NEW ON THE SHELF

“MAN OF STEEL,” Henry Cavill, Amy Adams. Attempting to reassemble a franchise in the fallout of 2006’s poorly received “Superman Returns,” director and professional fanboy Zack Snyder (“Watchmen”) brings ol’ Supes (newly and ably embodied here by Cavill of “The Tudors”) back into the public eye and favor with bombast and aplomb, meshing the old-fashioned appeal of our sincerest superhero with the darker tone prevalent in today’s comics-based movies and mostly coming out clean on the other end. Visually stunning and ideally cast, “Man of Steel” appears to have been just the comeback Superman needed. Rated PG-13. Running time: 2:23. Suggested retail price: $28.98; Blu-ray $35.99.

“TURBO,” animated, with the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti. The Pixar formula is followed to the letter in this winning (albeit non-Pixar) family comedy, which finds an ordinary garden snail (voiced by Reynolds) transformed into an otherworldly speed machine after a strange run-in with a nitrous-filled racecar engine. An all-star voice cast includes Michael Pena, (“End of Watch”), Ken Jeong (“The Hangover”), Michelle Rodriguez (“The Fast and the Furious”), and Snoop Dogg as fellow gastropods. Rated PG. Running time: 1:36. Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $38.99.

NEW TO DVD

“BLACKFISH,” documentary. Sobering documentary from filmmaker Gabriela Cowperthwaite aims to collect backstory that led to the tragic death of SeaWorld employee Dawn Brancheau in 2010, when she was dismembered by a killer whale in front of an audience during a show. Investigating the nature and treatment of the beast in question, “Blackfish” clearly sympathizes with Tilikum, the orca and longtime performer who killed Brancheau, and if you’re not outraged after listening to interviews with former SeaWorld employees and presented with the evidence on hand, it may not be an emotion to which you have access. If “The Cove” had you fuming, then rest assured “Blackfish” will elicit a very similar reaction. Includes a director commentary track. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:23. Suggested retail price: $26.98; Blu-ray $29.98.

“DEXTER: THE COMPLETE FINAL SEASON,” Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter. As the serial killer you could take home to meet your folks, Michael C. Hall has slashed his way into more than a few viewers’ hearts in this long-running series. This particularly controversial season of Dexter’s engagingly blood-soaked story is best left to the strong stomached viewer. Not rated. Suggested retail price: $55.98; Blu-ray $63.98.

“GIRL MOST LIKELY,” Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening. Enjoyably daft comedy of errors accompanies Wiig on a perhaps ill-advised quest to locate her biological father, following an even more ill-advised attempt to win back her boyfriend by feigning a suicide attempt, leading to her ending up back at her childhood home with her thoroughly unreliable mom (Bening). Aggressively quirky farce is held together nicely by Wiig, who hits just the right note between likable and pathetic. Rated PG-13. Running time: 1:43. Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $24.99.

NEW TO BLU-RAY

“ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN,” Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman. Based on the bestselling expose by journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, this thrilling 1976 adaptation of the Watergate scandal and the journalists (ably embodied here by Redford and Hoffman) that were instrumental in uncovering it. A multiple Oscar winner that hasn’t lost any of its edge, or its relevance. Rated R. Running time: 2:18. Suggested retail price: $19.98.

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“FRANCES HA,” Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner. Essentially a cinematic valentine to its singularly charming star, director Noah Baumbach’s (“The Squid and the Whale”) comedic character study follows “Frances” (Gerwig, “Greenberg”), an aspiring but groundless modern dancer somewhat bumblingly navigating her way through post-collegiate life. Shot in black and white and melding pathos with slapstick, “Frances” quite directly evokes early Woody Allen, never a bad thing to evoke, and Gerwig is undeniably a star in the making. Rated R. Running time: 1:26. Suggested retail price: $39.95; Blu-ray $39.95.

“PRINCE AVALANCHE,” Paul Rudd, Emil Hirsch. To judge from his recent output (which includes such lowbrow if high-energy affairs as “Your Highness”), one would never imagine writer-director David Gordon Green was once considered the second coming of Terrance Malick (“Days of Heaven”), but with such critically acclaimed, difficult to classify films as “George Washington” and “All the Real Girls,” Green showed a real flair for lyrical visuals and believably roughshod dialogue before somehow teaming with Seth Rogen and James Franco for the surprise hit “Pineapple Express.” With “Prince Avalanche,” Green manages to bridge his two personas, the surreal vulgarian and the quietly stylish observer, and the results are a welcome return to form, with Rudd forced to abandon his usual bag of tricks as a by-the-book, organized highway road worker forced to partner up with the far less responsible Hirsch, who happens to be his girlfriend’s brother. Set in 1988 amidst an isolated rural backwoods, Green let the naturalistic background and the excellent chemistry between the leads do most of the heavy lifting, resulting in a funny, touching, and yes – beautifully shot, comedy-drama. Rated R. Running time: 1:34.

– Courtesy of Videoport