The Lottery (NR, 2010, Great Curve Films)
We’re all deathly tired of hearing the many reasons and excuses for why education in America is a fruitless battle. But here’s the kicker with “The Lottery:” The key to winning that fight — charter schools, which live and die by performance alone and aren’t beholden to government-enforced curricula and such albatrosses as zoning laws, unions and underperforming teachers protected by tenure — sits front, center and vindicated by results. The schools are in such heavy demand, in fact, that they’re forced by law to hold public lotteries to decide which kids get in and which will have to settle for their nearest public school instead. The need for such a demoralizing exercise underscores the gist of the film, which argues that, contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t necessarily uncaring parents who deserve blame for the awful standards of education in poor neighborhoods. Rather, it’s the politicians (in both parties, lest you make any partisan assumptions), unions and anyone with an interest beyond that of educating the kids that gum up the works and turn a proven winning strategy into something parents and dedicated educators have to scratch and claw to make a possibility. “The Lottery,” which tracks the issue while following four families who have jockeyed for a spot in Harlem Success Academy, would be less aggravating if it was just another movie about a fight with no solution. By showing the solution straight away, backing up the claims and following it all up with galling displays of selfish bureaucrats ruining a good thing for unjustifiable reasons, it becomes absolutely infuriating. For frustrated parents and educators alike, this is as can’t-miss a film as there is.
Extras: Deleted scenes, Tribeca Film Festival panel with Director Madeleine Sackler, press clippings.

OSS 117: Lost in Rio (NR, 2009, Music Box Films)
Would you enjoy an international thriller about a French Intelligence special agent (Jean Dujardin as OSS 117) who treks to Rio de Janeiro to capture a Nazi blackmailer before he publicizes a list of French officials who collaborated with the Nazis during Word War II? You should probably write and direct it yourself then, because while “OSS 117: Lost in Rio’s” storyline is more than adequate with regard to details, twists and beautiful locales, it has no interest in thrilling anybody. Instead, “Rio,” which follows on the heels of 2006′s “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies,” is the latest attempt to spoof the tropes that came to define movies about spies in the 1960s and 1970s. What makes it especially good at this, though, is the way it makes fun of the era more than the films that come from it. Agent 117 is skilled and suave in spite of himself, but he’s also a shamelessly proud buffoon whose observations about everything from women to hippies to every ethnicity under the sun are hilariously ignorant even in his own time. “Rio” is shot like an old “Bond” film, but the script doesn’t wink at fans of the genre so much as revel in wordplay and political incorrectness in a way that’s extremely intelligently funny and unabashedly silly at the very same time. Movies rarely hit that note at all, much less consistently, but “Rio” holds it almost the whole way through, and while the story is surprisingly solid considering it intentions, you need not even enjoy spy movies to get a kick out of this. In French with English subtitles.
Extras: Deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes feature, bloopers.

Thriller: The Complete Series Deluxe Box Set (NR, 1960, Image Entertainment)
Old horror movies and shows don’t scare today like they once did, so it’s reasonable to assume the 67 episodes that comprise 1960′s “Thriller” no longer have the stuff of which nightmares are made. Fortunately, they also don’t really need it. “Thriller’s” themes certainly revolve around creeping its audience out, and Boris Karloff didn’t emcee the series just because he was bored. But the show, which tells one self-contained story per episode, carries out this theme with tales of loons and nut jobs more than monsters and haunted houses. The show takes its sweet time drilling into the minds of its normal and abnormal characters to paint a surprisingly thorough picture in 40 minutes’ time, and between the shows’ priorities and its affinity for endings that don’t always feel neat even when they end conclusively, “Thriller” feels more like “The Outer Limits” than “Tales From the Crypt.” People have changed since 1960, but they haven’t changed as much as horror has, and “Thriller,” in spite of regularly showing its age in the acting and production values department, is still entertaining now because of the choices it made then. William Shatner, Cloris Leachman, Rip Torn and Mary Tyler Moore, among others, appear in various episodes.
Contents: 67 episodes (commentary from cast and crew as well as television and horror experts on 27 of them), plus original promotional materials, photo galleries and isolated musical scores from selected episodes.

A Quiet Little Marriage (NR, 2008, IFC Films)
We weren’t there to bear witness, but according to Dax (Cy Carter), he and wife Olive (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) shared an understanding since their very first date that they never would have children together. Be it because of time, marriage or extraneous factors, though, Olive’s mindset has changed. And while numerous ironic and literal reasons abound for the meaning behind “A Quiet Little Marriage’s” name, the sneaky scheming both spouses do to facilitate or prevent a pregnancy is as worthy a culprit as any of them. “Marriage’s” premise — to say nothing of its cast (Jimmi Simpson, Charlie Day) — has every necessary ingredient on hand for a dry, dark comedy, but it opts instead to go the complete other way and give every bleak drama you’ve ever seen a run for their money. Occasionally, particularly in the latter half, it goes overboard with the tear-jerking and crumpling of characters into heaps, and some of those extraneous factors feel like nothing more than piling on. But for as gloomy as “Marriage” sometimes gets, it never completely loses its bead on the balance it strikes before things get messy. The script’s frankness and thoughtfulness outweighs its occasional tendency to go overboard, and as result, the darkness it touches resonates rather than grates. Michael O’Neill also stars.
Extras: Director/Carter/Ellis commentary, behind-the-scenes feature.

9th Company (R, 2005, Well Go USA)
Set in late 1987 and culminating with a dramatization of the Battle for Hill 3234 in Afghanistan, “9th Company” is perhaps most interesting for what it represents — a film about a Soviet war from Russia itself — than what it actually is. “Company’s” opening scenes take a cue or two from “Full Metal Jacket” by introducing us to the titular company as fresh-off-the-bus recruits and letting us witness their graduation from wimps and punks into bona fide soldiers. The film’s last act, on the other hand, feels inspired by any number of Hollywood epics, presenting the Battle for Hill 3234 through a hodgepodge of hero shots, slow-motion and dubious allegiance to historical accuracy. In between, “Company” bounces around awkwardly — a beautifully-shot film with lots of bared teeth but not much concrete direction with which to put all the showmanship to full use. That’s a problem in any movie, and it’s especially apparent when, like this one, that movie runs nearly 140 minutes long. “Company” is fascinating for the aforementioned curiosity it fulfills, and it’s a fun watch in spite of its appetite for domestic subjectivity and narrative meandering, but frustration gives fun a much tougher fight than it should have. In Russian with English subtitles.
Extras: “20 Years Later” feature, behind-the-scenes feature, premiere footage.

Sons of Anarchy: Season Two (NR, 2009, Fox)
“Sons of Anarchy’s” first season ended with a tragically botched attempt to kill off a seemingly disloyal member of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, and the fallout from that act sent the growing rift between club President Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman) and Vice President Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) on the fast track to nuclear eruption. It stands to reason, then, that some will be disappointed with “Anarchy’s” second season, which finds the temperature right where the first season left it but tables the explosive showdown in favor of more slow boiling. But sending Clay and Jax into a full-blown duel this early would be like giving away the Harry Potter-Voldemort showdown in the second book instead of the seventh. We all know it’s coming, and “Anarchy,” which terrifically undermined the glamour of motorcycle gangs in its first season, impresses similarly with its deconstruction of the struggle between hot tempers, obligatory machismo, workplace mundanity, selfishness, teamwork, and the attempt to have a little fun for a change. And if you want some fireworks? Fret not: The Aryans, who played a bit role in season one, are front and center this time, and what happens at the end of the first episode instantly cements them as more loathsome than anything that first season dished out. Adam Arkin and Henry Rollins join the cast.
Contents: 13 episodes, plus commentary, two behind-the-scenes features and bloopers.

Made For Each Other (NR, 2009, IFC Films)
It’s fun to watch people we recognize from television make good in movies, and between Christopher Masterson (“Malcolm in the Middle”), Danny Masterson (“That ’70s Show”), Patrick Warburton (“Seinfeld”) and Samm Levine (“Freaks and Geeks”), “Made for Each Other” is loaded with fun possibilities. The film’s plotline also has comic potential: Dan’s (Christopher Masterson) two-month-old marriage to Marci (Bijou Phillips) has yet to even be consummated, and after an ill-conceived affair with his boss (Lauren German), he hatches a plan to trick his wife into having an affair of her own and assuaging his guilt. Problem is, “MFEO” doesn’t know — at all — how to take an amusing concept and stretch it into a 97-minute movie. Instead, it flails madly, filling time with attempted shock humor (old people talking crudely about sex!), subplots that give the joke away immediately and spend multiple scenes going nowhere, and completely random (and, unless a “Waterworld” musical sounds fresh to you, painfully dated) gags that might work in an episode of “Family Guy” but feel like a sorry purging of half-baked notebook scribbles here. “MFEO” tries for sincerity after things inevitably blow up in everyone’s face, but by then, the whole thing is so unlikable that the only people who get any real sympathy are the actors whose careers have been reduced to carrying this script out.
Extras: Deleted/extended scenes, two behind-the-scenes features.

The Square (R, 2008, Sony Pictures)
Is there anything more morbidly enjoyable in the movies than when a simple plan built on a single lie spirals fully out of control? If your answer to that question is “no,” you’d do wise to skip the rest of this review and just dive blindly in. “The Square’s” baseline premise isn’t exactly complicated: Raymond (David Roberts) and Carla (Claire van der Boom) are in love with each other, unhappily married to their current spouses, and, because they also happen to be neighbors, struggle mightily to see each other when no one’s around and avoid each other when everyone’s together. To hatch a plan to run away together, all Raymond needs is a little financial assurance that they won’t starve after making their escape. And this is where things completely spin out of control. “The Square” is absolutely a worst-case scenario, and some of the twists that happen just feel like a case of piling on. But even those instances are so, so good at unleashing the full effect of what happens when rash attempts to cover one mistake result in something even worse that leads to even more ill-fated attempted problem-solving. The dread and envy those telling lies have of those liberated by honesty is palpable, and the discomfort is such that you may never wish to tell another fib, no matter how small, ever again. Anthony Hayes, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence and Joel Edgerton also star.
Extras: Short film “Spider,” deleted scenes, three behind-the-scenes features, music video.

City Island (PG-13, 2009, Anchor Bay)
Everybody in the Rizzo family is hiding something. Vince (Andy Garcia), a correctional officer, is attending acting classes behind wife Joyce’s (Julianna Margulies) back, and when he brings one of his prisoners (Steven Strait as Tony) home for a 30-day stay, he neglects to mention the part about him being his son from a prior entanglement. (Even Tony doesn’t know.) That sparks a few new secrets on Joyce’s side, and meanwhile, son Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) is hiding a secret fetish while daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido) is secretly stripping to pay for school. Movies about the undoing of familial secrets are nothing new, but “City Island” has a little secret of its own: Instead of devolving into yet another dour mess of confessions and tears, it opts instead to parlay that unraveling into some seriously sharp comedy. “Island” is as much a drama as it is a comedy, and there are numerous scenes that have nothing to do with making audiences laugh. But the comedic edge that permeates throughout — and the ingenious placement of Tony at ground zero of every secret — is as responsible for making those heartfelt moments matter as the moments themselves. We root for the Rizzos because we like them, and we like them because they’re as amusing and idiotic as they are sweet. “Island’s” ability to balance both dispositions is enviably skillful. Emily Mortimer also stars.
Extras: Writer/director/Garcia commentary, deleted scenes, “Dinner with the Rizzos” feature.

