New DVD releases include 'Dallas Buyers Club' and 'About Time'

It's a new month, and with it comes the promise of new DVD releases that we'll all wind up loving. Or hating. Or at least, passing time watching with some modicum of interest. This week, we've got more options than we've seen all year in terms of different genres. I'm particularly excited about one release - a movie that's been on my "must see" list for months: Dallas Buyers Club.

At long last, I'm finally going to get to see whether Matthew McConaughey deserves all of the acclaim he's received in recent weeks for his role as Ron Woodroof, an electrician (and cowboy) who, when diagnosed with HIV and given only weeks to live, sets out on his own to find a way to get AIDS patients treatment medications from outside the U.S. I'm already sold on Jared Leto as Rayon, a transsexual AIDS patient who helps Woodruff form the "buyers club." I've watched all the clips I can get my hands on, and just from those, I can tell Leto is brilliant in this film. Expect a full review, because you can bet this will be the first film I see this week. Just a few weeks back, I was worried I wouldn't get to see this one before the Oscars. I might just get to see every Best Picture nominee, after all.

Another new DVD release this week that seems promising is the British time travel rom-com About Time, starring the always incredibly charming Rachel McAdams and the equally charming Domhnall Gleeson as a young man who discovers he can time travel. And yes, things get incredibly complicated. About Time is directed by Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary, Love Actually), so I'm expecting this one to be equally as delightful and sweet.

If neither of these films suits your fancy, as I said, you've got tons of options. Other new DVD releases this week include the action thriller Escape Plan (Stallone and Schwarzenegger), the animated comedy Free Birds, and the comedy Baggage Claim.

Here's the only thing I don't like: Redbox is way behind. I'm used to having to wait a few extra weeks for the new DVD releases, and while Escape Plan is out on Redbox this week, Dallas Buyers Club won't be available for another month. If it's up for an Oscar, I can spring for On Demand, I suppose.

Photo courtesy of Fandango.com