New DVD Arrivals

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

Broken City (Rated R) In this modern noir from director Allen Hughes, his first fiction feature-length film in over a decade, Mark Wahlberg stars as Billy Taggart, a New York City private eye struggling to get his deadbeat clients to pay when he gets a call from Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe). His honor remembers Billy from seven years ago when, as a cop, the young man shot a rapist who had been exonerated on a technicality. Back then, the Mayor told Billy he was a hero, but Billy was still forced off the job due to the public outcry and some incriminating evidence that never saw the light of day. Now the mayor needs someone he can trust to find out if his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair – a fact that could cause him considerable trouble seeing as Election Day is just a week away. As Billy digs for the truth, he uncovers layers of political corruption, and discovers he himself is nothing more than a pawn in a much bigger game. The film co-stars Jeffrey Wright as a police commissioner, Kyle Chandler as a political consultant, and Barry Pepper as the mayor’s political rival.

The Guilt Trip (Rated PG-13) In Anne Fletcher’s family comedy, Barbra Streisand plays Joyce Brewster, a sixtysomething widow who has given up on men and seems to spend most of her free time phoning her son Andrew (Seth Rogen), a chemist who has created an all-natural cleaning solution that he’s bet his career on and is trying to sell to retailers (a wager that he’s losing thus far). As the movie opens, Andrew returns home to spend some time with his mom before going on a cross-country road trip to pitch his product in various cities, ending with a trip to Las Vegas where he’ll shoot a Home Shopping Network demo.

Jack Reacher (Rated PG-13) An itinerant ex-military investigator is tasked with solving a shooting spree that isn’t quite as cut-and-dry as it first seems as author Lee Child’s 2005 novel One Shot comes to the big screen courtesy of writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. When a crazed sniper guns down five seemingly random people on a crowded Pittsburgh riverfront, Det. Emerson (David Oyelowo) quickly amasses enough evidence at the scene to implicate an unstable ex-military sniper named James Barr (Joseph Sikora). Upon being questioned by Emerson and DA Alex Rodin (Richard Jenkins), however, Barr demands to speak with Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise). A former military investigator who fell off the grid following his service, Reacher soon shows up on the scene and begins gathering clues with the aid of talented defense attorney Helen Rodin (Rosamund Pike), the daughter of the DA. Meanwhile, when Reacher is assaulted in a local bar, he correctly surmises that someone is determined to impede his investigation. His theory plays out when he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a young woman shortly thereafter. Now, with the police closing in from one side and a gang of ruthless killers gaining ground on the other, Reacher must use his formidable detective skills in order to catch the gunman and uncover his true motives.

Safe Haven (Rated PG-13) Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough star in this spellbinding romantic drama based on the novel by best-selling author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook). When a mysterious, beautiful woman named Katie (Hough), moves to Southport, North Carolina, she sparks the interest of the locals, especially Alex (Duhamel), a handsome widower. Although she is attracted to Alex, Katie is reluctant to trust him – that is, until a new friend (Cobie Smulders) convinces her to give Alex a chance. But before long, a dark secret from Katie’s past threatens her happiness in this thrilling romance directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Dear John). *

Silver Linings Playbook (Rated R) David O. Russell’s Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper as Pat, a bipolar man from Philadelphia who has spent the last eight months in a mental hospital. He was ordered there after a violent incident involving his wife and another man. Pat moves in with his father (Robert De Niro), a lifelong Eagles fans who has low-level OCD issues. Pat wants to get back together with his wife, even though there is a restraining order keeping him from contacting her. He soon befriends Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a depressed young woman who’s mourning the death of her husband by engaging in compulsive sex with almost everyone she meets; she also knows his wife and offers to deliver a letter of his to her if he acts as her partner in a local dance competition. Silver Linings Playbook screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

Plot synopses from All Movie. *Plot synopsis from Amazon.

New Nonfiction DVDs

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

Africa (Not Rated) Mike Gunton Executive Producer of Life brings his next landmark series to DVD and Blu-ray with Africa! This 6-part series will amaze and awe with stunning photography and truly moving stories of survival on the continent with the most diverse animal life anywhere on our planet. Premiering simultaneously in the UK U.S. and Australia it promises to be a worldwide phenomenon on a scale not seen since Planet Earth.

