'Book of Eli' among new DVD releases

New movies on DVD this week are led by Denzel Washington in a bleak burned-out future.

"The Book of Eli" (Warner/Blu-ray, 2010; R for violence, language; three discs, $35.99). Washington plays the title character, a cross between a samurai and the Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson characters in their "Fistful of Dollars" and "Mad Max" guises.

Eli travels across a bleak, post-apocalypse landscape — filmed in that monochrome, almost black-and-white style that passes for gritty these days — as he transports a book that is coveted by others, especially when he meets up with Gary Oldman, ruler of a criminal town.

Storywise, even with a twist at the end, it's fairly routine, but Washington gives it a boost and the kinetic direction of the Hudson Brothers helps.

Extras: widescreen; Blu-ray, DVD and digital versions; deleted scenes, PIP commentary (with Washington and the Hugheses), featurettes, trailers (also on single-disc DVD, $28.98)

"When in Rome" (Touchstone, 2010, PG-13, $29.99). I really enjoyed Kristin Bell in her TV series "Veronica Mars," but her movies have been a string of disappointments, including this poorly executed farce in which she is the subject of a spell that has her being pursued by comic idiots (including "Napoleon Dynamite" himself, Jon Heder).

Extras: widescreen, deleted scenes, music videos, bloopers, trailers

"Mary and Max" (IFC, 2008, $24.98). Adult clay animated film about an overweight middle-age Manhattan man suffering from Asperger's syndrome who becomes the unlikely pen pal of a little Australian girl. She picks his name from a U.S. phone book, then continues the correspondence for 20 years. Poignant and amusing, albeit relentless in its melancholy, and only fills its feature length with some difficulty.

Extras: widescreen, alternate scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, short film: "Harvie Krumpet," trailers

"Air Bud: World Pup" (Disney, 2010, G, $19.99). Another silly sequel in the seemingly endless series. Here, Buddy helps his owner go after a state soccer championship.

Extras: widescreen, featurettes, trailers; cinch bag

e-mail: hicks@desnews.com