– Up in the Air: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick’s performances bring Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner’s screenplay to life in a way that’s both brutally honest and yet somehow endearing. How is that possible? We’re not totally sure, but it happens here.

–Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire: The little-indie-that-could from last year’s Sundance, it changed its name from Push to Precious and gained some high-profile fans (Ms. Winfrey, we’re looking at you) before growing into an indie powerhouse that charmed critics, fans and awards season voters alike.

– Planet 51: The Rock assumed cartoon form to headline last summer’s clever humans-as-alien-invaders tale of an astronaut who lands on the wrong planet, scares the inhabitants with his strange human appearance, and must depend on the kindness of one of those citizens to try and get back home.

– Capitalism: A Love Story: Michael Moore’s latest documentary returned to his old stomping grounds, scrutinizing corporations, focusing this time on how unregulated capitalism contributed to financial meltdown. This is all done is Moore’s patented, no-holds-barred fashion. Timeliness was key here, as he aimed to channel the public’s growing frustration with banking bailouts into action on the individual and political fronts. Was he successful? Cannot predict now. Ask again later.

See more of this week’s releases in our DVD & Blu-ray section.

– Where the Wild Things Are: A film that appears to have been forgotten by award voters (it did pick up a Golden Globe nomination for best score; said score was also at the center of Oscar nomination eligibility debate that still rages on), this darkly vital Spike Jonze version of the classic children’s tale should do nicely in DVD/Blu-ray sales and rentals, even though it really should be seen on the big screen.

– 2012: If you’re looking for the epitome of Roland Emmerich’s destructive cinematic powers, look no further. His version of the end of the world is just as massively explosive as you’d hope it would be.

– Disney shines their considerable spotlight on some films of Hayao Miyazaki, releasing DVD and Blu-ray special editions of Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Kiki’s Delivery Service.

– This weekend’s opening of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland has inspired the release of what seems like every single adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s story that has ever been made: “Alice”, the 2009 TV mini-series; the 1999 TV movie with Tina Majorino, Ben Kingsley, Miranda Richardson and host of others; the psychedelic 1966 BBC version starring John Gielgud and Peter Sellers; and 1933′s star-studded big screen edition with Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, W.C. Fields, and Edward Everett Horton — whose performance as the Mad Hatter set the standard for actors who followed.

See more of this week’s releases in our DVD & Blu-ray section.

– “Nurse Jackie“: Season One: Edie Falco’s return to TV has been a sharp and darkly funny one, with the inaugural season of her new show including drug abuse, adultery, broken laws, all tempered by Jackie’s inherent compassion, no matter what’s going wrong. Yes, it’s another medical show, but this one is unapologetic in its focus on the wearing-down nature of day-to-day healthcare work.

– The Box: Director Richard Kelly’s tale of a mysterious box, the button in contains, and the aftermath of the deceptively simple act of pushing that button.

– Everybody’s Fine: Robert De Niro as a quiet, unassuming family man? That’s the crux of the film, as he visits each of his grown children in an effort to reconnect.

– The Informant!: Steven Soderbergh and Matt Damon teamed up again to make a quirky comedy that was timed just right to capitalize on the country’s growing uneasiness with corporations.

– Sorority Row: Sorority girls? Check. Slasher on the loose? Check. The remake touches on the 1983 original, and adds modern twists where needed.

–”Jersey Shore“: Season One: The newest reality show to capture/destroy the TV public’s imagination has been polarizing, to say the least. You don’t want to watch, but you can’t look away.

See more of this week’s releases in our DVD & Blu-ray section.

Coco Before Chanel

Here’s a quick overview of some of this week’s new releases on DVD and Blu-ray:

– Coco Before Chanel: Audrey Tautou’s performance and the film as a whole seemed to fall off of the awards season radar; perhaps the film will find a new following in the rental world?

– Law Abiding Citizen: Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler’s thriller did moderately well with audiences; Butler sandwiched this revenge role between his turns as rom-com leading man (The Ugly Truth) and prisoner-turned-gamer (in yup, you guessed it, Gamer).

– Good Hair: Chris Rock’s insightful and funny documentary on how African Americans define what “good hair” is, and the lengths they’ll go to get it.

– Goodfellas – Blu-ray 20th Anniversary Edition: The Scorsese classic gets the full Blu-ray treatment in digi-book form, including commentaries, featurettes, and a handful of clips and videos to supplement the film.

– Clint Eastwood: 35 Films 35 Years at Warner Bros.:  As the title suggests, all of Eastwood’s films from the Warner Brothers years are included in this box set, along with a new documentary on Eastwood’s career. The set also includes a sampler booklet excerpted from Richard Schickel’s book “Clint: A Retrospective” – we can’t help but wonder why the book itself wasn’t bundled with this set?

– “The Guild” – Season Three: Felicia Day’s web series makes its way onto DVD, where it will hopefully build on an already strong web presence.

– The StudioCanal Collection releases three classics to Blu-ray: Ran, The Ladykillers and Contempt.

See more of this week’s releases in our DVD & Blu-ray section.