NEW ON THE SHELF:

“Chappie,” Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel. The latest sci-fi allegory from director Neill Blomkamp (“District 9”) is the agreeably nutso tale of a police robot gifted with the ability to process human thought and emotion, an incredible discovery that unfortunately falls into the hands of a pair of criminals who attempt to educate “Chappie” on the finer points of breaking and entering. It’s “Short Circuit” meets “Robocop,” and it’s a bona fide blast. Rated R. Running time: 2:00. Suggested retail price: $30.99; Blu-ray $34.99

“The Lazarus Effect,” Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde. A group of scientists tirelessly working on a life-regenerating serum unexpectedly get an opportunity to put their product to the test when one of them (Wilde, “Drinking Buddies”) is unexpectedly electrocuted. The serum works, but their newly reanimated co-worker isn’t quite the same, now capable of accessing 100 percent of her brain and clearly disinterested in using that knowledge for the greater good. Director Brian Gelb (“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”) knows how to stage an effective jump scene, and the normally agreeable Wilde proves a worthy femme fatale. Rated R. Running time: 1:24. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99

“Run All Night,” Liam Neeson, Ed Harris. Yet another tight, intense actioner for unlikely action hero Neeson, who reteams with director Jaume Collet-Serra (“Non-Stop”), this team eschewing the invincible “Taken” persona in favor of portraying an assassin-turned-drunk-layabout who angers former employer Harris after murdering the man’s son in an attempt to protect his own, an unfortunate situation for all concerned and one destined to end in violence. Neeson’s effectiveness is undeniable in his profitable late-career retooling. Rated R. Running time: 1:55. Suggested retail price: $28.98; Blu-ray $44.95

VIDEOPORT PICK:

“Welcome to Me,” Kristen Wiig, James Marsden. A clearly gifted comedic performer, SNL vet and “Bridesmaids” star Wiig seems to be parlaying her success into smaller, more perceptive films, and “Welcome to Me” manages to successfully marry the broad LOL moments of her box-office winners with the patience and character-driven drama common to indie flicks. She’s given her a terrific character in Alice, a bipolar shut-in and Oprah fanatic who ditches her meds after winning the lottery. She uses her new riches to secure a spot on a struggling cable network for the purposes of staging her own talk show. Funny without being hurtful and sad without being maudlin, director Shira Piven’s (“Fully Loaded”) acclaimed dark comedy may contain Wiig’s most fully realized performance to date. Rated R. Running time: 1:45. Suggested retail price: $19.99; Blu-ray $24.99

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“Wild Tales,” Ricardo Darin, Oscar Martinez. An Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film, writer-director Damian Szifron’s (“On Probation”) anthology delivers exactly what it promises: six tales of outlandish misfortune, ranging from a man dangerously passing a slow driver on a rural road only to immediately get a flat tire and leave himself open to attack from the enraged slowpoke, to a waitress who decides to take lethal action upon recognizing her lone customer as the man who destroyed her family. Somewhat refreshingly, there’s really no central theme linking these stories, it’s just a lively, playful, occasionally disturbing omnibus, performed and directed with style and verve to spare. Rated R. Running time: 1:30. Suggested retail price: $30.99; Blu-ray $34.99

NEW TO DVD:

“The Newsroom: The Complete Third Season,” Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer. The final season of creator Aaron Sorkin’s troubled but sporadically brilliant HBO drama, detailing the inner workings and relationships surrounding the fictional program “News Night,” led by brilliant but difficult anchorman Daniels. Sorkin’s peerless writing, as always, manages to guide the proceedings through a few ill-advised plot turns, but in any event, if it’s no “The West Wing,” “The Newsroom” is never less than entertaining. Not rated. Running time: 6:00. Suggested retail price: $39.98; Blu-ray $49.99

“Old Fashioned,” Elizabeth Ann Roberts, Rik Swartzwelder. The joys of chivalry and innocent courtship are proudly, unashamedly touted in this happily square romantic drama from director/writer/star Swartzwelder (“Illuminarium”), a low budget look at the “Old Fashioned” courtship between a former frat boy and a carefree young woman (Roberts, “Black Knight”) that managed to strike a chord with audiences weary of endless nightclubs and texting. Certainly invites sniggering, but it’s hard to fault its noble intent. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:55. Suggested retail price: $19.99

“Unfinished Business,” Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco. Tonally bizarre workplace comedy promises a raucous good time that it only delivers in fits and starts, with put-upon businessmen Vaughn, Franco and Tom Wilkinson traveling to Berlin in order to secure a pair of important clients before their rival (Sienna Miller) gets to them first. A series of rowdy conventions and some trouble at home with his kids distract Vaughn at every turn, alternately injecting the proceedings with hilarity and pathos, resulting in a largely confusing viewing experience that nonetheless isn’t without it’s odd charms. Rated R. Running time: 1:32.Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99

NEW TO BLU-RAY:

“My Dinner with Andre,” Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory. The movie that proved all you need to make a great movie are a couple of interesting guys with a few good stories to tell, this 1981 favorite wasn’t exactly crying out for a hi-def remastering given that it mainly consists of shots of men talking in a restaurant, but we’re happy to have it all the same, and in a deluxe Criterion edition at that, with special features including a 2009 interview with Shawn and Gregory conducted by filmmaker Noah Baumbach. Rated PG. Running time: 1:51. Suggested retail price: $39.95

“Spirited Away,” animated with the voices of Daveigh Chase, Lauren Holly. Miyazaki’s 2001 stunner was crying out for another remastering, and this latest Blu-ray release again reveals the master animator’s surreal, completely unpredictable fairy tale to be one of the most daring and flat-out beautiful animated releases of the past twenty years. Special features include storyboards and making-of featurettes. Rated PG. Running time: 2:05.Suggested retail price: $36.99

– Courtesy of Videoport


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