Addicted to Her Love (R, 2006, E1 Entertainment)
Given how absolutely laughable most teen dramas fare in their attempts to illustrate the self-induced mental agony that is the need to fit in, it’s a real shame when a movie that completely nails it has to live in total obscurity while waiting four years for a DVD release. “Addicted to Her Love” finds a friendless, socially awkward high school nobody (John Patrick Amedori as Jonah) infiltrating the upper echelon of popularity — a clique that happens to include the girl (Lizzy Caplan as Sara) he’s lusted after for years — once it becomes known he works at a pharmacy and can provide them free drugs. Skeletally speaking, what happens next is by no means a surprise, and anyone with half a brain knows this can’t possibly end well. But between the lines, “Love” is a vicious look at someone playing completely out of his mind in hopes of achieving a status he couldn’t possibly handle if he ever even makes it there. Because it’s a movie, it inevitably provides an extreme instance of social angst and its possible consequences. But “Love’s” acute conveyance of that angst is absolutely dead on, and it’s better to see it go a bit overboard than go where a million other teen dramas have already been. D.J. Cotrona and Daryl Hannah also star.
Extras: Director/Amedori commentary, behind-the-scenes feature, photo gallery.

$5 a Day (PG-13, 2008, Image Entertainment)
Strained family relations are always a tricky thing to overcome, and things only get messier when Dad (Christopher Walken as Nat) is a lifelong small-time con and his somewhat estranged son (Alessandro Nivola as Richie) picked up a few of the same tricks en route to losing his wife (Amanda Peet) and job. But Nat isn’t kidding when he discloses his terminal illness to Richie, and the cross-country trip to undergo an experimental treatment that comprises the backbone of “$5 a Day” represents the best possible opportunity for the two to reconcile their differences before they lose the chance. As the circumstances imply, “Day” isn’t your typical raucously funny road trip movie, and some of its heavier moments arrive right on schedule. But “Day” doesn’t let the cloudy skies undermine the fact that it has two con men trying to share some honest feelings with one another, nor does it have any difficulty countering every sobering moment with a funny or at least clever instance of Richie and Nat pulling fast ones together or on each other. “Day’s” energy meanders regularly, and as happens in road trip stories, some scenes and characters (Sharon Stone) feel plucked at random. But there’s a very engaging common thread running throughout, and even during the fleeting moments where “Day” flounders, Nat is too endearing a character to let it flail for very long.
Extras: Director/cast interviews, photo gallery.

Survival of the Dead (R, 2009, Magnet/Magnolia)
There’s a reason George A. Romero has made an industry out of what essentially is a single trick, and while “Survival of the Dead” isn’t among his best works, that reason remains on display here. In this particular episode, two families on a remote stretch of coastal Delaware represent a larger conflict with regard to how to treat the walking dead. One faction, led by Patrick O’Flynn (Kenneth Welsh), thinks the undead should simply die for good on sight. The other believes the only way to save humanity from a complete zombie apocalypse is to eventually cure the undead and, in the meantime, “train” them to feed on species other than humans. “Dead” is a zombie movie like so many other zombie movies, especially when things inevitably go south halfway through. But Romero’s predictable zombie tricks are acceptable because this, like his other movies, isn’t really about the zombies. “Dead’s” best feature, per series custom, is its characters, who are cleverly conceived, full of wild ideas, and can channel their fear and general saltiness in ways that make them interesting at worst and likable against all odds at best. Romero has a knack for showing the hopeful, congenial side of apocalyptic hopelessness, and when it’s that easy to understand why everyone’s fighting the impossible fights, it’s just as easy, in spite of all that’s predictable here, to be entertained the whole way. Alan Van Sprang, Kathleen Munroe and Devon Bostick also star.
Extras: Romero/crew commentary, Romero introduction, “Walking After Midnight” documentary, “Sarge” short film, 13 behind-the-scenes shorts, three additional behind-the-scenes features, storyboards, how-to on creating your own zombie bite.

The Age of Stupid (NR, 2009, Docurama)
Documentaries waxing alarmist about climate change have flooded the market since “An Inconvenient Truth” cracked the dam in 2006, and the predictable side effect is that the alarms have blared so often that nobody really hears them anymore. The result of that effect is “The Age of Stupid,” which on multiple levels is a climate change documentary desperately in search of some kind of edge. The title and packaging are unmistakable attention grabs, as is the accompanying presumption that “Stupid” eschews the normal pattern of these films in favor of some overdue bluntness or perhaps just something with enough flair to engage those who don’t already care. But “Stupid’s” real gimmick — it takes place in 2055, at the fictitious Global Archive building, with an archivist (played by Pete Postlethwaite) looking back on the building blocks of humanity’s downfall via present-day news footage and your typical documentary vignettes — offers little more than awkward interference. And as the archivist hops from clip to clip, “Stupid” suffers the same affliction so many other like-minded films do: It covers too many topics and is too scattered to offer anything better than pedestrian insight into any of them. The individual stories contained within are interesting in their own respect, but as a tool for inspiring behavioral changes or even just changing perceptions, “Stupid” doesn’t reach for any nerves so many also-rans haven’t already tried and failed to touch.
Extras: Crew commentary, behind-the-scenes documentary, eight short climate films, deleted scenes, extended interviews, Postlethwaite ambushing the UK’s Minister of Climate Change, 10:10 Campaign feature.

Worth a Mention
— History Channel’s “Instant Expert” series (NR, 2010): In case you don’t have the time or willingness to watch a multi-episodic series (or you know, read a book) about various subjects in history, the History Channel is trying to accommodate with a new series of DVDs that are the DVD equivalent of CliffsNotes. The “Instant Expert” DVDs run anywhere from 50 to 140 minutes long, and as the title of the series implies, the goal is to cover as much ground in as little time as needed to bring viewers up to speed on the topic. For good measure, each DVD also includes and interactive quiz and a study guide with activities and talking points. Subjects covered in first wave include Egypt, The Mayflower, Benjamin Franklin, The French Revolution, “Beowulf” and the oil industry.
— “Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection” (NR, 2007, HBO): The saddest thing about this release is that it effectively shuts the door on whatever hope fans had for a third (and fourth, and fifth, and twelfth) season of perhaps the funniest show HBO ever aired. This set includes all the contents (22 episodes, Dave’s pawn shop commercials, New Zealand Consulate Meetings with Murray and Greg, deleted scenes, outtakes and a behind-the-scenes feature) of the two individual season sets, and throws in a bonus disc that contains the Conchords’ “One Night Stand” HBO concert special.
— “The Simpsons: The Complete 13th Season” (NR, 2001, Fox): Isn’t it crazy that there are 13 seasons’ worth of “Simpsons” episodes to put on DVD? Isn’t it even crazier that this 13th collection’s episodes originally aired nearly nine years ago, and there are actually 21 seasons worth of episodes, with more to come? Episodes in season 13 include Moe’s temporary transformation into a hipster bar, Bart’s brief stay in a plastic bubble, the return of Artie Ziff and yet another traumatic memory from Homer’s childhood. Includes 22 episodes (commentary on all), plus a Matt Groening introduction, deleted scenes, seven behind-the-scenes features, alternate animation angles, sketch galleries and Ralph Wiggum-branded packaging.

The Good, the Bad, the Weird (R, 2008, IFC Films)
If you bemoan the slowed-to-a-trickle production of great American westerns in the 21st century, maybe you’re just looking in the wrong continent. Asia established a fresh foothold in the genre with “Sukiyaki Western Django,” and with “The Good, the Bad, the Weird,” it’s in the formative stages of what hopefully will be its own golden age. “TGTBTW’s” story is perfectly classic: There’s buried treasure to be had, there’s only one map marking the spot, and the race is on the grab the map first and head to the X. But one look at the roster of competing parties — a bounty hunter (Jung Woo-sung), an assassin (Lee Byung-hun), a petty thief (Song Kang-ho), a gang Chinese bandits and the Japanese army — is all one needs to glean just how crazy “TGTBTW” intends to get, and from the train robbery in the opener to a final showdown that somehow manages to be dryly funny and poignant for many of the same reasons, the movie does that assumption proud. “TGTBTW” runs long at 130 minutes, and it isn’t above mixing a little self-indulgence into those minutes. But the movie’s idea of indulgence likely isn’t far removed from that of its intended viewership, and the mishmash of action, comedy, Old West/Steampunk technology and fearless character designing and mingling rarely, if ever, finds “TGTBTW” lacking for moment-to-moment entertainment. Provided you don’t mind subtitles, it doesn’t get much more fun than this. In Korean, Japanese and Mandarian with English subtitles.
Extras: Cast interviews, three behind-the-scenes features, Cannes Film Festival footage.

Temple Grandin (NR, 2010, HBO)
Considering how frequently television and movies try to cash in on autistic characters without providing any insight whatsoever into their condition, the job “Temple Grandin” does of doing exactly that — and, in part, before the opening credits even roll — practically classifies as a public shaming. “Grandin” tells the true story of the titular character (played here by Claire Danes), who parlayed her living with autism into a dual-service career that changed the face of farming, of all things, as well as the lives of those who share her condition. You’ll have to see her story to see how one struggle resulted in two disparate achievements, but as implied earlier, “Grandin” deftly explains everything. More than simply tell Grandin’s story, though, the movie — through some terrifically simple visual effects ingenuity — provides a surprising measure of insight into exactly what this condition is and how those who have it see things in ways the rest of us do not. “Grandin” obviously can convey only so much, but it deserves commendation at least trying to do so, and it deserves some gratitude for succeeding to the degree it does. Catherine O’Hara, Julia Ormond and David Strathairn also star.
Extras: Writer/director commentary featuring the real Temple Grandin, behind-the-scenes feature.

Dark and Stormy Night (NR, 2009, Shout Factory)
Though the movie was shot in 2008, “Dark and Stormy Night’s” premise — a collection of shady and stuffy individuals convene at a mansion for the reading of Sinas Cavinder’s will — is straight out of a hack job murder/mystery film from the 1940s. But that, along with the monochromatic cinematography and characters straight out of a low-rent murder/mystery dinner theater troupe, is the point. Fortunately, it’s not the whole point. Writer/director Larry Blamire has carved a niche for himself by making feature-length movies that both make fun of and pay homage to a bygone era of film that’s bygone for a reason, and “Night” demonstrates just how good he is at continually going back to that well without letting the gag get stale. More than simply that, though, the movie is just plain hilarious, complementing its primary gag with a steady mix of sharply funny jokes and completely silly plays on words that are delivered just dryly enough to fall on the right side of the funny/cringeworthy fence. And wouldn’t you know it? All these amusing characters have a way of endearing themselves, and as result, their ties to mysteries behind the Cavinder will actually kind of matter. The story’s never really the point of “Night,” but making it interesting certainly is a nice bonus.
Extras: Cast/crew commentary, behind-the-scenes feature, bloopers.
— Also out this week from Blamire: “The Lost Skeleton Returns Again” (NR, 2009, Shout Factory): Like everything you read above but prefer it be filtered through a monster movie (which also happens to be a sequel to 2001′s “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra”) instead? Wish granted.

