Holiday week DVD debuts; aliens & 'Summer'

Sharlto Copley attempts to relocate the aliens of "District 9."  (Sony Pictures)

'Twas a few nights before Christmas.  And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for the gross looking aliens from "District 9."

Yes, nothing says the holidays quite like desperate, plotting extraterrestrials forced to live in ghetto shacks Mr. Potter wouldn't even dare impose on the less fortunate residents of Bedford Falls in "It's a Wonderful Life."

Yet "District 9," nominated by both the Hollywood foreign press (Golden Globe) and the Broadcast Film Critics Assoc. (Critics Choice Awards) for its screenplay, leads the buzz at your local DVD and video store today.  (Click here to read my "District 9" review.)

(Courtesy:  Fox Searchlight)

Personally, I'd go for the clever, entertaining romantic-comedy "(500) Days of Summer," which also debuts today.  Except my wife Suellen wants some holiday warm and fuzzy this week.  So we're going with "The Family Stone" (2005), a semi-new holiday chestnut, the offbeat classic "A Christmas Story" (She's never seen it all the way through.) and, on Christmas Eve, "It's a Wonderful Life."  (I'm afraid I insist on the Christmas Eve viewing of Jimmy Stewart's holiday classic.)

If you're not thinking holiday theme, aliens or "Summer" as you pull up to the vid store, might I suggest "It Might Get Loud," the excellent documentary spotlighting guitar gurus Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), The Edge (U2)  and Jack White (The White Stripes).  (Click here for my review.)

Mike Judge's offbeat comedy "Extract" also sweetens the DVD and video pot today.  (Click here for the review.)

Just make sure you get as far away from the difficult-to-watch "romantic-comedy" "All About Steve" as you possibly can.  (Click here for the review.)

Sandra Bullock made two really entertaining films this year, "The Blind Side" and "The Proposal," and one half-baked turkey.

"All About Steve" = gobble, gobble.