What's new on DVD this week

'The Girl Who Played With Fire'

Director: Daniel Alfredson

Stars: Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist

Rapace and Nyqvist reprise their roles from "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" with results a bit more mixed than the first film. However those hooked on this Swedish "millennium trilogy" won't be disappointed, and it's a perfect time to watch the DVD this week and then catch the final film of the trilogy - "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest" - at Tampa Theatre this weekend.

This one picks up where the original left off, with computer hacker Lisbeth (Rapace) and journalist Mikael (Nyqvist) going their separate ways. But as the action unfolds, Lisbeth ends up accused of murder, and Mikael tries to track down who is behind the accusations. All of it leads to a bloody confrontation and revelations about Lisbeth's past.

Rapace remains mesmerizing and a very unconventional heroine. David Fincher plans on making an English language version with Rooney Mara (great-granddaughter of New York Giants founder Tim Mara, by the way) in the Lisbeth role. All of this is based on the popular book trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson.

129 minutes (R; brutal violence including rape, strong sexual content, nudity and profanity)

'Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy' (Blu-ray)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Lea Thompson

It's difficult to say whether this is more about nostalgia or quality filmmaking. The first movie is certainly a classic of the 1980s, although one of its central comedic themes - the rapid pace of change between 1950s and 1980s America - seems quaint in an age where communications systems change the way we live almost yearly. That said, it's a fine fusion of science fiction and comedy, with the extremely likeable Fox - having honed how to win over audiences in years of television work - giving us the 1980s version of the All-American teen in Marty McFly.

After that, things get dodgy, with the second film retaining some of the first's clever ideas, but the third film devolving into a sort of made-for-TV Western, like a bad episode of "The Wild Wild West." Still, for fans this is the box to own.

Extras: Original storyboards of many scenes, a trivia track that gives you tidbits of information as you watch the film, a "set up and payoff" feature that notes key scenes and how they play out over the course of the movie.

116 minutes (original movie); PG

'Sex and The City 2'

Director: Michael Patrick King ("Sex and the City")

Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

"Sex and the City 2" is so over-the-top ridiculous, it plays like a parody of what a sequel to the 2008 hit movie would be. It's self-indulgent, way too long and never as clever or funny as it's intended to be.

Writer-director Michael Patrick King and Co. found a balance of substance and style with the long-running, hugely popular HBO series. Even the original "Sex and the City" movie, for all its fashionable splashiness, still managed to be about something: the way the characters adapted as they morphed from single party girls into women building families for themselves (except for Samantha, of course, who has always been on the prowl).

But the sequel too often feels like a series of lavish set pieces with sporadic discussions about careers, marriage and babies in between -- although one of those talks, between Charlotte and Miranda about the realities of motherhood, is the purest moment in the movie.

Extras: King and Parker on the making of the film, a documentary on styling the various characters.

146 minutes (R; sexual content)

OTHER RELEASES

MOVIES

"Road to Christmas." Jennifer Grey, not rated, 86 minutes

"Winter's Bone." Jennifer Lawrence, R, 100 minutes

"Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everyone Talkin' About Him?)" Harry Nilsson, not rated, 117 minutes

"Home By Christmas." Rob Stewart, not rated, 86 minutes

"Recipe for a Perfect Christmas." Christine Baranski, not rated, 86 minutes

"Paths of Glory" (Blu-ray). Kirk Douglas, not rated, 88 minutes

"Holiday Switch." Bret Anthony, not rated, 86 minutes

"Night of the Demons" (Blu-ray). Edward Furlong, R, 93 minutes

"Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black." Lewis Black, PG, 94 minutes

"The Wild Wonderful Whites of West Virginia." Jesco White, not rated, 86 minutes

"You Don't Know Jack." Al Pacino, not rated, 134 minutes

"South of the Border." Tariq Ali, not rated, 78 minutes

TELEVISION

"Star Wars: The Clone Wars," season 2. Tom Kane

"The Venture Bros," season 4. Animated

"Hetalia: Axis Powers," season 2. Christopher Bevins

"Trigun," season 3. Dorothy Merendez

"CSI: New York," season 6. Gary Sinise

"Poldark," series 2. Robin Ellis

"War of the Worlds," final season. Jared Martin

"Canaan," complete series. Animated

COLLECTIONS

"Alien Anthology." Collects "Alien," "Aliens," "Alien 3" and "Alien: Resurrection."