After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America's ideals. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) to wage war on the evil HYDRA organization, led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). Vitals: Director: Joe Johnston. Stars: Chris Evans, Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell, Sebastian Stan, Hugo Weaving, Toby Jones, Stanley Tucci, Neal McDonough, Dominic Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Armitage, Derek Luke. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 124 min., Action, Box office gross: $173.459 million, Paramount.

There's so many collectible goodies this week that we just don't know where to start ... but we'll begin with one of our favorite ladies of the big screen, Jean Harlow. "Harlow 100," Warner Archive's inaugural box set collection, spotlights the Platinum Bombshell. A true trendsetter, the first "Platinum Blonde" provided the template for an archetype that stretches from Marilyn to Madonna to Gwen Stefani and beyond. Not only was she a big-screen sex symbol, but Harlow was a gifted comedienne and a talented dramatic actress. This special collection celebrates her centennial year with seven of her films, three newly remastered: "Bombshell" (1933) (remastered), "The Girl From Missouri" (1934) (remastered), "Reckless" (1935)(remastered), "Riffraff" (1935) "Suzy (1936) "Personal Property" (1937) and "Saratoga" (1937). Read more here ... Next up is a pair of wild and crazy guys: "Laurel & Hardy: The Essential Collection," a 10-disc set with 58 of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's talking shorts and feature films, produced under legendary movie mogul Hal Roach from 1929 through 1940, available for the first time in the U.S. -- in one magnificent collection, digitally remastered and digitally restored. $99.98 from Vivendi Entertainment/RHI Entertainment.

"Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale" (Finland -- 2010) is a horror film that just might become a new Christmas staple. It's the eve of Christmas in northern Finland, and an American "archeological" dig has just unearthed the real Santa Claus. But this particular Santa isn't the one you want coming to town. When the local children begin mysteriously disappearing, reindeer hunters try to capture the mythological being. Santa's elves, however, will stop at nothing to make sure their just unearthed leader stays free. From Oscilloscope Laboratories ... In "Father of Invention" (2011), an eccentric inventor turned ego-driven infomercial guru lands in jail when one of his products -- the "Ab-Clicker" -- maims thousands of customers. Released 10 years later, he strives to redeem his name, rebuild his billion dollar empire and make amends with his estranged 22-year-old daughter. Stars Kevin Spacey, Camilla Belle, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, John Stamos, Craig Robinson, Virginia Madsen. From Anchor Bay ... Andy Lau, Nicolas Tse and Jackie Chan star in "Shaolin" (2011 -- Hong Kong), a remake of Jet Li's "Shaolin Temple" (1982), about sadistic warlords squaring off against noble monks in the early years of the Chinese republic. From Well Go USA ... "Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings" (2011) is the unrated bloody beginnings of Three Finger and his family of hillbilly cannibals. From Fox ... "Attack the Block" (2011), starring Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega and Luke Treadaway, is a funny and frightening action adventure movie that pits a teen street gang against an invasion of savage alien monsters. A London housing project is turned into a sci-fi battleground and the low-income apartment complex into a fortress under siege as a crazy mix of tough street kids become kick ass heroes fighting off an invasion from outer space. From Sony ... In "A Little Help" (2010), a Long Island dental hygienist who wants nothing more than to run her own life and who relies on guilty pleasures -- cigarettes and beer -- to help her cope with an unruly lifestyle in order to take care of herself and her 12-year-old son, gets entangled in a series of bizarre lies when her unfaithful husband dies. Stars Jenna Fischer, Chris O'Donnell, Rob Benedict, Daniel Yelsky, Lesley Ann Warren, Ron Leibman, Brooke Smith. From Image Entertainment ... In "Mardi Gras: Spring Break" (2011), a group of college buddies sow their wild oats in New Orleans. Stars Danneel Ackles, Arielle Kebbel, Carmen Electra, Nicholas D'Agosto, Regina Hall, Josh Gad. From Sony.

"Anti-Nazi Classics Vol. 2" is an anthology of four films about Nazi Germany. "Rotation" (1949): From the director of "The Murderers Are Among Us" and ranked as one of Germany's most important films ever, "Rotation" is the story of a German family that becomes divided over supporting the Nazis. "Council of the Gods" (1950): Based on testimony from Nuremberg, this classic was inspired by the collaboration between Nazi scientists and chemical giant I.G. Farben -- a collaboration that led to the death of millions. "The Axe of Wandsbek" (1951): In 1934, when the Nazis need a hangman to execute a group of political prisoners, the town butcher makes the biggest mistake of his life: facing bankruptcy, he agrees to do the dirty deed. "The Adventures of Werner Holt" (1964): Two 17 year-olds are pulled out of school and into Hitler's army; while one becomes a fanatical soldier, the other, Werner Holt, begins to understand the senselessness of war. $59.95 from First Run features ... "The Art of Filmmaking" is an anthology of five documentaries about filmmaking: "Tales From the Script" (featuring Shane Black, Frank Darabont, Paul Schrader, among others), "Directors: Life Behind the Camera" (featuring Robert Altman, Robert Benton, Tim Burton, James Cameron, Chris Columbus, Wes Craven, Cameron Crowe, Frank Darabont, Jonathan Demme, Richard Donner, Clint Eastwood, Nora Ephron, William Friedkin, Terry Gilliam, Ron Howard, Lawrence Kasdan, Spike Lee, Barry Levinson, George Lucas, David Lynch, Adrian Lyne, Garry Marshall, Penny Marshall, Sydney Pollack, Rob Reiner, Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Bryan Singer, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Robert Zemeckis & David Zucker), "Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary," "Light Keeps Me Company" (about Sven Nykvist) and "Lavender Limelight: Lesbians in Film." $79.95 from First Run Features ... "Bill Moyers: Own Our Own Terms" (2000) is the newest DVD release from Bill Moyers' acclaimed library, featuring insightful, practical discussions about death and dying in America. Moyers interviews dozens of terminally ill patients in this four-part exploration of end-of-life issues. From Acorn Media ... "Hamlet at Elsinore" (1964) stars Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Donald Sutherland and Roy Kinnear in this historic production of "Hamlet" filmed on location at Elsinore, Denmark, the actual location where the play is set. From BBC/Warner ... "Joseph Campbell: Mythos III" is the third installment of Joseph Campbell's fascinating lecture series, seen on PBS. Offering five newly remastered and visually stunning lectures from one of the greatest storytellers of our time. Hosted by Susan Sarandon. From Acorn Media ... "The People vs. George Lucas" (2010) is a documentary that delves deep into the 'Star Wars' phenomena and George Lucas's cultural legacy, exploring the issues of filmmaking and fanaticism around one of the industry's most famous franchises. From Lionsgate.

• Californication The Fourth Season
• Cars 2
• Crazy, Stupid, Love.
• The Fugitive: The Most Wanted Edition
• Hollywood Party
• An Invisible Sign
• The Legend of Billie Jean
• Magic Trip
• Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon
• Rawhide The Fourth Season, Volume Two
• Rejoice & Shout
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
• Tabloid
• Trespass
• Water for Elephants

Star racecar Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater take their friendship to exciting new places when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world's fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile and the stunning rookie field spy Holley Shiftwell. Mater's action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. Vitals: Director: John Lasseter, Brad Lewis. Stars: Voices of Larry the Cable Guy, Owen Wilson, Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Eddie Izzard, John Turturro, Brent Musburger, Joe Mantegna, Thomas Kretschmann, Bonnie Hunt, Franco Nero. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: G, 106 min., Animated Family, Box office gross: $186.196 million, Pixar/Disney.

At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) is living the dream -- good job, nice house, great kids and married to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his "perfect" life quickly unravels. Worse, in today's single world, Cal, who hasn't dated in decades, stands out as the epitome of un-smooth. Now spending his free evenings sulking alone at a local bar, the hapless Cal is taken on as wingman and protege to handsome, thirtysomething player Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). In an effort to help Cal get over his wife and start living his life, Jacob opens Cal's eyes to the many options before him: flirty women, manly drinks and a sense of style that can't be found at Supercuts or The Gap. Cal and Emily aren't the only ones looking for love in what might be all the wrong places: Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie, is crazy about his 17-year-old babysitter, Jessica, who harbors a crush on Cal. And despite Cal's makeover and his many new conquests, the one thing that can't be made over is his heart, which seems to keep leading him back to where he began. Vitals: Director: John Requa, Glenn Ficarra. Stars: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Marisa Tomei, John Carroll Lynch, Josh Groban, Analeigh Tipton, Jonah Bobo, Joey King, Beth Littleford. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 118 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $78.510 million, Warner.

Devastated by the sudden death of his parents at the height of The Depression, a young dreamer from the wrong side of the tracks, Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson), abandons his veterinary studies at Cornell University. With no other family, no house, and no money, Jacob stows away on a train carrying the circus performers of The Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Hired as a veterinarian to care for the troupe's animals, Jacob is temporarily filled with the promise of an exciting life that comes with a traveling circus troupe. However, as he builds a rapport and falls in love with the star of the show, Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), they become prey to the circus's owner, Marlena's violent and abusive husband August (Christoph Waltz). As the circus begins to crumble from within and against all odds, Jacob and Marlena come together and fall in love through their compassion for a special elephant. With their love on the line, Jacob and Marlena come to a crossroads that will forever change their destiny. Vitals: Director: Francis Lawrence. Stars: Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz, Paul Schneider, Jim Norton, Mark Povinelli, Richard Brake, Hal Holbrook. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 120 min., Drama, Box office gross: $58.700 million, Fox.

Growing up in 19th century China, Lily (Bingbing Li) and Snow Flower (Gianna Jun) are brought together in a Laotong friendship -- a lifelong bond between two women who rely on each other for companionship and comfort. Amid the civil unrest and gender discrimination of the era, the pair deals with life's hardships together until they are separated by marriage and childbirth. As sworn sisters, however, the women continue to communicate through the secret Chinese language of nushu, hiding their stories and messages within the folds of delicate silk fans. In present day Shanghai, the Laotong's descendants Nina (also played by Li) and Sophia (also played by Jun) struggle to maintain the intimacy of their own childhood friendship in the face of demanding careers and complicated love lives. Drawing on lessons of the past, the two modern women must understand the story of their ancestral connection or risk losing one another forever. What unfolds are two stories, generations apart, but everlasting in the notion of love, hope and friendship. Vitals: Director: Wayne Wang. Stars: Bingbing Li, Gianna Jun, Russell Wong, Vivian Wu, Archie Kao. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 120 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.332 million, Fox.

"Hollywood Party" (1934) "Hollywood Party" -- eight directors and eight writers (two credited) strong -- is the wild, wildly inconsistent but ever fun musical-novelty film, packed with kicky dance montages offering pre-Code chorines and Berkeley-like kaleidoscopic shots, spiked with a color cartoon insert from Walt Disney, and thronged with notables (including Mickey Mouse, Ted Healy and his Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy, who put an egg in Lupe Velez's shoe and are duly repaid). The story line -- such as it is -- has the screen's great Schnarzan (Jimmy Durante) attempting to wow the visiting Baron Munchausen (Jack Pearl, reprising his familiar vaudeville and radio character) by throwing him a big, bustling Tinseltown bash. From Warner. Blu-ray debuts this week: "The Big Country" (1958), "Brideshead Revisited: 30th Anniversary Edition" (1981), "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002), "It's a Wonderful Life Shadow Box Gift Set" (1946) (a two-disc set with the original B&W film and a colorized version, an exclusive bell ornament and a commemorative booklet, packed in a shadow box), "Quigley Down Under" (1990), "Scrooged" (1988), "Tom Cruise Blu-ray Collection" (a six-disc set with "Collateral," "Days of Thunder," "The Firm," "Minority Report," "Top Gun" and "War of the Worlds," bargain priced at $39.99, and "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" (1974).

After his sleigh is shot down while flying through restricted military airspace, an earthbound Santa is sought for questioning by a pair of overzealous Homeland Security agents in "The Santa Incident" (2011), starring Ione Skye and Greg Germann. The fate of Christmas is in the hands of the disbelieving by-the-book duo, unless their faith in Santa can be restored by two children and a trio of elves who have arrived from up North to help out a friend in need. From RHI Entertainment/Vivendi Entertainment ... In "Strawberry Shortcake: Bright Lights, Big dreams" (2011), Strawberry and her friends spin and twirl in the annual dance-off. From Fox ... "The Nutcracker: The Untold Story" (2011) is a modern take on the famous story, with eight new songs by Oscar-winning lyricist Tim Rice ("The Lion King," "Evita"). Stars Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, Frances de la Tour and John Turturro. From Universal ...

"Tabloid" (2011) is Errol Morris' documentary about the salacious adventures of Miss Wyoming Joyce McKinney, a beauty queen with an IQ of 168 who made her mark as a tabloid staple in the late 1970s by kidnapping her former beau, Kirk Anderson -- who had become a Mormon missionary in the U.K. -- and tying him to a bed to "deprogram" his religious beliefs by having nonstop sex with him. From IFC Entertainment/MPI Media Group ... "Magic Trip" (2011) is a documentary about Ken Kesey and The Merry Band of Pranksters' legendary, LSD-fuelled 1964 cross-country road trip to the New York World's Fair. From Magnolia Home Entertainment ... "Rejoice & Shout" (2011) is a documentary that traces the evolution of Gospel through its many musical styles, from the spirituals and early hymns, the four-part harmony-based quartets, the integration of blues and swing into Gospel, the emergence of Soul, and the blending of Rap and Hip Hop elements. Also from Magnolia Home Entertainment.

