Week of December 17th

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Reluctant Heroes

Max (Matt Damon) lives on the slums that have overtaken the Earth, dreaming of a better life on the high-class space station in Elysium, director Neil Blomkamp's follow-up to District 9. After an accident at his factory job, Max's only chance for survival is treatment on Elysium, but the space station's government (Jodie Foster) will stop at nothing to keep the Earthbound poor from getting to Elysium. To find the help he needs, Max joins a team to capture John Carlyle (William Fichtner), an Elysian citizen, and use him to get through Elysium's defenses... but to undertake the caper, he has to be fitted with a powerful robotic exoskeleton. The information he steals from Carlyle makes Max the most important man on Earth-- pursued by a bloodthirsty Elysian operative (Sharlto Copley), helped by the few friends he has (Diego Luna and Alice Braga), Max's quest to heal himself suddenly involves him in the fate of everyone on (and above) Earth. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) is pondering his destiny alongside other demigods at Camp Half-Blood in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters when Luke (Jake Abel), the lightning thief himself, puts everyone in the camp in danger. When camp leaders Chiron and Dionysus (Anthony Head and Stanley Tucci) tell Percy about a prophecy, P.J, his satyr best friend Grover (Brandon T. Jackson), and girl Friday Annabeth (Alexandra Daddario) set out on a quest for the legendary Golden Fleece. Joined by Percy's cyclops half-brother (Douglas Smith), they use a variety of mystical tools as they meet clochis bulls, chimera, zombies, the three blind sisters, a manticore, and Hermes himself (Nathan Fillion) in their mission to save Camp Half-Blood and protect their friends. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has hung up his costume and is trying to put superhero life behind him in Kick-Ass 2, but Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) inists on training him to be a better, stronger Kick-Ass than before. While Hit Girl's guardian (Morris Chestnut) wants her to be a normal girl and promise to stop vigilante work, Kick-Ass is taken by Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison) to a team of costumed heroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey)... but Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has retired his Red Mist superhero name and taken up a new identity as a supervillain, waging a war against all costumed heroes: especially Kick-Ass. With John Leguizamo and Lindy Booth. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Stuffy, big-city lawyer John Reid (Armie Hammer) is heading into the old west in Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger, but he gets more than he bargained for when his brother (James Badge Dale) deputizes him as a Texas Ranger. Only John survives a ranger ambushe, discovered as left-for-dead and rescued by Tonto (Johnny Depp). Tonto's an eccentric Comanche warrior, but he's on a mission to find Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner), the man who ambushed the rangers. Brought together by fate, the two men begin their hunt for Cavendish, but Tonto insists on John wearing a black mask-- the world will continue to think John Reid is dead and no villain will expect a mysterious, masked ranger. With Tom Wilkinson and Ruth Wilson. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Manhunt

Keller and Grace Dover (Hugh Jackman and Maria Bello) are celebrating Thanksgiving with Franklin and Nancy Birch (Terrence Howard and Viola Davis) when their daughters are abducted in Prisoners. Though the investigating detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) brings a suspect in for questioning-- the childlike, awkward Alex (Paul Dano)-- there's no evidence to hold him. Keller is convinced Alex knows where the girls are and, if the police won't hold Alex accountable, Keller feels that he must take matters into his own hands if he wants to see his daughter again. With Melissa Leo. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Former mafia enforcer Giovanni Manzoni has been renamed Fred Blake (Robert De Niro) and moved to a small village in northern France as part of the witness protection program in Luc Besson's The Family. The newly minted Blake family-- disenchanted wife Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), small time highschool hustler son Warren (John D'Leo), and fierce and combative teenage daughter Belle (Dianna Agron)-- doesn't care for rustic French life, but their FBI handler (Tommy Lee Jones) has it even harder... the Blakes seem to need a new identity every few months, because their scams, schemes, and violent outbursts always attract too much attention. With the mob scouring Europe to make an example of the family, their inability to follow the rules is bound to get them into real trouble. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Outlaws Muldoon and Ruth (Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara) are on the run when their crime spree comes to a sudden end with the death of a Texas police officer in Ain't Them Bodies Saints. Though the lethal shot came from Ruth's gun, Muldoon takes the blame and the prison sentence, but promises to return to Ruth as soon as possible. As the years pass and their daughter grows up, Ruth feels the pull of adult responsibility and the kindly police officer (Ben Foster) who looks after her, but Muldoon can't be away from his family any longer and breaks out of prison, beginning a long journey to an uncertain home and future. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Teenage Raul dreams of leaving Cuba and traveling to Florida in Una Noche, but when he's suspected of assaulting a tourist, fleeing Cuba becomes his only option. With the help of his best friend Elio, Raul works his way through the black market economy, trading his possessions for the raft, GPS, food, and supplies it will take to travel 90 miles over open water to outrun police and start a new life in America.

