Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

WHAT: During a manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is left behind by his crew after he seemingly dies in a storm. But when it turns out that Watney has survived, he must use his skills and intelligence to keep himself alive on the barren planet long enough to make contact with NASA and await rescue.

WHY: Although it’s the third film in as many years about astronauts in distress, “The Martian” is a smart, captivating and humorous adaptation of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel that covers very different narrative and emotional territory than “Gravity” and “Interstellar.” For starters, it’s a lot more uplifting than most sci-fi fare, eschewing the usual doom-mongering for a story about the power of optimism and perseverance that also doubles as one heckuva recruitment video for NASA. (Who knew science and math could be this much fun?) Matt Damon is perfectly cast as the Everyman astronaut forced to “science the shit” out of his seemingly impossible predicament, while the supporting cast – including Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejifor and Jessica Chastain – is absolutely stacked with talent. This is hands down Ridley Scott’s best movie since “Gladiator,” and it owes a lot to Drew Goddard’s screenplay, which takes a lighthearted approach to the high-stakes drama in order to produce one of the most purely entertaining crowd-pleasers in years.

EXTRAS: In addition to a pair of production featurettes, there are some fictional promo videos made for the film and a gag reel.

FINAL VERDICT: BUY

WHAT: Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek), a cyber security engineer who suffers from social anxiety disorder, is recruited by a mysterious hacker named Mr. Robot (Christian Slater) to help take down an evil corporation that he believes is destroying the world.

WHY: USA Network hasn’t garnered much acclaim with its recent crop of original series, so when “Mr. Robot” debuted last summer to rave reviews, audiences were quick to stand up and take notice. Though the psychological thriller isn’t quite as groundbreaking as many have suggested – largely because its big twists have been executed better before – it gets off to a strong start thanks to Rami Malek’s breakout performance and a solid supporting cast. The hacker elements are really compelling, but once the show starts to dive more into Elliot’s psyche, it begins to unravel. Not only is Elliot an incredibly unreliable protagonist, giving the writers free reign to do whatever they want with little consequences, but the drastic change in direction midway through the season is so sudden that it feels like creator Sam Esmail got impatient allowing the story to develop organically. He burns through nearly two seasons’ worth of story in only 10 episodes, and while some viewers will appreciate that type of gung-ho attitude, a more disciplined approach would have resulted in a more rewarding payoff.

EXTRAS: There’s a making-of featurette, deleted scenes and a gag reel.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

WHAT: After he’s hired to teach at a liberal arts college in Rhode Island, Abe Lucas (Joaquin Phoenix) becomes romantically involved with two women: doe-eyed philosophy student Jill (Emma Stone) and unhappily married professor Rita (Parker Posey). But when a chance encounter leads Abe to commit a perfect crime, it threatens to ruin his newfound happiness.

WHY: Woody Allen has always struggled with consistency in the quality of his movies, but save for “Vicky Christina Barcelona” and “Midnight in Paris,” the writer/director has fallen into an unusually deep rut over the past decade. Part of the problem is that Allen recycles the same character types, situations and themes in almost every film, to the point that it feels like you’re just watching a slight variation of the same movie, and “Irrational Man” is no different. Though it features a pair of decent performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, Allen’s latest is a poorly executed drama that is every bit as boring as it is messy. Case in point: the dual voice-over narration by Abe and Jill, which only serves to underline the lazy, flat writing and indecisive storytelling. While the film’s darkly comic ending feels like vintage Woody Allen, the rest of the movie sadly plays out like a majority of his contemporary work.

EXTRAS: There’s footage from the film’s Los Angeles premiere and a photo gallery.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP