What's new on DVD and Blu-ray this week?

For the past few weeks, the new DVD and Blu-ray releases haven't exactly been stellar. Sure, we've had a few gems here and there, but for the most part, the options were pretty limited. I've got some great news, though: This week, we've got enough new DVD offerings in enough different genres to make almost everyone happy. As the Thanksgiving holiday rapidly approaches, it looks like most of us will be able to kick back with at least one or two new movie releases after consuming our big Turkey Day meal.

I thought I'd break this down in a bit more detail this week, given that some of us might actually have time to watch a few movies at home in the coming days.

The World's End

Director and writer Edgar Wright's apocalyptic comedy movie The World's End is now out on DVD, and from all accounts, this might well be one of the funniest films of the year. If you're a fan of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead (one of my favorite zombie movies ever), I have no doubt you've got The World's End on your radar already. You've probably already seen it, and will see it again now, from the comfort of your own couch.

This is my top pick among the new DVD releases this week for three reasons: Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. Pegg and Frost are old buddies from high school who decide to finish a pub crawl that they never finished 20 years earlier. The last pub on the list? An establishment known as The World's End, of course.

And yeah, there's much more to the story, but I'm keeping this spoiler-free. In my opinion, The World's End boasts one of the best, most talented casts of British comedy actors working today: In addition to Frost and Pegg, the film also features Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan and Paddy Considine as fellow pub-crawlers. It doesn't get much better than this, so enjoy every second of The World's End.

We're the Millers

The raunchy, definitely not family-friendly comedy We're the Millers, is finally out on DVD now. This one stars Jason Sudeikis as a man who, in order to sneak an RV full of marijuana over the border from Mexico, hires a stripper (Jennifer Aniston) to pose as his wife, and two tough-talking street kids (Emma Roberts and Will Poulter) to pose as their children. The idea is that the nice, picture-perfect family will sail through border patrol with nary a care in the world.

Of course, as with most comedies, that's not what happens at all. Hijinks ensue, Jennifer Aniston gets to strip, the kids go haywire and...well anyway. You get the idea. And as I said, this is a straight-up R rated film that earns the rating handily. This is the movie you'll want to watch after the kids are tucked away in bed (and keep the volume sort of low, because profanity flies in We're the Millers). I've seen this movie, and while it's not horrible, it's not the best. I like Jason Sudeikis' sardonic wit, though, enough that I'm willing to say give it a shot. The reviews for We're the Millers weren't great, but you could do much worse (and I'll get to that in a moment).

Planes

After those two decidedly adult comedies, how about a little family friendly animation? Disney Toon's Planes is new on Blu-ray and DVD this week. Sure, the reviews for this one weren't exactly stellar, but kids like what kids like. If you've got a house filled with young children over the holidays, have Planes ready to go.

I love a great animated movie. Planes probably won't be the best I'll see, but with kiddos around our house for a few days, I am prepared. The premise of Planes sounds cute enough: Dusty is a plane who longs to become a fancy air racer, but there's a huge problem - he's afraid of heights. Yes, a plane. Heights. Afraid. Okay fine, roll your eyes, but I think that's adorable.

The Other Releases

Three other major motion pictures are new on DVD this week, and only one of them looks even remotely interesting to me. But in the interest of fairness, I'm going to mention them all. The action film 2 Guns stars Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington as two undercover agents forced to go on the run. That's all you'll get from me to avoid spoilers, but suffice it to say this looks like a semi-entertaining buddy film with lots of violence thrown in for good measure. Proceed with caution.

The To Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza as high school brainiac Brandy Klark, a young woman determined to live life on the wild side - if only for one summer. Earlier this year, I lamented the fact that I couldn't see this film in theaters, because Hollywood was too busy feeding me junk all summer long. Now, finally, I'll get my chance.

And finally, we have Paranoia. I'm not even sure where to start with this supposedly tense thriller. I say supposedly, because the reviews for this strongly suggest that it's full of bad, sucky badness. And that's shocking to me, because the cast includes Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Richard Dreyfuss, among others. I avoided this film like the plague when it hit theaters, but maybe, just maybe, I'll spend a buck to rent it now. I haven't decided. Proceed with extreme caution...this is likely a huge stinker.

Photos courtesy of CraveOnline, Fandango.com and Paste Magazine