Blu-ray reviews: ‘Daphne & Velma’ and Annihilation’

Two recently released films on Blu-ray offer a touch of science and plenty of girl power.

Daphne & Velma (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, rated G, 75 minutes, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, $19.99) — A live-action, direct-to-video origin story about Mystery Inc.’s pair of famed female sleuths works hard to inspire tweens but older fans will still prefer the animated, “Scooby Doo” franchise.

Viewers learn about a long-distance relationship between pals Velma Dinckley (Sarah Gilman) and Daphne Blake (Sarah Jeffery) culminating with much closer encounters when Daphne starts going to Velma’s high school.

However, all is not right at the technology-saturated Ridge Valley High after many of the smartest students are reduced to near babbling zombie status and thus, the mystery solving begins.

The movie plays out like a Disney Channel “Scooby Doo” special, except no Hannah Montana or Zack and Cody stop by.

As a grumpy, bespectacled Velma, Miss Gilman is dead-on while Miss Jeffery’s Daphne is more empowered than the original character (I still prefer Sarah Michelle Gellar’s cinematic version) and comes complete with her red locks and green-and-purple attire.

It’s worth noting that Disney Channel’s ” The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” stalwart’s Brian Stepanek and Ashley Tisdale are part of the film with Mr. Stepanek playing Daphne’s over-protective father and Miss Tisdale producing “Daphne & Velma.”

Director Suzi Yoonessi also tries hard to subtly offer some homages to the original “Scooby Doo” cartoon, including Velma spouting “jinkies” when amazed; the pair sneaking around in front of an endless stream of lockers; their lit eyes popping open in a dark elevator; and their noggins peeking around corners or through windows.

Of course, the villain let’s loose with “if it wasn’t for you meddling kids …” to offer familiar closure to the girls’ mildly harrowing adventure.

Best extras: Viewers get three featurettes offering 6 minutes on the costuming; 5 minutes on reminding viewers that this film is about girl power and a reimagined origin story; and 5 minutes on how the cartoon compares to the tech-infused movie. All segments are reinforced by interviews with the cast, director, producers and key personnel.

Annihilation (Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, rated R, 115 minutes, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, $39.99) — A pair of “Star Wars” veterans, Natalie Portman and Oscar Isaac, dove into a science-fiction thriller from “Ex Machina” director Alex Garland earlier this year that was acclaimed by critics but ignored by movie audiences.

Home entertainment viewers can now appreciate the tale about an anomaly of unknown origin nicknamed the shimmer. Looking like an oil-slicked hazy shell, it’s slowly covering the United States’ Southern coast. The shimmer causes mutations to the ecosystem it covers, and humans that enter the area do not normally return.

However, one soldier named Kane (Mr. Issac) does make it out and returns to his wife Lena (Miss Portman), a professor of genetics, only to start exhibiting signs of sickness. His bad state of health ends up pulling her into the mystery.

She eventually decides to enter the shimmer with a team of four other females (a paramedic, a geomorphologist, a physicist and a psychologist) as they attempt to find out the origins behind the anomaly.

The intriguing intellectual premise mixes strong female characters with splatters of horror, gore and enough thrills that fans of classics such as “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” John Carpenter’s “The Thing,” and even “Arrival” should appreciate them.

Best extras: A three-part collection of six featurettes presents 75 minutes worth of information about the film’s beginnings and production.

Segments explore the adapted story from Jeff VanderMeer’s novel, building the tonality of the film, concept art, the ensemble cast, shooting the movie in sequence, set production, special effects, creature building, creating the shimmer, themes of the film and a dose of the science of mutations.

Even comparisons to comics writer Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing” series are touched upon. I can see that.

The detail comes to life through interviews with Mr. Garland, Mr. VanderMeer, production designer Mark Digby, location manager Damon Crane, producer Allon Reich, concept artist Jock (Mark Simpson), animatronics supervisor Tristan Versluis, visual effects supervisor Andrew Whitehurst, Miss Portman and Mr. Isaac, just to name a few.