Owls Head — Real Steel (Touchstone, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 127 Min.). This mechanical “Rocky” finds most of its heart through the wonderful, this-is-so-amazing performance by Dakota Goyo as 11-year-old Max, the estranged son of robot boxer handler Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman). When Max teaches his robot Atom to dance and then they dance together before a match, the film lands an emotional upper-cut that has you reeling with pleasure, even though you probably could have scripted every minute thereafter yourself.

The time is the near future, when robotic boxing has replaced human boxing with its higher level of mayhem, but no loss of life. The sport started in Japan, of course, then went viral over the Internet via YouTube and other outlets. Charlie is a former boxer, who, we learn, had one shining moment in the ring himself, before everything started to fall apart. He is reduced to fights with his battered robot Ambush in the fair circuit. In fact, early on, we see Ambush get literally gored apart by a bull called Black Thunder. Then, he learns his ex-girlfriend has died, leaving behind their son, Max. Charlie wants nothing to do with Max, whom he has not seen in years, but comes up with a plan when he sees Max’s Aunt Deborah (Hope Davis) is wealthy. For $100,000, he agrees to give up his rights to Max, but take Max for the summer, so the husband’s planned Italy vacation can go off without the presence of a child.

Given half the money, Charlie buys another robot, Noisy Boy, which has a voice recognition system. Max, who tags along to the fight, has more sense than Charlie, who manages to get Noisy Boy destroyed as well. They then go to a junk yard (“metal valley”) to steal robot parts, and Max finds Atom buries in mud. Atom is a second-generation robot, meaning he is old, more human like and without all the fancy programming now in vogue. Max, though, adapts Noisy Boy’s voice recognition system to fit Atom and, since Atom apparently was originally a sparring partner robot, it also has a shadow program, where it mimics everything its controller does. This leads to the dancing and, ultimately, the climatic moment in the most unlikely of fights. Atom, who quickly becomes a crowd favorite in his first league fight, is given a shot at the Real Steel championship against the mighty, undefeated Zeus. So ultimately, this is a heart-warming film, directed by Shawn Levy and with the magical touch of executive director Steven Spielberg evident. Evangeline Lilly (TV’s “Lost”) plays Bailey, who inherited her father’s gym; her father used to be Charlie’s trainer.

Extras on Blu-ray and standard DVD include bloopers (2:26); an interesting look at the creation of and filming in Metal Valley (14:14); audio commentary by director Levy (“Night at the Museum” franchise); and building the robots at Legacy Effects, the successor to Stan Winston Studios (5:38). The Blu-ray has a second screen capability, where you can explore exclusive interactive content with Levy that includes progression reels, 360-degree turnarounds of the robots and look at the technology that created the fights; an in-character TV background feature on Charlie and Atom (13:51); an extended scene and 13:44 of deleted scenes having to do with a butterfly charm; and a look at boxing champ Sugar Ray Leonard coaching Jackman (6:19). Grade: film and extras 3.5 stars

Rating guide: 5 stars = classic; 4 stars = excellent; 3 stars = good; 2 stars = fair; dog = skip it

Abduction (Lionsgate, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 106 min.). Taylor Lautner of the “Twilight” franchise takes on a lead role here, and one that turns into a very action-oriented role. He plays Nathan Harper, a high school student plagued with nightmares and anger issues that his shrink (Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Bennett) is helping him learn to control. His father (Jason Isaacs) is strict, almost to the point of being abusive in their backyard fight training (interesting fact is Lautner has an extreme martial arts background and was a world champion at age 11). Assigned to do a school project about missing kids with his neighbor Karen (Lily Collins), Nathan comes across a Website that makes him believe he may have been abducted as a child.

As soon as his “mother” (Maria Bello) confesses she is not his real mother, two killers break into the house, which is soon destroyed, sending Nathan and Karen on the run. It actually turns out that nearly everything about Nathan’s life was a lie. The film is set in and around Pittsburgh and has a climatic scene at PNC Stadium, where Lautner gets to do some Parkour. Plot-wise, the film changes course wildly, but Lautner proves more than adept at the action scenes. He is a bit stiff in the role, which is surprising, since he is so engaging in his animated discussion about making the film (18:17). Another extra looks at him doing most of his own stunts (11:57). There also is a making-of feature (12:01) and a gag reel (3:37). Grade: film 2.5 stars; extras 3.25 stars

Contagion (Warner, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 106 min.). Director Steven Soderbergh presents a rather clinical look at the introduction of a new virus, its rapid spread and the societal aftermath, which is mostly looting and rioting as panic sets in over lack of food and other necessities. The ensemble piece has a large cast, including Gwyneth Paltrow as Beth Emhoff, whose coughing we first hear over a black screen. Beth has been to Hong Kong, where she contracted the disease (she is patient zero, it turns out).  Within days of returning home (and in less than 10 minutes screen time), she is dead. Her son soon follows, but husband/stepfather Mitch (Matt Damon) is apparently immune.

