Best DVD's Out Now: The Pow! And the Glory

Kick Ass 2
Three years after ultra-violent superhero flick Kick Ass Matthew Vaughn is gone from the director’s chair, replaced by Jeff Wadlow. In a nicely self-referential turn, the events of the first film have inspired freaks and geeks around the city to become wannabe superheros. The titular Kick-Ass soon heads a new vigilante group called Justice Forever – but rival The Motherfucker (Christopher Mintz-Platz) is seeking domination. Meanwhile, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) is navigating her own new enemies: high school girls. Tonally, KA 2 lacks restraint, with the violence played for shock value and rape threats jarring with the note of gross-out lad comedy introduced by Mintz-Platz. A near-unrecognizable Jim Carrey is Colonel Stars And Stripes, while Donald Faison is wasted as Dr. Gravity. Moretz shines but the movie feels smug and self-congratulatory.

Pacific Rim
Blockbuster directors often seem to be competing to see who can level a fine metropolis – usually New York City, that unfortunate town – in the most dramatic, explosive and expensive way possible. Guillermo Del Toro has raised the bar. His outrageously cheesy film sees gigantic monsters, dubbed ‘Kaiju’, emerge from an interdimensional rift in the Pacific Ocean for the purpose of destroying the world’s major conurbations. Nations band together to create Jaegers, giant robots outfitted with massive weapons. What follows is an explosion-fuelled, hilariously self-aware concoction of cliché-fuelled demographic-pandering. Enjoyment will depend on your sensitivity to corporate cynicism and the satisfaction you derive from such a finely-honed piece of teenage wish fulfilment. It’s by far and away Del Toro’s safest, least original outing. However, his commitment to perfecting a decidedly unsophisticated genre is, in its way, admirable. Extras include deleted scenes and outtakes.

Monster's University
Pixar, your standards are slipping. Sure, Billy Crystal and John Goodman are fantastic as Mike and Sully and having them play feuding freshmen forced to band together at Scare College is nice. But didn’t the idea for the monsters’ Scare Tournament originate with Harry Potter? And you got very lazy with your supporting characters, none of whom have the heart-melting emotional impact of previous creations. Frankly, it feels like the tired Disney formula that made Pixar’s emergence such a huge breath of fresh air in the first place. There’s none of that subversion, pop culture commentary or biting wit. It’s just a bunch of tired formulas and safe, forgettable jokes. Disappointing. Great extras though, including games.

Man of Steel
Jettisoning kryptonite, Lex Luther and the Fortress of Solitude and shoe-horning in a space-set, Dungeons And Dragons-style planet Krypton, Zack Snyder takes a decidedly revisionist approach to geekdom’s most perfect superhero. Produced by Batman reboot expert Christopher Nolan, this strenuously serious and action-packed origins story sees Henry Cavill don that iconic red cape, and attempt to save the world from General Zod (the ubiquitous Michael Shannon). Man Of Steel is an irrepressible interstellar epic. And therein lies the problem. By focusing on the beautiful but exhausting CGI battles, Snyder neglects to imbue Superman with a humanity or humour. Visually it is stunning, but, like its perfect hero, Man Of Steel remains too removed from us flawed and grounded humans to be relatable. Extras include special effects featurettes.

Music DVD's

PINK FLOYD: UNCUT
The definitive overview of the music of Pink Floyd, from 1967 through to 1996. Featuring extensive archive interviews with Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and David Gilmour alongside extremely rare footage of Pink Floyd in performance from film and television archives around the globe, the ten-disc collection is essential viewing for every Floyd fan. Critics, musicologists and academics are also interviewed.

THE DOORS: R-EVOLUTION
R-Evolution brings together a wealth of previously unreleased footage of The Doors. Combining early TV appearances with their own music videos, it illustrates how The Doors evolved both as musicians and film-makers. What shines through is their immense charisma (the tunes are cracking too). The Deluxe Edition features a 40-page, DVD-sized hardcover book with lyrics info, trivia and photos. 

GOYTE: LIFE AS A PAINTING
Goyte is best-known for his hit single ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making him just the fifth Australian to do so. Aside from being a compelling vocalist, he’s also an accomplished pianist, drummer and painter. However, this unauthorised documentary merely compiles readily-available interviews and film clips. Lacklustre commentary attempts to turn these snippets into a cohesive narrative. Fans would be better served searching Wikipedia.