New DVD and Blu-Ray Releases to Crave: Thor Swings His Hammer; Star Wars Gets a High-Def Overhaul

By Chris Kavan - 09/13/11 at 05:32 PM CT

While the brand new offerings are a little slim this week, new Blu-Ray releases of old favorites more than make up for the lackluster lineup.

1) Leading the way is Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston giving Norse mythology a comic-book twist in Thor. While I didn't find Thor to be anything too special in the grande scheme of The Avengers lineup, it is entertaining enough to warrant at least a rental. Plus, when else are you going to see Kenneth Branagh attached (as director) to something so non-Shakespearean?

2) If you like watching dreary people do dreary things, Hesher should be right up your alley. Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson pump up their indie cred here, but the story isn't very appealing to me. I'm sure the performances are fine, but I'll be giving this one a pass.

3) Continuing onward down the somewhat depressing path, Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton and Paul Dano travel a long, lonesome path in Meek's Cutoff. This film looks like it has plenty of atmosphere of capturing the spirit of traveling during harsh times. Yet is also looks like it moves painstakingly slow. Another I'll pass on, but if you have the patience, it would probably be worthwhile.

But onward to something I've been waiting a long time for. Yes, you can call George Lucas a money-grubbing, meddling director who can't leave well enough alone... but I'm not passing on Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray. Despite the changes I've been hearing about this is worth it not just to see the detail, but he copious amount of extras (many of which have never seen the light of day) and no matter what their feelings on how many editions have been releases, Star Wars fans will eat this up. Now if only we can get that Christmas Special... As if one of the greatest sagas of all time wasn't enough, fans of classic films will also get a treat with Citizen Kane. You may as well take advantage of Amazon's exclusive Blu-Ray pairing with The Magnificent Ambersons - it costs more, but Orson Welles is worth the extra money. The Coen Brothers put their own twist on Homer's Odyssey with O Brother, Where Art Thou?. I personally love this movie - not only because I love The Odyssey, but because the music is superb and not just "Man of Constant Sorrow". It's quirky, but it works for me.

There are plenty more movies to explore this week - just check out the FilmCrave New DVD Releases and FilmCrave New Blu-Ray Releases pages today.