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: When his prized Mustang is stolen and his pet beagle (a final gift from his dying wife) is murdered, ex-hitman John Wick (Keanu Reeves) comes out of retirement to exact revenge on the one responsible – Iosef (Alfie Allen), the spoiled son of a Russian gangster (Michael Nyqvist) – and anyone else who gets in his way.

WHY: Keanu Reeves has made some great action movies (“Speed,” “The Matrix”), as well as some not-so-great ones, over the course of his career, and though “John Wick” isn’t quite good enough to be counted among the former, it’s a fun little genre flick destined for cult status. Reeves is certainly in his element as the soft-spoken hitman, piling up bodies by the minute and almost always finishing them off with a bullet to the head. (Seriously, there are more headshots in this film than you can count.) The movie does get a bit repetitive after a while due to the rinse-and-repeat nature of the fight sequences, but those scenes are also what makes it so giddily entertaining, featuring an old-school sensibility that focuses more on the kinetic energy of the action than fancy choreography or camera movement. It also boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo and Lance Reddick, not to mention Adrianne Palicki – who’s pretty much cornered the market on sexy, badass women – in an amusing supporting turn as a rival assassin. “John Wick” could have been really terrible, but it never takes itself too seriously, instead embracing the outlandish premise with such cool self-awareness that it practically dares you not to have a good time.

EXTRAS: In addition to an audio commentary with directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, there’s a behind-the-scenes look at the fight choreography and five additional production featurettes.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

WHAT: Decades after being taken hostage as a teenager and forced to fight for the Ottoman Empire, Transylvanian prince Vlad the Impaler (Luke Evans) has put down his sword in order to rule his people. But when Turkish sultan Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) demands 1,000 youths for his army – including Vlad’s only son, Ingeras (Art Parkinson) – Vlad refuses to submit, instead making a deal with an ancient vampire (Charles Dance) to give him the power required to protect his land from Turkish retaliation.

WHY: It seems like everyone is getting an origin story these days, so it was only a matter of time before Hollywood treated its original bad boy to one of his own. Unfortunately, the last thing that anyone needed was another film that tries to humanize a classic villain with a backstory explaining why they broke bad, especially one as iconic as Dracula, because it completely undermines everything that makes him so fascinating. Refashioning Dracula as a misunderstood antihero is a difficult proposition on its own, and director Gary Shore doesn’t do himself any favors by having the Transylvanians speak with British accents. Whether it’s because Luke Evans was incapable of delivering a suitable accent, or Shore just wanted to move away from the stereotypical Dracula performance, it’s an odd and distracting decision, particularly when the rival Turks sound exactly as they should. Evans isn’t the worst choice to play Vlad, but while he has the right look and brooding presence, he delivers every line like he’s performing a Shakespearian adaptation of “300.” For all of its faults, however, “Dracula Untold” fails primarily for the same reason as Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood” – the man before the legend isn’t as interesting as the legend himself. There’s a good reason this part of the Dracula lore remained untold, and it should’ve stayed that way.

EXTRAS: There’s an audio commentary by director Gary Shore and production designer Francois Audouy, scene-specific commentary by star Luke Evans, a video diary from the set, deleted scenes, an alternate opening and more.

FINAL VERDICT:

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Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Douglas Smith, Darren Kagasoff, Lin Shaye

Stiles White

With Halloween less than a week away, it’s nice to know that Hollywood wanted to give us one of the scariest, big budget films of the season. “Ouija” isn’t that movie, but the Stiles White’s directing debut could’ve and should’ve been.

Based on the popular Hasbro game, “Ouija” goes to its trusty trunk of horror movie clichés in a valiant way to cover up a mediocre script, a modicum of special effects and lack of a budget. Pretty, blond Debbie (Shelley Hennig) uses a Ouija board by herself and soon commits suicide. She does this despite knowing that one of the rules is never to Ouija solo. The other rules (discovered via flashback) is that you can’t use the Ouija in a graveyard and all convos must end in “Goodbye” on the board. And you thought the rules of “Fight Club” were weird.

Her best friend Laine (Olivia Cooke of “Bates Motel”) leads a grief-stricken group consisting of her boyfriend Trevor (Daren Kagasoff), her sister Sarah (Ana Coto), friend Isabelle (Bianca Santos) and Debbie’s boyfriend Pete (Douglas Smith) to find clues as to why Debbie offed herself. With little to go on, they decide to use the Ouija board for answers. (Except it’s never called a Ouija board, just “the board” or “spirit board,” despite the word “Ouija” being the first thing you see when they show it. Thanks, Hasbro.)

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