A Serious Man Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest and perhaps most personal commentary on the human condition stars Michael Stuhlbarg as an ordinary Jewish guy trying to find moral and spiritual substance in a life that is spiraling out of control. Multilayered, intellectual and low-key, yet still with that trademark dark Coen humor. Best extras: “Creating 1967” “Hebrew and Yiddish for Goys” (BD/DVD)
Couples Retreat Vince Vaughn leads his wife and their three couple friends into the worst vacation you could have in paradise when, rather than relaxing fun in the sun, they find out the resort’s couples therapy is – gasp – mandatory. Extras: “Filming in Bora Bora,” “Therapy’s Greatest Hits” (deleted scenes), “Behind the Yoga” and more. (BD/DVD)
Good Hair Chris Rock’s lauded documentary observes the unique relationship African Americans have with their hair, from the way it represents them personally to the statements it makes politically. Rock makes his point (like his stance against toxic hair-straightening chemicals) but wisely sticks to bringing the funny rather than the judgemental. (DVD only)
The Time Traveler's Wife Movie based on the bestselling novel stars Eric Bana as a time traveler with no control over when he will skip the years back and forth in his life, and Rachel McAdams as the woman who has always loved him. Their chemistry is good, but the story illogical and tedious at times.
Coco Before Chanel Audrey Tautou stars in this corseted costume drama about the early life of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel who started out as an orphan and became one of the world’s most celebrated coutouriers.
The Stepfather Trashy remake of the 1987 cult fave has Nip/Tuck’s Dylan Walsh in the titular role, and Penn Badgley as the stepson who suspects his easygoing and friendly exterior is not what it seems.
Black Dynamite Blink and you missed this campy and consistently funny spoof of blaxploitation cinema starring Michael Jai White as Black Dynamite, out to revenge his brother’s murder and stop “The Man” from destroying the ghetto by flooding it with heroin and malt liquor (!). From the dialogue to the set design, this movie has the look and feel of 1972 down pat.
GoodFellas 20th Anniversary (BD only) Arguably Martin Scorsese’s finest film about ex-gangster Henry Hill’s rise and fall and eventual excommunication from the mob gets new packaging in conjunction with Scorsese’s upcoming release Shutter Island. Nothing new about the disc or its contents, but it comes now with a 34-page book filled with photos, facts and inside scoop on the making-of.
