THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Paramount)

We completely understand if you didn’t rush out to catch this movie at the multiplex late last year. The previous three outings in the series weren’t exactly must-see classics. But this fourth turn achieves the near-impossible: It not only tops every other Mission: Impossible, it’s also one of the best action movies of the past couple years. Jeremy Renner joins Tom Cruise’s crew as a suit with an ass-kicking past, but it’s Pixar vet Brad Bird’s high-octane direction – including a death-defying stunt on top of the world’s tallest building – that powers this electrifying joyride. Not even the behind-the-scenes extras can kill the nonstop thrills.

The Nurses Collection (Shout! Factory)

The four movies made between 1971 and 1974 on this “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” offering aren’t very good, but that’s not why you’re watching. Start with Night Call Nurses, which at least has some semblance of plot to go with the T&A.

Shame (Twentieth Century Fox)

Michael Fassbender dicks around with a sex addiction in this gloomy but mesmerizing movie. His sister, played by Carrie Mulligan, drops by to bring up some bad things from their childhoods. It’s not an easy one to sit through.

Treme: The Complete Second Season (HBO)

HBO’s series about post-Katrina New Orleans still seems to be more about mood, music, and message than compelling storytelling. This four-disc set includes 11 episodes, which find their groove about midway through the season.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

A Streetcar Named Desire: The Original Restored Version (Warner)

Back in 1951, the Legion of Decency had a few problems with A Streetcar Named Desire, especially the simmering sexuality between Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, who plays a sex-starved drunk who comes on to her sister’s husband. So three minutes were cut from director Elia Kazan’s terrific adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ masterwork. The movie’s Blu-ray debut reinstates those scenes and adds a bunch of extras, including an absorbing documentary on the controversy. Pour yourself a cool one and slip into something more comfortable – the film has lost none of its power after 60 years.

The Darkest Hour (Summit)

If the end of the world looks anything like the city-razing destruction caused by aliens in Battle Los Angeles, Skyline, and this forgettable movie, we say bring it on. Especially if it means no more crap like this.

Into the Abyss (MPI)

Werner Herzog’s profile of a death-row inmate gets around to all the right questions and issues. What it doesn’t really have is answers, which makes this documentary as frustrating as it is fascinating.

The Iron Lady (Weinstein/Anchor Bay)

Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in this dull biopic about the reviled British prime minister. Streep is good, but the movie dwells on the most mundane parts of Thatcher’s life. 

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

War Horse (Walt Disney)

Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated World War I epic is modern-day filmmaking at its most old-fashioned. There’s little digital gimmickry in this family-friendly story about a boy and his horse, whose adventures span the family farm to eventually the battlefield. There’s a pivotal scene where the horse, trapped bloodily in barbwire, brings together British and German soldiers for one rare moment of brotherhood. In most other directors’ hands, it would come off as false and cloying. But Spielberg turns the scene into a heartwarming and breathtaking set piece that typifies the deliberately paced storytelling of this quietly quaint and positively charming movie.

Chinatown (Paramount)

Roman Polanski’s classic 1974 noir starring Jack Nicholson as a private investigator who pokes his nose where it doesn’t belong finally makes its Blu-ray debut. Best extra is a three-part documentary that pulls together the waterlogged story behind the movie.

Titanic (Twentieth Century Fox)

Nope, not James Cameron’s blockbuster, which returns to the multiplex this week with a 3D overcoat. This is a hokey 1953 movie starring Barbara Stanwyck, making its Blu-ray debut. Watch A Night to Remember instead.

We Bought a Zoo (Twentieth Century Fox)

Matt Damon’s wife dies, so he packs up his kids and, yep, buys a zoo. Scarlett Johansson works there, so it doesn’t totally blow, unlike this movie, Cameron Crowe’s attempt at a family film that’s way too sweet and sentimental.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Casablanca: 70^th Anniversary Edition (Warner)

This massive box set celebrating one of the greatest movies ever made throws in just about everything you’d need for a party, including posters and drink coasters. There’s also tons of extras relating to the 1942 movie, including commentary by Roger Ebert, five feature-length documentaries, deleted scenes, vintage newsreels, even a Bugs Bunny cartoon. But it’s the movie at the center of it all that deserves the fanfare. The Blu-ray is crisp and clean, and the story itself holds up as one of Hollywood’s greatest achievements: a tense World War II-era drama wrapped in a timeless love story. A true classic worth watching again and again.

