01.09.12 | Chris Cummins | New Releases This WeekPrint this Post
Tags: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise
Looking for some great new DVD or Blu-ray releases? Then you're in luck, because there's a bunch of exciting titles making their debuts this week. Regardless of what era or genre you are looking for, these new offerings are certain to please you. But don't take my word for it, see for yourself.
Columbo Mystery Movie Collection: 1994 - 2003
The last seven installments of the "ABC Mystery Movie" to feature Peter Falk as Lt. Columbo are collected in this set. A right-wing radio host kills an employee and tries to pin it on the victim's gay lover, in "Butterfly In Shades Of Grey" (1994). William Shatner co-stars. Next, Columbo goes "Undercover" (1994) to solve a series of murders in an episode that breaks from the normal format by not revealing the killer until the end. With Ed Begley Jr. The murder of a ranch owner's brother forces Columbo to work with a gangster, in "Strange Bedfellows" (1995). Rod Steiger also stars. A man is framed by his wife and her lover, in "A Trace Of Murder" (1997). A mortician kills a gossip reporter to keep her quiet, in "Ashes To Ashes" (1998). With Patrick McGoohan. "Murder With Too Many Notes" (2000) finds Columbo investigating a famed composer who killed his protege. Billy Connolly co-stars. And, in his final outing, it seems "Columbo Likes The Nightlife" (2003) as he tries to take down a club promoter who helped his girlfriend dispose of her ex-husband's dead body.
The true story of Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's attempt to field a successful baseball team after a 2001 playoff loss to the Yankees is chronicled in this sports drama, based on the book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." With a limited budget, Beane (Brad Pitt) enlists the aid of an economics whiz (Jonah Hill) with a mathematical approach to scouting players, encountering opposition from the A's' more traditional manager (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Robin Wright also stars.
In this hilarious urban culture-clash comedy, working-class Jason falls for wealthy Sabrina and the pair decides to get married in a lavish Martha's Vineyard ceremony. As Sabrina's stuck-up mom and Jason's postal worker mother square off, the lovebirds discover how tricky making it to the altar may be. But with their shared faith and love for each other, can they somehow make their nuptials joyous? Angela Bassett, Paula Patton, Laz Alonso, Loretta Devine, and T.D. Jakes star.
A womanizing plastic surgeon (Adam Sandler) gets his loyal office manager (Jennifer Aniston) and her kids to pose as his family in order to convince his buxom and beautiful would-be girlfriend (Brooklyn Decker) that he's trapped in a loveless marriage. But an unexpected love triangle develops as Sandler and Aniston slowly begin to realize their feelings for each other. Breezy update of the stage play and film "Cactus Flower" also stars Nick Swardson, Dave Matthews, and Nicole Kidman.
Old-school, '80s-set actioner stars Jason Statham as a retired special ops agent lured back to the field when mentor Robert De Niro is taken prisoner in Oman by a powerful sheik. The price for De Niro's freedom? Statham must track down and assassinate the three highly trained British agents responsible for the murder of the sheik's sons. Clive Owen, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Strahovski co-star.
Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz star in this explosive action picture about a runaway spy (Cruise) who makes use of his considerable charms to bond himself to a gorgeous young woman (Diaz) he meets while evading capture. The rogue agent then carts his frightened new friend all over the world, protecting a precious new source of energy and persuading his companion to trust him...with her life! James Mangold ("Walk the Line") directs; Paul Dano,Peter Sarsgaard co-star.
Looney Tunes Showcase, Vol. One
"On with the showcase, this is it!" And by "this," we mean a laugh-filled collection of 25 vintage Warner Bros. cartoons starring Bugs, Daffy, Elmer, Porky, the Road Runner, and the rest of the looney, looney crew. Included are "Baby Bottleneck," "Buccaneer Bunny," "Duck Amuck," "Fast and Furry-ous," "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery," "What's Opera, Doc?," and many more.
