Since we know time is money, here's a quick handy reference guide to recent DVD releases that should be on your radar and, in many cases, on your shelf. Immediately.
Bronson (Blu-Ray)
Release Date: February 9
What it is: This little-seen British prison movie stars RocknRolla's Tom Hardy as a notorious real-life criminal named Michael Peterson. After thirty years spent in solitary confinement, Peterson creates an alter ego called Charles Bronson and goes on to gain a type of dubious celebrity.
Why you need it: "Little seen." That's why. Just be warned, though, this is not Shawshank Redemption. This is a twisted, surreal romp through the mind of a supremely damaged man, so Bronson has more in common with the likes of A Clockwork Orange. It's trippy, darkly funny, and head-spinning in equal measures, and Hardy's performance is astounding. Definitely worth seeing.
Couples Retreat (Blu-Ray)
Release Date: February 9
What it is: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, and friends decided they wanted a free vacation in Bora Bora, so they wrote this movie. It's about couples. On a retreat.
Why you need it: Simply put, you don't. Not just because it's only a mildly amusing comedy with a few chuckles but no big laughs (and even fewer likable characters), but because this will be playing on TBS on a constant loop soon enough. One final note to Favreau: If you plan on continuing to act (you shouldn't), can you at least try a new character, please? This is the same guy you played in I Love You, Man. Oh, and Four Christmases. Mikey…is not the winner. Mikey does not win.
A Serious Man (Blu-Ray)
Release Date: February 9
What it is: The Coen Brothers continue churn out more movies than anyone save Clint Eastwood (and he works alone! And he's 200 years old!), and they return with this…err…"quirky"?…I guess so. Yeah, "quirky" tale of a Jewish professor in the 60s whose life is spiralling down the tubes.
Why you need it: Coen Brothers completists will rush out to see this (buoyed by its Best Picture nomination, no doubt), but be prepared: This is not a Yiddish Raising Arizona. It's a confounding and deliberately obtuse collection of ideas that moves slowly, doesn't care if you understand it, and manages to both drag and end abruptly, if that makes sense at all. In short, if this were not made by the Coens, it would be a Sundance footnote. It's also lucky to be released in a year when the Academy suddenly felt they needed to nominate 10 films even though there aren't 10 worthy films.
The Time Traveler's Wife
Release Date: February 9
What it is: Based on the tear-duct-draining novel, TTW stars Eric Bana as a man who bounces around his own life (think of the last season of Lost, on a smaller scale) while simultaneously romancing his wife along a fractured timeline.
Why you need it: Because after making her sit through the Blu-Ray re-issue of Cliffhanger, you need to pay her back. Time Traveler's Wife is all soft-focus romance, but the lead performances from Bana and Rachel McAdams raise the material above the average. Plus, the main concept—woman basically marries the disappearing Polaroid from Back to the Future—is kind of cool.. Just try and not be too creeped out during the scenes where a 30 year-old naked Bana stumbles out of the woods and romances a 6 year old girl.