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All God's Creatures
(2011) Josh Folan, Jessica Kaye. A mild-mannered New York barista turns into a cold-blooded killer at night, ridding the city of "filthy women." Formats: DVD. (Osiris Entertainment).
This Means War
Two of the world's deadliest CIA operatives are inseparable partners and best friends -- until they discover that they've fallen in love with the same woman. Deciding to keep their friendship a secret from her, they pull out their full arsenal of fighting skills and high-tech gadgetry to defeat their greatest enemy -- each other.
Vitals: Director: McG. Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler , Angela Bassett, Abigail Spencer.
2012, CC, MPAA rating: R, 97 min., Action Comedy, Box office gross: $52.270 million, Fox.
The Woman in Black
Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), a widowed lawyer whose grief has put his career in jeopardy, is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric. But upon his arrival, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret. Although the townspeople try to keep Kipps from learning their tragic history, he soon discovers that the house belonging to his client is haunted by the ghost of a woman who is determined to find someone and something she lost ... and no one, not even the children, are safe from her vengeance.
Vitals: Director: James Watkins. Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White. 2012, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Horror, Box office gross: $54.212 million, Sony.
Red Tails
Italy, 1944. As the war takes its toll on Allied forces in Europe, a squadron of black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen are finally given the chance to prove themselves in the sky ... even as they battle discrimination on the ground. During WWII, the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program were courageously waging two wars at once -- one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home. Racial prejudices held ace airman Martin Easy Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base -- leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills -- while their white counterparts were shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training. Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee mastered the skies with ease but were not granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings ... until they were sent to North Africa and Italy to escort white bomber pilots.
Vitals: Director: Anthony Hemingway. Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Elijah Kelley, Tristan Wilds, Method Man, Ne-Yo, Michael B. Jordon, Leslie Odom, Jr., Marcus T. Paulk, Kevin Philips, Andre Royo, Daniela Ruah, Gerald McRaney, Bryan Cranston.
2012, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 125 min., Action, Box office gross: $49.600 million, Fox.
Castle in the Sky
(1986)
The Secret World of Arrietty
(2012)
Whisper of the Heart
(1995)
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Beyond
(2011) Jon Voight, Teri Polo, Julian Morris, Dermot Mulroney, Brett Baker. When a 7-year-old girl is kidnapped from her bedroom in a small suburb of Anchorage, a detective on the verge of retirement (Voight) with an obsessive hatred for child abductions, anxiously begins the hunt for the culprit. As the trail gets cold and time is running out, the detective forms an unlikely partnership with a mysterious radio psychic (Morris) who claims to have visions of the missing girl. The case takes a disturbing twist when it becomes clear that the most substantial clues all lead towards something outside of the law, past human reason and forever frighteningly "beyond." Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay).
Black Cobra
(2012) T.J. Storm, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Jeff Wolfe, Michael Chinyamurindi, Damian Poitier. Direct-to-DVD about one man' journey across the country, smuggling and selling illegal black diamonds to pay for his father's pardon in South Africa. But when he arrives in the U.S. to finalize what appears to be a simple transaction, he is soon double-crossed and becomes caught up in a lethal battle with a powerful opponent. Formats: DVD, VOD, Digital Download. Extras: Deleted scenes, an alternate ending, outtakes. (Lionsgate).
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
(2012) A documentary on Broadway legend Carol Channing. If Channing didn't exist, no one could have made her up. One in a billion, at 89, she remains an unstoppable, megawatt dynamo. Broadway diva extraordinaire is just the icing. Carol Channing hovered at the pinnacle of the entertainment world from the late-1950's through the 1960's and beyond, living life sensationally large. Formats: DVD. Extras: "Creating Dolly," "Hello Dolly" opening night crew stories, Barbara Walters on Channing, Joan Crawford's wedding. (Entertainment One).(Studio).
Castle in the Sky BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1986 -- Japan) Dir.: Hayao Miyazaki; voices of Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill. Pazu, an engineer's apprentice, finds a young girl, Sheeta, floating down from the sky, and discovers they are both searching for a legendary floating castle, Laputa. Together, they embark on a daring quest and encounter greedy pirates, secret agents and astounding obstacles that keep them from the truth -- and from each other.
Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo, single DVD. Extras: Disc introduction by John Lasseter, original Japanese storyboards, seven-part "Behind the Studio" featurette. (Studio Ghibli/Disney).
Certified Copy
(2010 -- France) The great Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami travels to Tuscany for a luminous and provocative romance in which nothing is as it appears. What seems at first to be a straightforward tale of two people -- played by Oscar-winning actress Juliette Binoche and opera singer William Shimell -- getting to know each other over the course of an afternoon gradually reveals itself as something richer, stranger, and trickier: a mind-bending reflection on authenticity, in art as well as in relationships. Both cerebrally and emotionally engaging, "Certified Copy (Copie conforme)" reminds us that love itself is an enigma. New high-definition digital restoration, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: New interview with director Abbas Kiarostami; "Let's See Copia conforme," an Italian documentary on the making of "Certified Copy," featuring interviews with Kiarostami and actors Juliette Binoche and William Shimell; trailer; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Godfrey Cheshire. (The Criterion Collection).
