NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
“THE BACK-UP PLAN,” starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O’Loughlin. Unambitious but pleasant enough little rom-com finds Lopez back on the big screen as Zoe, a career woman who heeds the call of her biological clock by becoming pregnant via artificial insemination — only to meet the man of her dreams (O’Loughlin, “Three Rivers”) immediately thereafter. It doesn’t come up with any plot points that scores of other date movies haven’t already beaten into the ground, but the stars are easy on the eyes and do exhibit some chemistry. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:46.
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Suggested retail price: DVD $28.95; Blu-ray $34.95.
“SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD,” starring Alex Van Sprang and Kenneth Welsh. Zombie pioneer George Romero continues his near-epic series of undead hijinks, this time looking to the future, where the usual lumbering, hungry corpses are leisurely attacking the inhabitants of an island off the coast of North America. Rated R. Running time: 1:30.
Suggested retail price: DVD $29.98; Blu-ray $29.98.
“LOST: THE COMPLETE SIXTH AND FINAL SEASON,” starring Matthew Fox and Evangeline Lilly. The controversial (to say the least) finale of this beloved CBS headscratcher, involving the mind-boggling consequence of a plane crash on a tropical island, split viewersinto two distinct camps. But as ever, it’s the little details and phenomenal performances that make “Lost” such a distinct and enjoyable experience. Running time: 11:54.
Suggested retail price: DVD $59.99; Blu-ray $79.99.
NEW TO BLU-RAY
“SHOGUN ASSASSIN,” starring Tomisaburo Wakayama and Kayo Matsuo. Few if any would call this 1980 adaptation of “Lone Wolf and Cub” seamless, but its insane, cobbled-together nature is part of what makes “Assassin” such an indelible viewing experience, with one blood-spurting altercation after another and plenty of enjoyably ridiculous dialogue. Rated R. Running time: 1:26.
Suggested retail price: $24.98.
“TIME BANDITS,” starring John Cleese and Michael Palin. Fans of “The Holy Grail” and “Life of Brian” are a dime a dozen, but you never hear enough about this inventive, and above all, hilarious fantasy from then first-time director Terry Gilliam and featuring such Monty Python alums as Palin and Cleese telling the story of an imaginative young boy who unwittingly joins a merry band of time-traveling dwarves. Rated PG. Running time: 1:50.
Suggested retail price: $17.98.
VIDEOPORT PICKS
“CITY ISLAND,” starring Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies. In an age of overreaching experimentation and self-important irony, it’s extremely refreshing to encounter a film that wants nothing more than to simply entertain and provide honest laughs. Writer-director Raymond De Felitta (the underrated “The Thing About My Folks”) recalls such family-banter classics as “Moonstruck” with this heartfelt comedy. Garcia gets to flex his all-too-ignored funny bone as a prison guard and the patriarch of the Rizzo clan, a family renowned for never imparting any secret or feelings in general to one another. A well-meaning Garcia throws off this delicate balance by bringing home a released ex-con, and this good deed soon sets of a sequence of events that leads to one bombshell after another. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:44.
Suggested retail price: DVD $29.98; Blu-ray $34.98.
“ME AND ORSON WELLES,” starring Zac Efron and Christian McKay. Delightful dramedy from ever-dependable director Richard Linklater (“School of Rock”) finds young wannabe actor Efron being taken under the wing of none other than Orson Welles (newcomer McKay, in a revelatory performance) and hired to play Lucius in a 1937 production of “Julius Caesar” at the Mercury Theatre. The rehearsals and stage fright prove to be nothing compared to having to deal with Welles himself, who cares little for social convention, and who harbors no reservations when it comes to hitting on Efron’s potential love interest, played by the ever-beguiling Clare Danes. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:54.
Suggested retail price: DVD $29.99; Blu-ray $34.99.
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