The Central Park Five (Not Rated) Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns teams with his daughter Sarah and her husband David McMahon to examine the facts in the case of five minority teens from Harlem who in 1989 were accused of committing a heinous rape in Central Park, and the failure of the authorities and the media to ensure that justice was served. Hastily tried and convicted as racial tensions in New York City spiked, the innocent teens all served time in prison before a serial rapist shocked authorities by admitting sole responsibility for the brutal sexual assault.*

Hitler’s Children (Not Rated) The descendants of such prominent Nazi officials as Hermann Göring, Hans Frank, and Heinrich Himmler reflect on their ongoing efforts to live with the dark legacies of their notorious ancestors, and to repent for their sins while struggling to accept their birthrights. For Niklas Frank (Godson of the Führer, himself), that means tirelessly researching his family legacy while traveling around Germany on a never-ending mission to discredit both his father Frank, and the Third Reich. Meanwhile, in addition to going into self-imposed exile in the Southwestern United States, Göring’s great-niece Bettina and her brother have agreed to self-sterilization in order to ensure that the family name dies with them. As with the others whose family names immediately send chills down the spines of even casual history buffs, Niklas Frank and Bettina Göring must constantly weight the natural love a child has for his or her parents against the intense loathing of knowing the very people who loved and raised them were responsible for some of the most heinous atrocities ever committed against man.*

Makers: Women Who Make America (Not Rated) Makers: Women Who Make America tells the remarkable story of the most sweeping social revolution in American history, as women have asserted their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity, and personal autonomy in the last 50 years. It’s a revolution that has unfolded in public and private, in courts and Congress, in the boardroom and the bedroom, changing not only what the world expects from women, but what women expect from themselves. Makers brings this story to life with priceless archival treasures and poignant, often funny interviews with those who led the fight, those who opposed it, and those first generations to benefit from its success. Trailblazing women like Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres, Gloria Steinem, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Linda Alvarado share their memories, as do countless women who challenged the status quo in industries from coal-mining to medicine. Makers captures with music, humor, and the voices of the women who lived through these turbulent times the dizzying joy, aching frustration, and ultimate triumph of a movement that turned America upside-down.

Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope (Not Rated) Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope is the untold, inspirational story of Colonel Ilan Ramon, a fighter pilot and son of Holocaust survivors who became the first astronaut from Israel. Inspired by his family and country, Ramon’s mission into space became a quest to tell the world a powerful story about the resilience of the human spirit. Although the seven astronauts of Columbia tragically perished on February 1, 2003, a remarkable story of hope, friendship across cultures, and an enduring faith emerged. Going behind the scenes, Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope details Ramon’s “mission within the mission” to carry into space a miniature Torah scroll that survived the horrors of the Holocaust and once belonged to Israel’s lead scientist for the mission, Joachim Joseph. The film follows the scroll’s path from the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen to the flight deck of Columbia. From the depths of hell to the heights of space, this Torah would serve to honor the hope of a nation and to fulfill a promise made to generations past and future.

Plot synopses from Amazon. *Plot synopses from All Movie.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Django Unchained (Rated R) A former slave and a German bounty hunter become unlikely allies in the battle against a tyrannical plantation owner in this western from visionary director Quentin Tarantino. Two years before the Civil War pits brother-against-brother, German-born fugitive hunter Dr. King Schultz (Academy Award-winner Christoph Waltz) arrives in America determined to capture the outlaw Brittle brothers dead or alive. In the midst of his search, Dr. Schultz crosses paths with Django (Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx), a freed slave and skilled tracker who seeks to rescue his beloved wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie (Academy Award-nominee Leonardo DiCaprio). Once Django has aided Dr. Schultz in coralling the Brittle brothers, the two team up to capture some of the most wanted men in the South. Meanwhile, Django never loses sight of his mission to free Broomhilda from the treacherous slave trade before it’s too late. Upon arriving at Candie’s nefarious plantation, dubbed Candyland, Django and Dr. Schultz discover that slaves are being groomed for gladiator-like competitions by Candie’s malevolent right-hand man Billy Crash (Walton Goggins), and together they skillfully work their way onto the compound for a closer look. But just as Django and his partner locate Broomhilda and plot a daring escape, Candie’s house slave Stephen (Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson) catches wind of their plan, and informs his master of the betrayal. Now, as a clandestine organization attempts to back them into a corner, Django and Dr. Schultz will have to come out with pistols blazing if they ever hope to free Broomhilda from Candyland and the clutches of its vile proprietor.

