New DVD and Blu-ray Releases – May 2012

May brings a ton of new releases to DVD and Blu-ray, with action packed dramas, found footage thrillers, and a few comedies for good measure. Our guide to DVD and Blu-ray releases in May has something for everyone. Yes, even people who like Katherine Heigl.

May 1

'Haywire' -- Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, and Ewan McGregor. Gina Carano plays Mallory Kane, a scorned black ops soldier out for revenge against the man who framed her, who is also her former lover.

'Joyful Noise' -- Directed by Todd Graff. Starring Dolly Parton, Queen Latifah, and Keke Palmer. A national gospel choir competition pits a singer and the new choir director against each other as they fight for what's best for the group.

'New Year's Eve' -- Directed by Garry Marshall. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher, and Zac Efron. In this follow-up to 'Valentine's Day,' the lives of several New York couples interconnect on the most important night of the year.

'W.E.' -- Directed by Madonna. Starring Abbie Cornish, James D'Arcy, and Andrea Riseborough. Madonna's feature directorial debut tells the story of the legendary affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, set against a modern day romance between a married woman and a security guard.

May 8

'Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie' -- Directed by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. Starring Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, John C. Reilly, Robert Loggia, and Twink Caplan. Based on their hit television show for Adult Swim, Tim and Eric hit the big screen as two losers who fall into debt with a group of slimy execs when they squander a billion dollars by making the worst film ever.

'Underworld: Awakening' -- Directed by Mans Morlind and Bjorn Stein. Starring Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, and India Eisley. Kate Beckinsale returns to reprise her role as Selene, a vampire bad-ass who must join forces with the Lycans when humans discover their existence and set out to destroy them all.

'Playback' -- Directed by Michael A. Nickles. Starring Christian Slater and Ambyr Childers. A cop on the search for a missing teen girl discovers a sinister force taking over his town that he's forced to confront in order to save the girl.

'The Vow' -- Directed by Michael Sucsy. Starring Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. After a young woman emerges from a coma with amnesia her husband works to make her fall in love with him all over again.

May 15

'Albert Nobbs' -- Directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, and Aaron Johnson. Glenn Close plays Albert Nobbs, a woman who pretends to be a man so she can secure a steady job as a butler. When she falls in love she must fight to break free from the identity she's created.

'Chronicle' -- Directed by Josh Trank. Starring Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, and Michael B. Jordan. Three high school friends gain superpowers but soon find their friendship tested in this found footage sci-film from first time director Josh Trank and based on a script by Max Landis.

'The Devil Inside' -- Directed by William Brent Bell. Starring Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, and Evan Helmuth. A woman works with a documentarian to discover the truth about her institutionalized mother who she believes the Vatican is hiding after a failed exorcism.

'The Grey' -- Directed by Joe Carnahan. Starring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, and Frank Grillo. A plane crash lands seven men in Alaska where they must fight to survive the harsh elements and a pack of wolves that's stalking them through the wilderness.

'One for the Money' -- Directed by Julie Anne Robinson. Starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara, and Daniel Sunjata. Katherine Heigl stars as Stephanie, a woman who takes a job as a bail bondsman and is pursued by her outlaw cop ex-boyfriend in this film based on the best-selling novel by Janet Evanovich.

'Rampart' -- Directed by Oren Moverman. Starring Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster, and Sigourney Weaver. A renegade cop in 1999 Los Angeles has to balance the care of his family with his job while keeping himself alive in a sea of corruption.

May 22

'Red Tails' -- Directed by Anthony Hemingway. Starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Gerald McRaney, and David Oyelowo. Produced by George Lucas, this action-packed film tells the true story of the Tuskegee airmen, a group of African-American pilots recruited to fight in World War II.

'The Secret World of Arrietty' -- Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Starring Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, and Will Arnett. A new animated film from Studio Ghibli and Disney explores the lives of the Clock family, miniature people who borrow what they need from human beings until their daughter is caught.

'This Means War' -- Directed by McG. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, and Chris Pine. McG returns to the lively action comedy that put him on the map with Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as two special agents fighting for the affection of Reese Witherspoon while trying to maintain their cover.

'The Woman in Black' -- Directed  by James Watkins. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, and Ciaran Hinds. Daniel Radcliffe leaves Harry Potter behind and plays a grieving widower and single father who goes to work on an estate haunted by a vengeful spirit that makes children commit suicide.

May 29

'Coriolanus' -- Directed by Ralph Fiennes. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler. Based on the story by William Shakespeare, Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut tells the story of an exiled soldier who joins with his enemy to seek revenge on the city that turned its back on him.

'Gone' -- Directed by Heitor Dhalia. Starring Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter, and Wes Bentley. Having once escaped the clutches of a serial killer, Jill believes that the same man has kidnapped her sister. When the police don't believe her, Jill goes rogue to find her sister before it's too late.

'Goon' -- Directed by Michael Dowse. Starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, and Alison Pill. A dim-witted bouncer with an iron fist joins a lackluster hockey team to prove to his family and himself that he's got what it takes to make something of his life in this touching comedy.

'Man on a Ledge' -- Directed by Asger Leth. Starring Sam Worthington and Elizabeth Banks. Framed for a crime he didn't commit, a man distracts the police by threatening to jump off a ledge while his friends work to pull off a heist that will clear his name.

'We Need to Talk About Kevin' -- Directed by Lynne Ramsay. Starring Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, and Ezra Miller. This film, based on the novel by Lionel Shriver, flows elegantly between past and present with the story of a mother coping with her sociopathic son and the heinous crime he commits.