Every week, we’ll be letting you know which Blu-rays and DVDs will be available for purchase or rental starting today. This week includes several of 2012’s most acclaimed films including The Master, Holy Motors, A Simple Life and How to Survive a Plague. Also, some beloved television series including Rocko’s Modern Life, Phineas and Ferb and Law & Order and much more!
Haunted by his past, WWII veteran and drifter Freddie Quell crosses paths with a mysterious movement called The Cause, led by Lancaster Dodd aka The Master and his wife Peggy. Their twisted relationship is the core of this film that is “a glorious and haunting symphony of color, emotion and sound with camera movements that elicit an involuntary gasp and feats of acting that defy comprehension” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times). Awarded Best Actor for both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Paul Thomas Anderson at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, “The Master is a film which casts a spell like a fever dream” (David Ansen, Newsweek). Stunningly photographed in 65mm, The Master stands as an undeniable cinematic experience. Will Freddie be able to outrun his past? Will The Cause help or hurt him? Can this tortured, violent creature be civilized? Or is man, after all, just a dirty animal?
Join Monsieur Oscar (Denis Lavant) on his rollicking, soulful journey by limousine through the streets of Paris as he transforms into multiple characters for a series of mysterious “appointments.” Director Leos Carax melds monster movie, film noir, romantic drama, musical, crime thriller and anime in his mirthful, mind-bending masterwork, featuring new original music performed by Kylie Minogue. Eva Mendes and Kylie Minogue also star alongside Denis Lavant, whose performance has been named Top 10 of the Year by Time Magazine. One of the most acclaimed and beloved films of the year, Holy Motors is a ravishing fever dream of becoming, unraveling and starting all over again.
Paul Newman, Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh star in filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen’s darkly comic look at big business. When the founder of Hudsucker Industries leaps to his death from the 44th floor boardroom window the board of directors panics. But there is a plan: install a complete imbecile as president of the company and devalue the stock so the board can acquire a controlling interest for themselves. But where can they find such a guileless patsy? Enter Norville Barnes. Fresh off the bus from Muncie, Indiana, as a graduate of the 1958 class of the Muncie College of Business Administration, Norville is ready to start at the bottom and work his way up to the top of the corporate world … he just never imagined it would happen so quickly.
Rocko’s Modern Life: The Complete Series
What’s a wallaby to do when he’s surrounded by annoying neighbors, freeloading pals, heaps of laundry and the weight of life in general? Why, turn to his loyal canine, Spunky, dim-witted best pal, Heffer and neurotic nay-sayer Filburt to help him confront the trials and tribulations of modern life.
Created by Joe Murray (Camp Lazlo, Frog In A Suit) and starring Carlos Alazraqui (CatDog, RENO 911), Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants), Mr. Lawrence (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Charlie Adler (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters), Rocko’s Modern Life originally aired in 1991 on Nickelodeon and has since become a cult favorite all around the world. One of the few brilliant cartoons to break through the genre and emerge as a truly original television experience, Rocko inspires the artist in us all!
Scooby-Doo: Mask of the Blue Falcon
The Mega Mondo Pop Cartoon-a-Con in sunny California marks the spot for mystery in this all-new original Scooby-Doo adventure! Herculoids, Frankenstein Jr. and Space Ghost are just a few of the celebrated comic book characters headlining at the unconventional convention, plus there’s a megabucks movie premiere starring Scooby-Doo and Shaggy’s all-time favorite super heroes, Blue Falcon and Dynomutt! So when the gruesome villain Mr. Hyde unleashes monster bats, howling hounds and sinister slime upon the festivities, it’s time for Mystery Incorporated to follow the clues and set their monster traps. But it’s the pizza-snacking, super-powered tag team of Shaggy and Scooby-Doo who tap into their inner super hero to prevent the entire event from being smothered in ghoulish green goo! Like, right on, Dog Wonder!
Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue and Hollywood newcomer Jonny Weston star in this inspiring true story of courage and friendship the whole family will love. When 15-year-old Jay Moriarty (Weston) discovers that the mythical Mavericks surf break is real, he reaches out to local surfing legend Frosty Hesson (Butler) to train him to ride it. What begins as a mentorship turns into an extraordinary bond that transforms both their lives, as Jay and Frosty learn valuable lessons about conquering fear in pursuit of your dreams. Featuring the most spectacular wave footage ever captured on film, Chasing Mavericks is packed with action and drenched with excitement!