Eclipse Series 33: Up All Night with Robert Downey Sr.
Rarely do landmark works of cinema seem so ... wrong. Robert Downey Sr. emerged as one of the most irreverent filmmakers of the new American underground of the early sixties, taking no prisoners in his rough-and-tumble treatises on politics, race, and consumer culture. In his most famous, the midnight-movie mainstay "Putney Swope," an advertising agency is turned on its head when a militant African American man takes charge. Like Swope, Downey held nothing sacred. This selection of five of his most raucous and outlandish films, dating from 1964 to 1975, offers a unique mix of the hilariously abrasive and the intensely experimental. The two-disc box set includes: "Babo 73" (1964): Taylor Mead plays the 
president of the United Status, who conducts his top-secret international affairs on a deserted beach when he isn't at the White House (a dilapidated Victorian), in this political satire. Downey’s first feature is a rollicking, slapstick, ultra-low-budget 16 mm comedy experiment; "Chafed Elbows" (1966): This bad-taste riot was a breakthrough for Downey Sr., thanks to rave notices. Visualized largely in still 35mm photographs, it follows a shiftless downtown Manhattanite having his "annual November breakdown," wandering from one odd job to the next, and encountering all sorts of sordid types, from desperate low-budget filmmakers to destitute dirty-sock sniffers. And there are incest, murder, and bad pop songssomething to offend everyone. "No More Excuses" (1968): Downey Sr. takes his camera and microphone onto the streets (and into some bedrooms) for a close look at Manhattan's swinging singles scene of the late sixties. Of course, that's not all: "No More Excuses" cuts between this footage and the fragmented tale of a time-traveling Civil War soldier, a rant from the director of the fictional Society for Indecency to Naked Animals, and other assorted improprieties; "Putney Swope" (1969): The most popular film by Downey Sr. is this oddball classic about the antics that ensue after Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson, his voice dubbed by a gravelly Downey), the token black man on the board of a Madison Avenue advertising agency, is inadvertently elected chairman. Putney summarily fires all the whiteys, replaces them with Black Power apostles, renames the company Truth and Soul, Inc., and proceeds to wreak politically incorrect havoc; "Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight" (1975): "A film without a beginning or an end," in Downey Sr.’s words, this Dadaist thingamajiga never-before-seen, newly reedited version of the director's 1975 release "Moment to Moment" (also known as "Jive") is a cascade of curious sketches, scenes, and shots that takes on a rhythmic life. It stars Downey’s wife, Elsie, in an endless succession of off-the-wall roles, from dancer to cocaine fiend. Formats: DVD. (The Criterion Collection).
The First Beautiful Thing
(2010 -- Italy) Micaela Ramazzotti, Stefania Sandrelli, Valerio Mastandrea. Comedic drama follows a strong and optimistic mother as she tries to raise her two children against all odds. Throughout grief and pain she teaches her family to remain open and loving and to cherish the little joys in life. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (Palisades Tartan).
Ghost Hunters International Season 2: Part 2
(2011) Four-disc set with 13 episodes, $24.98. Formats: DVD. (Image Entertainment).
Love, Etc.
(2011) Jill Andresevic's award-winning documentary travels through the boroughs of New York City to find the reality of love: In the forms of an elderly couple proving that love truly lasts forever, a teenage couple caught up in the effervescence of first love, a divorced parent starting over, a couple diving into the sanctity of marriage, and a single gay man embarking on the journey of parenthood. Presented by Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted scenes, filmmaker panel, introduction from Oprah Winfrey. (Virgil Films & Entertainment).
Mega Builders
(2012) Eight-disc set of the Discovery Channel program with more than 25 hours showcasing some of the most incredible, history-making engineering projects and the people who make it happen.
Formats: DVD. $59.98 (Entertainment One).
Metal Tornado
(2011) Lou Diamond Phillips, Nicole Deboer, Greg Evigan, Stephen MacDonald, John Maclaren. When a ground-breaking industrial experiment goes awry, the energy overflow manifests into a deadly swirling magnetic field that quickly overwhelms the plant and begins consuming anything metallic -- growing in strength and shredding everything in its path. Formats: DVD. (ARC Entertainment).
Mutant Girls Squad
(2010 -- Japan) Three leaders in the Japanese splatter movement -- Noboru Iguchi ("The Machine Girl"), Yoshihiro Nishimura ("Tokyo Gore Police") and Tak Sakaguchi ("Yoroi: Samurai Zombie") -- join forces to bring three times the crazy action, three times the comedy and three times the head-exploding splatter of your average action/horror/comedy with this story -- touted as a warped version of X-Men -- that focuses on Rin, a beautiful 16-year-old who experiences one hell of a coming-of-age when her birthday present from nature comes in the form of a shocking revelation: while her mother is human, her dad is a Hiruko, a race of mutant creatures whose bodies transform themselves in strange ways and can sprout weapons at will. When the government launches a campaign to eradicate the Hirukos, she teams up with other similar kids to fight back. From the prolific Japanese cult film label Sushi Typhoon. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital Download, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: "Opening Day" featurette, interviews with the filmmakers, "The Making of Mutant Girls Squad" featurette,
"Yoshie Zero" short film prequel. (Well Go USA Entertainment).
