Will audiences give more of a chance to Revolutionary Road on DVD than they did in theaters? Its bleak picture of a mid-1950s suburban marriage may have been too much for economy-weary Americans looking for more escapist fare. And it certainly didn't wow every critic. But director Sam Mendes hit just the right notes in his adaptation of Richard Yates' scathing 1961 novel, including a performance by his wife Kate Winslet considerably more praiseworthy than the one in The Reader that landed her an Oscar. Maybe this will be a chance for everyone to realize it.

Less fascinating, but still worthy, is the historical drama Defiance, which chronicled the World War II resistance led by three Jewish brothers in Belorus. Check it out to watch Liev Schreiber's ongoing development as a first-tier actor -- and if you learn a little something along the way, so much the better.