August 7
All movies are 2012 releases unless otherwise noted. Availability: 
DVD | 
Blu-ray | 
Both Blu-ray and DVD
Dr. Seuss' The Lorax 46 Add to Netflix Queue
In this musical CGI version of the classic Dr. Seuss story (previously adapted for television in the 1970s), Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) goes searching for a tree to impress Audrey (Taylor Swift), the girl of his dreams, only to learn about the story of The Lorax and his nemesis, the tree chopping Once-ler. Danny DeVito provides the voice of The Lorax, and Ed Helms is the Once-ler, while Rob Riggle voices the evil mayor bent on keeping Ted’s hometown treeless. Critics were divided, with many disapproving of the extra material added to turn the brief story into a full-length feature.
More Dr. Seuss adaptations:
Horton Hears a Who! 71, How the Grinch Stole Christmas 46, The Cat in the Hat 19
| More new releases on August 7, 2012 | ||
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| 42 | Bel Ami Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Kristin Scott Thomas, Uma Thurman |
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| 48 | Blue Like Jazz Based on the book by Donald Miller |
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| 42 | Girlfriend Shannon Woodward, Jackson Rathbone, Amanda Plummer |
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| 82 | Marley Documentary about reggae legend Bob Marley |
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| Older movies debuting on Blu-ray | ||
| Adventures in Babysitting (1987) 25th anniversary edition; Elisabeth Shue |
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| Blues Brothers 2000 (1998) Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman |
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| 61 | Bound (1996) Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly; dir. by Wachowski brothers |
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| 36 | Clue (1985) Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Martin Mull, Eileen Brennan |
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| 76 | Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) 15th anniversary edition; John Cusack, Minnie Driver |
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| 79 | High Fidelity (2000) John Cusack, Jack Black |
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| The Incredible Mr Limpet (1964) Don Knotts |
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| Johnny Guitar (1954) Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden |
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| Rio Grande (1950) John Wayne |
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| 59 | Romy & Michele's High School Reunion (1997) 15th anniversary edition; Mira Sorvino, Lisa Kudrow |
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| 46 | Spaceballs (1987) 25th anniversary edition; John Candy, Mel Brooks, Rick Moranis |
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| TV on DVD | ||
| Born Free Season 1 |
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| 56 | Dance Moms Season 1 |
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| Dirty Jobs Collection 8 |
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| Garrow's Law Series 3 |
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| 55 | Grimm Season 1 |
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| Gunsmoke Season 6 Vol. 1 |
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| Jesse Stone: Benefit of the Doubt TV movie |
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| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Royal Pony Wedding |
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| Parenthood Season 3 |
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| The Rookies Season 2 |
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| Squidbillies Vol. 5 |
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| 64 | Strike Back Season 1 |
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August 14
The Raid: Redemption 73 Add to Netflix Queue
Can a small-budget, foreign-made film have action sequences that rival those of any American summer blockbuster? The Raid: Redemption emphatically answers that question in the affirmative. This hyperkinetic martial arts import (made in Indonesia by a Welsh director, Gareth Evans) is almost more videogame than movie: it follows a police SWAT team as they storm a drug lord's apartment complex, going from room to room and floor to floor to clear out the baddies. Don't worry about the subtitles; the plot is minimal, and violence is universal, especially when it is as well-executed as it is here. An American remake is already in the planning stages (naturally), as are a pair of sequels, beginning with The Raid: Retaliation.
