Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Despite Michael Bay's promises that his third and likely final Transformers outing would be vastly different than its much-derided predecessor, Dark of the Moon is more or less the same movie as Revenge of the Fallen, just minus Megan Fox and with Chicago standing in for Egypt during the protracted, explosion-heavy final battle. If audiences knew they were watching a repeat, they didn't seem to care all that much -- the movie earned $350 million at the domestic box office, making it the summer's second-biggest blockbuster behind the last Harry Potter installment. With returns like that, a fourth Transformers adventure seems like a foregone conclusion, but don't expect increasingly unhinged star Shia LaBeouf to be back. And considering his legitimately awful performance in this outing, good riddance.
Extras: This first release is fairly bare-bones, with no announced bonus features. A more expansive Blu-ray disc (in 3D, no less) is set to be released sometime before the end of the year, so the best goodies are no doubt locked in Bay's personal vault -- next to his eight-hour director's cut of Pearl Harbor -- until then.

Mimic (Director's Cut)
Guillermo Del Toro's sophomore feature is one of those cautionary tales that crops up whenever a previously independent director makes his first studio feature. Hired by Miramax on the strength of his debut Cronos, Del Toro embarked on what he cheerfully calls his "giant bug movie" only to find himself in pitched battles with the film's producers over everything from the design of the creatures to specific lines of dialogue. The director more or less disowned the version that arrived in theaters in 1997, but now he's been given a second chance to realize his original vision -- or, at least, as close as he can get to his original vision as the available materials allow. This new cut of Mimic still isn't in the league of the director's best work (Sorvino is a weak heroine to begin with and the storytelling is all over the place) but at least it feels like a Guillermo Del Toro joint, as opposed to a film that was re-worked by committee in the editing room.
Extras: Del Toro contributes an exhaustive and entertaining commentary track detailing the movie's troubled history -- it's a blast to hear him point out which scenes he shot and which were directed (poorly, in his estimation) by second unit directors. There are also three all-new featurettes, a batch of deleted scenes, animatics and a gag reel.

Carlos
A tour-de-force five-hour recap of the life and times of international terrorist Illich Ramírez Sánchez a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal, Olivier Assayas' Carlos was one of last year's best films, distinguished by the French filmmaker's wonderful dexterity behind the camera and star Édgar Ramirez's immersive performance. The centerpiece of the film is a gripping minute-by-minute account of Carlos' daring 1975 OPEC raid, which was both his the high water mark of his career and also signaled the beginning of his decline. Carlos is demanding viewing, but it's also absolutely addictive.
Extras: Two documentaries about the real Carlos covering material not in the film, archival interviews with some of his associates, conversations with Ramirez and Assayas and a making-of featurette devoted to that stunning OPEC raid sequence.

Footloose (Deluxe Edition)
Just in time for the not-particularly-anticipated remake, here's an opportunity for today's teenagers to see Kevin Bacon saving the soul of a small Southern town by dancing like a maniac in acid wash jeans. Undeniably dated and cheesy, the movie's soundtrack and dance sequences are still lots of fun to watch. The makers of the new version are gonna have to work hard to top "Let's Hear it For the Boy," for example...
Extras: A pair of commentary tracks and a two-park making-of doc are among the features that have been ported over from an earlier release. New to this edition are recent interviews with Bacon and Sarah Jessica Parker (who played the young friend of Bacon's love interest), Bacon's original screen test and a costume montage.

Also on DVD:
Footloose not enough of a cinematic classic for you? No worries -- you can plunk down for the massive Ben-Hur (50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition) set instead, which comes with a veritable treasure trove of bonus features (including the 1925 silent version) and collectable keepsakes like a reproduction of star Charlton Heston's on-set diary and a book filled with rare photos and production art. We reviewed Good Neighbors and The Ledge when they arrived on VOD earlier this summer. Short version: skip The Ledge, but Good Neighbors is a decent thriller. The brilliant high-school satire Heathers is re-released on Blu-ray today; buy it and miss those versions of Winona Ryder and Christian Slater all over again. Finally, The Matrix Reloaded/The Matrix Revolutions collects the widely disliked Matrix sequels in one handy package. This isn't a popular position to take, but we really dig both of these flicks, particularly Reloaded. Arguing why the sequels -- as well as the Wachowski's subsequent much-maligned film, Speed Racer -- deserve a reevaluation would demand a whole separate column, but suffice to say their scale and ambition make a movie like Dark of the Moon look positively puny.