Welcome to the New Year, Patrollers! The DVD Patrol is here for another fun filled year and already it’s promising to be a great one for DVD and movies in the theater. Your movie lookout, the Toddster, has been checking schedules and movie trailers for everything so we can stay on top of things as only we can. I hope everyone enjoyed our 2010 roundup last week. We’re gonna play catchup a bit so let’s see what we see.

New on DVD

Dinner with Schmucks - Many of us have all been to dinners that aren’t exactly comfortable to be at. Tim (Paul Rudd) has just landed the client for his company and as a perk, his boss has just invited him to a dinner party where big corporate types show up and bring unusual guests that they can make fun of. Tim wants to get out of it but he meets someone who just might fit the bill. Barry (Steve Carrell) likes to make little shows up using little mice and has designed one for “The Last Supper.” Tim isn’t sure what will happen and craziness has a way of following Barry. How will dinner go for Tim and Barry? Rudd can be seen in the new movie with Reese Witherspoon called “How Do You Know” in theaters right now and Carrell is currently wrapping up his last season of the “The Office” airing on NBC on Thursdays.

The American - We all think about changing careers at one time or another. Jack (George Clooney) has really been thinking about it a lot since his last assignment went really wrong. That’s not something you want happening especially when you’re a hitman. Now it’s got Jack thinking he wants out. He goes to Italy to try and find a way to make a decision. Jack decides to accept one more job to make enough to get out permanently. Striking up friendships can be dangerous when he meets Father Benedetto (Paolo Bonacelli) and a pretty girl named Clara (Violante Placido). To make matters worse, there are people looking for Jack to settle some scores. Can he complete the job he’s on and find a way get out at the same time? Another great movie along the same lines is “The Mechanic” starring Jason Statham coming to theaters on January 28.

Also on DVD

Salt - Is it possible to be a good guy and a bad guy at the same time? For Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), it just might be that easy. A mysterious defector shows up at the office claiming to have information on a network of spies and an assassin who might be after someone high up in the Government. The only problem is he actually names Salt as that spy. Now she goes on the run trying to save herself and her husband. Salt must also find out just what the mystery is behind the plot of the assassination. Will she find a way to clear herself or is there a much deeper mystery involved? Jolie can currently be seen in “The Tourist” with Johnny Depp in theaters and will be heard in “Kung Fu Panda 2” in theaters with Jack Black and Jackie Chan in the Spring.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - The bad guy thing seems to be working so let’s catch up with an old movie favorite named Gordon Gekko (Michaell Douglas). Gordon has just gotten out of jail and is promoting a new book. He tries to make his new freedom work for him but not everyone wants to see him especially his daughter Winnie (Carey Mulligan). Winnie’s fiance, Jake Moore (Shia Labeouf), wants to try and repair the rift between his wife to be and future father in law. The best of intentions are nice but Jake may have gotten in over his head when he finds that his mentor and the company he works for may be in for a hostile takeover. Jake goes to Gordon to try and get some advice or leads that might help him save the company he works for. His idea might not pan out. Will Jake be able to get what he wants or has he gotten in over his head going to Gordon? Labeouf is in the process of finishing up “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” and will be out in July.

Resident Evil: Afterlife - Fighting the bad guys is never an easy job. Just ask Alice (Milla Jovavich). For the last five years the Umbrella corporation’s viruses have ravaged the Earth and turned it into a Zombie wasteland. Alice was experimented on and found she was immune to the virus. Now looking for survivors, Alice makes her way to Los Angeles with her old friend Claire (Ali Larter) in tow, they come up on an old prison with a horde of zombies trying to get what might be the last survivors. Along the way, Alice finds out that the corporation has been slowly watching and waiting for the right moment to come after her and the last survivors. Does Alice have a way to beat them and save themselves? A fifth Resident Evil movie is already in the works my sources tell me. Stay tuned! 

Time to head back into the cold. The Toddster has bitten the bullet and gotten the one Christmas gift that he really wanted. We have to tell you about it next time. We’re also going to have a special Toddster teamup for January, but you’ll have to be here in a few weeks to see what that will be. The Toddster has left the building.