.

This week’s releases include: a Canadian masterwork; a cop series set in Ontario; a father and son try to reconcile; discord in war; the secret life of an American icon revealed; a hapless love story; a story of redefining oneself; a true fight for what’s right; a sparse virus narrative; and an unconventional Western.

Café de Flore (Blu-ray)
From 1960′s Paris to present-day Montreal comes an epic love story. It is somber, troubling and luminous all at once and yet filled with hope. Coloured with hues of fantasy and bathed in a surrealistic light, Café de Flore tells the story of the intertwining destinies of Jacqueline (Vanessa Paradis), a young Parisian mother of a special child, Antoine (Kevin Parent), a Montreal DJ, and the women in his life. What binds them all is love – troubling, clumsy, imperfect, unattainable and ultimately human.

This film is well-deserving of its selection as one of “Canada’s Top Ten” films. The interconnection between the stories is brilliant, as is the editing that links them. Jacqueline’s tale of eternal devotion turns from admirable to frightening and sad. In the meantime, Antoine’s affection for his loves past and present is genuine in its confusion and influence. The music is a character in itself, reflecting the individuals’ emotions and the film’s mood. Director Jean-Marc Vallée is perfecting his craft with each picture he creates, this without a doubt being the best so far.

There are no special features. (Alliance Films)

Durham County – Seasons 1 – 3 (DVD)
Mike Sweeney (Hugh Dillon) is a homicide detective from Toronto who moves his family to suburban Durham County to start over after his partner is killed and his wife Audrey’s (Hélène Joy) breast cancer goes into remission. However, he soon discovers that his neighbour and childhood nemesis Ray Prager (Justin Louis) may be a serial killer.

The complete television series has been packaged together for the first time. Mike’s unpredictable personality moves the narratives in seemingly random directions. Incorporating flashbacks and riveting editing is ambitious for a TV show, but impeccably accomplished. Dillon’s Mike is a fascinating character to watch as is his daughter, Sadie (Laurence Leboeuf), whose role in the show grows as the series continues. The first season hooks viewers with a thrilling murder narrative that doesn’t require any mystery to stay interesting, and the series continues that tradition through two more seasons.

Special features include: behind-the-scenes featurette; character bios; two songs by Hugh Dillon and the Redemption Choir; interviews with the cast and crew; and a making-of featurette. (Anchor Bay Entertainment)

Fireflies in the Garden (Blu-ray)
To an outsider, the Taylors are the very picture of the successful American family: Charles (Willem Dafoe) is a tenured professor on track to become university president, son Michael (Ryan Reynolds) is a prolific and well-known romance novelist, daughter Ryne (Shannon Lucio) is poised to enter a prestigious law school, and on the day we are introduced to them, matriarch Lisa (Julia Roberts) will graduate from college-decades after leaving to raise her children. But when a serious accident interrupts the celebration, the far more nuanced reality of this Midwestern family’s history and relationships come to light.

This family tragedy is free of melodrama, but rife with old feelings of resentment and disappointment. Charles was more than strict when Michael was growing up, causing their relationship to be strained and for Michael to maintain a lengthy distance from him as an adult. When he comes back home, Michael’s struggle to understand why things between him and his father were always so tense drives the narrative. The flashbacks contain more passion than the scenes in the present, but they inform the emotions and actions of the older characters. The title comes from a beautiful (though somewhat disconcerting) scene in which Michael and his younger cousins burst fireflies in the garden in a moment of complete innocence and fun.

There are no special features. (Alliance Films)

Fort Apache (Blu-ray)
The soldiers at Fort Apache may disagree with the tactics of their glory-seeking new commander, but they’re duty-bound to obey him – even when it means almost certain disaster.

Special features include: commentary by F.X. Feeney; “Monument Valley: John Ford Country”; and the theatrical trailer. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

J. Edgar (Blu-ray)
J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) was head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly 50 years. Hoover was feared, admired, reviled and revered, a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted prize. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.

Special features not available. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)

London Boulevard (Blu-ray)
This is the story of a man newly released from prison (Colin Farrell) who falls in love with a reclusive young movie star (Keira Knightley) and finds himself in a duel with a vicious gangster.

