NEW ON THE SHELF

“EARTH TO ECHO,” Ted Halm, Brian “Astro” Bradley. Family-friendly Disney offering finds a quartet of pre-teens following a map on their malfunctioning cellphones to the desert, where they meet “Echo,” an adorable alien who needs their help to put his spaceship back together. Recalling ’80s mainstays such as “The Goonies” and “E.T.,” “Echo” focuses more on the kids than on the alien, which may prove a disappointment to audiences hoping for more of a sci-fi angle, but thankfully the young cast proves engaging and affecting, resulting in an intriguing film that rather impressively manages to fuse now-classic cinematic tropes with current trends. Rated PG. Running time: 1:31. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99.

“THE PURGE: ANARCHY,” Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo. Sequel to the surprise hit about an annual “holiday” during which all crime becomes legal wisely takes to the streets this time around rather than restricting the entertainingly immoral action to one locale, following a policeman (Grillo, “The Grey”) as he attempts to lead a mild-mannered group of unprepared folks to safety while murderous chaos reigns around them. Nasty B-movie fun for viewers in a properly nihilistic frame of mind. Rated R. Running time: 1:43. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $34.98.

“SEX TAPE,” Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel. A once sexually hyperactive married couple (Diaz and Segel, reteaming after “Bad Teacher”) decide to spice up their flagging bedroom activities by recording themselves attempting every position detailed in “The Joy of Sex,” an initially inspiring endeavor that becomes horrific once it becomes clear that they’ve inadvertently shared the footage of their graphic escapades with many of their family and friends. Hit or miss antics ensue, but “Sex Tape” lands enough funny bits to warrant a look-see. Rated R. Running time: 1:34. Suggested retail price: $30.99; Blu-ray $35.99.

NEW TO DVD

“BILLY CRYSTAL: 700 SUNDAYS,” Billy Crystal. Beloved comedian/actor Crystal recounts his eventful childhood and the loss of his father at age 15 with his trademark wit in this recording of his ever-popular one-man Broadway show, originally broadcast on HBO. These days he’s mainly known to audiences as the voice of walking eyeball Mike from “Monsters Inc.,” but it’s downright refreshing to see Crystal recapture some of the old verve and devilishness he once displayed in such films as “When Harry Met Sally” and “City Slickers.” Not rated. Running time: 2:00. Suggested retail price: $19.97.

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“MAD MEN: SEASON SEVEN PART ONE,” Jon Hamm, John Slattery. Fantastic across the board, the less then scrupulous but always compelling exploits of ad exec Don Draper (Hamm) and his equally complex family and coworkers. Special features include the featurettes “Gay Rights,” “Gay Power,” and “The Trial of the Chicago Eight: Parts One and Two.” Not rated. Running time: 5:36. Suggested retail price: $39.98; Blu-ray $39.97.

NEW TO BLU-RAY

“F FOR FAKE,” documentary. In its own way every bit as influential as his “Citizen Kane,” Orson Welles’ crafty 1972 documentary combines then-revolutionary rapid-fire editing techniques and a filmmaker-centric approach, putting the ever eloquent and crustily enjoyable filmmaker front and center as he discusses the art of the con, a subject the director knows a thing or two about given his involvement with the infamous “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast. Like the majority of Welles’ work, “F for Fake” is a singular and dynamic experience, one that the Criterion Collection has remastered beautifully for a new generation of soon-to-be fans. Rated PG. Running time: 1:27. Suggested retail price: $39.95.

“LA DOLCE VITA,” Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg. Fellini’s sprawling 1960 Italian classic about a country in transition, the larger-than-life characters who populate said country, and the normally tireless journalist (Mastroianni, “8½”) who finds himself questioning the vapid madness of it all gets the long-awaited hi-def treatment from Criterion, with the expected stunning results. Not rated. Running time: 2:54. Suggested retail price: $39.95.

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“LIFE AFTER BETH,” Aubrey Plaza, Dane Dehaan. Reeling from the untimely loss of his girlfriend, young Zach (Dehaan, “Chronicle”) finds comfort in the company of her parents (John C. Reilly and Molly Shannon) and is just about through the usual stages of grief when said girlfriend (Plaza, “Parks and Recreation”) turns up again as if nothing had happened, inexplicably breaking through her coffin and attempting to rejoin society despite an unavoidable stench and some new, uncontrollable urges. By refusing to wink at the audience or resort to snark, first-time director Jeff Baena delivers a delightfully absurd yet truly disturbing work that enthusiastically defies categorization, and gives the always amusing Plaza the role of her career to date. Rated R. Running time: 1:29. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $24.99.

“SNOWPIERCER,” Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton. Director Joon-ho Bong (the twisted genius behind 2003’s “Oldboy”) comes out swinging for his English language debut, a similarly brutal, dark-humored, and rather brilliant tale of a climate control experiment gone horribly wrong, utterly decimating Earth’s population but for those “lucky’ few aboard the “Snowpiercer,” a powerful and unique train encircling the globe on a constant loop and powered by an “Eternal Engine” designed by Wilford (Ed Harris), who governs the passengers via intercom and perpetuates a class system that becomes a microcosm of Earth’s former set-up, one soon revolted against by a selection of fed-up passengers, including Curtis (Evans), Mason (Swinton), Gilliam (John Hurt) and Edgar (Jamie Bell). Exciting, tense and always innovative, “Snowpiercer” refuses to submit to the usual tropes, and movie buffs tired of the same old action movies and sci-fi head-scratchers should be blown away by this shoulda-been smash hit. Rated R. Running time: 2:06. Suggested retail price: $24.98; Blu-ray $29.99.

– Courtesy of Videoport


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