January 24, 2012 - Notable New DVD Movie Releases:
50/50 DVD
Tagline: "It takes a pair to beat the odds."
Length: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, sexual content and some drug use
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star in this feel-good dramedy that screenwriter Will Reiser, a comedy professional, loosely based on his own experiences when he was diagnosed with cancer. Adam (Gordon-Levitt) is only 27 years old when he learns he has spinal cancer and is eventually told his chances of survival are 50-50. His girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard) has trouble dealing with the situation, and his best pal (Rogen) comes up with a peculiar way of trying to be supportive. Also, Adam gets to know an attractive, inexperienced therapist (Anna Kendrick) and an old codger (Philip Baker Hall).
- Widescreen
Real Steel DVD
Tagline: "If you get one shot, make it real."
Length: 127 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language
Hugh Jackman and child actor Dakota Goyo star in this father/son fable that combines the plot of Rocky with the robots from Transformers. The main idea for the movie comes from Richard Matheson's 1956 short story "Steel," which was later the basis for a Twilight Zone episode starring Lee Marvin. The story takes place in a near future when prizefighting is illegal for humans, but the sport lives on with robot combatants. In the film, a down-on-his-luck ex-boxer (Jackman) and his 11-year-old son (Goyo) build a makeshift boxing robot from scrap parts which wins enough bouts to earn a shot at the championship.
- Widescreen
The Whistleblower DVD
Length: 112 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent content including a brutal sexual assault, graphic nudity and language
Rachel Weisz stars in this thriller based on Kathryn Bolkovac's nonfiction book of the same title, in which the author wrote about events that happened to her in real life. The movie is the feature debut of Canadian filmmaker Larysa Kondracki. In 1999 Nebraska policewoman Kathy Bolkovac (Weisz) takes a one-year contract to go to war-torn Bosnia as a peacekeeper under the auspices of the United Nations. There she learns that locals are trafficking women and that the company she is working for and even people in the UN are involved. Also appearing in the film are Vanessa Redgrave and David Strathairn.
- Widescreen
Additional Releases of Interest This Week on DVD and Blu-ray Disc::
The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989) Blu-ray Disc and DVD- Two-Disc Set
- Includes DVD and Blu-ray Disc
- Four-Disc DVD Set
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Commentary
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Two-Disc DVD Set
- Four-Disc DVD Set
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Black and White Read a review of an earlier release of Notorious on DVD: Notorious DVD Review.
- Widescreen
- Six-Disc DVD Set
- Three-Disc DVD Set
- Widescreen
- Improved Subtitles
- Booklet
- Interview
- Black and White Read a review of an earlier release of Rebecca on DVD: Rebecca DVD Review.
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Black and White
- Widescreen
- Extended Cut
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Widescreen
- Interviews
- Music Video
- Featurettes
- Widescreen
- Black and White
- Featurettes
- Widescreen
- Subtitles
