‘Source Code,’ propelled by Jake Gyllenhaal, new on DVD

Source Code

Summit, $26.99; Blu-ray, $30.49

A clever, briskly paced sci-fi mystery, “Source Code” stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier enlisted against his will in a secret government project. His consciousness is being projected back through time, over and over, to the scene of a train bombing, where he has eight minutes to find the bomber. Part “Inception” and part “Groundhog Day” — and propelled by a lively Gyllenhaal performance — “Source Code” verges on the silly whenever writer Ben Ripley and director Duncan Jones try to offer a scientific explanation for how the hero can do what he does, but the premise is pretty terrific, and for the most part, the filmmakers don’t squander it. They parcel out clues and details smartly, and even turn the doomed passengers on the train into fleshed-out characters. The DVD and Blu-ray come with a Gyllenhaal-Ripley-Jones commentary track, plus featurettes.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

20th Century Fox, $22.98; Blu-ray, $29.99

For those who haven’t yet had their fill of vampires, werewolves and zombies, the horror comedy “Dylan Dog: Dead of Night” offers ample quantities of each, presided over by a supernatural detective played by Brandon Routh. Based on a popular Italian comic book, the movie has been freely (and cheaply) adapted, and the results feel forced and derivative, with a jokey tone that’s rarely as funny as it’s meant to be. Fans of the genre would be better off seeking out the comic — or just rewatching their “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel” DVDs.

Heartbeats

MPI, $24.98

Following up his precocious 2009 debut “I Killed My Mother,” writer-director Xavier Dolan’s “Heartbeats” tells the story of two best friends (one of whom is also played by Dolan) as they develop a crush on the same young man and try to figure out if he’s gay or straight, and whether he’s interested in either of them. “Heartbeats” is no “Jules and Jim,” but the 22-year-old Dolan brings a youthful exuberance both to his filmmaking and to his conception of romance. Based on his first two films, Dolan is going to be around for a while, so cinephiles should catch up with him now.

Life During Wartime

Criterion, $29.95; Blu-ray, $39.95

In 1998, writer-director Todd Solondz had his biggest success with “Happiness,” a mega-ironic black comedy about a group of interrelated sad sacks and perverts surviving suburbia. “Life During Wartime” is a semi-sequel, with an entirely new cast playing the characters from the first film, who are still finding it difficult to deal with marriage and child-rearing in a world full of loneliness and “monsters.” The movie is unlikely to win new fans, but people who already love Solondz’s deadpan tone and harsh irony should lap it up. And Criterion has done right by the film, adding a lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, plus interviews with Solondz and master cinematographer Ed Lachman.

And …

Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

20th Century Fox, $19.98; Blu-ray, $24.99

Ironclad

Warner Bros., $24.99; Blu-ray, $29.99

My Dog Tulip

New Yorker, $29.95

Trust

Millennium, $28.99; Blu-ray, $29.99

Winter in Wartime

Sony Blu-ray, $45.99

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