A.J.'s DVD Rundown - 10/30/07

Despite this being Halloween week, this Tuesday's new DVD releases bring only a scant couple horror releases. Check out what's hitting store shelves near you in the latest edition of my DVD rundown (rated on a **** scale)...

"October 30, 2007"

Major Releases:

Captivity - Elisha Cuthbert plays a model who's kidnapped and tortured in increasingly nasty ways by her mysterious captor. Yeah, you know how Saw and Hostel at least had the presence of a brain behind them? Consider Captivity to be the movie that the naysayers think those other, better, and more intelligent horror features are. Literally, all this is is 90 minute's worth of drinking blended organs, home tooth extraction, and other gross forms of torture that really serve no point, be it to frighten viewers or inspire them to empathize with Cuthbert's character. The whole thing is a miserable waste of time, with no diabolical charm to spice up the torture scenes or grasp of tension to at least make the paper-thin story somewhat interesting. -- * 1/2

El Cantante - Real-life celebrity sweeties Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony star in this biopic of salsa singer Hector Lavoe. I haven't seen the movie, I've never heard of the guy it's about, and I can only assume that your basic, "Behind the Music" style of biopic is what's in store for viewers.

In the Land of Women - Fleeing a relationship gone sour, a writer (Adam Brody) visits his granny, only to end up involved with an older neighbor (Meg Ryan) and her lively daughter (Kristen Stewart). I really don't remember much about In the Land of Women, which hit theaters in April and is being unceremoniously sneezed out onto DVD like a booger that Warner Bros. just forgot about. It's by no means a bad movie, but it's just so nice and bland, it takes on this homogenous vibe that results in quite the dulling effect upon the viewer. Made with good intentions and decently acted, In the Land of Women is a fairly blah "girl power" flick, halfway achieving what director Rodrigo Garcia is currently kicking ass doing with movies like Ten Tiny Love Stories and Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her. -- ** 1/2