There is a war happening right now on the Arizona/Mexico border. Choose your side. Academy Award nominee Sharon Stone stars as Phoenix television reporter Sofie Talbert, a hard-nosed right-wing journalist who exposes liberal politicians soft on illegal immigration. But when her relief-worker brother goes missing in Mexico, Sofie’s own south-of-the-border investigation traps her in a deadly underworld of migrants, smugglers and cold-blooded murder. Here, nothing is what is seems. Nobody should be trusted. And when one woman crosses the line, there can be no turning back. Billy Zane (Titanic) co-stars in this gritty and intense drama inspired by true events.
Mike Gunton, Executive Producer of Life, presents an amazing new perspective on the landscapes and creatures of Africa. This is the world’s wildest continent as you’ve never seen it before – an intense sensory adventure from the Atlas Mountain through the Savannah lands to the Cape of Good Hope. Hosted by renowned naturalist David Attenborough, Africa contrasts the epic power of the landscape with the dramatic struggles of the animals that live there. Each episode promises intimate, eye-to-eye encounters with extraordinary wildlife, venturing into genuinely unexplored places and capturing never-seen-before behavior.
Bad girls don’t cry. They get even. When Shae (Danielle Panabaker), a naive college student, is tormented by several men in a matter of days, she reaches her breaking point, and is drawn into co-worker Lu’s (Nicole LaLiberte) twisted plan for revenge. Together, the two embark on a gruesome killing spree, terrorizing and brutally murdering not just their attackers, but any man who gets in their way. However, after a wild weekend of retaliation, the friendship between the girls shifts into a dangerous obsession, and their perverse game becomes a desperate struggle for Shae to maintain control against Lu’s deadly and seductive influence.
Roger (Andy Lau) is a successful movie producer. Ah Tao (Deanie Ip) has worked for Roger’s family as a nanny and maid over the course of four generations. When Roger comes home to find Ah Tao’s suffered a severe stroke and is unable to care for herself, he agrees to help her relocate to a nursing home.
He wants to help, but fears he’ll fail her. She needs his kindness, but doesn’t want to be a burden. As their roles reverse, he becomes her caregiver, and comes to understand how much she means to him.
One of 2012’s most heralded and treasured films, with cameo appearances from film luminaries such as Sammo Hung and Tsui Hark, A Simple Life has garnered multiple awards for Ann Hui (Best Director), Andy Lau (Best Actor), Deanie Ip (Best Actress), and Susan Chan (Best Screenplay). A Simple Life has also won Best Feature Film in multiple festivals and made film critics’ Top 10 lists all over the world.
Nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary and featured on over 15 top-ten lists, How to Survive a Plague is the story of the brave young men and women who successfully reversed the tide of an epidemic, demanded the attention of a fearful nation, and stopped AIDS from becoming a death sentence. This improbable group of activists bucked oppression and infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, helping to identify promising new medication and treatments and move them through trials and into drugstores in record time. In the process, they saved their own lives and ended the darkest days of a veritable plague, while virtually emptying AIDS wards in American hospitals. Theirs is a classic tale of activism that has since inspired movements for change in everything from breast cancer research to Occupy Wall Street.
From the Oscar nominated filmmakers of Persepolis, Chicken With Plums is a ‘captivating live-action fairytale full of whimsy, humor, magic and despair’ (Collider.com). Since his beloved violin was broken, Nasser Ali Khan, one of the most renowned musicians of his day, has lost all taste for life. Finding no instrument worthy of replacing it, he decides to confine himself to bed to await death. As he hopes for its arrival, he plunges into deep reveries, with dreams as melancholic as they are joyous, taking him back to his youth and even to a conversation with Azrael, the Angel of Death, who reveals the future of his children. As pieces of the puzzle gradually fit together, the poignant secret of his life comes to light: a wonderful story of love which inspired his genius and his music.
Hunter Isth has his life turned upside down when his young daughter is killed by a drunk teenage driver. In mourning, depressed and angry, Hunter disappears and is rumored to have moved away from Braiden Woods. As years go by, Hunter and his devastating story evolve into a myth, a myth that many consider to be just that, until a group of partying teenagers are brutally murdered one by one.
