This week's DVD and Blu-ray releases

The following are capsule reviews of new and recent DVD and Blu-ray releases from the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Theatrical movies have a USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification and Motion Picture Association of America rating. These classifications refer only to the theatrical version of the films below, and do not take into account the discs' extra content.

12 Rounds

Routine action adventure in which a vicious thief (Aidan Gillen), sprung from prison and out for revenge on the New Orleans police officer (John Cena) who arrested him and accidentally caused the death of his moll, kidnaps the cop's live-in girlfriend (Ashley Scott) and sets him a dozen hair-raising tasks as ransom. Director Renny Harlin's film offers little more than rapid-fire mayhem and a few suspenseful situations. Considerable action violence, premarital cohabitation, much crude and crass language, and a few sexual references and profanities. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Fox Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Do the Right Thing (20th Anniversary Edition) (1989)

After 25 years of selling pizza in the same Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, now black and Hispanic, Italian-American Sal (Danny Aiello) attempts to squash racial tensions before they destroy his family business. Writer-director-actor Spike Lee concocts a powerful look at racism with passionate characters, sharp satire, savvy musical counterpoints, theatricality and much humor. Its incendiary point of view -- that violence may be a potentially justified means to an end -- will unsettle many and force viewers to confront stereotypes. Heavy profanity, racial and ethnic slurs, intense climactic racial violence and a brief sexual scene with fleeting nudity. Spanish language and titles options. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Universal Studios Home Video; also available on Blu-ray)

The Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience

Upbeat concert film capturing performances during the popular boy band's 2008 "Burnin' Up" tour, interspersed with some behind-the-scenes footage of real-life siblings Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas' life on the road and a lavish music video set in New York's Central Park. While the target audience of tween girls may be in danger of hyperventilating, accompanying adults will find director Bruce Hendricks' energetic bubblegum-rock documentary, like the group itself, reassuringly wholesome and family-friendly. Spanish language and titles options. A-I -- general patronage. (G) (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) 2009

King of Kings

Stolid screen spectacular presents the life of Christ within the historical context of Jewish resistance to Roman rule. Uncomfortably cast in the title role is Jeffrey Hunter, though more effective are Siobhan McKenna as his mother, Robert Ryan as John the Baptist, Hurd Hatfield as Pilate, Rip Torn as Judas and Harry Guardino as Barabbas. Directed by Nicholas Ray, the script is preoccupied with the period's political unrest but treats the Gospel account reverentially, if with more dramatic license than some might find acceptable. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. (Warner Home Video) 1961

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

Solitary, two-fisted roamer of the post-Armageddon Australian Outback, Mad Max (Mel Gibson) chances upon a backward settlement where he is forced to fight in its arena (the Thunderdome), goes on to becomes a hero figure for a tribe of lost children and then has a final showdown with the settlers, involving the usual collection of bizarre vehicles. With the backgrounds showing the appalling consequence of nuclear holocaust, there is more than a touch of solemnity to the proceedings. Directed by George Miller and George Ogilvie, it's all rather violent, but not excessively so, and action fans will find it fairly intelligent entertainment. Spanish titles option. A-III --adults. (PG-13) (Warner Home Video) 1985

The Story of St. Perpetua

Uplifting half-hour animated dramatization of the arrest, imprisonment and martyrdom of Sts. Perpetua, Felicity and their companions in the North African city of Carthage circa 203 AD. Aimed at viewers eight and up, the hand-drawn cartoon adheres to the journal Perpetua kept in prison, and shows her pagan father’s efforts to convince her to abandon the faith, her bold testimony during her trial and -- as recorded at the end of the journal by a follower -- her fortitude in the arena. Part of the series “Catholic Heroes of the Faith,” the DVD provides a first glimpse into the early history of the church and makes an excellent catechetical tool. Spanish language and titles options. (Vision Video) (catholicheroesofthefaith.com) 2009

Two Lovers

Downbeat but well-acted domestic drama set in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., about the depressed son (an especially fine Joaquin Phoenix) of Jewish dry cleaners (Moni Monoshov and Isabella Rossellini) torn between his emotionally troubled new gentile neighbor (Gwyneth Paltrow) who considers him a friend, and the stable young Jewish woman (Vinessa Shaw) who loves him. Directed with low-key naturalism by James Gray, the familiar triangular tale scores for characterization and mood, and the characters are, on the whole, presented with compassion and sensitivity. An adulterous affair, suicide attempt, two brief nonmarital sexual encounters without nudity, unwed pregnancy, brief upper female nudity, drug references, several uses of the F-word as an expletive and brief profanity. Spanish titles option. L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (R) (Magnolia Home Entertainment; also available on Blu-ray) 2009

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.
  

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