Week of March 26

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History

Daniel Day-Lewis won a Best Actor Oscar for his role as the 16th President of the United States in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. Taking place during President Lincoln's second term, in the twilight of the Civil War, the film focuses on the president's struggle to pass the 13th amendment, outlawing slavery in the Constitution. Walking a fine line between the radical Republicans (Tommy Lee Jones) who would alienate the public by demanding complete equality for freed slaves and the Democrats who would naturally oppose him, Lincoln gains the backing of the founder of his party (Hal Holbrook) to rally support. With his Emancipation Proclamation ready to be overturned at the end of the war and the Confederates (Jackie Earle Haley) willing to treat with him, Lincoln does whatever he must to see the abolition of slavery made into law before his radical measure can be rejected upon the arrival of more moderate times. With Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and David Strathairn. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Married to Danish King Christian VII, British Caroline (Alicia Vikander) is quickly pushed aside by her petulant, unpredictable husband in the critically-acclaimed, Danish A Royal Affair. As the king's behavior becomes more erratic, and 18th century Denmark is ruled more by their royal council than the king and queen, Caroline retreats to her gilded cage, where her only companionship is the court's doctor, Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen). Struensee is a supporter of the Enlightenment, and as he and Caroline become closer, their distaste for the traditional, repressive rule of Denmark begin to foment change... but at great cost to them both. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Restoring the Balance

In over their heads, amateur crooks Frankie and Russell (Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn) rob a mobster's poker game during the 2008 presidential elections in Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly. Their plan for the robbery is upended when the crime's fall-guy (Ray Liotta) walks in on Frankie and Russell in the act, and the mafia sends an emissary (Richard Jenkins) to clean up the mess. He hires a hitman (Brad Pitt) to make sure that none of the culpable parties are left standing, but as he methodically conducts his business, the film contrasts the lofty ideals of presidential campaign speeches with the ground-level tactics a hired mercenary uses to get his job done. With James Gandolfini. On DVD and Blu Ray.

The tentative peace between Sultan Nesib (Antonio Banderas) and Sultan Amar (Mark Strong) is threatened when Americans (Corey Johnson) tell them there is oil in their midst in Jean-Jacques Annaud's Day of the Falcon. Set in the 1930s, Amar rejects the west's intrusion while Nesib sees the new wealth as a benefit to his people, but their clash is felt most severely by Amar's sons (Tahar Rahim and Akin Gazi) and Nesib's daughter (Freida Pinto), and the marriage that was supposed to unite their clans.

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Inspired by his trip to Sound City Studios to record Nevermind with Nirvana, musician Dave Grohl directed Sound City: Real to Reel. Exploring the history of the legendarily low-rent studio, from its foundation in 1969, through the legendary albums recorded there, to its closing in 2011, the film talks to the artists that recorded there (including Neil Young, Tom Petty, Rage Against the Machine, Rick Springfield, Kyuss, REO Speedwagon, Fleetwood Mac, Tool, and many more), telling the story of a studio that made an indelible impression on the musical landscape. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Though he loved his job as a radio sports announcer, Artie (Billy Crystal) is forced into retirement because he's not modern enough in the family comedy Parental Guidance... but that gives Artie and his wife Diane (Better Midler) a chance to spend time with their grandchildren. When their daughter (Marisa Tomei) and son-in-law (Tom Everett Scott) go on vacation, the grandparents are left in charge, but while Diane wants to prove to the kids that they're not just "the other grandparents," Artie is having the same problem that cost him a job: he's not modern, can't relate to his grandkids, and doesn't understand the cutting-edge world around them. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Elena (Emma Fitzpatrick) flees the dancefloor of a warehouse party to get away from her cheating boyfriend and finds herself one of the only survivors of a slaughter in The Collection, the sequel to The Collector. Hiding in an out-of-the-way room, she finds Arkin (Josh Stewart), who barely survived the previous movie, who saves her from the Collector's Saw-like traps, and the two plan their escape. Meanwhile, Emma's father (Christopher McDonald) will do anything to protect his daughter, and sends in an elite squad (led by Lee Tergesen) to stop the Collector and rescue Emma... but even trained professionals aren't prepared for the lethal maze they have to navigate.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

	The Borgias Season 2	Jeremy Irons is the head of the Borgia family in the 16th century as they maneuver their way to the heights of Roman society and the power of the church.			Veep Season 1	The vice-president of the United States (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) doesn't have a lot of power, but tries to navigate an In the Loop-like political system that seems stacked against her.
	MST3K Volume 26		Volume 26 of MST3K includes The Magic Sword, Alien from L.A, Danger!! Death Ray, and The Mole People.		Continuum Season 1	When a group of terrorists escape the year 2077, they bring an unexpected hitchhiker: a Protector, a law enforcement officer trapped in 2012, determined to stop them changing the future and taking more lives.