Gangster Squad (Rated R) An elite police squad fights to save the city of Los Angeles from a power-hungry East Coast mobster in this gritty police-detective film set in the 1940s, and based on Paul Lieberman’s seven-part Los Angeles Times series “Tales From the Gangster Squad.” Jewish gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is a Brooklyn-born boxer-turned-L.A. kingpin whose brutal ambition has earned him the respect of the Italian mob. He’s the kind of crime boss who dines with judges and police chiefs, but still isn’t quite sure which fork to use when it comes time for the main course. Just when it begins to look like Cohen owns every cop in the city, however, LAPD Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) enlists honest cop Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) to assemble a top-secret task force that will burn the vicious gangster’s thriving criminal empire to the ground. With the help of his pregnant wife Connie (Mireille Enos), Sgt. O’Mara handpicks smooth-talking Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), heroin-hating Officer Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), deadeye Officer Max Kennard (Robert Patrick), and brilliant wireman Officer Conwell Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) for the task at hand. Joined by Officer Kennard’s tough sidekick Officer Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña) as they set out for their first job, the squad strike fast and hard at the core of Cohen’s operation. Meanwhile, the charming Sgt. Wooters flirts with danger by starting an affair with Cohen’s smoldering paramour Grace Faraday (Emma Stone). Shortly after learning that Cohen is plotting a power play that will cement his stronghold on the city, however, the squad are unexpectedly compromised, putting the lives of all of their families in danger and leaving them with little choice but to step up their efforts and target the ruthless gangster directly. Should they live to accomplish their mission, Sgt. O’Mara and his men will prevent L.A. from becoming a hive of criminal activity like Chicago or New York. But Cohen isn’t going down without a fight, and if he falls, the entire city will feel the aftershock.

The Impossible (Rated PG-13) Director Juan Antonio Bayona follows up his critically acclaimed feature debut The Orphanage with this drama set during the 2004 Thailand tsunami, detailing one family’s incredible fight for survival. Inspired by actual events, The Impossible finds Henry (Ewan McGregor), his wife Maria (Naomi Watts), and their three sons lounging poolside at a scenic Thailand resort following an eventful Christmas. But just as the family begins to forget their troubles and settle in for a relaxing tropical getaway, one of the worst natural disasters in modern history changes their lives in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, as shock gives way to abject horror, the devoted parents fight to protect their children, encountering scenes of heart-wrenching tragedy and experiencing acts of incredible compassion as the entire country is engulfed in chaos. Tom Hollander and Geraldine Chaplin co-star.

Les Misérables (Rated PG-13) Academy-award winning director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the beloved musical Les Miserables makes no major changes to the original’s plot. The story follows former prisoner Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), who, after being released from the watchful eye of police officer Javert (Russell Crowe), is unable to find work because of his status as an ex-convict. He eventually steals from a local church, but when apprehended, the priest claims that Valjean was given the valuables. This triggers a change in Valjean, and he constructs a new identity for himself as a pillar of society and a local businessman. Years later, he adopts a young girl named Cosette, whose mother Fantine (Anne Hathaway), a former employee of his, became a prostitute and died a horrible death in the gutters after being fired. As the years progress and the French Revolution begins to foment, a grown Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) falls for a passionate revolutionary named Marius (Eddie Redmayne), while Javert begins to close in again on Valjean’s secret past.

This Is 40 (Rated R) Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann star as Pete and Debbie, the same married couple they played in Apatow’s Knocked Up. As the movie opens, Debbie is turning 40 but tells everybody she’s younger. She runs a small, boutique clothing store that’s breaking even financially, while Pete manages a retro-minded indie-music label that’s under serious financial strain just as they are trying to launch a new album by Graham Parker. Their money troubles are compounded by Pete’s dad Larry (Albert Brooks), who continually hits up his son for cash because he has toddler triplets after an overly successful fertilization treatment with his younger second wife. Debbie has daddy issues as well. Her father (John Lithgow), an emotionally cold, highly successful surgeon, seems to want no part of his daughter’s life, even though they meet for lunch occasionally after not talking to each other for a lengthy period of time. All of these people, along with Debbie’s trainer, Pete’s employees, and salesgirls from Debbie’s boutique, arrive at the couple’s beautiful home for a birthday party where all the familial wounds are opened.

Plot synopses from All Movie.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Anna Karenina (Rated R) Director Joe Wright reteams with Keira Knightley for this version of Anna Karenina, which boasts a script by Tom Stoppard. Knightley stars as the title character, a Russian woman who cheats on her respected husband (Jude Law) with a young soldier (Aaron Johnson) and suffers greatly for her betrayal. Wright sets the action in a theater, often segueing from scene to scene by utilizing different spaces within the same set. Anna Karenina screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Rated PG-13) Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) joins Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a band of dwarves on a treacherous quest to a distant mountain in this epic fantasy adventure adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel by the creative forces behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peter Jackson directs a screenplay he co-penned with Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Guillermo del Toro. Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, and Elijah Wood co-star.