Cougar Town: The Complete First Season (NR, 2009, ABC Studios)
The crazed energy that made “Scrubs” tick isn’t a lock to work in any scenario and especially with any actor. Such low-rent wisdom could not be any more apparent during “Cougar Town’s” pilot episode, which finds Courtney Cox playing way out of her element as Jules, a freshly-divorced and fresh-on-the-prowl mother of one (Dan Byrd) who desperately needs to reclaim some of her youth regardless of how much dignity it might cost. “Town” partially comes from the same brain trust behind “Scrubs,” but that isn’t automatically apparent during a first episode that finds most of the cast tripping over itself to simultaneously introduce their characters and establish the same comedic vibe. Fortunately, that first episode makes a slight recovery during the tail end, and subsequent episodes gradually fare better. Eventually, the comfort level is such that “Town” can settle into the business of being its own show instead of the messy “Scrubs” wannabe it originally portended to be. It never hits the heights that its spiritual predecessor reached during its own debut season, but with season two’s debut around the corner, the potential at least is there. Busy Philipps, Christa Miller, Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez and Brian Van Holt also star.
Contents: 24 episodes, plus deleted scenes, one behind-the-scenes feature, bloopers, features with Barb and Bobby Cobb (makes more sense once you’ve seen the show), “Jimmy Kimmel Live’s” “Saber-Tooth Tiger Town” parody.

Burning Bright (PG-13, 2010, Lions Gate)
Have you heard the one about the girl (Briana Evigan as Kelly) who, following her mother’s death, is tasked with taking care of her autistic brother (Charlie Tahan as Tom) because her stepfather (Garret Dillahunt) not only is unfit to do so, but is so selfish that he spent her entire college fund on a Bengal tiger for his fledgling safari park? If you have, then you already know that while stepdad is out at a bar, the tiger breaks out of his trailer and slips into Kelly’s house, which is otherwise boarded shut because a pending hurricane. The premise is a bit nuts, and you could institutionalize yourself wondering why Kelly and Tom don’t just escape through the door that isn’t boarded up. But where’s the fun in that, especially when everything else about “Burning Bright” works rather well? Compared to the premise, “Bright’s” second and third acts are refreshingly spartan for a horror film: There isn’t a dull string of secondary characters to kill, nor is there any need to explain the tiger’s motivation, because it’s a tiger. “Bright” pauses here and there to give Kelly and Tom some effective dimension, but for the most part, it’s a straightforward and (hang-ups about logic aside) legitimately tense chase. Given how constrictive the parameters are, “Bright” does more with less to impressive effect.
Extras: Evigan introduction, behind-the-scenes feature.

Dexter: The Fourth Season (NR, 2009, Showtime)
With all due respect to The Trinity Killer (John Lithgow), who succeeds The Skinner as Dexter’s (Michael C. Hall) prime arch nemesis, the real splash in “Dexter’s” fourth season comes from the one-two-three punch that is his fledging marriage to Rita (Julie Benz), the birth of his first son, and a move to the suburbs. Secretly hunting and turning the tables on serial killers is that much more difficult when you have a family constantly in your business, and “Dexter” outdoes itself by taking everything that made its first three seasons great and parlaying it into perhaps the most bizarre family drama in television history. “Dexter’s” week-to-week storylines display no signs of losing their edge four seasons in, and while the move to the suburbs steals the show at first, the thorough mental evisceration of Lithgow’s character represents the series’ best character dress-down since it started picking apart the guy whose name is in the title.
Contents: 12 episodes, plus freebie episodes of Showtime shows “Californication” (season three, episodes one and two), “Lock ‘N Load” (season one, episode one) and “The Tudors” (season four, episode one). Additional content — cast interviews and a second episode of “The Tudors” — is available only via Showtime’s E-Bridge software, which requires an Internet-capable PC to use.

Friday Night Lights: The Fourth Season (NR, 2009, NBC Universal)
Every season of “Friday Night Lights” seems to have less actual football in it than the one before it, and season four continues that trend even as it drops a second high school football team inside Dillon, Tex.’s city limits. But that trend works just fine for the show’s purpose. “FNL’s” depiction of football is top-notch, but it’s the way the show handles its cast that really makes it something special. The students aren’t merely vessels for some problem of the week, nor are the adults simply there to play foil and provide some other obligatory glue. Both sides have terrific depth, and now that some players from earlier seasons remain in the cast as fledgling adults, “FNL” even has the gap in the middle somewhat bridged. Football still plays a crucial part, of course, and the tale of two Dillons is the most interesting conceit yet for a “FNL” season. But any given episode might rattle off multiple batches of scenes in which no football takes place, and at no point during these moments does the show feel the least bit lacking.
Contents: 13 episodes, plus commentary, deleted scenes, three behind-the-scenes features and episode introductions by series creator Peter Berg.

Furry Vengeance (PG, 2010, Summit Entertainment)
Here’s a test: Take Brendan Fraser, place him in a kids’ movie about a man (Fraser) who moves his family from Chicago to the woods so he can assist in replacing the surrounding forest with townhouses, and hatch a plot in which the animals in the forest catch wind of the development and hatch a plan to stop him. Can you see where the rest of this story is going without watching one minute of it beforehand? Of course you can. “Furry Vengeance” actually has its share of cute moments, and it scores points for letting its live-action animals chirp and growl like animals instead of crack a bunch of annoying one-liners by way of annoying voice actors. But even without people supplying the voices for the animals, “Vengeance’s” problem still comes down to too much human interference. Fraser and his castmates (Brooke Shields, Matt Prokop and Ken Jeong, among others) are exactly what you hoped they wouldn’t be but still knew they would be — vessels for the same old lame jokes one minute, heartless buffoons the next, vessels for the inevitable change of heart later on. “Vengeance” paints its overt message about environmental preservation with laughably simple strokes, and while it may ultimately mean well, it’s far too unimaginative to entertain and way too uninspired to provide value in any other facet.
Extras: Director/cast commentary, deleted scenes, two behind-the-scenes features, bloopers.

The Ghost Writer (PG-13, 2010, Summit Entertainment)
Former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) was so likably uncontroversial that the guy originally hired to ghostwrite his memoirs died under mysterious circumstances after completing the first draft. Lang’s life is such an open book, in fact, that when a new ghostwriter (Ewan McGregor) takes over, he isn’t even allowed to take that first draft outside Lang’s estate or even copy the document, which is saved to a flash drive, by any means other than retyping it into his computer from scratch. The best part? This all happens before Lang receives word that the International Criminal Court, with his own government’s cooperation, plans to try him as a war criminal. You like that setup? You’d better if you want to love “The Ghost Writer,” which divides its time between dryly laying this groundwork and just as dryly (and far more meticulously) pulling it apart. Beyond Brosnan’s underutilized character and a few bit players, most of “Writer’s” characters have oppressively stuffy shirts, and even some of the movie’s more passionate exchanges have all the heat of a job interview. But “Writer” can get away with the monotone presentation when all those dry little details tell a tale as richly extensive as this one. The culmination of the slow dismantling pays off magnificently during “Writer’s” homestretch, and those who pay close attention throughout will reap considerably more reward than those who let the stuffiness alienate them even briefly. Kim Cattrall and Olivia Williams also star.
Extras: Director interview, two behind-the-scenes features.

La Mission (R, 2010, Screen Media Films)
Che Rivera’s (Benjamin Bratt) rocky journey through life has found him facing the world as a widower, doing time in prison, battling alcoholism, fighting fiercely to get clean and go legit, and, finally, trying to be the best dad he can be for his teenage son Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez). But for all he’s seen, done and overcome during those respective trials, it’s the secret Jesse is holding that, when spilled, has him completely at a loss. “La Mission” sounds a bit like an after-school special on paper, and that perception only intensifies if you know going in what that little secret is. But in the course of occasionally hitting the notes you expect it to hit, the movie far more frequently recognizes and avoids them. Che, in addition to rendering Bratt almost unrecognizable next to his usual suit-and-tie roles, is constructed so thoroughly as to become the story’s unquestionable centerpiece instead of simply device off which to bounce the central plotline. Jesse isn’t quite as engrossing a character, but he doesn’t need to be, because even though the story hinges on him, the movie is really about Che. “La Mission” shows rather than simply tells, and it’s significantly more impressive than its premise as result. Erika Alexander also stars.
Extra: Music feature.

Max Headroom: The Complete Series (NR, 1987, Shout Factory)
Maybe you best remember Max Headroom for his indirect role in a 1987 hijacking of two Chicago television stations, or maybe you know him primarily for his talk show on Cinemax or his somewhat ironic stint as pitchman for New Coke. What many may not remember is the actual television show that first brought him to prominence. “Max Headroom” finds the iconic talking head at his most charming, but the character’s conception — drawn from the neurons of a television reporter (Matt Frewer) who was taken out while trying to uncover a massive conspiracy perpetuated by his own employer — is hardly cute. Nor is “Headroom” as a whole, which is soaked in a world of back room deals and corporations with dangerous amounts of power over the populace. “Headroom’s” illustrations of the future, and especially of computer technology, are humorously dated 23 years later, and numerous ingredients of the show’s presentation can’t escape the era from whence they came. But the actual content of these episodes is another story. In terms of self-awareness and imagination, it was impossibly ahead of the curve, and the crazy concept and wild ideas about the future — some of which regularly make rounds in today’s entertainment — make this as legitimately enthralling now as it was back then. Jeffrey Tambor also stars.
Contents: 14 episodes, plus six behind-the-scenes features and liner notes.

The Joneses (R, 2010, Fox)
Like many families in the movies, the Jones family (David Duchovny, Demi Moore, Amber Heard and Ben Hollingsworth) is looking for a fresh start in a new neighborhood. Also unsurprising: They have secrets that, if uncovered by their new neighbors, almost certainly would tear them apart. Naturally, the contents of those secrets — which are regrettably laid bare in just about every piece of copy where “The Joneses” is marketed — are best left unspoiled for the fortunate few who can seek this out without knowing too much about it beforehand. All you need to know is that, very early on and en route to looking like yet another movie about a family with a dark past, “The Joneses” takes a detour into something else entirely. Moreover, the amusing gust of cynicism that blows in is, on top of simply being novel, as completely and distressingly feasible in real life as it is farcical on film. Fortunately, those who know the family secret before pressing play still can enjoy what happens next. Fun though the big reveal is, it also happens fairly early on, and it’s in the ensuing consequences — an occasional excess of melodrama aside — where the real fun happens.
Extra: Deleted scenes.

