One way to celebrate Earth Day -- buy "Avatar"

Sure, it's a gimmick, but when it comes to gimmicks, who beats director James Cameron?

He has decided that next month's Earth Day, April 22, is the the perfect day to release his 3-D box-office sensation Avatar on DVD. That means going green for Earth Day has an entirely different meaning for Cameron.

From what I understand, the DVD will contain absolutely no extra features, just the movie, and the movie will be in 2-D.

The Queen is coming ... at last

The African Queen, my all-time favorite movie that has never been released on domestic DVD, is finally arriving in that format on March 23. It will come out in multiple versions, including a single-disc DVD ($19.99), a single-disc Blu-ray ($26.99) and also Limited Edition DVD ($34.99) and Blu-ray ($43.99) box sets. All of them will feature the new Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen documentary, featuring interviews with Martin Scorsese and many others. The box sets also include an audio disc recording of the original Lux Radio Theater broadcast of The African Queen, a reproduction of Katharine Hepburn's out-of-print memoir The Making of The African Queen or How I Went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and Almost Lost My Mind, a Senitype film frame reproduction and postcard reproductions of images from the film.

Fox to offer renters stripped DVDs

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, in a move designed to bolster DVD sales, is going to be releasing two different versions of its movies on DVD beginning this month. The regular DVDs -- the ones with all the extras -- will only be available to purchasers. Renters will have to settle for DVDs with just the film and probably a few trailers.

I'm not sure this policy is going to have the effect that Fox hopes, but I do think it might move rentals away from outfits like Netflix to establishments like Movie Trading Company. Here's why: Netflix only rents movies so it and obviously its customers will only receive the stripped down versions. MTC , on the other hand, is primarily a place where consumers can purchase or sell new and used movies (as well as video games and CDs). It will receive the versions meant for over-the-counter sales. However, all the movies in an MTC outlet are available for rent as well as purchase, so those consumers wanting to rent films with commentaries et all -- even the bonus discs -- just need to visit their nearest MTC outlet.

Here are the 12 Dallas area locations for Movie Trading Company:

4115 S. Cooper St., Suite 201, Arlington

5809 Greenville Ave., Dallas

5907 Belt Line Road, Dallas

3420 W. Camp Wisdom, Dallas

4604 SW Loop 820, Fort Worth

2595 Preston Road, Suite 400, Frisco

4280 Lavon Drive, Suite 210, Garland

2305 W I-20, Suite 120, Grand Prairie

1327 W. Pipeline Road, Hurst

2620 N. Beltline Road, Irving

2397 S. Stemmons, Suite C, Lewisville

1017 N. Central, Suite 100, Plano

(Truth in advertising: I work part time at the Garland location. Come by and say hello sometime. Plus, you can go next door and have a fine burger or an excellent grilled chicken Caesar salad at Scotty P's, where you can also treat the family to two burgers, fries, rings and a bottle of Dom Perignon for $300)

Incidentally, Fox's policy will begin March 31 with Fox's releases of the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire and the popular Marley & Me.

DVDs downward spiral

Thirty years ago, box office receipts amounted to 55 percent of the worldwide revenue coming to movie studios. Today, box office accounts for only 20 percent of the pie and DVD sales account for a whopping 59 percent of studio revenues.

That's why the drastic decline in DVD sales is sending shocks through the industry. According to the trade magazine Variety, DVD sales dropped 11 percent last year. DVDs that were expected to perform well, such as "The Dark Knight" and the latest "Indiana Jones" all fell way below expectations. The obvious reason for this is the slumping ecomony but there are others who say it is more than that.

One culprit, interestingly, is Blue Ray, which has emerged as the winner in the high-definition DVD sweepstakes. Apparently, while the average consumer saw a major difference between videotapes and DVDs, they are not seeing the differences between regular DVDs and Blue Ray. The prices on regular DVDs are being discounted out of a belief more consumers are turning to Blue Ray, a turn that hasn't yet materialized. As a result, DVD revenues are down. It is also believed on-line downloading has cannibalized DVD sales.

So what does this mean? As far as I'm concerned, it's not a pleasant outlook. Studios may just want to release their major theatrical product on DVD and hold up on those that only enjoyed limited releases, which are often the movies I really want to see, films like the magnificent "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days." I'm hoping this doesn't happen, but when the industry is controlled by bean counters instead of artistic types, who knows what these devils might do.

A DVD release to anticipate

I have just learned that one of my all-time favorite movies, Peter Yates' "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," starring Robert Mitchum, will finally be released on DVD May 19. In his 1973 review, then New York Times film critic Vincent Canby called this film "a good, tough, unsentimenal movie about the last days of a small-time Boston Hood." It features one or Robert Mitchum's finest performances as well as another good one from Peter Boyle.

New movies to be released this week on DVD

All these films will be released tomorrow on DVD with the exception of "Kung Fu Panda," which comes out Saturday. Click on the title to see a trailer.

Get Smart (2008) **½ For the most part it’s dull, bland and unsatisfying: a food-court version of home cooking.

Kung Fu Panda (2008) *** It’s the overriding spirit of the movie that forms its greatest appeal: Here’s a movie that isn’t intent on conquering the world but simply entertaining you for a breezy 90 minutes.

Transsiberian (2008) *** Unlike so many Hollywood thrillers, which too often rely on implausible or telegraphed twists, this film is carefully structured and designed to make sense when you replay the events in your head.

What We Do Is Secret (2008) **½ The movie is exciting at times, moving at times, and watchable throughout, but fans of The Germs and L.A. punk may start to pine for what’s missing around the time Michele Hicks shows up.

When Did You Last See Your Father? (2008) **½ The film winds up with some meaningful things to say about balancing the desire to clear the familial air and the need to let some things be, but never gets deep enough into its character’s psyches to dig up anything more revelatory than that.

The 10 Best New Films Released on DVD in 2007

1. PAN'S LABYRINTH. Unlike any film I've ever seen, a mixture of horror and fantasy, an adult fairy tale that explores the human consequences of fascism and the terror it can inflict on the very young.

2. RATATOUILLE. One of the finest studies of the struggling artist I have seen and, surprisingly, this film mostly populated by rats is, at its core, absolutely human. The folks at Pixar prove you can be simple yet sophisticated with gratifying results.

3. THE QUEEN. A superbly crafted docudrama with a sense of humor about the British royal family featuring a performances for the ages from Helen Mirren.

4. THE LIVES OF OTHERS. A touching examination of the conflicts that exist between totalitarianism and art, government surveillance and personal privacy.

5. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA. Clint Eastwood does something amazing here, spinning a tale of the sanctity of human life from the "enemy's" point of view.

6. NO END IN SIGHT. A masterful examination of the mistakes made by the Bush administration that led to the quagmire in Iraq as told by those responsible for those mistakes.

7. BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT OF GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN. Absurdest satire that will make you laugh even if you don't think you should.

8. ONCE. That rare musical that deals with life as it is actually lived and real people who care passionately.

9. AWAY FROM HER. A moving love story with the tragedy of Alzheimer's at its center, featuring a memorable performance from Julie Christie.

10. THE DEPARTED. Another Martin Scorsese masterpiece, a gritty, unflinching crime drama about paranoia and deceit that ranks alongside "Goodfellas" and "Taxi Driver."

THE NEXT 10:

11. The Bourne Ultimatum

12. Knocked Up

13. Half Nelson

14. Children of Men

15. Volver

16. Venus

17. The Namesake

18. Eastern Promises

19. The Wind That Shakes the Barley

20. Hairspray