Margaret
20th Century FoxBlu-ray, $39.99
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Initially dismissed as a justly shelved misfire, writer-director Kenneth Lonergan's "Margaret" became a cause célèbre among critics, who pushed for wider distribution and awards consideration for the film. "Margaret" now arrives on Blu-ray with a bonus DVD containing Lonergan's preferred three-hour cut â€" a full half-hour longer than the theatrical version. Whatever the length, "Margaret" is misshapen by design, meant to capture the bustle of Manhattan, and the chaos that follows when a self-absorbed high school girl (Anna Paquin) witnesses a bus accident that she's partly responsible for causing. The movie is also as brilliant as its reputation, with a top-flight cast (including Matt Damon, Matthew Broderick and Mark Ruffalo) making gripping drama out of questions of personal responsibility, and the big and small ways that people can be unthinkingly cruel.
The Flowers of War
Lionsgate, $27.98; Blu-ray, $29.99
Av ailable on VOD beginning Tuesday
Renowned Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou returns to big-budget prestige filmmaking with "The Flowers of War," a historical melodrama about the Japanese "rape of Nanking" in the late 1930s. In an unusual, not wholly successful creative choice, the story is told from the perspective of an American (Christian Bale), who poses as a priest to save his life, and then becomes invested in helping a group of preteen girls and a group of prostitutes survive the slaughter. As always with Zhang, the imagery in "The Flowers of War" is stunning, but the plot feels unnecessarily constrained, and the horrific violence becomes exhausting and repetitive by the end. The DVD and Blu-ray add a lengthy behind-the-scenes featurette.
Friends With Kids
Available on VOD beginning Friday
Actress Jennifer Westfeldt ("Kissing Jessica Stein") makes her directorial debut with the grown-up comedy "Friends With Kids," playing an unmarried New Yorker who feels the itch to breed with her platonic best friend (Adam Scott) when all the couples they know begin having children. The situation is contrived â€" and unconvincing, frankly â€" but Westfeldt uses it to riff on the rituals of friendship, sex and child-rearing among smart, urban types. The jokes are never as clever or knowing as they should be, but Westfeldt and Scott sell them with bright, funny performances, and are ably assisted by cast mates including Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph andChris O'Dowd.
Trishna
Available on VOD beginning Friday
The ever-unpredictable British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom modernizes Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" and sets it in India for the drama "Trishna," starring Freida Pinto as an impoverished teenager who takes a job working for a wealthy Englishman (Riz Ahmed) who has a crush on her. While Winterbottom takes liberties with the plot, characters and setting of Hardy's book, he doesn't make it any e asier on the heroine, who finds herself relegated to lower-class status even in her love affair. "Trishna" doesn't reinvent "Tess" enough to be revelatory, but the stars are strong, and the footage of India grounds the story in a reality that feels urgent.
And…
American Reunion
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Being Flynn
Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98
Available on VOD beginning Tuesday
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Wrekin Hill, $19.99/$29.99
Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series
MPI, $599.98
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