Dan in Real Life

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below, family-friendly flicks Bee Movie and August Rush are available as well.

No Country for Old Men
If you haven't heard about No Country for Old Men, the staggering, Oscar-winning adaptation of Cormic McCarthy's novel, you might well be living under a rock. Not for those looking for warm fuzzies, this is the Coen Brothers at their best: entertaining, dark, and thought-provoking. Javier Bardem (um, how scary is he on that DVD cover?) won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Anton Chigurh, a demented serial killer whose evilness will haunt you for days. The film also stars Josh Brolin as a man on the run from Chigurh and Tommy Lee Jones a local sheriff on both of their trails.

Though the film's ending is obscure and has left many scratching their heads, I really thought it worked and I was completely entranced by the suspenseful cat-and-mouse plot. If you haven't yet seen this darn-near-perfect flick, now is your chance. Special features include a featurette about the making of the movie and one titled "Diary of A Country Sheriff."

One more release starring a beloved comedian if you read more

• Saw IV took the top place at the box office this weekend, followed by Dan in Real Life and 30 Days of Night. Guess that means Saw V is unavoidable — BuzzSugar
• Oprah tearfully apologized to the parents of students in her South African girls school after allegations of abuse against teachers and administrators. Hopefully the school will recover from this scandal and continue to bring education to the girls who need it. — South Africa News 24
• Natalie Portman had a hard time getting a table at a top NYC restaurant even when she flashed her cute smile and asked them "Are you sure?" Apparently they couldn't totally resist and made some room for her and her boyfriend at the lounge. — Page Six
• Michelle Williams is apparently thinking of leaving Brooklyn for Manhattan, as Heath Ledger has already done, because her townhouse is too big for her and Matilda alone. A fresh start is probably what's best for both of them. — Page Six
• Another woman has spoken out about David Copperfield's "creepy" attempt to hit on her during one of his performances. Now would probably be a good time to perfect his disappearing act. — TMZ

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I would make some kind of "Saw IV slaughtered the competition!" pun here but I'm just not in the mood after hearing that this fourth installment of the Saw series took the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend. The horror flick drew in an impressive $32 million, significantly more than the No. 2 movie, Dan in Real Life. Surely the proximity to Halloween helped get people in the theaters for Saw, but I'm still a little surprised by this. Most surprisingly, however, is that more women than men were in the audiences for Saw. Interesting, to say the least.

At No. 3 was 30 Days of Night, while The Game Plan continued to score big time at No. 4. Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married? took fifth place, bumping Michael Clayton out of the top five.

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

As I mentioned earlier today, one of the few standout things about Dan in Real Life, which plods into theaters today, is the soundtrack, provided entirely by Sondre Lerche (well, except for one cover of "Let My Love Open the Door"). I've been a huge fan of Lerche's loungey style and smooth voice for years now. I've even seen the slight, adorable Norwegian with the foppish hairstyle perform live, and he's a real class act.

His music in Dan in Real Life manages to enhance scenes that would otherwise lie flat; indeed, his music often comes as a relief, indicating that we can relax, enjoy the visuals and the relaxing tunes without being subjected to some more uninteresting dialogue.

Recently Lerche went on Letterman to perform his song "To Be Surprised" which is featured prominently in the film. You can take or leave Dan in Real Life but definitely take a listen to Lerche's music. This song is happy, and yet leaves me feeling slightly melancholic as well. To can check out the video of Lerche performing on Letterman, read more

My reaction to Dan in Real Life is a big fat "eh." I chuckled a few times, rolled my eyes a little bit, and questioned Dane Cook's sexuality. I also felt some sadness toward Juliette Binoche and Steve Carell, two actors who seem to have been charged with providing the charm for this movie entirely, and who both give up under the pressure. Because I like these actors very much, it depresses me to report that Dan in Real Life is forgettable.

Carell plays Dan, an advice columnist and widower with three daughters. He comes from one of those big, goofy, aw-shucks families you only see in movies. The stupidly flawless kind of family that has crossword competitions! And talent shows! And group aerobics on the front lawn! It's so saccharine my teeth started to ache. Apparently the "humor" of the film is supposed to come from the fact that Dan doles out flecks of wisdom on parenting and life, yet he's illogically overprotective with his own girls and he ends up falling in love with his brother's new girlfriend. Unfortunately, it's not humorous enough to be a comedic success, and not compelling enough to be heartwarming. To see more of what I mean, read more

There is something about the endearing everyman-ness of Steve Carell that just makes me want to root for the characters he plays, no matter what. In the trailer for his fall movie Dan in Real Life, that feeling is only intensified as he plays a widower raising three daughters. He falls for a woman (Juliette Binoche! Hooray!) who turns out to be his brother's (Dane Cook, booooo) new girlfriend.

The trailer, while not fall-down funny, is very sweet-looking and features some great lines. Dan in Real Life is scheduled to open October 19. To watch the trailer, read more