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Hauntings

Nerdy Sergio and his sex-obsessed best friend Brad have decided to make a ghost-hunting documentary about their historically haunted home in Ghost Team One, but they commit fully to the project when beautiful, ghost fixated Fernanda (Fernanda Romero) finds out what they're up to and wants to join the team. Though their antics always bother their somewhat racist, newly sober roommate, Sergio and Brad do everything they can to get close to Fernanda, while Fernanda's commitment to ghost hunting might be scarier than actual ghosts.

Returning from his trip to "the other side," Josh (Patrick Wilson) was able to rescue his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins), but Josh came back changed in James Wan's Insidious: Chapter 2. When his wife Renai (Rose Byrne) walks in to find their medium (Lin Shaye) strangled, and Josh seemingly possessed, she thinks she understands what happened... until the police can't match the fingerprints to Josh. He's acting strangely, though, and to solve the mystery of what's happening to her family, Renai has to bring in a new team of ghost hunters if she wants to bring back the Josh she knew. With Barbara Hershey. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Music

The story of The Beatles and Beatlemania through the eyes of the group's long-serving secretary, Good Ol' Freda interviews Freda Kelly, who never spoke about her time with The Beatles until now. A typist and head of a Beatles fan club, Freda was hired to be the band's secretary early in their career, and she maintained both a close relationship with The Beatles and a kinship with their devout fans, being a fan herself.
Combining backstage antics with a live concert filmed at London's O2 Arena, One Direction: This Is Us provides an all-access pass to the popular boy band. Directed by Morgan Spurlock. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

	Justified Season 4	Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) delves into a mystery that began in the early 80s, unraveling the consequences of a drug-related death that draws dangerous elements into Harlan County and upsetting the balance of power between the Dixie Mafia, the marshall's office, and Raylan's sometimes friend/sometimes nemesis Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins).
	Burn Notice Season 7	In the final season, Michael cuts a deal with the CIA and, while taking on private clients, finally unravels the mystery that kept him from government spy work for so many years.		Shameless Season 3	Fiona is adapting to life with Jimmy in the house, but the Gallagher family still has to take care of their irresponsible father, Frank.

Week of December 10th

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Families

Gru (Steve Carell) has retired from the super-villain game in Despicable Me 2, committing his time to raising his girls... and making jams and jellies. Gru's life has settled down a bit-- even his trusty sidekick Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand) needs to move on and pursue more evil works-- but the Anti-Villain League sends Lucy (Kristen Wiig), one of their agents, to recruit Gru to solve a mystery. Because Gru knows all there is to know about villainy, he's AVL's best hope to find out who stole a top-secret laboratory with a giant flying magnet... but Gru's distracted by the girls, especially Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), who's old enough to start noticing boys. With Benjamin Bratt. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Three years after the events of The Ultimate Gift, young entrepreneur Jason Stevens copes with troubles in his life, his relationship with Alexia (Ali Hillis), and his business by learning his grandfather's life lessons in The Ultimate Life. Reading his grandfather's journal, he learns about the trials of a World War, the Great Depression, love, and what it takes to be a success in business and in life.

