Coming to DVD

The following is a list of soon-to-be released DVDs. All capsule reviews have been taken from The Washington Post's Weekend section.

July 8

" The Ruins" (R, 101 minutes): This horror-thriller with an overdeveloped sense of gore and an underdeveloped story follows the classic formula: A few callow young American tourists find themselves in mortal danger and must show courage and ingenuity when cell phones, credit cards and whining don't work. At a Mexican beach resort, four Americans (Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore and Laura Ramsey) and a German acquaintance (Joe Anderson) trek out to see a little-known Mayan pyramid. At its base, they're surrounded by heavily armed villagers who won't follow them up the ruin but won't let them off it, either. Plenty of bloody violence and gory injuries follow. Contains strong violence, gruesome images, strong language, sexuality and nudity.

" Sleepwalking" (R, 100 minutes): Charlize Theron plays an addled, self-centered mother who, after a run-in with the police when her pot-dealing boyfriend is arrested, suddenly leaves her 11-year-old daughter (AnnaSophia Robb) in the care of her brother, James. Played by Nick Stahl with blank lack of affect, James leads a marginal, somewhat sketchy existence that leads the bureaucrats to question whether he's an appropriate guardian. There's no escaping it: Theron is a force of nature, illuminating every scene she's in with commanding ferocity. But when she's not on screen, this movie begins to act like its own title. With escalating degrees of overstatement and hyperbole, culminating in an over-the-top performance by Dennis Hopper. Wake me when it's over. Contains profanity and violence.

" Stop-Loss" (R, 112 minutes): Brandon King is an Army sergeant played by Ryan Phillippe who has spent his time in Iraq alongside his best friends, Steve (Channing Tatum) and Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Though Steve yearns to leave Texas and even his girlfriend, Michele (Abbie Cornish), it's Brandon who's told he has to go back. Phillippe deftly translates the unspeakable anger of a soldier into action. He has been told by his senator that if there's anything he needs, just ask. So Brandon decides to go to Washington and ask not to go to Iraq. When Brandon hits the road, Michele is indignant enough, and maternal enough, to go with him. It's a remarkably entertaining movie, thanks in part to a first-rate cast and a director who knows you can't make a point without calling everyone to attention. Contains violence, language and adult content. DVD Extras: Commentary; deleted scenes; featurettes.

" Superhero Movie" (PG-13, 85 minutes): A revolutionary comedy in 1980, "Airplane!" now seems to have been more like a virus. In this movie, Leslie Nielsen plays Uncle Albert, whose nephew, Rick Riker (Drake Bell), has been bitten by a radioactive dragonfly. Rick then becomes . . . Dragonfly, a conflicted, wall-scaling superhero who needs to learn that with great power comes great responsibility. It turns out to be a "Spider-Man" clone accessorized with toilet jokes. The more interesting casting choice is Christopher McDonald, who plays bad guy Hourglass. But McDonald is like the entire comedy conceit of "Superhero Movie": You know exactly what you're getting, in a format that hasn't packed a delightful surprise since, well, maybe 1980. Contains crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references and language.

Also on DVD July 8: "Batman: Gotham Knight"; "Cannon: Season One, Vol. 1"; "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten"; "Monk: Season Six "; "Psych: Complete Second Season"; "Soul Food: The Final Season"; "Stargate Atlantis: Complete Fourth Season"; "The Tracey Fragments"; and "X-Files: Revelations."

July 15

" The Bank Job" (R, 110 minutes): In the early 1970s, Terry (Jason Statham), owner of an unsuccessful car dealership in London, gets a tip from an old friend (Saffron Burrows) about a bank vault whose alarm system is temporarily disabled. But as he recruits a team to steal the valuables, he is unaware of the Machiavellian hands at play. He is soon embroiled in a tragicomedy of errors that includes black militants, MI5 operatives, sexually licentious aristocrats and one sleazy crime lord (David Suchet) hellbent on saving his skin. What makes director Roger Donaldson's movie greater than zany heist fare is that this particular robbery really happened and that this episode illuminated an almost moral clash between the haves and the have-nots of Great Britain. It gives an extra dimension to our entertainment. These robbers aren't just people to root for, they're practically heroic -- or at the very least, they're noble victims. Contains nudity, sex, profanity and violence.

