NEW ON THE SHELF:

“5 Flights Up,” Morgan Freeman, Diane Keaton. A longtime married couple (Freeman and Keaton, effortlessly conveying true and lasting love) undergoes the considerable and exhausting challenge of selling their beloved Brooklyn home (in an understandable attempt to escape the hipster influx) and locating a new place to live, all the while in the midst of a terrorism scare and a house pet illness. A limited release kept this charming and rather insightful dramedy from reaching many viewers theatrically, but its wit and charm is best suited to the small screen anyway, though NYC is given its due via some excellent cinematography. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:33. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $26.98

“Woman in Gold,” Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds. Stirring fact-based tale of one Maria Altmann (the ever-excellent Mirren), an elderly woman living in Los Angeles who takes it upon herself to engage in a legal battle with the country of Austria – from whence she escaped during Germany’s occupation in the 1930s. The action is over a valuable painting of her aunt by Gustav Klimt, a work of art she feels rightfully belongs with her family. Seeking the assistance of downtrodden but inspired attorney Randol (a nicely modulated Reynolds), Altmann embarks on an eye-opening, seemingly insurmountable quest to right at least one historical wrong, in the face of so many. A real-life story practically tailor made for the cinema, “Woman in Gold” is a classy and downright irresistible underdog story. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:48. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $34.99

VIDEOPORT PICKS:

“Maggie,” Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin. Audiences expecting the usual quip-laden action were a bit flummoxed by Arnie’s latest: a downbeat, gore-light drama detailing the last days between a simple farmer and his daughter, who has been bitten by a zombie and is expected to begin craving brains and shuffling around biting people any day now. Endeavoring to illustrate how an actual American family might deal with this development, first-time director Henry Hobson evokes both sentiment and dread in equal measures, and coaxes remarkable performances from both Breslin as the rapidly decaying youth and especially Schwarzenegger, effectively playing against type as a man more comfortable carrying out menial tasks as opposed to taking charge. A refreshing change of pace for both the genre and its star. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:35. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $19.99

“Slow West,” Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee. From first-time writer-director (and former member of the Beta Band) John Maclean comes this idiosyncratic and ultimately quite winning neo-Western, following young Jay (Smit-McPhee, “Let Me In”), an out-of-place Scotsman attempting to cross the Colorado Territory by himself circa 1870, in the hopes of reuniting with his lost lady fair, Rose (Caren Pistorius). Enter Silas (Fassbender, “Inglourious Basterds”), a rough-hewn but affable outlaw who takes a shine to the inexperienced traveler and offers to accompany him for a fee. Their burgeoning friendship and the intriguing, largely dangerous characters they meet along the way make for a brisk, engagingly odd picture that proudly fails to adhere to any of the usual tropes. Rated R. Running time: 1:19. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $24.99

NEW TO DVD:

“The Drop Box,” documentary. Profoundly moving doc that introduces Lee Jong-rak, a South Korean pastor who has dedicated his life to caring for and raising unwanted babies, going so far as to construct a heated compartment where troubled parents can leave their children, rather than abandoning them to the elements as so many do, so he can take them under his wing and ensure that they are fed and kept safe. Selflessness undergoes an intense redefining in this alternately devastating and life-affirming film. Rated PG. Running time: 1:17. Suggested retail price: $19.99

“House of Cards: Volume Three,” Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright. The tumultuous first few months of Frank Underwood’s (as indelibly portrayed by Spacey) presidency are detailed with the expected intensity and elan in season three of the popular and acclaimed series. Addictive viewing, to say the least, and with a bevy of directorial talent behind the camera, including James Foley (“Glengarry Glen Ross”) and John Dahl (“The Last Seduction”). Not rated. Running time: 10:55. Suggested retail price: $55.99; Blu-ray $65.99

NEW TO BLU-RAY:

“The Big Chill,” Glenn Close, Kevin Kline. A defining film for the baby boomer, this nostalgic 1983 favorite made stars out of pretty much its entire cast, introducing Jeff Goldblum, Tom Berenger and Meg Tilly to wider audiences and topping both box office and Billboard charts thanks to its still popular soundtrack of old Motown hits. Suggested retail price: $39.95.

“Street Smart,” Christopher Reeve, Morgan Freeman. The movie that ultimately transformed Morgan Freeman from a bit player in a children’s educational show to a Hollywood household name is this largely forgotten crime drama, a B-movie with exceptional performances from former “Superman” Reeve as a struggling journalist who fabricates a successful new story and Freeman as the pimp whose circumstances coincidentally resembles Reeve’s story enough that his livelihood becomes at risk, a development that leads to a lot of tense confrontations and unfortunate situations. Netting Freeman his first Oscar nomination for his coolly terrifying performance, “Street Smart” is an entertainingly scuzzy late ’80s relic that’s been long overdue for a dusting off of this sort. Rated R. Running time: 1:37. Suggested retail price: $29.95

– Courtesy of Videoport

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