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Action

When his temple is bankrupt and threatened with demolition, Tai Chi master Tiger Chen is seduced by Donaka Mark (Keanu Reeves, who also directs) to join an exclusive martial arts tournament in Man of Tai Chi. Though most of his opponents don't consider Tai Chi a serious fighting style, Tiger Chen adapts to defeat competitors in a brutal competition... a compromise that leads him to a Hong Kong detective (Karen Mok) and a fight to save not just his temple, but the reputation the temple's legacy. With Simon Yam. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew have retired from heists, races, and crime in Fast and Furious 6, living in different places around the world where the law can't touch them. When Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) finds Dom and offers him an opportunity, he has to reassemble the crew (including Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, and Sung Kang) and give them Hobbs' deal: he can give them all pardons, let them go home again, and reunite them with presumed-dead Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) if they help take down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his next-level team of international thieves. Dom's group are the only people who can face Shaw's group, and the two go head-to-head in car chases, firefights, and hand to hand combat across the globe. With Gina Carano. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Dramatic

Best friends since childhood Roz and Lil (Robin Wright and Naomi Watts) have married and each raised a teenage son in Adore. Though Lil lost her husband when the boys were young, Roz's husband (Ben Mendelsohn) is often away directing theater, leaving the women on their own on the Australian oceanfront... and as she begins an affair with Lil's son (Xavier Samuel), Lil has also started an affair with Roz's son (James Frenchville). Through scandal and impropriety, they must all contend with the consequences of their relationships as they send shockwaves through the people around them. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Two unlikely clans are brought together in 1969 when their shared matriarch dies in Jayne Mansfield's Car. Jim Caldwell (Robert Duvall) and his children (Kevin Bacon, Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Patrick, and Katherine LaNasa) invite Jim's former wife's other family, the Bedfords, to join them in Alabama for the funeral. Kingsley Bedford (John Hurt) and his children (Marshall Allman, Ray Stevenson, and Frances O'Connor) fly in from England, and though the families have much in common-- all the men are veterans, each with their own unique scars from their wars-- the Caldwells and Bedfords manage to clash with each other and within their own families in a classic "southern gothic" drama.On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Quirk

Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) is a popular massage therapist who suddenly refuses to have any bodily contact with others in Seattle director Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely. Abby's aversion to human contact begins just as her boyfriend Jesse (Scott McNairy) starts suggesting that they move in together, but as Abby loses her ability to touch, her dentist brother Paul (Josh Pais) gains a strange, new healing ability. Abby's friend and mentor (Allison Janney) encourages her towards Reiki (a touch-free, Japanese style of massage), but Abby, Jesse, and Scott all have to find a way to understand what has changed in their lives. With Ellen Page and Ron Livingston. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Robbie, Rhino, Albert, and Mo are a group of Scottish juvenile delinquents in Ken Loach's The Angels' Share, but Robbie is determined to clean up his act and do right by his pregnant girlfriend. As the boys are ferried to community service by Henry (John Henshaw), they discover a hidden talent as whiskey tasters, and Robbie's sophisticated palette could put them all on the path to a better life when a priceless cask of whiskey is discovered in their midst.

New couple Chris and Tina (Steve Oram and Alice Lowe) take a camper-van vacation across the British countryside in Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, but at every turn, they seem to end up killing someone. From the rude guy who leaves his snack wrappers lying around to the upper-class folks that would make trifling demands of them, Chris and Tina always find an excuse for bumping off the people in their way-- killing litterers can't really be "murder" if it's ecologically friendly, can it?

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Kindergarten teacher Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) has his life destroyed by a rumor in The Hunt. Originally accused of exposing himself to a child, the story grows to include all the children he lured into the basement his house doesn't have, and as more and more of the village believes the spreading rumors of his crimes, Lucas starts to fight back against the people ruining his life.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

	Doctor Who The Day of the Doctor	Marking the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who, the 10th and 11th Doctors cross continuities as they meet a previous, black-sheep regeneration of The Doctor.
	Futurama Volume 8	The final season sees the satirical exploits of the Planet Express crew come to a close (again) and resolves the ever-changing relationship between Fry and Leela.

