DVD previews: 'Big Eyes,' 'The Babadook'

Here's a look at DVDs coming out Tuesday, April 14:

"Big Eyes" (PG-13, 105 minutes, The Weinstein Company): Amy Adams won a Golden Globe for her role as painter Margaret Keane, known for her sticky-sweet paintings of doe-eyed waifs that became the middlebrow rage in the late 1950s and 1960s, then kitschy collectibles of high-ironic style decades later. In a restrained, mouselike performance, Adams' Keane comes across as sympathetic but not terribly deep, an admirably hardworking single mom interested in numerology and spirituality, but too skittish and afraid to verbalize what drives and frightens her the most. The film follows her journey of self-discovery and empowerment, from put-upon housewife and weekend painter to victim of a controlling husband (Christoph Waltz) and patriarchal art world. Clearly in love with the groovy color palettes and streamlined contours of the era, director Tim Burton delivers "Big Eyes" with few of his signature imaginative touches, save for a couple of creepy hallucinations. The film raises provocative questions, but Burton and the screenwriters skate along the particulars of the plot while Waltz hams it up with an over-ingratiating performance. Contains thematic elements and language. Extras include a making-of featurette. Also, on Blu-ray: Q&A highlights.

"The Babadook" (unrated, 93 minutes, IFC Films): This Australian horror flick is proof that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Based on its somewhat conventionally spooky trailer - or even a simple synopsis of the plot, which involves a boogeyman who seems to have stepped out of a picture book by Maurice Sendak's evil twin - there isn't all that much to distinguish it from many other similar frightfests. And yet, as it turns out, the feature debut of writer-director Jennifer Kent is not just genuinely, deeply scary, but also a beautifully told tale of a mother and son, enriched with layers of contradiction and ambiguity. "The Babadook" also features visually gorgeous filmmaking, echoing the book's monochromatic palette of grays and blacks, then sharpening them with accents of icy blue and blood red. It looks and feels like an art film as much as a thriller. Contains violence, language and brief sensuality. Extras include interviews and a making-of featurette. Also, on Blu-ray: Kent's short film "Monster" and deleted scenes.

"The Boy Next Door" (R, 91 minutes, Universal): In this unintentional comedy, Jennifer Lopez's schoolteacher character has ill-advised rebound sex with a studly student (Ryan Guzman) after catching her husband cheating on her. At 45, Lopez remains in fine form. Director Rob "The Fast and the Furious" Cohen lavishes almost as much attention on her body as he does on Guzman's. That this student, Noah, is said to be almost 20 makes it only slightly less icky than it sounds, even though it's never adequately explained why the kid is still taking AP classes when most others his age would be halfway through college. Guzman, who's pushing 30, looks more like the undercover cops from "21 Jump Street" than a boy. It's just one of the film's many improbabilities. When Lopez's Claire tries to break off their relationship, Noah is revealed to be a psychotic stalker. Contains violence, sex, brief nudity and language. Extras include commentary with Cohen, a making-of featurette and deleted scenes.

Also: "Whitney," "Beside Still Waters," "John Doe Vigilante," "Bark Ranger," "He Loves Me ... He Loves Me Not" (2003, France), "I Am Steve McQueen" (documentary), "I Really Hate My Ex," "John Denver: Country Boy" (documentary), "Enter the Dangerous Mind," "Mom's Day Away," "Odd Man Out" (1947), "Population Boom" (documentary, Austria), "Sullivan's Travels" (1941), "Batman vs. Robin," "Vengeance of an Assassin," "The King of Masks" (1999, China), "Roadside," "Echoes," "[REC]4: Apocalypse" (conclusion of Spanish horror series), "Blood and Black Lace" (1964, Italy), "Power Rangers Super Megaforce: The Perfect Storm," "The Stephen Sondheim Collection" (six Sondheim Broadway productions from 1985 to 2011), "That Man From Rio" and "Up to His Ears" (double feature) and "Carrie & The Rage: Carrie 2."

Television series: "Foyle's War, Set 8," "The Missing," "JAG: Complete Series," "The End of the Civil War," "Teen Titans Go!: Appetite for Disruption Season 2 Part 1," "The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts: Stingers and Zingers" (86-disc set covers 24 roasts of celebrities and sports heroes), "World War One: The People's Story," "Metal Hurlant Chronicles: The Complete Series," "Walker, Texas Ranger: Flashback" (1995) and "Little House on the Prairie: Season Five."