The Diets That Time Forgot (NR, 2008, Acorn Media)
If you’ve ever seen “The Biggest Loser,” you already know half of how this works. Like “Loser,” “The Diets That Time Forgot” invites a handful of overweight (and willing) participants to live on a sequestered campus and attempt, with expert supervision, to achieve the weight loss that has long eluded them. The difference here is that instead of using fully-loaded gyms and modern nutritional science to achieve this loss, “Forgot’s” nine participants instead must adhere to the lifestyles that made our forebears — specifically, those hailing from the Victorian era, the Edwardian period and the 1920s — considerably thinner in their respective times. Groups of three dieters subscribe to each method, and rather than devolve into a contrived competition that turns everybody against everybody else (a la “Loser”), “Forget” plays out like a fascinating (and rather amusing) experiment in trying something that might work, might look ridiculous, or both. The omission of all the infighting and other stunts makes “Forgot” much less of a train wreck than “Loser,” but the show’s (and its generally very likable participants’) willingness to try something completely different makes it every bit as fun to watch in its own right.
Contents: Six episodes.

Date Night (PG-13, 2010, Fox)
If you want to find “Date Night” on your nearest calendar, look for the empty block of free time that conveniently coincided in the busy schedules of its surprisingly loaded cast. “Night’s” concept is likably simple enough: Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire Foster (Tina Fey) try to enliven their stale marriage with a date night in Manhattan, and after they steal someone else’s reservation at an absurdly trendy restaurant, the mistaken identity that ensues takes them down a rabbit hole of crime, corruption and lots of gags you’ve probably seen before. “Night” tries to fit too many skits into too little time, and it ends up lots of scenes and jokes that are more serviceable than funny. In the hands of a flatter cast, the same shot-for-shot script might be so plain as to be completely pointless. But Carrell brings all the things we like about him to his otherwise plain character, Fey does the same for hers, and most of the rest of the supporting cast (Mark Wahlberg, Common, Mark Ruffalo, James Franco and William Fichtner, among numerous others) gets by on the strength of being themselves or playing against type to good effect. That’s enough to elevate “Night” from pointless to enjoyable, though greatness remains far out of reach. Don’t be surprised if, while flipping channels a few months from now, you come across this one and have no immediate memory of seeing it the first time around.
Extras: Fake PSAs, two behind-the-scenes features, bloopers and outtakes.

Multiple Sarcasms (R, 2010, Image Entertainment)
It’s a big world out there. So why is seemingly every comedic drama about a miserable playwright — as “Multiple Sarcasms” is about Gabriel (Timothy Hutton) — set in Manhattan? Gabriel is married (Dana Delany), the father of a pretty cool 12-year-old (India Ennenga), and has friends (Mira Sorvino, Stockard Channing) who can help him migrate from miserable architect to successful playwright in the making. But he’s also socially backward, perennially unfulfilled and trying to parlay that unhappiness into art while his real life suffers even more as a direct result. “Sarcasms” is a fine enough movie insofar that both the script and Gabriel himself have a lot to say. Most of it has substance, and eventually, there’s some forward movement in Gabriel’s story. At the same time, you can see the dour mood coming up 5th Avenue from beyond the Jersey Turnpike. “Sarcasms” has a lot of talent working hard to make it enjoyable, but we’ve already met more than enough unhappy (and, for the most part, unlikable) Manhattanites to find any lasting gratification from meeting one more. Mario Van Peebles also stars in a sorely underutilized role.
Extras: Cast/director interviews, behind-the-scenes feature.

Kick-Ass (R, 2010, Lions Gate)
Socially awkward high schooler Dave (Aaron Johnson) always wondered why normal people didn’t try their hand at acting like superheroes. One severe beating and several metal plate implants later, he had his answer — along with YouTube-induced fame, the attention of his dream girl (Lyndsy Fonseca), and recognition from a father-daughter vigilante team (Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz) that had already been carrying out his idea with a much lower profile and significantly greater (and bloodier) success. So really, why stop now and leave well enough alone? There are numerous simple ways to explain why “Kick-Ass” is one of the better things to come out of the comic book movie glut. The consequences for heroism are viciously realized rather than sterile per usual. The characters are better developed despite sparing us the usual need to superfluously explain everything. And in addition to not taking itself too seriously, the script is consistently, intelligently funny. But more than any of that, what makes “Kick-Ass” so good is just how effectively it cuts to the heart of (a) what being a superhero entails and (b) how a costume that might get laughed out of a Halloween party can embolden a gawky kid to take on a mob boss who is armed to the teeth. It’s farfetched even by the norms of comic book movies, but given how innately it understands something so many of its contemporaries either forgot or never understood, maybe that’s a compliment rather than a complaint.
Extras: Director commentary, “Kick-Ass” comic book origins feature, art gallery.

Artois the Goat (NR, 2009, IndiePix)
If you thought movies had told all the possible romantically comedic stories they could possibly tell, there’s a weird but rather endearing story about a little goat named Artois that would like to have a word with you. In “Artois the Goat,” San Franciscan Virgil (Mark Scheibmeir) is trying to find his way back to Angie (Sydney Andrews), who moved to Detroit for a job and was counting on him following her before he shot down a job opportunity that clashed with his obsessive desire to cultivate the world’s most delicious goat cheese. (That — sort of — is where little Artois steps in.) Virgil’s weird obsession opens the door to no shortage of quirky characters and scenarios, and while the boilerplate “boy trying to get girl back” plot outline is in full effect, all that amusing in-between keeps the story engaging even when predictability interferes. Occasionally, the weirdness travels too far past the cuteness line, and occasionally, the overall production feels more amateur than indie. But “Artois” never commits any sin so grievously as to undermine all the little things that make it so easy to like. And the title character, whose full role won’t be spoiled here, has no qualms about stealing the scene whenever the opportunity presents itself. No extras.

The Dungeon Masters (NR, 2008, FilmBuff/MPI)
If the purpose of thoroughly engrossing “The Dungeon Masters” was to provide outsiders a chance to understand the intense, devoted-to-an-arguable-fault culture that exists around the Dungeons & Dragons universe, then “Masters” deserves commendation for attempting a mission at which it had no earthly chance of succeeding. “Masters” follows the real-world lives of three longtime D&D players — Richard, Scott and Elizabeth — who flash different degrees of devotion to their pastime while dealing with different issues in their regular lives. Whether these are typical or extreme cases isn’t made clear, and if the movie has a serious failing, it’s the inability to explore the actual game and explain D&D in any manner that makes it more accessible to the completely uninitiated. Without that assistance, the footage of the games in action simply looks like overgrown children playing a weird game of make-believe, which certainly doesn’t help any attempt to bridge the gap between subject and viewer. As such, the real meat of “Masters” comes from the look at each player’s life — and, more to the point, the morbid fascination it engenders with all that’s gone wrong in that area. It’s not as exploitative as it sounds (all three have ample opportunity to express what drives them to play the game, and each enjoy some fleeting success at doing so), but if you go into “Masters” with pre-conceived notions of what to expect, they’ll only be vindicated by the time the credits roll.
Extras: Outtakes, not-quite outtakes.

Open House (R, 2010, Lions Gate)
It’s completely aggravating when a horror movie makes the killer its main character but never says word one about what drives him or her to kill. It’s obnoxiously commonplace, which makes the likes of “Open House,” far from perfect though it may be, also far more interesting that it would have been in another era. The plot — a woman (Rachel Blanchard as Alice), reeling from divorce and looking to sell her former dream house, instead becomes a prisoner in her basement while her captors turn the house into a trap for all who enter — is pretty basic, and “House” isn’t excessively forthcoming about why this is happening. But what “House” does do, in addition to showing some commendable restraint by letting events dictate the gore instead of just piling it on without reason, is give us little bits of insight into what brought Alice’s captors to their current state. Speculating on the holes left unfilled becomes a fun exercise instead of a necessary byproduct of lazy writing, and as a nice bonus, the details “House” does provide give it a legitimately creepy vibe. The story stumbles in spots, and unfortunately, the ending is one of them. But an enjoyable horror movie with some blemishes is infinitely better than the norm, which usually boasts the exact opposite ratio. Brian Geraghty, Tricia Helfer, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer also star, but without spoiling too much, “True Blood” fans shouldn’t get too excited about seeing Sookie and Bill in the same frame under different pretenses.
Extras: Director/Geraghty commentary, deleted scenes.

Heroes: Season 4 (NR, 2009, NBC/Universal)
Has any show taken a dive as steep as “Heroes” has from its first season — when it very deservedly was as talked about as any show on television — to its fourth season, which likely will be best remembered for the girl-on-girl kiss most former fans rightly dismissed as a desperate show’s final significant misfire? “Heroes’” governing idea — that certain regular people could possess amazing, weird and cryptic powers — never got old, and even the fourth season produced a few interesting new characters with very clever new powers. But the central conflict that peaked at the close of the first season has since both run awkwardly in circles and repeated itself with diminishing returns. The cast of characters grew and changed too often. And the sense of humor and humility that balanced that first season’s dark overtones has long sapped away. What remains here, outside of those occasional flashes of ingenuity, is a disappointing assemblage of stories that have dragged on too long or never really sparked much excitement in the first place. And because NBC’s decision to cancel caught the show off guard, those who stuck around this long can’t even reward themselves with a final episode that gives the series a proper send-off. A movie or miniseries may still happen, but until further notice, this is all the closure anyone gets.
Contents: 18 episodes, plus commentary, deleted/extended scenes, four behind-the-scenes features and a design gallery.

Worth a Mention
— “Henson’s Place: The Man Behind the Muppets” (NR, 1984, Lions Gate): Lions Gate continues its much-appreciated dive into the Jim Henson vault with this short (52 minutes) but sweet look behind the magical scenes made possible by The Jim Henson company. The DVD also includes a 30-minute perusal, with narration and introduction by Michael Frith, through the 1985-86 Jim Henson Company yearbook.
— New wave of “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” series: Shout Factory continues to waste little time capitalizing on its acquisition of arguably the best catalog of B-movies known to man. The newest wave of releases includes “Humanoids From the Deep” (R, 1980), “Piranha” (R, 1978), “Forbidden World” (NR, 1982), “Galaxy of Terror” (R, 1981) and a double feature containing “Deathsport” (R, 1978) and “BattleTruck” (PG, 1982). The double feature contains commentary and a still gallery for both movies, but it’s a lightweight compared to the other releases, which each feature commentary but are loaded with additional scenes, behind-the-scenes features, outtakes, original promotional material and more.
— Notable Scholastic Storybook Treasures releases: In addition to a two-DVD set that compiles the works of Rosemary Wells (“Max and Ruby, “Noisy Nora,” “Otto Runs for President”), Scholastic breaks new (and arguably overdue) ground by reissuing two DVDs — “Goodnight Moon” and “A Pocket for Corduroy” — with sign language narration as well as voice and read-along narration. “The Rosemary Wells Collection” contains eight stories, along with a handful of interviews with and features about Wells. The two reissues contain three stories each, along with quizzes, sign language lessons and other supplemental educational features.

