New on DVD: Gothic and more gothic

What's new in the DVD aisle this week? Here's the breakdown.

Alice in Wonderland

Children's film? Well, it kinda defies genre classification

The Gist: The old story of Alice who falls down the rabbit hole gets a remake, Tim Burton Style.The story is a sequel to the one we grew up with. Alice returns to the scene of her adventure, older, wiser, and odder.

The Ups: Undeniably a visual treat, this film drips Tim Burton. It's like being inside Tim Burton's head. I'll leave it up to you whether or not that's a good thing.

The Downs: As with other Burton movies, this film may be a bit too weird and intense to plug in for the kiddos while you take a shower. In fact, it's almost not really a kid's film at all. It's a bit of a mad hatter's tea party. It's also very loud and very bright.

The Verdict: Depends. If you speak Burton-ese, you'll like this flick. If you still think Edward Scissorhands was a bizarre and unwatchable movie, you should probably skip it. Burton is an individual taste.

Be Aware: PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar. (Haha. I really enjoyed typing "smoking caterpillar.") Some images, such as a jar of eyeballs, may be too intense for kids.

The Wolfman

Suspense/Horror

The Gist: Something is out in those Victorian era woods. Something big. And nasty. With sharp teeth. Darn if it don't keep eating the villagers. A man has to put a stop to it, but he may be closer to the problem than he supposed. Somebody get a razor!

The Ups: Anthony Hopkins. Emily Blunt. Benecio Del Toro. Need I say more?

The Downs: The script and directing don't live up to the promise of the actors. Bloody and violent, this film is brooding and gothic, but ultimately unsatisfying.

The Verdict: Skip it. At its best, a werewolf story becomes a grand metaphor about the evil beast that lives within us all and teaches us about ourselves. This is not its best.

Be Aware: Rated R for bloody horror violence and gore. And when they say bloody horror violence, they really mean it.

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!