NEW ON DVD and BLU-RAY
“50/50,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen. While few would regard the subject of cancer as a potential laugh riot, director Jonathan Levine and writer Will Reiser (who draws on his own personal experience) manages to evoke at least as many guffaws as tears in this refreshingly candid story of an otherwise healthy young man (Gordon-Levitt) who finds out he has a rare form of cancer. How he chooses to deal with this unexpected and unwelcome information makes up the brunt of the film, and an excellent supporting cast (including Rogen as his vulgar but loyal best friend, Maine native Anna Kendrick as an inexperienced counselor, and veteran character actors Philip Baker Hall and Matt Frewer as fellow patients) provide varying degrees of assistance along the way. Rated R. Running time: 1:40
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Suggested retail price: $26.99; Blu-ray $30.99
“PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3,” starring Chloe Csengery and Jessica Tyler Brown. The third installment in the effectively creepy, proudly low-tech fright flick series is given a creative boost by directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Here, they backpedal to 1988, where young sisters Katie and Kristi develop a relationship with a supposedly imaginary friend. It’s a common enough situation that becomes less and less cute as the film progresses, with their camera-obsessed dad outfitting the entire house with monitors and capturing moments perfectly calculated to jump audiences out of their seats. Special features include “lost tapes.” Rated R. Running time: 1:23
Suggested retail price: $44.99 (combo pack)
“REAL STEEL,” starring Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly. “Real Steel” threw critics expecting a brainless “Transformers”-style action movie for a bit of a loop by throwing a surprisingly human element into the tale with Jackman’s down-and-out former boxer reuniting with his long-lost son while simultaneously trying to make a viable contender out of a particularly rundown robo-slugger. It’s “Rocky” meets Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, but it all works surprisingly well in spite of the ludicrous premise. Rated PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language. Running time: 2:07
Suggested retail price: $29.99; Blu-ray $44.99
NEW TO DVD
“ANTHONY BOURDAIN: NO RESERVATIONS COLLECTION SIX — PART TWO” The notoriously outspoken traveling chef seeks cuisine and adventure in Liberia, Dubai and Paris, for starters. Also featured in this set is the series’ 100th episode, appropriately titled “What Were We Thinking?” As ever, an addictive series. Not rated; contains language. Running time: 7:10
Suggested retail price: $19.98
“THE WHISTLEBLOWER,” starring Rachel Weisz and Monica Bellucci. Gripping, often disturbing fact-based political thriller in which American policewoman Weisz takes a lucrative job as a peacekeeper in Bosnia only to discover a sex-trafficking ring being kept hush-hush by the U.N. Tense and engrossing throughout, with Weisz fantastic as always in a difficult role. Rated R. Running time: 1:52
Suggested retail price: $22.98; Blu-ray $29.99
“HELL AND BACK AGAIN,” documentary. This profoundly affecting doc follows young Sgt. Nathan Harris from the front lines of Afghanistan to the front door of his North Carolina home, intimately detailing both the horrors of war and the difficulties of readjustment with incredible immediacy. Director/photojournalist Danfung Dennis paints a grim yet entirely sympathetic picture of what it means to be a soldier in this day and age. Not rated; contains graphic war footage and language. Running time: 1:28
Suggested retail price: $29.95
NEW TO BLU-RAY
“ANNIE HALL” and “MANHATTAN,” starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. The Woodman’s first two comedies to hit big with both critics and audiences (with “Annie” nabbing the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1978) remain arguably his most popular and beloved, and these new high-definition transfers restore ’70s-era New York City to its former grittily romantic glory. Must-haves for the serious collector. Running time: 1:33/1:36
Suggested retail price: $24.99
“GODZILLA,” starring Takashi Shimura and Akira Takarada. The beloved film buffs at the Criterion Collection have put a fine gloss on this 1954 monster-movie classic from director Ishiro Honda. A worldwide phenomenon that inspired sequel upon sequel and maintains a rabid fan base to this day, “Godzilla” originally doubled as both a fun monster movie and an abstract reflection of the fear and rage experienced by the Japanese people following nuclear attacks. Not rated; contains violence. Running time: 1:36
Suggested retail price: $39.95
VIDEOPORT PICKS
“REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR,” documentary. Director Chris Paine’s follow-up to 2006’s “Who Killed the Electric Car?” proves a considerable improvement over its predecessor, focusing less on celebrity activists and more on the powers that be within the auto industry itself, to which Paine was seemingly granted an all-access pass. Alternately fascinating and angering, “Car” at times plays like a thriller of sorts, with each minor victory and huge setback compounding to produce a valuable overview of the efforts behind this noble cause and the red tape and deaf ears that prevent the car from truly taking off the way many believe it should. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language. Running time: 1:30
Suggested retail price: $29.95
“SHUT UP LITTLE MAN!: AN AUDIO MISADVENTURE,” documentary. Before YouTube and the very concept of the “viral video” came along, there was Peter and Ray. A gay man and a homophobic man, respectively, the ill-advised roommates kept their young neighbors Mitch and Eddie awake with their constant, unspeakably profane, alcohol-fueled bickering. Initially to pass the time and to prove to their friends that they weren’t making this up, Mitch and Eddie began surreptitiously taping the bitterly hilarious arguments. As so often happens in these situations, the tapes got passed around, and soon became an underground sensation. Director Matthew Bate (“Stunt Love”) explores the genesis of the tape, its widespread popularity and Mitch and Eddie’s recent attempt to connect with Peter and Ray for some answers. Not rated; contains extremely strong language. Running time: 1:30
Suggested retail price: $26.95
– Courtesy of Videoport
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