NEW ON THE SHELF

“RIO 2,” animated, with the voices of Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway. Lively follow-up to the surprise 2011 smash hit finds the ever nervous Blu (perfectly voiced by Eisenberg) and his mate Jewel (Hathaway) relocating to Brazil, confronting not only the dangers of the foreign wild but Jewel’s dad (amusingly voiced by Andy Garcia), a formidable father-in-law if there ever was one, and the revenge-hungry Nigel (Jemaine Clement, “Flight of the Conchords”). Endeavoring not to repair what wasn’t broken, “Rio 2” gives the many fans of the original more of the colorful hijinks they responded so well to originally. Rated G. Running time: 1:41. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99.

“UNDER THE SKIN,” Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy McWilliams. Few audiences knew what to make of this oblique, disturbing adaptation of Michel Faber’s acclaimed novel, but then again director Jonathan Glazer (“Birth”) has never been one to hold the viewer’s hand, and this unsettling tale of a beautiful alien (Johansson, convincing enough to make one wonder) tasked with luring potential suitors to a most unfortunate fate is primed to lodge itself in the titular location, as it were. Elements of Lynch and Cronenberg abound, and when you meld the Crazy Daves like that, you’re bound to come up with something special. Quality incredibly strange entertainment. Rated R. Running time: 1:48. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $24.99.

NEW TO DVD

“BLACK DYNAMITE: SEASON ONE,” animated, with the voices of Michael Jai White, Jimmy Walker Jr. The 2009 blaxploitation parody makes a logical leap from amiably ridiculous live-action spoof to amiably ridiculous animated adaptation, which wisely recasts White in the titular role, and somehow manages to outdo its source material in terms of surreal humor and bad-taste gags. In no way for the kiddies, but a lot of fun all the same. Not rated. Running time: 4:24. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $39.99.

“HELL ON WHEELS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON,” Anson Mount, Colm Meaney. The rarely non-violent exploits of Cullen Bohannon (memorably portrayed by Mount) and his efforts to put a horrific past behind him in favor of furthering the western expansion of the Union Pacific Railroad continue wild as ever in season three, while perpetual thorn in his side Doc Durant (the excellently villainous Meaney) manages to worm his way out of prison and back into Bohannon’s affairs in short order. Not rated. Running time: 6:52. Suggested retail price: $34.98

“ORPHAN BLACK: SEASON TWO,” Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce. We all have that one friend who won’t shut up about “Orphan Black,” and at this point it’s clear that we all need to start listening to them. Near universal acclaim from critics and viewers alike has met this brilliant BBC sci-fi/thriller series, with future Emmy winner (if there’s any justice in the world, that is) Maslany brilliantly portraying not only the lead characters, but several clones of said character, occasionally asked to play scenes in which one of the clones is pretending to be one of the other clones. It’s heady stuff; starting at the beginning is strongly advised. Not rated. Running time: 7:30. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $34.98.

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“THE FACE OF LOVE,” Annette Bening, Ed Harris. It’s not often filmmakers uncover anything new under the sun when it comes to romance, but co-writer/director Arie Posin (“The Chumscrubber”) appears to have found a new wrinkle with “The Face of Love,” wherein recently widowed Nikki (Bening, remarkable in a difficult role) struggles to face her grief, first by spending time with a similarly bereft neighbor (Robin Williams) and then by taking up with art professor Tom (Harris), a man she encounters in a museum who just so happens to be a near-exact doppelganger for her late spouse. The idea of maintaining a new, separate relationship with Tom without simply using him as a complete stand-in is alternately irresistible and beyond comprehension for Nikki, and the difficulties that arise inspire a host of intriguing and troubling relationship-based conversation starters, and even setting aside the fantastic performances across the board “Face” would be well worth checking out for that alone. Special features include deleted scenes and interviews with cast and crew. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:32. Suggested retail price: $24.98.

“HANK AND ASHA,” Andrew Pastides, Mahria Kakkar. It would appear to be an exemplary week for non-traditional romance movies. With the wonderful “Hank and Asha,” co-writer/director James E. Duff has fashioned an ideal love story for these tech-obsessed times, presenting the video correspondence between Asha (Kakkar, “The Big C”), a young woman from India attending film school in Prague, and Hank (Pastides, “Suits”), a filmmaker from North Carolina struggling to make ends meet in New York. When Asha connects to Hank online having watched one of his documentaries in a class, a long-distance romance of sorts is soon in bloom, each relating to the other’s love of film and unique sense of displacement. The sad truth of Generation Facebook is that while we’ve never been more connected, we’ve never been further apart, and the brief, sad, beautiful fling between “Hank and Asha” brings this phenomenon to vivid life. Not rated. Running time: 1:13. Suggested retail price: $24.95.

– Courtesy of Videoport

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