• Alleged
• Atlas Shrugged -- Part 1
• A Better Tomorrow
• The Change-Up
• Doctor Who: Series Six, Part Two
• Frankenhooker
• Law & Order: The Complete Series
• Mr. Magoo -- The Television Collection (1960-1977)
• Superheroes
• 13
• The Wild Thornberrys: Season 2, Part 1
• 
  

After 10 wonderful years, (and seven movies), the cinematic saga of Harry Potter comes to a close with a stupendous, visceral, special-effects laden extravaganza. If you'll recall from "Part 1," the evil forces of Lord Voldemort have basically taken over Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic in preparation for enslaving their opponents and purifying the world. Harry, Ron and Hermione -- after what seemed like 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness in search of the "horcruxes" that give Voldemort his immortality -- amass enough wizardry strength to face off against the Dark Lord's minions while Harry himself confronts the evil one in a battle that would make Raoul Walsh and Sam Fuller proud. This is a fitting end to the Harry Potter saga: a cinematic tour-de-force with strong acting and dazzling special effects. And in what must be the highest-grossing series in movie history -- and a series that has fattened the wallets of virtually half the British actors in the world -- the saga gave us the rare opportunity to watch a group of kids come of age (fictionally) on the big screen, witnessing their childhoods' end at the hands of duplicitous and evil adults (though for every bad adult there's also a positive role model). By the end of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," Ron and Hermione have matured and acknowledge their love for each other while Harry flexes his muscles and kills off the evil father figure. Freud would be proud. Vitals: Director: David Yates. Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Matthew Lewis, Jason Isaacs, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 130 min., Fantasy Adventure, Box office gross: $377.104 million, Warner.

Dave and Mitch are best friends who have drifted apart from each other, going their separate ways: Dave (Jason Bateman) has a lovely wife, three kids and a high-paying job in a prestigious law firm; Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) is a man-child with no responsibilities and a stress-free life with no obligations. Ahh, but the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and after a drunken night together, the pair urinate in the pool of a magical statue and wake up the next morning in each other's bodies. The rest of the movie has the pair struggling to avoid destroying each other's lives before they can find a way to get their old ones back. Hollywood (and audiences) love body swap comedies, whether they concern spirits coming back in human bodies (1941's "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," remade as "Heaven Can Wait" in 1978 by Warren Beatty), women inhabiting men's bodies ("All of Me," 1984), men inhabiting women's bodies ("Prelude to a Kiss," 1992), women and men swapping bodies ("Turnabout," 1940) or mothers and daughters and sons and fathers swapping bodies ("Freaky Friday," 2003 and "Like Father, Like Son," 1987). And while most of those films are enjoyable, we can't say the same for "The Change-Up." The film puts its emphasis on four-letter words, gross-out bodily functions, sex acts, double entendres and violence -- all in a particularly nasty way. It is cliched and lacks heart. In a word, it's despicable. It's a shame to see four good actors (Bateman, Reynolds, Olivia Wilde and Leslie Mann) wasting their time on such junk. Vitals: Director: David Dobkin. Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman, Leslie Mann, Olivia Wilde, Mircea Monroe, Alan Arkin, Dax Griffin, Sydney Rouviere, Jeanine Jackson, Ed Ackerman, TJ Hassan. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 112 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $36.485 million, Universal.

Based Ayn Rand's influential 1957 novel about a dystopian future. The book was optioned in 1992 by John Aglialoro, who paid $1 million for complete rights to a film version. Since then, a number of false starts have plagued the project, including former plans to develop the story as a television miniseries. This was planned as the first of a four-part series. Set in 2016, the country is on the verge of economic collapse marked by collectivism and groupthink. Young executive Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) -- who runs one of the largest remaining railroads despite her inept CEO brother, James (Matthew Marsden) -- begins to notice the mysterious disappearance of the world's leading artists, businessmen and thinkers. To save the railroad from financial ruin, Dagny seeks out entrepreneurial industrialist Henry Rearden (Grant Bowler), whose super-strength metal alloy holds the promise of the future. As government interference continues and the country's most competent and productive minds keep disappearing, Dagny refuses to give up and begins to track down the mysterious force -- the mysterious someone -- behind the destruction of the world economy. Vitals: Director: Paul Johansson. Stars: Taylor Schilling, Matthew Marsden, Grant Bowler, Edi Gathegi, Graham Beckel, Jsu Garcia, Michael Lerner, Paul Johansson. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 148 min., Drama, Box office gross: $4.563 million, Fox.

"Mr. Magoo -- The Television Collection (1960-1977)" is an 11-disc set with more than 30 hours of content, including 26 episodes of "The Mr. Magoo Show" (1960-61); the primetime TV Movie, "Uncle Sam Magoo" (1970); and for the first time on DVD, 26 episodes of "The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo" (1964). In addition, 16 episodes of "What's New Mr. Magoo?" (1977), as well as all-new DVD extras. Mr. Magoo first appeared in 1949 in the theatrical short cartoon "The Ragtime Bear." Voiced by Jim Backus, Quincy Magoo was a wealthy, short-sighted retiree who got into a series of sticky situations as a result of his nearsightednes and his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. An instant hit, Mr. Magoo went on to become a classic animated character starring in two Academy-Award-winning theatrical shorts, two TV series and two TV specials. Extras: "Oh, Magoo ... You've Done It Again!" featurette; commentaries by animation historians Jerry Beck, Darrell Van Citters, others; photo gallery with storyboards and drawings. From Shout! Factory.

"Blue Velvet" (1986) is David Lynch's visionary story of sex, death, greed and resurrection in which he paints a perverted universe that lies just below the surface of a quiet suburban town. Clean-cut Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) realizes his Mayberry-like home town is not so normal when he discovers a human ear in a field, leading him into an erotic murder mystery that involves a disturbed nightclub singer (Isabella Rossellini) and a drug-addicted sadist (Dennis Hopper). The Blu-ray edition includes 50 minutes of never-before seen footage, a "Mysteries of Love" documentary, vignettes and "A Few Outtakes." From Fox.

"Fanny and Alexander (1982) Through the eyes of 10-year-old Alexander, we witness the delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family, a sprawling bourgeois clan in turn-of-the-20th-century Sweden. Ingmar Bergman intended "Fanny and Alexander" as his swan song, and it is the legendary director's warmest and most autobiographical film, a four-time Academy Award–winning triumph that combines his trademark melancholy and emotional intensity with immense joy and sensuality. The Criterion Collection presents both the theatrical release and the original five-hour television version of this great work. Also included in the box set is Bergman's own feature-length documentary "The Making of "Fanny and Alexander," a unique glimpse into his creative process. From The Criterion Collection.

"13" (2011) is a remake of the award-winning 2005 international sensation "13 Tzameti," about a man who assumes a dead man's identity and finds himself embroiled in an underground world of power, violence, and chance where men gamble behind closed doors on the lives of other men in an underworld Russian roulette competition. Stars Jason Statham, Alexander Skarsgard, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Mickey Rourke, Michael Shannon, 50 Cent, Ray Winstone, Gaby Hoffmann, Ben Gazzara. From Anchor Bay ... "Boy Wonder" (2011) is an urban psychological-thriller about a young boy who witnesses the brutal murder of his mother during a Brooklyn car-jacking and who grows up to be a loner, obsessed with finding his mother's killer -- as a straight-A student by day and a self-appointed hero at night. From Inception Media Group ... A man with a rare sleep disorder, parasomnia, wakes up with blood on his hands and fears he may be a killer while sleepwalking in "In My Sleep" (2009), starring Philip Winchester, Lacey Chabert, Abigail Spencer, Kelly Overton, Michael Badalucco, Beth Grant, Tony Hale. From Freestyle Digital Media ... "Alleged" (2010) is a romantic story about a young reporter and his fiancee -- and moral responsibility and journalistic opportunity -- set against the whirlwind of fundamentalism and sensationalism that was the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial" that pitted William Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow. Stars Nathan West, Ashley Johnson, Brian Denny, Fred Dalton Thompson, Colm Meaney. From Image Entertainment ... "A Better Tomorrow" (2010 -- South Korea) stars Jin-mo Ju and Seung-heon Song in a remake of John Woo's 1986 cult classic, here about double-dealing and warfare among rival Thai and Korean mob syndicates. From Well Go USA ... A group of university students travel to sacred Native American land in Florida to finish their thesis project and encounter the supernatural in "The Sacred" (2009). From Osiris Entertainment.

"Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story" (2011) stars Poppy Montgomery, Emily Holmes, Antonio Cupo, Janet Kidder in the Lifetime Original Movie that chronicles the British author's struggle to bring the beloved wizard fantasy to life -- while a single mother on welfare -- eventually becoming one of the world's wealthiest women. From A&E Network ... Alberto Villoldo, psychologist, medical anthropologist and best-selling author has studied the shamanic healing practices of the Amazon and the Andes for over 25 years. In the documentary "Amazonia: Healing With Sacred Plants"" (2011), Villoldo explores the secrets of the jungle's sacred plants and the healers who administer them in the deep Amazon rainforest, revealing how they are a central part of the philosophy of health and wellbeing. $19.98 from True Mind.

• Beginners
• Being Human: The Complete First Season
• Crime Story: The Complete Series
• Griff the Invisible
• Highway Patrol Man
• It Takes a Thief: The Complete Series
• Larry Crowne
• Main Street
• The Rules of the Game (1939)
• Three Colors: Blue, White, Red (1993-1994)
• West Side Story: 50th Anniversary Edition

From writer-director Mike Mills comes a comedy-drama about how deeply funny and transformative life can be, even at its most serious moments. Oliver (Ewan McGregor) meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Melanie Laurent) only months after his father Hal (Christopher Plummer) has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father who -- following 44 years of marriage -- came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life. The upheavals of Hal's new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they'd ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him. "Beginners" imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving Oliver's consciousness. Vitals: Director: Mike Mills. Stars: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Mary Page Keller, Jodi Long. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 104 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $5.776 million, Universal.

Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts come together for a romantic and optimistic comedy about how it's never too late to reinvent yourself. When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne (Hanks) enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher (Roberts). Vitals: Director: Tom Hanks. Stars: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Cedric the Entertainer, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Bryan Cranston, Wilmer Valderrama, Taraji P. Henson, Maria Canals-Barrera, Malcolm Barrett, George Takei, Nia Vardalos, Jon Seda. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 98 min., Comedy Drama, Box office gross: $35.565 million, Universal.

This week's top Blu-Ray debuts:
Considered one of the greatest films ever made, "The Rules of the Game" (1939), by Jean Renoir, is a scathing critique of corrupt French society cloaked in a comedy of manners, in which a weekend at a marquis's countryside chateau lays bare some ugly truths about a group of haute bourgeois acquaintances. The film had a tumultuous history -- ­it was subjected to cuts after premiere audiences rejected it in 1939, and the original negative was destroyed during World War II; it wasn't reconstructed until 1959. That version, which has stunned viewers for decades, is presented here, in a high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. From The Criterion Collection ... "Three Colors: Blue, White, Red" (1993-1994), a boldly cinematic trio of stories about love and loss from Krzysztof Kieslowski ("The Double Life of Veronique"), was a defining event of the art-house boom of the 1990s. The films were named for the colors of the French flag and stand for the tenets of the French Revolution -- ­liberty, equality, and fraternity. Set in Paris, Warsaw and Geneva, and ranging from tragedy to comedy, "Blue," "White" and "Red" (Kieslowski's final film) examine with artistic clarity a group of ambiguously interconnected people experiencing profound personal disruptions. Marked by intoxicating cinematography and stirring performances by such actors as Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Irene Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant, Kieslowski's "Three Colors" is a benchmark of contemporary cinema. New high-definition digital restorations, with DTS-HD Master Audio. Also from Criterion.

"Crime Story: The Complete Series" (1986-88) Set in the 1960s, "Crime Story" is the story of the Chicago Police Major Crime Unit headed by Lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina), a man driven by his obsessive pursuit of Ray Luca (Anthony Denison), a ruthless hood who is rapidly ascending the underworld's corporate ladder. As Luca murders, steals, and extorts his way to the top, Torello, backed by his dedicated team of detectives, pursues him from the grit of Chicago to the glitz of Las Vegas, their paths clashing again and again. Features a supporting cast that includes Darlanne Fluegel, Stephen Lang, Bill Campbell, Ted Levine, Joseph Wiseman. Guest stars include David Caruso, Julia Roberts, Gary Sinise, Kevin Spacey, Ving Rhames, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Madsen, Pam Grier, Stanley Tucci, David Hyde Pierce, Andrew Dice Clay and Deborah Harry -- as well as an appearance by jazz legend Miles Davis. This 25th anniversary edition includes the two-hour pilot. $29.98 from Image Entertainment ... Fusing the heist and espionage genres, "It Takes a Thief" was an action-adventure series that aired on ABC for two-and-a-half seasons between Jan. 9, 1968 and March 24, 1970. Marking the TV debut of Robert Wagner, the cult classic series was inspired by Hitchcock's 1955 Cary Grant film, "To Catch a Thief," and was among the last of the 1960s spy television genre. The premise: Stealing to finance his life as a playboy and sophisticate, Alexander Mundy (Wagner) was the world's greatest cat burglar ... until the day he got caught. But thievery skills are an asset in the world of espionage, so Mundy is pardoned when he agrees to use his wily ways to help steal for the SIA, an American espionage agency. Entertainment One's 18-disc set contains all 66 digitally remastered episodes plus a safe-full of extras, $199.98 ... Also this week, Paramount will release the Blu-ray debut of "My Fair Lady" (1964), directed by George Cukor and starring Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett, Theodore Bikel and Mona Washbourne.

From TV to DVD:
"Bedlam: Season One" (2011) is a two-disc set with six episodes of the British supernatural series that aired in October on BBC America from BBC/Warner ... "Being Human: The Complete First Season" (2011) is a four-disc set with 13 episodes, $49.05 from Entertainment One ... "Smallville: The Complete Series" is a 62-disc set with 218 episodes, $339.98 from Warner ... "Smallville: The Final Season" (2010-11) is a six-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98 from Warner ... The streets of Whitechapel are awash with blood as a murderer stalks the night, picking off vulnerable women and leaving them brutally butchered in "Whitechapel: The Ripper Returns" (2011), a three-episode arc that launched the series that follows the grisly crimes of a modern-day Jack the Ripper copycat killer. From BBC Worldwide Americas.