In the twelfth season of Dick Wolf’s iconic Law & Order series, crimes of passion come to the forefront as Elisabeth Röhm joins the cast as ADA Serena Southerlyn and Dianne Wiest ends her tenure as DA Nora Lewin. Tensions are running high amongst New York’s finest investigative and legal professionals with cases ranging from dog maulings to revived cold cases that bring to light errors of the past. But as the season builds to a frenzy, some of the team will find themselves under attack for taking justice to the extreme. Guest stars Gary Busey (Lethal Weapon) and Joe Piscopo (Saturday Night Live) joins Jerry Orbach, Jesse L. Martin, S. Epatha Merkerson and Sam Waterston in 24 gut-wrenching episodes from the riveting season that was dedicated to the victims of 9/11, their families, and the brave firefighters and police officers that came to their aid.
One of the best reviewed films of the year; Alex (Gael Garcia Bernal, Y Tu Mama Tambien, The Motorcycle Diaries) and Nica (Hani Furstenberg, Campfire, Yossi & Jagger) are young, in love and engaged to be married. The summer before their wedding, while backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia, they hire a local guide to lead them on a camping trek. Venturing into the stunning wilderness, the trio’s peaceful adventure takes a dark turn as a subtle rift opens between Alex and Nica, quickly widening until it threatens to undo everything the couple believed about each other and themselves. Along with their ever-present guide, the young travelers find themselves journeying not only into a landscape that’s both overwhelmingly open and frighteningly closed, but also into the farthest depths of their own understanding. A unique examination of the parameters of love, The Loneliest Planet is a tale of betrayal, identity, failure, and the ambiguities of forgiveness. The New Republic calls writer/director Julia Loktev “one of the most radical, intelligent, and talented filmmakers now at work.”
Phineas And Ferb: The Perry Files Animal Agent
How well do you really know your pet… or any animal? Behind a cute and/or cuddly exterior there may lurk a cunning crime-fighter with a brown fedora, a top-secret identity and a license to thrill! Meet the heroic Animal Agents of the O.W.C.A. (Organization Without A Cool Acronym).
Join Perry the Platypus – a.k.a. Agent P – and his fellow operatives as they team up to thwart Dr. Doofenshmirtz and his dastardly “Inators.” Be they furry or feathered, scaly or slimy, these fearless agents roll over for nobody when it comes to crushing evil in the Tri-State Area and beyond. Fully loaded with over two hours of animal-themed adventures, including the exciting two-part Phineas And Ferb cliffhanger Where’s Perry?, this fun-filled, action-packed laughfest will drive you wild!
Arliss Howard (Full Metal Jacket) stars as Nick Dunbar, a tough cop who goes undercover in a local high school to prove the innocence of his younger brother (Loren Dean), who has been accused of murdering a teacher. Nick soon finds himself face-to-face with a power-crazy principal (Robert Stack), a school bully (Peter Dobson), quirky teachers (George Wendt, Diane Ladd, Abe Vigoda) and all the other things that made him hate high school the first time around. However, as Nick tries desperately to solve the crime, he becomes increasingly involved in his newly adopted 1980s punk persona, reveling in the youthful experience, and falling in love with a pretty English teacher (Suzy Amis). A delightful combination of comedy and suspense that features a delirious cast of eccentric character actors including Harry Shearer, Reginald VelJohnson, Larry Pine and Seymour Cassel. Written by Scott Frank (Get Shorty) and directed by Martha Coolidge (Real Genius).
Chris Mankowski (Billy Burke) used to be on the Detroit Police bomb squad, but it’s not until he’s transferred to sex crimes that he gets a real taste of juggling dynamite. After falling for the lovely Greta Wyatt (Sabina Gadecki), he gets suspended for investigating the rich, powerful and drunk Woody Ricks (Crispin Glover). Taking matters into his own hands, Mankowski quickly realizes it won’t be easy to get justice for Greta. From former Black Panther Donnell Lewis (Michael Jai White) to sexy ex-fugitive Robin Abbott (Breanne Racano) and her erstwhile bombing partner Skip Gibbs (Christian Slater), everyone wants something from Ricks. With all these unscrupulous deviants in the mix, one thing’s for certain… it’s gonna get freaky!
