DVD picks

Perhaps you are familiar with the curious phenomenon of Video Rental Freeze. It happens when you're at the video store, trying to decide which movie to rent. Even though you've got a mental shortlist of stuff you want to see, when it comes time to actually commit -- to bring that DVD box up to the register -- you get a deer-in-the-headlights thing and wander around for another 10 minutes, trying to make up your mind.

It can happen with online rentals, too. It's easy to populate that Netflix queue with movies you want to see, but actually slotting a single pick to the top of the list prompts the same commitment-phobic reaction.

I've discovered a solution, however. It's a short-term fix, but in my experience produces consistently good results. I call it the Oscar Consolation Theory. Make a list of all the second-tier Oscar films from the previous year -- movies that were nominated in several categories but didn't win big -- and cycle through them in whatever order you choose. You're assured of a critically sanctioned film, even if it's not of a type you'd normally choose, and you improve your contemporary movie literacy quotient at the same time.

Into the Wild, director Sean Penn's adaptation of the best-selling Jon Krakauer book, earned a pair of Oscar nominations in 2007 (Best Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Hal Holbrook), but no wins. Based on a true story, the film depicts the final months and tragic end of Christopher McCandless, a young college graduate who, in the early 1990s, abandoned all material possessions to live off the land, his wits, and the occasional kindness of strangers.

If you've read the book, you know how amazing and harrowing McCandless' story is. Played here by Emile Hirsch, McCandless is no naive hipster or holy fool. He's intelligent, passionate and staunchly idealistic. For two years, he wandered America with no money, no possessions and no itinerary other than to experience life without a safety net.

Like his spiritual role models in literature -- notably American writers Jack London, Jack Kerouac and Henry Thoreau -- McCandless sought freedom and epiphany through raw, unfiltered experience and communion with the land. Penn's film regards its subject with clarity, depicting a quixotic quest that is no less admirable because it is doomed.

On his journey, McCandless crosses paths with other wanderers: Catherine Keener as a hippie-era casualty; Vince Vaughn as a crook-with-a-heart; and finally a lonely retiree (Holbrook). All are deeply touched by McCandless' idealism and courage, and see in him elements of themselves they have lost to time and experience. Penn's film tells a specific story, without sentiment, but also wonders aloud: What happened to Thoreau's America? At what point did the notion of living the natural life become naive and dangerous?

American Gangster, a peripheral Oscar contender nominated for Art Direction and Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee) is another "true story" rebooted by a formidable director. It tells the story of Frank Lucas, the black New York crime boss who wrested control of the city's drug trade from the Italian mafia in the 1970s.

Even if you don't like gangster movies, you'll want to consider this one for two reasons. First, it's a chance to see two of Hollywood's reigning heavyweights, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, square off in a glorious battle of silver screen charisma. The scenes they share simply crackle with energy, charm and wit. Secondly, American Gangster is a visual tour de force. Director Ridley Scott is renowned for his dense visuals -- he more or less invented cyberpunk dystopia with "Blade Runner." Watch how his meticulous set design and camerawork transform location shots into an entirely convincing replica of 1970s Harlem.

Nominated for Best Picture and Director, last year's indie breakout Juno took home the screenplay prize for its seriously funny, and appropriately serious, take on an unexpected teen pregnancy. Advance word touted screenwriter Diablo Cody's stylized hipster dialogue, which made me nervous, for there are few things as excruciating as bad hipster dialogue. Thankfully, Juno's goofy wordplay is rooted in authentic human behavior and emotions, and that calibration makes for a delightful movie that soars with intelligence and heart. Juno (Ellen Page) and her boyfriend Paulie (Michael Cera) are specific and lovable teenage characters facing a complicated dilemma. The grown-ups are painted just as carefully, with Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons as Juno's compassionate parents, and Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner as a damaged couple looking to adopt. Here's a film where the actors' approach makes all the difference -- had the script been played for laughs, it would've gone right off the rails. For confirmation, check the riotous gag reel in the DVD extras.