New on DVD: King of Pop, Roller Derby Queen, and a Royal Jerk

What's new in the DVD aisle this week? We'll break it down for you.

This is It

Documentary

The Gist: When pop star Michael Jackson was preparing for his big comeback tour, a camera crew caught backstage and rehearsal footage. Jackson died before the tour started and the footage became a major motion picture.

The Ups: We all know Jackson was a troubled man, even downright creepy. We also know he was truly talented. "This Is It" shows just how brilliant and hard-working he really was. Plus, the music. Oh! The music.

The Downs: Some of the footage is not professional quality. It was never intended to be. Plus, it's odd watching a man you know is close to death and even harder considering the waste of God-given talent his strange behavior and drug use cost the world.

Be Aware: Rated PG for some suggestive choreography and scary images. IMDB parent's guide.

Whip It

Indie coming of age comedy

The Gist: Bliss (Juno's Ellen Page) wants to breathe some excitement into her Texas small-town life. She's not the beauty pageant type. She discovers she's more the roller derby type.

The Ups: A fun coming of age movie with lots of girl power. A great soundtrack that will keep you humming. My favorite? "Pot Kettle Black."

The Downs: Just keep that helmet and those kneepads on.

Be Aware: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including crude dialogue, language and drug material.

Saw VI

Torture Horror

The Gist: You don't really need a synopsis. The plot is in the name.

The Ups: No ups.

The Downs: Is this what we've come to as a society? Watching people get hacked up as entertainment? Discuss.

Be Aware: Rated R for sequences of grisly bloody violence and torture, and language. IMDB's parent guide.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

Comedy

The Gist: Unrepentant eternal frat boy Tucker Max takes his friend to a strip club to celebrate his upcoming wedding "properly." As we all could predict, things get out of hand.

The Ups: At least the title is funny.

The Downs: About as fun as listening to that guy in college brag about how much he drank and how many times he threw up last weekend, but with more immature potty and sexual humor. You know the guy... the one who thought he was funny, but was really a grade-A jerk and probably still is. We're older and wiser now and don't have to put up with him. Or this movie. 

Be Aware: Rated R for nudity, strong sexual content including graphic dialogue throughout, language and some crude material. IMDB parents guide.

 At SixSeeds, we talk about the stories that surround modern life.  We love movies -- in fact, we even have a “brick and mortar” called SixSeeds Video in Winchester, Massachusetts! We know that good films have an amazing power to move, inspire, and sometimes even transform life.  Bad ones make you regret plunking down the $10 for the privilege of listening to the guy next to you chew milk duds for two hours.

That’s why we want to keep you informed of the latest offerings on DVD and Blu-Ray.  Listing the new releases below doesn't mean you should rush out and watch them with your pre-schoolers.  In fact, over the course of the next few months, we’ll list many we wouldn’t let our teenagers watch.  (Some, we regret watching!)  But somewhere in America, a teenager is going to come to their parent and say, “Hey, I’m supposed to bring the movie to the slumber party.  May I bring...?”

And right there in the aisle of the video store, a decision will be made. 

Come back next week to read “The RunDown,” America... and choose wisely!