In "Bellflower" (2011), best friends Woodrow and Aiden spend all of their free time building "Mad Max"-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for a global apocalypse. But when Woodrow meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love, he and Aiden quickly integrate into a new group of friends, setting off on a journey of love and hate, betrayal, infidelity, and extreme violence. Written, directed by and starring Glodell, the film is a heartfelt story of obsession, friendship, young-love gone awry. Filmed using Glodell's custom-built cameras and showcasing his real-life creations: homemade flamethrowers and a fire-spewing 1972 Buick Skylark, Medusa. The painfully honest and quirky film --which developed quite a cult following -- co-stars Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes, Vincent Grashaw. From Oscilloscope Laboratories ... In "Griff the Invisible" (2010), starring Ryan Kwanten, Maeve Dermody, Patrick Brammall, Toby Schmitz, Marshall Napier and Heather Mitchell, Griff, a shy and awkward office worker by day, finds escape from his ordinary, "invisible" life by assuming the identity of a fantastic superhero each night. But his secret is jeopardized when he meets Melody, a cute but unconventional daydreamer who quickly becomes fascinated by his idiosyncrasies, which are equal only to her own, and who takes it upon herself to rescue "Griff the Invisible." A warm, loving "underdog" superhero romance -- that could have used stronger editing -- with offbeat, engaging characters. From Indomina/Vivendi Entertainment ... In "Flypaper" (2011), starring Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Jeffrey Tambor, Mekhi Phifer, Curtis Armstrong and Tim Blake Nelson, a nervous bank customer protects the teller he has a crush on when two gangs of robbers -- a high-tech trio who plan to break into the vault, and two dumb hicks whose idea of a big score is knocking off the ATMs -- descend on the same bank. From IFC Films ... In "Rio Sex Comedy" (2010), a mixed group of tourists and visitors on a working trip find themselves footloose and under the sway of the Brazilian city's erotic spell. Stars Charlotte Rampling, Bill Pullman, Irene Jacob, Jean-Maric Roulot. From FilmBuff/MPI Media Group ... The long unavailable "Highway Patrol Man" (1991) by director Alex Cox ("Repo Man") has finally made its way to DVD. Against his father's wishes, Pedro -- a naive kid from Mexico City -- joins the Federal Highway Patrol. His simple desire to do good rapidly comes into conflict with the reality of police work in a lonely rural environment populated by poor farmers, rich drug dealers, beautiful women, and his father's ghost. Stars Roberto Sosa, Bruno Bichir and Vanessa Bauche. From Microcinema International.

• The Adventures of Tintin: Season One
• Carjacked
• Conan the Barbarian
• The Devil's Double
• Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series
• The Family Tree
• Helldriver
• Perry Mason Season 6, Volume 2
• Sarah's Key
• Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
• Super 8
• These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America
• Trigger
• Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns: Season 3

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined. Vitals: Director: J.J. Abrams. Stars: Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, A.J. Michalka, Riley Griffiths, Jessica Tuck, Joel McKinnon Miller. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 112 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $126.728 million, Paramount.

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a 10-year old girl, is taken with her parents by the French police as they go door-to-door arresting Jewish families in the middle of the night. Desperate to protect her younger brother, Sarah locks him in a bedroom cupboard -- their secret hiding place -- and promises to come back for him as soon as they are released. Sixty-seven years later, Sarah's story intertwines with that of Julia Jarmond (Kristin Scott Thomas), an American journalist married to a Frenchman, who is commissioned to write an article about that notorious Vel d'Hiv round up. She stumbles upon a family secret that links her to Sarah: Julia learns that the apartment she and her husband Bertrand plan to move into was acquired by Bertrand's family when its Jewish occupants were dispossessed and deported 60 years before. She resolves to find out what happened to the former occupants: Wladyslaw and Rywka Starzynski, parents of 10-year-old Sarah and four-year-old Michel. The more Julia discovers -- especially about Sarah, the only member of the Starzynski family to survive -- the more she uncovers about Bertrand-s family, about France and, finally, herself. In French with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Gilles Paquet-Brenner. Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Melusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frederic Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot, Gisele Casadesus, Aidan Quinn. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 111 min., Drama, Box office gross: $5.852 million, The Weinstein Co.

On the surface, Marissa Cortez Wilson (Jessica Alba) has it all ... married to a famous spy hunting television reporter, a new baby and intelligent twin step kids. But in reality, trying to mother Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), who clearly don't want her around, is her toughest challenge yet. Also, her husband, Wilbur (Joel McHale), wouldn't know a spy if he lived with one -- which is exactly the case: Marissa's a retired secret agent. Marissa's world is turned upside down when the maniacal Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven) threatens to take over the planet and she's called back into action. With Armageddon quickly approaching, Rebecca and Cecil join their stepmom as Spy Kids and, with a little help from a couple of very familiar Spy Kids, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara), and some mind-blowing gadgets, they just may be able to save the world and possibly bring their family together while they're at it. Vitals: Director: Robert Rodriguez. Stars: Jessica Alba, Mason Cook, Rowan Blanchard, Joel McHale, Jeremy Piven, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo, Ricky Gervais (voice). 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 89 min., Family, Box office gross: $34.223 million, Dimension.

The legendary Barbarian is back. Having thrived and evolved for eight consecutive decades in the public imagination -- in prose and graphics, on the big screen and small, in games and properties of all kinds -- Conan's exploits in the Hyborian Age come alive again for a new generation. A quest that begins as a personal vendetta for the fierce Cimmerian warrior soon turns into an epic battle against hulking rivals, horrific monsters and impossible odds, as Conan realizes he is the only hope of saving the great nations of Hyboria from an encroaching reign of supernatural evil. Vitals: Director: Marcus Nispel. Stars: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 113 min., Fantasy Action, Box office gross: $21.270 million, Lionsgate.

Based on a true story. Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace in Bagdad in 1987, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia (Dominic Cooper) is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he's ordered to become the 'fiday' -- or body double -- to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein (also Dominic Cooper), a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family's lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince's psychotic, drug-addled life of fast cars, easy women and impulsive violence. With one wrong move costing him his life, Latif forges an intimate bond with Sarrab (Ludivine Sangier), Uday's seductive mistress who's haunted by her own secrets. But as war looms with Kuwait and Uday's depraved gangster regime threatens to destroy them all, Latif realizes that escape from the devil's den will only come at the highest possible cost. Vitals: Director: Lee Tamahori. Stars: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Philip Quast, Mem Ferda, Raad Rawi, Jamie Harding, Nasser Memarzia. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 108 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.2 million, Lionsgate.

This week's top Blu-Ray debuts:
"Rushmore" (1998), the dazzling sophomore film from Wes Anderson, is equal parts coming-of-age story, French New Wave homage and screwball comedy. Tenth grader Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is Rushmore Academy's most extracurricular student -- ­and its least scholarly. He faces expulsion, and enters into unlikely friendships with both a lovely first-grade teacher (Olivia Williams) and a melancholy self-made millionaire (Bill Murray, in an award-winning performance). Set to a soundtrack of classic British Invasion tunes, Rushmore defies categorization; it captures the pain and exuberance of adolescence with wit, emotional depth, and cinematic panache. New high-definition digital transfer of the director's cut, supervised by director Wes Anderson, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack ... "12 Angry Men" (1957) "12 Angry Men," by Sidney Lumet, may be the most radical big-screen courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system as riveting as it is spare, the iconic adaptation of Reginald Rose's teleplay stars Henry Fonda as the initially dissenting foreman on a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a Puerto Rican teenager charged with murdering his father. What results is a saga of epic proportions that plays out in real time over 90 minutes in one sweltering room. Lumet's electrifying snapshot of 1950s America on the verge of change is one of the great feature film debuts. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack. Both are from The Criterion Collection).

During a routine stop at a gas station, Lorraine (Maria Bello), a vulnerable single mom, and her 5 year-old son (Connor Hill) are carjacked by Roy (Stephen Dorff), a vicious bank robber on the run who forces her to drive him to meet up with his accomplice in In "Carjacked" (2011), from Anchor Bay ... In "Helldriver" (2010 -- Japan), a meteorite crashes into Japan, releasing a toxic ash that turns inhabitants in the northern half of the country into bloodthirsty zombies; a stunning high school girl armed with an artificial heart-powered chainsaw sword leads a motley crew of desperadoes into the zombie-infected wilds to exterminate the zombie queen. This low-budget flick has more ambition than smarts; after the first foray into zombieland, the killings become an endless loop of bloodshed with no rhyme nor reason nor story line. From Well Go USA ... And from Shout! Factory comes an "Action Double Feature" of 1974 films: "The Nickel Ride," abut the "key man" who manages the mob's warehouses of solen goods, starring Jason Miller, Linda Haynes and Bo Hopkins; and "99 and 44/100% Dead," in which rival gangsters battle it out in a future where the laws of reality have been suspended, starring Richard Harris, Edmond O'Brien, Bradford Dillman and Chuck Connors.

The documentary "These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America" tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflect the diversity of film, and indeed, the American experience itself. The film documents the passage of the National Film Preservation Act of 1988 and how this law set in motion a system to identify notable films. The Librarian of Congress, with input from the public and advice from the National Film Preservation Board, selects films each year to add to the Registry. The film includes interviews with the Librarian of Congress (Dr. James Billington), famous directors (including Christopher Nolan, John Lasseter, Rob Reiner, Julie Dash, John Singleton and John Waters), producers (Gale Anne Hurd and James Schamus), archivists and actors and actresses. From PBS Distribution ... "Becoming Santa" (2011) is a humorous documentary that follows one man's journey to regain his Christmas spirit. After Jack Sanderson's parents died, he realized he wasn't looking forward to the holidays and, in a dominant commercial culture, avoiding Christmas seemed impossible. So with that, Jack decided that the best way to get through the Christmas Season was to become Santa Claus. Director Jeff Myers followed Jack on his journey, which entailed getting a custom Santa suit from Adele Saidy of Adele's of Hollywood, attending the American Events Santa School taught by Susen Mesco in Denver, Col., and ultimately booking Santa jobs. $19.95 from Cinema Libre Studio ... "Making the Boys" (2010) explores the enduring legacy of Mart Crowley's stage play "The Boys in the Band," which changed everything as the first ever gay play to successfully reach a mainstream audience. With Edward Albee, Mart Crowley, Dominick Dunne, William Friedkin, Carson Kressley, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, Robert Wagner and more. $29.95 from First Run Features.

• Another Earth
• The Art of Getting By
• Cave of Forgotten Dreams
• Chillerama
• The Future
• Mission Impossible: The 88 TV Season
• Needle
• One Day
• Our Idiot Brother
• Radioactive Wolves
• Smallville: The Complete Series
• Smallville: The Complete Tenth Season
• 30 Rock: Season 5
• The Six Million Dollar Man: Season 1
• 30 Minutes or Less

Action Double Feature (1974) "The Nickel Ride," abut the "key man" who manages the mob's warehouses of solen goods, starring Jason Miller, Linda Haynes and Bo Hopkins; and "99 and 44/100% Dead," in which rival gangsters battle it out in a future where the laws of reality have been suspended, starring Richard Harris, Edmond O'Brien, Bradford Dillman and Chuck Connors. (Shout! Factory).

The Adventures of Tintin: Season One. Two-disc set with 13 episodes of the classic series, first time on DVD, $19.93.. Adapted from the long-running French comic strip and graphic novels (begun in the 1920s) by the late cartoon artist Herge (a.k.a. Georges Remi), the animated TV series "The Adventures of Tintin," chronicles the young and intrepid investigative reporter Tintin and his faithful dog Snowy, along with Captain Haddock, the muddled genius Professor Calculus, and the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson as they embark on incredible globe-trotting adventures full of excitement, mind-boggling mystery and fun. Timed for the release of the Steven Spielberg-directed animated "The Adventures of Tin Tin," due Dec. 23. $19.03. (Shout! Factory).

Beauty & The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas Special Edition BLU-RAY DEBUT (1997) Belle prepares the castle for Christmas against Beast's wishes, trying to bring him happiness for the season. (Disney).

Beauty & The Beast: Belle's Magical World Special Edition BLU-RAY DEBUT (1998) Direct-to-video sequel. (Disney).

Becoming Santa (2011) Humorous documentary that follows one mans journey to regain his Christmas spirit. After Jack Sanderson's parents died, he realized he was not looking forward to the holidays and in a dominant commercial culture, avoiding Christmas seemed impossible. So with that, Jack decided that the best way to get through the Christmas Season was to become Santa Claus. Director Jeff Myers followed Jack on his journey, which entailed getting a custom Santa suit from Adele Saidy of Adele's of Hollywood, attending the American Events Santa School taught by Susen Mesco in Denver, Col., and ultimately booking Santa jobs. Wrapped around Jack's journey into Christmas are interviews with professional Santas, Santa aficionados and historians. $19.95. (Cinema Libre Studio).

 Caldecott Favorites (2011) The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of 19-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, and it is awarded annually by the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. This three-disc set features adaptations of some of the 20th Century's best loved children's literature, 20 tales across the three volumes: "The Ezra Jack Keats Collection," "Make Way for Ducklings ... And More Delightful Duck Tales" and "Antartic Antics ... And More Hilarious Animal Stories." $24.95. (Scholastic Storybook Treasures).

Carjacked (2011) Maria Bello, Stephen Dorff, Joanna Cassidy, Catherine Den, Gary Grubbs. During a routine stop at a gas station, Lorraine (Bello), a vulnerable single mom, and her 5 year-old son (Connor Hill) are carjacked by Roy (Dorff), a vicious bank robber on the run who forces her to drive him to meet up with his accomplice. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay).

Conan the Adventurer: Season Two, Part 1. Two-disc set with 13 episodes of the animated version of the pulp hero, $19.93 Extras: Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Shout! Factory).

