DVD Release Calendar: February 2013

February 5

All movies are 2012/13 releases unless otherwise noted. Availability: DVD | Blu-ray | Both Blu-ray and DVD

Alex Cross 30 Add to Netflix Queue

Tyler Perry as an action star, in a role first played by Morgan Freeman? Critics were not impressed with this third film adaptation of James Patterson's book series, though Perry turned out to be one of the film's few bright spots in an against-type role as the police detective/psychologist. The film's main crime was being "stupid," "formulaic," and "boring," according to reviewers.

Celeste and Jesse Forever 59 Add to Netflix Queue

Popular at last year's Sundance festival, this romantic comedy about a divorced couple who can't stop hanging out together stars Parks and Recreation's Rashida Jones (who also co-wrote the script) alongside Andy Samberg. Critics weren't quite as enamored of the film when it reached theaters later in the year, though many did like the film despite its flaws.

Flight 76 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer

Denzel Washington earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an alcoholic commercial pilot whose mid-air heroics prevent a jetliner from crashing. While much of the film works as a complex character study tracing the pilot's deeply troubled personal life, critics and moviegoers seemed most impressed by the "harrowing" opening flight sequence featuring the near-crash. (Just don't expect the entire movie to have that level of excitement.) Director Robert Zemeckis' first live-action film in a dozen years also picked up an Academy Award nomination for its screenplay by John Gatins.

More movie releases on February 5, 2013
	The Ballad of Narayama (1958) Criterion Collection
	Cabaret (1972) Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey; 40th anniversary edition
52	Deadfall Charlie Hunnam, Eric Bana, Kris Kristofferson, Olivia Wilde, Sissy Spacek	Add to Queue
40	Here Comes the Boom Kevin James	Add to Queue
67	A Late Quartet Catherine Keener, Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman	Add to Queue
	Laura (1944) Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews
50	Little White Lies Marion Cotillard, Jean Dujardin	Add to Queue
	Mumford & Sons: The Road to Red Rocks Music documentary
48	My Worst Nightmare Isabelle Huppert	Add to Queue
82	Side by Side Documentary	Add to Queue
67	Somewhere Between Documentary	Add to Queue
	A Star Is Born (1976) Barbra Streisand, Kris Kristofferson
72	Paul Williams Still Alive Documentary	Add to Queue
	You May Not Kiss the Bride Dave Annable, Rob Schneider	Add to Queue
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
	Above Suspicion Series 2
	Animaniacs Vol. 4
	Ben 10: Omniverse Vol. 1
	Cougar Town Seasons 1, 2, 3 (separate sets)
	Gunsmoke Season 7 Vol. 2
	House of Cards [UK] Original British miniseries; remastered edition
	Remodeled Season 1
	Southland Seasons 2-4 (combined set)
	The Virginian Season 7

February 12

Bully 74 Add to Netflix Queue

Known originally as The Bully Project, this documentary examines bullying in American schools, focusing specifically on a handful of schools in the South, and on two instances where bullying contributed to suicides. A lengthy dispute with the MPAA over the film's rating (originally set to be a kid-unfriendly R) certainly didn't hurt from a publicity standpoint, and Bully proved to be one of the more popular documentaries of the year with critic groups, though the film was snubbed by the Academy.

The Man with the Iron Fists 51 Add to Netflix Queue

With his group’s name adopted from the 1983 Gordon Liu martial arts film Shaolin and Wu Tang, his contributions to the soundtracks of Kill Bill, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, and Blade: Trinity, and a stint on Californication as a rapper who wants to become a movie star, it now seems inevitable that the Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA would write, direct, and star in his own kung fu film. But despite having Quentin Tarantino's name on the poster (as presenter) and Tarantino vets Eli Roth (who co-wrote the script and influenced the film’s outlandish kills), Lucy Liu, and Pam Grier—plus Russell Crowe—on board, Fists proved much less popular with critics than your average QT film, since it lacked Tarantino's flair for dialogue (among other things).

The Perks of Being a Wallflower 67 Add to Netflix Queue

Popular enough with critics to land on nearly a dozen year-end top 10 lists, Perks is an adaptation of Stephen Chbosky's hit young adult novel from the late 1990s, written and directed by the author himself. As in the book, the story revolves around a shy high school freshman (Logan Lerman of Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) who receives guidance from a pair of upperclassmen (Harry Potter's Emma Watson and Ezra Miller from We Need to Talk About Kevin). Some reviewers found first-time director Chbosky a bit unsteady behind the camera, but his screenplay compensated for some of the faults.

The Sessions 79 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer

The Audience Award winner at last year's Sundance Film Festival (when it was still titled The Surrogate), this crowd-pleaser is based on the true story of a writer (John Hawkes) who, paralyzed from the neck down, hires a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) to help him lose his virginity. Both lead performances were highly praised (and frequently awarded) by critic groups at the end of the year, though only Hunt received an Oscar nomination.

Skyfall 81 Add to Netflix Queue

One of the best-reviewed James Bond films in the history of the franchise—and, with over $1 billion in worldwide grosses, easily the most lucrative as well—this 23rd outing for 007 was directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty). Daniel Craig's third go as Bond takes him to Istanbul, China, and exotic London, England, where he must stop a hacker-turned-terrorist played by Javier Bardem (in yet another odd haircut). Also starring are Naomie Harris (playing a fellow agent), rising star Ben Whishaw (as Q), and Judi Dench (as M).