Laurence Fishburne plays Dr. Ellis Cheever at the Center for Disease Control. We also follow a couple of his co-workers who go out into the field. One uses film from a Hong Kong casino, where Beth spent time, to trace the spreading of the disease. We also see the efforts to come up with a vaccine; here the film is true to science. Following Mitch and his own surviving daughter, we see society breaking down. By day 21, there are 2.5 million dead in the United States. Jude Law plays a would-be journalist Internet blogger who pretends to have the disease and be cured by a herbal remedy so he can profit from sales of the remedy, which, of course, does not work.

As in other Soderbergh films, the audience is not really given the opportunity to connect with any of the characters. The film is too bloodless for that, but Cliff Martinez’s electronic score provides the pulse. Extras are a bit meager: 11:29 on the film’s reality with disease experts and the film’s stars; 4:57 on medical detectives; and a 2:01 infomercial on how a virus changes the world. Grade: film 3.5 stars; extras 2 stars

The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (Universal, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 106 min.). This is the sequel to “Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior,” which was the prequel to “The Scorpion King,” which was a prequel to “The Mummy Returns,” which was a sequel to “The Mummy.” The film looks more expensive than its limited budget, although the colors, especially at the beginning, are washed out. It is poorly written, but it does have some nice martial arts-style fighting and a delightfully roguish performance by Billy Zane as bad guy Talus.

Talus is King Horus’ (a subdued performance by Ron Pearlman) brother and he feels he should have been the king. Horus hires now-mercenary Mathayus (Victor Webster) -- the Acadian not only has lost his kingdom, but also his bride -- to thwart Talus’ planned conquest of King Ramusan’s (Temuera Morrison) castle to seize the Book of the Dead.  Mathayus is given a huge sidekick (Bostin Christopher as Olaf) and they carry on like the Three Stooges, even though there are only two of them -- even to continue fighting each other while bandits steal all their belongings. The pair initially succeed, but then asks them to rescue his daughter Silda (Krystal Vee), promising her hand in marriage to Mathayus, although he is more interested in the pendent around her neck. While they go off to rescue her, Talus’ men overtake Rasmusan and get the book, which Talus uses to release three ghost warriors to do his bidding. They are Argonmael (six-time WWE champ Dave Bautista), Zulu Kondo (UFC star Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson) and the witch Tsukai (Selina Lo).

The settings appear to be like Burma or Cambodia, except for the chariot race that looks like it was shot in a park next to a mansion, but Talus’ men look a bit more Roman. Extras include six deleted/extended scenes (12:58; not much added); a montage of deleted shots; a gag reel; a making-of feature; a look at the combat with actor Webster; and audio commentary with director Roel Reine. Grade: film 2 stars; extras 2.5 stars

Mildred Pierce (HBO, 2 Blu-ray and 2 standard DVDs, TV-MA, 344 min.). Kate Winslet justifiably won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the title character in this five-part miniseries adaptation of  the James M. Cain novel. The 1945 Michael Curtiz-directed movie version starred Joan Crawford, who won her only Oscar for the role. Cain, of course, also gave us “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “Double Indemnity.”

When we first meet the mother of two young girls, Mildred is throwing her adulterous husband out. It is 1931 Glendale, California -- in other words Depression-era Los Angeles area -- and she soon is forced to look for work as her cake and pie making is not enough. While she at first feels it is beneath her, she gets a witnessing job. Later, her pie business starts to thrive and she falls for a handsome stranger (Guy Pearce as Monty Beragon). By episode three, Mildred has opened her own restaurant, straining further her relationship with her ambitious older daughter (Evan Rachel Wood as Veda). While Mildred is having success as a restaurateur, Veda manipulates a society bachelor and his wealthy family. Mildred eventually has a chain of 85-cent chicken-plate eateries, only to lose everything, while Veda’s music career starts to take off.

Director Todd Haynes (“Velvet Goldmine,” which has just been released on Blu-ray disc), who co-wrote the miniseries with Jon Raymond, decided the story would be told entirely from Mildred’s point of view, so Winslet is in every scene. I love the series’ look. Extras include relaxed audio commentaries on episodes three and five by Haynes, Raymond and production designer Mark Friedberg; a half-hour making-of with extensive interviews with all the principal cast and crew; and five-minute “Inside the Episodes” pieces with Haynes on each episode. The Collector’s Edition includes both the two-disc Blu-ray version and the two-disc standard DVD version. Grade: miniseries 4 stars; extras 3.5 stars