Mother (R, 2009, Magnolia)
Slow-witted and trustful-to-a-fault Do-joon (Won Bin) stands constantly on the precipice of danger and trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd, and there’s only so much even our overbearing titular character (Kim Hye-ja as Mother) can do about that. When Do-joon crosses that threshold and finally finds himself in some seriously hot water, Mother finally is powerless to protect him. Fortunately, that doesn’t mean she won’t scorch the earth and have a go at it anyway. Superficially, “Mother” is (without spoiling the extent of Do-joon’s trouble the way the DVD case and trailers do) a fairly familiar story about an overmatched person trying to bail a loved one out while those with the power to actually do so completely fumble the opportunity. Between the lines, though, “Mother” is an awesome story about a sweet little lady who isn’t as sweet as she seems and has no qualms about getting her hands dirty and playing ball with forces she very obviously isn’t equipped to understand. As it did with the incredible monster movie “The Host,” Bong Joon-Ho’s direction enlivens a pretty standard story framework with surprising levels of dark comedy and sneaky character colorization as well as the expected drama. When those elements work in tandem, and when the twists that pop up are as skillfully produced as these are, it’s as good as the genre gets. In Korean with English subtitles.
Extras: Five behind-the-scenes features.

The Job (R, 2009, Magnet/Magnolia)
Bubba (Patrick Flueger) has struggled mightily to stay employed, so when a friendly stranger (Ron Perlman as Jim) offers him a job lead, he doesn’t hesitate to take an interview. Nor does he hesitate to take the job despite his interviewer (Joe Pantoliano) not even disclosing what it entails. Naturally, the job isn’t a pleasant one, and unfortunately for Bubba, his new employer isn’t sympathetic to his change of heart. You probably can guess what the job in “The Job” entails, and you’re welcome to do so, because the answer behind that door rates pretty low on the surprise chart. Instead, “The Job” saves its best surprises for the details behind those details, including what happens when (surprise!) things don’t go as smoothly in practice as they do on paper. “The Job” boasts one good character (Taryn Manning as Bubba’s girlfriend), one great character and two absolutely fantastic characters who perfectly toe the line between horrendous overacting and B-movie brilliance, and those personalities help transform a really pedestrian plotline into a startlingly entertaining story. There are plot holes, the allegory at the end will alienate some, and those who don’t love Perlman’s and Pantoliano’s performances might hate them instead. But whether it’s a mess or a machine, “The Job” is tirelessly engaging from bell to bell, and even when you can see a twist coming from three scenes away — which, it could be argued, is no accident — there’s always an accompanying wrinkle to keep you guessing.
Extras: Alternate ending, behind-the-scenes feature.

The Art of the Steal (NR, 2009, IFC Films)
To those casually glancing, the events detailed in “The Art of the Steal” might resemble nothing more than a tacky spat between two parties who have a ton and can’t bear to spare an ounce. Some who actually watch “Steal” might come away with that perception confirmed. But to dismiss the fight over Albert Barnes’ $25 billion art collection as petty is to miss the point of why Barnes fought so fiercely to keep prying hands away. Barnes strove to preserve the collection as a teaching tool for those he felt would appreciate it, and the city of Philadelphia wanted to present the collection to the public and monetize the process of doing so. “Steal” provides a terrific blow-by-blow of the half-century fight that ensued after Barnes died in 1951, and it’s a fascinating look at two bodies of people who fight so stubbornly that the principle that sparked the fight becomes clouded to the point of unrecognizable by the time a victor emerges. Is it a heroic defense of a man’s wishes, a valid argument on behalf of the public, something in between, or a silly waste of time and perspective that mere compromise could have preserved? “Steal” appears to take a side, but not so much that it doesn’t leave viewers free to settle the argument amongst each other once the credits roll. No extras.

Ip Man: Collector’s Edition (R, 2008, Well Go USA Entertainment)
“Ip Man” is a biopic about martial arts master and Wing Chun teacher Ip Man (Donnie Yen), who might be most internationally famous for having mentored Bruce Lee. But that’s a story for another movie — the 2010 sequel, to be more precise. “Ip Man” instead focuses on Ip’s hardships during the Sino-Japanese War, which devastated his village, reduced him to peasant status and found his house repurposed as a headquarters for the occupying Japanese army. What happens next is, let’s put it kindly, a bit simplistic and more than a little factually suspect. Some of our hero’s less angelic attributes go unmentioned, and the angle the story takes would practically have you believe the tide of the war turned on Ip’s ability to instill courage throughout the village and take down a Japanese colonel while the world watched. If you’re a stickler for historical accuracy, get ready to howl. If not, though, go get the popcorn. Broken objectivity compass or not, “Ip Man” is a stellar martial arts movie, able to present dilapidated wartime environments as picturesque vistas while transforming fundamental, gimmick-free martial arts battles into absolute showpieces. The movie isn’t stingy with fights, either, so while the storytelling is engaging in spite of its sketchiness, those who can’t stand it or don’t care can rest assured that at any point in “Ip Man,” a fight scene of the very highest order never site more than a scene or two away.
Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews, shooting diary, four behind-the-scenes features.

Operation: Endgame (R, 2010, Anchor Bay)
Ever wonder if some movies aren’t commercial enterprises so much as elaborate excuses for actors to get together, go completely crazy and tape the whole thing for the heck of it? If not, “Operation: Endgame” might change that. Taking place entirely on the morning of President Obama’s inauguration, “Endgame” finds two ultra-top-secret teams of elite government assassins turning on one another after a mole slips in and kills the man (Jeffrey Tambor) charged with running both groups. Why that happened, why it sent the underground facility into self-destruct mode, and why every operative’s solution is to kill everyone else is all sort of explained, but only so much. Instead, “Endgame’s” primary concern is giving its cast (Rob Corddry, Zach Galifianakis, Ellen Barkin and Bob Odenkirk, among numerous others) carte blanche to eviscerate one another by whatever means and with whatever nearby objects necessary. The gore is horror film-worthy, but “Endgame” is so completely off its rocker that there’s no earthly way to reconcile it as anything but a freewheeling comedic excuse for everyone to act like hypercaffeinated 12-year-old serial killers. The story’s inane, the attempts to interweave current events a joke, the stabs at verbal wit never better than hit-or-miss. But ball it all together and cram in violence you generally never see in this space, and it’s an oddly compelling, improbably entertaining mess.
Extras: Alternate opening and ending, behind-the-scenes feature.

Repo Men (R/NR, 2010, Universal)
The practice of organ donation has become untenable in the dystopian (what else?) future, but private companies like The Union have stepped in to offer synthetic organs to anyone willing to take out the biological equivalent of a mortgage on a house. Much as in that scenario, those who default on their payments have to surrender those organs — even if it kills them — to repo men like Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker). If this idea sounds oddly familiar, it’s because “Repo! The Genetic Opera” floated roughly the same idea a couple years ago. But while “Repo!” embraced its absurdity — and, some might argue, awfulness — by dressing the story in a 10-car pileup of cartoon characters and glam rock show tunes, “Repo Men” plays like so many other action movies about the very obviously lousy future that awaits our society. A legitimately creepy presentation of the awful world of privatized organ manufacturing gives the story legs, but once the inevitable hunter-becomes-the-hunted twist kicks in — and is followed close behind by the obligatory love interest and surprising twist that’s only surprising because it makes zero sense — that early momentum is all but shot. With that said, the cheap thrills “Repo Men” provides are enjoyable if you don’t need them to be anything more than cheap. And if the mannequin love scene in “Team America” wasn’t quite weird enough for you, the one in this movie’s homestretch might finally do it for you.
Extras: Writers/director commentary, deleted scenes, Union commercials, behind-the-scenes feature.

Worth a Mention
— “Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show: The First Season” (NR, 1955, CBS/Paramount): Given all the completely pointless and/or terrible shows that get shoved out to DVD almost the instant it becomes logistically possible, it’s a bit startling that it took this long for an arguable classic to get its proper turn. “Sgt. Bilko: The Phil Silvers Show” previously received a classy 50th anniversary set, but that was three years ago, and while it had a nice selection of extras, it contained only 18 episodes. This complete first season, by comparison, contains 34 all by itself. Extras include commentary, the lost audition show, original openings/commercials and an episode from the fifth season of “The Lucy Show.”
— Complete Cannell sets: Two of Stephen J. Cannell’s shows, available previously in season-only editions, now receive the full-series treatments. “Hunter: The Complete Series” includes 152 episodes, while “21 Jump Street: The Complete Series: Seasons 1-5″ contains 103 episodes. Both sets were produced in the name of value more than special features or flashy packaging, so while neither contains any special features, they are about half as expensive and take up far less room on the shelf than your typical complete series set.
— “Kansas City Royals: 1985 World Series Collector’s Edition” (NR, 1985, MLB/A&E): Because it might be a while before the Royals win one of these on live television again, here’s a 25th anniversary carrot for all the long-suffering fans of the American League Central’s perennial doormat. Includes all seven uncut games of the 1985 World Series, plus the ’85 Royals highlight film, ALCS highlights, clinching/celebration footage and a few features about the team and star players.
— “Sabrina the Teenage Witch: The Final Season” (NR, 2002, CBS): The powers that be took entirely too long to compile this set on DVD, but at long last, those who want all seven seasons now can have them. A complete series set, which adds no new features beyond packaging all seven sets together, also is available.

Terribly Happy (NR, 2008, Oscilloscope)
When “Terribly Happy” opens, we don’t know why Copenhagen police officer Robert Hansen (Jakob Cedergren) has been punished with a temporary reassignment to pull marshall duty in a microscopically small town. All we know is that something back home made him snap, and the mysterious disappearance of his new home’s previous marshall made this an ideal landing spot while he serves his penance. Robert’s past is but one of the mysteries permeating through the town, which has its own share of baggage, customs, and at least one person (Lene Maria Christensen as Ingerlise) who is as fascinated with him as the rest appear leery. “Happy” operates under an optimally savvy cloud of moodiness and continual, mutual distrust from almost the moment it begins, and when all those pasts cross paths and a surprising turn of events makes a total mess of that encounter, the tension is perfectly, effortlessly thick. “Happy” reveals its cards gradually rather than hold them all for some big final reveal, and that strategy works completely to its advantage. The more we learn about all this clouded history, the better the story gets going forward — up to and including a finale that, while beautifully understated, is so coldly, mutually dark as to be almost humorous. In Danish with English subtitles, but well worth the easy read if you like stories that speak volumes with only a few words.
Extras: Director/producer commentary, an encounter between Director Henrik Ruben Genz and “Happy” author Erling Jepsen, behind-the-scenes feature, “botched” studio interview with Genz and Jepsen, Foster Hirsch essay.

