Juliette Binoche

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

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

Evidently there were other awards shows this weekend other than the Oscars. The French have their own version of the Academy Awards called the Cesars and that's where a few famous faces ended up on Saturday night. Hilary Swank was on hand as well as Jude Law who won a special achievement award. We're not exactly sure what it was he was honored for but maybe it has something to do with his work in The Holiday. We certainly thought he deserved something for that cute role.

For more pics including Juliette Binoche and Pedro Almodovar just read more