New Sci-Fi on DVD: Mutants, Machine Girls and Alchemists

Mutant Chronicles
I saw director Simon Hunter's gory steampunk-inspired thriller at last year's San Diego Comic-Con. The most memorable thing about the screening was watching stars Ron Perlman and Thomas Jane ham it up for their fans. The movie wasn't so memorable is what I'm sayin'.

Jane stars as a soldier fighting off an evil mutant race set on destroying humanity. Sin City's Devon Aoki and John Malkovich (who sleepwalks through his small role) tag along for the grim ride.

The Machine Girl (Remix)
Director Noboru Iguchiore delivers shameless gore, crass humor and scenes of cartoony ultraviolence in this fun Japanese revenge flick starring gravure idol Minase Yashiro. The film follows Yashiro's angry schoolgirl as she unleashes a deadly wrath on her brother's murderers with a Gatling gun in place of her recently sliced-off forearm. This two-disc "Remix" edition features the short spinoff film Machine Girlite.

More new DVD releases after the jump.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium OVA Collection
Love it or hate it, Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most popular anime series on the planet. This collection of four shorts, originally produced as promotional tools for the original series, is for completists only. It's basically a DVD full of DVD extras.

Race to Witch Mountain
The kid-friendly alien adventure starring Dwayne Johnson gets a single disc, a two-disc extended edition, and a Blu-ray release. Watch for Johnson, who always manages to make family fare watchable, and for some fun Disney nostalgia.

Stargate Atlantis: Fans' Choice on Blu-ray
The first-ever "fans' choice" Blu-ray release from Stargate Atlantis features high-def versions of the series' excellent premiere episode, "Rising," and its final ep, "Enemy at the Gate."

Blade II and Blade: Trinity on Blu-ray
I never get tired of watching Blade II, horror master Guillermo del Toro's stylized entry into the Blade franchise. Despite some clunky CGI, it's a great-looking, suspenseful action-horror flick that sees The Daywalker (Wesley Snipes) battling a race of evil mutated vampires. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Blade: Trinity, writer/director David S. Goyer's overlong and shapeless camp fest featuring Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel.