This week, we start alone: Solitary Man (***1/2) Rated R, 90 minutes. Coming Tuesday to DVD.

Millennium Films

In Solitary Man, Michael Douglas, left, turns in a convincing performance as a narcissist who’s ruined his life, and Jesse Eisenberg plays the college kid who looks up to him.

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In a powerful performance, Michael Douglas plays Ben Kalmen, a charismatic, charming 60-year-old who is also (contradictorily) arrogant, cocky and seemingly delusional. Douglas’ performance is all the more brilliant because he makes the viewer believe that Kalmen possesses these traits without realizing his contradictions. Kalmen gradually becomes alone, after alienating his ex-wife (Susan Sarandon), his daughter (Jenna Fischer), his new girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker) and her 18-year-old daughter (Imogen Poots), with whom he has a brief yet regretful fling.

Once powerful, rich, handsome and popular in his own circles, Kalmen now stands destitute, having gradually lost all his money and now his friends and family.

Directors David Levien and Brian Koppelman — who also  wrote the script — present an unyielding portrait of this self-destruction.

The DVD, also on Blu-ray, includes a 12-minute “making of” featurette.

*

French Film (**1/2) This British, not French, film uncovers some painful truths about relationships. Cheryl and Jed (Victoria Hamilton and Hugh Bonneville) have been together for 10 years. He now wants to marry, but she doesn’t, thereby sending them to regular relationship counseling. Their best friends Marcus and Sophie (Douglas Henshall and Anne-Marie Duff) seem to act as both complements and confidants — that is, until Marcus begins an affair. Cheryl and Jed drift apart, while he struggles with his feelings for Sophie.

Even though the various problems play out with generous humor, the relationship problems remain real.

The title comes mostly from the intermittent yet intentionally pretentious comments made by faux French film director Thierry Grimaldi, played by renowned British soccer star Eric Cantona.

Not rated, 87 minutes.

*

A Quiet Little Marriage (***) This low-budget film sounds like a romantic-comedy but is neither. Instead, angst, deceit and recrimination predominate as Olive (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) wants to have a baby, but her husband Dax (Cy Carter) does not. So, she stealthily puts a hole in her diaphragm. He discovers it and starts secretly slipping her birth control pills. The film, in addition to spreading around ample guilt, raises pertinent issues about relationships and honesty.

Not rated, 90 minutes.

*

Abandoned (**1/2) In one of her last roles, Brittany Murphy stars as Mary, who takes her boyfriend (Dean Cain) to the hospital for day surgery. An hour later, he has disappeared and no one in the hospital has ever heard of him.

A chilling Kafkaesque scenario develops as hospital staff work on the assumption Mary is unstable. But other twists await, which give the film some tension until these same twists lose believability.

Rated PG-13, 93 minutes.

*

MacGruber (**) Only after awhile does it become apparent that this lame action-satire is a comedy. A retired, ex-super warrior, MacGruber (Will Forte), comes out of retirement when evil Dieter Cunth (Val Kilmer) steals a nuclear weapon. Only MacGruber and his selected team (including Ryan Phillippe and Kristen Wiig) can stop the madness. Broad satire falls flat and never rises.

The single disc contains both unrated (95 minutes) and R-rated (91minutes) versions. The DVD includes commentary, a deleted scene, and an eight minute gag reel. The Blu-ray also offers additional materials.

*

And, for kids this week:

Five Little Monkeys: Jumping on the Bed Three-story segments from Scholastic Storybook Treasures introduce children to sign language.

Not rated, 35 minutes. The DVD also includes additional quizzes and vocabulary aids.

*

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown The lovable round-headed boy returns in these two holiday-themed animated features, as Charlie Brown again joins his buddies and the world’s most famous beagle, Snoopy. In Thanksgiving, Peppermint Patty shows up unexpectedly at Charlie Brown’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. In Great Pumpkin, the gang crashes Violet’s Halloween party.

Neither feature is rated, and both are available on Blu-ray. Each film is 25 minutes long.

Thanksgiving contains a separate Charlie Brown story, along with two additional featurettes. Great Pumpkin contains additional featurettes.

*

Bugs Bunny: Howl-Oween Special Bugs joins cartoon stalwarts Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Tweety and others, as the wascally wabbit dresses as a witch for Halloween and encounters the mean Witch Hazel.

Not rated, 35 minutes.

The DVD includes a bonus cartoon and an interactive puzzle.

*

As the new TV season approaches, last season’s series have begun to arrive:

The Middle — The Complete First Season This family comedy set in Orson, Ind., looks at the frantic life of Frankie and Mike Heck (Patricia Heaton and Neil Flynn). They and their three kids confront work and school schedules, much like any family but with more humor. The season’s guest stars include Betty White, Brooke Shields and Amy Sedaris.

Not rated, 518 minutes.

The three-DVD set features 24 episodes, along with several additional featurettes, unaired scenes and a gag reel.

*

Parenthood — Season One The successful freshman season of this family drama returns in these 13 episodes on three discs.

Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard, Peter Krause, Erika Christensen and Monica Potter portray some of the younger Braverman clan, headed by Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia. The series has its basis in the 1989 Ron Howard film, leading Howard and Brian Grazer to produce this related series.

Not rated, 568 minutes.

The collection also offers commentaries, deleted and extended scenes, and a “Get to Know Your Parents” featurette.

*

The Office — Season Six In the week’s top TV series on DVD, the dysfunctional workplace of Dunder-Mifflin again threatens to implode. In these 24 episodes on five discs, Steve Carrell returns as Michael Scott, the world’s most clueless, insensitive boss.

Not rated, 604 minutes.

The set, also on Blu-ray, includes commentaries, bloopers, a “Welcome to Sabre” featurette and more than two hours of deleted scenes.

*

Also available this week: Killers, Caravaggio, American Cowslip: Redneck Comedy, Smallville — The Complete Ninth Season, Chuck — The Complete Third Season

DR. BOO ALLEN is an award-winning film critic for the Denton Record-Chronicle.