1911 (Well Go USA, 2 Blu-ray discs, R, 99 min.). Directed by Zhang Li, this visually striking film details the fall of the Qing Dynasty by violent rebellion. In his 100th film, Jackie Chan plays revolutionary military leader Huang Xing. At the time of this final dynasty, China was split into warring factions and starving citizens had begun to revolt. The Qing court, meanwhile, builds a powerful army to quash the rebellion, an army led by mercenary Yuen Shikai (Chun Sun). A key to funding this army is a European loan with China’s railroads as collateral. Many of the scenes, such as the bodies of young revolutionary soldiers pulled up from the muddy water onto the shore, are haunting, but the film is difficult to follow unless you know quite a bit about Chinese history. I only recognized the character of Sun Yat-Sen (played by Winston Chao), who spends most of his time in Europe, trying to block the loan to the Qing Court. Joan Chen plays the Empress Longyu. Each character is introduced by text on screen and there are historical notes on screen as well, but even on a 50-inch TV they are hard to read.

Chan’s role is an unusual one for him, rather straight forward, but then 69 minutes in, he is suddenly given a brief fighting sequence -- pure Chan but out of place in this movie. The Blu-ray edition comes with a whole disc of extras, including on-set interviews with Chan and Li Bing Bing, who plays Xu Zonghan; six deleted scenes; 30 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage on both discs; and 30 minutes of a Hong Kong press conference. Grade: film 2.75 stars; extras 3 stars

Cold Sweat (Argentina, Dark Sky DVD, NR, 80 min.). This horror film (in Spanish) offers an unusual, if not unique, weapon and bad guys that are nearly the same. The film opens with  Roman (Facundo Espinosa) and Ali (Marina Glezer) parked across the street from a house in the middle of a busy, but rundown city block. Roman's girlfriend Jacquie (Camila Velasco) broke up with him over a week ago and he is trying to find her. With Ali's help, he has learned that Jacquie has come to this house to meet a man whom she met on-line. Ali has arranged to meet the man as well, so she can get Jacquie out. (Jacquie purports to be happy and away, but Ali has traced the e-mail message back to this house.) Ali enters the house and does not come back out. After waiting for hours, Roman sneaks into what is a house of horrors. Two old political radicals live in the house with a cache of decades-old, stolen dynamite. They capture and torture young women, and use liquid nitro glycerin to intimidate and punish the girls. Roman finds Jacquie covered with the explosive stuff and must get her out, after first freeing Ali. There is a climatic explosion in super slow-motion.

Ultimately, the film disappoints. It treats its uniqueness too pedestrian. Extras include five deleted or extended scenes (23:40); a 9:26 behind-the-scenes look; director/co-writer Adrian Garcia Bogliano talking about the Argentinean history behind the film (5:55); a poster gallery; and, best, a comic book version of the story. Grade: film and extras 2.75 stars

Shark Night (Fox, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 90 min.). Director David R. Ellis (“The Final Destination) presents a pretty good shark film. There’s the usual bunch of college friends -- this time seven, and you come to care about several of them -- who go off for a weekend at Lake Crosby. It seems though that Sara’s (Sara Paxton) ex (Chris Carmack as Dennis) has some serious issues with her and he and his pal have filled the lake with several species of sharks. Among the college kids are Dustin Milligan (TV’s “90210”) as hero Nick, Sinqua Walls as athlete Malik, who soon loses an arm, and Joel David Moore (TV’s “Bones”) as Gordon. Chris Zylka from TV’s “The Secret Circle” plays hunky Blake. Donal Logue plays Sheriff Greg Sabin.

The underwater scenes are clearly shot and the film, with its Louisiana setting, has a good look, but it loses something after the reveal of the creeps. By the ending, though, you are captivated again. The film was shown in 3-D in the theaters. Extras include just the kills (5:43); a survival guide that is basically a trailer for the film (4:08); a look at the mechanical sharks (5:24; the best extra); and 4:22 on filming in 3-D. Grade: film 3.25 stars; extras 2 stars

Mannix: the Sixth Season (1972-73, CBS/Paramount, 6 DVDs, NR, 1215 min.). Golden Globe winner Mike Connors again plays hard-boiled private detective Joe Mannix, who defies all the rules fighting crime in Los Angeles. In this season, which earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Continuing Drama Series, his secretary Peggy Fair (played by Emmy winner Gail Fisher) becomes more involved in the cases, even to laying her life on the line. Episodes include Mannix hunting an escaped gang leader in the Santa Monica Mountains; an ex-priest who heard a killer’s confession enlists Mannix to find the murderer; a tycoon’s wife vanishes on a sailing trip; Mannix goes undercover to protect a crime ring informant; an amnesiac soldier, believed to be dead, returns; Mannix investigates a fellow private eye’s death; Peggy goes undercover as a hooker to break up a drug ring; a brother and sister confess to the same crime; and political blackmail seems to be coming from a dead man. Grade: season 3.25 stars