A Dangerous Method (Sony)

Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) get all psychoanalytical on Keira Knightley’s ass in David Cronenberg’s weighty but uneven biopic about the two sex-is-the-root-of-everything giants.

Hop (Universal)

Just in time for Easter: a mess of a movie that mixes live action, CGI animation, and Russell Brand, who plays the Easter Bunny’s rebellious teenage son, who jumps in to save the day when dad drops the egg. Annoying on so many levels.

A Night to Remember (Criterion)

James Cameron’s Titanic movie may be better known, but this 1958 British production is the one to watch. It skips the romance and gets right to the tragedy. The best extras on this Blu-ray debut include interviews with real-life survivors.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Sony)

Forget what you know about the Millennium Trilogy. David Fincher’s thrilling adaptation of the first part of Stieg Larsson’s massively popular books uproots the original foundation and turns up one of 2011’s best movies. The director doesn’t mess much with the story of bisexual computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), who gets involved with a writer (Daniel Craig is a steely Mikael Blomkvist) looking into the long-ago disappearance of an old man’s niece. But Larsson’s cold, calculated tale surges with energy here, as Lisbeth and Mikael fall deeper into long-buried and deadly family secrets. It’s long, but so worth it in the end.

Happy Feet Two (Warner)

Robin Williams and Elijah Wood return as the voices of dancing penguins in this chilly sequel to the 2006 hit. It looks nice and it’s kinda cute at times, but soggy jokes and way too much yakking will have even little ones reaching for the remote.

The Muppets (Walt Disney)

Jason Segel comes to the rescue of Kermit, Fozzie, and the rest of the legendary crew, who are trying to save their old theater from ruin. Funny, nostalgic, and in awe of the original concept – just as it should be. Extras include bloopers that don’t suck.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Focus)

Gary Oldman is terrific as Cold War-era British intelligence agent George Smiley, who’s trying to figure out which one of his colleagues is passing on secret info to the Russians. This smart movie unfolds at a pace that’s quiet, deliberate, and tense.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Melancholia (Magnolia)

Writer-director Lars von Trier’s movies can be as frustrating as they are rewarding. His best film in nearly a decade makes you work, but the story grabs you from the start: Kirsten Dunst plays a bride whose big day is ruined when a planet shows up in the sky soaring toward Earth (don’t you hate when that happens?). In a way, it’s a metaphor for Dunst’s growing uneasiness and crushing depression. Then again, a huge fucking rock really is about to wipe us all out because our stupid planet is in its path. Von Trier nails end-of-the-world anxiety in this sad, deep, difficult movie. Dunst and the top-notch cast (including a sullen Charlotte Gainsbourg) do the rest.

The Descendants (Twentieth Century Fox)

George Clooney finds out his wife has been cheating on him not long after she slips into a coma in Alexander Payne’s dark comedy, one of last year’s best movies. Like all of Payne’s films, it has its own crazy rhythm. 

The Last Temptation of Christ (Criterion)

Martin Scorsese’s controversial 1988 movie about Jesus’ final days – which includes hookers and David Bowie – gets the gold-standard Criterion treatment, complete with production features and mile-a-minute commentary by the director.

Young Adult (Paramount)

Charlize Theron is so good as a self-involved writer who returns to her small hometown to rekindle a relationship with her ex, who’s now a married dad. Even Juno writer Diablo Cody reels herself in with a smart and funny script.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season (HBO)

How excellent is the debut season of Game of Thrones? Let’s see: There’s lots of blood, big-ass broadswords, dragon eggs, and characters with names like Daenerys Targaryen. Plus, a main character is killed off midway through the 10-episode arc. The best fantasy show on TV looks even better on the five-disc Blu-ray set, which includes so much bonus info about the program – backstories, character profiles, in-episode guides, commentary by everyone who worked on the show except for the kid who went on the morning coffee runs – that it makes The Lord of the Rings look like a mid-afternoon hash dream.

The Deer Hunter (Universal)

Michael Cimino’s 1978 epic is one of the most intense movies ever made (we still get uneasy during the Russian roulette scenes). It’s also one of the best. This new Blu-ray includes some deleted and extended scenes.

Immortals (Universal)

Zeus chooses a mere mortal to lead his fight against a ruthless enemy bent on world domination. But, as any gay man can tell you, the plot is secondary to all those sweaty, half-naked buff guys beating each other senseless.

