The Good, the Bad and the Blu-rays

A couple of days late but still as valid a source of information as it ever was, here's the ups and downs of this week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases.

Trading heavily on the nostalgia factor ageing '90s teen movie enthusiasts like me are offering it, I'll admit that a large part of my desire to see the latest entry into the American Pie franchise is curiosity over how fat and bald everyone's got. Whether that will make me happy or sad I'm not sure, but it might be nice to spend a bit more time with Jim and the gang to try and rid ourselves of the awful memories of the now forgotten straight to DVD follow-ups the original trilogy had. Yeah, I said it, trilogy; and I also consider the second film to be the best one of the bunch, whilst I'm saying scandalous things.

Made during the ever so brief period in the late '90s when "Charles" Sheen thought he could be taken seriously as an actor, I don't quite understand why they haven't retro-actively tried to avoid confusion and bill him as Charlie. This thriller comes from Albert Pyun, the director of the 1990 version of Captain America which holds a place dear in my nostalgic old heart, but I expect that this isn't very good and not amazing like Captain America is. What? You got something to say?

Following on from last year's Kill List, in that it's a UK based thriller about two hired hitmen that's brutally violent, the highly buzzed but under seen The Devil's Business is out this week on DVD. It's one of those film's that's come out of nowhere with a big critical buzz, and given that it's been priced like it's the new Steven Seagal film, I'll be checking it out as soon as possible.

A documentary charting the disappearance and near extinction of the independent record shop, Last Shop Standing has interviews with Johnny Marr, Paul Weller and a bunch of highly regarded, big name muso types talking about their first experiences in a record store and how it has shaped their love of music. This crowd-funded doc should find an appreciative audience among the musically literate.

I'm still of the belief that Aardman Animation can do no wrong, but when I saw The Pirates! during its cinema release I found that it wasn't quite the level of brilliance I was hoping it would be. I'm keen to give it a reappraisal now it's on disc, as maybe it's just unfortunate that it has Wallace and Gromit as it's closest comparison point, and therefore left me wanting more.

Statham, gun, explosion, bus, NYPD cop car. Not only a brief description of Safe's blu-ray cover, but probably all the producers needed to say to the studio to get the greenlight. An always dependable action movie star, this thriller sees the Stath's ex copper protecting a young girl with a genius memory from the ensuing mob in New York City. Fair enough.

What a tagline. I'm all for a parents supporting their children when they decide to follow a similar career path, but Ray Winstone should really have a better barometer for what's a good move and what's not, following up the critically despised Elfie Hopkins (starring Jaime Winstone) with The Hot Potato, starring his oldest daughter, Lois. It's interesting to note that she's billed as "introducing Lois Winstone", despite having a stack of credits already under her belt, including Tamara Drewe and Father of Girls alongside her dear old dad. Okay, well it's interesting to me. The other intriguing credit is that of Louise Redknapp, who I had no idea was capable of acting as well as being a '90s pin-up, a singer and a co-host of a cookery show where she refuses to eat any of the food for dietary reasons. I've just realised that I've waffled on for quite a while and not even mentioned what the film's about, but if you weren't sold on the film by the title, I doubt my dissection of the cast list has done much to sway your decision; nor will the trailer.