Conan the Barbarian (2011) Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Ron Perlman, Rose McGowan. Available as a 3D Blu-ray/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, Blu-ray and DVD. Extras: Two audio commentaries, a history of the Conan franchise featurette, "The Man Who Would Be Conan: Robert E. Howard" featurette that looks at the creator of the famous character, two behind-the-scenes featurettes. (Lionsgate).

The Devil's Double (2011) Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Philip Quast, Mem Ferda, Raad Rawi, Jamie Harding, Nasser Memarzia. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. Extras: Interview with the real "Devil's Double," Latif Yahia; commentary by director Lee Tamahori, two making-of featurettes.. (Lionsgate).

Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series (2011) Six-disc set with all 13 episodes of the new season (which included a two-part premiere set in the U.S. and an episode penned by long-time Doctor Who fan and award-winning writer Neil Gaiman) as well as the 2010 Holiday Special, "A Christmas Carol." $79.98. Extras: Five "Night and the Doctor" specially recorded scenes exclusive to the DVD release; five specially recorded episode prequels; two sketches recorded for the UK's Comic Relief charity event; four "Monster Files" that allow you to get under the skin and inside the minds of the Doctor's most challenging opponents; "Doctor Who Confidential" inside look at each episode; commentary on select episodes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, $89.98. (BBC Worldwide).

The Family Tree (2011) Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Max Thieriot, Brittany Robertson. When a bizarre accident leaves desperate housewife Bunnie with a case of amnesia, her dysfunctional family -- consisting of husband, Jack and twin 17-year-olds Eric and Kelly -- gets an unexpected second chance at happiness in this offbeat comedyExtras: "Making-of" featurette cast and crew interviews. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Entertainment One).

Giving Thanks ... And More Stories to Celebrate American Heritage (2011) Teaching American history and friendship skills, this DVD includes four stories to help celebrate what makes our country great, including the recent Parent's Choice Award winner "Lincoln & Douglass: An American Friendship" by Nikki Giovanni, narrated by Danny Glover. Other stories include "Giving Thanks," narrated by Native American Mohawk leader Chief Jake Swamp and offering an alternative language track in the Mohawk language, "Hiawatha," and Marcia Sewall's "The Pilgrims of Plimouth," which dramatically chronicles the arrival of the Pilgrims in the New World. $14.95. (Scholastic Storybook Treasures).

Helldriver (2010 -- Japan) Yumiko Hara, Eihi Shiina, Kazuki Namioka. After a meteorite crashes into Japan, releasing a toxic ash that turns inhabitants in the northern half of the country into bloodthirsty zombies, the economy has gently withered away ... until Kika (Yumiko Hara) arrives. A stunning high school girl armed with an artificial heart-powered chainsaw sword, she leads a motley crew of desperadoes on a secret mission into the zombie-infected wilds to exterminate zombie queen Rikka (Eihi Shiina) -- who also happens to be her mother -- and put an end to the plague of the living dead. Extras: Three exclusive short films set within the "Helldriver" universe: "Helldriver Dokata," "Catch Me If You Can!" and "Bailout!"; interview with director Yoshihiro Nishimura; "Sushi Typhoon: Tokyo Invasion!" featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Well Go USA).

Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven (2007) An intimate portrait of Le Cirque restaurant founder Sirio Maccioni and his three sons -- Mauro, Marco and Mario -- to whom he will one day leave his formidable cultural and culinary legacy. $24.95. (First Run Features).

The L Word: The Complete Series. Twenty-five-disc set with all six seasons plus a never-before-seen 2011 cast reunion, $144.99. Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurettes, "Playing With the Girls: L Word Shorts," "Wardrobe Closet," "The L Word Style Show," Sundance diaries with Kate & Leisha, "The L Word" photos from Jennifer Beals, fan mail, music videos, biographies, photo galleries. (Showtime Networks/CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment).

Making the Boys (2010) Documentary explores the enduring legacy of Mart Crowley's stage play "The Boys in the Band," which changed everything as the first ever gay play to successfully reach a mainstream audience. With Edward Albee, Mart Crowley, Dominick Dunne, William Friedkin, Carson Kressley, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, Robert Wagner and more. $29.95. Extras: "Relationship Time With Dan Savage," "Dominick Dunne's Hollywood," "The Missing Scene", "Malibu '65," "A Perfect Match." (First Run Features).

Perry Mason Season 6, Volume 2 (1963) Four-disc set, $54.99. (CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount).

Prep & Landing (2009) Animated holiday short about a high-tech team of elves who work in the North Pole's Prep and Landing elite unit to ensure homes around the world are properly prepared for their visit from Santa. (Disney). 

Rushmore BLU-RAY DEBUT (1998) The dazzling sophomore film from Wes Anderson is equal parts coming-of-age story, French New Wave homage and screwball comedy. Tenth grader Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is Rushmore Academy's most extracurricular student -- ­and its least scholarly. He faces expulsion, and enters into unlikely friendships with both a lovely first-grade teacher (Olivia Williams) and a melancholy self-made millionaire (Bill Murray, in an award-winning performance). Set to a soundtrack of classic British Invasion tunes, Rushmore defies categorization; it captures the pain and exuberance of adolescence with wit, emotional depth, and cinematic panache. New high-definition digital transfer of the director's cut, supervised by director Wes Anderson, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Extras: Commentary by Anderson, co-writer Owen Wilson and actor Jason Schwartzman; "The Making of Rushmore," an exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary by Eric Chase Anderson; "Max Fischer Players Present: Theatrical 'adaptations' of Armageddon, Out of Sight, and The Truman Show," staged for the 1999 MTV Movie Awards; episode of "The Charlie Rose Show" featuring Anderson and Murray; cast audition footage; Anderson's hand-drawn storyboards, plus a film-to-storyboard comparison; props, posters, behind-the-scenes photos, and other graphic ephemera; original theatrical trailer; collectible poster; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dave Kehr. (The Criterion Collection).

Sarah's Key (2011 -- France) Kristin Scott Thomas, Melusine Mayance, Niels Arestrup, Frederic Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Dominique Frot, Gisele Casadesus, Aidan Quinn. Extras: "The Making of sarah's Key." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Weinstein Co.).

Spy Kids: All the Time in the World (2011) Dir.: Robert Rodriguez; Jessica Alba, Mason Cook, Rowan Blanchard, Joel McHale, Jeremy Piven, Alexa Vega, Daryl Sabara, Danny Trejo, Ricky Gervais (voice). Extras: Interview with director Robert Rodriguez, a "Spy Kids Passing the Torch" featurette, a "Spy Gadgets" clip, deleted scenes.Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Dimension).

Super 8 (2011) Dir.: J.J. Abrams; Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Ryan Lee, Zach Mills, A.J. Michalka, Riley Griffiths, Jessica Tuck, Joel McKinnon Miller. Available as a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack and DVD. Blu-ray extras: Commentary by writer-director J.J. Abrams, producer Bryan Burk and cinematographer Larry Fong; behind-the-scenes featurettes: "The Dream Behind Super 8," "The Search for New Faces," "Meet Joel Courtney," "Rediscovering Steel Town," "The Visitor Lives," "Scoring Super 8," "Do You Believe in Magic?" "The 8mm Revolution," "Deconstructing the Train Crash"; deleted scenes. (Paramount).

These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America (2011) Documentary tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflect the diversity of film, and indeed, the American experience itself. Documents the passage of the National Film Preservation Act of 1988 and how this law set in motion a system to identify notable films. The Librarian of Congress, with input from the public and advice from the National Film Preservation Board, selects films each year to add to the Registry. The film includes interviews with the Librarian of Congress (Dr. James Billington), famous directors (including Christopher Nolan, John Lasseter, Rob Reiner, Julie Dash, John Singleton and John Waters), producers (Gale Anne Hurd and James Schamus), archivists and actors and actresses. Extras: "Lost Forever," a companion piece looking deeper into the worlds of film restoration and film preservation; "Live From Prague -- Recording the Score," a behind the scenes look at the recording of the score for this film; and "These Amazing Shadows at Sundance," a look at the production crew of the film at the Sundance Film Festival. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (PBS Distribution).

ˇThree Amigos! 25th Anniversary Edition BLU-RAY DEBUT (1986) Dir.: John Landis; Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short. Extras: Twenty minutes of never-before-seen footage. (HBO).

Timmy Time: Go Kart Timmy (2011) Timmy and his barnyard buddies get involved with a brand new go-kart, soccer games, riding tricycles and more in five adventures, $14.98. (HIT Entertainment/Lionsgate).

Trigger (2010) Tracy Wright, Molly Parker. Two female rockers reunite 10 years after their band's dramatic breakup for a benefit concert ... with the hope of recapturing their once-magical connection. Toronto International Film Festival 2010 Official Selection. (Wolfe Video).

12 Angry Men (1957) "12 Angry Men," by Sidney Lumet, may be the most radical big-screen courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system as riveting as it is spare, the iconic adaptation of Reginald Rose's teleplay stars Henry Fonda as the initially dissenting foreman on a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a Puerto Rican teenager charged with murdering his father. What results is a saga of epic proportions that plays out in real time over 90 minutes in one sweltering room. Lumet's electrifying snapshot of 1950s America on the verge of change is one of the great feature film debuts. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Frank Schaffner's 1955 television version, with an introduction by Ron Simon, director of the Paley Center for Media Studies; "12 Angry Men: From Television to the Big Screen," a video essay by film scholar Vance Kapley comparing the Lumet and Schaffner versions; archival interviews with Lumet; new interview about the director with writer Walter Bernstein; new interview with Simon about television writer Reginald Rose; new interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman; "Tragedy in a Temporary Town" (1956), a teleplay directed by Lumet and written by Rose; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by writer and law professor Thane Rosenbaum. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (The Play) (2011) Tyler Perry, Cheryl Pepsii Riley, Chandra Currelley-Young, Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely. Fresh off of three stage performances in Atlanta, the story follows the wealthy, dysfunctional Mansell family as they clash with Madea (Perry) and her relatives during the holidays. Extras: Behind-the-scenes interviews, bloopers. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Lionsgate).

Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns: Season 3 (2011) Three-disc set with 20 episodes, $29.98. (Lionsgate).

When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, they're forced through a portal, out of their world and into ours, landing in the middle of New York's Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down. Vitals: Director: Raja Gosnell. Stars: Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Hank Azaria, Sofia Vergara; voices of Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Alan Cumming, Paul Reubens, Katy Perry, Kenan Thompson, Anton Yelchin and Fred Armisen. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 86 min., Live-Action Family Comedy, Box office gross: $139.4 million, Sony.

Every family has one: The sibling who is always just a little bit behind the curve when it comes to getting his life together. For sisters Liz (Emily Mortimer), Miranda (Elizabeth Banks) and Natalie (Zooey Deschanel), that person is their perennially upbeat brother Ned (Paul Rudd), an erstwhile organic farmer whose willingness to rely on the honesty of mankind is a less-than-optimum strategy for a tidy, trouble-free existence. Ned may be utterly lacking in common sense, but he is their brother and so, after his girlfriend dumps him and boots him off the farm, his sisters once again come to his rescue. As Liz, Miranda and Natalie each take a turn at housing Ned, their brother's unfailing commitment to honesty creates more than a few messes in their comfortable routines. But as each of their lives begins to unravel, Ned's family comes to realize that maybe, in believing and trusting the people around him, Ned isn't such an idiot after all. Vitals: Director: Jesse Peretz. Stars: Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, T.J. Miller, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Coogan, Shirley Knight, Hugh Dancy, Sterling Brown. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 95 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $24.603 million, Anchor Bay/The Weinstein Co.

This sci-fi melodrama of sorts stars Brit Marling as an astrophysics student who causes an auto accident that kills the wife and child of a music professor and composer (William Mapother) on the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth. Both spiral into despair and self-hate, each in their own way, and as the new Earth comes closer and closer to their Earth -- offering the possibility of alternate realities -- the two begin an unlikely love affair and reawaken to life. Vitals: Director: Mike Cahill. Stars: Brit Marling, William Mapother. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 92 min., Science Fiction Drama, Box office gross: $1.292 million, Fox.

Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnap Nick, strap a bomb to his chest, and force him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship. Vitals: Director: Ruben Fleischer. Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria, Michael Pena, Fred Ward. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 83 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $37.053 million, Sony.

This 21st century variation on 'Same Time, Next Year' follows two friends -- working class teacher Anne Hathaway, who dreams of becoming a writer, and spoiled rich kid Jim Sturgess, who's unhappy with his playboy life --  through two decades by letting us glimpse key moments of their relationship experienced over several July 15ths (the anniversary of the day they met) in their lives. Interesting plot idea (based on a book) gives us snippets of sex and drama and little else. And throws in a bogus ending for good measure. Vitals: Director: Lone Scherfig. Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Patricia Clarkson, Ken Stott, Romola Garai, Jamie Sives, Rafe Spall, Jodie Whittaker. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 107 min., Romantic Drama, Box office gross: $13.437 million, Universal.

In the '30s and '40s, the Indian actor known as Sabu (born Selar Shaik) captured the hearts of moviegoers in Britain and the United States as a completely new kind of big-screen icon. Sabu was a maharaja's elephant driver when he was discovered by documentary trailblazer Robert Flaherty ("Nanook of the North"), who cast him as the lead in "Elephant Boy," a Kipling adaptation Flaherty directed with Zoltan Korda ("The Four Feathers") that would prove to be enormously popular. Sabu went on to headline a series of fantasies and adventures, transcending the exoticism projected onto him by commanding the screen with effortless grace and humor. "Eclipse Series 30: Sabu!" collects three of the lavish productions Sabu starred in for the British film titans the Korda brothers: "Elephant Boy" (1937), the colonialist battle adventure "The Drum" (1938) and the timeless "Jungle Book" (1942). From The Criterion Collection.

