Week of September 30th

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Fast Machines

Struggling to make ends meet as an inventor, Cade Yeager (Mark Wahlberg) buys an old truck to use for parts in Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction, only to discover the truck is actually Autobot hero Optimus Prime. Cade and his daughter (Nicola Peltz) use their skills to bring him back to prime condition-- five years after the Battle of Chicago, Optimus is badly damaged-- but the public opinion of the Transformers have changed. With robotic aliens who destroy American cities seen as a threat, Optimus is being hunted by the CIA (led by Kelsey Grammer). Though Optimus and his Autobots have only wanted to protect and help humanity, they are being eliminated while an inventor (Stanley Tucci) perfecting "transformium" creates a much more real threat. Soon, Optimus and the Autobots are fighting battles across the globe, once again protecting the earth from Decepticons, robot bounty hunters, and corrupt governments through a hail of gunfire and massive explosions. On DVD and Blu Ray.

When a mysterious black car rolls through the slowest town in the world, everywhere it rolls it creates an incredible orange race track in the animated Team Hot Wheels: Origin of Awesome. Four friends who always dreamed of going fast finally get their wish when they become Team Hot Wheels, but the black car creates more than just a speedy track: it also creates mutations and monsters. Now Team Hot Wheels has to race a magic track, learn the meaning of teamwork, and stand up to the Mutant Machines.

Family Difficulties

Although small time weatherman Steve (Owen Wilson) lives a responsibility-free life of girls, drugs, and selfishness in Are You Here, he does have one real friend: erratic conspiracy theorist Ben (Zach Galifianakis), who has a yellow belt in karate and abandons obsessive causes almost as quickly as he adopts them. The two friends travel into Pennsylvania's Amish country when they learn that Ben's father has passed away, leaving Ben millions in land and holdings. As they stay on the family farm and try to make the best of the situation, they find themselves in a power struggle with the family's young widow (Laura Ramsey) and Ben's controlling sister (Amy Poehler). While Steve smells a profit and Ben is confused by grief and responsibility, Steve might be too selfish and Ben too naive to take control of their situation. On DVD and Blu Ray.

A return to his independent film beginnings, Jon Favreau's Chef is the story of Carl (played by Favreau), a successful chef working at a popular restaurant with a loyal kitchen crew (John Leguizamo, Bobby Cannavale, and Scarlett Johansson) when a bad review pushes him over the edge. He clashes with restaurant owner (Dustin Hoffman), starts a Twitter flame war with a famous food critic (Oliver Platt), has a public meltdown that makes him famous on YouTube, and gets himself fired. Finally taking his ex-wife's (Sofia Vergara) advice, Carl buys a food truck... and for the first time in years, he can be his own boss, cook the food he loves, and take pleasure in what he does. He reassembles his team, cleans up the truck, and takes it on the road from Miami to Los Angeles, rebuilding his reputation, reconnecting with his young son, and rediscovering why he does what he does. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Hollis (Aaron Paul) deals with the death of his wife with drinking, withdrawal, and depression in Hellion, leaving his sons Jacob and Wes to their own devices. 13-year-old Jacob is left taking care of young Wes, and, affected by his mother's death and his father's disinterest, begins to act out-- smashing cars, starting fights, and vandalizing property. The boys' aunt (Juliette Lewis) is brought in to help care for them, but Jacob is frustrated and disillusioned, lashing out at a world he no longer trusts so intensely he may end up in juvenile detention.

Free from the Camps

Young nun Ida is a week away from taking her vows in 1962 Poland when the Mother Superior orders her to travel the country to visit her aunt in Ida. The final step before her confirmation and lifelong commitment, Ida must return home and see her only remaining family. Her aunt is less than happy to see her, but tells her the truth of her background: she is Ida Lebenstein, Jewish, and that the rest of her family perished under the Nazis. Together, they set out to find the graves of Ida's parents, but their journey will change both women in ways they never imagined. On DVD and Blu Ray.

A follow up to the classic Shoa, The Last of the Unjust provides a feature-length exploration of Nazi camp survivor Benjamin Murmelstein. Not included in the original Shoa, Murmelstein was a Vienna rabbi who became the chief elder at Theresienstadt, the propaganda camp the Nazi's used to demonstrate how well Jews were treated in concentration camps. Acting as a liaison between the Nazis and the residents of the camp, Murmelstein was accused (and acquitted) of collaboration after the end of the war, and he remains a controversial figure even now.

Together, but Complicated

In a vintage, 1970s science fiction future, Captain Glenn (Patrick Wilson) oversees a motley crew in the retro-future Space Station 76. On board are the frustrated technician Ted (Matt Bomer) whose wife Misty (Marisa Coughlan) is more interested in valium than in his advances, and bubbly Donna (Kali Rocha) is too preoccupied with her new baby to notice her husband Steve (Jerry O'Connell) is having an affair with Misty. Though they're all mired in their "me generation" problems, Jessica (Liv Tyler), the ship's new second-in-command, arrives to upset their dysfunctional, space-exploring dynamic. Luckily, a toy robot (known as Doctor Bot) is available as the ship's psychologist, dispensing pre-recorded advice to keep them well adjusted.

Exploring love, desire, and fidelity, Paul Haggis's Third Person is an "everything is connected" interlocking puzzle movie, tying together three separate stories. In Paris, novelist Michael (Liam Neeson) has retreated to a hotel room with his mistress (Olivia Wilde) with hopes of finishing his novel, with his wife (Kim Basinger) left far behind. In New York, hotel maid Julia (Mila Kunis) tries to prove she can care for her son, and win back custody rights from her ex-husband (James Franco). In Rome, shady corporate operator Scott (Adrien Brody) falls in love with a gypsy (Moran Atias) and gets pulled into her troubles with the Russian mob. Telling the stories in pieces, the connections between the stories slowly reveal a larger whole.

New this week in our TV New Releases:

	The Mentalist Season 6	Patrick Jane is closing in on the serial killer Red John, but he has to keep up appearances before he springs his trap and has to continue working cases with Agent Lisbon and the CBI.		Mom Season 1	Christy has cleaned up her life and joined AA, but her new, sober life is complicated: her own mother is also a recovering addict, and her 17-year-old daughter has already become a teen mom.
	Monster High Freaky Fusion	In the new TV special, Frankie Stein and friends travel back in time to the very first day of Monster High... but in their trip through the time portal, the eight friends are fused together to become four hybrid monsters.