Welcome back to This Week In DVD! Sadly, this is one of the worst week for new releases in decades. Decades I say! Well, in weeks anyway. Some of the mediocre titles coming out this week include the occasionally entertaining Underworld: Awakening, the frustratingly uninteresting Mother’s Day remake, the low-rent Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, and Channing Tatum’s funniest film yet, The Vow. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Front Line War films are a staple here in the US, something that’s benefited by the fact that America has dozens of wars to choose from, but not every country is as lucky (or unlucky).  South Korea was a part of only one major conflict in the modern era, but out of this trauma have come several fantastic war films including 71: Into the Fire and My Way. The Front Line is the latest and also one of the best as it focuses on one of the war’s final battles. Both the South and the North struggle to capture and recapture a particular hill as the final hours of the war wind down, but as the clock ticks forward the men (and woman) discover there’s far more at stake here than a simple plot of land. Director Hun Jang finds real suspense and spectacular battlefield action amidst the stories between friends, enemies and countrymen.

It can be tough following a successful film debut especially when your interests take your sophomore effort in a different direction from what worked so well the first time. Jon Knautz’ first feature was the horror comedy Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, and while the film remained low profile it served definite notice that he was a filmmaker to watch. It’s filled with creatures crafted with love and practical effects and combines the grue with broad comedy. Knautz’ new film, The Shrine, retains some of that same solid effects work, but there’s not a funny moment to be found. Well, at least not an intentionally funny one. A journalist, her best friend, and her reluctant boyfriend head to rural Poland to investigate the disappearance of an American backpacker, but they only find active and suspicious resistance from the locals. Further digging reveals a mysterious and creepy shrine in the fog-enshrouded woods and a deadly secret that they’d have been better off never learning. Now they must not only fight to survive but also answer the most important question of their lives… how many Polish people does it take to whack three stupid Americans?