My Babysitter's a Vampire: The First Season
(2011) Three-disc set with 13 episodes, $24.99. Formats: DVD. Extras: "My Babysitter's a Vampire" original movie. (Warner).
95 Miles to Go
(2004) Ray Romano's eight-day drive through the south on a stand-up comedy tour becomes more than he bargains for when longtime friend and opening act, Tom Caltabiano, brings a film student along to document their thousand-mile journey. Together, all three struggle with Ray's obsessions, phobias, and insecurities in this unscripted exploration of newfound fame. Formats: DVD. Extras: Commentaries, deleted, alternate and extended scenes, Kansas City stand up show. (Video Services Corp.).
Perfect Sense
(2011) Eva Green, Ewan McGregor, Connie Nielsen, Stephen Dillane, Ewen Bremner. A chef and a scientist fall in love as a worldwide epidemic begins to rob people of their sensory perceptions. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. (IFC Films).
Red Tails
(2012) Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Elijah Kelley, Tristan Wilds, Method Man, Ne-Yo, Michael B. Jordon, Leslie Odom, Jr., Marcus T. Paulk, Kevin Philips, Andre Royo, Daniela Ruah, Gerald McRaney, Bryan Cranston. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, VOD, Digital Download. Extras: Double Victory: The Tuskegee Airmen at War, interview with executive producer George Lucas, interview with director Anthony Hemingway, interview with composer Terence Blanchard, "The Cast of Red Tails," "Movie Magic." (Fox).
The River: The Complete First Season
(2012) Eight episodes, $29.99. Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted scenes. (ABC/Disney).
Rizzoli & Isles: The Complete Second Season
(2011) Four-disc set with 15 episodes, $39.98. Formats: DVD, UltraViolet (cloud). Extras: Unaired scenes, gag reel, "From the Ground Up - Building Episode 214" behind-the-scenes look at the intensive and rigorous process of generating the 14th episode. (Warner).
Route 66: The Complete Series
(1960-64) Twenty-four disc set with all 116 episodes,
Formats: DVD. Extras: Rare 1990 William S. Paley Television Festival panel Q&A-style feature focusing on "Route 66" with the following participants: Marion Dougherty (casting director), Arthur Hiller (director), Elliot Silverstein (director), George Maharis ("Buz Murdock"), Herbert B. Leonard (writer-producer); vintage commercials; bonus DVD: "Great Cars: Corvette." $129.99. (Shout! Factory).
Sherlock: Season Two
(2012) Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Holmes and Martin Freeman is back as Dr. John Watson in three new 90-minute stories -- inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales of the brilliant crime-solving icon -- in this spectacular blend of the 21st century and the original wit and spirit of the mysteries. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: "Sherlock Uncovered" behind-the-scenes featurette, commentary. (BBC Home Entertainment).
Teen Spirit
(2011) Cassie Scerb, Lindsey Shaw, Chris Zylk, Tim Gunn. Popular (but decidedly mean-spirited) Amber achieves the hard-fought pinnacle of her dreams when she's crowned Prom Queen, but her moment of glory is short lived when a freak accident ends her earth-bound existence. Landing in limbo, she has to earn her wings by transforming a notoriously shy and socially awkward fellow student into the next Prom Queen. Formats: DVD. (Image Entertainment).
Teen Wolf Season 1
(2011) Three-disc set with 12 episodes, $39.98. Formats: DVD. Extras: Deleted, alternate and extended scenes; extended season finales; gag reel; Season 1 Shirtless Montage; behind-the-scenes featurettes. (Fox).
This Means War
(2012) Dir.: McG; Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler , Angela Bassett, Abigail Spencer. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Digital Download. Extras: Three alternate endings, bachelorette party, uncensored gag reel, deleted scenes, alternative opening concept, commentary by director McG. (Fox).
Whisper of the Heart BLU-RAY DEBUT
(1995 -- Japan) Voices of Brittany Snow, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Cary Elwes, David Gallagher. A chance encounter with a mysterious cat sends Shizuku, a quiet schoolgirl, on a quest for her true talent. Challenged by Seiji, a boy determined to follow his dreams, and enchanted by The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers of her heart, Shizuku embarks on curious adventures beyond the boundaries of her imagination.
Formats: Blu-ray/DVD Combo, single DVD. Extras: "4 Masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue" featurette, original Japanese storyboards, behind the microphone, original Japanese trailers and TV commercials. (Studio Ghibli/Disney).
The Woman in Black
(2012) Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet McTeer, Liz White. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Commentary with director James Watkins and screenwriter Jane Goldman, "Inside the Perfect Thriller: Making Woman in Black" featurette, "No Fear: Daniel Radcliffe as Arthur Kipps" featurette. (Sony).
Worried About the Boy
(2011) Douglas Booth, Marc Warren. Biopic captures the true life story of George O'Dowd, the iconoclast who would eventually become known as Boy George.Formats: DVD. Extras: Behind-the-scenes footage, interviews. (Entertainment One).
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May 14, 2012
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