‘Drive’ leads this week’s new video releases

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Road warrior: Ryan Gosling stars as a stunt driver and getaway wheel man in the ultra-stylish, visually dazzling crime drama “Drive.”

Updated: January 31, 2012 6:25PM

NEW THIS WEEK

DRIVE ★ ★ ★ ★

Rated: R for strong, brutal, bloody violence, language and some nudity

Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman

In its own lean, mean, occasionally very bloody way, “Drive,” which was nominated for the Palm d’Or at this year’s Cannes festival, is almost as much of a cinematic show pony as the winner, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life.” Which, it must be said, did not feature even one halfway decent car chase. This ultra-stylish, ultra-tough, yet almost sociopathically understated modern film noir from Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn (the “Pusher” trilogy, “Bronson”), who did win the Best Director prize at Cannes, features an intense, tightly controlled performance by Gosling as a Hollywood stunt driver who works nights behind the wheel of getaway cars. As heroes go, the anonymous Driver is more than usually problematic. While he clearly yearns for a decent life, especially after falling for the nice single mom (Mulligan) who lives next door and is being threatened by a couple of murderous gangsters (Brooks and Perlman), the Driver has an almost preternatural understanding of bad men. Perhaps because, deep down, where he keeps it a malignant secret, he is possibly the baddest, most merciless, most psychotically dangerous bad guy of them all.

TEXAS KILLING FIEL DS★ ★

Rated: R for violence and language including some sexual references

Stars: Sam Worthington, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jessica Chastain, Chloe Moretz

The extraordinarily bleak “Texas Killing Fields” doesn’t have much to offer in the way of an original story or a coherent plot or detailed characterization, but it’s not short on atmosphere. It’s been pumped full of grim atmosphere until it bulges. Producer Michael Mann (whose most recent film was “Public Enemies”) commissioned this fact-based drama about a region of swamps outside of Texas City, Texas, where murderers apparently like to dump female bodies, from former DEA agent turned consultant turned screenwriter Don Ferrarone. And he finally settled on his daughter Ami Canaan Mann to direct after several previous director/actor teams misfired. She and cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh (“The Piano”) make sure Texas City looks the part of the small-town hell hole and the solid cast (including Worthington and Morgan as mismatched detective partners, Chastain as Worthington’s tough lady-cop ex-wife and Moretz as the endangered pre-teen daughter of a trashy hooker) provides plenty of conviction. Unfortunately, they can’t do much with Ferrarone’s over-complicated, under-developed script. It would be nice to report that there’s a surprise in the way “Texas Killing Fields” plays out, but the only thing unexpected is how ugly things get before the credits roll. Texas-size ugly.

RECENT RELEASES

5 0/50★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: R for language throughout, sexual content and some drug use

Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anna Kendrick

Though it’s packaged with crowd-pleasing elements ranging from buddy comedy to budding romance, all designed to take the hex off the big C, the best thing about the cancer dramady “50/50” is its stubborn streak of genuineness. Gordon-Levitt plays a 24-year-old facing a lethal form of cancer with little but his crude, self-absorbed best friend (Rogen) to comfort him.

HAPPY, HAPPY★ ★ ★

Rated: R for sexual content including brief graphic nudity

Stars: Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen

Doomed relationships crumble inevitably, but not uninterestingly, in this emotionally and tonally complex Norwegian dark comedy. A young wife and mother (Kittelsen, a radiant presence) hopes newlywed neighbors will ease her loneliness, then falls for the husband of her new friend.

RE AL STEEL★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly

Though it tries to mix the robo-thrills of the “Transformers” with the emotional uplift of “Rocky” and the heart of “E.T.,” this frequently spectacular, but soulless sci-fi boxing melodrama is far too pre-programmed and manipulative to generate anything but a semblance of an emotional response. Jackman plays a scummy robot-boxing promoter suddenly saddled with a young son (Goyo) he never knew he had.

ALSO NEW

THE BIG YEAR

Three rival birdwatchers (Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson) compete to spot the rarest birds during the aviary event of the year. David Frankel (“The Devil Wears Prada”) directed the comedy. Rated PG for language and some sensuality. Extras include extended version, deleted scenes and a gag reel.

THE DOUBLE

A retired CIA agent (Richard Gere) is paired with a young FBI man (Topher Grace) to investigate the possibility that a senator may have been murdered by a Soviet assassin. Screenwriter Michael Brandt (“Wanted”) makes his directing debut with the thriller.

FRONTLINE: A PERFECT TERRORIST

This PBS documentary investigates the 2008 assault on Mumbai by 10 men that left 166 dead — and was organized by an American citizen.

IN TIME

In a future where time has become a form of currency and the rich can live forever, a young man (Justin Timberlake) who comes into an unexpected fortune in potential longevity has to run from corrupt officials to keep it. Andrew Niccol (“Gattaca”) wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller. Rated PG-13 for violence, some sexuality and partial nudity, and strong language

OUTRAGE: WAY OF THE YAKUZA

After being ordered to keep a rival clan in line, a Yakuza gangster (Takeshi Kitano) makes a bid for power that starts an all-out war. Kitano (“Violent Cop”) also directed the crime drama.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION — THE NEXT LEVEL

This Blu-ray sampler serves as a preview of the new high-definition transfers Paramount has made of all seven seasons of the “Star Trek” spin-off series, which will be released throughout the year. Included are the feature-length pilot “Encounter at Farpoint” as well as fan faves “The Inner Light” and “Sins of the Father.”

THE THING

The discovery of an alien spacecraft at an Antarctic research station leads to intergalactic horror in this prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of a 1951 sci-fi classic. Rated R for strong creature violence and gore, disturbing images, and language

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

To mark its 50th anniversary, Universal went into the vaults to find original 35mm film elements for this newly restored and remastered Blu-ray release of the 1962 classic about a young girl’s observation of her small-town attorney father (Gregory Peck) defending a black man against an undeserved charge of rape. Extras include “A Conversation With Gregory Peck” and commentary by director Robert Mulligan and producer Alan Pakula.

NEXT WEEK

It’s a chronological smorgasbord. You can go 17th century with “Anonymous,” a drama purporting to reveal the true author of Shakespeare’s plays, or 18th century with “Dangerous Liaisons,” with Glenn Close and John Malkovich as bored nobles trying to out-betray each other. Or how about good old 1955 with the Blu-ray debut of the Disney classic “Lady and the Tramp”?