THE KITE RUNNER (Dreamworks) Marc Forster’s adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s much-admired novel about an expatriate Afghani writer who returns home to face down his past (and the Taliban) cuts a tasteful swath through some messy contemporary history. While it’s nice to see an American-financed film that attempts a nuanced view of Muslim society, The Kite Runner’s schematic plotting and lead-footed symbolism work against its good intentions. The film does have a few saving graces in the form of performances; although his role is limited, Homayoun Ershadi (Mr. Badii in Abbas Kiarostami’s Taste of Cherry) etches a memorable movie patriarch. EXTRAS: audio commentary, “Words From the Kite Runner,” “Images From The Kite Runner,” “A Public Service Announcement From Khaled Hosseini,” trailers.

THE MIST (TWO-DISC COLLECTOR’S EDITION) (Alliance) Some critics attempted to wrestle with Frank Darabont’s Stephen King adaptation in post-9/11 terms, teasing an allegory about contemporary fear out of the 27-year-old scenario: a general store’s worth of small-town folks are reduced to panicky factions by the extra-dimensional monsters lurking outside the (sliding) doors. The proposed allegory isn’t the only thing that’s tenuous about The Mist; the performances and production values are just above miniseries calibre, and Darabont’s doc-style affectations (long hand-held camera takes and frequent zooms) feel ostentatious rather than integrated into the storytelling. There’s one fantastically Lovecraftian image late in the game — imagine an Imperial Walker made flesh — and the emphasis on scares rather than gore is admirable, but the missteps (especially the altered and limply cynical finale) outweigh the successes. EXTRAS: commentary, deleted scenes, black-and-white presentation, featurettes.

Also out this week
THE BEST OF THE PRICE IS RIGHT (Navarre) How will they fill four discs? Our money’s on slow-mo replays of the infamous tube top slip incident and a montage of spay-your-pet announcements. EXTRAS: none.

LOST HIGHWAY (WIDSCREEN EDITION) (Universal) David Lynch’s much-maligned 1997 film finally gets a widescreen edition, and any excuse to revisit this mesmerizing film — arguably still the director’s headiest head trip to date —  is good enough. EXTRAS: “10 Part Multi-Angle Interview With David Lynch”

THEM (Dark Sky) The word is that this French horror flick — not to be confused with the 1958 classic about giant irradiated ants — is haute on the tension and low on the gore. Sounds promising. EXTRAS: none.

Out April 1
Alvin and the Chipmunks, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and the legendary, never-released Jerry Lewis Holocaust-­clown debacle The Day the Clown Cried. (That last one was an early April Fool’s joke.)