Top DVDs Released in 2010

Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) wrote and directed Inception, a big-budget film featuring dazzling visual effects and action sequences. The star is Leonardo DiCaprio, and the fine supporting cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard and Michael Caine. At first viewing, the plot is difficult to follow, but an attentive second viewing reveals it to be fairly straightforward. The Inception DVD contains four short featurettes. In "The Inception of Inception," writer-director Christopher Nolan talks about developing the movie over a 10-year period. The other three featurettes are about technical aspects of the film.

DVD Release Date: December 7, 2010

Essentially a character-driven drama, The Hurt Locker  nevertheless has plenty of shootouts and explosions. But the emphasis is not so much on action as on suspense and tension. The story takes place during the Iraq War, but the film doesn't address the issue of whether or not the war can be justified. Instead, the focus is on the day-to-day lives of three American soldiers sent to Iraq to do a specific job. The three are portrayed by little-known actors who give fine performances. The movie is fictional, but the filmmakers' style and attention to detail create a feeling of authenticity. The DVD includes an excellent audio commentary by director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal.

DVD Release Date: January 12, 2010

Co-written and directed by Jason Reitman, Up in the Air is quite contemporary in some ways, while in others it is reminiscent of older films like Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960). George Clooney is superb playing Up in the Air's protagonist, and he and his two costars, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, all received Academy Award nominations for their performances. The film also got Oscar nods for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. The DVD provides a lively and informative feature-length audio commentary by co-writer/director Jason Reitman, and he is supported by director of photography Eric Steelberg and first assistant director Jason Blumenfeld.

Nominated for three Academy Awards — Best Picture, Best Actress (Carey Mulligan) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Nick Hornby) — An Education  is a charming British independent film. Carey Mulligan is brilliant in the role of the teenage protagonist, and she is supported by a fine cast that includes Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson. The story came from Lynn Barber's memoir in a literary journal about when she was 16 and had an affair with a man more than twice her age. Then the filmmakers turned Barber's slight tale into a reflection of society's transformation from the drab 1950s to the swinging 1960s.