TV

New on DVD: December 20th

This week on DVD, Owen Wilson stars in Woody Allen's latest

Midnight in Paris

Pick of the Week

Midnight in Paris

Owen Wilson stars as Gil, a newly engaged writer who finds magic while wandering the streets of Paris at night in writer/director Woody Allen‘s latest romantic comedy which blends together elements of his earlier films Zelig and The Purple Rose of Cairo. As Gil begins to disappear more and more often and the city begins to somehow change him, it takes a toll on his relationship with his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams). Michael Sheen (The Queen) plays Paul, Inez’s obnoxiously pompous friend. (Sony)

Dolphin Tale

In this amazing true story, a dolphin named Winter gets a second chance at life after losing her tail in a crab trap. Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) is a boy who discovers the injured dolphin and rallies together a support team (including Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr. and Morgan Freeman as a prosthetics expert) to save her life. SPECIAL FEATURES include the original story that inspired this film and more. (Warner)

Columbiana

Taken’s Luc Besson scripted this violent action film about a young woman (Zoe Saldana), who after witnessing her parents’ murder grows up to become a ruthless killer. While she works with her uncle as a hired assassin, her ultimate goal is to track down the people responsible for her parents’ deaths.

Straw Dogs

In this chilling remake of the 1971 Dustin Hoffman thriller, Kate Bosworth and James Marsden play a young couple who leave L.A. to move back to her rural Louisiana hometown where they run afoul of a gang of psychopathic locals. (Sony)

Warrior

Tom Hardy plays Tommy Riordan, an ex-Marine with a secret past who returns to his hometown to train for a mixed-martial-arts championship tournament with the help of his alcoholic father (Nick Nolte). He runs into conflict when his estranged brother (Joel Edgerton), a former MMA fighter himself, is forced back into the ring against him turning the film into Rocky x2. You won’t know who to cheer for, but you will be cheering nonetheless. SPECIAL FEATURES include hours of “making of” footage and interviews as well as a cast and crew commentary. (Lionsgate)

Glee: The Concert Movie

During the summer of 2011, the stars of the phenomenally popular TV series hot the road for a concert tour performing some of their hits and this DVD (also available in 3D) captured all the finest moments as well as comments from a few chosen Glee fans.

Margin Call

Kevin Spacey heads up a terrific cast (including Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Paul Bettany and Stanley Tucci) in this drama about a 24-hour period at the beginning of the recent financial crisis and how it affected several people at a U.S. investment bank.

Saint

This Norwegian horror film takes a little bit of historical mythology about Saint Nicholas and creates this imaginatively gory take on the legend of Santa Claus as a child-killing bishop who attacks during the December full moon. (eOne)

The Conquest

This French biopic follows the political career of President Nicolas Sarkozy, played by Denis Podalydes. (eOne)

Conduct Unbecoming

The late Canadian character actor Maury Chaykin (Nero Wolfe) made his final film appearance in this drama about a U.S. Marine who returns home from Afghanistan to face legal charges for his actions which are being labeled as war crimes. (eOne)

Underworld Trilogy: The Essential Collection – Blu Ray

Before the latest film in this “vampires vs. werewolves” franchise hits theatres on January 20, here’s a chance to get the first three films on glorious Blu Ray and get all caught up. Kate Beckinsale in high-def may be reason enough to shell out for this collection, but this also contains a fourth disc which includes the animated shorts which make up Underworld: Endless War. (Sony) TV ON DVD

Futurama: Volume 6

Fans of this once-cancelled Fox animated series were thrilled when a U.S. cable channel brought it back to life in 2010. This 2-disc set contains the second 13 episodes from that season including ones in which Leela hunts a four-dimensional whale; Fry joins the police force; the crew travelling back in time; and the great “Reincarnation” episode which had segments animated in different artistic styles. (Fox)

NY Ink

Former Miami Ink star Ami James leaves behind the beaches and the heat of Florida for a fresh start in the Big Apple as this new series follows the Israeli-born tattoo artist as he risks his money and his reputation opening a spacious new shop in New York and begins looking for innovative artists to join him. This 2-DVD set contains the entire 8-episode first season. (eOne)

Prehistoric: Predators of the Past

This documentary series looks at some of the most unusual and deadly creatures that ever walked, swam or flew the planet before we took our first steps including such things as monstrous killer pigs and razor-toothed sea creatures that would send a Great White shark heading for shore. (eOne)