NEW ON BLU: A Look at the Latest Blu-Ray Releases (Nov. 27, 2012)

You're a busy person. You don't have time to check the newspaper ads for the latest blu-ray releases. Well, you're in luck, since Popculturology is doing the heavy lifting for you with New on Blu. Check out this column every week for a breakdown of the latest blu-ray releases. To help you impulse buy any of these blu-rays, all you have to do is click on the photo of a case, and you'll be taken to Amazon.

This week's featured blu-rays: Lawless, ParaNorman, The Apparition, Step Up Revolution.

Lawless
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 67 percent

If there was one movie that went under the radar this summer, it was Lawless. The film was released during the dark box office days when nothing seemed to catch America's interest, which is unfortunate since Lawless was a great movie. Shia LaBeouf held his own alongside Tom Hardy, who added another monster performance to his 2012 résumé.

ParaNorman
Directed by: Sam Fell, Chris Butler
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86 percent

I feel bad for ParaNorman. Like Lawless, ParaNorman failed to catch at the box office, a real shame since it definitely looks like it had heart. Seeing as how the film was from the makers of Coraline, I would've thought ParaNorman would've had more of a built-in audience. What kind of word do we live in where Adam Sandler's Hotel Transylvania is a box office hit while a nifty stop-motion animated movie like ParaNorman flops?

The Apparition
Directed by: Todd Lincoln
Starring: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 4 percent

Oof. The Apparition only managed to get a 4 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check it out. I mean, look at that cast. Ashley Greene, the hottie from the Twilight movies; Sebastian Stan, Captain America's Bucky Barnes; and Tom Felton, Draco Malfoy himself. They're not going to win any Oscars, but you can at least spend the entire movie referring to them by the names of their best known roles. Oh no, that ghost got Draco! That's what he gets for killing Dumbledore.

Step Up Revolution

Directed by: Scott Speer

Starring: Who knows?

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 43 percent

After the thrilling events of the first three Step Up movies, you're just dying to know what happens to these multidimensional and engaging characters, right? Of course you are.

Bill Kuchman is editor in chief of Popculturology. You can follow him on Twitter at @billkuchman.