Look Around You: Season One (NR, 2002, BBC)
The unintentionally funny educational filmstrips of the 1970s and 1980s have seen no shortage of intentionally funny send-ups in the years that have followed, but when a project comes along that’s this dedicated to the cause, it’s merits special mention. “Look Around You’s” mock science filmstrips cover such topics as ghosts, germs, sulphur and “maths,” and between the patronizingly deadpan delivery of the narrator, the ridiculous density of incorrect information passed along and the hilariously dry confirmation of this information via absurd experiments and other treacherous visual aids, it’s a thick wonderland of rapid-fire misinformation. “You” complements its masterful delivery with a visual presentation that perfectly mocks the look, technology and presentational quirks that make these filmstrips so ironically treasured today, and because each episode is less than 10 minutes long, the gag never wears out its welcome. If anything, at 71 total minutes for the main program, it leaves you wanting a whole lot more. Sadly, only six more episodes remain for volume two.
Contents: Eight “modules” (episodes), plus commentary, a bonus double-length module, study materials and bonus music.

Cop Out (R, 2010, Warner Bros.)
You know how people say that the worst movie by certain directors is still better than the best work by the vast majority of their contemporaries? That pretty well sums up “Cop Out,” which finds two suspended NYPD officers (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) venturing down a criminal rabbit hole when one of them has a valuable baseball card stolen from him. What follows is largely telegraphed both by decades of police stories as well as comedies, and neither lead is nearly interesting enough to make the movie’s story all that gripping, either. “Cop Out” represents the first movie Kevin Smith has directed by not written, and perhaps not surprisingly, it neither evokes the things he does best as a writer nor takes the trite buddy cop formula anywhere it hasn’t already been. That’s all pretty unfortunate. But with all that said, and while “Cop Out” isn’t anywhere in the vicinity of the year’s best comedies, it also sits nowhere near the likes of “The Bounty Hunter,” “Leap Year” and other comedies that do absolutely nothing for their own tired genres. It isn’t hilarious, but it’s pretty consistently amusing, and there are fleeting moments when it’s very funny. No one’s heart will break if and when Smith gets back to creating his own worlds instead of co-opting those of less talented writers, but in the meantime, “Cop Out” could be a whole lot worse.
Extra: Deleted scenes.

Entre Nos (NR, 2009, IndiePix)
You know what’s scarier than moving with your two young kids from Columbia to New York City to appease the whims of your husband? How about finding yourself jobless and forced to fend for yourself and those kids when the husband follows another whim to Miami and leaves without a trail? That, along with no prospects and a minimal grasp of English, is the situation Mariana (Paola Mendoza) finds herself in when “Entre Nos” kicks into gear. What happens next is pretty remarkable — not simply because of what happens or because it’s based on a true story, but also because “Nos” completely sidesteps pretense despite telling a story with starkly obvious connections to one hugely controversial current issue. Even though “Nos” presumably takes place years before the issue became such a political lightning rod, nothing about it feels like a story that couldn’t happen today. And more than lean on its time period or even tell a story about the plight of an immigrant, “Nos” is just a story about the plight of a mom trying to do right by her kids while also trying to just keep it together in light of some rough unforeseen circumstances. Mariana’s particular situation may be more extreme than the monetary and familial issues most face, but “Nos’” ability to present it under completely relatable terms without sugarcoating it is an extremely impressive work of restraint.
Extras: Director commentary, short film “Still Standing,” behind-the-scenes feature, how to make empanadas feature.

Being Human: Season One (NR, 2008, BBC)
Burned out on vampires yet? Don’t even want to hear about another vampire story that also has a werewolf? That’s too bad, because “Being Human” might be the perfect antidote for anyone who likes these mythologies but can’t stomach where popular culture has taken them lately. “Human” finds three not-quite human humans — a vampire (Aidan Turner as Mitchell), a werewolf (Russell Tovey as George) and a woman (Lenora Crichlow as Annie) who died but is stuck in limbo as a ghost — sharing a house in Bristol, and their shared habitat accompanies a shared desire to live as close to plainly human existences as their respective situations will allow. Those modest aspirations, along with a certain degree of success on our characters’ parts, makes “Human” a much more grounded show than the genre’s typical fare as of late, and while the show is measurably more of a drama than a comedy, it isn’t afraid to flash its sense of humor frequently and to great effect. “Human” isn’t as funny as Joss Whedon’s pitch-perfect take on vampires and werewolves, but it most definitely isn’t as agonizingly self-serious as Stephenie Meyer’s brutal interpretations, and for all who long for the former and cannot stand the latter, this absolutely merits a close look.
Contents: Six episodes, plus deleted scenes, creator interview, video diaries, behind-the-scenes features and character profiles.

Barking Dogs Never Bite (NR, 2005, Magnolia)
What’s worse — gravely imperiling a child’s dog because it barks too much, or getting nicked in the head by a speeding train? Why choose when “Barking Dogs Never Bite” has both? “Bite” hits the ground sprinting with a jobless aspiring professor (Sung-jae Lee) committing the former act in the opening minutes, and while the story that follows is a bit too unwieldily to encapsulate in a few sentences, it probably isn’t a stretch to recognize “Bite’s” road-less-traveled decision to both position itself as a black comedy and make its central character instantly and completely detestable with no sense of irony whatsoever. He isn’t alone, either: His wife treats him horribly, his apartment building’s maintenance guy is psychotic, and his academic peers are dirtbags. Great, huh? But here’s the thing about “Bite:” In spite of how horrible most of its characters and their actions are, and while even the strong of stomach may find this one’s reprehensible points too dark to enjoy, the total package is a stylish treatment of a sharp script. And by going so low so quickly, “Bite” makes it that much more gratifying when one of its few likable characters rises up and tries to take the mood back. How successful that effort is won’t be spoiled here, but it’s a heck of a good fight. In Korean with English subtitles.
Extras: Interview, storyboards, highlight montage.

Worth a Mention
— Courage the Cowardly Dog: Season One” (NR, 1999, Cartoon Network Hall of Fame)
Cartoon Network’s new and long overdue Hall of Fame DVD imprint kicked off on a high note with the release of the first season of “Johnny Bravo.” But outside of the lack of bonus content, this second entrant — which follows the adventures of a terrified but loyal and fiercely (or maybe not fiercely) protective family dog named Courage — does not represent a step down in any sense of the term. Whatever the third entrant is, it has big shoes to fill.
Contents: 13 episodes, no extras.

Saint John of Las Vegas (R, 2009, Vivendi)
Reformed gambler John (Steve Buscemi) had finally found peace as a desk jockey for an insurance company. But with a promotion to fraud investigation, he’s not only forced to share the road with an unhinged co-worker (Romany Malco as Virgil), but assigned to investigate a case in the old haunt — Las Vegas — he thought he’d abandoned. You know what, though? Most of those details don’t actually matter. “Saint John of Las Vegas” circles its story around John’s and Virgil’s adventures in Vegas, and the investigation dictates those adventures, but the outcome of the case doesn’t actually matter. Nor, really, do the outcomes of several side stories, which superficially seem designed solely to prop up some additional goofball characters. Even the Vegas setting doesn’t necessarily matter. But if “SLOLV” sounds like a scatterbrained mess, it ultimately reveals itself as one with a purpose. The real story here is that of John himself, and while he doesn’t move mountains in character development terms, and while the occasional dream sequence or flash forward doesn’t make sense initially, it comes together with surprising satisfaction during the homestretch. The other good news? Even before it starts to make sense, “SLOLV’s” weird sense of humor is dryly (very dryly, fair warning) funny enough to entertain while the story catches up. That shouldn’t be a major surprise, given the cast, but there’s your confirmation anyway. Peter Dinklage and Sarah Silverman also star.
Extras: Cast interviews.

Chloe (R, 2009, Sony Pictures)
The onset of obsession is strong enough to derail even the most normal of people, and when that obsession is over a spouse’s supposed infidelity, just about anything can go. So let’s not blame Catherine (Julianne Moore) for hiring an escort (Amanda Seyfried as Chloe) to seduce her husband (Liam Neeson as David) after his recent behavior triggers a few serious alarms. And on a similar note, it might be prudent not to punish “Chloe” in spite of the extensive ways it chooses to manipulate its characters and, by extension, all who observe them. “Chloe” operates under a excessive cloud of moodiness (exhausting dramatic score most definitely included), and it pushes its characters so far that you wonder why any of them even care enough to do anything beyond lose their minds and let their respective spirals completely take over. It is, by most traditional characterizations, a bad movie. At the same time, though, there’s something darkly enjoyable about just how furiously “Chloe” kicks out the ladder from underneath its cast. So-called better movies operating under similar pretenses might take more careful steps to build up their characters and respect authenticity, and there’s certainly merit in doing so if done right. But if “Chloe” wants to be different and let its insane flag fly by going the complete other way, and if it entertains (ironically or otherwise) the whole way in doing so, how bad can it really be?
Extras: Writer/director/Seyfried commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes feature.

Sesame Street: 20 Years… and Still Counting! (NR, 1989, Sesame Street/Lions Gate)
Confused by the title? Don’t be: This is the special that originally aired on “Sesame Street’s” actual 20th anniversary in 1989 — which means this is, in fact, the 21st anniversary of this 20th anniversary celebration. It also supersedes the release of the 40th anniversary DVD set by eight months and the 25th anniversary DVD by 12 years. Only a show that provided as much of a service as “Sesame Street” did could get away with a math conundrum like this. Fortunately, because the material is pretty much timeless, all the funny math is for naught. Bill Cosby and Kermit the Frog host. No extras.

Middle of Nowhere (R, 2008, Image Entertainment)
If “Middle of Nowhere’s” early going is any indication, the story of Dorian (Anton Yelchin) and Grace (Eva Amurri) — two water park employees with opposing backgrounds who both are trying to raise money quickly for different reasons — has everything it needs to devolve into an after-school special at any moment. When the two backwardly join forces to raise the cash, “Middle of Nowhere” starts showing some symptoms, and when the movie delves into those respective backgrounds and throws in a few other familial complications on both sides, it would seem only a matter of time before the transformation is complete. Amazingly, though, what bends never breaks. Grace rebounds into a thoroughly likable sympathetic hero instead of just another sob story, Dorian proves too charming and funny to credibly succumb to contrived ham-handedness, and “Nowhere” takes a surprising turn away from the inevitable and grows into a legitimate piece of entertainment. The early symptoms don’t ever go completely away, but the movie also never lets go of its sense of humor, nor does it lose sight of what elevates it beyond the dregs of preachy non-entertainment. And because it takes such surprisingly good care of its characters, the occasional indulgence in those symptoms feels justified and very well-earned. Susan Sarandon, Justin Chatwin and Willa Holland also star.
Extras: Deleted scenes, interviews, behind-the-scenes feature.

