This is the first in a new series of DVD picks. Each season we will make our recommendations for the top 10 DVDs to see. Some of them are popular favorites, while others are more off the beaten path. The list may seem a bit eccentric, but these movies were true stand-outs for us. Visit the Yak Forum to tell us what your picks are.

King of California

Michael Douglas is known as a great dramatic actor. His ability to portray a mentally ill yet very talented and deeply soulful character with humor is just so genuine. In ″King of California″ he becomes a quirky jazz musician, Charlie, with a mental illness, a teenage daughter and a dream to find gold. Evan Rachel Wood playing his daughter Miranda gets her role just like it was her. She is more than believable as a teen that lost her mother, dropped out of school to support herself and later her father Charlie. She is deeply sad about her plight, yet has that same glimmer of hope as her dad who sets foot to discover the buried treasure of California. They do find the treasure in the most unexpected place (hint: it′s a big store), Charlie finding what he was looking for and Miranda finding hope again. The ending is a bit ambiguous but you go with it. Dark, funny, and a million times worth seeing.

Buy King of California [HD DVD]

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

A great thing about historical movies is that the plot is both recognized and so interesting since events are usually based on real life. Isn′t this why reality shows are so popular — we love the resemblance to real life. ″Elizabeth: The Golden Age″ is a sequel to ″Elizabeth″ and this one is even better. The movie sets base at the time of both internal instability in England, with many questioning the throne, and the competition from Spain for world dominance. Cate Blanchett is incredible as Elizabeth — strong yet vulnerable, leading the troops and a woman in love. There are so many shades to her character; I feel like seeing this film over and over just to discover different nuances. Clive Owen is perfectly cast as a brave sailor, discoverer, fighter and the romantic interest of several women, most importantly Elizabeth. In the end, it′s devotion to her land and countrymen that wins over Elizabeth′s heart. This film is full of intrigue, betrayal, romance and the dialogue is brilliant. Worth every minute.

Buy Elizabeth - The Golden Age (Widescreen Edition)

The Jane Austen Book Club

A book club based on one author only — sounds like a short adventure... Not with Jane Austen, one of the most prolific writers of her time. Well, this movie is so much more. The book club is really a facade created by a few friends trying to get one of them to recover from being left by a man she loved. All elements of Jane Austen novels unfold as we watch these ″characters″. It is pride in the young teacher Prudie (Emily Blunt) dreaming of romantic love and not seeing it right in front of her in her husband. It is prejudice in Jocelyn (Maria Bello) who is headstrong on remaining single as long as possible and unable to believe in good intentions until the end. It is sense in Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) who is so passionate about all her emotions and takes things a bit too seriously. It is sensibility in both Allegra (Sylvia′s daughter, played by Maggie Grace) and Grigg (Hugh Dancy), the only man who joins the club planning to win Jocelyn′s heart. Kathy Baker is alike Jane herself, leading everyone along as the strong one. Jane helps these characters find answers and find themselves. Never underestimate what you can learn from great fiction.

Buy The Jane Austen Book Club

Dan in Real Life

This sad-tinted comedy starring Steve Carrell and Juliette Binoche will make you smile, laugh and maybe even cry. Steve Carrell plays Dan, a newspaper advice columnist, about to be syndicated, who is raising three daughters 8 to 16 after the death of his wife. He is organized, knows all the right sarcasm to deal with his girls and very sensible. He does not believe that one of his daughters can fall in love only after 3 days; he does not think his other daughter is capable of driving well. He is about to be proven wrong over and over. They take off on an annual family get-together in Rhode Island to meet up with their colorful family, including Mitch (Dane Cook), who does a great version of This Little Piggy. I definitely have never seen anyone play as many games as they do, but the fun they are having definitely beats simple TV time. While on this holiday, Dan walks into a book store and stumbles upon Marie (Juliette Binoche). They hit it off and spend hours over coffee. The trouble is Marie already has a boyfriend, and it later turns out he is Mitch, Dan′s brother. Dan can′t hurt his brother but in the end his feelings take over him. The end is a bit predictable but very sweet and the live band is perfect. This is a feel-good movie with a lot of heart.

Buy Dan in Real Life

Atonement

This was my pick for the Best Movie of the Year. I would even venture that the gripping plot, intense dialogue, great acting and a twist in the tale make this movie one of the best for movie history, not just last year. It′s a story of how one little lie based on childish infatuation can ruin the lives of many. Little Briony (Saoirse Ronan) sees her big sister′s Cecilia (Keira Knightly) romance with housekeeper′s son Robbie (James McAvoy) as danger and accuses him of a terrible deed. Without question, Robbie is taken away and sent to prison; he later enlists in the army as World War II breaks. Briony later understands how wrong her actions were and tries to atone for them as a nurse for the army. But nothing will change the wrong that′s been done. She will suffer the emotional consequences of her actions late into her life. Knightly and McAvoy are perfectly cast as two people in love. Cecilia is such a romantic and believes in their future together until her sad end. Robbie is a great reflection of the generation; his quiet death perhaps the saddest moment in this film. The movie is as intense as the brilliant book by Ian McEwan it′s based on and equally great, which is a rarity. You have to see this.

