Miley Cyrus served up one of the lamest performances in the history of the MTV Video Music Awards, with many on the web suggesting that her look was inspired by this classic Jim Carrey skit. Check out more Miley jokes here.

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: Bond salesman Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) gets pulled into the extravagant world of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) when he rents a small house on Long Island next to the reclusive millionaire’s lavish mansion. But Gatsby has ulterior motives for befriending Nick – he’s in love with his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), who’s currently trapped in a loveless marriage with wealthy socialite Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton).

WHY: If you ever wondered what a bad movie starring good actors looks like, then you’ll want to check out this disastrous adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Though Warner Bros. tried to put a positive spin on the film’s delay, it’s pretty clear why they decided not to release it during awards season like originally planned: it’s a boring mess. The only thing worse than a dull movie is one that tries to disguise it with razzle-dazzle, and director Baz Luhrman’s kitschy vision of the Roaring 20s is so oversaturated in style and off-the-wall choices (like the use of a contemporary, mostly hip-hop soundtrack) that he completely ignores the many nuances of Fitzgerald’s novel. The whole thing is executed so poorly that I came up with a drinking game just to keep myself entertained. Take a sip every time DiCaprio says “old sport,” and take a shot every time someone slicks back their hair. You’ll be plastered within the hour, but at least the film will be a lot easier to watch.

EXTRAS: Sadly, there’s no audio commentary by director Baz Luhrmann, but there are a number of featurettes on things like pre-production, costume design and the soundtrack, as well as on-set video diaries by Tobey Maguire, an in-depth look at five sequences and some deleted scenes.

FINAL VERDICT: SKIP

WHAT: Based on an unbelievably true story, physical trainer Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) enlists the help of fellow bodybuilder Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and recently paroled born-again Christian Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) to kidnap a Miami businessman (Tony Shaloub) and force him to sign over all his assets.

WHY: After three “Transformers” films, it’s nice to see Michael Bay challenging himself with something on a much smaller scale – one that doesn’t involve blowing shit up every 10 minutes – although it may not necessarily look like it due to the director’s trademark ramped-up style. Bay’s movies can be pretty grueling to watch at times between the relentless high energy intensity and overlong runtimes, and “Pain & Gain” is no exception. But whereas a film like “Bad Boys II” had the added annoyance level of Martin Lawrence (to the point that it gave me a headache), this movie actually benefits from its cast. Wahlberg, Johnson and Mackie all deliver enjoyable performances as the amateur criminals, and though no amount charm makes them come across any less idiotic, that’s part of the fun. “Pain & Gain” is a lot like “Raising Arizona” in many respects – if that film was shot up with a potent cocktail of steroids and speed – and though it’s fairly entertaining at times, it eventually becomes too crazy for its own good.

EXTRAS: Surprisingly, there’s no bonus material available. Nothing, nada, zilch.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

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Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3

Electronic Arts

Even the most adamant of “Madden” fans don’t expect each new installment to be mind-blowingly original or reinvent the game of virtual football each time out, but with the series celebrating a landmark quarter century anniversary, you’d be forgiven if just this once you let those expectations be lifted in the hopes that “Madden 25” presents that significant leap forward that has eluded the franchise like cover boy Barry Sanders used to elude defenders.

If you are one of those that hoped the series would present an installment worthy of its biggest anniversary yet, then I’m sorry to tell you the short answer is, it doesn’t.

“Madden 25” continues where “Madden 13” left off, in that its main aim is to make the on-the-field part of the game more dynamic. Whereas “Madden 13” did that with a new physics engine, “Madden 25” adds precision modifiers, which allow you to pull off some enhanced moves in the run/after the catch play. Accomplished by using the left trigger or shoulder button at the optimal time, it’s a system that actually does benefit the running game tremendously and, for those willing to explore it, can create some pretty incredible highlight reel maneuvers, such as the ability to juke right after a spin and blow past multiple defenders. It’s reminiscent of the incredible “charge” ability in “NFL 2K5,” but with a flair all its own.

