This week's new DVD and Blu-ray releases

Take Shelter One of the more glaring oversights in the recent awards season was that none of the major ceremonies even noticed Michael Shannon's incredible performance in this intriguing, enigmatic apocalyptic tale. Shannon plays a man plagued by visions of impending disaster. He hears thunder when no one else does and his dreams are full of harrowing scenes of oily rain, animal attacks and storms. He fixates on reinforcing an old storm shelter on his property while accepting that, due to a family history of mental illness, it might all be in his head. While the year's other non-action movie end-of-days tale, Melancholia , was very much a director's film, Take Shelter belongs to the actors. Shannon's detailed and complex performance ensures that both theories are given credence; it never really leans towards one at the expense of the other. He's turning out to be an impressively versatile actor, walking away with the acting plaudits for his work in Revolutionary Road and The Runaways . Shannon's fellow Boardwalk Empire cast member Shea Whigham also impresses as a workmate and Jessica Chastain, as Shannon's wife, shows why she was cast in half a dozen of 2011's movies with another top-level performance. But it's Shannon who carries this unusual film. Intense and sympathetic, he plays a man trapped in a hellish situation where, whatever the outcome, he loses. Blu-ray & DVD, Universal Also out Moneyball A fine, grounded performance by Brad Pitt and impressive Aaron Sorkin script for this baseball stat-based drama. Blu-ray & DVD, Sony The Deadly Spawn Made for under $20,000, this plucky 1983 monster flick impresses with some great creature FX. DVD, Arrow The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn Not quite the cinematic landmark you'd expect from Spielberg's first stab at (sort of) animation, but still fun. Blu-ray & DVD, Paramount Weekend Compelling performances as a credibly romantic relationship between two men forms over a weekend. Blu-ray & DVD, Peccadillo