There are four great new films appearing on DVD this week, and one dud (a film with such a ridiculous premise that I first thought it was a joke). Let’s concentrate on the good. We were skeptical about the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (rather, annoyed by Hollywood’s penchant for remaking already-great recent foreign films), but David Finch beat expectations and delivered a thriller that might even surpass its model. Likewise, The Muppets could have been a train wreck, but was one of the Criticker community’s favorite films of the year.
John LeCarre gets another cinematic adaptation in the excellent Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, a film which Criticker users praised for its smarts. And almost everyone had nice things to say about Carnage, Roman Polanski’s bitter comedy based on the hit stage play. So, four great films to choose from. Please just stay away from Hop.
Journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Craig) is aided in his search for a woman who has been missing for forty years by Lisbeth Salander (Mara), a young computer hacker.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo @ Amazon
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6′s echelons.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy @ Amazon
With the help of three fans, The Muppets must reunite to save their old theater from a greedy oil tycoon.
The Muppets @ Amazon
Tells the story of two sets of parents who decide to have a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a schoolyard brawl.
Carnage @ Amazon
The Easter Bunny is accidentally hit by a car, and it’s up to the offending driver to save Easter.
Hop @ Amazon
After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon. 
Based on the pulp fiction of Robert E. Howard, this action-driven adventure breathes new life into the story of Conan the Barbarian, a warrior who rises to defend the people of Hyboria after evil forces slaughter his family and fellow villagers. 
While researching an article on the Vel’d'Hiv Roundup in 1942 France, Julia, an American journalist stumbles across the story of Sarah, a ten year old Jewish girl who desperately tried to save her younger brother from the police by locking him in a cupboard. Through her research, Julia comes across a trail of secrets that link her to Sarah and change the way she sees the world. 
Former Spy Kids Carmen and Juni Cortez return as teenagers to help 10-year-old twin siblings Rebecca and Cecil Wilson save the world with their stepmother — a retired secret agent who’s been called back into service to stop a conniving smuggler. 
Dominic Cooper stars as Uday Hussein — Saddam Hussein’s depraved, decadent elder son — and as Latif Yahia, the army lieutenant forcibly drafted to be his body double, in this drama based on Yahia’s autobiographical novel. With his family’s fate on the line, Yahia surrenders his identity to embody the hated figure but gains a conspirator in Uday’s concubine, Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), as he plots his escape. 
In the second installment of the two-part conclusion to the popular Harry Potter series, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson), continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wizards, Harry discovers a trio of magical objects that endow him with powers to rival Voldemort’s formidable skills. 
A comedy in which a married father accidentally switches bodies with his best friend, leading to a series of wildly complex difficulties. 
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010. 
A powerful railroad executive, Dagny Taggart, struggles to keep her business alive while society is crumbling around her. Based on the 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. 
John Taylor (Clayne Crawford) is bleeding profusely, flooded with adrenaline and having an overall terrible day. He’s just robbed a bank, you see, and things, as they are wont to do, went nowhere near as planned. Now he’s stumbling through a posh neighbourhood dripping blood and in desperate need of cover. When he lands upon the luxurious home of a certain Warwick Wilson (David Hyde Pierce) and finds a postcard in the mailbox, he has all the information he needs to scheme his way inside. (Fantasia International Film Festival) 
A group of teenagers get ready for their high school prom. 
A man trapped in a car wreck at the bottom of a ravine must overcome incredible odds to survive. 
Madea jumps into action when her niece, Shirley, receives distressing news about her health. All Shirley wants is to gather her three adult children around her and share the news as a family. But Tammy, Kimberly and Byron are too distracted by their own problems: Tammy can’t manage her unruly children or her broken marriage; Kimberly is gripped with anger and takes it out on her husband; and Byron, after spending two years in jail, is under pressure to deal drugs again… 
In the early 1980s, in small-town Texas, dramatic events force a 19-year-old skating rink manager to look at his life in a very new way. 
A copywriter discovers a top-secret drug which bestows him with super human abilities. 
When young Jin Kazama (John Foo) discovers an opportunity to avenge the death of his mother, he enters a martial arts tournament sponsored by the futuristic Tekken Corp. to gain access to the man he wants to punish. But as Kazama closes in on his goal, he uncovers dark secrets regarding his own past and the true nature of Tekken. 
In an austere and cloistered girls boarding school in 1930′s England, the girls’ unhealthy bond with their beloved teacher, Miss G, is threatened by the arrival of an exotic and beautiful foreign student – whose rejection of Miss G’s attentions threatens the status quo and brings tragic consequences for them all. (Element Pictures) 
Mr Pujol rules his factory with an iron fist. When he suffers from a stroke, his wife surprisingly takes over… with some unexpected consequences… 
From the writers of “That ’70s Show” comes this retro dramatic comedy set a decade later, in the financial boom of the late 1980s, about a recent college grad trying to figure out what to do with his life. Amid the goings-on at a raucous Labor Day party, brilliant but underemployed Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) learns a slew of lessons about life and love 
A homeless vigilante blows away crooked cops, pedophile Santas, and other scumbags with his trusty pump-action shotgun. 
A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord. 
A drama about Cistercian monks who stand up for their beliefs when confronted by fundamentalists 
While driving through the forest to the isolated house of the lovers Callie and Clay, the driver Jude finds a young man fainted on the road. He rescues the stranger, Darkly Noon, and the sensual Callie welcomes him while Clay is retired in the woods. He explains that his religious parents had been killed in their house by the furious locals and he had successfully escaped with his bible. Darkly becomes sexually obsessed by the sexy Callie and uses flagellation to punish himself for his desire. (imdb) 
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