From TV to DVD:
"The Girls Next Door: The Complete Series" is a 17-disc set with all 91 episodes, $129.98 from MPI Home Video ... "Look: Season 1" (2011) is a single disc with 13 episodes of the show, shot entirely from the point of view of security cameras, that looks at the things that people do when they don't know they're being watched, taking viewers on a voyeuristic journey into the most personal parts of people's lives. $24.98 from Image Entertainment ... "Mission Impossible: The 88 TV Season" (1988-89) is a five-disc set with 19 episodes, 32.99 from CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment ... "Smallville: The Complete Series" (2011) is housed in new packaging consisting of two picture books that hold 62 discs with over 192 hours of content, including all 218 episodes, more than five hours of newly added special features (such as an unaired, never-before-seen "Superboy" pilot from 1961), a retrospective look at the series with over 100 minutes of season featurettes, a decade of Comic-Con featurette and more; $339.88 from Warner ... "Smallville: The Complete Tenth Season" (2010-11) is a six-disc set with 21 episodes, $59.98 from Warner ... "30 Rock: Season 5" (2011) is a three-disc set with 22 episodes, $49.98 from Universal ... "The Six Million Dollar Man: Season 1" (1974-75) is a six-disc set with all 13 uncut episodes; all three made-for-TV movies in their original, unedited versions; and over two hours of never-before-seen bonus materials; from Universal.

"Chillerama" (2011) is a four-film anthology of gore, guts, goofiness and good times that celebrate the golden age of B horror schlock: "Wadzilla," "I Was a Teenage Werebear," "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein" and "Zom-B-Movie." Extras: Directors' video commentary, "Wadzilla" deleted scenes, "The Making of The Diary of Anne Frankenstein," "I Was a Teenage Were Bear." From the depraved minds of directors Adam Rifkin ("Detroit Rock City," "The Dark Backward"), Tim Sullivan ("2001 Maniacs"), Adam Green ("Hatchet," "Frozen") and Joe Lynch ("Wrong Turn 2," "Knights of Badassdom") and Image Entertainment ... In "The Art of Getting By" (2011), starring Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Rita Wilson, Sam Robards, Alicia Silverstone, Elizabeth Reaser and Blair Underwood, a lonely and fatalistic aspiring young artist and a "popular" girl find themselves in a charming yet unconventional high school romance; from Fox ... "5 Days Of War" (2011) is a thriller by director Renny Harlin, set during the five-day war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, that focuses on an American journalist, his cameraman, and a Georgian native who witness and document the devastation from the full-scale crossfire and cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians. From Anchor Bay ... In "Needle" (2011), college student Ben Rutherford (Dorman) inherits a strange 18th century machine with supernatural powers from his deceased father and when the device goes missing, Ben's friends turn up dead -- all having been killed in bizarre ways; from Lionsgate ... in the horror comedy "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil" (2011), best friends Tucker and Dale head out for a relaxing weekend of fishing at their secluded cabin but, unfortunately for them, evil has different plans when a series of misunderstandings and tragic events start killing a group of preppy college students, who believe Tucker and Dale are backwoods hillbillies out to kill them. From Magnolia Home Entertainment's Magnet Label.

IFC Films has three off-beat offerings this week: "Kidnapped" (2011 -- Spain), in which three hooded Eastern-European criminals burst into a home in a Madrid gated community, holding the family hostage in its own home, forcing the father to empty his credit cards -- or watch his wife and daughter die ... "Vampires" (2010 -- Belgium), a mockumentary has a film crew recording the day-to-day existence of a bored family of vampires in Belgium who eat illegal immigrants, children, and the handicapped -- and bleed the country's social benefits for all they're worth ... and "The Wave" (2008 -- Germany), in which a high school teacher's unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit that takes on a life of its own as The Wave.

• Big Love: The Complete Collection
• Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season
• Cowboys & Aliens
• The Debt
• Design for Living (1933) (Criterion)
• Designing Women: The Complete Fifth Season
• Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition
• The Hangover Part II
• The Help
• Law & Order: The Ninth Year
• The Lucy Show: The Official Fifth Season
• Mr. Popper's Penguins
• Point Blank
• The Simpsons Season 14
• Transformers Prime: Darkness Rising

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a southern society girl who returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends' lives -- and a Mississippi town -- upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families. Aibileen (Viola Davis), Skeeter's best friend's housekeeper, is the first to open up -- to the dismay of her friends in the tight-knit black community. Despite Skeeter's life-long friendships hanging in the balance, she and Aibileen continue their collaboration and soon more women come forward to tell their stories -- and as it turns out, they have a lot to say. Along the way, unlikely friendships are forged and a new sisterhood emerges, but not before everyone in town has a thing or two to say themselves when they become unwittingly -- and unwillingly -- caught up in the changing times. Based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett. Vitals: Director: Tate Taylor. Stars: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Cicely Tyson, Sissy Spacek, Brian Kerwin, Mike Vogel. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 138 min., Drama, Box office gross: $159.373 million, DreamWorks.

Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to exotic Thailand for Stu's wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch with pancakes, coffee ... and no alcohol. However, things don't always go as planned. Two nights before the big day, at a fabulous resort in Thailand, Stu relents. One beer each. In sealed bottles. What could go wrong? What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can't even be imagined. Vitals: Director: Todd Phillips. Stars: Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Jeffrey Tambor, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Jamie Chung, Sasha Barrese, Gillian Vigman, Paul Giamatti. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 102 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $254.455 million, Warner.

It's 1873 when gunslinger Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) awakens in the Arizona desert with no memory of his past and a mysterious metal shackle encircling his wrist. Stumbling into the nearby town of Absolution, Lonergan discovers a tightly closed community that takes its orders from the iron-fisted Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) ... and Dolarhyde has a bone to pick with Lonergan. But the colonel's influence wanes when the desolate city is attacked by monsters that drop from the sky with blinding force and abduct the helpless townsfolk one by one. As Lonergan's memory slowly returns, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella (Olivia Wilde), he assembles a posse comprised of former opponents: townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors. United against a common enemy, they prepare for an epic showdown for survival. Based on the Malibu Comics graphic novel. Vitals: Director: Jon Favreau. Stars: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Ana de la Reguera, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, Clancy Brown , Keith Carradine, Noah Ringer. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 119 min., Sci-Fi Western, Box office gross: $99.552 million, Universal.

The powerful story of Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren), a former Mossad agent who, along with two other agents (Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson), endeavored to capture and bring to trial a notorious Nazi war criminal -- the Surgeon of Birkenau -- in a secret Israeli mission in 1966 that ended with his death on the streets of East Berlin. Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has surfaced, and Rachel must go back to Eastern Europe to uncover the truth. Overwhelmed by haunting memories of her younger self and her two fellow agents (played by Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas), the still-celebrated heroine must relive the trauma of those events and confront the debt she has incurred. Vitals: Director: John Madden. Stars: Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas, Jesper Christensen, Romi Aboulafia. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 113 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $30.073 million, Universal.

Samuel (Gilles Lellouche) is a happily married nurse working in a Paris hospital who saves the life of a wounded criminal, Sartet (Roschdy Zem). When his very pregnant wife (Elena Anaya) is kidnapped before his helpless eyes, everything falls apart. After being knocked unconscious, he comes to and his cell phone rings: He has three hours to get Sartet, now under police surveillance, out of the hospital. Shot on location in wide lens, "Point Blank" is an exhilarating non-stop ride through Paris' streets, subways, hospitals, warehouses, and police stations, as Samuel quickly finds himself pitted against rival gangsters and trigger-happy police in a deadly race to save the lives of his wife and unborn child. In French with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Fred Cavaye. Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin, Elena Anaya, Mireille Perrier, Claire Perot, Moussa Maaskri, Pierre Benoist, Valerie Dashwood, Virgile Bramly, Nicky Naude, Adel Bencherif. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: NR, 84 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $.533 million, Magnolia.

Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey), a driven businessman divorced from his wife and kids is clueless when it comes to the important things in life until he inherits six, "adorable" and mischievous penguins from his arctic explorer father. As Popper quickly gets acquainted with -- and increasingly attached to -- his winged roommates, his life quickly unravels: the deal he's long been working on with a formidable socialite, Mrs. Van Gundy, to take over valuable property, is derailed and Popper almost lands in jail. While Popper's penguins turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland, they also teach him valuable lessons about family. Very loosely based on the Newbery Medal award-winning novel, originally published in 1938, by the husband and wife team of Richard and Florence Atwater. Vitals: Director: Mark Waters. Stars: Jim Carrey, Carla Gugino, Angela Lansbury, Ophelia Lovibond, Madeline Carroll, Clark Gregg, Jeffrey Tambor, David Krumholtz, Philip Baker Hall. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 100 min., Family, Box office gross: $68.131 million, Fox.

This week's releases are highlighted by a pair of Criterion selections deserving spots on everyone's home video shelf. "Design for Living": (1933) Gary Cooper, Fredric March and Miriam Hopkins play a trio of Americans in Paris who enter into a very adult "gentleman's" agreement in this continental pre-Code comedy freely adapted by Ben Hecht from a play by Noel Coward and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. A risque relationship comedy and a witty take on creative pursuits, it concerns a commercial artist (Hopkins) unable -- or unwilling -- to choose between the equally dashing painter (Cooper) and playwright (March) she meets on a train en route to the City of Light. "Design for Living" is Lubitsch at his most adroit, an entertainment at once debonair and racy, featuring three stars at the height of their allure. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. "The Lady Vanishes": (1938) In Alfred Hitchcock's most quick-witted and devilish comic thriller, the beautiful Margaret Lockwood, traveling across Europe by train, meets a charming spinster (May Whitty), who then seems to disappear into thin air. The younger woman turns investigator and finds herself drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure. Also starring Michael Redgrave, "The Lady Vanishes" remains one of the great filmmaker's purest delights. High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack.

 "Mission: Impossible -- Extreme Trilogy Collection" is timed for the Dec. 21 release of Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," and includes "Mission: Impossible," with such extras as "Mission: Remarkable -- 40 Years of Creating the Impossible," "Mission: Explosive Exploits," "Mission: Spies Among Us," "Mission: Catching the Train." "Mission: Impossible 2," with commentary by director John Woo, " Behind the Mission," "Mission Incredible," "Impossible Shots." "Mission: Impossible 3," with commentary by Tom Cruise and director J.J. Abrams. $19.99. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, $29.99. From Paramount ... The "Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Edition" is also timed with a theatrical release, this for the Dec. 21 David Fincher-directed U.S. version of the first film in the trilogy, starring Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Robin Wright, Stellan Skarsgard and Christopher Plummer. The four-disc set with all three 2009 "Dragon Tattoo" films encompasses nine hours with characters and plot developments only seen in European versions. Extras include "Millennium: The Story," a 53 minute documentary detailing the phenomenon of the "Millennium" trilogy and the personal history of author Stieg Larsson up until his tragic death before "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" was published. $59.98; also available on Blu-ray Disc, $79.95. From Music Box Films ... "Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) makes its Blu-ray debut this week. The film, directed by Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku and Toshio Masuda (Japanese sequences) stars Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, James Whitmore, Takahiro Tamura, Eijiro Tono and Jason Robards, and includes Extras: Blu-ray book includes the extended "Japanese Cut" containing 10 minutes of previously unreleased footage and rare photos. From Fox.

From TV to DVD:
"Big Love: The Complete Fifth Season" (2011) is a four-disc set with 10 episodes, $59.99 from HBO ... "Big Love: The Complete Collection" (2011) is a 19-disc set, $199.95 from HBO ... "Designing Women: The Complete Fifth Season" (1990-91), a four-disc set with 24 episodes, $44.95 from Shout! Factory ... "The Game -- The Fourth Season" (2011), a two-disc set with 13 episodes, $39.99 from CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment ... "Law & Order: The Ninth Year" (1998-99), a five-disc set with 24 episodes, $49.98 from Universal ... "The Lucy Show: The Official Fifth Season" (1966-67),a four-disc set with 22 episodes, $42.99 from CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment ... "The Simpsons Season 14" (2002-03), a four-disc set with 22 episodes, including the incredible 300th episode starring Tony Hawk and Blink-182, $49.98 from Fox.

• Branded to Kill (1967) (Criterion)
• Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
• Fright Night
• Gunsmoke: Season Five, Volume Two
• Kung Fu Panda 2
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• Spin City: The Complete Sixth Season
• Steve Jobs: One Last Thing
• Swamp People: Season Two
• Tanner Hall
• Tokyo Drifter (1966) (Criterion)
• Vietnam in HD

The film is a new take on "The Planet of the Apes" franchise, acting as an origin story set in present day San Francisco where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy. Oscar-winning visual effects house WETA Digital --employing groundbreaking technologies developed for "Avatar"-- have created photo-realistic apes rather than costumed actors. James Franco stars as Will Rodman, a neuroscientist trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease by testing on chimpanzees, giving them a human level of intelligence. After a test subject's baby, Caesar, is orphaned, Will decides to raise him at home on his own with his Alzheimer-stricken father (John Lithgow). What begins simply as a continuation of his experiment quickly turns into a problem for Will, as Caesar is taken away from him and forced to live in a primate facility. As Caesar's intelligence continues to grow, he begins to stake his claim as the leader of his new primate counterparts, which will ultimately lead to the rise of the planet of the apes. Vitals: Director: Rupert Wyatt. Stars: James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton.2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 110 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $175.306 million, Fox.

Remake of the 1985 gothic horror cult classic. Charley (Anton Yelchin) is a high school senior who's on top of the world -- ­he's running with the popular crowd and dating Amy (Imogen Poots), the most coveted girl in school. But trouble arrives when Jerry (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He seems like a nice guy -- at first. But there's something not quite right, and no one else, including Charley's mom (Toni Collette) seems to notice. After his classmates start to mysteriously disappear without a trace, Charlie discovers that there is more to his new neighbor than meets the eye. Now he must do all he can to protect his mom and Amy from meeting the same fate as his schoolmates.Vitals: Director: Craig Gillepsie. Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse.2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Horror, Box office gross: $18.114 million, DreamWorks.

Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Po's new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed. Vitals: Director: Jennifer Yuh. Stars: Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Jean-Claude Van Damme, James Hong, Seth Rogen.2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 91 min., Animated Family, Box office gross: $165.230 million, DreamWorks.

Action-packed, visually breathtaking Sherlock Holmes-style mystery choreographed by master Sammo Hung, set in an exquisitely realized steampunk version of ancient China. On the eve of her coronation as Empress (Carina Lau), China's most powerful woman is haunted by a chilling murder mystery: Two men in charge of building a gigantic monument to her have burst into flames, leaving behind only black ash and skeletal bones. Recognizing this threat to her power, she turns to the infamous Dee Renjie (Andy Lau), a man whose unparalleled wisdom is matched only by his martial arts skills. As he battles a series of bizarre dangers, he unveils a chilling truth that places his life, and the future of an entire dynasty, in peril. Vitals: Director: Tsui Hark. Stars: Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Ka-fai.2011 -- Hong Kong, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 122 min., Action, Box office gross: $.459 million, Indomina Releasing.

The top collectible releases this week belong to The Criterion Collection, with two offerings from very independent Japanese New Wave bad boy director Seijun Suzuki. In the jazzy gangster film "Tokyo Drifter" (1966), reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller and Nagisa Oshima. "Tokyo Drifter" is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. In a new high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition ... When Suzuki delivered the brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece "Branded to Kill" (1967) to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. "Branded to Kill" tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin (Joe Shishido, the chipmunk-cheeked superstar from "Gate of Flesh") with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most extreme­the flabbergasting pinnacle of his sixties pop-art aesthetic. With a new high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. As is de rigueur with Criterion, both releases are loaded with extras as well as informative booklets.

From TV to DVD:
"Family Guy Volume 9" (2006-07) is a three-disc set with 14 episodes, from Fox ... "Gunsmoke: Season Five, Volume Two" (1959-60) is a three-disc set with 20 episodes, $42.99 from CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount ... "The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season" (2010) is a two-disc set with 10 episodes, $29.98 from HBO ... "Spin City: The Complete Sixth Season" (2001-02) is a four-disc set with all 22 episodes from the show's last season, $29.98 from Shout! Factory ... "Swamp People: Season Two" (2011) is a four-disc set with 16 episodes, $24.95 from A&E ... "Switched at Birth: Volume 1" (2011) is two-disc set with 10 episodes, $29.99 from Disney.

• "Elusive Justice: The Search for Nazi War Criminals"(2011) Candice Bergen narrates this new documentary providing a definitive account of efforts -- official and unofficial -- to locate, prosecute and punish fugitive Nazis around the world. In the aftermath of the World War II, the Allies declared the Nazi party a criminal organization and pledged to prosecute and punish all those who took part in genocide and crimes against humanity. During the Nuremberg Trials, approximately 1,000 Nazi officials were convicted of crimes against humanity; but hundreds of thousands of suspected war criminals evaded prosecution -- by returning to the societies they'd helped destroy; by concealing their war records, by assuming false identities; by fleeing Europe; or by serving the Allies as spies and scientists. Thousands of Nazi criminals are presumed to be alive. Filmed in eight countries over the course of three years, "Elusive Justice" profiles the men and women who took matters into their own hands and succeeded in tracking down Nazi fugitives when official institutions failed. $24.99. (PBS Distribution).
• "Steve Jobs: One Last Thing"(2011) An unflinching look at Steve Jobs' difficult, controlling disposition, offering unique insights into what made him tick. While there has been near-universal agreement that Jobs was a great innovator in business and technology, this docu -- featuring interviews with colleagues and others who knew him -- looks into why he was so great. What were the influences that shaped his character? What drove him from such humble beginnings to the heights of success? $24.99. (PBS Distribution).
• "Vietnam in HD"(2011) Through a collection of color Vietnam footage never seen by the public from private collections, museums, the U.S. government, veterans and news organizations as well as sources from Vietnam, Vietnam veterans tell their stories and relive their struggles, courage and fears. This six-hour miniseries spans the massive initial troop build-up in 1965 to the fall of Saigon a decade later. $24.95. Extras: Also available on Blu-ray Disc, $34.95. (A&E).
• "The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975"(2011) A treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish journalists who came to the U.S. drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution in the 1960s. Gaining access to many of the leaders of the Black Power Movement -- Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver among them -- the filmmakers captured them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television. Director Goran Olsson and co-producer Danny Glover bring this footage to light in a mosaic of images, music and narration chronicling the evolution one of our nation's most indelible turning points, the Black Power Movement. $24.98. (IFC Films).
• "Eames: The Architect and the Painter"(2011) Design history was born in a cavernous warehouse on a gritty street in Venice Beach, California, where Charles and Ray Eames set up their Renaissance-style studio in the optimistic flush of American victory during World War II. Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey's definitive cinematic foray into the world of the Eames is the first film to be made about Charles and Ray since their deaths -- and the only one that peers deeply inside the link between their artistic collaboration and sometimes tortured love for one another. Narrated by James Franco, the film brings to light a virgin cache of archival material, visually stunning films, love letters, photographs and artifacts produced in mind-boggling volume by Charles and Ray with their talented staff during the hypercreative 40-year epoch of the Eames Office. The work of Charles and Ray Eames remains an ideal of design at its most virtuous - an alchemical combination of beauty and purpose. Their light and whimsical designs became emblematic of a new West Coast lifestyle whose influence reached Europe, Asia, and beyond. Though the Eameses are best known for their ubiquitous furniture and the signature innovation of the classic Eames chair, this essential documentary shows Charles and Ray applying the same process of inquiry to architecture, exhibitions and their quirky, beautiful films. $29.95. Extras: Bonus scenes. (First Run Features).

• Colombiana
• Dolphin Tale
• Glee: The Concert Movie
• Margin Call
• Midnight in Paris
• One Tree Hill: The Complete Eighth Season
• Straw Dogs
• Warrior

A Beautiful Life(2011 -- China) Qi Shu, Ye Liu. A beautiful real-estate agent accidentally bumps into a straight-laced, lonely cop and a friendship is born -- despite the fact that she's having a tortuous affair with a married man. As the woman gradually abandons her materialistic values and falls in love with the good-hearted cop, it becomes apparent that he is suffering from a disease that is robbing him of his mental faculties. (China Lion/NewVideo).

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975(2011) A treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish journalists who came to the U.S. drawn by stories of urban unrest and revolution in the 1960s. Gaining access to many of the leaders of the Black Power Movement -- Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, Angela Davis and Eldridge Cleaver among them -- the filmmakers captured them in intimate moments and remarkably unguarded interviews. Thirty years later, this lush collection was found languishing in the basement of Swedish Television. Director Goran Olsson and co-producer Danny Glover bring this footage to light in a mosaic of images, music and narration chronicling the evolution one of our nation's most indelible turning points, the Black Power Movement. $24.98. (IFC Films).

Branded to Kill(1967) When Japanese New Wave bad boy Seijun Suzuki delivered this brutal, hilarious, and visually inspired masterpiece to the executives at his studio, he was promptly fired. "Branded to Kill" tells the ecstatically bent story of a yakuza assassin (Joe Shishido, the chipmunk-cheeked superstar from "Gate of Flesh") with a fetish for sniffing boiled rice who botches a job and ends up a target himself. This is Suzuki at his most extreme­the flabbergasting pinnacle of his sixties pop-art aesthetic. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Video piece featuring new interviews with Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu; interview with Suzuki from 1997; new interview with actor Joe Shishido; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by critic and historian Tony Rayns, author of "Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun," and a statement by the film's art director, Sukezo Kawahara. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).

Champions(2011 -- China) Dicky Cheung, Miu Tse. Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of China's search for the martial artist to bring their national sport of Wushu to the world during the Olympics hosted in Beijing. Competing for the honor of demonstrating the sport of Wushu on behalf of China, millions of martial artists come together to show off their strength and skills. With a chance to represent their country's national sport at the Olympics, honor is on the line for two men ... and the road to the Games is paved with hardship and heartbreak, and their journey will test their strength, skill and spirit to its limits. Extras: Making-of featurette. (Lionsgate).

Circumstance(2011 -- Iran) Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy. A provocative coming of age story that cracks open the hidden world of Iranian youth. As culture wars and politics define the country, a wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain their personal lives as their children lead a group of friends in Tehran to rebel against the constant oppression. Atafeh and Shireen's lifelong friendship has turned sexual, and they dream of escaping to Dubai, while Atafeh's brother harbors a dangerous obsession. Extras: Commentary by cast and crew, behind-the scenes-featurette. (Lionsagte).

City of God BLU-RAY DEBUT(2002 -- Brazil) Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen. (Lionsgate).

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame(2011) Andy Lau, Bingbing Li, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Ka-fai. Extras: "The Making of Detective Dee," "Creating the Characters," "Weapons, Stunts and Action," "The World of Dee," production stills gallery, behind-the-scenes stills gallery, poster gallery. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Indomina Releasing/Vivendi Entertainment).

Eames: The Architect and the Painter(2011) Design history was born in a cavernous warehouse on a gritty street in Venice Beach, California, where Charles and Ray Eames set up their Renaissance-style studio in the optimistic flush of American victory during World War II. Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey's definitive cinematic foray into the world of the Eames is the first film to be made about Charles and Ray since their deaths -- and the only one that peers deeply inside the link between their artistic collaboration and sometimes tortured love for one another. Narrated by James Franco, the film brings to light a virgin cache of archival material, visually stunning films, love letters, photographs and artifacts produced in mind-boggling volume by Charles and Ray with their talented staff during the hypercreative 40-year epoch of the Eames Office. The work of Charles and Ray Eames remains an ideal of design at its most virtuous - an alchemical combination of beauty and purpose. Their light and whimsical designs became emblematic of a new West Coast lifestyle whose influence reached Europe, Asia, and beyond. Though the Eameses are best known for their ubiquitous furniture and the signature innovation of the classic Eames chair, this essential documentary shows Charles and Ray applying the same process of inquiry to architecture, exhibitions and their quirky, beautiful films. $29.95. Extras: Bonus scenes. (First Run Features).

Elusive Justice: The Search for Nazi War Criminals(2011) Candice Bergen narrates this new documentary providing a definitive account of efforts -- official and unofficial -- to locate, prosecute and punish fugitive Nazis around the world. In the aftermath of the World War II, the Allies declared the Nazi party a criminal organization and pledged to prosecute and punish all those who took part in genocide and crimes against humanity. During the Nuremberg Trials, approximately 1,000 Nazi officials were convicted of crimes against humanity; but hundreds of thousands of suspected war criminals evaded prosecution -- by returning to the societies they'd helped destroy; by concealing their war records, by assuming false identities; by fleeing Europe; or by serving the Allies as spies and scientists. Thousands of Nazi criminals are presumed to be alive. Filmed in eight countries over the course of three years, "Elusive Justice" profiles the men and women who took matters into their own hands and succeeded in tracking down Nazi fugitives when official institutions failed. $24.99. (PBS Distribution).

Family Guy Volume 9(2006=07) Three-disc set with 14 episodes. Extras: Uncensored footage, deleted scenes, side-by-side animatics, three featurettes, commentaries. (Fox).

Fright Night(2011) Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Toni Collette, David Tennant, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Available as a three-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (1 Blu-ray 3D + 1 Blu-ray + 1 DVD with Digital Copy), a two-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (1 Blu-ray + 1 DVD) and on DVD. Extras: Gag reel, Kid Cudi music video: "No One Believes Me," "Squid Man" -- extended & uncut. The Blu-ray adds "Peter Vincent: Swim Inside My Mind," "The Official 'How to Make a Funny Vampire Movie' Guide," "Frightful Facts & Terrifying Trivia," deleted scenes.(DreamWorks).

Gunsmoke: Season Five, Volume Two(1959-60) Three-disc set with 20 episodes, $42.99. (CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount).

Heavenly Creatures: The Uncut Version BLU-RAY DEBUT(1994) Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey. (Lionsgate).

If You Are the One: Love and Marriage(2010 - China) Honglei Sun, Yicong Wu. Picks up where director Feng Xiaogang's popular first romantic comedy ends: Wealthy middle-aged retiree Qin Fen and serious-minded young airline attendant Xiaoxiao enter into a trial marriage by living together full-time in a tropical villa, where they learn more about each other and what it takes to make romance blossom. (China Lion/NewVideo).

Kung Fu Panda 2(2011) Voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Michelle Yeoh, Danny McBride, Jean-Claude Van Damme, James Hong, Seth Rogen. Available as an Awesome Double DVD pack and an Awesome Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy pack. Extras: "Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness" debut episode of Nickelodeon's new television series; "Kickin' It with the Cast" with the new faces who have joined Po's journey including Gary Oldman, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Victor Garber and Michelle Yeoh and catch up with the returning cast; deleted scenes; commentary; "World of DreamWorks Animation" promos and more; sneak peek at DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular; "Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters" all-new Po adventure; "Panda Stories"; "Kung Fu Shuffle" in which Master Shifu teaches the best way to find a hidden radish in an update of the classic shell game; "Ni Hao—Learn Chinese!": Choose from more than 50 Kung Fu Panda-inspired words and learn how to say and draw the symbol in Chinese; DVD-ROM: "Legend of the Wu Sisters Game" and printables coloring pages, connect the dots, 3D fortune tellers, stand-up 3D characters, pencil toppers and mazes; two free memberships -- each good for game play through April 2012 and valued at $5.95 each per month to the online virtual" Kung Fu Panda World." Blu-ray adds "Animation Inspiration" that follows Po and the Furious Five on their journey throughout China, with footage of real locations that served as inspiration for the film; "The Animators' Corner," which features interviews with creators, animators, cast and crew, along with storyboards, music and commentary; trivia track with pop up trivia, Po style. (DreamWorks).

The Life & Times of Tim: The Complete Second Season(2010) Two-disc set with 10 episodes, $29.98. (HBO).