Lust in the Dust/Beyond Therapy
First, when gold is discovered in the sleepy Western town of Chile Verde, a stampede of ruthless gunmen, wanton dance hall girls, and laughter follows, in the sagebrush spoof "Lust in the Dust." "Polyester" co-stars Tab Hunter and Divine are reunited, along with Lainie Kazan and Cesar Romero. Next, neurotic couple Jeff Goldblum and Julie Hagerty are determined to have a happy relationship, in spite of Glenda Jackson and Tom Conti...their even crazier therapists! "Beyond Therapy" co-stars Christopher Guest, Genevieve Page;Robert Altman directs.
Written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, this ensemble drama concerns a 50-year-old woman, the daughter she gave up for adoption 35 years earlier, and an African-American woman looking to adopt. As they each attempt to find contentment and inner peace, they must all deal with professional and relationship woes. Along the way, their lives intersect in unexpected ways. Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L. Jackson star.
First, Rick Springfield plays "Nick Knight," an L.A. detective whose preference for the night shift is for a very good reason...he's a 200-year-old vampire who uses his abilities to really "take a bite out of crime" in this horror-thriller that gave birth to the 1989-1996 "Forever Knight" series. With John Kapelos, Laura Johnson. Next, it may be rough driving on the L.A. freeways now, but wait 'til a maniacal motorist called Skull begins slaughtering, killing, wrecking, and changing lanes without signalling! Only Ken Wahl can stop him, in a deadly chase that's Hell on wheels. "The Gladiator" co-stars Nancy Allen, Robert Culp.
Tobe (Dustin Ingram) is a nerdy teen obsessed with Monica Velour (Kim Cattrall), a popular porn star from the '70s and '80s. When he learns that Monica is making a comeback appearance several states away, he makes the trek, only to see her as an aging drunk living in a trailer park and fighting for custody of her child. Will the pair eventually learn something from one another in this quirky, heartfelt comedy? Brian Dennehy and Keith David co-star.
Based on the comic book series by Min-Woo Hyung, this dystopian horror tale is set in a world in which mankind has been engaged in a century-long battle against vampires. Living in a walled-in city ruled by the Church, a priest breaks his vows in order to rescue his niece from a pack of bloodsuckers who have abducted her. Joined by his relative's boyfriend and a powerful Warrior Priestess, the holy man embarks on a mission that will push his faith to its limits and beyond. Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, and Maggie Q star.
This computer-animated western comedy introduces you to Rango (voiced by Johnny Depp), a chameleon longing to express his individuality who winds up in the frontier town of Dirt. After the corrupt and water-controlling mayor hires him to act as sheriff, Rango tries to bring law and order to the community--encountering such characters as the spunky female lizard Beans and the evil Rattlesnake Jake along the way. With the voices of Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, and Bill Nighy.
How did "New York's Honest Car Dealer" Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) make such a hash of his life? Not only has Ben cheated on his wife (Susan Sarandon), he's putting the moves on his new girlfriend's daughter (Imogen Poots). While Ben's daughter (Jenna Fischer) has given up faith in her father's redemption, the smooth-talking Ben makes a daring final attempt to re-ignite his life...and maybe even his integrity. Danny DeVito, Mary-Louise Parker co-star in this comedy-drama.
This sequel to the 2007 hit is an energetic, music-filled drama that finds Truth University student Chance Harris (Collins Pennie) struggling to balance his everyday obligations in school, work, and his personal life with his ambitions to perform in a national step-dancing contest. The competition takes place during his school's homecoming weekend--adding even more tension to Chance's opportunity to live his big dreams. With Keith David, Pooch Hall. AKA: "Stomp The Yard 2: Homecoming."
"Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto delivers an affecting performance as Miral, a Palestinian orphan who becomes engaged in political activism and the enduring Arab-Israeli conflict. Turned on to politics by her lover (Omar Metwally), Miral finds fighting for independence to be a dangerous business. Hiam Abbass, Willem Dafoe, Vanessa Redgrave, and Alexander Siddig co-star in director Julian Schnabel's ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly") drama adapted from Rula Jebreal's book.
Compelling, fact-based drama focuses on a couple (Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell) whose two youngest children suffer from Pompe disease, a potentially fatal neuromuscular disorder. Desperate to find a cure, Fraser and Russell take it upon themselves to raise the money necessary for a maverick research scientist (Harrison Ford) to continue his work on a controversial drug that may be the children's only hope. With Meredith Droeger, Diego Velazquez.