Week of December 3rd

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Powers

Logan (Hugh Jackman) is living like a hermit in the Yukon and struggling with the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) in James Mangold's The Wolverine, turning his back on the X-Men, heroism, and society. Summoned to Japan by Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), a man Logan saved during the bombing of Nagasaki, he's drawn into the plots of a powerful family-- with Yashida on his death bed, the wealthy family could be controlled by his arrogant son (Hiroyuki Sanada) or his granddaughter, Mariko. Sworn to protect Mariko, Logan has to face the Yakuza, ninjas (led by Will Yun Lee), and Yashida's doctor (Svetlana Khodchenkova) who has her own mysterious agenda, but even with his powers in question, Logan will unsheathe his claws and once again be The Wolverine. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Though she thought her life was ordinary, teenage Clary (Lily Collins) comes home to find her mother (Lena Headey) kidnapped and magical enemies chasing her in Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Based on the young adult book series, the story follows Clary and her best friend Simon (Robert Sheehan) as they're taken in by Shadowhunters-- supernatural warriors who fight demons. Protected by a Shadowhunter called Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower), they're taken in by the clan (led by Jared Harris) and told that Clary is the chosen one... descended from a long line of Shadowhunters and the only one who can stop the nefarious Valentine Morgenstern (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and rescue her mother. With CCH Pounder. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Three Apples High

Smurfette doesn't know Papa Smurf (Jonathan Winters) and the rest of her friends are planning her birthday party in The Smurfs 2; she thinks everyone's avoiding her because she's not welcome in Smurf Village. When Gargamel (Hank Azaria) sends the Smurf-like "Naughties" (Christina Ricci and J.B. Smoove) to kidnap Smurfette for his own ends, it's up to the Smurfs to get her back... but when they travel back to Patrick's (Neil Patrick Harris) New York home, they find him in trouble, too. The Smurfs have to rescue Smurfette, defeat Gargamel and The Naughties, help Patrick with his disapproving father-in-law (Brendan Gleeson), and get home in time for Smurfette's party. With Jayma Mays. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Together, Apart

Kate and Luke (Olivia Wilde and Jake Johnson) work together at a brewery in Drinking Buddies, and, though they're both in relationships, they have a lot of chemistry together. Kate is with slightly awkward Chris (Ron Livingston) and Luke is engaged to Jill (Anna Kendrick), and the four are good enough friends to vacation in a cabin together... but what each of them truly wants is destined to shake up their everyday lives. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Apartheid

From her early life, Winnie grows up a fighter in Winnie Mandela. Beginning her story as a young woman (Jennifer Hudson), the film recalls Winnie's education and dedication that led her to refuse a scholarship in America to remain in South Africa where she's needed. Though her time with Nelson Mandela (Terrence Howard) is cut short when he's sentenced to life in prison, Winnie continues to fight for equality and the end of apartheid, fighting her own public battles and suffering the injustices of the South African state. With Elias Koteas.

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Whodunit

Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) is the most sought-after girl in her highschool in Jonathan Levin's All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, so when she accepts Red's (Aaron Himelstein) invitation for a party at his family's cabin, it's news amongst all her classmates. At the cabin, Mandy has a weekend with party-girl Chloe (Whitney Able), arrogant womanizer Jake (Luke Grimes), reserved and respectful Bird (Edwin Hodge), as well as Red's family ranch hand (Anson Mount), but their party ends quickly when the teenagers start dying off, one by one. With Michael Welch.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

	Lilyhammer Season 1	A New York mafia boss chooses an unusual town for his witness protection-- he relocates to Lilliehammer, Norway to begin his new life, but his criminal history isn't easy for him to leave in the past.
	The Simpsons Season 16	The town of Springfield copes with the closing of Moe's, Flanders' biblical epic, a new Sprawl-Mart, Professor Frink's time machine, vending machines in the elementary school, and more...

Week of November 26th

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Chase

Retired from the guns-and-chases super-spy business, Frank (Bruce Willis) is trying to live a quiet life with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) in Red 2. Their paranoid friend Marvin (John Malkovich) bursts into their life and shatters their calm: suddenly, the three of them are on the run, chased by an amoral CIA agent (Neal McDonough), a contract killer (Lee Byung-hun) with grudge against Frank, and their comrade from MI6, Victoria (Helen Mirren). On a globe-trotting adventure to find the pieces of their past responsible for their current danger, they have to survive hired professionals, government agents, a Russian femme fatale (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and an operative locked away for being unstable (Anthony Hopkins). Together, they have to survive their own mysterious past long enough to save the world in the present day. On DVD and Blu Ray.

