By Amy Longsdorf, Special to The MercuryClick to enlarge "Valkyrie" starring Tom Cruise is new on DVD this week.

You probably already know the ending of the World War II-era knuckle-biter "Valkyrie" (2008, MGM, R, $30).

But thanks to scripter Christopher McQuarrie's tense plotting and director Bryan Singer's clear-cut staging, there's never a dull moment as Col.

Von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) methodically plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler.This isn't a flashy film, but it's a compelling one which carefully blends the intensity of an action flick with the intimacy of a character study.Extras: more than three hours of special features including commentaries by Singer, McQuarrie and Cruise.Also New This Week:"Paul Blart: Mall Cop" (2009, Sony, PG, $28) As a security guard at the West Orange Pavilion Mall, Paul Blart (Kevin James) spends his days chasing down elderly scooter riders and stalking kiosk cuties.

But he gets the opportunity to prove his mettle when thugs break into his shopping center and take a handful of employees hostage.

An unlikely $100 million hit, the latest movie from Adam Sandler's production company fails to make clever use of its setting, instead serving up the usual action-comedy hijinks.

Extras: deleted scenes and featurettes."My Bloody Valentine 3-D" (2009, Lionsgate, R, $30) Given that a nut case in a miner's mask is disemboweling his prey with a pick ax, you'd think this gore-a-thon could offer up a few shiver-inducing frights.

But Patrick Lussier's remake of the 1981 slasher flick is more icky than scary.

No one over the age of 13 is likely to be amused.

Extras: commentaries, alt ending, deleted scenes and featurettes."True Blood: The Complete First Season" (2008, HBO, unrated, $60) Sink your teeth into TV's best attempt at a "Twilight" cash-in.

From the swamp-rock title sequence to the steamy couplings of its hot-and-bothered cast, Alan Ball's Deep South-set drama about humans (Anna Paquin, Lois Smith) co-mingling with bloodsuckers (Stephen Moyer) trades credibility for sleaze.

It's never boring but it's mighty outlandish.

Extras: six audio commentaries and a mockumentary about vampires in America."24: Season Seven" (2009, Fox, unrated, $60) A big improvement over the dismal sixth season, the latest batch of "24" episodes finds Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) working his world-saving magic in Washington D.C.

Keep your eyes peeled for the first female Prez (Cherry Jones) and a delicious clash of the computer titans between wary geek Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and a tech-savy FBI agent (Janeane Garofalo).

Extras: audio commentaries and featurettes."The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973, Criterion, R, $30) Set in dingy Boston bars and subway stations, Peter Yates' spare crime thriller takes a plotless look at a low-level mobster (Robert Mitchum) who's forced to turn stoolie in hopes of avoiding a two-year stint in the joint.

There's nothing glamorous about this motley crew of gunrunners and bank robbers; they go about their business with the grim efficiency of wage slaves.

Trivia note: Quentin Tarantino is such a big fan of the film, he borrowed the name of one of the characters for 1997's "Jackie Brown." Extras: commentary by Yates."Yonkers Joe" (2008, Magnolia, R, $27) When he's forced to care for his Down-syndrome-stricken son (Tom Guiry), a Yonkers card sharp (Chazz Palmintieri) decides it's time to bet the house on a massive score.

The plot is a bit musty and mushy -- it's like "The Grifters" re-imagined as an after-school special -- but, to his credit, writer/director Robert Celestino perfectly captures the seedy world of small-time cons.

Extras: featurettes."Astral Weeks: The Concert Film" (2009, Listen to the Lion, unrated, $30) Accompanied for this Hollywood Bowl date by some of the same freewheeling jazzmen who played on the 1968 recording, Van Morrison stretches his voice like butterscotch taffy, reshaping melodies here and deepening lyrics there.

By bringing grace to the orchestral grandeur of "Sweet Thing" and howling intensity to "Astral Weeks/I Have Transcended," the Celtic rocker demonstrates why four decades since his heyday, he's still Van the Man.

Extras: none."The Charles Dickens Masterworks Collection" (2009, BBC, unrated, $119) Through the years, the BBC has aired dozens of Dickens adaptations, but this set goes for the cream of the crop: 2002's "Bleak House" with a heartbreakingly weary Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock and 1999's "Great Expectations" with icy Charlotte Rampling as Miss Haversham.

Only 2009's "The Old Curiosity Shop," with Toby Jones hamming it up as an evil money lender, fails to fascinate.

Also included: 2007's "Little Dorrit" and 2009's "Oliver Twist." Extras: interviews, featurettes and commentaries."The Last Templar" (2009, Genius, unrated, $20) Jersey Girl Mira Sorvino makes a surprisingly believable archeologist in an otherwise silly — and overlong — TV adventure desperate to follow in the code-cracking, relic-chasing footsteps of "National Treasure: Book of Secrets." The best moments come early on when Sorvino jumps on a horse and single-handedly takes down an armor-clad bad guy.

Extras: featurettes and storyboard comparisons."The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance: Centennial Collection" (1962, Paramount, unrated, $17) Looking particularly spiffy in a brand new transfer, John Ford's autumnal western boasts a lovely romantic triangle between tenderfoot lawyer James Stewart, he-man cowboy John Wayne and hash-slinger Vera Miles.

As an added bonus, Lee Martin delivers a genuinely terrifying performance as the nastiest hombre to ever flick a bullwhip.

Extras: a seven-part featurette as well as a commentary by Ford scholar, director Peter Bogdanovich."Michael McDonald: A Tribute to Motown" (2009, E1, unrated, $20 ) There ain't nothing like the real thing baby, but sometimes a good cover version can make you feel like dancing in the street.

Blue-eyed soulman Michael McDonald does wonders with the Motown songbook, drenching "I Was Made to Love Her" and "What's Going On" with raw emotion.

Guest stars include Billy Preston, India.Arie, Take 6 and Toni Braxton.

Extras: none."Schwarzenegger Four-Film Collector's Set" (2009, Lionsgate, R, $30) Arnie delivers the action-movie goods in a budget-priced collection featuring the adrenalin rushes "Total Recall" (1990), "The Running Man" (1987) and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991) as well as the less-than-essential "Red Heat" (1988).

Boasting supercharged car chases and bullet ballets, this set is a born-to-be-wild beauty.

Extras: featurettes and commentaries."The Town That Was" (2007, Cinevolve, unrated, $23) When a young boy nearly died after falling into a sink hole in Centralia, the town made national news as one of the worst places in America to live.

Since 1962, the central Pennsylvania hamlet has been situated on top of a mine fire that's still burning 40 years later.

The focus of this strangely haunting doc is John Lokitis, a cockeyed native who refuses to head for greener pastures.

Extras: featurettes.Amy Longsdorf is a freelance entertainment writer.

Her DVD reviews appear Sundays in The Mercury.



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