Director/co-writer Jean-Luc Godard continues to baffle and mesmerize with this unusual drama, broken into three parts, in which he ruminates the status of the European Union. Passengers aboard a cruise conduct conversations in different languages (with help given from subtitles); children call their parents to account; visits are made to Egypt, Naples, and Barcelona; and more, in the spellbinding Godard style. Jean-Marc Stehle, Agatha Couture star; rocker Patti Smith appears.
Hawaii Five-O: The Twelfth and Final Season
All 19 episodes from season 12--including "A Lion in the Streets," "Sign of the Ram," "A Shallow Grave," "School for Assassins," and "Woe to Wo Fat"--are featured in a five-disc set.
Hawaii Five-O: The Complete Original Series
Special 72-disc collector's set includes all 279 episodes from the series' 12-season run.
Drawn to a belief in God as a young child, Corinne (Vera Farmiga) finds her spiritual values have been evolving ever since. While teen marriage (and motherhood) and her survival of a terrible accident push her deeper into a reverent faith, Corinne can't help but question her religious ideas anew after she gets involved in a new church and its curious mix of piety and eroticism. Farmiga's directorial debut, based on a memoir by Carolyn S. Briggs, co-stars Donna Murphy, John Hawkes.
To mark his 100th film, Jackie Chan takes the producing and co-directing chairs as well as stars in this historical epic about the founding of the Republic of China. Chan plays military commander Huang Xing, who joins forces with Sun Yat-sen to overthrow the last rulers of the Qing Dynasty. The film depicts spectacular battlefield action and features strong attention to historical detail. Co-stars Winston Chao, Bingbing Li, Joan Chen, and Jaycee Chan.
In 1962 Los Angeles, a gay professor from England (Colin Firth), distraught over the death of his longtime partner (Matthew Goode) months earlier and the family's refusal to allow him to attend the funeral, prepares his planned suicide. Firth decides to spend his last day on Earth reflecting on his relationship and connecting with an eclectic group of people. Director Tom Ford's poignant adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel also stars Julianne Moore, Nicolas Hoult, Jon Kortajarena.
A Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) puts his planned retirement on hold when he's called back to active duty to fight an unexpected enemy: an alien invasion fleet that has launched a brutal assault on Earth. With Los Angeles besieged by extraterrestrial attackers, Eckhart and his commanding officer (Ramon Rodriguez) must lead a daring mission to rescue a group of civilians before they're totally wiped out. Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriguez also star in this exciting sci-fi actioner.
"Beauty and the Beast" gets a "Twilight" makeover in this romantic fantasy based on the novel by Alex Flinn. When a cocky teen's bad attitude goes too far, his witch classmate gives him a lesson in humility by transforming him into a scarred, tattooed, and pierced freak. With the help of a blind tutor, he attempts to win the heart of a kindly peer so that he can return to normal--learning about the true meaning of beauty along the way. Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Neil Patrick Harris star.
Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season
All 12 episodes from the debut season--including "Boardwalk Empire," "The Ivory Tower," "Home," "The Emerald City," and "A Return to Normalcy"--are featured in a five-disc set.
Written and directed by "The Office" and "Extras" creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, this smart dramedy set in 1973 follows three friends living in suburban England. As factory worker Bruce, railway employee Snork, and insurance salesman Freddie all dream of better lives elsewhere, they slowly begin to learn about what it means to be an adult.Christian Cooke,Tom Hughes, Ralph Fiennes,Emily Watson, and Gervais star.
Director Atom Egoyan's remake of the French film "Nathalie..." finds a high-priced call girl (Amanda Seyfried) hired by a wealthy gynecologist (Julianne Moore) to help determine if her husband (Liam Neeson) is being unfaithful. Seyfried seduces Neeson and relays every detail of their encounters to Moore whose own growing obsession with the beautiful young prostitute threatens to tear her family apart. Max Thieriot,R.H. Thomson also star.
Justified: The Complete First Season
All 13 episodes from the first season--including "Fire in the Hole," "The Lord of War and Thunder," "Blowback," "The Hammer," and "Bulletville"--are featured in a three-disc set.
