'White House Down' leads pack of new DVD releases

I'll be honest: This time of year isn't always the best for new DVD releases. We're kind of in that awful in-between phase: waiting for the summer hits to come out (usually right in time for the holidays) and hoping for something, anything new to keep us happy until then. I've got good news and bad news about this week's offerings. Which do you want first?

Let's go with good news first: At long last, the action movie White House Down is out on DVD. This is one of those movies that I skipped in the theater, in part because it got icky reviews but also because so many other films that were out at the time looked more appealing. Still, I made a note that I wanted to see this movie when it came out, mainly because I really liked Olympus Has Fallen and the plot of White House Down seems eerily similar. And also? Channing Tatum is hot, and he stars in this one as a Capitol Policeman who winds up having to save the president (Jamie Foxx) when a paramilitary group invades The White House.

I can think of worse ways to spend an evening.

Speaking of that, here's one worse way (and this is the bad news): watching the latest Adam Sandler Happy Madison Productions comedy Grown Ups 2. If ever we had a lock for a Worst Picture 2013 Razzie Award, this is it folks. I'll admit I saw it with my niece when it came out. It was so bad, and I was so ashamed of myself for being suckered into seeing it, I didn't even bother writing up a review. I love to write about movies, even the bad ones, so you know it was a real stinker if I couldn't even find words to describe it's stinkiness. Don't say I didn't warn you. You're going to be mad, even if you spend $1 at the local DVD rental box place to see this one.

A few other new DVD releases are worth a mention here, including the Kristen Wiig comedy Girl Most Likely, the JFK-related drama Parkland and the biopic Lovelace, starring Amanda Seyfried as porn star Linda Lovelace. I've seen none of these, so I can't recommend them one way or another, but they're out there now. Have fun?

Photo courtesy of The Movie Blog