The week’s DVDs begin in Chicago:

DVDs and streaming for August 4 by Boo Allen

This week, we begin in Chicago:

Insurgent (**1/2)

In this latest adventure based on novelist Veronica Roth’s Young Adult series, Shailene Woodley returns as Tris, with Theo James as her running mate, Four. In a futuristic, burnt-out Chicago, Tris and Four find themselves again on the run from society’s main meanie, Jeanine (Kate Winslet). The young duo’s flight takes them through a series of escapades crafted by director Robert Schwentke and an able special effects crew. Early on, Johanna (Octavia Spencer) expels the two from her sanctuary because of their dangerous presence. During the eventual run, Four fills in some of his back story, with an appearance from his mother (Naomi Watts). Naturally, the all-encompassing societal conflict comes down to an expected face-off, one that might look and seem familiar but with adequate fireworks.

Rated PG-13, 119 minutes.

Extras: the DVD version holds commentary, a five minute “making of” featurette, and a marketing gallery. The Blu-ray offers commentary along with six additional featurettes.

Child 44 (**1/2)

In this dark adaptation of the first novel in Tom Rob Smith’s best selling trilogy, with screenplay from Richard Price, Tom Hardy plays Leo Demidov, a Russian military policeman stationed in Moscow in the early 1950s. When he draws unmerited censure for his attitude, he finds himself, and his wife Raisa (Noomi Rapace), relocated to a small town. But even with Leo’s disgrace, he continues to hunt down a child serial killer despite the official Russian policy of murder being non-existent. Demidov goes through a long, dreary process in his investigation, as director Daniel Espinosa takes abundant time to lay out his story and characters before bringing the drama together. Espinosa and cinematographer Oliver Wood neutralize the film’s palette, draining color from the settings and costumes, thereby creating a strangely realistic milieu.

Rated R, 137 minutes.

Extras: a nine minute “making of” featurette.

3 Hearts (**1/2)

Warning: essential plot-spoilers are needed to describe the far-fetched premise behind this French melodrama from director Benoit Jacquot: in a small French town, Marc (Benoit Poelvoorde), a Paris resident, accidentally meets Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). They immediately develop an intense interest for each other before he returns to Paris. They plan to meet the following week in Paris but circumstances prevent Marc from showing up. Sylvie then moves to America with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, on a later trip to the same town, Marc meets and falls for Sophie (Chiara Mastroianni) who turns out to be, surprise, Sylvie’s sister. Complications ensue, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, while director Jacquot somberly plays it out. Catherine Deneuve, Mastroianni’s real mother, plays Sylvie and Sophie’s mother.

Rated PG-13, 108 minutes.

Extras: a 40 minute interview with Jacquot conducted at the Lincoln Film Center.

Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run

In this new, feature length animated film, Bugs Bunny returns, taking the unlikely position of a New York cabbie. One day, a breathless Lola Bunny hops in his cab shortly after losing her job at a department store as a perfume maker. Before long, Bugs and Lola find themselves in an international imbroglio involving stolen perfume. Of course, such Warner Bros. characters as Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Pepe Le Pew, Speedy Gonzalez, and, my favorite, Foghorn Leghorn join the adventure.

Not rated, 75 minutes.

Extras: bonus cartoons: Best Friends, Rabid Rider, Coyote Falls, Fur of Flying, I Twat I Taw a Puddy Tat.

And, finally, from this week’s TV arrivals:

The Affair—season one

Two excellent British actors play a pair of star-crossed lovers in this steamy Showtime series. Dominic West plays Noah, a married New Yorker who travels to Long Island for the summer with his wife Helen (Maura Tierney) and their four young kids. While there, Noah meets and begins an affair with Alison (Ruth Wilson), a local waitress married to Cole (Joshua Jackson). The affair follows its likely path with various heartbreaks and diversions. But the series gains its import by breaking up the ten episodes (on four discs). The first half usually shows Noah’s point of view, with the same events playing out in the second half from Alison’s viewpoint. This bifurcation provides shocking insights, as neither participant ever sees anything the same.

Not rated, 559 minutes.

Extras: actor biographies, four brief character profiles, a profile of the Montauk area, and a brief featurette on the costumes. The fourth disc contains episodes from TV series, one from Ray Donovan and Madam Secretary and two from Happyish.

The Casual Vacancy (***1/2)

This clever HBO mini-series of three hour-long episodes, on a single disc, is based on J.K. Rowling’s novel, with script from Sarah Phelps. The comedy-drama takes place in the small English village Pagford. Within the tightly-woven community lies an interrelated, Dickensian cast of colorful characters, all portrayed by an excellent ensemble cast. Screenwriter Phelps takes Rowling’s novel and works it for its biting commentary on greed, class envy, and hypocrisy. Rory Kinnear plays Barry Fairbrother, a local lawyer, who also holds a seat on the local town council, a body split by the prospect of a new building development. When Barry unexpectedly dies (but never really goes away), it sets in motion a cutthroat election to the council’s “casual vacancy.” In a town where everyone seems to be related to everyone else, the nominees for the vacancy quickly line up: Barry’s awful half-brother Simon (Richard Glover), Barry’s wimpy law partner Miles (Rufus Jones), and the local school-master Colin (Simon McBurney). Delicious hammy actors Michael Gambon and Julia McKenzie play a pair of hilariously rapacious weasels. Director Jonny Campbell lets his material work on its own with few flourishes, but that seems to be enough to deliver three hours of sustained entertainment.

Not rated, 182 minutes.

Extras: a ten minute featurette on adapting Rowling’s novel, 14 minutes on the casting, and a useful nine minute introduction to the series.

Mama’s Family: Mama’s Favorites: Season six

Vicki Lawrence starred as Thelma “Mama” Harper for the six season of this popular series. Here, Lawrence has selected six episodes to represent the final season: “Mama Fights Back,” “The Big Nap,” “Pinup Mama,” “Bye Bye Baby,” “Look Who’s Breathing,” and “Bubba’s House Band.”

Not rated, 129 minutes.

Also on DVD and streaming: Brother’s Keeper, The Dead Lands, Faults, Jackie and Ryan, Second Opinion.