Conviction

While you're filling up your Netflix queue with Oscar-nominated films, consider this week's DVD releases! Along with these three movies, you can also rent Welcome to the Rileys starring Kristen Stewart.

Let Me In

This remake of the acclaimed Swedish horror film Let the Right One In is beautifully shot — if you don't mind the sight of blood. Breakout star Chloe Moretz plays a young girl with a dark secret: she's a vampire. Along with her guardian (Richard Jenkins), she moves in to a new apartment complex and befriends a local boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee). The story is terrifying and twisted, but much more compelling than your run-of-the-mill scary movie. DVD extras include unrated deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

89%


Never Let Me Go

This film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's sci-fi novel sticks fairly close to its source material. Carey Mulligan stars as Kathy H., a young girl raised in an isolated community along with her best friends Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield). But as the trio grows up, they struggle with everyday issues like young love and jealousy and a much larger discovery — the real reason behind their existence. The cast is excellent, and the film provides plenty of food for thought. DVD extras include a making-of documentary.

66%

One more release when you read more

If it's as cold and rainy in your neck of the woods this weekend as it is in mine, then we'd highly recommend popping inside a theater to catch a movie. As for what you should see, let us give you the rundown on which of the new releases — Hereafter and Conviction — are worth your money.

Any movie that's "based on a true story" feels like old hat these days. It used to be a way to lure in the audience, but the term is so overused that it's lost effect. Conviction, which stars Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell, is the latest drama to be written from real-life events, as it advertises on its poster. But the good news is that Swank and Rockwell's excellent performances save this one from being just another run-of-the-mill sentimental movie.

Swank stars as Betty Anne Waters, divorced mother of two boys and sister to Kenny (Rockwell). Kenny has been in jail for nearly 16 years, convicted of first-degree murder of a woman whose house Betty Anne and Kenny used to break into as kids for fun. In fact, Kenny has quite the rap sheet: from young delinquent to older man with a fiery temper, he's been a regular at the police station throughout his life. Yet despite his reputation, Betty Anne has the utmost faith in her brother. The film's title doesn't just represent Kenny's sentence, it's about Betty Anne's unwavering fortitude.

To see where the movie works and where it doesn't, just read more

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Whenever you have a movie that touts itself as being "based on a true story," and it somehow involves Hilary Swank, you're pretty much guaranteed to weep your eyes out (unless it's Amelia; sorry, Amelia). The Oscar winner's latest is Conviction, the gut-wrenching saga of Betty Anne Waters, who put herself through law school to free her brother (Sam Rockwell) after he was wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life.

This trailer has all of the necessary ingredients required of serious dramas: a single mom fighting the odds, courtroom scenes, and the heavy application of aging makeup. Just think of it as Erin Brockovich with a more somber tone and a lot less cleavage. Melissa Leo, Juliette Lewis, and Minnie Driver round out the ensemble, making this one to watch. Give it a look, and tell me your first impressions when you read more