Meet Me in St. Louis BLU-RAY DEBUT(1944) Dir.: Vincente Minnelli; Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames, Tom Drake, Marjorie Main, June Lockhart, Hugh Marlowe, Chill Wills. Premium Blu-ray book packaging ($35.99) including more than 40 pages of photos, trivia and more. Extras: Introduction by Liza Minnelli; commentary by Garland biographer John Fricke with Margaret O'Brien, screenwriter Irving Brecher, songwriter Hugh Martin and daughter of producer Arthur Freed, Barbara Freed-Saltzman; "Meet Me in St. Louis: The Making of an American Classic" (Narrated by Roddy McDowall); "Hollywood: The Dream Factory" (Emmy-Award winning 1972 MGM-TV special, narrated by Dick Cavett); "Becoming Attractions: Judy Garland" (1996 TCM special); "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1966 TV pilot with Shelley Fabares and Celeste Holm); "Bubbles" (1930 Warner Bros. short featuring Judy Garland at age 7); "Skip to My Lou" (Rare 1941 musical short with "Meet Me in St. Louis" composers Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane); audio vault: "Boys and Girls Like You and Me" outtake (reconstruction using still photographs) and Lux Radio Theater Broadcast from December 2, 1946. (Warner).

Rise of the Planet of the Apes(2011) James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Tom Felton. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. Blu-ray Extras: Deleted scenes, "Pre-vis for the Future," "Capturing Caesar -- Script to Screen," "Studying the Genius of Andy Serkis," "Multi-Angle: Rocket Cookie Scene," "A New Generation of Apes," "Breaking Motion Capture Boundaries," "Breaking New Sound Barriers: The Music and Sound Design of Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Ape Facts" (Chimpanzee, Gorilla, Orangutan), commentary by director Rupert Wyatt, commentary by writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, character Concept Art Gallery. (Fox).

The Rocketeer BLU-RAY DEBUT(1991) Dir.: Joe Johnston; Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton. (Disney).

Sledge Hammer! The Complete Series(1986) Five-disc set with all 41 episodes of the funny cult comedy about a clueless cop who always gets results. $34.98. (Image Entertainment).

Spin City: The Complete Sixth Season(2001-02) Four-disc set with all 22 episodes from the show's last season, $29.98. (Shout! Factory).

Steve Jobs: One Last Thing(2011) An unflinching look at Steve Jobs' difficult, controlling disposition, offering unique insights into what made him tick. While there has been near-universal agreement that Jobs was a great innovator in business and technology, this docu -- featuring interviews with colleagues and others who knew him -- looks into why he was so great. What were the influences that shaped his character? What drove him from such humble beginnings to the heights of success? $24.99. (PBS Distribution).

Swamp People: Season Two(2011) Four-disc set with 16 episodes, $24.95. Extras: Additional footage. (A&E).

Switched at Birth: Volume 1(2011) Two-disc set with 10 episodes, $29.99. (Disney).

Tanner Hall(2011) Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Amy Ferguson, Brie Larsen, Amy Sedaris, Chris Kattan, Tom Everett Scott. A provocative peek into the private, sometimes reckless, and always scandalous world of a privileged all-girls boarding school. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay).

Tokyo Drifter(1966) In this jazzy gangster film, reformed killer Phoenix Tetsu's attempt to go straight is squashed when his former cohorts call him back to Tokyo to help battle a rival gang. This onslaught of stylized violence and trippy colors got director Seijun Suzuki in trouble with Nikkatsu studio heads, who were put off by his anything-goes, in-your-face aesthetic, equal parts Russ Meyer, Samuel Fuller and Nagisa Oshima. "Tokyo Drifter" is a delirious highlight of the brilliantly excessive Japanese cinema of the sixties. New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition. Extras: Video piece featuring new interviews with Suzuki and assistant director Masami Kuzuu; interview with Suzuki from 1997; original theatrical trailer; booklet featuring an essay by film critic Howard Hampton. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (The Criterion Collection).

The Undying(2009) Robin Weigert, Anthony Carrigan, Jay O. Sanders, Sybil Temtchine, Wes Studi. Seduced by the ghost of a Civil War soldier, whose spirit dwells in her new home, Dr. Barbara Haughton contrives to have him live again in the body of a man who died in her hospital, giving the doctor more than she bargained for. Extras: Commentary, photo gallery. (MTI Home Video).

Velvet Goldmine BLU-RAY DEBUT(1998) Dir.: Todd Haynes; Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Toni Collette, Eddie Izzar, Christian Bale. (Lionsgate).

Vietnam in HD(2011) Through a collection of color Vietnam footage never seen by the public from private collections, museums, the U.S. government, veterans and news organizations as well as sources from Vietnam, Vietnam veterans tell their stories and relive their struggles, courage and fears. This six-hour miniseries spans the massive initial troop build-up in 1965 to the fall of Saigon a decade later. $24.95. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, $34.95. (A&E).

From the Big Screen This Week:

Woody Allen's most accessible and enjoyable comedy in years. Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams play a Gil and Inez, a betrothed couple vacationing in Paris before their marriage; she's a spoiled, upwardly mobile young woman with wealthy parents, he's a dreamer of a screenwriter who falls in love with the city of lights. One night when she's off dancing with friends, Gil walks alone through the city and is magically transported to the Paris of the 1920s, where he meets up with the likes of Cole Porter, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel. He's enamored with the idea that -- unlike the present -- the 1920s was a golden era, but as his midnight walks take him further away from Inez and her world, he discovers that the illusion people have that a life different from theirs would be much better might not be true after all. Vitals: Director: Woody Allen. Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Yves Heck, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 94 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $55.600 million, Sony.

Inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin called Winter and the compassionate people who banded together to save her life. Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap off the Florida coast, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun. Losing her tail may cost Winter her life. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a ground-breaking miracle -- a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help thousands of people around the world: The marine mammal's strong survival instincts become an inspiration to people with special needs throughout the world. The real Winter plays herself. Vitals: Director: Charles Martin Smith. Stars: Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 113 min., Family, Box office gross: $70.017 million, Warner.

Tommy Riordan, an ex-Marine haunted by a tragic past, returns home and enlists his father, a recovering alcoholic and his former coach, to train him for an mixed martial arts tournament awarding the biggest purse in the history of the sport. Tommy's estranged brother Brendan, a former MMA fighter unable to provide for his family as a public school teacher, also enters the competition. Set on a collision course with each other, the two brothers must finally confront the forces that tore them apart, all the while waging the most intense winner-take-all battle of their lives. Vitals: Director: Gavin O'Connor. Stars: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 139 min., Action, Box office gross: $13.651 million, Lionsgate.

A young married couple, after being victimized by a gang of violent locals, decide to take the law into their own hands in this weak remake of Sam Peckinpah's classic drama. David and Amy Sumner (James Marsden and Kate Bosworth), a Hollywood screenwriter and his TV actress wife, return to her small hometown in the deep South so he can have the solitude necessary to work on his latest screenplay, a film about the siege of Stalingrad during WWII. Once there, tensions build in their marriage and old conflicts re-emerge with the locals, including Amy's ex-boyfriend Charlie (Alexander Skarsgard), leading to a violent confrontation. Vitals: Director: Rod Lurie. Stars: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard, Dominic Purcell, Willa Holland,James Woods. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 110 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $10.324 million, Sony.

When Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci) is laid off from his investment firm, he sneaks a flash drive to his young colleague Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) before being escorted from the building. Sullivan soon discovers that the information on the flash drive could change the fate of the company -- and perhaps even the entire country. As more executives learn of this sensitive news, they are thrust into a high-stakes moral debate: Do what's best for the company (and themselves)? Or what's best for millions of investors worldwide? Set in the 12 hours that launched the 2008 financial crisis. Vitals: Director: JC Chandor. Stars: Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Mary McDonnell, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Zachary Quinto. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 109 min., Drama Thriller, Box office gross: $3.312 million, Lionsgate.

Enables fans who were unable to obtain tickets to the soldout shows, or who live in markets not included in the tour, or who just want to see it again, to experience the concert. Starring 14 members of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television show's cast and shot live during the summer concerts, the movie captures the unique concert experience along with special moments involving the characters themselves. Vitals: Director: Kevin Tancharoen. Stars: Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Lea Michele, Darren Criss, Chord Overstreet, Chris Colfer, Heather Morris, Kevin McHale, Naya Rivera, Harry Shum Jr., Amber Riley, Ashley Fink. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG, 84 min., Music, Box office gross: $11.9 million, Fox.

"Burke & Hare" (2010), directed by John Landis and starring Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Curry and Isla Fisher, is a black comedy about two 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school. From IFC Films ... "Saint Nick" (2010 -- Netherlands) is a horror film that depicts the jolly old saint as a murderous bishop who kidnaped and murdered children every 32 years during a full moon on December 5. Slain by the villagers he tormented, he swears vengeance on their descendants and, centuries later, returns (with his minions) to terrorize Amsterdam. From IFC Films ... A woman who is slowly losing her sight investigates the mysterious death of her twin sister, uncovering a mysterious world overshadowed by a malignant presence -- and the disappearance of people close to her in "Julia's Eyes" (2010 -- Spain), from IFC Films.

It's been said (but unsubstantiated) that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were killed in a standoff with the Bolivian military in 1908. In "Blackthorn" (2011), Cassidy (Shepard) survived, and is quietly living out his years under the name James Blackthorn in a secluded Bolivian village. Tired of his long exile from the U.S. and hoping to see his family again before he dies, Cassidy sets out on the long journey home. However, when an unexpected encounter with an ambitious young criminal derails his plans, he is thrust into one last adventure, the likes of which he hasn't experienced since his glory days with the Sundance Kid. Stars Sam Shepard, Eduardo Noriega, Stephen Rea, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau. From Magnolia Home Entertainment ... All hell breaks loose when three female hoods fail to intercept a double-cross drug shipment for their crime boss in "Catch .44" (2011), starring Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll and Brad Dourif. From Anchor Bay Entertainment.

• Apollo 18
• Final Destination 5
• Hostel: Part III
• The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Series 1
• Jane's Journey
• Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Four
• The Pool Boys
• Shameless: The Complete First Season
• Zombie Apocalypse

Burke & Hare (2010) Dir.: John Landis; Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Curry, Isla Fisher. A black comedy about two 19th century grave robbers who find a lucrative business providing cadavers for an Edinburgh medical school. (IFC Films).

 Catch .44 (2011) Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Malin Akerman, Nikki Reed, Deborah Ann Woll, Brad Dourif. Large guns get pointed at everyone when three female hoods fail to intercept a double-cross drug shipment for their crime boss. Extras: Commentary. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Anchor Bay Entertainment).

Colombiana (2011) Zoe Saldana, Jordi Molla, Lennie James, Michael Vartan, Cliff Curtis. Extras: "Colombiana: The Making of" featurette, "Cateleya's Journey" featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds "Assassins," "Training a Killer" and "Take the Ride" featurette. Also includes an UltraViolet copy that allows streaming anywhere from a difital cloud. Both formats include an unrated version of the film. (Sony).

Dolphin Tale (2011) Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Nathan Gamble, Cozi Zuehlsdorff, Kris Kristofferson, Morgan Freeman. Extras: "The Hutash Rainbow Bridge" animated short about the legend of Rainbow Bridge, "At Home With Winter" featurette, "Winter's Inspiration" featurette, "Dolphin Tale: Spotlight on a Scene," additional scene, gag reel. Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and 3D Blue-Ray/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. (Warner).

Futurama Volume 6 (2010) Two-disc set with 13 episodes. Extras: Deleted scenes, commentary, "Professor Farnsworth's Science of a Scene," "Reincarnation Explained! With Director Peter Avanzino," Futurama F.A.Q. Frequently Axed Questions), "Christopher's Big Score: The Music of Futurama," "Futurama Fans: 101 Questions" Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Fox).

Glee: The Concert Movie (2011) Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Lea Michele, Darren Criss, Chord Overstreet, Chris Colfer, Heather Morris, Kevin McHale, Naya Rivera, Harry Shum Jr., Amber Riley, Ashley Fink. Extras: Available as a 3D Blue-Ray/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Combo, Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Combo and DVD. (Fox).

Julia's Eyes (2010 -- Spain) Belen Rueda, Lluis Homar. A woman who is slowly losing her sight investigates the mysterious death of her twin sister, uncovering a mysterious world overshadowed by a malignant presence -- and the disappearance of people close to her. (IFC Films).

Margin Call (2011) Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Mary McDonnell, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Zachary Quinto. Extras: Commentary by writer-director JC Chandor and producer Neal Dodson, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes. Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Lionsgate).

Midnight in Paris (2011) Dir.: Woody Allen; Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Carla Bruni, Marion Cotillard, Adrien Brody, Kathy Bates, Yves Heck, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll. Extras: "Midnight in Cannes" featurette. Also available on Blu-ray Disc, which adds Cast and crew photo galleries. (Sony).

One Tree Hill: The Complete Eighth Season (2010-11) Five-disc set with 22 episodes, $59.98. Extras: Three featurettes, two commentaries, unaired scenes, gag reel. (Warner).

Saint Nick (2010 -- Netherlands) Huub Stapel, Caro Lenssen, Egbert Jan Weeber. A horror film that depicts the jolly old saint as a murderous bishop who kidnaped and murdered children every 32 years during a full moon on December 5. Slain by the villagers he tormented, he swears vengeance on their descendants and, centuries later, returns (with his minions) to terrorize Amsterdam. (IFC Films).

 Straw Dogs (2011) James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard, Dominic Purcell, Willa Holland,James Woods. Extras: commentary with writer-director Rod Lurie and the featurettes "Courting Controversy: Remaking a Classic," "The Dynamics of Power: The Ensemble," "Inside the Siege: The Ultimate Showdown" and "Creating the Sumner House: The Production Design." Also available on Blu-ray Disc. (Sony).

