New DVD Arrivals

Here’s a sampling of what’s new in DVD. Click an image for availability.

The Dark Knight Rises (Rated PG-13) Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy concludes with this Warner Brothers release that finds The Dark Knight pitted against Bane, an unstoppable foe possessed of tremendous physical and intellectual strength. Nearly a decade after taking the fall for Harvey Dent’s death and disappearing into the darkness, a fugitive Batman (Christian Bale) watches from the shadows as the Dent Act keeps the streets of Gotham City free of crime. Meanwhile, an elusive cat burglar seizes the chance to strike, and a masked anarchist plots a devastating series of attacks designed to lure Bruce Wayne out of the shadows. Determined not to abandon the people who he once risked his life to protect, The Dark Knight emerges from his self-imposed exile ready to fight. But Bane (Tom Hardy) is ready, too, and once Batman is within his grasp, he will do everything in his power to break Gotham City’s shadowy savior. Oscar-winner Michael Caine and Gary Oldman return in a sequel also starring Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Lawless (Rated R) Three rebellious, bootlegging brothers find the elusive American Dream within their reach, and fight to maintain their grip as powerful urban gangsters reap the rewards of their hard work in this sprawling Great Depression-era crime drama from director John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition). At the height of Prohibition, ambitious country boy Jack Bondurant dreams of becoming “Public Enemy #1″ while reaping all the benefits that go with the gangster lifestyle. By expanding his family’s moonshining business, he plots to launch a vast criminal empire while winning the heart of beautiful Amish girl Bertha. With his older, intimidating brother Howard by his side, Jack has the brawn to get the job done, too. But they need a strong leader to guide them — a responsibility that falls on their eldest sibling Forrest. Stoic and stalwart, Forrest is the kind of man who holds his cards close, and places a high value on character. Meanwhile, as the three siblings rise to power while battling treachery on both sides of the law, a mysterious woman named Maggie appears out of nowhere, prompting the thoughtful Forrest to question the true price of his outlaw ways.

Men In Black 3 (Rated PG-13) The Men in Black are back, and this time Agent J (Will Smith) must take a trip into the past in order to save both the future and his taciturn partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) in the third installment of the hit sci-fi comedy series. After 15 years of working with aliens from all across the cosmos, Agent J is sure he’s seen it all. But just when he’s getting the hang of the game, he learns that history has inexplicably been rewritten. In this new timeline of events, Agent K has been dead for 40 years, and Earth will soon come under attack from an extraterrestrial force with the power to claim the entire planet. Now, in order to set the past straight and head off an invasion of epic proportions, Agent J must travel back to the year 1969, when Young Agent K (Josh Brolin) was just a fresh new face on the force. But Agent J only has 24 hours to find the source of the coming catastrophe and discern how his longtime partner ties into the situation — should he fail he’ll be stuck in the past forever. Jemaine Clement, Alice Eve, and Emma Thompson co-star.

ParaNorman (Rated PG) Eleven-year-old Norman Babcock (voice of Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a young misfit with a remarkable gift: He sees dead people. Although Norman’s clairvoyance allows him the unique opportunity to enjoy the company of his beloved grandmother (Elaine Stritch) long after she has ceased to be, it also drives his frustrated father Perry (Jeff Garlin) and popularity-obsessed sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick) up the wall at home and makes him the target of dim-witted bully Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) at school. His only friend is portly Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), who isn’t exactly a beacon of coolness. When Norman’s deceased uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman), a local pariah, warns the young boy that he must save their small town of Blithe Hollow from a witch’s curse that has plagued the area for centuries, the young creature-feature addict isn’t entirely sure how to respond — that is, until the sky turns red, the clouds start to swirl, and the dead rise up from their graves. Now, as a terrified mob takes to the streets with torches in hand, it’s up to Norman, Courtney, Alvin, Neil, and Neil’s older brother Mitch (Casey Affleck) to put things right, even if it means confronting the 300-year-old curse that has haunted Blithe Hollow ever since the notorious witch hunts of the 18th century.

Sparkle (Rated PG-13) A talented young woman is torn between her dreams and her family in this musical. Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) has been blessed with a beautiful voice and a gift for songwriting, but she’s afraid to perform her songs in public, in part because her mother Emma (Whitney Houston), a former entertainer whose career brought her nothing but heartache, refuses to allow her daughters to sing outside of church. But Sparkle persuades her older sibling Sister (Carmen Ejogo) to sing one of her tunes at a talent show, and the reaction proves that Sister has star quality and Sparkle can write potential hits. An ambitious would-be manager, Stix (Derek Luke), persuades Sparkle and Sister to form a singing group with their sibling Dolores (Tika Sumpter), but while the act clicks wit audiences, the sisters have to contend with their angry mother, Sister gets caught up in a destructive relationship with a short-tempered comedian (Mike Epps), and Sparkle finds herself falling in love with Stix. Based on the 1976 musical of the same name, Sparkle proved to be the last major project for Whitney Houston, who died while the film was in post-production; it was also the first feature film for American Idol champion Sparks.

Plot synopses from All Rovi.