New on DVD
X-Men: First Class
20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
The X-Men franchise gets a stylish reboot with “X-Men: First Class,” which jumps back to 1962 to explore the friendship between a young professor Charles Xavier and Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr as they work together and train mutants under the auspices of a skeptical federal government. Director Matthew Vaughn and a team of producers and screenwriters aim for a retro spy-movie cool, only with costumed, superpowered heroes and villains. The familiar clash-of-good-and-evil plot is a bit of a letdown, but the sleek look and stellar cast — including James McAvoy as Prof. X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and January Jones and Kevin Bacon as their nemeses — makes this one of the most enjoyable superhero epics in years. The DVD contains two parts of a comprehensive making-of featurette; the Blu-ray contains those two plus six more, as well as deleted scenes, interactive features and digital comics.
Everything Must Go
Lionsgate, $27.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
Based on a Raymond Carver short story, “Everything Must Go” stars Will Ferrell as an alcoholic who loses his job and then comes home to find that his wife has changed the locks and dumped all his stuff on the lawn. So our man buys some beer, sits in an easy chair and holds a yard sale. Writer-director Dan Rush pitches “Everything Much Go” as an occasionally wry, always earnest dramedy, populated by quirkily deadpan and/or achingly sensitive supporting characters. In short: It’s a standard “comic superstar gets dramatic” indie, and though Ferrell’s not bad, it feels as if he’s trying too hard to restrain himself, thus sapping the movie of some much-needed zing. The DVD and Blu-ray add deleted scenes, featurettes and a Rush commentary track.
Hanna
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
A lean, stylish chase thriller, director Joe Wright’s “Hanna” stars Saoirse Ronan as the title character, who’s been raised in the wild by an ex-spy and trained for her entire life to kill the woman who killed her mother. When she comes of age, Hanna heads out into the world, dealing with very dangerous people while discovering everything she’s missed in her sheltered youth. “Hanna” is fairly shallow stuff, but Ronan is terrific and Wright maintains a brisk pace, with the occasional pause for Hanna to soak in the beauty of life before the killing resumes. The DVD and Blu-ray add a Wright commentary track, plus multiple featurettes and deleted scenes (including an alternate ending).
Rebirth
Oscillocope, $34.99
Begun as an attempt to document — via time-lapse photography — the decade-long transformation of 9/11’s ground zero in New York, Jim Whitaker’s documentary “Rebirth” also interviews a handful of people who were directly affected by the terrorist attacks, and juxtaposes their memories with footage of the cleaning and construction. The idea here is to show how cities and humans alike recover from devastation — an idea that Whitaker gets across quite movingly. The DVD set includes a Whitaker commentary track, and a second disc with the complete time-lapse footage and some behind-the-scenes material.
And…
“A Horrible Way to Die”
Starz/Anchor Bay, $26.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
“No Ordinary Family: The Complete First Season”
Lionsgate, $29.98
“Scarface”
Universal Blu-ray, $34.98
“Straw Dogs”
MGM/UA Blu-ray, $24.99
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