DVD: 'Rum' goes over the top

As a posthumous valentine to his old friend Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp's adaptation of "The Rum Diary" exudes a cheery, beery sense of warmth and affection. Brimming with Thompson's alcohol-drenched antics, observational wit and gift for the acidly apposite phrase, the film also suffers from a creakily episodic structure and a fatally underwritten, flimsily acted supporting role. There's a sweetness in considering Thompson on the verge of creating his own myth, before it locked him into self-indulgent mannerisms. "I don't know how to write like me," Depp's character, Paul Kemp, meekly admits. Eventually, of course, he did. The DVD and Blu-ray (Sony, $31-$36) include a making-of documentary. --WASHINGTON POST

Out on DVD Tuesday

  • "All Things Fall Apart"
  • "American Teacher"
  • "The Dead"
  • "Doctor Who: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe"
  • "Dragon Age: Redemption"
  • "Elite Squad"
  • "Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence"
  • "Murder, She Wrote: 4 Movie Collection"
  • "Paranormal Activity 3"
  • "Take Shelter"
  • "Tiny Furniture"
  • "Urbanized"
  • "Wainy Days"
  • "Woody Allen"

Out on Blu-ray Tuesday

  • "All Quiet on the Western Front"
  • "Boeing, Boeing"
  • "The Geisha Boy"
  • "The Lorax"
  • "The Perfect Weapon"
  • "Three Outlaw Samurai"

GAMES: 'Niko' is in full control

There's a big gap between the kind of platform games you can play with a regular video-game controller and the stuff we typically get on buttonless mobile devices. The attempt by "Niko" (free for first six levels, $2 for full game on iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad; rated 4+) to close that gap is most welcome. Instead of automatically running forward, Niko waits for you to control him directly with standard virtual left and right arrow buttons. And instead of tapping the screen to make him jump and hoping you timed it right, an "Angry Birds"-style slingshot mechanic allows you to control the distance and angle of the jump to almost foolproof effect. That's nothing new in the land of buttons and joysticks, but they're more sophisticated than what is typically found in mobile games. "Niko" makes all the right moves. --MCCLATCHY NEWS SERVICE

WEB: Time for YouTube

Are there YouTube videos with scenes you like? On instructional videos, do you sit through stuff you've seen while waiting for another section? To start a YouTube video when you want, note the exact time that the segment begins by checking the minutes and seconds elapsed. Copy the address of the video, so you can paste it. Go to YouTube Time ( www.youtubetime.com). Paste the address of the video at that site and fill in the minute and second where you want the video to begin. Select "Get Link." This link will begin the video at the selected spot. The only difference between the original link address and the new one is the addition of the start time at the end, designated by &t=xmys, where x equals the minute and y denotes the second. If you can remember this formula, you can adjust any YouTube video address manually. --NEWSDAY