Off the field, the biggest addition (though it’s somewhat of a returning feature) is the Owner mode, which sees you take the role of owner and manage everything from soda costs to staff decisions. Like the precision modifiers, it’s a feature that benefits from some commitment and yields most of its entertainment from playing like a maniacal control freak a la Al Davis, making dangerously bold media comments that throw your staff under the bus or just saying screw it and moving the team to Portland, Oregon (FYI, my Oregon Hipsters are 2013 NFC champions). Considering you can still play your season in between the shenanigans, it’s actually my preferred franchise mode for the added options.

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Most of our readers have probably seen ads for the adidas Springblade, which are the first running shoe with individually tuned blades engineered to help propel runners forward with one of the most effective energy returns in the industry. Right when we put these shoes on for a test run, we couldn’t believe the explosive energy from the Springblade shoe! Unlike standard EVA midsoles, which deliver energy return in a vertical direction, Springblade features 16 forward angled blades made out of a high-tech polymer. The highly elastic blades instantaneously react to any environment, compressing and releasing energy to create an efficient push-off that feels like you have springs under your feet. The feeling is so unique and new that you really feel like you are experiencing something from the future.

For all the serious runners out there, it’s important to know that each blade is precisely tuned in geometry, thickness and position for each phase of a runner’s stride to provide support and a full range of movement. Additionally, Springblade’s flexible construction was designed to hug the top of a runner’s foot, locking it in to harness the energy returned from the springs on the outsole. After six years in the making, aIT (adidas Innovation Team) tested hundreds of materials to ensure each spring produced maximum energy efficiency with every step and conducted rigorous ballistics tests to maintain long-lasting durability For top performance in all environments, Springblade is seven times more temperature resistant than shoes with adidas’ standard EVA cushioning. Aside from all of the technology under your feet, these new Springblade’s look incredible and will grab attention from folks of all walks of life.

The adidas Springblade is available for $180 and has been on sale since August 1 at adidas.com and retailers nationwide, including Finish Line, Foot Locker, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Eastbay and select running specialty stores.

We were back at Pebble Beach this year for the 2013 Concours D’Elegance at Pebble Beach, and again we had the opportunity to participate in the Dawn Patrol as the owners of the amazing classic cars drove them onto the 18th hole at Pebble Beach just as the sun was rising. We saw a stunning variety of beautiful vehicles as the drove past us during the dawn Patrol and then on the fairway at Pebble as they were on display for everyone to see.

The Best of Show award went to the owners of a 1934 Packard as cars from this time period often take the top prize. Those cars are beautiful, of course, but we’re usually most interested in the classic post-war sports cars.

This year the Lamborghinis grabbed our attention as it was one of the featured brands as it celebrated its 50th anniversary. We certainly appreciate the modern Lambos as we’ve featured the new Aventador and drove the Gallardo on a track, so it was a treat to see some of the classic models up close.

The 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400 in particular stood out with its bright blue paint job as you can see in the slideshow above. It’s hard to compete with the elegant sports cars from the 1960s, but the Countach offered up a radical design in the 1970s with its wedge-shaped, sharply angled look that had a huge impact on sports car design for a generation. You can also see how the cab-forward design of the Countach offered a dramatic contrast to the longer front hoods of the sports cars from the 60s. We made sure to get some photos with the iconic scissor doors opened up as well.

The Countach had some excellent company at Pebble with other iconic Lambos on hand:

1969 Lamborghini Islero S

1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Bertone Coupé

1972 Lamborghini Espada Bertone Coupé

1973 Lamborghini Miura SV Berlinetta

You can see the evolution of the Lamborghini designs through the 60s into the 70s and also why these cars caught our eye. We’ll be posting more photos from Pebble Beach here and on our car site Dashboard News, but kicking things off with the Lamborghinis seemed like the obvious choice.