SHERLOCK HOLMES - The always capable Robert Downey Jr. is a neurotic, hyper-sensitive Sherlock and the equally-always-capable Jude Law is the Watson who keeps him sane while bickering with him incessantly, in Guy Ritchie's action-packed historical bromance.

THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX - This Oscar-nominated feature is based on the true story of the Red Army Faction, a group of radicals who made headlines throughout the 1970s for violent demonstrations against what they saw as American imperialism in Germany and Vietnam. Full of moral complexities and featuring some of Germany's most talented young actors.

MOTHER - This highly acclaimed murder mystery from Korean director Bong Joon-Ho (THE HOST) delves into maternal love and sacrifice, as the title character conducts her own investigation into the murder of a young girl, which her developmentally disabled son has been charged with.

AN EDUCATION - This Oscar nominee for Best Picture, Best Lead Actress, and Best Screenplay was written by Nick Hornby (HIGH FIDELITY, ABOUT A BOY). A schoolgirl in "post-war, pre-Beatles" London is torn between going to Oxford and the distracting thrills of an affair with an older man.

AFGHAN STAR - This Sundance award-winning documentary chronicles an "American Idol" style TV show in Afghanistan, which for many Afghans is their first encounter with the democratic process. Open to every ethnicity and gender (though only three brave women dare to compete, two of them making it to finals), the show's cash prizes and promise of pop stardom attract thousands of competitors and millions of viewers. A fascinating look at a changing culture!

HOUSEBROKEN - Danny DeVito and Katey Sagal are retired parents so fed up with their twenty-something sons' refusal to leave the nest that they decide to move out themselves, leaving the two clueless slackers home alone for the first time.

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL - We apologize in advance to anyone who is exposed to this via the widescreen in the shop...

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (El Secreto de sus ojos) - This year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film is an Argentinian murder mystery, generation-spanning romance, and political thriller, all at the same time. Both epic and richly intimate, it has stunned festival audiences and made many a top 10 list.

A CALL GIRL - In this new Slovenian drama, a struggling college student works as a call girl on the side, and builds up a teetering pile of lies in her relentless pursuit of money.

LETTERS FROM FONTAINHAS (Criterion Collection) - Portuguese auteur Pedro Costa's acclaimed Fontainhas Trilogy -- painterly dramas about life in the slums of Lisbon -- come to DVD for the first time in the U.S. The trilogy includes feature-length films OSSOS (1997), IN VANDA'S ROOM (2000) and COLOSSAL YOUTH (2007).

FANTASTIC MR. FOX - Wes Anderson (RUSHMORE) turns his nostalgic eye to a 1970 children's book by Roald Dahl, combined with the pre-CGI wonders of old-fashioned stop-motion animation.

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS - Perhaps the craziest part of this maniacal military farce is the truth behind it. Like a modern DR. STRANGELOVE, with stellar cast George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey as psychic New Earth Army "warrior monks" who attempt mind-reading, remote viewing, and killing goats just by staring at them...

RED CLIFF - Not only do we have the condensed American release of John Woo's much-buzzed ancient Chinese war drama, but we also have the original two-part version that was released in other countries. See this critically acclaimed visual extravaganza the way it was meant to be shown - available only at La Dolce Video.

SON OF MAN - This acclaimed, thought-provoking new feature from South Africa updates the story of Jesus to a fictional African country in the present day, where Jesus is treated as a dangerous rebel by the powers that be, amidst dictatorships, massacres, and political coups.

THE BLIND SIDE - The touching, real-life rags-to-sports-stardom story that earned Sandra Bullock a Best Lead Actress Oscar this year.

BROTHERS - Natalie Portman, Toby Maguire, and Jake Gyllenhaal star in this intense drama about polar-opposite brothers whose roles reverse when one of them is presumed dead in Afghanistan.

DAMAGE - A movie with a wrestling superstar in it, and they're not playing a nanny or a tooth fairy!? Whoa! "Stone Cold" Steve Austin stars as a recent parolee trying to avoid kicking too much ass while getting back on his feet. Alas, the world has other plans for him...

KROD MANDOON & THE FLAMING SWORD OF FIRE - Comedy Central's live action sword-and-sorcery spoof about an inept band of freedom fighters in a medieval fantasy realm. Krod is "dork" spelled backwards, so this has got to be good...

MAD MEN: Season 3 - More clever mass manipulation, endless cigarettes, sexual harassment, and smugness from this fantastically retro series.

THE PRISONER (AMC miniseries) - A modern American update on BBC's exceedingly strange swingin' 60s series about mass mind control and manipulation. Stars Sir Ian McKellen. (See our review in these pages).

ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION -  A "political zomedy" that skewers xenophobia, homophobia, and overzealous patriotism in the U.S. When zombies descend on a conservative community, the townsfolk alternately blame Middle Eastern terrorism and gay people. The story's protagonists, an Iranian exchange student and a gay man struggling to come out to his parents, are caught in the cartoonishly gory crossfire.

THE BLACK BALLOON - This Australian indie gem starring Toni Collette concerns a young boy who must take care of his autistic older brother while their mother is pregnant. An unflinching portrayal of pent-up resentments and life's difficult but ultimately rewarding lessons.

HIDDEN - An unusual psychological thriller from Sweden about a man who returns home to settle his abusive mother's estate, where family secrets beg to be uncovered whether he wants to know them or not.

And in our JUST ADDED section, available for the first time on DVD:

BIGGER THAN LIFE (Criterion Collection) - A dark tale of addiction and psychosis in the suburbs, too ahead of its time for 1956 audiences, from the director of REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE. Now considered an essential American classic.