This week sees two fine Criterion releases, canonizing the first two Police Story movies as well as Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career, and Arrow releasing Aleksei German’s Khrustalyov, My Car!. But the real hot-button topics are in the new releases for once. One of them is S. Craig Zahler’s Dragged Across Concrete, a grindhouse thriller whose murky politics, central role for Mel Gibson, and two-and-a-half-hour running time combine to ask the viewer if they’re offended yet. I have yet to see it or either of Zahler’s other two movies, but I admit to being intrigued by the prospect of an absurdly lengthy scene where Vince Vaughn prepares and eats an egg salad sandwich. Not as intrigued, however, as I was by this week’s other big new title, Steven Knight’s Serenity, which I had to see in theaters. Even before its now legendary twist, it’s basically scene after scene of the “you’re my favorite customer” bit from The Room, except with Matthew McConaughey attempting to respond to godawful exposition with something resembling gravitas. It’s hilariously misguided from start to finish, but its stupidity becomes almost touching after awhile.

Arctic (Universal)
The Boxer (Shout Factory)
Dragged Across Concrete (Lionsgate)
Emanuelle and Francoise (Severin)
Hannibal (Kino)
Khrustalyov, My Car! (Arrow Academy)
Miss Bala (Sony)
My Brilliant Career (Criterion)
Police Story / Police Story 2 (Criterion)
Serenity (Universal)
Summer Stock (Warner Archive Collection)
Tarantula (Shout Factory)