Capitalism: A Love Story

Before the Oscar hubbub quiets, maybe now is the time to check out a few of the nominees from the comfort of your own couch. This week's new DVD releases include two best picture nominees that you may not have seen yet, along with a documentary for a bit of brain food.

Up in the Air

In Up in the Air, director Jason Reitman brings us the story of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), the grim reaper of job employment. Bingham zips between companies to orchestrate layoffs, using his disconnectedness to get the job done. However, once an uptight protege (Anna Kendrick) and a love interest (Vera Farmiga) enter the picture, Bingham begins to question his lonely-by-choice stance. Even though it was ultimately overlooked for Oscar statuettes, this one was one of my favorites of the year. DVD extras include a deleted scene with George Clooney in a spacesuit (really) and the video for a song I liked from the film, Sad Brad Smith's "Help Yourself."

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Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire

I got major goosebumps during the Oscar clips of Precious in Sunday's telecast. So much that it almost made me want to view it a second time around — and that is saying a lot. The film centers on Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), an undereducated pregnant teen living with a terrifyingly abusive mother (Mo'Nique). It's hard to watch, yes, but the message is surprisingly hopeful. Not to mention, Mo'Nique's performance has undoubtedly been one of the most buzzed about this entire award season. Rent it for her scene at the social worker's office. It's jaw-droppingly good. DVD extras include a featurette with Oprah and Tyler Perry and a two-and-a-half-minute clip of star Gabourey Sidibe's audition.

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One more release to check out when you read more

You either like him or you hate him, so chances are, if you're actually reading this post, you probably like him at least enough to be curious about his latest documentary. Having made films about General Motors, gun control, and the healthcare industry (to name a few), director Michael Moore is at it again, this time taking a look at the economy. His documentary Capitalism: A Love Story examines "the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy during the transition between the incoming Obama Administration and the outgoing Bush Administration." Moore himself says the movie's "got it all — lust, passion, romance, and 14,000 jobs being eliminated every day."

The movie opens Oct. 2. To watch the trailer, read more

After his next documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, hits theaters, rabble-rousing filmmaker Michael Moore may lay low for a while — in the documentary world, that is. Moore recently told the Detroit News that he hopes to take a break from documentary filmmaking and try his hand at writing and directing feature films. He said, "While I've been making [Capitalism] I've been thinking that maybe this will be my last documentary. Or maybe for a while. I have been working on two screenplays over the last couple of years. One's a comedy, one's a mystery, and I really want to do this."

Some Moore fans are none too pleased with the idea, though. As Ruth Daniels, vice president for marketing for Detroit-area Emagine theaters put it, "It would leave us with a big loss if he stopped making documentary films. His documentaries do make quite a bit of money and he's paved the way for documentary movies to become mainstream. It will leave a void."

Still, Moore at least already knows how to put together an entertaining film, and it's plausible that his skills will translate to the world of feature film. About his documentaries he noted, "Humor is OK in a documentary. Before me, I was told it had to be castor oil. No, you're making a movie; you're making a piece of entertainment. You're asking someone to leave the house on a Friday night to go to a movie."

Could you see this working? Will the folks who dislike Moore just dismiss any effort on his part, right off the bat?