This Week in DVD is a column that compiles all the latest info regarding new DVD releases, sales, and exclusive deals from stores including Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Fry’s.

Please don’t take the commentary on the movies and TV shows too seriously, as they’re meant not to be reviews but rather previews that include the general thoughts and ramblings of a twice-committed DVD addict. The categories represent solely the author’s intentions towards the DVDs at hand, and are in no way meant to be a reflection on what he thinks other people should rent or buy. So if he ends up putting a movie you like in the “Skip it” section without having seen it, please keep in mind that the time you could spend leaving a spiteful but ultimately futile comment could instead be used for more pleasant things in life. Like buying DVDs.

STEP BROTHERS
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Unrated Edition)
Not a movie to be looked at as anything other than random hilarity, Step Brothers proves that Will Ferrell isn’t out of the game just yet. It also provides John C. Reilly another opportunity to show off what a terrific talent he is, despite repeatedly being rejected by audiences when it comes to box office earnings. If you’re in the mood to laugh and don’t feel like paying attention to pesky annoyances like “plot” and “character development,” then check this one out. Unlike most comedies, it only gets funnier on repeat viewings.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The single-disc includes extended scenes, a gag reel, a Line-O-Rama, a making of featurette, and a Boats ‘N Hoes music video. The 2-disc additionally includes Job Interviews, a Music of Step Brothers featurette, and more deleted and extended scenes.

*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (including Amazon).

WANTED
(Available as single-disc and 2-Disc Special Edition)
Wanted is great fun, but it’s not a film that needs to be watched more than once. It’s held together solely by the badass action sequences; once the thrill of those are lost, all you’re left with is an incredibly stupid screenplay and one goofy sequence after another. Rent it, enjoy it, forget it.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The 2-disc will include 8 featurettes (’Cast and Characters’, ‘Stunts on the L Train’, ‘Special Effects: The Art of the Impossible’, ‘Groundbreaking Visual Effects: From Imagination to Execution’, ‘The Origins of Wanted: Bringing the Graphic Novel to Life’, ‘Through the Eyes of Visionary Director Timur Bekmambetov’), a feature on the making of the video game, Wanted: Motion Comics, a “killer” extended scene, and a digital copy of the film.

*Does not include 2-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at each of the listed stores (including Amazon).

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Exclusive production notes with 2-Disc set ($22.99).
Where? Target.

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Exclusive Lithograph.
Where? Best Buy.

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Free Wanted chrome keychain with 2-Disc set ($22.99).
Where? Circuit City.

Also available is this Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set, which can be bought off Amazon for $39.99. You can read more about it HERE.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
(Available as single-disc and 3-Disc Collector’s Edition)
Is it just me, or has the amount of interest in this latest entry of the Narnia series been shockingly minimal, at least in the US? Other than the occasional comment about how surprisingly violent the film is for a PG family adventure, I can’t recall any real discussion regarding it from fellow film geeks since its release. I was one of the few that was severely disappointed by The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which made me feel a little left out when everyone kept discussing how great it was. But maybe people have gotten their fill of Narnia, since the sequel grossed less than half the amount of the first one (while costing $20 million more). Regardless, I’m willing to give the series a second chance now that Caspian has hit DVD.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The single-disc includes a commentary with director Andrew Adamson and actors. The 3-disc includes that, along with deleted scenes, 7 featurettes, a blooper reel, deleted scenes, interactive games and a digital copy of the film.

*Does not include 3-Disc Edition, which costs $27.99 at Best Buy and Circuit City, $29.99 at Target, $34.99 at Fry’s, and $22.99 at Amazon.

THE X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
(Available as single-disc and 3-Disc Ultimate X-Phile Edition)
What a stunningly godawful movie. With straight-to-cable production values, a surprisingly lackluster storyline and confusing character developments (Wait, why are Mulder and Scully sleeping in the same bed all of a sudden? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?), there is literally nothing worth praising here. I’m not an X-Files fan by any means, but I actually quite enjoyed the first film. Rest assured, I Want to Believe is a purely pedestrian affair in comparison. Not even recommended for diehard fans, unless they’re truly desperate for another helping of Mulder and Scully and don’t mind the film amounting to nothing more than a really weak episode of the show.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: The single-disc includes both the theatrical and Unrated Extended Cut of the film, an audio commentary by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, featurettes (’Body Parts: Special Make-up Effects’, ‘Chris Carter: Statements on Green Production’), deleted scenes and a gag reel. The 3-disc includes that, plus a feature-length documentary entitled ‘Trust No One: Can The X-Files Remain A Secret?’ and a digital copy of the film.

*Does not include 3-Disc Edition, which costs $22.99 at Target and Circuit City, $24.99 at Best Buy and Fry’s, and $23.99 at Amazon.

THE LONGSHOTS
This family-friendly sports comedy/drama is directed by Fred Durst, the lead singer of everyone’s favorite nu metal band Limp Bizkit. How anyone can hear that and think to themselves, “I should see that,” I have no idea. Even ignoring that aspect of the production though, the film looks terribly uninteresting, unoriginal and not the least bit funny. Pass.
Blu-ray? Yes.
Notable Extras: Deleted scenes, featurettes (’Jamine Plummer: The Real Longshot’, ‘Making The Longshots’) and interviews with Ice Cube and director Fred Durst.

FLY ME TO THE MOON 3-D
When a CGI family film looks worse than Space Chimps, you know you’re in trouble. The 3-D is obviously the selling point here, but when you’re forced to contend with cheap and ugly animation, cringe-worthy jokes involving burps and farts, and painfully lame characters, something as gimmicky as 3-D is hardly enough to warrant a viewing.
Blu-ray? No.
Notable Extras: A Planetarium Game.

EXCLUSIVE DEAL:
What? Exclusive Nightlight.
Where? Best Buy.

Other noteworthy DVDs available this week…
Casablanca (Ultimate Collector’s Edition) – The Day the Earth Stood Still (Two-Disc Special Edition) – Metalocalypse (Season 2) – Law and Order (Season 6) – Saturday Night Live (Season 4) – White Dog (Criterion Collection)

NOTE: Some deals may be in-store only.

Exclusive: DC Universe Collector’s Set ($49.99). Includes Special Editions of: Superman Doomsday, The Justice League: New Frontier, Batman: Gotham Knight and spots for 2009 releases of Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.

$13.99 – Kung Fu Panda, Futurama: Bender’s Game, Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Speed Racer, Jumper, The Happening, and more…

$6.99 – The Brave One, Unleashed, The Transporter (Collector’s Edition), The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (Extreme Unrated Remastered), Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Troy (Director’s Cut), King Kong, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Dawn of the Dead, Pan’s Labyrinth, The Rundown, Children of Men, Smokin’ Aces, and more…