The Roommate and Others on DVD This Week

Literally, this is as exciting as it gets.

Coming to DVD this week, we have The Roommate, an abysmal rip off of Single White Female; The Mechanic, an excellent remake of a Charles Bronson movie; and The Rite, a surprisingly effective exorcism-chiller from the director of 1408. Which is more worth your money, though? 

Well, I'm going out on a limb and saying that it'll be The Mechanic. Why? We'll get into each release after the jump. Starting with The Roommate.

More after the cut--

The Rite

Don't stop believin' 

The Rite is a curious film. We get a film in the exorcism genre once a year, it seems, but we don't usually get films that take consideration of what they're studying. In 2005, The Exorcism of Emily Rose came to theaters, and was much maligned. And in 1973, The Exorcist debuted to stellar box office and reviews. The more serious and accurate the film, the less popular it becomes. Emily Rose, based on the factual exorcism of a young German girl called Annalise Michel, has been called more authentic than The Exorcist. However, that isn't the famous one. The Rite falls in the middle of that - a serious film, that still comes with all the frills. No spinning heads, no constant vomiting, but still loads of flopping around and "film possession". It's a film that ponders several questions, most importantly "what happens when a priest gets a demon?".

More after the cut --

In Theaters This Weekend

Upon his escape from Shawshank

This weekend seems to bring us quite the haul in terms of what to go see. There's our annual exorcism thriller, The Rite, with Anthony Hopkins doing what he does best - intimidating*. There's The Mechanic starring Jason Statham and Ben Foster, and then there are three smaller releases, most likely in larger cities.

Javier Bardem, who recently recieved a Best Actor nomination at this year's Oscars, stars in Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu's Biutiful. A smaller comedy called From Prada to Nada, and Gregg Araki's Kaboom, all in limited release.

More on these films, and their trailers, after the cut --