DVD previews: ‘Captain Phillips,’ ‘In a World ...’

Here’s a look at DVDs coming out Tuesday, Jan. 21:

“Captain Phillips” (PG-13, 130 minutes, Sony): This film about piracy off the coast of Africa is such an impressive dramatic achievement that it comes as a shock when it gets even better, during a devastating final scene in which Tom Hanks single-handedly dismantles Hollywood notions of macho heroism in one shattering, virtually wordless sequence. That moment, as purely emotional as what went before has been kinetic, makes “Captain Phillips” yet another Paul Greengrass masterpiece. Contains violence and substance use. Extras include commentary with Greengrass and a three-part behind-the-scenes look at the film’s production and the real events surrounding the film based on the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama cargo ship

“Blue Jasmine” (PG-13, 98 minutes, Sony): Cate Blanchett is an addled force in Woody Allen’s homage to San Francisco and the epic self-deceptions of Tennessee Williams’ battered heroine Blanche DuBois. Blanchett’s character, Jasmine, is a sad, self-medicating New Yorker whose rapidly fraying mental state is barely camouflaged under layers of Chanel, carefully coiffed hair and frequent applications of Stolichnaya. As “Blue Jasmine” opens, Jasmine is flying to San Francisco to stay with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins), to escape troubles caused by her Wall Street executive husband, Hal (Alec Baldwin), and begin a new life. Once in Ginger’s shabby apartment, Jasmine’s already fragile composure begins to crack. Following an ingenious structure devised by Allen at his most sharp and alert, “Blue Jasmine” turns out to be as familiar for its ripped-from-the-headlines topicality as it is for its magnolia-scented whiffs of Blanche’s beloved Belle Reve. Contains mature thematic material, profanity and sexual content. Extras include a “Notes From the Red Carpet” making-of short in which the cast discusses their take on the characters and a cast news conference with Blanchett and co-stars Peter Saarsgard and Andrew Dice Clay.

“In a World ...” (R, 93 minutes, Sony): Lake Bell, the tall, gorgeous actress best known for sexy-funny supporting roles in “What Happens in Vegas” and “It’s Complicated,” delivers a smart, enjoyable writing-directing debut in which she deservedly stars. Bell plays Carol, a struggling voiceover artist whose career is stymied by a rigid old-boys’ network in the studio and at home by her own overbearing father, Sam (Fred Melamed), a famous movie-trailer narrator and contemporary of the late, great Don LaFontaine. The real-life voiceover legend LaFontaine, who died in 2008, is the one who made the phrase “In a world” his own; in Bell’s nervy, fizzily paced story, a studio decides to dust off those three little words for its upcoming “quadrilogy” about a tribe of heroic Amazonian women vanquishing mutant male savages. Carol unwittingly becomes part of the race for that coveted gig, competing with her dad and the reigning king of plummy tones, the wealthy, arrogant Gustav (Ken Marino). Contains profanity and sexual references. Extras include commentary with Bell, deleted scenes and a gag reel.

“Instructions Not Included” (PG-13, 115 minutes, in Spanish and English with subtitles, Lionsgate): Eugenio Derbez, a television superstar in his native Mexico, directs and stars in this Mexican dramedy that surprised many box office observers by pulling in $44 million — making it the most successful Spanish-language film ever released in the United States. While polished, amusing and with some crossover appeal, the film is geared mainly to Latinos who are already in the know. One joke in the film — which concerns an unemployed Acapulco playboy-turned-Hollywood-stuntman left to raise a child he fathered with one of his exes — is set up by the statistic that stuntman is one of the three most dangerous professions in the world. What’s number two? Pizza deliveryman in Mexico City. Derbez does make for a genial idiot as Valentin, growing from clueless new father to World’s Best Dad almost overnight, in a montage that covers seven years of his daughter Maggie’s growth. Loreto Peralta is also pretty darn adorable as the little girl. Contains sensuality, brief obscenity, some nudity and slapstick violence. The only special feature is commentary by Derbez.

Also: “Machete Kills,” “Best Man Down,” “Concrete Blondes,” “Bad Milo,” “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963), “La Vie de Boheme” (1992), “Richard the Lionheart,” “The Prey” (France), “The Starving Games,” “My Little Pony: Classic Movie Collection” and “Peanuts Deluxe Edition: Touchdown Charlie Brown!” (1977).

Television series: “Space Voyages,” “Crossing Lines: Season One,” “Counting Cars: Season 2, Volume 2,” “Bullet in the Face: The Complete Series,” “Comedy Bang! Bang!: First Season” and “Borgen: Season Three.”