Owls Head — The Borgias: The First Season (CBS/Paramount, 3 Blu-ray discs, NR, 7 hours 47 min.). This miniseries, which in the overall picture, sticks to historical facts, has elements of many familiar, better-executed shows, including the subtitle, “The Original Crime Family,” nod to “The Sopranos.” There’s pomp here, but it is not of the A List variety. Still, enough of the show works to make you want to watch. The key performance is Jeremy Irons as family patriarch Rodrigo Borgia, who has a former courtesan as a common law wife (Joanne Whalley as Vanozza) and mother to his four children. When Pope Innocent VIII dies in 1492 Rome, Cardinal Borgia maneuvers his way onto the Papal Throne by bribery, promises and threats. He becomes Pope Alexander VI and makes his eldest son Cesare (Francois Arnaud) a bishop, and later, a cardinal. Pope Alexander appoints his middle son Juan (David Oakes) as head of the Papal Army. Meanwhile, his two younger children (Holliday Grainger as teenaged Lucezia and Aiden Alexander as pre-teen Joffre) will be used in marriages aimed at cementing alliances.

Being pope does not prevent Alexander from taking a new mistress (Lotte Verbeck as the widow Giulia Farnese), but it does prevent him acknowledging his old mistress. Eventually, Cardinal Cesare Borgia also takes a mistress, after causing her to become a widow by his own hand, but when she finds out, she flees and becomes a nun. Borgia was not a popular choice as pope and, in fact, Cardinal Orsini (Derek Jacobi) plans to have him poisoned at a dinner he is hosting, only Cesare spots the poisoner (the fine Sean Harris as Micheletto), fights him and co-opts him, hiring him as Cesare’s spy and assassin. And such a spy is needed, because Pope Alexander has a powerful foe in Cardinal Guilano Della Rovere (Colm Feore), who goes to the Medicis and eventually to King Charles VIII of France (a wonderful, refreshing performance by Michael Muller), which leads to an invasion of the Italian states. Irons goes a bit missing in the middle episodes -- particularly episode five, which is all about the pope’s children’s affairs -- but he is a presence when on the screen, matched only by Muller as the French king. Arnaud has his moments as Cesare as well.

The series was created and written by filmmaker Neil Jordan (“The Crying Game”), who directed the first two episodes as well. Oddly, the series-specific extra on casting is only available on the Internet via BD Live, while the third disc includes episodes from three other series: the pilot of “House of Lies,” the first episode of season six of “Dexter” and the first two episodes of “Episodes.” Grade: miniseries 3.5 stars; extras 0.5 stars

Rating guide: 5 stars = classic; 4 stars = excellent; 3 stars = good; 2 stars = fair; dog = skip it

Margin Call (Lionsgate, Blu-ray or standard DVD, R, 107 min.). This film looks at the onset of the mortgage meltdown that triggered the financial crisis of 2008 by focusing on about 27 hours at one firm. It does so in a way that is both understandable and intense, as the knowledge of impending doom is passed up the ladder of the company and decisions are made on how to react.

It is about closing time the day the film opens and there is a major purge of the staff at the New York City investment firm. One of those let go is senior risk analyst Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), who is informed, with no notice, that he is gone after 19 years and will be given six months at half-pay. His cell phone is shut off and he is escorted to his office to pack his things and then escorted out of the building. On his way out, he hands a subordinate (Zachary Quinto of TV’s “Heroes” and “American Horror Story” as Peter Sullivan) a flash drive with the program he has been working on and tells Peter to be careful. While those left celebrate at a local bar, an intrigued Peter stays behind and works on what Eric gave him, coming up with the missing data. What the program shows is the company’s risk model for the mortgages they have been packaging as investments has already gone past acceptable limits. When Peter realizes the projected losses would be greater than the value of the company, he calls co-worker Seth Bregman (Penn Badgley, whose character is obsessed with making money) at the bar and tells him to bring back Eric’s boss (Paul Bethany as Will Emerson). Will then calls his boss (Kevin Spacey as Sam Rogers), who is having a tough day anyway as his dog has to be put down.

Sam becomes the voice of conscience in the piece when the top dogs -- Simon Baker as Jared Cohen and Jeremy Irons as CEO John Tuld, who helicopters in around 3 a.m. -- decide to sell as much of the worthless holdings as fast as they can the next morning, fully realizing they are burning bridges with the buyers. In effect, the remaining workers will be selling themselves out of a job. While the firm is not named, Tuld’s name is close to that of Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman Brothers.

The acting is excellent throughout. Also in the cast are Demi Moore as the head of the risk management division and Mary McDonnell as Sam’s divorced wife. Extras include two deleted scenes (one with Tuld giving the workers a pep talk), a 6-minute making of look, moments with the cast and crew, a photo gallery and commentary by writer/director J.C. Chandor and the producer Neal Dodson. Grade: 3.5; extras 2 stars

Final Destination 5 (New Line, Blu-ray or standard DVD, R, 92 min.). Probably the most entertaining movie in the series, which many had thought ended with the previous installment, the predicted disaster is a huge effects one this time, the collapse of a suspension bridge that is under repair. On the bridge at the time is a bus filled with 25 workers from the same company, Presage Paper (this is the first of many “in” references as presage is a warning that something, usually bad, is about to happen; references to other films in the series are found throughout).

Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) is the passenger who has the foreshadowing dream and exit’s the bus with Molly (Emma Bell), his ex-girlfriend as of 20 minutes ago. Six others follow them. We see each of the eight die as the bridge is destroyed. Then, Sam awakens, leaves the bus along with the seven others, and all survive, while the other 17 die. At the mass funeral, Coroner Bludworth horror icon Tony Todd) warns Sam: “Death doesn’t like to be cheated.” As in the other films, those spared from the disaster begin to die bizarre deaths in the same order as Sam saw them die in his premonition. One is a gymnast, and there are several clever feints before she meets her end. Another death takes place in a spa and one involves Lasik eye surgery (visual nod to “Clockwork Orange” included).

The film, which was shown in the theaters in 3D, ends with a montage of deaths from the previous four films, set to an AC/DC song. Extras include an interesting, detailed look at creating the bridge sequence, with the production dailies on the top half of the screen and the corresponding finished film on the bottom (there is a second, shorter one on the finale); 15:48 of alternate death scenes that are 96 percent the same); and a routine 5:39 promo feature that you do not want to watch before the film, as it contains a major spoiler. If there are more “Final Destination” films, it would be good to have one go into detail on why this happens, why death feels it must reap those who escape and what Bludworth’s connection to everything is. The Blu-ray also comes with a standard DVD and an Ultraviolet digital copy. Grade: film 3 stars; extras 2 stars

Apollo 18 (Anchor Bay, Blu-ray or standard DVD, PG-13, 87 min.). In this cross between “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity,” the conceit is that there was a secret mission to the moon, Apollo 18, in 1974, even though in 1970, it was announced that the Apollo 18, 19 and 20 missions were being scrapped due to budget concerns. The astronauts are played by three TV veterans: Ryan Robbins (“Sanctuary”) is John Grey, who stays in the craft circling the moon; Warren Christie (“Alphas”) is Ben Anderson; and Lloyd Owen (“The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones”) is Nathan Walker, the mission commander. The latter two go to the moon’s surface, where they discover evidence of a secret Russian moon landing that turned into a disaster.

The story is presented through interview footage and mission footage, some 84 hours of uncovered classified footage (this is where the “Blair With” feel comes in). Some of the footage is from cameras that are turned on by detecting motion. It appears some on the rocks on the moon are moving, and then Nathan becomes infected by something and the U.S. mission starts turning into a disaster as well. That is when the film starts to get interesting. Before that, it is a bit of a slow ride, despite a couple of jolts.

DVD extras include audio commentary by director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego and editor Patrick Lussier; 16 deleted scenes (20:27, including some Russian footage, larger attackers and a debriefing scene from an alternate ending; four alternate versions of astronaut Ben’s fate; and the Blu-ray version includes a standard DVD as well. Grade: film 2.5 stars; extras 2 stars

Hostel: Part III (Sony DVD, NR, 88 min.). Writer/director Eli Roth is absent for this third installment of a series that basically is torture porn (minus any sex). The series also has ditched the low-budget Eastern European settings for Las Vegas, and there is a definite upgrade in the acting. The plot has four friends head to Vegas for one’s bachelor party. The one getting married is Scott (Brian Hallisay), while Carter McMullen (Kip Pardue of TV’s “ER”) is the organizer, and the one jealous of Scott’s success with his bride. Also along is Justin (John Hensley of TV’s “Nip/Tuck”), with a metal cane and a wet-blanket attitude, and Mike Malloy (Skyler Stone of TV’s “Raising Hope”), looking to cheat on his wife.

The obnoxious Mike is grabbed by the Elite Hunting Club, which has set up torture as a gambling game. While the victim is being worked on behind a glass wall, participants bet on various aspects, such as when a certain plea will be made by or how long it takes to peel a face. (There actually is less torture in this film than the first two, but the overall idea is a very sick one.) The film has a major twist and lots of late combat. The prologue-like ending is very unlikely. The only bonus feature is audio commentary by director Scott Spiegel and actor Pardue. Grade: film 2.5 stars; extra 1.5 star

Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings (Fox, Blu-ray or standard DVD, NR 93 min.). Speaking of torture, there is one disgusting scene in this film in which portions of the victim are sliced from him and then cooked and eaten as he watches. Reason enough to pass on this weak offering, but there also is the fact it is an incredibly stupid film. The only thing new it brings to the college-kids-threatened-by-cannibal-inbreeds are snowmobiles and soft core lesbian scenes.

The film opens in 1974 in an isolated West Virginian sanitarium, where the three cannibal brothers who cannot feel pain engineer a breakout. In weak imitation of “A Clockwork Orange,” director Declan O’Brien uses the “Blue Danube Waltz” as the backdrop for the crazy inmates going, well, crazy. Oh yes, then they do something unwatchable gross to the doctor. Cut to 2003, and eight college kids are off snowmobiling to a remote cabin, but not until we see a heterosexual and a lesbian couple going at it separately in the same apartment. Of course, they get lost and come upon the abandoned sanitarium, which still is home to the cannibal brothers. By the way, the cannibals are smart enough to pull the spark plug wiring out of the snowmobiles, but the students are dumb enough -- even after a couple of them have been killed or tortured -- not to kill the three cannibals when they have the chance. Overall, the film is tasteless, cruel and sadistic.

Extras include audio commentary by director O’Brien; a 12:36 making-of feature; a 7:37 director die-ry (that’s the cleverest touch on the whole DVD); a music video; 18:14 of deleted scenes which would not open on my Blu-ray copy; and a standard DVD version. Grade: film dog; extras 2 stars