"No Country for Old Men"
February's Academy Awards became Coen country as two of the most innovative American storytellers graduated from cinema oddballs to Hollywood mainstream. Joel and Ethan Coen's crime thriller dominated with four Oscars: best picture, directing, adapted screenplay and supporting actor for Javier Bardem. Adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel, the film follows the aftermath of a drug deal gone bloodily bad in the west Texas desert as a wily cowboy (Josh Brolin) makes off with a satchel of cash and is pursued by both a relentless killer (Bardem) and a world-weary sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). "Bee Movie"
Jerry Seinfeld's animated comedy is sweetened with a huge load of extras. With his first major project since his TV sitcom went off the air, Seinfeld served as writer and voice star in the tale of a bee that sues humanity for profiting off the honey his species toils to produce. The movie comes in a single-disc DVD edition with a handful of featurettes or fully packed two-disc versions with extras that include alternate endings and discarded scenes, and commentary with Seinfeld and his collaborators. "Dan in Real Life"
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Steve Carell's a widower doing his best as an advice columnist with three daughters and lousy timing when romance comes calling. Attending a family reunion, he falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche) who turns out to be the new girlfriend of his brother (Dane Cook). The movie is accompanied by deleted scenes with commentary from writer-director Peter Hedges, who also provides commentary for the full flick. "Nancy Drew"
The queen of teen detectives returns with Hollywood's latest adventure inspired by author Carolyn Keene's mysteries for young readers. Emma Roberts, daughter of Eric and niece of Julia, stars as the old-fashioned, plaid-skirted Nancy, who clashes with the hip crowd in Hollywood as she adjusts from her small-town life while trying to solve the death of a legendary screen starlet. The DVD is available in widescreen or full-screen formats, with the movie accompanied by a gag reel, a music video and a handful of behind-the-scenes segments. "August Rush"
Freddie Highmore stars in the title role, playing an orphaned music prodigy on a magical quest to New York City in search of the parents (Keri Russell as a classically trained cellist and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as an Irish rocker) he senses are still out there somewhere. Robin Williams co-stars as a street musician, and Terrence Howard plays a social worker at the kid's orphanage. The DVD and Blu-ray releases include deleted scenes. "Sleuth"
Michael Caine takes on the role played by Laurence Olivier in the 1972 original and Jude Law steps into Caine's original part in director Kenneth Branagh's stripped-down update of the dark comedy about an aging crime author who initiates a war of mind games with the young playboy having an affair with his wife. TV on DVD
"Stargate: The Ark of Truth" — The gang (Ben Browder, Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Christopher Judge and Claudia Black) from the long-running sci-fi series "Stargate SG-1" reunites for its first straight-to-DVD release.
"Tin Man" — L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" gets a modern makeover, with Zooey Deschanel starring as the grown-up Dorothy whose journey over the rainbow lands her in the company of a half-wit (Alan Cumming), a psychic man-lion (Raoul Trujillo) and an ex-cop named Tin Man (Neal McDonough). The three-part miniseries is packaged in a three-disc set.
"The Mod Squad: Season 1, Volume 2."
"Love American Style: Season One, Volume Two."
"Michael Palin's New Europe."
Coming soon
"Atonement" — The Oscar-nominated British literary adaptation tells the sad story of a girl (Saoirse Ronan) who accuses her sister's lover (James McAvoy) of a heinous crime, destroying three lives with the lie. The movie wasn't my speed but is beloved by "The English Patient" crowd. Seven minutes of deleted scenes and a 26-minute making-of featurette are on the DVD.
"Enchanted" — Amy Adams hams it up as a fairy-tale princess-to-be who enters the real world and is baffled to find not everyone talks to animals and expresses their innermost emotions in spontaneous song-and-dance numbers. Extra features include a gag reel and several deleted scenes.
— Phil Villarreal
