On Blu-ray This Week: January 1 to January 7, 2008

2008 is but a day away, and if you're not dialed into the apocalyptic mood, perhaps you should be. Prepare for a big change from last time: this week's Blu-ray selection plates a main course of pure action with high-definition zombie shooterfests as a side order.  High-definition movie enthusiasts the world over may find a bounty of releases in assorted Resident Evil flavors, dotted with two other recent action spectacles of 2007.

First up in the zombie-infested world of Resident Evil is the HD version of Resident Evil: Extinction, where we find Alice at the prime of her T-virus-gifted "growth." After the decimation of Raccoon City, the T-virus infection manages to escape and literally transform the North American landscape into a barren wasteland. It's up to Alice and her new-found cohorts to survive the zombie apocalypse.

Tailing at second is the HD version of Resident Evil, the first movie adaptation of Capcom's sci-fi horror franchise. You'll get to see how the viral outbreak began through Alice's eyes, and witness humanity's battle to defeat a relentless zombie onslaught - all in higher resolution and pretty colors. But if you're more of a collector, then perhaps you'd find yourself being better acquainted with the Resident Evil: The High Definition Trilogy set in Blu-ray glory.

  

Tagging along with the Paul W.S. Anderson film fest is War, where hidden agendas take an entirely new definition and the thrilling action is non-stop. In true adversarial plot fashion, a ruthless assassin becomes a target for an FBI agent seeking vengeance. But when events unfold and both sides clash in the midst of a brewing gang lord war, the hunter realizes that not everything was as he assumed them to be.

Last but not least is the description-defying Shoot 'Em Up, which will lead you through an adrenaline ride through intense gunfights and storms of bullets. Trigger-happy and hardboiled Mr. Smith tries to protect a newborn baby from imminent death and unravel the mysteries as to why the innocent tyke he's carrying happens to also be a huge bulls-eye.

All these will hit shelves on New Year's Day (January 1) and should be available throughout the week. In quick summary, look for the following new releases:

• Resident Evil: Extinction (Sony Pictures)
  
• Shoot 'Em Up (New Line Cinema)
  
• War (Lionsgate Films)
  
• Resident Evil: The High Definition Trilogy Blu-ray edition (Sony Pictures)
  
• Resident Evil (Sony Pictures)