'Bright Star' among DVD releases

Clive Owen takes a break from thrillers to star in a real-life domestic drama with liberal doses of comedy, which leads these new-to-DVD movies.

"The Boys Are Back" (Miramax, 2009, PG-13, $29.99). Owen's down-to-earth central performance and the straight-forward direction by Scott Hicks — who earned an Oscar nomination 14 years ago for another true story, "Shine" — help keep this compelling melodrama from sinking into treacle.

Owen plays an English sportswriter transplanted to Australia, and because he's often on the road, he's a somewhat absent husband and father. When his beloved wife dies, he is left to raise their young son alone, without a clue about how to do so. And when his teenage son from his first marriage arrives for an extended visit, he's even more lost.

This is familiar territory, but Owen and Hicks, along with a fine supporting cast and that gorgeous Australian landscape, make it a fulfilling and entertaining drama.

Extras: widescreen, featurettes, trailers

"Bright Star" (Sony, 2009, PG, $27.96). Jane Campion — one of only three women to earn a best-director Oscar nomination — helmed this drama based on the 19th-century romance of doomed poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and his brash, opinionated next-door neighbor Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish).

Beautifully realized and meticulously performed, this melodrama has "chick flick" written all over it, but it's better than that sounds, a slow but engaging true story that quite beautifully captures the period.

Extras: widescreen, deleted scene, featurettes, trailers

"Surrogates" (Touchstone, 2009, PG-13, $29.99). This sci-fi thriller (based on a graphic novel) stars Bruce Willis as an FBI agent in a future where people live vicariously through robotic avatars and crime is virtually nonexistent — until a mysterious string of murders starts up. Whom do you trust when everyone wears a mask? There are some good ideas here that are unfortunately squandered in a routine action flick. (James Cromwell co-stars in a role that resembles his "I, Robot" character.")

Extras: widescreen, audio commentary, music video, trailer