Like Crazy (Paramount)

Sweet but soggy love story about two college students – one’s British, the other is American – whose happily-ever-after is put on hold after her visa runs out and she can’t leave England. And you thought your long-distance relationship sucked.

THIS WEEK’S NEW HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Hugo (Paramount)

Two of the best films that came out last year celebrated the movies themselves, specifically their early pioneering days. The Artist is a spot-on homage – black-and-white, silent, and filled with life. Martin Scorsese’s terrific family fantasy is a different kind of tribute, a wide-eyed view of the world seen from the eyes of a boy who lives inside of a Paris train station. His adventures lead directly to one of the fathers of modern cinema, Georges Méliès, who opened up a universe of possibilities for directors like Scorsese more than a hundred years ago. Watch Hugo on Blu-ray and lose yourself in its gorgeous-looking history lesson that never fails to entertain, thrill, and delight.

Answers to Nothing (Lionsgate)

Unfunny comedian Dane Cook and the woman who played Juliet on Lost star in this low-budget bomb that tries to pull together multiple storylines, just like in Crash. But all of their boring tales add up to a whole lotta, yep, nothing.

I Melt With You (Magnolia)

Four fortysomething college pals (played by insufferable douchebags like Jeremy Piven and Rob Lowe) get together to talk about old times – and do lots of drugs and drink lots of booze. The big twist is kinda stupid.

Johnny English Reborn (Universal)

Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, as most of you know him) plays an incompetent spy in this sequel to a movie not too many people saw. Might be your thing if you think James Bond needs more groin shots.

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

J. Edgar (Warner)

Clint Eastwood’s biopic about the long-running head of the FBI didn’t quite click with audiences, partly because the movie refused to take sides on J. Edgar Hoover’s controversial life. But it’s worth checking out for Leonardo DiCaprio’s sympathetic performance and Eastwood’s studied, careful depiction and dissection of a man who was once one of the most hated people in America (turns out he had mother issues and liked to rewrite his own history). Yes, Hoover puts on women’s clothes in a scene, but more importantly he barrels through the 20^th century with a patriotic verve that borders on fanaticism. Eastwood gets it mostly right, and so does DiCaprio.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Twentieth Century Fox)

The Olsen twins’ little sister Elizabeth is terrific as a young woman struggling to lead a normal life after spending years in a cult. Don’t expect a tidy conclusion or easy answers. This is psychological warfare on one girl’s fractured homefront.

 

Underdog: Complete Collector’s Edition (Shout! Factory)

This nine-disc box includes all 124 episodes of the 1960s TV show about a Superman-like dog who fights crimes in an ill-fitting cape. Extras include some bonus cartoons plus commentary by a bunch of people who worked on the show.

 

Unforgiven: 20^th Anniversary Edition (Warner)

Clint Eastwood had a long line of shitty movies behind him when he struck gold with this 1992 western about an aging gunfighter. It’s still his best movie as a director. This anniversary set includes a 1959 episode of Maverick starring Eastwood.

 

 

THIS WEEK’S HOME VIDEO RELEASES

Take Shelter (Sony)

Michael Shannon – who should have been nominated for an Oscar – is terrific as a Northeast Ohio husband and father who has visions of an apocalyptic storm approaching. He may or may not be nuts, since mental illness runs in his family. One thing is for certain: He’ll do anything to protect his family, including draining their funds to build a shelter in the backyard and alienating friends and coworkers. All you can do is sit back, helpless and hopeless, as Shannon falls apart in front of you. He and the movie are mesmerizing. Extras include deleted scenes and commentary by Shannon, who still sounds like there’s a tempest kicking up inside his head.

All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal)

One of the best early talkies – a 1930 anti-war Oscar winner for Best Picture – makes its Blu-ray debut with a special book package that includes insightful historical info plus a recently restored silent version of the movie that’s just as powerful.

 

The Rum Diary (Sony)

Johnny Depp’s second Hunter S. Thompson movie is not as good as the first. In fact, it’s kind of a mess and not very gonzo, which isn’t a big surprise since it’s adapted from an early Thompson novel about a writer slumming in Puerto Rico, before the booze and drugs took over.

 

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (Summit)

The beginning of the end of the brooding vampire series is the worst of the bunch – no small feat, since all four movies have been marked by stiff acting, cheesy special effects, and enough gloomy teen shit to bring down anyone’s sunny day.