DVD & Blu-ray

In the new movie The Grey, Liam Neeson dances with wolves that, for the most part, get the best of a band of grizzled oil rig workers who are stranded in the Alaskan wilderness after a harrowing plane crash.

I don’t know if it’s possible for an actor to give more to a role than Woody Harrelson gives in Rampart, another story about a massively corrupt cop whose life is mired in a multiplicity of betrayals — not the least of which is the betrayal of responsibility as an officer of the law. It may help to think of Rampart as The Bad Lieutenant west, a movie that recalls director Abel Ferrara’s sensational (as in tabloid “sensational”) 1992 look at a corrupt New York City detective played by Harvey Keitel

Albert Nobbs is a reserved, pleasant little drama featuring a sterling performance by Glenn Close.

Prior to a late-evening screening of Chronicle — the uncustomary hour of 9 p.m. — I checked for a rating on Rotten Tomatoes. No point heading for the multiplex at such an odd hour for a movie that promised to do nothing more than add to my already extensive file of big-screen disappointment.

It’s not exactly high praise — at least from my point of view — but The Vow, a romance starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum, resembles a big-screen adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. Maybe that’s because McAdams appeared in the big-screen adaptation of Sparks’ The Notebook, and Tatum starred in Dear John, another adaptation of a soggy Sparks’ romance.

Gina Carano makes Haywire worth seeing.

Haywire is a sprightly little action flick from director Steven Soderbergh. It’s the kind of modest endeavor that manages to create a credible, likable protagonist while telling a tale of assassins and covert agents with a strong sense of understated humor.

Madonna doesn’t appear in W.E. but her artistic sensibilities are on display at every turn.

There are two ways to look at a movie such as Contraband. As a hard-boiled thriller compared to dozens of other similar movies, it’s not exactly a groundbreaker. If, on the other hand, you’re prone to seasonal generosity, you may want to regard Contraband as a serviceable entertainment, particularly for those seeking a quick genre fix.

Few things are as resistant to upset as the apple cart of parental expectation. And for some middle-class families, coming to terms with a child’s gayness can qualify as a threat to deeply entrenched values.

After two exceptionally grueling movies — Hunger and now Shame — it seems fair to wonder whether British director Steve McQueen isn’t trying to test the soul of actor Michael Fassbender.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol is escapist entertainment. It’s competently made and very enjoyable.

Look, they don’t call it Mission Impossible for nothing.

Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol — the fourth in a series of Mission Impossible movies — features action that’s either physically impossible, highly unlikely or downright ridiculous.

The moment I saw Meryl Streep’s meticulously aged and slightly unrecognizable face in Iron Lady, two words inevitably leaped to mind: Oscar nomination. This isn’t necessarily Streep’s fault, but thoughts of future encomiums automatically seem to crop up whenever Streep appears in a movie that requires an accent.

Sadness sometimes grows in the murky shadows of American life, a bone-deep sorrow in which the smallest (and perhaps meanest) of impulses builds toward catastrophe. When these impulses find their fullest expression, the results often feel random and senseless. We’re talking about crimes born of stupidity, recklessness, envy and guns, and you feel the bleak tug of all these things in almost every frame of Werner Herzog’s troubling new documentary, Into the Abyss.

Sleeping Beauty is an incredibly bold choice for star Emily Browning. Unfortunately, her daring performance is at the mercy of a stolid narrative and detached presentation.