Life of Pi (Rated PG) Yann Martel’s ponderous adventure novel gets the big-screen treatment with this Fox 2000 adaptation helmed by director Ang Lee. The coming-of-age story surrounds the son of a zookeeper who survives a shipwreck by stowing away on a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker. Suraj Sharma heads up the cast as the young boy, with Gérard Depardieu, Adil Hussain, Irrfan Khan, Rafe Spall, and Bollywood actress Tabu also starring.

Rise of the Guardians (Rated PG) Jack Frost (voice of Chris Pine), The Easter Bunny (voice of Hugh Jackman), The Tooth Fairy (voice of Isla Fisher), The Sandman, and Santa Claus (voice of Alec Baldwin) team up to stop the malevolent specter Pitch (voice of Jude Law) from stealing the dreams of children, and using his dark powers to rule supreme. Guillermo del Toro serves as executive producer of this fantasy adventure based on the book by William Joyce (who co-wrote the screenplay with Robots scribe David Lindsay-Abaire).

Zero Dark Thirty (Rated R) The Academy Award-winning duo behind The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal) reteams for this drama detailing the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and starring Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain as the intelligence expert who dedicated a decade of her life to tracking down the world’s most wanted terrorist. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the CIA began interrogating suspected Al-Qaeda agents across the globe in a bid to locate the elusive bin Laden. Upon arriving at a CIA black site and witnessing the brutal interrogation tactics firsthand, driven CIA operative Maya (Chastain) aids her unpredictable colleague Dan (Jason Clarke) in gathering the intelligence that will help bring bin Laden to justice. Over the course of the next decade, numerous false leads and dead ends make the search seem more futile than ever. Meanwhile, numerous suicide bombings all across the Middle East and Europe hint that Al Qaeda won’t go down without a fight. Then, just when it seemed as if the trail of clues had finally dried up, an old piece of evidence leads Maya to a suspect who may work directly for the man charged with planning the worst act of terrorism ever committed on American soil. Joel Edgerton, Edgar Ramirez, Mark Strong, Chris Pratt, and James Gandolfini co-star.

Plot synopses from All Rovi.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Argo (Rated R) When militants seize control of the U.S. embassy in Tehran during the height of the Iranian Revolution, CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) creates a fake Hollywood film production in order to rescue a group of American diplomats who have sought refuge at the home of the Canadian ambassador. As the six members of the embassy staff remain behind closed doors, armed militants conduct thorough searches of local homes, and kill anyone suspected of harboring the Americans. Realizing that it’s only a matter of time before the six are identified and taken hostage, Mendez offers a unique – yet potentially dangerous – solution: posing as a Canadian film producer, he will enter into Tehran under the precipice of scouting locations for an upcoming science fiction opus, gather up the refugees, pass them off as his crew at the airport, and fly out of Iran right under the militants’ noses. Shortly after touching down in Iran, however, Mendez contends with a few unexpected developments that threaten to erode the bond of trust he needs to establish with the refugees, and expose his deception. Meanwhile, even if they do manage to make it as far as the airport, government bureaucracy threatens to leave them hopelessly stranded in their most desperate hour. Alan Arkin, John Goodman, and Bryan Cranston co-star. Inspired by actual events.

The Master (Rated R) Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master stars Joaquin Phoenix as a psychologically damaged war veteran who finds himself working for Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a charismatic figure building his own religion. As the alcoholic, self-destructive former soldier becomes more deeply involved with the leader of this cult-like organization, his natural instincts keep him from embracing his new position as strongly as others in the group would hope. The Master screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.

Sinister (Rated R) A struggling true-crime novelist stumbles into a grim supernatural mystery that threatens the lives of his entire family in this nightmarish horror yarn from director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Day the Earth Stood Still). Ellison (Ethan Hawke) is seeking inspiration for his latest book when he moves his wife and children into a home where an entire family perished under gruesome circumstances. Terror soon hits closer to home, however, when the writer discovers a box of old family movies in the attic of his new house, and watches in horror as images of various families being murdered flicker before his eyes. Now the deeper Ellison investigates the disturbing case, the more he begins to fear he has stirred an ancient evil that won’t rest until it has claimed his entire family. Vincent D’Onofrio and James Ransone co-star.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Rated PG-13) The epic love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen concludes in this final installment of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling series. Dreamgirls‘ Bill Condon directs this second segment of the two-film adaptation.

Wreck-It Ralph (Rated PG) An 8-bit video-game character attempts to shed his bad-guy image by escaping into a popular first-person shooter, but inadvertently wreaks havoc in the video-game universe by freeing a digital villain who can only be contained with the help of a most unlikely ally in this colorful animated adventure. Wreck-It Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) is the arch nemesis of Fix-It Felix (voice of Jack McBrayer), one of the most beloved video-game icons of all time. In a noble bid to prove he is more than the sum of his programming, Ralph sneaks from his cozy retro home into a highly advanced combat game featuring battle-hardened soldier Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Jane Lynch), and strives to prove his bravery by winning a medal. In the process, however, Ralph accidentally frees the greatest threat the video-game world has ever seen. But all hope is not lost, because if Ralph can just convince unpredictable cart racer Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Sarah Silverman) to help set things right, perhaps he can finally unleash his inner hero and save the arcade from certain destruction.

Plot synopses from AllRovi.

New Nonfiction DVDs

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

Beauty Is Embarrassing: The Wayne White Story (Not Rated) For more than 30 years, Wayne White has made an indelible mark on the creative world. As a designer, painter, puppeteer, sculptor and musician, White created images and ideas that are an integral yet sometimes subconscious part of the pop-culture lexicon. Part biography, part live performance, Beauty Is Embarrassing tells the irreverent and inspiring story of this one-of-a-kind visual artist and raconteur. The film traces White s career from an underground cartoonist in New York s East Village to his big break as a designer, puppeteer and voice-over actor on Pee-wee s Playhouse (for which he won three Emmys®), as well as his work animating music videos for The Smashing Pumpkins (“Tonight, Tonight”) and Peter Gabriel (“Big Time”).

Bully (Rated PG-13) From Sundance Award-winning filmmaker, Lee Hirsch, comes a beautifully cinematic, character-driven documentary following five kids and families over the course of a school year. Offering insight into different facets of America’s bullying crisis, the stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter, who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate and often shocking glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals’ offices, this is a powerful and inspiring film that every educator, parent and teenager should see.

Searching for Sugar Man (Rated PG-13) Searching for Sugar Man tells the incredible true story of Rodriguez the greatest `70s rock icon who never was. After being discovered in a Detroit bar Rodriguez’s sound struck 2 renowned producers and they signed a recording deal. But when the album bombed the singer disappeared into obscurity. A bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and over the next two decades he became a phenomenon. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero.

Side by Side: Can Film Survive Our Digital Future? (Not Rated) Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in Side by Side. Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters such as James Cameron (Avatar), David Fincher (The Social Network), David Lynch (Mulholland Drive), Martin Scorsese (The Departed), Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), Steven Soderbergh (The Oceans Trilogy), and many more.

Untamed Americas (Not Rated) Outside our concrete jungles, beyond the strip malls and just minutes from our own backyard is another world that is thriving, fighting and surviving. Brawny mountains, burning deserts, tangled forests and curvaceous coasts. A grizzly bear takedown of helpless elk calves in Yellowstone. Big horn sheep going head-to-head in battle. Giant Humboldt squid cannibalizing their kin. Mountain lion cubs hunting solo for the first time. The landscapes and wildlife of the Americas are savage, shrewd and stunning. These are the great outdoors, our wildest frontiers – our Untamed Americas. National Geographic`s four-hour mini-series, Untamed Americas, explores some of the greatest wildlife spectacles and against-the-odds fights for survival in the continents` mountains, deserts, coasts and forests.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Hotel Transylvania (Rated PG) Samurai Jack’s Genndy Tartakovsky directed this animated tale concerning a hotel where monsters such as Dracula (voice of Adam Sandler), the Invisible Man (David Spade), Frankenstein (Kevin James), and his bride (Fran Drescher), along with a host of others, head to relax from a world full of humans. When a young man (Andy Samberg) stumbles onto the resort and falls for Drac’s teenage daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), comedy high jinks ensue. Cee Lo Green, Steve Buscemi, and Molly Shannon also lend their voices.

Paranormal Activity 4 (Unrated) The Paranormal Activity film series continues with this fourth entry from Paramount Pictures and returning directors of the previous outing, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. This time, the cell phones and computer cameras are focused on a teenage girl (Kathryn Newton) whose family allow a young boy in their neighborhood named Robbie (Brady Allen) to stay with them while his mom is sick. Soon after, eerie things start happening in the household, some of which focus on the girl’s younger brother Wyatt. As the bumps in the night become more pronounced, the mysteries surrounding Robbie’s family and the house across the street grow to the point where the only thing for the teen girl to do is investigate herself.