| More new releases on August 14, 2012 | ||
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| 28 | Hick Blake Lively, Chloe Moretz, Eddie Redmayne, Rory Culkin |
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| 67 | Inventing Our Life: The Kibbutz Experiment Documentary |
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| 67 | Kill List UK crime thriller dir. by Ben Wheatley |
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| La Promesse (1996)Criterion Collection; dir. by Dardenne brothers |
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| 85 | Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory Documentary |
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| 76 | Rosetta (1999) Criterion Collection; dir. by Dardenne brothers |
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| 66 | The Snowtown Murders Daniel Henshall, Louise Harris, Lucas Pittaway |
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| 41 | Tonight You're Mine Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena |
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| Older movies debuting on Blu-ray | ||
| 36 | Cradle 2 The Grave (2003) Jet Li, DMX |
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| Death Wish III (1985) Charles Bronson |
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| Death Wish IV (1987) Charles Bronson |
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| Fallen (1998) Denzel Washington, John Goodman |
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| Jaws (1975) Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider |
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| 36 | A Man Apart (2003) Vin Diesel, Timothy Olyphant |
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| New Jack City (1991) Wesley Snipes |
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| 52 | Romeo Must Die (2000) Jet Li, Aaliyah |
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| 75 | The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) Criterion Collection |
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| Shaft (1971) Richard Roundtree |
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| TV on DVD | ||
| 81 | Community Season 3 |
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| 63 | Dexter Season 6 |
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| Glee Season 3 |
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| Happy Endings Seasons 1 & 2 |
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| Pawn Stars Vol. 5 |
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| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Season 10 |
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| Vega$ Season 3 Vol. 2 |
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August 18 (Saturday)
The Hunger Games 67 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer
In a dystopian future controlled by the Capitol, each district must offer up a girl and a boy tribute to participate in a televised battle to the death. By now, you no doubt know that's the basic premise of The Hunger Games, the first film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' best-selling book trilogy, and you also know that it managed to live up to massive expectations preceding its release this spring (especially at the box office, where it grossed nearly $700 million worldwide). Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen, joined by Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Stanley Tucci, and Donald Sutherland. Director Gary Ross (Pleasantville 71, Seabiscuit 72) will not return for the second installment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which arrives in theaters on November 22, 2013.
August 21
Bernie 75 Add to Netflix Queue
Richard Linklater's return to filmmaking for the first time since 2009's Me and Orson Welles 73 came and went earlier this year, but critics enjoyed this eccentric dark comedy that stars Jack Black as a much-loved small-town mortician who murders a wealthy widow (Shirley MacLaine) for her money. A district attorney played by Matthew McConaughey eventually investigates, only to run into trouble when the town rallies to the mortician's defense. Based loosely on a true story, Bernie not only served as a return to form for the director, but also allowed Black his most original role and best performance in years.
Linklater's best: Before Sunset 90, The School of Rock 82, Waking Life 82, Dazed and Confused 78, Before Sunrise 77; more...
The Dictator 58 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer
Sacha Baron Cohen's third film with director Larry Charles, following the hit Borat 89 and the less successful Bruno 54, broke with their past mockumentary formula to offer a more conventional scripted comedy. The comedian stars as General Admiral Alladeen—a character inspired by the likes of Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein—who is deposed from his position as dictator of the fictitious third-world country Wadiya and exiled to America. Ben Kingsley and Anna Faris also star. Despite the middling Metascore, there are at least some laughs to be found here, and probably more so on the unrated home video release, thanks to the inclusion of over 30 minutes of deleted and extended scenes.
A Separation 95 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer
The first Iranian film to win the Academy Award for best foreign language film, A Separation was also the best-reviewed movie of 2011, period—no other release matched its sky-high 95 Metascore. Of course, this drama about a dissolving marriage may not have been the happiest film to come out last year (especially when you throw in a father suffering from Alzheimer's disease), but critics praised its depth, realism, and complexity, with several noting that it had the narrative pull (though not the pacing) of a thriller while also providing a window into a culture typically hidden from American moviegoers.
