Here’s what’s coming out on DVD:

“27 Dresses”

The chick flick of the spring season is upon us and, like all the others, will be forgotten by September. Katherine Heigl, in another one of her roles as an awkward woman, commands a decent amount of laughs. Hopefully, her success will translate into different types of roles, as the romantic comedy genre is successful but not conducive to good acting. Heigl is too good an actress to keep signing on to these bland romantic comedies.

“The Golden Compass”

From bloodless polar bear battles to anti-Christianity propaganda, “The Golden Compass” has it all. Daniel Craig acts up a storm, despite his small role in the story. While the movie will serve as a decent first part of what has to be an epic series, it fails in standing on its own. It would probably be better to watch “The Chronicles of Narnia” instead. Unless one would rather be subjected to thinly veiled metaphors about the evils of religion.

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

Bright and beautiful, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” is a true story about what happens to Jean-Dominique Bauby when he suffers a stroke. Above all things, this movie is a brilliant bit of genius piled on top of beautiful screen shots. Though it might be a bit obtuse and overly artistic for most people, anyone looking to kill two hours will find that this film is worth the time investment.

“Nanking”

It would be a stretch to say that most people are still interested in the battle of Nanking between China and Japan, but they should be. The battles here show an immense lack of respect for human dignity and display all the brutality of one of modern history’s biggest atrocities. The movie itself features diaries and interviews with survivors housed in a safety compound manned by unarmed heroes. Recommended to anyone who likes history and documentaries.