Pitch Perfect (Rated PG-13) A feisty coed joins a collegiate a cappella group and upgrades their song selection for the 21st century during the run-up to a major competition in this melodic comedy from Tony-nominated Avenue Q director Jason Moore. Drifting past the various cliques after arriving at college, Beca (Anna Kendrick) pays more attention to the jams pumping in her headphones than the people she passes on her way to class. But all that changes the moment she stumbles into the one place where every misfit has a voice — the campus a cappella group. Although the competition amongst the singers proves surprisingly fierce, there’s just one aspect of the group Beca can’t wrap her head around: All of the songs they perform are at least a decade old. Convinced that they can do better by adding some contemporary tunes into the mix, Beca whips up an exciting new set list that will set the group apart and leave their rivals in the dust. Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, and Rebel Wilson co-star.

Seven Psychopaths (Rated R) Three friends (Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, and Sam Rockwell) incur the wrath of a violent L.A. gangster (Woody Harrelson) by kidnapping his prized shih tzu in this black comedy from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. Aspiring screenwriter Marty (Farrell) has a brilliant screenplay called Seven Psychopaths floating around in his head; unfortunately he’s usually to hungover to make any real progress on it. Meanwhile, Marty’s best friend Billy (Rockwell) has some great ideas for the story, but he’s reluctant to offer input without invitation. A down-on-his-luck actor, Billy pays his rent by running a lucrative dognapping scam with smooth-talking Hans (Walken). Just when frustrated Marty begins to fear that all of his ideas have dried up, however, Billy shows up with an adorable shih zhu swiped from a quick-tempered gangster (Harrelson), and a desperate trip into the desert finds the ideas flowing like drinks at an open bar.

Won’t Back Down (Rated PG) Two headstrong mothers (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis) wage a valiant struggle to save their children’s troubled inner-city school, but find their forward-thinking efforts hampered at every turn by apathy and systematic bureaucracy. Holly Hunter, Rosie Perez, and Ving Rhames co-star.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Dredd (Rated R) A feared urban cop takes on a vicious city drug dealer in a futuristic metropolis as director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) and screenwriter Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine) team to bring iconic 2000A.D. lawman Judge Dredd to the big screen. In the future, much of North America has been poisoned by radiation. The sprawling urban jungle Mega City One stretches from Boston to Washington D.C., and in order to keep the growing criminal element in check, police enforcers called “Judges” have been given the power of judge, jury, and executioner. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of them all, delivering death sentences with impunity as he fights to rid the streets of “Slo-Mo” — a powerful new drug that alters its user’s perception of time. In the process of training psychic rookie Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirlby), Dredd receives a report of an incident in a sprawling criminal stronghold ruled by fearsome drug lord Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), and ventures in to investigate. Upon learning that one of her top men has been captured by Dredd shortly thereafter, an enraged Ma-Ma seizes control of her massive 200-story complex, launching an all-out war against the Judges as Dredd and Cassandra find themselves trapped in the belly of the beast.

Frankenweenie (Rated PG) Tim Burton’s 1984 short film Frankenweenie is resurrected for the big screen with this stop-motion 3D remake, which once again centers on a boy (Charlie Tahan) who reanimates his dead terrier and the suburban fallout that occurs because of it. Big Fish screenwriter John August provided the script for the Walt Disney production.

Looper (Rated R) A hired gun from the future discovers that his greatest adversary is himself in this twisting sci-fi mindbender starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and directed by Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brothers Bloom). In the year 2047 time travel has yet to be invented. Thirty years later, however, it has. Though immediately outlawed, time-travel technology is quickly appropriated by the mob, and used to cleanly dispose of anyone deemed a threat. The process is simple: When the mob wants someone to disappear, they simply send them back to the year 2047, where an assassin known as a “looper” quickly carries out the hit, and disposes of the body. Joe Simmons (Gordon-Levitt) is one of the most respected loopers around. Each kill earns him a big payday, and he’s got big plans to retire to France. Then, one day, as Joe patiently awaits the appearance of his next target near the edge of a remote corn field, he’s shocked to come face-to-face with his future self (Bruce Willis). When the younger Joe hesitates, the older Joe makes a daring escape. Now, in order to avoid the wrath of his underworld boss (Jeff Daniels), young Joe must “close the loop” and kill his older counterpart. Meanwhile, the revelation that a powerful crime boss in the future has set the underworld ablaze pits the two Joes on a violent collision course, with the fate of a devoted mother (Emily Blunt) and her young son hanging in the balance. Paul Dano and Piper Perabo co-star.