| More new releases on August 21, 2012 | ||
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| 57 | Chimpanzee Disneynature documentary |
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| Home Run Showdown Matthew Lillard, Dean Cain, Annabeth Gish |
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| 33 | Virginia Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan |
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| 81 | Weekend Criterion Collection |
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| Older movies debuting on Blu-ray | ||
| Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) Donald Pleasence |
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| Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) Donald Pleasence |
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| The Rescuers (1977) + The Rescuers Down Under (1990) Combo set |
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| WarGames (1983) Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, Dabney Coleman, WOPR |
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| TV on DVD | ||
| The Adventures of Tintin Season 3 |
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| The Closer Season 7 |
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| House Season 8 |
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| Mike & Molly Season 2 |
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| NCIS Season 9 |
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| NCIS: Los Angeles Season 3 |
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| Perry Mason Season 7 Vol. 1 |
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| 66 | Revenge Season 1 |
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August 28
Battleship 41 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer
What sunk this Battleship, among other things, was a silly alien invasion storyline and ads that made it look like a Transformers knockoff. Based loosely (and we do mean loosely) on the Hasbro board game, the effects-laden action film reunites Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch with director Peter Berg, though perhaps both were out of their league here. Kitsch plays a directionless stud who follows his brother (Alexander Skarsgård) into the Navy, dates the daughter (Brooklyn Decker) of the commander of the Pacific fleet (Liam Neeson), and eventually is the only person (along with Rihanna) standing between Earth and its imminent destruction. Typically, a film that grosses $300 million worldwide would not be labeled a flop, but given that Battleship's production budget alone was over $200 million, flop is what it was.
Homeland: Season 1 91
The best-reviewed new series of the 2011-12 season aired not on HBO, but its pay-cable competitor Showtime. Adapted from an Israeli series by producers (and 24 vets) Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, the terrifically plotted terrorism thriller Homeland never descended into the silliness that plagued 24, remaining tense and believable throughout its freshman season. Claire Danes and Damian Lewis received much-deserved Emmy nominations for their riveting performances as a mentally unhinged CIA agent and POW-turned-politician (and possible terrorist collaborator), respectively, while Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin (V, Firefly) also excelled in supporting roles. Catch up before the second season launches on September 30th.
Monsieur Lazhar 83 Add to Netflix Queue
A nominee for best foreign language film at last year's Oscars (where it lost to A Separation), this acclaimed French-Canadian drama was adapted from a one-character play, Bashir Lazhar, by playwright Évelyne de la Chenelière. Both play and film center on an Algerian immigrant schoolteacher in Montreal who takes over a sixth-grade classroom traumatized by the suicide of their previous instructor and uses unorthodox methods to help the kids cope with their grief. Reviewers praised the film as affecting and real.
| More new releases on August 28, 2012 | ||
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| 41 | Darling Companion Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline |
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| Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe Stand-up special |
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| 72 | Headhunters Norwegian thriller based on Jo Nesbø's novel |
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| 44 | Life Happens Krysten Ritter, Kate Bosworth, Justin Kirk |
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| Lonesome (1928) Criterion Collection |
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| 50 | Lovely Molly Horror film from Blair Witch director Eduardo Sanchez |
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| 39 | The Lucky One Zac Efron, Taylor Schilling |
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| 39 | The Moth Diaries Lily Cole, Sarah Bolger, Sarah Gadon |
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| 73 | The Pirates! Band of Misfits From Aardman Animations |
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| Quadrophenia (1979) Criterion Collection |
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| 51 | Think Like a Man Chris Brown, Gabrielle Union, Kevin Hart |
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| Older movies debuting on Blu-ray | ||
| 92 | Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Extended edition 5-disc set |
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| 94 | Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)Extended edition 5-disc set |
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| 88 | Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)Extended edition 5-disc set |
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| TV on DVD | ||
| Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Collection 7 |
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| 81 | Boardwalk Empire Season 2 |
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| In Plain Sight Season 5 |
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| Jersey Shore Season 5 Uncensored |
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| Jersey Shore Shark Attack Syfy original movie |
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| 66 | Once Upon a Time Season 1 |
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| Poirot Season 6 |
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| 68 | Sons of Anarchy Season 4 |
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| The Streets of San Francisco Season 4 |
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| Two and a Half Men Season 9 |
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| 80 | The Walking Dead Season 2 |
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