 The Tempest (2010) Helen Mirren, Russell Brand, Alfred Molina. Directed by Julie Taymor. Modern retelling of William Shakespeare's final masterpiece. Exiled to a magical island, the sorceress Prospera (Mirren) conjures up a storm that shipwrecks her enemies, and then unleashes her powers for revenge. Extras: "The Tempest Documentary," commentary by director Julie Taymor, Russell Brand's rehearsal riff, "O Mistress Mine" Reeve Carney music video. (Disney).

Warrior (2011) Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison. Available in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack (with Digital Copy) and DVD. Extras: Commentary, a "making of" documentary, mixed martial arts strategy, gag reel, deleted scene, more. (Lionsgate).

From the Big Screen This Week:

In this fourth sequel, Death is just as omnipresent as ever, and is unleashed after one man's premonition saves a group of co-workers from a terrifying suspension bridge collapse. But this group of unsuspecting souls was never supposed to survive, and, in a terrifying race against time, the ill-fated group frantically tries to discover a way to escape Death's sinister agenda. Vitals: Director: Steven Quale. Stars: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P.J. Byrne, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Courtney B. Vance. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 92 min., Horror, Box office gross: $42.520 million, Warner.

Officially, Apollo 17, launched December 17, 1972, was the last manned mission to the moon. But a year later, in December of 1973, two American astronauts were sent on a secret mission to the moon funded by the US Department of Defense. Decades-old "found footage" from the abandoned mission reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon. Vitals: Director: Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego. Stars: Warren Christie, Ryan Robbins, Ali Liebert, Andrew Airlie, Lloyd Owen, Michael Kopsa, Kurt Max Runte. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 86 min., Science Fiction, Box office gross: $17.486 million, The Weinstein Company.

"Archer: The Complete Second Season" (2011) is a two-disc set with 13 episodes, $29.98 from Fox ... "The Borgias: The First Season" (2011) is a three-disc set with all nine episodes, $49.99 from Showtime Networks/CBS Home Entertainment/Paramount Home Entertainment ... "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Series 1" (2010) is a single disc with six episodes featuring the misadventures of an American office temp and convenient liar (David Cross) who bluffs his way into a senior sales job heading up the London office of the new energy drink Thunder Muscle; $24.98 from MPI Home Video ... "Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Four" (2011) is a four-disc with all 12 uncensored episodes, $26.99 from MTV/Paramount ... "Shameless: The Complete First Season" (2011) is a three-disc set with 12 episodes, $39.98 from Warner.

The gruesome antics continue in the unrated version of the direct-to-video "Hostel: Part III" (2011): While attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas, four friends are enticed by two sexy escorts to join them at a private party way off the Strip, where they find themselves the subjects of a perverse game of torture. Stars Brian Hallisay, Kip Pardue, John Hensley, Chris Coy, Skyler Stone, Sarah Habel. From Sony ... Based on Graham Greene's chilling 1938 novel, "Brighton Rock" (2010) follows the nasty adventures of young antihero Pinkie -- a cunning charmer trying to make his mark on the vicious gangland of Brighton. When a young waitress stumbles on evidence that links him and his gang to a revenge killing, he draws her into a conned romance to keep the loose end tied up. Stars Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough, Helen Mirren, John Hurt. From IFC Films ... "The Pool Boys" (2011), starring Matthew Lillard, Rachelle Lefevre, Efren Ramirez, Brett Davern, Tom Arnold, follows a pool boy and his friends who, tired of working dead end jobs, scheme to get rich quick by turning an empty mansion into a home for the hottest escorts in Beverly Hills. From Entertainment One ... A lethal, ex-Special Forces soldier (Dolph Lundgren) finds himself transported back to a mystical age of sorcery, dragons and savage hand-to-hand combat to defeat the forces of darkness and fulfill an ancient prophecy in "In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds" (2011). From Fox.

A thirtysomething party animal famous for his lavish summer theme parties at his father's swanky Hamptons pad organizes one last blow-out before his circle of friends disbands and his father sells the estate in "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy" (2011), starring Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Bort. From Sony ... Months after a zombie plague has wiped out 90 percent of the American population, a small group of survivors fight their way cross-country to a rumored refuge on the island of Catalina in "Zombie Apocalypse" (2011), starring Ving Rhames, Taryn Manning, Leslie-Ann Brandt. From The Asylum ... "Dispatch" (2011), starring Michael Bershad, Bruce Bohne, follows one turbulent night in the life of a successful screenwriter-turned-overnight Hollywood limousine night dispatcher. From Monarch Home Entertainment ... In "Game Time" (2011), starring Phil Haus, Jason Hurt, Maria DiDomenico, two friends find themselves as the top contenders in a basketball championship in New York City. From Lionsgate ... In "The Hunters" (2011), starring Steven Waddington, Tony Becker, Dianna Agron, Terence Knox, a group of friends decide to spend time in the one place that was forbidden to them as kids -- the woods, where they come upon what they believe is an abandoned fort, until they find the walls dripping with blood and decomposing bodies lining the floor. From Lionsgate.

• Contagion
• Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
• The Guard
• I Don't Know How She Does It
• Justified: The Complete Second Season
• Mildred Pierce
• Puncture
• Removal
• Shark Night 

From the Big Screen This Week:

Thriller follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart. Vitals: Director: Steven Soderbergh. Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Tien You Chui, Josie Ho Josie, Daria Strokous, Monique Gabriela Curnen. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 106 min., Thriller, Box office gross: $75.178 million, Warner.

Comedic, fish out of water tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption, and the two cops who must join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang: an unorthodox Irish policeman and a straitlaced FBI agent. Cynical and crass, Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is an eccentric small-town cop with a confrontational personality and a subversive sense of humor. A longtime policeman in County Galway, Boyle is a bit of a maverick with his own moral code, not always above the law but certainly with its own high standards. Boyle takes nothing and no one seriously, but when the small town Boyle patrols becomes an important location in the greater scheme of things, he is forced to at least feign interest when dealing with the humorless FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) assigned to the case. Everett looks down on Boyle as a provincial low level cop with a limited view of the world who doesn't take anything seriously. Boyle doesn't have any higher appreciation for Everett, who he sees as a by the book cop with a chip on his shoulder and no understanding of how the real world runs. But events force Boyle to team up with Everett: Boyle's enthusiastic partner disappears, his favorite hooker attempts to blackmail him into turning a blind eye, and finally the drug-traffickers themselves try to buy him off as they have every other member of the local police force. The two eventually team up for an unlikely friendship and explosive finale. Vitals: Director: John Michael McDonagh. Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 96 min., Crime Thriller Comedy, Box office gross: $4.984 million, Sony.

Redo of the 1973 TV cult classic starring Kim Darby and Jim Hutton. A young girl moves to Rhode Island to live with her father and his new girlfriend in the 19th century mansion they are restoring. While exploring the house, she starts to hear voices coming from creatures in the basement -- whose hidden agenda is to claim her as one of their own. Produced by Guillermo del Toro, who thinks the original is believes is the scariest TV production ever made. Like del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," the film focuses on a young girl's struggle against menacing and terrifying forces. Vitals: Director: Troy Nixey. Stars: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Bailee Madison. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 99 min., Horror, Box office gross: $23.866 million, Sony.

Arriving by boat at her family's Louisiana lake island cabin, Sara and her friends quickly strip down to their swimsuits for a weekend of fun in the sun. But when star football player Malik stumbles from the salt-water lake with his arm torn off, the party mood quickly evaporates. Assuming the injury was caused by a freak wake-boarding accident, the group realizes they have to get Malik to a hospital on the other side of the lake, and fast. But as they set out in a tiny speedboat, the college friends discover the lake has been stocked with hundreds of massive, flesh-eating sharks. As they face one grisly death after another, Sara and the others struggle desperately to fend off the sharks, get help and stay alive long enough to reach the safety of dry land. Vitals: Director: . Stars: Sara Paxton, Sinqua Walls, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Chris Zylka. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 91 min., Horror, Box office gross: $18.656 million, Relativity Media.

Trying to balance work and family is a non-stop juggling act for Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker). As a determined Boston-based finance executive, she devotes her day to her job and her night to her adoring husband Richard (Greg Kinnear) and their two young children. In between conference calls, meetings, deadlines, and her daughter's school bake sale, Kate manages to survive on a daily basis. But when she gets handed a major new account that will require frequent trips to New York, and Richard also wins the new job he's been hoping for, both will be spreading themselves even thinner. Complicating matters is Kate's charming new business associate, Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan), a handsome executive whose unexpected emotional support becomes a source of refuge. Vitals: Director: Douglas McGrath. Stars: Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks, Kelsey Grammer, Seth Meyers, Olivia Munn. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 90 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $9.639 million, The Weinstein Company.

• Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season
• Hawaii Five-0: The Twelfth and Final Season
• Higher Ground
• Killer Elite
• Moneyball
• 1911
• Primeval: Volume Three
• The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption

From the Big Screen This Week:

Based on Michael Lewis' nonfiction bestseller "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," about Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, who assembled a contending baseball club on a shoestring budget by employing a sophisticated computer-based analysis to draft players. Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's, who continually loses his star players to other teams with bigger budgets. Beane has an epiphany: All of baseball's conventional wisdom is wrong. Forced to reinvent his team on a tight budget, Beane seeks a way outsmart the richer clubs: The onetime jock teams with Ivy League grad Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) in an unlikely partnership -- using computer modeling -- to recruit bargain players that the scouts call flawed, but all of whom have an ability to get on base, score runs, and win games. It's more than baseball, it's a revolution -- one that challenges old school traditions and puts Beane in the crosshairs of those who say he's tearing out the heart and soul of the game. Vitals: Director: Bennett Miller. Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Brent Jennings. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 133 min., Sports Drama, Box office gross: $72.641 million, Sony.

Adapted from Ranulph Fiennes' best-seller "The Feathermen." Based on real events, the story follows a group of former British special forces members who are being hunted by assassins. Statham plays a former Navy Seal who is forced out of retirement to save his closest friend. Not a remake of Sam Peckinpah's 1975 feature "The Killer Elite." Vitals: Director: Gary McKendry. Stars: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ben Mendelsohn. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 117 min., Action Thriller, Box office gross: $25.093 million, Universal.

After reading a magazine article that insists if a woman has slept with at least 20 people that they have already missed Mr. Right, marketing executive Ally Darling (Anna Faris) begins to panic, thinking that she will be alone forever. With the help of her hunky new neighbor (Chris Evans), Ally starts tracking down all her ex-boyfriends, hoping to find her real true love while she helps him escape his latest fling. Hijinks and adventure ensues as Ally goes on her wild search for the best "ex" of her life, only to find what she is looking has been right in front of her all along. Vitals: Director: Mark Mylod. Stars: Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner, Ed Begley Jr. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 106 min., Comedy, Box office gross: $14.008 million, Fox.

Pregnant, married and awkward at 18 years, Corrine Miller grows more and more interested in Jesus, eventually giving herself over to a radical New Testament church. Amidst her community of self-described "Jesus Freaks," Corrine's daily life consists of hours of Bible study, alternative family practices and bracing for the oncoming Rapture. It's only when her marriage begins to unravel that Corrine dares to question the religious dogma she has embraced for her entire life. Vitals: Director: Vera Farmiga. Stars: Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, Donna Murphy, John Hawkes, Bill Irwin, Dagmara Dominczyk, Norbert Leo Butz. 2011, CC, MPAA rating: R, 109 min., Drama, Box office gross: $.825 million, Sony.

The much-anticipated release of "Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season" (2011), a five-disc set with 12 episodes for $59.99, heads up this week's collectibles. Steve Buscemi stars as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson -- the powerful and corrupt boss of Atlantic City during the decadent and violent "roaring" 1920s. The Great War was over, Wall Street was about to boom, women got the vote and everything was for sale, even the World Series. The undisputed ruler of Atlantic City was the town's treasurer, Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Buscemi), a political fixer and backroom dealer who was equal parts politician and criminal and equally comfortable in either role. Because of its strategic location on the seaboard, minutes from Philadelphia, hours from New York City and less than a day's drive from Chicago, the town was a hub of activity for rumrunners. And Nucky Thompson took full advantage. Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes that delve into the creation of the 300-foot Boardwalk set, explore the main characters, reveal Atlantic City as it was in the 1920s and present an insider's view of the show through commentaries from the actors, directors and producers. On Blu-ray and DVD from HBO.

"1911" (2011), directed by Jackie Chan, details a key moment in modern Chinese history -- the fall of the Qing Dynasty -- and the violent rebellion that brought it down. Stars Jackie Chan, Li Bing Bin, Winston Chao, Joan Chen, Jaycee Chan. From Well Go USA ... In "Sinners and Saints" (2010), starring Johnny Strong, Kevin Phillips, Costas Mandylor, Sean Patrick Flanery, Bas Rutten, Clifford "Method Man" Smith, Kim Coates, Louis Mandylor, Jolene Blalock, Tom Berenger, the leader of an elite "Street Crimes" task force squad in New Orleans must not only cope with the death of his young son and the abandonment of his wife, he must deal with the ambush and the vicious murder of his partner and a baffling gangland homicide case that points toward one of his childhood friends, a security contractor just back from the Middle East. From Anchor Bay Entertainment ... In the direct-to-video "The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption" (2012), starring Victor Webster, Ron Perlman, Billy Zane, the Scorpion King's kingdom has fallen, he's lost his queen to plague, and he's now an assassin for hire; he must defend a kingdom from an evil tyrant and his ghost warriors for the chance to regain the power and glory he once knew. From Universal ... Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life in "There Be Dragons" (2011), directed by Roland Joffe and starring Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott. From Fox ... "Answer This!" (2010), starring Christopher Gorham, Arielle Kebbel, Nelson Franklin, Chris Parnell, is a comedy set in the world of competitive bar trivia, centering around a group of frustrated academics who finally get a shot at beer, women and nerdy redemption when they enter a citywide trivia tournament. From Lionsgate.

• Abduction
• Age of Heroes
• Courageous
• Dirty Girl
• The Ides of March
• Merlin: The Complete Third Season
• Mysteries of Lisbon
• Waking the Dead: The Complete Season Six