Special features not available. (Entertainment One)

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Blu-ray)
After escaping from a dangerous cult and the watchful eye of its charismatic leader, a young woman named Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) tries to reclaim a normal life with her family. But the haunting memories from Martha’s past trigger a chilling paranoia — and nowhere seems safe as the fragile line between her reality and delusions begin to blur.

First-time feature director Sean Durkin does not employ the standard flashback to tell Martha’s story. He uses striking transitions to move between the past and present, zooming in on an item only to reveal a change of location and time upon zooming out. The twisted logic that was fed to Martha daily has warped her perception of social norms and acceptable behaviour. Olsen does an excellent job of portraying Martha’s confusion and vulnerability. John Hawkes’ depiction of the cult leader is particularly disturbing as he brainwashes the young people around him into believing the violations of their persons and the criminal behaviour they participate in is “normal.” His interactions with Martha are especially upsetting as he charms her by preying on her low self-esteem.

Special features include: “Mary Last Seen”; “Spotlight on Elizabeth Olsen”; “The Story”; a making-of featurette; “A Conversation with Filmmakers”; “The Psyche of a Cult”; music video for “Marcy’s Song” by John Hawkes; and theatrical trailer. (Fox Home Entertainment)

Puncture (DVD)
Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Mike and his long-time friend and straight-laced partner, Paul Dandier (co-director Mark Kassen), find themselves out of their league when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Vinessa Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job. As Mike and Paul dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense pushing the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point.

The script is not the most compelling as it trudges through Mike’s various discoveries and drug addled mistakes. Conversely, the idea that health care administrators would rather save a few cents than protect the safety of frontline workers is an undeniably horrific concept; it is this notion that holds the audience’s interest. Mike’s passion often outweighs his tenacity, but proves time and again to be a good lawyer. He would have been an even better one if he could have kicked his habit. The conclusion makes some assumptions that can’t be proven, but it does follow through with Mike’s initial findings.

There are no special features. (VVS Films)

Retreat (DVD)
Taking an isolated break on an uninhabited island, Martin (Cillian Murphy) and Kate’s (Thandie Newton) island retreat is about to become a prison of unimaginable terror. When a blood soaked stranger (Jamie Bell) stumbles to their door claiming an apocalyptic virus is sweeping across Europe, their lives are turned upside down as they face what could be the end of everything they know. Using all means necessary, they must fight to escape the approaching threat. But escape is only the beginning of their terrifying fight for survival.

Neither Murphy nor Newton is inexperienced with the apocalypse genre; this isn’t even his first virus movie. But this is an isolation that tested their abilities as actors because there was no distraction from any of their shortcomings. Luckily these two accomplished performers portray fittingly stern characters that feel awkward with each other but also relentlessly caring. There is a warranted paranoia that emerges with the arrival of the stranger – is he telling the truth or just trying to control the situation? The reality of their situation is not revealed until the end, but the concluding scene is somewhat anti-climactic.

Special features include: a making-of featurette and photo gallery. (Sony Pictures Home Entetainment)

Unforgiven (Blu-ray)
Two retired outlaws (Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman) pick up their guns one last time to collect a bounty and avenge the disfigurement of a prostitute, disobeying a sly lawman of chilling brutality (Gene Hackman).

A veteran of the Western behind and in front of the camera, Eastwood knows the ins and outs of the genre, which gives him carte blanche to manipulate the genre as he sees fit. This isn’t your typical movie about gunslingers; it’s more thoughtful and the characters are more vulnerable. Eastwood’s character is a family man now and Freeman’s courage can’t even be found at the bottom of a bottle. Hackman is sadistic, but fits nicely into the Western setting. While the first half of the film goes against the grain, the latter half is more faithful to tales of death and vengeance.

Special features include: commentary by director Clint Eastwood and biographer Richard Schickel; “All on Account a Pullin’ a Trigger,” featuring interviews with Morgan Freeman and others; “Eastwood … A Star”; “Eastwood & Co.: Making Unforgiven”; “Eastwood on Eastwood,” a career retrospective from Time critic/biographer Richard Schickel”; Maverick TV series episode “Duel at Sundown” (1959), in which Eastwood plays a virtual younger incarnation of his Unforgiven role; and 54-page booklet. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)