The Possession (Rated PG-13) Inspired by Los Angeles Times writer Leslie Gornstein’s article “A Jinx in a Box,” this horror film from Ghost House Pictures and director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch) tells the tale of a broken family that comes under attack from a malevolent supernatural entity of Jewish folklore. Shortly after her parents (Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick) divorce, a young girl purchases an ornate antique box at a yard sale. In the weeks that follow, the young girl forms an intense fixation on the box, her behavior growing increasingly bizarre as she falls into the grip of a diabolical apparition. When the girl’s father discovers that the relic is in fact a holding cell for the disconnected soul of a deceased person who has been denied entry into the afterlife and needs a human host to inhabit, he fights to rid her of the evil that threatens to consume her body and soul.

Taken 2 (Rated PG-13) His family targeted by a vengeful crime boss in Istanbul, retired CIA agent Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) must fight an army of killers to ensure their safe return in this action sequel from director Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3) and producer/co-writer Luc Besson (who penned the screenplay alongside Taken scribe Robert Mark Kamen). As the families of the kidnappers killed by Mills gather together for a mass funeral, their leader Merad (Rade Sherbedgia) vows to make the man who brought them so much misery pay. Meanwhile, back in the U.S., Mills invites his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and their daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to join him on a trip to Istanbul after their long-planned trip to China falls through. Later, in Istanbul, the family is settling in and enjoying the sites when Merad’s gang abducts Mills and Lenore. Communicating with her father via a hidden cell phone, Kim accesses his secret weapons cache and embarks on a frantic race through an unfamiliar city in a bid to rescue her parents from certain death. Once she manages to free her father, Mills puts his “particular set of skills” to use while attempting to rescue his Lenore, and escape Merad’s unrelenting attack.

Plot synopses from AllRovi.

New Nonfiction DVDs

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

Charlie Is My Darling: Ireland 1965 (Not Rated) Shot during a quick tour of Ireland just weeks after “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hit # 1 on the charts, The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 is an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Stones. It features the first professionally filmed concert performances of the band and documents the early frenzy of their fans and the riots the band’s appearances inspired. The band is shown traveling through the Irish countryside by train; dashing from cabs to cramped, basement dressing rooms through screaming hordes of fans. Motel rooms host impromptu songwriting sessions and familiar classics are heard in their infancy as riff and lyric are united. Charlie is my Darling is the invaluable frame that captures the spark about to combust into The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World. The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling – Ireland 1965 DVD incorporates the new 2012 version of the film as well as the director s cut and producer’s cut, plus significant unseen additional performance and other footage shot in Dublin and Belfast in September of 1965.

41 (Not Rated) From his beloved summer home in Kennebunkport, ME, where he has come nearly every year since childhood, George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, tells the story of his life. Capturing the president while driving around the property in a golf cart (with his Maltese mix Bebe in tow) as he shares the history of the house and its surrounding structures (including the fishing shed that holds his prize catches) and sitting for one-on-one interviews, 41 offers a rare glimpse at the life and times of a living former president. In between his many public appearances, which have slowed only recently due to the developing Parkinsonism in his legs, the 87-year-old Bush now spends much of his time on his boat, where he feels, “I’m still in the game,” and with children and grandchildren who come to visit him and his wife, Barbara. Over the course of this feature documentary, which deftly weaves personal photos, black-and-white family films, news and archival footage, George H. W. Bush reflects on the highs and lows (including the loss of a 3-year old daughter to leukemia) of his life, sharing personal anecdotes from his childhood, his family, serving in WWII, his political career, and more.

Magic of the Snowy Owl (Not Rated) A team of intrepid filmmakers provides an intimate look at the snowy owl, a bird made popular by Harry Potter’s faithful companion Hedwig. Though snowies naturally stand out for their beauty, intelligence and charm, in their eerie, bleak Arctic home it is their determination and survival skills that are truly magical.

Samsara (Rated PG-13) Filmed over a period of almost five years and in twenty-five countries, Samsara explores the wonders of the world from sacred grounds to industrial sites, looking into the unfathomable reaches of man s spirituality and the human experience.  Photographed entirely in 70mm and transferred to 4K digital projection format, Samsara‘s mesmerizing images of unprecedented clarity illuminate the links between humanity and the rest of nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet. Neither a traditional documentary nor a travelogue, Samsara is a guided meditation on the current of interconnection that runs through all of our lives.

