New on DVD: ‘Meet the Robinsons,’ ‘Hostel II’

updated 5:04 p.m. ET Oct. 22, 2007

“Meet the Robinsons”
A boy genius embarks on a time-traveling adventure to save the world in this sturdy animated hit. With a voice cast that includes Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck and Laurie Metcalf, the movie follows the exploits of a young inventor whisked into the future, where he teams up with a family of oddballs to take on a villain in a bowler hat, whose voice was provided by director Stephen J. Anderson. Among the extras on the DVD and Blu-ray high-definition disc are a handful of deleted scenes, a segment on how the film was developed from the work of children’s author William Joyce, and a featurette on Walt Disney and other visionaries whose advances changed the world. The disc also has commentary from Anderson and two music videos. DVD, $29.99; Blu-ray disc, $34.99. (Disney) Read the review

“Mr. Brooks”

MGM

If you’re a serial killer, what better cover than to be a civic booster and the local business community’s man of the year? Kevin Costner plays seemingly upright citizen Mr. Brooks, whose cozy family life and position as a bland but likable businessman belie his avocation: committing an unsolvable string of mass murders and taunting police by leaving behind his victims’ thumbprints. William Hurt co-stars as Brooks’ Jekyll-and-Hyde evil alter ego, with Demi Moore playing a cop on the killer’s trail and Dane Cook playing a witness who wants a taste of the perpetrator’s bloody glory. The DVD has deleted footage, three making-of featurettes and commentary with director Bruce A. Evans and his co-writer, Raynold Gideon. DVD, $29.98. (MGM) Read the review

“Hostel: Part II”

Lionsgate

Lightning failed to strike twice for director Eli Roth’s horror franchise, whose grisly second chapter proved a box-office dud. The sequel terrorizes three American women studying in Europe as they meet up with an art-class model who baits them into a murder-for-pleasure den. The movie comes to DVD and Blu-ray disc in an unrated version with deleted scenes, commentary from Roth and collaborators including executive producer Quentin Tarantino, and featurettes on gory effects and production design. Also debuting in a two-disc DVD set and single-disc Blu-ray edition is Roth’s director’s cut of the original “Hostel,” with an alternate ending, four commentary tracks and a full disc of interviews and background featurettes. “Hostel: Part II” DVD, $28.95; Blu-ray disc, $38.96; “Hostel: Director’s Cut” DVD set, $19.98; Blu-ray disc, $28.95. (Sony) Read the review

“Stanley Kubrick”
Five Kubrick films get fresh boxed-set treatment and enter the high-definition age with HD DVD and Blu-ray releases. The 10-DVD set has remastered two-disc versions of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “A Clockwork Orange,” “The Shining” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” plus a single-disc release of “Full Metal Jacket” and a disc with the documentary “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures.” Stars of the films including Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Malcolm McDowell and R. Lee Ermey provide commentary, and each movie is accompanied by interviews and featurettes, among them a segment on unfinished Kubrick films. The two-disc DVD sets also are available separately, though the new release of “Full Metal Jacket” comes only in the boxed set. All five films come in single-disc Blu-ray and HD DVD versions, as well. DVD boxed set, $79.92; two-disc DVD sets, $26.99 each; Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, $28.99 each. (Warner Bros.)

“Battleship Potemkin”
Nipped and tucked repeatedly over the decades, Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent masterpiece is restored to what the overseers of this marvelous two-disc set say is the closest to the director’s original version since its premiere. Set in 1905, the film chronicles a naval mutiny that was a step on the road to communism as a ship’s crew rises up against its oppressive commanders and the popular rebellion is beaten down by thugs of the czar. The set features a 42-minute documentary examining the restoration of the film, which included new title cards both in Russian and English. The film is accompanied by a 55-piece orchestra’s rendition of a 1926 score authorized by Eisenstein. DVD set, $29.95. (Kino)

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