" College Road Trip" (G, 86 minutes): This movie ran out of ideas just after they came up with the title. Martin Lawrence's James is the police chief of the town that he and his family call home and as such is painfully attuned to the evils of the world. He wants his daughter (Raven-Symone) unscathed by any of it. She wants to par- tay-- although she still has great grades, a great attitude and virtually her pick of colleges. Dad wants her to go to Northwestern; she wants to go to Georgetown. Eventually, however, he relents and agrees to drive her to Washington. Perhaps there will be people who do laugh at Lawrence and Raven-Symon¿ screaming in tandem, or mugging their way along every tortured mile of their road trip, or unwittingly joining a sky-diving club and having to parachute into Washington so Melanie can make her interview. Roger has a talent for the twisted that was never going to be allowed to run free in a movie starring these two. Contains nothing objectionable.

" Penelope" (PG, 90 minutes): A witch placed a curse on Penelope's family that said their first-born daughter would be born with a pig face; the afflicted heiress (Christina Ricci) could shake off the curse, but only if she were accepted and loved by "one of her own." Anyone willing to tolerate the premise of the story will be paid off by several winning performances and a moral that makes most of the absurdity worthwhile. Penelope's mom (Catherine O'Hara) arranges for a parade of male suitors to call, each of whom wants the dowry but jumps out the window (literally) when he sees Penelope's face. Eager to get the story, a reporter hires dissipated blue-blood Max Campion (James McAvoy) to take Penelope's picture. Things, as they will in such stories, don't quite go according to plan. A story like this provides so many opportunities for snarky comments -- about hamminess, or acting "chops," or reaping what you sow, or being the wurst movie of the year -- but they just won't stick. Contains mature themes, innuendo and strong language.

" Shutter" (PG-13, 85 minutes): There's scarcely a plot twist in this remake of a Thai horror film that one couldn't predict before it happens. Yet because the acting is strong, this ghostly revenge thriller is intriguing. Newlyweds Ben (Joshua Jackson) and Jane (Rachael Taylor) move to Japan, where Ben works as a photographer. Jane becomes obsessed with odd, blurry images in their wedding photos and in shots Ben takes at work. She learns they are "spirit photos" and discovers why she and Ben are being haunted. Contains terror, disturbing images, sexual content and strong language.

" Step Up 2 the Streets" (PG-13, 97 minutes): This follow-up to 2006's "Step Up" has a message that slips through, at odds with the movie's blatant insincerity: Youthful physicality is pure and impervious, even when it's framed, choreographed, directed and generally falsified by corporate grown-ups. We groan at the two leading, squeaky-clean performers (Robert Hoffman and Briana Evigan) pretending to be oh so "street" in their designer togs and exchanging "attitude"-laced dialogue that induces unintentional laughter. Let's leave these herky-jerky lovebirds to utter those false nothings between their gyrations and wait for a movie where they do get it all right: story, acting and dancing. Contains stylized street beatings and very little resembling authentic human behavior.

" The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" (PG, 104 minutes): In 1970, Mauro (the post-cherubic Michel Joelsas) is dispatched to his grandfather's home in the Sao Paulo Jewish quarter while his parents, Communists facing death under Brazil's junta, go on "vacation." That Grandpa drops dead in the few moments between the phone call made by Mauro's father (Eduardo Moreira) and Mauro's arrival at his tatty apartment is just one of the many contrivances plaguing this ostensibly heartwarming coming-of-age story. The whole thing culminates in the World Cup final featuring the Pele-led Brazilian team, which becomes the rallying point for Brazilians of every stripe. Contains adult content and themes, smoking and mild language.

Also on DVD July 15: "Birds of Prey: The Complete Series"; "Eureka: Season Two"; and "Saving Grace: Season 1."

July 22

" 21" (PG-13, 123 minutes): In the early 1970s, Terry (Jason Statham), owner of an unsuccessful car dealership in London, gets a tip from an old friend (Saffron Burrows) about a bank vault whose alarm system is temporarily disabled. But as he recruits a team to steal the valuables, he is unaware of the Machiavellian hands at play. He is soon embroiled in a tragicomedy of errors that includes black militants, MI5 operatives, sexually licentious aristocrats and one sleazy crime lord (David Suchet) hellbent on saving his skin. What makes director Roger Donaldson's movie greater than zany heist fare is that this particular robbery really happened and that this episode illuminated an almost moral clash between the haves and the have-nots of Great Britain. It gives an extra dimension to our entertainment. These robbers aren't just people to root for, they're practically heroic -- or at the very least, they're noble victims. Contains nudity, sex, profanity and violence.