Brent's (Ethan Hawke) wife has been kidnapped in Getaway, and only Brent's history as a famous race car driver can win her freedom. Ordered into a modified car-- armored and fitted with cameras, to watch his every move-- Brent is ordered by a voice (Jon Voight) through a series of phone calls: where to drive, what to crash into, when to stop. When a tough girl (Selena Gomez) tries to carjack him, she's forced into the car, and together they evade police and do whatever the mysterious mastermind demands of them. During their high-speed chase, they have to find a way to fight back against the voice on the phone and rescue Brent's wife. On DVD and Blu Ray.

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Biography

Jobs
Now & Then

A portrait of the creator of Apple computers, Jobs begins its story with Steve Jobs (Ashton Kutcher) in college, traveling, and eventually chafing under inflexible bosses and management, working for Atari. When he sees his friend Steve Wozniak's (Josh Gad) idea for a personal computer, they form a partnership. Forming a startup company in Jobs' garage, the first team (Lukas Haas, Victor Rasuk, Nelson Franklin, and Ron Eldard) build the first Apple computers, they find a willing investor (Dermot Mulroney) and begin their meteoric rise... but Steve Jobs' philosophy and drive both make Apple the cutting-edge in computers and alienate his friends and partners. With an equal mix of intuition and arrogance, he engineers the largest successes and failures in both his company and his life. With Matthew Modine. On DVD and Blu Ray.

The story of a legendary 70s rock band, the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me details the band's formation and immediate critical acclaim, as well as the lack of popular success that followed. Brought to more widespread audiences in the 1990s after being touted by commercially successful acts like Beck, The Flaming Lips, and REM, the documentary follows the recording of Big Star's three studio albums, their struggles within the band and with the music business, and the mainstream appeal they never found in their heyday.

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Behind Closed Doors

Written by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Paul Schrader, the erotic thriller The Canyons tells the story of Christian and Tara (Lindsay Lohan) in privileged Beverly Hills society. Christian is using his trust fund to film a low budget horror movie, but, unbeknownst to him, Tara has begun a relationship with the movie's star, Ryan (Nolan Gerard Funk). As the betrayals, lies, and deceptions pile up, the characters discover new depths of immorality inherent within privileged, Los Angeles culture. On DVD and Blu Ray.

11-year-old Skunk's world changes drastically when she witnesses a violent beating in her neighborhood in Broken. Her neighbor, Mr. Oswalt (Rory Kinnear) savagely beats the off-kilter boy across the street Rick (Robert Emms) after the false accusation from one of Oswalt's daughters... girls that torment Skunk at school. Her father (Tim Roth), brother (Bill Milner), and favorite teacher (Cillian Murphy) do their best to keep Skunk safe, but she's slowly being exposed to sex, violence, and-- thanks to a visit to Ricky in the asylum-- insanity.

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Unconventional Children

19-year-old Hana falls in love with a mysterious boy in her college class in Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children, but after a little time together, he reveals that he's actually a wolf. She stays with him and they have two children, but a tragic accident leaves Hana alone with her rambunctious daughter Yuki and timid son Ame... both of whom shapeshift into wolves when they get excited. Hana has to keep the kids' secret, and they move to the country to live in isolation, but the family finds themselves in a closer community than they've ever known before. As Yuki goes to school and learns to be part of society, Ame takes to the woods and bonds more closely with his wolf side, and Hana does her best to raise two unconventional children.

At the moment of India's independence, the stroke of midnight, August 15, 1947, 1001 babies are born in Deepa Mehta's Midnight's Children, all with special powers. As he grows up, Saleem (Satya Bhabha) discovers his ability to hear the voices of the other thousand children. Saleem's power binds the rest of Midnight's Children and becomes their binding member, the unifying voice they need when the Prime Minister (Sarita Choudhury) seeks them out for persecution.

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New this week in our TV New Releases:

	Breaking Bad Final Season	Walter White's journey from milquetoast high-school chemistry teacher to drug kingpin reaches its end in Breaking Bad's final season, where the split between providing for his family and his life in the criminal underworld reaches its breaking point, and Walter's fate is finally decided.
	Mystery Science Theater 3000 25th Anniversary	Joel, Mike, and the bots are keeping their sanity on the Satellite of Love by mocking terrible movies, including Gorgo, The Day the Earth Froze, The Leech Woman, and Moon Zero Two		Rifftrax Night of the Living Dead	Mike, Kevin, and Bill provide their MST3K style running commentary for George Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead.