New on DVD this week: 'Iron Man 3'

At long last, the big blockbuster that helped to kick off the wildly successful summer blockbuster season has arrived on DVD: Iron Man 3 is out. If you missed this one in theaters, it's time to pop this one into the player and kick back with a little Marvel action.

I'm a huge fan of the original Iron Man movie, but I wasn't crazy about the second installment in the franchise. Sure, I love Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark (aka Iron Man), but for me part two left much to be desired - especially when the first film was so darn great.

What did I think about Iron Man 3? Back in early-May, I wrote in my review of Iron Man 3 that the movie "...has all the elements that made the first Iron Man so much fun, and none of the boring messiness that weighed down Iron Man 2 so terribly." I just watched it again tonight (in between catching some new TV shows, it is premiere week, after all), and I can tell you I still like it. RJD still has that wonderful charm as Tony, but in Iron Man 3, he's struggling a bit. The Battle of New York left him shaken, his confidence undermined. I'm a sucker for a flawed super hero and in Iron Man 3, I get just that.

The Iron Man 3 DVD and Blu-ray releases offer plenty of extra goodies for fans, including an interview with Shane Black (the director) and several featurettes. Oh, and of course there's a great gag reel for all of us to enjoy.

A few other new DVD releases are new and noteworthy this week, including the coming-of-age comedy The Kings of Summer and the very well-reviewed Room 237, a documentary by Rodney Ascher about die-hard Stanley Kubrick fans obsessed with "solving" hidden codes in The Shining. I might have to see this soon, right after I tear through my Kindle copy of Stephen King's Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep. Yep, I paid full price for this sucker and I can't wait!

What will you watch this week?

Photo courtesy of The Guardian