More movie releases on February 12, 2013
50	28 Hotel Rooms Marin Ireland, Chris Messina	Add to Queue
59	Dangerous Liaisons (2012) Set in 1930s Shanghai	Add to Queue
69	Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel Documentary	Add to Queue
67	Girl Model Documentary	Add to Queue
87	The Kid with a Bike Criterion Collection
44	A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman	Add to Queue
	The Living Daylights (1987) Timothy Dalton
	Octopussy (1983) Roger Moore
79	Photographic Memory Documentary	Add to Queue
67	Robot & Frank Frank Langella	Add to Queue
15	Silent Hill: Revelation Carrie-Anne Moss, Kit Harington, Sean Bean	Add to Queue
25	Smiley Horror	Add to Queue
	The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) Roger Moore
75	The Thieves Korean action	Add to Queue
	Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Pierce Brosnan
	A View to a Kill (1985) Roger Moore
	You Only Live Twice (1967) Sean Connery
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
	Bonanza Season 5
	Family Matters Season 3
	Gossip Girl Season 6 (also available: complete series set)
	The Hardy Boys Season 3
	Matlock Season 8
83	Nurse Jackie Season 4
	Storage Wars Vol. 4
	Weeds Season 8

February 19

Anna Karenina 63 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer

An unconventional adaptation of the famed novel by Leo Tolstoy, last year's take on Anna Karenina comes from director Joe Wright (Hanna, Atonement) and screenwriter Tom Stoppard and stars Keira Knightley, Jude Law, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Kelly Macdonald. The response was somewhat divided; some critics praised Wright's highly stylized take, which sees most of the film taking place on a theatrical stage, as exhilarating and clever, though others found the showmanship far too distracting.

Argo 86 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer

Ben Affleck's third directorial effort is based on a Wired article chronicling a little known aspect of 1979's Iran hostage crisis, which saw the CIA mounting a covert operation involving a fake sci-fi movie production in order to save a group of Americans who escaped the original attack on the American embassy in Tehran but could not get out of the country. Affleck stars alongside Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, and Tate Donovan. Among the top favorites (along with Lincoln) to win this year's Academy Award for best picture, the well-reviewed thriller received seven Oscar nominations overall, though surprisingly none for Affleck as director.

Game of Thrones: Season 2 88

Despite that high Metascore (which was for the first few episodes), critics actually wound up liking the second season of HBO's hit fantasy series a bit less than the first, blaming disjointed storytelling as a result of the ever-increasing list of characters and locations. But Game of Thrones still remained among the best TV had to offer last year, and the penultimate episode "Blackwater," which depicts a single, thrilling battle, is possibly the show's finest hour to date. And if you had a hard time tracking the dozens of new characters when you first watched season 2 last year, this DVD release gives you a chance to go back refresh your memory in time for the third season debut on March 31st.

More movie releases on February 19, 2013
26	Atlas Shrugged Part 2 Samantha Mathis, Esai Morales	Add to Queue
78	Best in Show (2000) Blu-ray release; Christopher Guest, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard
	Easter Parade (1948) Judy Garland, Fred Astaire
37	Fun Size Victoria Justice	Add to Queue
67	Hipsters Russian musical	Add to Queue
84	The Insider (1999) Blu-ray release; Al Pacino, Russell Crowe
	On the Waterfront (1954) Criterion Collection
53	Sinister Ethan Hawke, James Ransone	Add to Queue
37	Special Forces Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou	Add to Queue
71	Undefeated (2011) Oscar-winning documentary	Add to Queue
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
	Adventure Time Vol. 4
	Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome
	The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams Season 2
	The Six Million Dollar Man Season 3
	Swamp People Season 3
	Top Gear (USA) Season 2

February 26

Holy Motors 84 Add to Netflix Queue

French director Leos Carax, who hadn't made a film in over a decade, wowed audiences at last year's Cannes with Holy Motors, perhaps the most talked about movie of the festival. But while critics mostly raved about the surreal, absurdist, poetic, experimental, and often funny film, explaining just what it is was a bit trickier. The story, such as it is, centers on a man (Denis Levant) who travels between a dozen parallel lives, giving Carax an opportunity to dabble in an equal number of genres—including sci-fi, musical, gangster film, romance—while also, perhaps, commenting on the nature of moviemaking itself. With reviewers tossing around words like "abstract," "visionary," "bizarre," "barking mad," and "preposterous," it seems like one of those films you'll either absolutely love or completely detest.

The Master 86 Add to Netflix Queue Watch Trailer

Another film that could easily fall into that love/hate dichotomy is this latest drama from Paul Thomas Anderson, his first film since 2007's There Will Be Blood. Originally thought to be a film about Scientology, The Master is indeed about an L. Ron Hubbard-esque cult leader (an Oscar-nominated Philip Seymour Hoffman), though it mainly focuses on the unlikely mentor-mentee relationship that forms between him and a drifter (an also-Oscar-nominated Joaquin Phoenix). PTA fans should be excited by the Blu-ray release, which features 20 minutes of deleted scenes, a full copy of the John Huston WWII veteran documentary Let There Be Light (cited by Anderson as an influence on his film), and a mysterious 8-minute short titled "Unguided Message."

More movie releases on February 26, 2013
44	Chasing Mavericks Gerard Butler	Add to Queue
70	Chicken with Plums Live-action film from Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud	Add to Queue
55	The Eye of the Storm Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis	Add to Queue
	Girls Against Boys Horror	Add to Queue
87	How to Survive a Plague Documentary
76	The Loneliest Planet Gael Garcia Bernal, Hani Furstenberg
	Sansho the Bailiff (1954) Criterion Collection; Blu-ray release
52	The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 [Released Saturday, March 2nd]	Add to Queue
TV on DVD/Blu-ray
84	Africa Discovery Channel miniseries
43	The Client List Season 1
	Law & Order Season 12
	Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2 Vol. 1
	West Point Complete series

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