Visions of 8 (Rated G) A Documentary about the 1972 Munich Olympics from eight of the world’s most accomplished directors capture what the naked eye cannot see. All the pain – the joy – the triumph – and especially the struggle to reach the pinnacle in mankind’s most exacting competition. The eight segments are directed by eight different directors – Milos Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Arthur Penn, John Schlesinger, Mai Zetterling, Juri Ozerov, Michael Pfleghar. Music by Henry Mancini. Winner of the 1974 Golden Globe for Best Documentary.

Plot synopses from Amazon.

New DVD Arrivals

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

Arbitrage (Rated R) Writer Nicholas Jarecki makes his feature directorial debut with this drama centering on a Wall Street hedge-fund tycoon and family man who scrambles to maintain a picture-perfect façade as his empire slowly begins to topple behind the scenes. Robert Miller (Richard Gere) is about to turn 60. One of the most successful businessmen in New York City, he lives a life of luxury that few will ever experience. But there’s a storm coming, and nobody knows it better than Robert. If he can finalize the bank purchase of his trading empire before any evidence of his shady business dealings is unearthed, there’s a chance he could emerge relatively unscathed. Not even Robert’s wife Ellen (Susan Sarandon) or their astute daughter Brooke (Brit Marling) have any idea of the hole their family patriarch has dug, but they are about to be swallowed up by it as well. At the crucial moment when his plan falls apart, however, a deadly complication leaves Robert with no choice but to seek the help of shady Jimmy Grant (Nate Parker), a man the wealthy financier never expected to see again. Just when it seems the situation couldn’t get any worse, NYPD detective Michael Bryer (Tim Roth) realizes he may have uncovered a key piece of evidence that will ensure Robert pays for his sins.

Premium Rush (Rated PG-13) A crooked cop (Michael Shannon) pursues a New York City bike messenger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) carrying a mysterious package in this urban thriller from director/co-writer David Koepp. Every day, fearless courier Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) dodges death while weaving through traffic on his custom fixie — a featherweight bike with one gear and no brakes. He always delivers his packages on time, but today’s rush delivery could well be his last. With a mysterious envelope clutched close and a mad killer chasing him through the streets of Manhattan, Wilee must pedal for his life, and never look back.

Resident Evil: Retribution (Rated R) Awakening in a top-secret Umbrella facility as the T-virus threatens to wipe out the last remnants of humanity, Alice (Milla Jovovich) must battle her way through virtual simulations in order to break out of the complex and save the Earth in this fifth Resident Evil film. While the apocalyptic plague rages above ground, below the surface lies a massive base powered the evil supercomputer, the Red Queen, who will stop at nothing to contain humanity’s only biologically-enhanced hope that is Alice. While factions in the Umbrella Corporation strive to help Alice escape, the Red Queen unleashes zombies, monsters, and clones of her ex-comrades to stop her. Only when Alice stumbles across a young girl who’s been bred to think that she is her mother does the two-fisted heroine find a new reason to live. Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, and Kevin Durand co-star.

Trouble with the Curve (Rated PG-13) TAn aging baseball scout (Clint Eastwood) with failing sight hits the road with his estranged daughter (Amy Adams) to pursue a promising young ballplayer, and they learn just how much they have in common as they make their way from Georgia to North Carolina in this sports drama produced and directed by frequent Eastwood collaborator Robert Lorenz. For decades, Gus Lobel (Eastwood) has been one of the best scouts in Major League Baseball. But these days his eyes just aren’t what they used to be, and as a phenomenal young batter enters the draft, the owners of the Atlanta Braves cast a shadow of doubt over Gus’ judgment. Meanwhile, his daughter Mickey ( Adams) is an aspiring partner at a major Atlanta law firm. In the wake of his wife’s death, Gus sent Mickey away, and their relationship has been strained ever since. But she knows a thing or two about baseball, and recognizing that her father’s job is in jeopardy, she decides to help him — even at the risk of derailing her own career. Now, throwing caution to the wind (and ignoring her gruff father’s objections), Mickey joins Gus for a scouting trip that could keep him in the game until he’s ready to retire, as well as repair a father/daughter relationship that once seemed all but lost. Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, and Matthew Lillard co-star.

The Words (Rated PG-13) Struggling writer Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) rockets to fame after passing off a brilliant found manuscript as his own, but experiences an acute crisis of conscience after his stint in the spotlight changes him in ways he never expected. Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Zoe Saldana, and Olivia Wilde co-star.

Plot synopses from AllRovi.