Kevin Costner exudes trace elements of that same rumpled, weary Costner-ian charm that’s made him a very rich man in The New Daughter, a moody, middling and partially supernatural drama that suffers from a subject-mismatched title and terrible DVD cover art.

In similar fashion to movies like The Uninvited and Brittany Murphy‘s Deadline, The New Daughter is one of those flicks where a wounded protagonist/family (preferably including a writer) repairs to remote rural home, in an attempt to shake off recent malaise or trauma. Here, Costner is John James, a newly divorced father of two (and, yes, writer), who moves into a two-story South Carolina manse with his 14-year-old daughter Louisa (Ivana Baquero, of Pan’s Labyrinth) and seven-year-old son Sam (Gattlin Griffith). When Louisa starts to behave in a bizarre and increasingly violent manner, John must determine whether her acting out is linked to a giant, mysterious burial mound on the edge of his property. (Hint: it is.) A teacher at his kids’ school (Samantha Mathis) tries to offer some aid and comfort to the newly single John, and a local professor (Noah Taylor) eventually shows up to drop some verbiage regarding burial mound mythology and all that. In the end, though, it’s all about John, a shotgun, and fire, which seems a bit yawningly conventional for all the rather laborious set-up here.

There’s a pinch of The Others-style spookery here, but The New Daughter, based on a short story by John Connolly, ismostly a drama of domestic unsettledness. The directorial debut of [Rec] and Quarantine screenwriter Luis Berdejo, the movie benefits from Costner’s mooring presence; he instinctively knows that less is frequently more, and his slow-peddling — along with Berdejo and cinematographer Checco Varese’s decision to rely mostly on wide lenses — help give the proceedings an aura of naturalness and respectability. This isn’t merely an exercise in boo-scares, in other words. Still, for all its slow-building drama, the screenplay never really builds upon its surface-level dread in deeply interesting ways; the threat is pretty much what one figures it to be early on, and nudging adornments in parallelism (Sam gets an ant farm in his classroom) don’t exactly thrill.

Housed in a regular plastic Amaray case, The New Daughter comes to DVD presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio track and optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles. Supplemental extras include a robust slate of deleted and extended scenes (mostly the former, and more than a dozen, running 22 minutes), an 11-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with Costner, source material author Connolly, the film’s producers and others, and the movie’s theatrical trailer. Its weightiest bonus feature, however, is a feature-length audio commentary track with Berdejo. Although his heavily accented English is at times an impediment to understanding, he comes across as a humble and interesting guy, and also shares good anecdotes and practical filmmaking tips (shooting down directly into a flame will result in smoke damage to a camera, so use a mirror, kids!). He also gives props to many crew members for their ideas, and talks up Jorge Rojas’ art, which is used in the movie. To purchase The New Daughter on DVD via Amazon, click here. C (Movie) B- (Disc)

What’s really left to say about Avatar that hasn’t already been said? After Titanic, self-proclaimed “king of the world” James Cameron did something precious few in-demand filmmakers even attempt to do — he basically went away to dream it all up again. That Cameron returned and basically smashed another industry-redefining grand slam out of the park is an amazing feat. That he even tried — that he wasn’t interested in merely collecting big paychecks for summer movie action tentpoles, which he could do annually until well past the age most everyone else would retire — is what’s most interesting to me.

Avatar broke all sorts of commercial records, and even evoked the interest of homeless people. It raked in a cool $750 million domestically, but an even more astounding $1.98 billion worldwide. Its technological innovations — from its proprietary camera system and face-mapping to its 3-D presentation — helped drive this hearty, collective ka-ching!, turning the movie into an event even for those that don’t typically turn out for films in theaters. So what does Avatar play like revisited on DVD, where it not too long ago saw its release?

Well, stripped of its 3-D “wow factor,” in which the expansive vistas of Pandora are understandably clipped by any home-viewing experience, some of the film’s stitching and seams undeniably reveal themselves. But this dual-layer DVD is filled nearly to its size limit, which means the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer looks superb, with striking color and contrast. There are English language Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 stereo audio tracks, as well as Spanish and French Dolby surround tracks, and optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles. The rub — no supplemental extras. The loaded special edition no doubt lurks out there on the horizon, so plan accordingly. If you’re a stickler for the most up-to-date stuff, you might want to hold off, or of course go with the Blu-ray version, if you don’t already have that; if you’re a less discerning fan who just wants a copy of the (new) biggest movie of all-time to revisit at your leisure, well, this release works fine. To purchase this DVD via Amazon, click here. A- (Movie) C (Disc)