NEW ON DVD AND BLU-RAY

“HUGO,” starring Asa Butterfield and Ben Kingsley. Rare foray into family-friendly fare for director Martin Scorsese serves to prove that there’s no genre the man can’t conquer. This multiple Oscar winner incorporates elements of Scorsese’s own upbringing into a beautiful adaptation of “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” by Brian Selznick.

Young Butterfield is a winning protagonist as the titular orphan, who finds himself manning the clocks at a Paris train station after his drunken uncle (Ray Winstone) takes off unexpectedly. When not handling the clocks or hiding from the train inspector (an effectively gruff Sacha Baron Cohen in a rare mostly serious role), Hugo works on repairing an old automaton rescued from the museum that claimed his father’s (Jude Law) life, and in doing so makes the acquaintance of film pioneer Georges Melies (Kingsley), who recruits him as his assistant. Special features include a making-of featurette and interviews with cast and crew. Rated PG. Running time: 2:06

Suggested retail price: $29.99; Blu-ray $54.99

“MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE,” starring Elizabeth Olsen and Christopher Abbott. Who knew the Olsen twins had a sister, and furthermore, who knew she could act? This well-constructed, often downright creepy drama/thriller follows Olsen (who goes by one of the four titular names at given points in the film) as she seemingly escapes the clutches of a cultish commune for the far safer confines of her sister’s home in the country. Her evidently not-at-all pleasant experiences are relayed via flashback entirely from Olsen’s not altogether coherent point-of-view, leaving some room for doubt and interpretation — which only adds to the overall feeling of unease expertly orchestrated by writer-director Sean Durkin (“Mary Last Seen”). Rated R. Running time: 1:42

Suggested retail price: $29.99; Blu-ray $39.99

“JOHNNY ENGLISH REBORN,” starring Rowan Atkinson and Rosamund Pike. Fitfully amusing sequel to the popular 2003 James Bond spoof finds the eternally bumbling Atkinson coming out of seclusion in the Middle East to investigate an organization that appears to be planting moles in the world’s top spy agencies. Joining in the slapstick is Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”) as his perennially embarrassed superior. Rated PG. Running time: 1:41

Suggested retail price: $29.98; Blu-ray $34.98

“BENEATH THE DARKNESS,” starring Dennis Quaid and Tony Oller. Decent horror flick follows a troubled group of high-schoolers trying to convince their unheeding hometown that the local mortician — a former football hero played by a gleefully over-the-top Quaid — is a murderous kook who, among other grim missives, has embalmed his late wife for reasons probably best left unexplored. But of course, that’s not an option for these pesky kids and the entertaining B-movie nonsense, giving Quaid a prime chance to give his usual nice-guy act a rest and really tear it up as the sicko in question. Rated R. Running time: 1:36

Suggested retail price: $27.97; Blu-ray $29.97

“I MELT WITH YOU,” starring Thomas Jane and Jeremy Piven. An impressive ensemble cast powers this angry, experimental drama, which reunites a quartet of college friends (Jane, Piven, Rob Lowe and Christian McKay of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”), each facing their own personal tragedy and eager to let it all hang out during a well-intentioned weekend of debauchery and male bonding that quickly goes off the rails. By design, these characters are unpleasant to spend time with, but the four leads give their all, and as mid-life crisis movies go, “Melt” is as down and dirty as it gets. Special features include a commentary from co-stars Piven and Lowe. Rated R. Running time: 2:09

Suggested retail price: $26.98; Blu-ray $29.98

“JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM,” animated with the voices of Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly. In a rare moment of office carelessness, Batman allows a confidential file to fall into the nefarious hands of Vandal Savage, and what should it contain but the specific weaknesses of the various members of the Justice League. Briskly animated, rock-’em sock-’em chaos ensues, sure to delight kiddos and DC Comics fans alike. Rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action. Running time: 1:17

Suggested retail price: $19.98; Blu-ray $24.98

NEW TO BLU-RAY

“SCARLET STREET,” starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett. Perfectly downbeat film noir from 1945 casts Robinson in a rare milquetoast role as the appropriately and unfortunately named Chris Cross, an aging cashier whose humdrum life is invigorated upon meeting Kitty (Bennett) — a brash prostitute lacking the prerequisite heart of gold — when he prevents her revolting boyfriend from beating her senseless. When Cross attempts to impress Kitty with unfounded claims of personal wealth, she and her scheming boyfriend attempt to take advantage of the situation, with some pretty dire results all around. Certainly not a pick-me-up by any stretch of the imagination, but this drama from director Fritz Lang (“Metropolis”) is superbly acted by the uniformly excellent cast, and the dialogue from writer Dudley Nichols (‘Stagecoach”) stings throughout. Special features include a photo gallery and a commentary from author David Kalat. Not rated; contains violence. Running time: 103 min.

Suggested retail price: $29.95

“VANYA ON 42ND STREET,” starring Wallace Shawn and Julianne Moore. Director Louis Malle’s final film is a loving and wonderfully enjoyable patchwork of a movie that reunites the filmmaker with Shawn and Andre Gregory (who all worked so memorably together on 1981’s “My Dinner with Andre”) for a modern, somewhat experimental update of Chekhov’s classic play “Uncle Vanya,” refurbished here by the always dependable David Mamet (“Glengarry Glen Ross”). Held in a rundown Broadway theater, the clear enthusiasm expressed by cast and crew for both the material and the ramshackle production environment is infectious and elicits warm, intimate performances from all concerned. A graceful swan song for Malle, who passed away in 1995 not long after its completion, “Vanya” is a lovely marriage of theatre and cinema. Rated PG for thematic material. Running time: 1:59

Suggested retail price: $39.95

VIDEOPORT PICKS

“THE MYTH OF THE AMERICAN SLEEPOVER,” starring Claire Sloma and Marlon Morton. Taking inspiration from such “meandering youth” classics as “American Graffiti” and “Dazed and Confused,” this insightful and likable ensemble dramedy from writer-director David Robert Mitchell spreads its running time fairly evenly across a group of high-schoolers growing up slowly but surely in their Detroit neighborhood, enduring the typical humiliations and stressors inherent to their tumultuous age.

Mitchell exhibits an impressively empathetic understanding of the average American teen, particularly the fact that, when it comes to these mini-adults expressing themselves, it’s more about what they don’t say then what they end up blurting out seemingly at random. He also manages to get some affecting, believable performances from a young cast of relative unknowns, resulting in more than a few memorable scenes that should immediately resonate with the awkward, stammering sophomore in all of us. Not rated; contains language and sexual content. Running time: 1:33

Suggested retail price: $24.98

“TODD AND THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL: THE COMPLETE SEASON ONE,” starring Todd House and Jason Mewes. Aptly described as “Evil Dead 2” meets “Degrassi Junior High,” this Canadian production is pure foulmouthed fun from start to finish, with reluctant hero Todd and friends on the hunt for a satanic book that threatens to tear apart not only their school but life as they know it.

Repeatedly jeopardizing this noble quest: their own stoned lethargy and the hilariously villainous actions of Atticus (Chris Leavins, “Slings and Arrows”), their severely unqualified guidance counselor.

Word of mouth should propel this one to “Trailer Park Boys” status, and with good reason. Not rated; contains language, crude humor, drug use, and violence. Running time: 4:49

– Courtesy of Videoport