New on DVD: ‘Despicable Me’

Despicable Me

Universal, $29.98/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.98/$49.98

The computer-animated “Despicable Me� follows a supervillain named Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) as he tries to restore his standing in the evildoers’ community — an effort complicated by the arrival of three adorable orphans. The movie’s sentimental side is pretty pat, but Gru’s various capers are wittily staged, and any scene involving his tiny yellow minions is pure slapstick gold. “Despicable Me� is recommended for parents who want to introduce their kids to actual comedy. The highlights of the DVD and Blu-ray are three five-minute shorts featuring Gru’s minions; the discs also come with a commentary track and multiple featurettes.

The A-Team

20th Century Fox, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

There’s no reason to expect a movie based on the silly ‘80s action-adventure TV series “The A-Team� to be high art, but director Joe Carnahan and his team of writers could’ve been at least a touch more lighthearted. Stars Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage� Jackson and Sharlto Copley have good chemistry as a band of fugitive ex-soldiers taking off-the-books missions while trying to clear their names, and there are moments that are wonderfully over the top in their preposterousness. But the plot is standard issue (and needlessly tangled), and relies too often on brainless violence. The “A-Team� DVD and Blu-ray add a Carnahan commentary, deleted scenes and extensive exploration of the movie’s special effects.

The Other Guys

Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $38.96

Easily the weirdest — and funniest — Hollywood comedy of the year, “The Other Guys� stars Mark Wahlberg as a disgraced police detective and Will Ferrell as his nerdy partner, who uncovers a political-economic scandal and helps redefine the meaning of the word “hero.� Writer-director Adam McKay (working with input from his cast and his co-writer, Chris Henchy) delivers a buddy cop movie with absurdist digressions, Mad magazine-style parodies and a commentary on the roots of crime that’s surprisingly trenchant. “The Other Guys� DVD and Blu-ray is just as generously entertaining, adding a commentary track featuring McKay and Henchy’s mothers and hours of bonus footage and endearingly goofy featurettes.

The Town

Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99

Ben Affleck stars in “The Town,� his second outing as a director, playing a bank-heist mastermind who strikes up a relationship with a witness ( Rebecca Hall) to one of his crew’s crimes. Meanwhile, an FBI agent ( Jon Hamm) pieces together clues and zeroes in on Affleck and his loose-cannon best friend, played by Jeremy Renner. “The Town� is awfully predictable — right down to its “one last big score� climax — but the cast is strong, the dialogue is flavorful and Affleck proves himself as an action director in one killer car chase through narrow streets and one exciting shootout in the bowels of Fenway Park. The DVD and Blu-ray includes an Affleck commentary and a lengthy behind-the-scenes documentary.

And:

“Cyrus� (Fox Searchlight, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99); “Exit Through the Gift Shop� (Oscilloscope, $29.99); “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work� (IFC, $27.98; Blu-ray, $34.98); “ Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole� (Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99/$44.98); “Nanny McPhee Returns� (Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.98); “Straight to Hell Returns� (Microcinema, $24.95); “The Trotsky� ( Tribeca, $24.95); “True Grit (1969)� (Paramount Blu-ray, $24.99); “24: The Complete Series� (20th Century Fox, $349.98)