New on DVD: ‘The Adventures of Tintin’

The Adventures of Tintin

Paramount, $29.99; Blu-ray, $44.99/$54.99

Steven Spielberg’s long-awaited adaptation of Hergé’s classic adventure comics comes up a little short, in part because the motion-capture animation gives “The Adventures of Tintin” a weightiness that runs counter to Hergé’s lightness, and in part because the cartoony characters of a precocious boy reporter and a drunken sea captain come off a little overbearing when they move and talk. That said, the voice cast (which includes Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig) and creative team (which includes co-producer Peter Jackson and geek-dream-team screenwriters Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat and Joe Cornish) treat the source material respectfully, and concoct action sequences worth of Hergé. This is a likable, if mildly disappointing, movie. The DVD and Blu-ray add more than 90 minutes of featurettes, dealing with the history of the comics and the making of the film.

The Descendants

Fox Searchlight, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

Director Alexander Payne’s adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings’ Hawaiian family drama “The Descendants” is masterfully staged, largely avoiding the “little slice of paradise” side of the islands and instead inhabiting the old family homes and office parks where Hawaiians actually spend their time. George Clooney plays a real estate lawyer trying to resolve some family business while his wife spends her last few comatose days of life in a local hospital, as Payne and Oscar-winning co-screenwriters Nat Faxon and Jim Rash aim to show how the outside perception of the fortunate is often more complicated than it seems. The movie suffers from backstory-heavy voice-over narration and an excess of incongruous punchlines, but its location and tone give “The Descendants” a distinctive flavor. The DVD and Blu-ray add deleted scenes, featurettes and a conversation between Payne and Clooney.

Melancholia

Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98

Director-provocateur Lars von Trier has lately been re-embracing expressive cinematic style, first in the art-horror film “Antichrist,” and now in the melodrama/sci-fi mash-up “Melancholia,” in which Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg play wealthy sisters reacting to the news that a planet is on a collision course with Earth. The fantastical elements of “Melancholia” are almost incidental to what the movie is really about: dysfunctional family dynamics and the crippling effects of depression. But what’s most remarkable about “Melancholia” is the way it looks, as Von Trier alternates the intensity of hand-held close-ups with gorgeously dreamy tone-poems. This is a sometimes difficult film, but a singular one. The DVD and Blu-ray include a few short behind-the-scenes featurettes.

My Week With Marilyn

Starz/Anchor Bay, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99

Though Michelle Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Marilyn Monroe in “My Week With Marilyn,” the movie is more about the other person in its title. Eddie Redmayne plays British filmmaker Colin Clark, who early in his career attended to Monroe on behalf of Laurence Olivier Productions during the making of the 1957 romance “The Prince and the Showgirl.” Clark wrote the book on which this film is based, and this adaptation is pretty rose-colored, reflecting Clark’s nostalgic feelings toward the showbiz of his youth. While it may not be 100% realistic, “My Week With Marilyn” does entertainingly capture the culture clash between the professionalism of the British movie industry and the chaos of Hollywood in the Method acting era. The DVD and Blu-ray add a featurette about the true story, plus a commentary by director Simon Curtis.

Young Adult

Paramount, $29.99; Blu-ray, $39.99

“Juno” collaborators Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody reunite for the refreshingly non-quirky dramedy “Young Adult,” starring Charlize Theron as the middle-aged author of a faltering book series for adolescents. The movie is hampered by its contrived plot, which sees the heroine heading back to her hometown to win back her married ex-boyfriend. But director Reitman and screenwriter Cody get many details right: the sting of lingering adolescent feelings, the comforting melancholy of being single, and of living in a world dominated by chain restaurants and big box stores. “Young Adult” didn’t do as well at the box office as “Juno,” maybe because it’s more committed to being truthful, even when it hurts. The DVD and Blu-ray contain deleted scenes, featurettes and a Reitman commentary.

And…

Happy Feet Two

Warner Bros., $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99/$44.95

The Killing: The Complete First Season

20th Century Fox, $49.98; Blu-ray, $59.99

The Three Musketeers

Summit, $26.99; Blu-ray, $30.49/$34.99

Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention

Lionsgate, $14.98; Blu-ray, $14.99