This batch of disparate movies just released on DVD is led by a made-in-Utah gem.

"Forever Strong" (Crane, 2008, PG-13, $24.99). In the sub-genre of true, feel-good sports movies, this one is several notches above the rest for some very simple reasons — not only is there a solid script and convincing cast, but the entire venture is an example of straight-ahead storytelling, the kind of moviemaking that doesn't call attention to itself.

Too many filmmakers today have become so enthralled with the next razzle-dazzle new thing in technology that they've forgotten how to relate a compelling story. But in "Forever Strong," director Ryan Little ("Saints and Soldiers") lets the action unfold naturally, on the rugby field and off, and he focuses on keeping the audience involved with the characters.

Sean Faris stars as an Arizona high school star rugby player on the team coached by his father. He also has an outsized ego and a chip on his shoulder, and even after he is thrown into a Utah detention center for a drunken-driving offense, he doesn't seem to have learned his lesson.

But he meets a mentor (Sean Astin) in the detention center who happens to know this local high school rugby coach who cares more about teaching life lessons than winning games — and he also wins games. Sound too ideal? It might, except that Coach Larry Gelwix (Gary Cole) is a real guy and this is a true story.

Oh, and did I mention that it was filmed in Salt Lake City? Don't miss it.

Extras: widescreen, audio commentary (Little, Gelwix), featurettes

"A Bug's Life" (Disney/Pixar/Blu-ray, 1999, G, two discs, $39.99). This is Pixar's second computer-animated feature (after "Toy Story") and it is perhaps the most neglected of the company's decade-plus succession of hits.

For some reason, when Pixar movies are cited just about every other feature is easily named — but not this one. And after watching it again 10 years later, that seems terribly unjust.

This twisted version of Aesop's fable "The Grasshopper and the Ants" by way of "The Seven Samurai" is smart and funny in the story of a colony of ants being terrorized by evil grasshoppers until the ants eventually get the courage to stand up for themselves with help from circus bugs. The animation is rich (very rich in Blu-ray), the sight gags are plentiful and adults may find themselves laughing more than their kids.

The voice cast is also top-notch (Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bonnie Hunt, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Denis Leary, David Hyde Pierce, etc.). And the writing and direction are spot-on.