NEW ON THE SHELF

“THE FAULT IN OUR STARS,” Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort. Keep the Kleenex close at hand for this skillful adaptation, the unavoidably tragic tale of good-natured teens Frannie (Woodley, “The Descendants”) and Michael (Elgort, “Divergent”), who meet in a cancer support group having both been beaten into near-submission by the disease, only to find companionship and love where they least expected it. Based on the acclaimed and beloved novel by John Green, “Fault” is a good old-fashioned, unabashed tearjerker, and all the more effective for its refreshing lack of pretension. Special features include a commentary from director Josh Boone (“Stuck in Love”) and writer John Green. Rated PG-13. Running time: 2:06. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $49.99.

“GODZILLA,” Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen. There’s always room for another Godzilla movie, and director Gareth Edwards employs the suspense techniques that made his well-received 2010 film “Monsters” such a marvel of low-budget trickery alongside multimillion-dollar special effects, and while fans of the giant green galoot might wish there were more of him to go around, when he does finally arrive in time for the doozy of a climax, he makes it count. Outstanding effects and some good performances round out the wanton destruction nicely. Rated PG-13. Running time: 2:03. Suggested retail price: $28.98; Blu-ray $44.95.

“THINK LIKE A MAN TOO,” Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union. Follow-up to the 2012 sleeper hit downplays creator Steve Harvey’s input in favor of a lively Vegas romp, with guys and gals splitting up for bachelor and bachelorette party shenanigans, culminating in a memorable series of scenes involving Cedric’s (Hart, “Ride Along”) discovery that what he thought was a $4000-a-night hotel room is more along the lines of $40,000. A likable cast – including Romany Malco (“The 40 Year Old Virgin”), Gabrielle Union (“Deliver Us From Eva”), and Wendi McLendon-Covey (“Bridesmaids”) – sell the broad antics with aplomb, resulting in a none-too-subtle but entertaining relationship comedy. PG-13. Running time: 1:46. Suggested retail price: $30.99; Blu-ray $35.99.

NEW TO DVD

“THE BIG BANG THEORY: THE COMPLETE SEASON SEVEN,” Johnny Galecki, Jim Parsons. Continuing to make nerds accessible to your grandparents, “Big Bang” finds Leonard (Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) taking their relationship to the next level, Howard (Simon Helberg) considering fatherhood, Raj (Kunal Nayyar) overcoming his tendency to become mute around the opposite sex, and the redoubtable Sheldon (multiple Emmy winner Parsons) in the midst of a mid-life crisis. Special features include Comic Con footage and a gag reel. Not rated. Running time: 8:05.

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Suggested retail price: $44.98; Blu-ray $54.97.

“HANNIBAL: SEASON TWO,” Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen. Roles are intriguingly reversed in the brilliant second season of the acclaimed series based on the novels by Thomas Harris, with Mikkelsen’s (“The Hunt”) cannibalistic killer at large while investigator Will Graham (Dancy, “Black Hawk Down”) finds himself locked up, wrongly under suspicion for several killings. Arguably network TV’s finest offering at present, this chilling, brilliantly portrayed series deserves to be seen by a far wider audience, with Mikkelsen’s indelible portrayal of Lecter rivaling Hopkins at this point. Not rated. Running time: 9:20. Suggested retail price: $39.99; Blu-ray $39.99.

“SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE SEVENTEENTH SEASON,” animated. With the voices of Trey Parker, Matt Stone. With nearly two decades of gleefully offensive satire under its belt, it’s hard to imagine what could possibly be left for the foulmouthed youngsters of “South Park” to take down a peg or two, but as always Parker and Stone dare to mine humor from subjects most wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole, with former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Bill Hader joining the writing staff full time. Not rated. Running time: 3:30. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.98.

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“BURT’S BUZZ,” documentary. Ever looked at the grizzled, bearded man on your chapstick or hand lotion and wondered what his deal was? Real guy, or just a Ronald McDonaldesque mascot of sorts? Well, wonder no more, as filmmaker Jody Shapiro (“How to Start Your Own Country”) delves deeply into what makes Burt Shavitz – a recluse in his late seventies still alive and well living deep in the Maine sticks with a dog and no hot water – tick, and how his likeness came to be renowned the world over. A true character, Shavitz could command a film simply by sitting in a chair doing not much of anything, but the unlikely story behind the success and Burt’s rocky relationship with co-founder Roxanne Quimby flesh out this entertaining overview of an empire nicely. Not rated. Running time: 1:28. Suggested retail price: $19.95; Blu-ray $24.95.

“ILO ILO,” Yann Yann Yeo, Tian Wen Chen. Favorably compared to the works of late director Edward Yang (“Yi Yi”), this 90’s-set, gentle but never hokey family drama takes a look at the Lims, a middle-class Singaporean family affected by the Asian Financial Crisis and beginning to tear apart at the seams. Enter new nanny Teresa, a Filipino woman hired to lessen the family’s burden, a plan that backfires when her ability to connect with problematic son Jiale outshines any attempts by the rest of the family to get through to the boy. Like Yang before him, writer-director Anthony Chen understands that there is more than enough tragedy and comedy within the smallest and most typical of households to sustain an infinite number of films, and hopefully “Ilo Ilo” marks the beginning of a long, fruitful career for this new filmmaker. Not rated. Running time: 1:39. Suggested retail price: $24.95.


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