Mocked as a child for her oversized proboscis, glamorous and grown-up Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) returns to the English village of Ewedown as a successful newspaper columnist with a beauty of a nose job. Her return sets off romantic distractions for writers' colony proprietor Nicholas (Roger Allam), handyman Andy (Luke Evans), and London rock musician Ben (Dominic Cooper). Director Stephen Frears' cheeky adaptation of the Posy Simmonds comic co-stars Tamsin Greig, Jessica Barden.
Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) is a Manhattan pet shop owner who meets handsome goat farmer Stan (Alex O'Loughlin) on the same day she's been artificially inseminated after deciding she's tired of waiting for the right man to come along. Is Stan that man? And, if so, can they make a relationship work even though they're doing things slightly out of order? Frothy romantic comedy also stars Michaela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, and Anthony Anderson.
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler sizzle in this fast-paced blend of action and romantic comedy. Butler plays a bounty hunter tapped to track down ex-wife Aniston, a reporter who missed a traffic court date to follow a lead on a murder story. But the job of bringing her in proves tougher than Butler thought as the duo must contend with killers, thugs out to collect a gambling debt, and (of course) the still-burning flames of their passion for each other. Christine Baranski, Jason Sudeikis also star.
The Civil War: Commemorative Documentary Collection
Between documentary chronicles and filmed, large-scale re-enactments, this collection of programs brings the scope of the War Between the States to vivid life. "Mr. Lincoln's Army: Fighting Brigades of the Army of the Potomac," "The Battles for Atlanta," "Shadow in the Valley: The Battle of Chickamauga," "The Life and Death of the Army of Northern Virginia," "Abraham Lincoln: Father of Freedom," "The Civil War: From Lincoln to Lee," and "Diary of a Confederate Soldier" are included.
Unable to secure a decent job in a challenging economic climate, Paul (Kevin Zegers) embarks upon an unusual path to financial security--by kidnapping the children of three wealthy acquaintances and demanding a huge ransom for their release! The tense hostage situation plays out over the course of a single night as Paul grows more desperate and the rich men clash over how to best rescue their loved ones. With Ray Liotta, Victor Garber.
As his department investigates a series of brutal killings, a Seattle police detective (Ray Liotta) discovers the victims are all linked to his past, a disturbing fact that brings him to the attention of an FBI agent (Christian Slater) assigned to the case. Gripping suspenser also stars Ving Rhames, Gisele Fraga. AKA: "The River Sorrow."
thirtysomething: Season One, Vol. 2
The remaining 11 episodes from the first season--including "Therapy," "Business As Usual," "Nancy's First Date," "Undone," and "Born to Be Mild"--are featured in a two-disc set.
Tense sociopolitical thriller stars Carrie-Anne Moss as an FBI agent who stumbles upon a Muslim terrorist holding information regarding three nuclear weapons set to detonate in the U.S. Unable to coerce the bad guy into divulging their location, Moss must recruit a special black-ops agent (Samuel L. Jackson) to get the job done before tragedy strikes. Michael Sheen and Stephen Root co-star.
After reading an article that convinces her she will be alone forever, single Ally (Anna Faris) decides to reconnect with her former lovers to see if any of them are her Mr. Right. Enlisting the help of her womanizing neighbor Colin (Chris Evans), she gets reacquainted with her old flames and discovers that sometimes love is right under your nose. With Blythe Danner, Ed Begley, Jr., Heather Burns.
Based on a novel by C.D. Payne, this quirky dark comedy focuses on Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), a virginal misfit dealing with divorced parents and their respective new lovers. When Nick meets the beautiful and smart Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday)--a girl he believes will never be interested in him--he creates a suave, mustachioed alter ego named Francois Dillinger in an attempt to woo her. With Jean Smart, Mary Kay Place, Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, and Steve Buscemi.
Dennis the Menace: Season Four
All 38 episodes from the fourth (and final) season--including "The Chinese Girl," "Dennis in Gypsyland," "Wilson's Second Childhood," "Dennis and the Homing Pigeons," and "Aunt Emma Visits the Wilsons"--are featured in a five-disc set.
For details and availability of more of this week's new releases, click here.
Here's a look at last week's DVD and Blu-ray releases.
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