Looks like their are plenty of future guilty pleasure being released this week for me to pick from. And while I do love me some Rainn Wilson, I don’t think I am going to be able to bring myself, or more importantly Anna, to go watch The Rocker. Death Race and The House Bunny both look like they will more likely be awful then entertaining, so my choice for new releases this week is Hamlet 2. I’ll go see anything with Steve Coogan in it, and with a solid cast and the chance to be rocked by a sexy Jesus it could be a fun film.

DVD picks this week are a bit more difficult as their are several films I would like to see. The infamous Salò get’s a new release by Criterion which should have cinephiles salivating at the thought of finally getting to watch the film. Besides that Redbelt, Son of Rambow and Chicago 10 are all getting their first release on DVD this upcoming week, and all are worthy of renting.

But my DVD pick this week is a lesser known film called Dante’s Inferno. Dante’s Inferno is performed in a toy theater style using paper sets and puppets to recreate the epic poem. With voices being supplied by James Cromwell and Dermot Mulroney, Dante’s Inferno looks to be one of the more fascinating and unique film releases this year.

As always trailers are after the break!

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I lucked out to a certain extent with this first set of recommendations. There are plenty of new releases in theaters this week that look like they are worth watching. But on the flip side the DVD releases are particularly sparse. Plenty of big name releases like I am Legend, Enchanted and Atonement with a few other studio failures sprinkled in for good measure, but not much else.

So you must be thinking that this idea of DVD recommendations is already a failure, but you would be wrong. I’ve actually got a pretty good under-the-radar selection. You see a few weeks ago I took a gig writing DVD reviews for UGO.com and they were kind enough to dump several direct-to-DVD films on me to serve as an introduction. And while the majority of them were outright terrible, their was one that actually had its moments, a little revenge film called Rockaway.

It has a very simple premise, a soldier stationed in Afghanistan is sent home after his wife and child are brutally murdered in a gangland slaying. Vowing revenge he proceeds to make his way through the ranks trying to find the men who gave the order and carried out the murder. It is violent and at times ridiculous, but the acting is more then passable and some interesting characters emerge during the film. It even finds a way of turning a ridiculous plot twist into a fairly believable resolution. Now I’m not saying run out and buy Rockaway, but if you want a pop corn flick for an evening alone you can find plenty worse films to rent.

As for theatrical new releases I have three very different films to recommend. First up is Doomsday. An over the top action film from director Neil Marshall. If you have seen his last film The Descent you probably know why his next film should be must viewing. Doomsday probably won’t be as great of a movie as The Descent was, but it looks to be rip roaring fun.

Next is a smaller art film called Chicago 10. Based on the transcripts from the infamous trial of the Chicago 7, Chicago 10 uses live footage from telecasts as well as rotoscoped animation for the trial reenactment. It looks to be a fascinating look at one of the worst moments in US legal history.

But the one film that I highly recommend is the film you as a viewer are most likely to hate, and that is Michael Haneke’s remake of his brilliant 1997 film Funny Games. Slightly updating the film and making the family focused on American rather then German, Funny Games is a near shot for shot remake of his original film. It is a film that is brutally violent, sadistic and cruel. It also manages to denounce audiences that watch that sort of film, creating a remarkably hostile environment between the theater goer and the film itself. This movie will insult you, but more importantly it challenges you, which is what makes this a great, if entirely cruel, film.

Need more convincing? I have trailers for you after the break. Word of warning, the Rockaway trailer is not safe for work.

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