NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY

“A SINGLE MAN,” starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. With performances as beautifully restrained as its production is lavish, “A Single Man” marks the promising directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford. Firth gives a pitch-perfect performance as George, a gay English professor struggling to mask his grief over the recent passing of his lover, taking what solace he can from relationships with a boozy old friend (Moore) and an admiring pupil (Nicholas Hoult, “Skins”). Remarkably re-creating the styles and atmosphere of 1962-era Los Angeles, Ford and Firth make for a formidable dramatic pairing. A class act all the way. Special features include a commentary from Ford and a making-of commentary. Rated R for some disturbing images and nudity/sexual content. Running time: 1:39.

Suggested retail price: DVD $27.99; Blu-ray $34.99.

“BROOKLYN’S FINEST,” starring Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere. Ambitious police drama follows three troubled cops at different stages in their careers: Hawke, a drug squad detective attempting to make enough money to move his family out of their dilapidated home; Don Cheadle, an undercover detective reluctant to turn in a drug dealer (an excellent Wesley Snipes) that he’s taken a liking to; and Gere, a defeated patrolman slumping his way toward retirement. Unbeknownst to the movie-going public that largely ignored “Finest” upon its initial theatrical release, director Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) has delivered what nearly amounts to an epic here, eliciting top-notch performances from his leads and more than two hours of intelligent entertainment that doesn’t let up for a second. An overlooked gem. Special features include deleted scenes and a commentary from Fuqua. Rated R for bloody violence throughout, strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language. Running time: 2:12.

Suggested retail price: DVD $29.99; Blu-ray $39.99.

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“CONTINENTAL DIVIDE,” starring John Belushi and Blair Brown. A rare opportunity for the usually raucous Belushi to play the romantic lead, this likable 1981 comedy mostly confused audiences accustomed to the “SNL” vet’s drug-crazed party-boy persona so memorably exemplified in “Animal House.” Here, Belushi plays a hard-nosed journalist who finds himself falling for the eagle researcher (Brown, “Fringe”) he’s been assigned to investigate for an upcoming article. Proof that Belushi had range well beyond what viewers had come to expect, and a touching and offbeat little comedy besides. Rated PG for language. Running time: 1:43.

Suggested retail price: $14.98.

“ER: THE COMPLETE THIRTEENTH SEASON,” starring Goran Visnjic and Maura Tierney. The most Emmy-nominated series in the history of television steps up the relationship drama in order to compete with a certain upstart medical drama, a development that ruffled a few fan feathers. Nonetheless, the series was still going strong at this point, with writing and performances as good as ever. Special features include “outpatient outtakes” and deleted scenes. Not rated, contains language, sexual content and violence. Running time: 15:54.

Suggested retail price: $49.98.

“SQUIDBILLIES, VOL. 3,” animated with the voices of Unknown Hinson and Dana Snyder. More hilariously surreal cartoon madness from the crazies at Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block of programming, focusing here on a profane hybrid clan of redneck squids. Fans of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and “The Venture Brothers” will likely find plenty here to entertain them. Special features include behind-the-scenes footage. Not rated, contains language, crude humor and cartoon violence. Running time: 3:40.

Suggested retail price: $19.98.

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“EYEBORGS,” starring Adrian Paul and Megan Blake. Better than average made-for-TV sci-fi junk food concerning a vast network of robotic surveillance machines creating havoc in a “Brave New World”-type of future, with Paul’s (“Highlander: Endgame”) world-weary cop facing off against the nosy robo-army. Impressive special effects and a game cast set “Eyeborgs” apart from its low-budget brethren. Special features include deleted scenes. Running time: 1:42.

Suggested retail price: $29.98.

“JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS,” starring Todd Armstrong and Nancy Kovack. Before “Clash of the Titans,” there was this good old-fashioned action-fantasy from 1963, probably most famous for its climactic skeleton battle scene animated by the legendary Ray Harryhausen. Two audio commentaries have been recorded for this Blu-ray release: one from director Peter Jackson and visual effects artist Randall William Cook, and another from film historian Tony Dalton and Harryhausen himself. Rated G. Running time: 1:44.

Suggested retail price: $24.95.

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“THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO,” starring Micheal Nygvist and Noomi Rapace. With the inevitable American remake well on its way, now’s the time to check out director Niels Arden Oplev’s (“Portland”) superb adaptation of the novel by the late Stieg Larsson. David Fincher, good as he is, will have his hands full improving upon this thrilling tale of a young hacker (Rapace, “Daisy Diamond”) teaming up with an investigative journalist (Nygvist, “Downloading Nancy”) to track down the missing niece of an elderly billionaire (Sven-Bertil Taube, “The Birthday”). From that seemingly by-the-numbers plot comes one of the most entertaining and intelligent thrillers of the past decade, with an especially memorable performance from the impressive Rapace. Viewers willing to sit through a couple of scenes of extremely upsetting violence will be rewarded with a well-crafted and thought-provoking mystery. Rated R for disturbing violent content including rape, grisly images, sexual material, nudity and language. Running time: 2:32.

Suggested retail price: DVD $29.95; Blu-ray $34.95.

“STEAMBOAT BILL, JR.,” starring Buster Keaton and Mario Byron. It’s fairly common for younger people to be hesitant to go back and watch older classic films. They’re black and white, the fashions look ridiculous, the humor and dialogue are dated to the point where it may not even make sense any more. Often, one will develop a taste for the rhythms and pleasures of the cinema of yesteryear as they themselves age, but there are certain talents that transcend time, and one of those is the great — nay, miraculous — Buster Keaton, whose particular mix of acrobatic stuntwork and deadpan comic timing has only martial artist Jackie Chan for a rival (and yes, Keaton is every bit as good as the formidable Chan). Here, Keaton portrays college boy William Canfield, whose enthusiasm for his new job on his dad’s steamboat is matched only by his incompetence, an ideal set-up for one jaw-dropping pratfall after another, not to mention the classic bravura sequence in which Keaton attempts to walk across town in the midst of a tornado. So the next time your seen-it-all teenager makes fun of your fuddy-duddy taste in movies, here’s an opportunity to prove him wrong. Not rated, nothing objectionable. Running time: 1:11.

Suggested retail price: DVD $29.95; Blu-ray $34.95.

 


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