Greenberg (R, 2010, Focus/Universal)
The line between a movie that goes everywhere without going anywhere and one that simply runs in circles is pretty thin, and the story of Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) — freshly released from a mental institution, a generation removed from the derailment of a promising musical career, and now doing some housesitting while figuring out where to possibly go next — may as well have one foot on each side of that line. “Greenberg” flirts with comedy as well as drama, with fleeting success in both areas, but at no point is it anything but a coarse look at a guy who has lived through plenty but, at least in tangible terms, isn’t doing a whole lot now. The movie doesn’t squander the opportunity to zero in hard, and even during its idle moments, the script puts on a clinic on how to dig into the heart of a character regardless of approach or mood. At the same time? Surprise, Roger isn’t the most effortlessly likable character around. Though that’s for the best — “Greenburg” would be pretty dull if it greeted its audience with kid gloves — it stands to reason that what some will see as complicated and misunderstood will come across to others as nothing more complicated than a thankless pain in the rear. And if that’s the case, a movie about him — and, with respect to the supporting cast (Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason Leigh), no one but him — may not be worth the hassle.
Extras: Three behind-the-scenes features.

Selling Hitler (NR, 1991, Acorn Media)
“Slow” doesn’t begin to describe the start of “Selling Hitler,” which appears so preoccupied with fully setting the table in its first episode that it can’t even settle on a consistent mood going forward. But then the twist (spoiled by history, because it’s a true story, but it’s a twist anyway) comes into full light at the end of that first episode. And once we meet the real face of this series — Konrad Fischer (Alexei Sayle), who “discovers” Adolph Hitler’s lost diaries by writing them himself and subsequently sets off an international bidding war for the publication rights — the farce is on. “Hitler” is very much a product of its time — specifically, 1991, when television production values still habored the marks of the awful 1980s and dramatic saxophone music was still a thing people did with a straight face. The video quality could be better, and the weird mood shifting — sometimes it feels like a comedy, sometimes it could not be more serious — never goes away. But “Hitler” sells itself on the strength of its true story, and while Konrad’s act is completely despicable, there’s an immense dark satisfaction in watching him make wealthy publishers in Europe and America salivate over complete garbage. It wouldn’t be bad news to see someone give this story a more contemporary treatment, but what’s here will very much do in the meantime.
Contents: Five episodes, no extras.

The Bounty Hunter (PG-13, 2010, Sony Pictures)
There’s something perversely fascinating about a collection of established actors, filmmakers and studio personnel joining forces to produce something that flaunts as much creative apathy as “The Bounty Hunter” does. “Hunter” tells the story of a small-time bounty hunter (Gerard Butler as Milo) who lucks his way into the plush assignment of capturing and escorting his ex-wife (Jennifer Aniston as Nicole) to jail, and the turns the story takes are as formulaic as a bottle of multivitamins. But even if “Hunter” inevitably must fall prone to the tired “we hate each other, but now we love each other” routine, the allegedly comedic journey that postpones the inevitable didn’t have to fall this lackadaisically in line. But it does: Neither Butler nor Aniston are given anything with which to make their characters interesting, to say nothing of likable. The supporting characters are even shallower, the complications designed to spice up the case are nothing more than directionless obligatory padding, and between the scene at the craps table and the scene at the tattoo parlor, too many of “Hunter’s” attempts at comedy feel like torn pages from the book of bad sitcom cliches. Suffocating story predictability can be excused if the movie has anything at all going for it in between the lines, but “Hunter” is completely bankrupt, and no one involved seems to mind very much despite almost certainly knowing better.
Extras: Behind-the-scenes feature, tips for outwitting a bounty hunter.

Worth a Mention: Shout Factory Edition
— “The Super Hero Squad Show: Volume 1: Quest for the Infinity Sword!” (NR, 2009): Picture Marvel Comics’ finest — Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine and more — getting the “Muppet Babies” treatment, and you can picture “The Super Hero Squad Show,” which is Marvel’s attempt to provide a cartoon that’s more kid- and family-friendly than its usual fare. The side effect, though, is that between the super-deformed look of the heroes and goofball sense of humor that accompanies the visual style, it might also be appropriate for adults who love the Marvel universe but have grown tired of how formulaic that usual fare can be. Includes seven episodes, plus an interview with Stan Lee.
— “Mystery Science Theater 3000 XVIII” (NR, 1990-97): Shout Factory’s “MST3K” compilation train continues to roll along. Volume XVIII includes “Lost Continent,” “Crash of the Moons,” “The Beast of Yucca Flats” and “Jack Frost.” As per series tradition, a set of mock miniature movie posters comes included. Other extras include new introductions from Frank Conniff and Kevin Murphy, original wrap footage, a “Flats” retrospective and original film trailers.
— “Street Hawk: The Complete Series” (NR, 1985): Imagine if “Knight Rider” was a show about a motorcycle named Street Hawk instead of a car named KITT. Also, imagine if “Knight Rider” was canceled after 13 episodes. That’s “Street Hawk.” Fortunately, for the dedicated few who have waited this long to revisit that short run, this set has the works. Extras include a never-aired version of the pilot, a 41-minute making-of documentary, a photo gallery and an eight-page companion booklet.

A Single Man (R, 2009, Sony Pictures)
The single man in “A Single Man” is college professor George Falconer (Colin Firth), who eight months prior lost his lover (Matthew Goode as Jim) in a car crash and has had extreme difficulty just waking up every morning since. But if “Man” sounds like 99 minutes of dreary depression lying in wait, rest assured it’s anything but. George’s story isn’t just a look at loss: It’s a total stare-down at the solitary hell of facing the future alone and — because this is 1962 and George finds himself in no position out himself — mourning almost completely in secret. At the same time, though, “Man” completely understands that life doesn’t stop for those who mourn, and for George that means moments of celebration, introspection, faint hope and even bitterly dark (but legitimately funny) comedy as well as anger and sadness. “Man’s” overlying story — told mostly in the present but aided by the occasional flashback — is one of crushing sadness, but the movie itself handles that sadness through multiple moods and without succumbing to the kind of melodrama lesser movies with considerably easier tasks can’t avoid. The picture it paints certainly won’t fulfill everyone’s idea of love and loss, but it’s a strikingly complete picture in its own particular right.
Extras: Director commentary, behind-the-scenes feature.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (NR, 2009, Music Box Films)
Freshly disgraced journalist Mikael (Michael Nyqvist) has a few months of freedom before he has to serve a brief prison stint for allegedly committing libel, but even with that timetable and Mikael’s now-sullied reputation, the patriarch of a powerful family-owned corporation (Sven-Bertil Taube as Henrik) has hired him in hopes of solving a murder that has haunted the family for four decades and left Henrik obsessed with its closure every day since. Fortunately, Mikael has help in the form of a hacker (Noomi Rapace) who, in addition to having some serious back story of her own, has developed her own point of interest in the case. On the surface, “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’s particulars (152 minutes long, all but a few sentences of it in Swedish with no English language track) make it an imposing assignment for viewers with wandering attention spans. But the mystery at the center of everything is thick and interesting enough to put those minutes to great use, and while “Tattoo” scrambles a bit at the end, it isn’t because it wastes time indulging itself before getting there. (The only arguable point of self-indulgence might, in fact, be the movie’s best scene.) So watch it in two parts and treat it like a miniseries if that’s easier: No-nonsense mystery movies that pay off without resorting to gimmickry or copouts don’t appear very often, and there’s no good reason to let one slip past when it does. In Swedish with English subtitles.
Extras: Vanger family tree, Rapace interview.

Eyeborgs (R, 2009, Image Entertainment)
Have you heard the one about the government that buries its citizens under a mountain of surveillance and suspicion? How about the one where robots designed to help humanity decide one day to turn on it? “Eyeborgs” is what happens when the two ideas become one, and what it lacks in groundbreaking paranoia, it redeems in its respect of the art of the B-movie. The B-movie tag isn’t to suggest a lack of talent or polish, either: To the contrary, while “Eyeborgs” isn’t exactly a masterwork of scriptwriting and logical impregnability, it’s keenly aware of where the line needs be drawn between telling a logistically sound story and just setting the table for some scares, thrills, explosions and validations of whatever tiny spark of paranoia you might have flickering in the back of your mind. Best of all, it throws in a third byproduct of 21st century technology that, in addition to being sorely underutilized by science fiction so far, also opens the door to a brilliant twist during “Eyeborgs’” closing act. (Naturally, what that third byproduct is will not be spoiled here.)
Extras: Deleted scenes, four behind-the-scenes features, bloopers.

Life on Mars: The Complete Collection (NR, 2006, Acorn Media)
Some of us can’t imagine living without technology invented in the last six months, so imagine detective Sam Tyler’s (John Simm) surprise when he wakes up as a cop in 1973 after a car knocks him into a coma in 2006. While Sam tries to find his way back to the present, he conducts detective business as usual in the past, and his stubborn adjustment to a world without home computers, to say nothing of smartphones, gives “Life on Mars” plenty of means with which to establish its procedural detective drama niche. “Mars” doesn’t waste the opportunity, either: The cases contained within each episode are intelligently designed around the concept without outright relying on it, and Sam and his fellow cops engage in spirited battles of attrition instead of the same old detached, snappy dialogue so many other procedurals shamelessly employ. The mystery of Sam’s awakening, meanwhile, develops over the entirety of the show. Is he crazy? Dreaming? Or is it all real, and if so, what to do next? “Mars,” with its clever illustrations of Sam’s plight, makes it fun to find out, and if you’ve never heard of this show, grabbing the whole collection at once is the best way to rectify that. Philip Glenister and Liz White, among numerous others, also star.
Contents: 16 episodes, plus commentary, two making-of documentaries, three behind-the-scenes features, set tour, director interview and outtakes.

Brooklyn’s Finest (R, 2009, Anchor Bay)
Is it enough for a movie to be polished but little else? If not, then the last decade alone contains countless reasons to pass on “Brooklyn’s Finest.” “Finest” is an interweaving story about a few days in the lives of some cops (Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke) and some folks (Wesley Snipes, Michael K. Williams) on the other side of the law, and as a savvy viewer might guess or even expect, there’s an entanglement of consciences as personal issues and ties between the sides bubble upward. That’s part of “Finest’s” problem, though: Savvy viewers will have it figured out before the movie even finishes laying down its cards. “Finest” flashes some interesting characters, looks great, gets its hands dirty, and packs a great cast. But from the cynical cop who sits days away from retirement to the case that ties everything together to most every character and story instance in between, there’s an air of familiarity that’s awfully tough to pretend isn’t there. Numerous media have gone everywhere “Finest” goes, and enough of it has done so with more chances taken and more memorable characters created by the end of their time. “Finest” is a perfectly enjoyable story about law enforcement’s dark side, but if you’ve seen the best of what this genre already offers, don’t be surprised to not remember seeing this one even a few months from now.
Extras: Director commentary, deleted scenes, four behind-the-scenes features.

Touching Evil: The Complete Collection (NR, 1997, Acorn Media)
Before Jeffrey Donovan became the face of “Burn Notice,” he starred in a terrific American remake of “Touching Evil” that, sadly, didn’t survive past its first season. This particular set rounds up the complete three-year run of the original British series, which finds a detective (Robson Green as D.I. Dave Creegan) recovering from a should-be-fatal gunshot wound, only to discover he now can literally sense the criminals he’s trying to stop. The same misunderstandings and clashing of methods that makes “Life on Mars” so much fun — and the same respectful treatment of those clashes — powers “Evil” as well, and the accompanying story of Dave picking up the pieces of his ruined, post-gunshot life is compelling enough to stand almost completely on its own without the cases’ help. Nicola Walker also stars.
Contents: Eight episodes, no extras.