Also on DVD July 22: "Autumn Hearts: A New Beginning"; "Electroma"; "L.A. Ink: Season 1"; "Robot Chicken: Star Wars"; "Spaced: The Complete Series"; "Vampyr: Criterion Collection."

July 29

" The Band's Visit" (PG-13, 89 minutes): Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin's comedy was disqualified as a nominee for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar because it contained too much English. Audiences can see for themselves that this little film was robbed. It begins just as eight men arrive at an unnamed Israeli airport. They're on their way to a performance, but between their Arabic, broken English and nonexistent Hebrew, they wind up in a dusty desert backwater. Kolirin lets scenes unfold with few words and a multitude of gestures, resulting in a small masterpiece of quiet, physical comedy. What ultimately makes the movie a pleasure to watch is the unforced way Kolirin brings the journey to its natural but deeply affecting end. Contains brief profanity. In English, Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles.

" Doomsday" (R, 105 minutes): There are cool bits in this futuristic British action-horror film -- chiefly the idea that a new Hadrian's Wall keeps post-apocalyptic hordes out of England in 2035, echoing the Dark Ages. The over-the-wall barbarians dress like 1970's punk rockers, but fight in medieval armor. Yet "Doomsday" is really just a warmed-over version of other plague-inspired British horror flicks, and its primary aesthetic is bloody mayhem. In a prologue, we learn that an Ebola-like virus decimated Britain in the present day. The uninfected were confined to London. In 2035, there is a new outbreak and evidence of survivors living like barbarians in Scotland. A female security officer (Rhona Mitra) is sent to lead a few soldiers over the wall in search of a vaccine or other hope. Contains bloody violence, strong language, sexual content and nudity.

" Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" (R, 102 minutes): Success-motivated Harold (John Cho) and stoned slacker Kumar (Kal Penn), get arrested and racially profiled on a flight to Amsterdam after Kumar lights up an electronic bong that looks rather like a bomb. An idiotic Homeland Security agent (Rob Corddry) has them sent to Guantanamo Bay. They escape and make their way back to clear their names. The political satire in this semi-obscene frat-house romp has a really clever edge, so it's too bad the film limits its audience with such fatiguing lewdness. Contains crude and sexual content, nudity, language and drug use.

" Never Back Down" (PG-13, 110 minutes): This is teensploitation at its most obvious: a boneheaded cliche-rama built around six-pack-ab standoffs between preening studs. It stars Tom Cruise-clone Sean Faris as Jake Tyler, the cliched Edgy Outsider with the usual family issues at home who moves to a new school and has to break into a social circle with his fists. The competitive sport du jour is mixed martial arts, in which kicking feet are part of the oh-so-choreographed backstreet duke-outs. After picking up pointers in this new contact sport, Jake sets himself up for a tourney finale with ultimate bad boy Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet), which leads all but directly to winning the heart of the bodacious Baja (Amber Heard). Well, read this message: OMG DNT GO! Contains stylized violence, sexual content, profanity and teen alcohol consumption.

" Shine a Light" (PG-13, 122 minutes): Captured in two 2006 performances at the Beacon Theatre in New York during the group's "A Bigger Bang" tour, the Rolling Stones demonstrates why they never left pop music's forefront. Despite the increasingly gargoyled quality of their aging faces, the sameness of their ritual, they simply believe in themselves. Judging by the ecstatic enthusiasm of their audiences, old and young, the fans believe, too. There is great footage of the Stones in previous times, but for the most part, Martin Scorsese largely lets the Stones be the Stones. Contains profanity, drug references and smoking.

Also on DVD July 29: "Beverly Hills, 90210: The Fifth Season"; "Dark City"; "The Hills: The Complete Third Season"; "Lost Boys: The Tribe"; "Stargate: Continuum"; "Surfwise"; "Tyrone Power Matinee Idol Collection"; "WarGames: 25th Anniversary"; "WarGames: The Dead Code"; "Witchblade: The Complete Series."