Buy Atonement (Widescreen Edition)

Across the Universe

As you may guess from the title, this film is based on the Beatles tunes. It shows how music helped define a generation and how a generation shaped the music. You will hear plenty of Beatles music in ″Across the Universe″ but each song is performed by other artists. There are many true stand-outs. I loved Bono as the leader of the spiritual camp and his rendition of ″I am the Walrus″. Dana Fuchs is magnificent as Sadie with several Janis Joplin-like versions. Yet, this is not a concert — this is a love story of Lucy (another great turn by Evan Rachel Wood) and Jude (great newcomer Jim Sturgess) who comes to America from Liverpool to find his dad. The story is very simple and events unfold over 30-plus Beatles songs. It's quirky and bizarre in parts, beautiful and touching in others, and aside from the great music, this is a real film experience, very good cinematography. Don′t pick at the plot, not everything is perfect, but try to look over it — like a great painting, look at the big picture from a distance, forget the minutia, and allow yourself to feel. This is exactly what director Julie Taymor′s intentions were, I am sure, and it was her style in previous ″Frida″. Immerse yourself in the music of the Beatles and allow yourself to feel.

Buy Across the Universe [Blu-ray]

Paris, Je T′Aime (Paris, I love you)

An eclectic set of short features about Paris, all tied together, this film shows how wonderful the city is. I could not stop watching this movie. Each of the 18 stories take on a different district of Paris, each portrayed by a different director — Alexander Payne, Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Tom Tykwer, Wes Craven, to name a few. Each director has less than 10 minutes to tell a story, so you get the juiciest apple in each short. It′s a portrait of a cosmopolitan Paris, diverse and vibrant. Some of the stories really stood out for me. Faubourg Saint-Denis is where a blind man gets a call from his young lover-starlet, played by Natalie Portman, breaking up with him or, as it turns out practicing her part. In Le Marais, an American in Paris, played by the ever-so-comical (and silent!) Steve Buschemi, unwittingly gets into a fight with a couple in the metro. One of the saddest and heartfelt stories — Loin de 16ieme, where a Hispanic woman (Catalina Sandino Moreno) drops her child in daycare and rushes to another home to take care of somebody else′s child as a nanny. A few stories were odd and not really my impression of Paris. For example, the vampire references in Quartier de la Madeleine with Elijah Wood or Porte de Choisy where an old man starts working as a shampoo salesman in Chinatown. But most of the pieces work just like the city; the charm just gets to you. You just have to accept this movie as a whole, as a sum of its parts. The tagline sums it up perfectly — ″Stories of love from the City of love″.

Buy Paris, Je T'Aime (Paris, I Love You)

Gone Baby Gone

This is not for the faint of heart. I am still haunted by some of the images from this movie. ″Gone Baby Gone″ directed by Ben Affleck is a story about how vulnerable children are and to what lengths people will go for them. It′s also a story of lies, betrayal, unimaginable crime and honesty. It′s a tough movie to see, but it has to be seen, because it′s a realistic portrayal of how life can be. At the center of the movie is a search for a missing child and the involvement of a private eye Patrick (beautifully played by Casey Affleck). He is working alongside a detective played by Ed Harris and police chief (as always multi-faceted Morgan Freeman). Ed Harris is one of the biggest standouts in this movie — his passion for what he is doing is so true in this film, I forget he is acting. Patrick promises Helene (the druggie mother of the missing child) to find her daughter and he keeps his promise. As he works the local Boston scene, he discovers that nothing is as it seems and how far he will go to get to the bottom of things. Many people will die before the truth is found, much closer than you think. Casey Affleck does an incredible performance of someone who is trying and following his instincts and then having to decide between integrity and what′s best. In the end, when the girl is found and her mother is leaving on a date, he truly ponders his purpose, but never questions his integrity. I don′t want to give away too much of a story in this review — the plot is definitely worth it and Ben Affleck makes it proud.

Buy Gone Baby Gone

The Business of Being Born

A strong documentary from Ricki Lake, this film is about the business of birth and how different things can be. Ricki brings in several experts to hear their views on the birth experience. She points out how different a hospital birth is to that of a home birth and/or one with a midwife. An expert states that most of the doctors delivering babies are trained as surgeons, hence the rise in C-sections across the country. Ricki also shows a number of home births and talks to women about their experiences. This documentary definitely takes on the side of the midwife and home birth, but it is provocative and it seems that the director is open to other arguments. This movie feels a little raw — I definitely think more editing on one hand and broader coverage of the issue on the other hand would have made it better. It is still worth seeing, though I wish there was more to it.

Buy The Business of Being Born

Ratatouille

A good cartoon can enchant both kids and adults. Ratatouille does just that. It is effervescent like a good bubbly, but of course it′s set in Paris. A little rat with big ambitions lands in a 5-star restaurant set on proving his favorite chef right — the one who believed that Anyone can cook. The characters are just perfect, the music is divine and it′s just such a joy to watch. This one is a keeper.

Buy Ratatouille [Blu-ray]