Squidbillies: Volume 3 (NR, 2008, Adult Swim)
You wouldn’t think a cartoon about a family of trucker hat-wearing squids with mean streaks and southern accents would even approach an adjective like “polarizing.” But that’s what we have with “Squidbillies.” Some fans of Adult Swim’s formative years look at “Squidbillies” as indicative of everything that’s wrong with a programming block with seemingly no scruples about airing any old cartoon that runs around 11 minutes and compresses as much inanity as it can into that time. On the other hand? Good luck finding another corporately-owned television network with such a freewheeling attitude, and good luck finding another network that allows something like “Squidbillies” — terribly or hilariously crude as you see it — to survive long enough to see half a volume’s worth of content, to say nothing of three and counting. The animation is poor, the writing outlandish, the storylines unpredictable to the point of sheer randomness, the DVD packaging as crazed as the show. But Adult Swim would have it no other way.
Contents: 10 episodes, plus a trucker hat slogan compilation, concept art, promotional bits and pieces, footage from Dragon*Con 2009, and a fifth special feature (called “Funny Pete Stuff”) that just plain defies classification.

Don McKay (R, 2009, Image Entertainment)
If you like your movies nice and insane and like your movie-watching experience thoroughly unspoiled, stop reading here, because even assigning “Don McKay” a genre infringes on spoiler territory. “McKay” finds lifeless janitor Don (Thomas Haden Church) returning home, 25 years after fleeing an unspecified tragedy, to honor the request of a former high school girlfriend (Elisabeth Shue). Once back, Don immediately finds himself knee-deep in another mess, and it’s like he never left. For roughly half its runtime, “McKay” plays like a self-serious, low-rent thriller starring good actors playing disastrously-written characters trying to wade through a story in which stuff seemingly happens just to happen. But it’s all a long con. An occasional darkly funny moment peeks through as time passes, and then, on the precipice of act three, the dam bursts and “McKay” goes bananas. What initially felt like unintentional parody suddenly feels ingeniously legit, and the film complements the barrage of pitch-black comedy with a similarly fearless unfurling of a mystery that, shockingly, pays off massively during a crazy climax that somehow makes sense in spite of all the insanity flying about. “McKay” still is a bit too messy to make it something everyone will love, and even though the payoff wouldn’t be nearly as good without the bumpy start setting it up, it’s still a bumpy start. But a comeback this fierce within the space of 90 minutes isn’t something you see very often, and if you’re prepared to just go for a ride, hopefully you stopped reading 200 words ago and are preparing to do just that.
Extras: Director/producer commentary, deleted scenes.

Hot Tub Time Machine (R/NR, 2010, MGM)
If you look at the cast (Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, John Cusack, Clark Duke) and then look at the plot (three longtime friends and one nephew attempt to reconnect at the friends’ dilapidated former vacation spot, only to enter a hot tub that sends them back to their prime), it’s understandable if you also assume “Hot Tub Time Machine” is so preoccupied with trying to be funny that the high concept is purely a means to some fresh gags about time travel and the 1980s. But give “HTTM” some credit: In addition to doing exactly what’s expected of it, it actually kind of, sort of tries — if not to reconcile how a faulty hot tub can engender time travel, then at least to pay the butterfly effect some level of respect. In fact, between this and the surprising level of reverence paid to the overlying message — don’t take your friends for granted and don’t let time and distance do it for you — “HTTM’s” need to make people laugh occasionally plays third fiddle. But it makes for a better movie, in no small part because all that respect and reverence pays out during a satisfying end sequence and supremely funny credit roll. And if all you want is to laugh? Fret not: “HTTM” isn’t as rapid-fire funny as, say, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” but when it strikes, it hits hard.
Extras: Theatrical and unrated cuts, deleted scenes.

The Eclipse (R, 2009, Magnolia)
Do you like movies thick with atmosphere? Do you like them so much that you can forgive one that prioritizes mood at the arguable expense of traditional three-act plot values? In “The Eclipse,” widower and father of two Michael (Ciarán Hinds), who aspires to be a writer and is volunteering as a driver during a local literary festival, has begun hearing strange noises and fears he’s being haunted by the dead. Fortunately, he’s driving an author (Iben Hjejle as Lena) who specializes in writing about that very thing, so he finally can get some questions off his chest. But while all the necessary materials are on hand to make “The Eclipse” a perfectly serviceable ghost story, its interests lie elsewhere. Michael’s suspicions about the hauntings and the consequences that follow are of lynchpin importance to “The Eclipse’s” storyline, but they also place a distant second to the deeply personal stories of Michael, Lena and a disruptive second author (Aidan Quinn) whose own interests are clouded by these developments. It’s part drama, part thriller, part character piece and not really overwhelmingly any one of the three, and in the school of neat and explanatory conclusions, the ending is an arguable dropout. But what “The Eclipse” wants to do — which is tell a cutting story about a man chasing some harrowing ghosts that have nothing to do with the ghosts who might be chasing him — it does with considerable skill and admirable conviction.
Extras: Two behind-the-scenes features.

Red vs. Blue: The Blood Gulch Chronicles: The First Five Seasons (NR, 2003/2010, Flatiron Film Company)
For those unfamiliar, machinima is what happens when someone takes assets rendered for another purpose — typically video games — and manipulates them, voice acting and all, to tell a story that may have nothing to do with those assets’ original intentions. Most of what results is pretty poorly made, but every now and then, a lot of hard work produces a gem. Until further notice, the gold standard of the art form is “Red vs. Blue,” which takes assets from the “Halo” video game franchise and makes them walk and talk to the tune of a very funny story about smart-mouthed soldiers fighting over land that doesn’t even appear to be worth the trouble. “RvB” has always been freely available to stream either online or via Xbox Live — Microsoft and “Halo” creator Bungie’s support of the project is perhaps the genre’s most inspiring story — but fans should take note anyway: In addition to being a handy way to take the first five seasons with you, this box set completely remasters the first four seasons’ visual assets. Given how dramatically video game graphics have improved since 2003, that’s no small bonus.
Contents: 100 episodes, plus the previously Xbox Live-exclusive miniseries “Out of Mind” and “Recovery One,” deleted scenes, outtakes, alternate endings, hidden tracks, PSAs and various bits of bonus footage from the “RvB” vault.

The Crazies (R, 2010, Anchor Bay)
Maybe it’s the billion-plus zombie movies that release annually, or maybe it’s the million-plus stories Hollywood has told about biological agents gone awry. Either way, the plotline of the remake of “The Crazies,” which finds bad drinking water transforming a small town of people into monsters, just doesn’t have the same novelty the original enjoyed in 1973. But that also makes its ability to entertain anyway all the more impressive. “The Crazies” doesn’t avoid horror movie conventions at all, and many of its would-be scares are undone by the same old twists. But even in a world infested with zombie movies, these mutants are an interesting breed because their previous selves aren’t all the way gone and they partially still know who they are. “The Crazies” doesn’t do all it can with that device, but it does something with it, and its use of characters who may or may not be lost provides intrigue in place of the usual sources of suspense. The storyline surrounding the bad water also checks out — not so much because of its revelation, but because of what happens when things get out of hand. The closing scene is thoroughly ridiculous compared to the modest beginnings, but that — and the simple willingness to go big — is what makes “The Crazies” so much more fun than it seemingly had any chance of bring.
Extras: Director commentary, Two episodes of the “Crazies” motion comic, four behind-the-scenes features, storyboards.

Bass Ackwards (NR, 2010, Flatiron Film Company)
Lias (Linas Phillips) isn’t exactly setting the world ablaze: He makes a pittance as a freelance videographer, the friends off whom he’s been freeloading have politely asked him to move out, and the woman he’d been seeing (Davie-Blue) has pushed him away because oops, she lives with another guy. One semi-random visit to a farm and the acquisition of one old van later, it’s road trip time as Linas drives cross-country to live temporarily with his parents in Boston. If you spotted the whimsical name and await the part where this prototypical road trip movie gets funny, even just quirkily so, you’ll wait forever. Instead, “Bass Ackwards” emphasizes the romance of it all — solitary highway hours, chance encounters with strangers, more self-discovery than some find in four years of college. “Ackwards” is as open-ended as Linas’ journey, and the story isn’t so much a plot as a glance at someone who himself takes a passive approach to the experience. That means some scenes free of dialogue and others shared with characters whose impact on the storyline (term used loosely) is minimal. For some, that also means one boring movie with nothing ultimately gained. So adjust your expectations: “Ackwards” is rich with thoughtful moment-to-moment photography, dialogue and character design, but it’ll land with a thud if you want all those moments to add up to a substantial big picture.
Extras: Phillips/Davie-Blue/cinematographer/film critic commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes feature, bloopers.

Leave it to Beaver: The Complete Series (NR, 1957, Shout Factory)
If you need an introduction to “Leave it to Beaver” — which seemingly has been on the air on some channel in every corner of the country during multiple hours of every day since the beginning of television — you probably need an introduction to television as well. The release timing of this 37-disc set is really odd, because only half of the show’s six seasons are available individually, and folks who purchased the seasons individually will have to wait until September for season four and who knows how long for seasons five and six. That’s bound to engender some hurt feelings, especially if those people miss out on special features exclusive to this set. But if you’re not part of that crowd or simply waited for the inevitability of this release, it’s all good news to you.
Contents: 234 episodes, plus the original pilot episode, two cast retrospectives, theme song composer interview, a Cleavers-fronted special film made for the U.S. Treasury, original promo material.

Beautiful (R, 2009, E1 Entertainment)
Sometimes, everything you need to know about a movie can be found in its musical score. Witness “Beautiful,” which takes place in an otherwise ordinary suburb that houses some very suspicious residents and is reeling from three alleged instances of teenage girls getting abducted. The events of “Beautiful” swirl around several residents but gravitate primarily to an awkward teenager (Sebastian Gregory as Danny) who gets a chance to spend time with his dream girl neighbor (Tahyna Tozzi as Suzy) while she shamelessly pumps him for information about another, shadier neighbor, and the storytelling that results shifts between meandering slice-of-life drama to full-on mystery. But regardless of what mood the movie wants to be in or whether it’s even justified, a foreboding score continually purrs in the background. And even when it appears “Beautiful” is striving for something more than dour melodrama, that single, contagious touch continually drags it back there. The mysteries surrounding the neighbors as well as Danny himself ramp up at a nice pace, and even if you can’t stake a meaningful interest in the characters, there’s something satisfying about how far the debris flies when everything blows up in the film’s climax. Even here, though, “Beautiful’s” presentation of its events undermines those events, giving a story that could have been significantly more memorable a send-off that, appropriate or not, merely reinforces the loss of opportunity.
Extras: Deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes feature.