New on DVD: The Second Coming of Mel, the Apocalypse, and Vampires. Whew.

What has Hollywood cooked up for us on the DVD aisle this week? Here's the breakdown.

The Edge of Darkness

Thriller

The Gist: Mel Gibson plays a cop whose adult daughter is murdered before his eyes. You know he doesn't take that well.

The Ups: Gibson still has the charisma to keep your attention on the big screen. The film is best in its intense fighting scenes. Nobody does broken-hearted vengeance like Mel. Read our full review here.

The Downs: Too bad the plot didn't measure up to Mel's talents. It gets messier as it goes on: Something about a vast conspiracy, with government acquiescence, to sell nukes to other countries. The violence is particularly bloody and shocking.

The Verdict: Skip it.  It's an open question whether troubled star Mel Gibson even wants to be rehabilitated. If so, this doesn't do the trick.

Be Aware: Rated R for violence and language. IMDB Parent's Guide.

Legion

horror/suspense

The Gist: God is fed up with humanity - the advent of Lady Gaga was probably the last straw - and sends his angels to unleash the apocalypse. A diner's worth of ordinary humans must fight off the end of days.

The Ups: Despite a pretty good cast, there aren't a lot of ups with this messy film.

The Downs: With heavily armed angels and zombie-like creatures, you'd think the diner club would go down pretty fast. And that it would be, you know, exciting. But it's not. Turns out fighting off the apocalypse is pretty dull.

The Verdict: Skip it. It has some religious-inspired elements that might have been interesting in a different movie, but wastes them.

Be Aware: Rated R for strong, bloody violence and language. IMDB Parent's Guide.

Daybreakers

horror/suspense

The Gist: In a twist on the ever popular vampire trend, this film is set in a post-vampire future in which almost everyone is undead and the few remaining humans are kept alive as food. Ethan Hawke plays a compassionate vamp who wants to take on the corporate blood industry. Yeah, you guessed it. It's a metaphor for something. Probably oil.

The Ups: An intriguing concept that at least attempts to comment on our times. And not a sparkly dreamboat vampire in sight.

The Downs: In Hollywood, the only thing more evil than a vampire is a corporation (except, of course, entertainment conglomerates). Just once, I'd like to see the people who keep our economy afloat as good guys.

The Verdict: Depends. This is a horror movie with a high level of gore and mayhem, so it's not for everyone and certainly not for kids. But if you like that kind of thing, it's well done.

Be Aware: Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and brief nudity. 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!