-ditch effort to save his marraige. He sets out on a 40-day experiment to restore his marriage through faith called “The Love Dare”.

Bonus Release

A new feature for the weekly new releases post is the Bonus Release! There are TONS (literally, metric tons) of dvd’s released weekly. I don’t even begin to cover them all, I only attempt to hit the highlights. While I’m compiling my list, though, there is inevitably one new release that stands out even though it wouldn’t normally fit in the post. Sometimes they’re funny or ludicrous, sometimes they’re just freakin’ cool. Whatever the reason, here is your very first bonus release:

Operation Valkyrie :: This documentary uses rare color footage, dramatizations, interviews with leading historians and CGI reconstructions to portray the full story behind Operation Valkyrie, the internal Nazi plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. It’s the real story behind Tom Cruise’s recent release theatrical portrayal of the events, Valkyrie.