New releases

However raucous this year's Democratic and Republican national conventions might get, nothing could top the riotous Democratic confab in 1968 in Chicago. Hippies and yippies clashed with the implacable police forces of Mayor Richard J. Daley, as young people hit the streets to protest the Vietnam War, the election process, and anything else on their minds. This documentary by director Brett Morgen ("The Kid Stays in the Picture") revels in the turbulence, seeing the street action and the later conspiracy trial of protest leaders as elements of vibrant democracy. Morgen uses animation to fill the gaps where he lacks archival footage - not a bad choice as the trial had its cartoon-like side. It's also hard to miss the implications for today's more placid electorate, faced with another unpopular war.

Classic Film: Errol Flynn Westerns Collection
Comedy: What Happens in Vegas
Drama: Redbelt
Family: The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning
Sci-Fi: The Nightmare Before Christmas: Collector's Edition
TV: CNN Presents: Black in America
TV: Entourage, season 4
TV: Heroes, season 2
TV: The Shield, season 6

All Hope Is Gone (Roadrunner)
The fourth studio album from the Des Moines-based heavy metal crew turns on the juice after a hiatus. Considered a pioneer of the so-called New Wave of American Heavy Metal, Slipknot is celebrated for its aggressive playing and uniforms of coveralls and grotesque masks. "All Hope Is Gone," produced by Dave Fortman, offers more intense thrashing riffs and rage; even the song titles drip with sardonic nihilism: "Snuff," "Psychosocial," and "Dead Memories," just to name a few.

Classical: Simone Dinnerstein/ The Berlin Concert (Telarc)
Soundtrack: Gypsy/ Patti LuPone (Time Life Entertainment)
Folk: Eva Cassidy/ Somewhere (Blix Street)
Rap: Lax/ The Game (Geffen Records)
Alternative: Dragonforce/ Ultra Beatdown (Roadrunner Records)
Blues: BB King/ One Kind Favor (Geffen Records)
Christian Rock: Decemberadio/ Satisfied (Word Entertainment)
R&B: Solange/ Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (Geffen Records)
Rock: Matthew Sweet/ Sunshine Lies (Shout Factory)

Xbox 360, PC (Electronic Games)
This release from Pandemic Studios cuts a little bit too close to reality. A follow-up to 2005's "Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction," the new game is set in Venezuela and involves a crazed drug lord and dictator who seizes control of the country's oil. Players take the role of mercenaries who choose sides among the various forces vying for control of that precious commodity. The tagline of the game's official site: "Go anywhere. Destroy anything. Any way you want." Reportedly, Venezuela's very real leader Hugo Chávez is not pleased about this.

Michael Moore (Grand Central Publishing)
Love him or despise him, cinematic provocateur Michael Moore has become a media juggernaut unto himself. He follows up his best-selling "Dude, Where's My Country?" (2003) with a humorous look at the upcoming presidential follies. While not short on ego (a photo of a strangely clean-shaven and hatless Moore fills the cover), he shrewdly skewers both left and right; the book's back cover asks us to ponder the truly disturbing question: "How many Democrats does it take to lose the most winnable election in American history?"