New releases: Find true love with sci-fi comedy ‘The Lobster’

New on Blu-ray

“The Lobster” (Lionsgate DVD $19.98; Blu-ray, $24.99)

It’s difficult even to describe Yorgos Lanthimos’ “The Lobster,” a dry science-fiction comedy that’s a true original— even if at times it seems more willfully bizarre than coherent. Set in a society where all adult citizens are required by law to be romantically partnered, the story concerns a last-chance rehabilitation program where singles either find suitable companions or get turned into animals. Lanthimos amusingly and inventively satirizes both social convention and romantic desperation, with a game cast that features Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, and Ben Whishaw. “The Lobster” mostly spends its second hour repeating itself, without much of a plot to compensate for the wheel-spinning. Still, this film’s a must for fans of the offbeat. No one’s ever made a “find true love or get hunted down and transformed into a crustacean” movie quite like this one.

[Special features: A 20-minute behind-the-scenes featurette]

VOD

“Five Nights in Maine” (available 8/5)

David Oyelowo follows up his brilliant performance in “Selma” with a fine turn in the quiet indie drama “Five Nights in Maine,” playing a depressed widower who honors his dead wife’s wishes by spending time with her cantankerous mother. Dianne Wiest plays the mom, who’s struggling with cancer and is in no mood to reconcile with the son-in-law she never wanted. First-time writer-director Maris Curran keeps the tone muted and melancholy, allowing two excellent actors to explore the nuances of a fractured relationship. The result is a film that’s predictable but moving.

TV set of the week

“The Girlfriend Experience: Season One” (Starz/Anchor Bay DVD, $39.98; Blu-ray, $49.99)

Though “The Girlfriend Experience” takes its name from Steven Soderbergh’s free-form 2009 film about prostitution and the global financial collapse, the Starz series features entirely new characters and an original theme. Co-creators Lodge Kerrigan and Amy Seimetz (who took turns writing and directing each episode) cast Riley Keough as a Chicago law firm intern who enjoys the money and independence she finds while moonlighting as an escort. The series is slow-paced at the start, but as the heroine’s double-life begins to affect her personal and professional lives, Kerrigan and Seimetz ratchet up the tension, turning “The Girlfriend Experience” into a gripping study of sexual power and gender dynamics.

[Special features: A trio of featurettes]

From the archives

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Collector’s Edition” (Scream! Factory Blu-ray, $34.93)

Jack Finney’s novel “The Body Snatchers” has been frequently adapted to the big screen because its story of hive-minded alien impostors works well as a metaphor for whatever social or political movement a filmmaker wants to needle. Director Philip Kaufman and writer W.D. Richter delivered their own sharp take on the plot with 1978’s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” in which Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams play San Franciscans investigating whether their friends have become emotionless drones — or if they’ve just found a new, super-mellow spiritual center. Using Finney’s book as the basis for a critique of ’70s self-help and spiritualism (both represented by a hip guru played by Leonard Nimoy), Kaufman and Richter add a strong core to what could’ve been a campy horror remake. Even today, this is a legitimately creepy movie, with “eww”-worthy gore-effects and an ending that should send chills up any spine.

[Special features: Two commentary tracks and extensive interviews with the cast and crew]

Three more to see

“April and the Extraordinary World” (Universal DVD, $29.98; Blu-ray, $34.98); “High-Rise” (Magnolia DVD, $26.97; Blu-ray, $29.97; also available on VOD); “Louder Than Bombs” (Sony DVD, $19.99; Blu-ray, $36.25; also available on VOD).