New DVD and Blu-ray Releases — September 2012

Is it really September already? Movie (and Joss Whedon) lovers assemble! This month brings the highly-anticipated Blu-ray and DVD releases of 'The Avengers' and 'The Cabin in the Woods.' What else could you possibly need to beat the end of summer blues?

September 4

'The Five-Year Engagement' -- Directed by Nicholas Stoller. Starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt. Tom and Violet are engaged, but everything in their lives keeps working against them, forcing them to continuously postpone their nuptials.

'High School' -- Directed by John Stalberg. Starring Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, and Adrien Brody. When a high school valedictorian gets busted smoking up with the class burnout and faced with an impending drug test, he schemes to get everyone in his class to fail the same test.

'Piranha 3DD' -- Directed by John Gulager. Starring Danielle Panabaker, David Hasselhoff, Katrina Bowden, Christopher Lloyd, and David Koechner. The piranha are back, and this time they're wreaking havoc at a water park filled with scantily clad women -- obviously.

'Safe' -- Directed by Boaz Yakin. Starring Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, and Chris Sarandon. Jason Statham stars as an ex-cage fighter who must protect a young girl whose mind holds a very special numeric code. This dangerous secret has attracted the Triad, the Russian mob, and crooked cops to chase after the girl, and there's only one man who can stop them.

September 11

'Girl in Progress' -- Directed by Patricia Riggen. Starring Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, and Patricia Arquette. A teen girl is inspired by the coming-of-age stories she reads in school and seeks a way to become more grown-up while her mom is busy juggling work, an affair with a married man, and trying to pay the bills.

'Lola Versus' -- Directed by Daryl Wein. Starring Greta Gerwig, Zoe Lister Jones, and Hamish Linklater. Recently dumped by her boyfriend just weeks before their wedding and on the verge of turning 30, Lola asks her friends to accompany her on an adventure that she hopes will put her life in perspective.

'Snow White and the Huntsman' -- Directed by Rupert Sanders. Starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron. In this twist on the fairytale classic, an evil queen fights to retain her power and beauty by hiring a huntsman to murder Snow White. Instead, the huntsman helps Snow White fight to overthrow the queen and restore justice.

'What to Expect When You're Expecting' -- Directed by Kirk Jones. Starring Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lopez, and Anna Kendrick. The lives of several expectant women intertwine in this film based on the bestselling self-help book of the same name.

September 18

'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' -- Directed by John Madden. Starring Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, and Maggie Smith. When a group of British retirees head off for a fabulous restored hotel in India, they find that the hotel may not have been all it was advertised, but it still manages to enrich their lives in unexpected ways.

'The Cabin in the Woods' -- Directed by Drew Goddard. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, and Anna Hutchison. This genre-bending horror flick sends a group of friends to a horrifying cabin in the woods, where nothing is what it seems.

'Detachment' -- Directed by Tony Kaye. Starring Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, and Marcia Gay Harden. From the director of 'American History X' comes the story of a substitute teacher who goes from class to class aimlessly until a fresh assignment ignites a bond between the teacher and his students.

'Hysteria' -- Directed by Tanya Wexler. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy. The true-life story of how the electric vibrator was invented is explored in this period drama. No, really.

'Katy Perry: Part of Me' -- Directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. Starring Katy Perry. This documentary blends live stage performances with intimate backstage interviews and access to the pop star's private life.

'The Magic of Belle Isle' -- Directed by Rob Reiner. Starring Morgan Freeman and Virgina Madsen. A wheelchair-bound author moves back to his hometown to try and find what originally inspired him. Instead he befriends a mother and her three children, who help restore his passion for writing.

'The Woman in the Fifth' -- Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski. Starring Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Joanna Kulig. Upon becoming embroiled in scandal, a college lecturer flees his post to go to Paris. There he becomes involved in a different kind of scandal when he takes up with a widow who might be guilty of several murders.

September 25

'The Avengers' -- Directed by Joss Whedon. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Jeremy Renner. The Avengers assemble in the ultimate superhero team-up to stop mischievous Loki from taking over the world with the power of the dangerous cosmic cube.

'Damsels in Distress' -- Directed by Whit Stillman. Starring Greta Gerwig, Adam Brody, and Analeigh Tipton. Girls at a predominantly male-cultured college try to change the order of things and enlighten and enrich the lives of their peers.

'The Letter' -- Directed by Jay Anania. Starring James Franco and Winona Ryder. The lines between sanity and insanity begin to blur as a playwright loses control of her mind and wonders if she's the target of manipulation or if she's just mentally unraveling.

'The Samaritan' -- Directed by David Weaver. Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Luke Kirby, and Ruth Negga. A grifter named Foley is released from prison after twenty years behind bars and meets a woman who inspires him to turn his life around, but his past isn't too keen to let him go.

'The Tall Man' -- Directed by Pascal Laugier. Starring Jessica Biel, Jodelle Ferland, and Stephen McHattie. When her son goes missing in a former mining town, a mother sets out to uncover the truth of the mysterious and rumored kidnapping entity known only as the Tall Man.