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Brad Pitt stars as Oakland A’s General Manager Billy Beane and Jonah Hill plays a Yale economics grad who helps him turn baseball conventions upside-down in “Moneyball,” written by Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”) and Steven Zallian (“Schindler’s List

Updated: January 10, 2012 10:06AM

NEW THIS WEEK

MONEYBALL ★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG-13 for some strong language

Stars: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Instead of a typical, root-for-the-underdog sports movie culminating in a miraculous triumph, “Moneyball” offers something more interesting: A bit of a miracle, but with a built-in anticlimax, and a qualified triumph by a complicated character who is not necessarily motivated by a love of the game. Pitt is at his best here as Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, who decided in 2001 (after his best players were hired away by richer teams) to radically re-think the way the way baseball is played. With the number-crunching help of a Yale economics grad who has never played the game (a nice performance by Hill), Beane gambles his career by using his limited budget to buy under-valued players who seem at first to be insane choices. In the process, he antagonizes fans, coaches, players, scouts and sportscasters by appearing to threaten baseball’s cherished traditions. Ultimately, “Moneyball” gives us a story about stubborn determination and willingness to defy conventional thinking that is inspirational in itself. Bennett Miller (“Capote”) directed the drama from a script by Oscar winners Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network”) and Steven Zallian (“Schindler’s List”).

THE SCORPION KING 3: BATTLE FOR REDEMPTI ON★ ★

Rated: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout and for sexual and crude references

Stars: Victor Webster, Ron Perlman, Billy Zane

Hope reigns eternal if you have any patience whatsoever for action craziness of the sort made surprisingly entertaining by the first two installments in this archeology-gone-wild franchise, 1999’s “The Mummy” and 2001’s “The Mummy Returns.” After “The Scorpion King,” though, featuring a notable early performance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and a little-known entry called “The Scorpion King: Rise of the Warrior,” which jettisoned Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz as well as any meaningful continuity, there’s not a whole lot for mummy fans to get excited about. Someone named Victor Webster is filling in for Johnson this time, and he’s kept busy rushing from one confusing set piece to another as an assassin-for-hire helping out a buddy of the King of Egypt (Ron Perlman, believe it or not) in some place that looks suspiciously like Thailand. Many muscles are flexed, many heads are bashed, but, unfortunately, there’s little sting left in the Scorpion King.

RECENT RELEASES

CONTA GION★ ★ ★

Rated: PG-13 for disturbing content and some language

Stars: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow

Director Steven Soderbergh’s cool, competent and surprisingly calm bio-thriller argues for the best side of humanity (self-sacrifice, dedication, generosity) while occasionally milking the worst (rioting, looting, trampling) to keep things hopping during a global pandemic. Extras include mini-docs such as “The Reality of Contagion: Inside the Biosafety Level 4 Laboratory.”

DON’T BE AFRAID OF TH E DARK★ ★ ★ 1/2

Rated: R for violence and terror

Stars: Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison

Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) only produced this remake of a 1973 TV movie that terrified him as a child, but “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” shows his artful influence in every frame. Preoccupied divorced dad/architect Pearce is remodeling a mysterious old mansion when his unhappy young daughter (Madison) arrives for a stay and attracts the attention of the small, scampering, child-eating monkey imps in the basement. Extras include a three-part making-of documentary.

SER ENDIPITY★ ★ 1/2

Rated: PG-13 for a scene of sexuality and for brief language

Stars: John Cusack, Jeremy Piven, Kate Beckinsale

Cusack sleepwalks through his role this moderately diverting 2001 romantic comedy as a filmmaker who meets the one, true, predestined love of his life ( Beckinsale) then loses her because she insists on parting without exchanging names — only to meet her again 10 years later when both are about to marry perfectly nice yet non-fated people. Extras include commentary by director Peter Chelsom, a production diary and storyboard comparisons.

ALSO NEW THIS WEEK

BOARDWALK EMPIRE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

Martin Scorsese executive produced and won an Emmy for directing the pilot episode of this HBO series about Prohibition-era Atlantic City politician/gangster Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). This five-disc set features all 12 first-season episodes plus commentaries and mini-docs including one that features the construction of the 300-foot vintage Boardwalk set.

COLUMBO: MYSTERY MOVIE COLLECTION 1994-2003

This three-disc set features all of the feature-length “Columbo” specials produced during the nine-season run of the NBC detective series including “Butterfly in Shades of Grey” (1994), “A Trace of Murder” (1997) and “Columbo Likes the Nightlife” (2003). Guest stars include George Wendt, William Shatner and Patrick McGoohan.

DOCTOR WHO CLASSIC: INVASION OF THE DINOSAURS

Sure, young Matt Smith is all the rage these days as the Time Lord, but once upon a time Jon Pertwee had a nice run as the third incarnation of the BBC’s time-travelling doctor — as in this vintage series involving invading dinosaurs, no less. Extras include commentaries and a photo gallery.

G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO, SERIES 2, SEASON 1

After the 1983 animated series of the same name ran its course, this follow-up series debuted in 1989 with new members of the “Joe” team, still fighting the nefarious evil-doers of C.O.B.R.A. This four-disc Shout! Factory set features the “Operation Dragonfire” miniseries that launched the reboot.

HIGHER GROUND

A close-knit spiritual community is thrown into crisis when one of the group (Vera Farmiga) questions her faith. Farmiga made her directorial debut with the drama. Rated R for some language and sexual content. Extras include commentary by Farmiga and deleted scenes.

KILLER ELITE

When his mentor (Robert De Niro) is captured, a retired British Special Air Service operative (Jason Statham) sets out on a personal rescue operation. Gary McKendry (Oscar nominated for the short film “Everything in this Country Must”) makes his feature debut with the action thriller. Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity.

NOVA: ICEMAN MURDER MYSTRY

This PBS documentary looks on as scientists defrost and autopsy Otzi, a 5,000-year-old mummified man who made headlines two decades ago when he was discovered — particularly since he was apparently the victim of way-back foul play.

SINNERS AND SAINTS

A beleaguered New Orleans detective (Johnny Strong) tries to cope with the death of his young son and the breakdown of his marriage while investigating the murder of his partner. William Kaufman (“The Hit List”) directed the crime drama. Rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, pervasive language and brief drug use.

WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?

After realizing she may have been too picky, a woman (Ana Faris) decides to re-evaluate the past twenty men she’s had relationships with and rejected, to see if one of them might be worth a second try. TV director Mark Mylod (“Entourage”) directed the romantic comedy, released as an “unrated ex-tended cut.” Rated R for sexual content and language. Extras include the unrated version of the film, extended flashback date scenes and a gag reel.

NEXT WEEK

If you’re looking for good, clean, wholesome entertainment, you might want to look the other way next week when the salacious offerings include Luis Bunuel’s classic “Belle de Jour” about a Parisian housewife (Catherine Deneuve) with a day job in a bordello, “Dirty Girl,” an ’80s reminiscence about a high-school bad girl (Juno Temple) hitting the road as a runaway and “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star” featuring Nick Swardson as a buck-toothed small-town grocery bagger who dreams of a career in porn.