The Coen brothers’ ‘A Serious Man’

A Serious Man

Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $36.98

Typically strange and unusually sweet, “A Serious Man” finds Joel and Ethan Coen contemplating the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of good and evil before deciding that spiritual inquiry is a stupid waste of time. Michael Stuhlbarg gives an engaging performance as a Jewish physics professor wandering through the increasingly vague moral landscape of late-’60s suburban Minnesota, looking for answers from a God who responds with easily misinterpreted signs. The Coens batter their poor protagonist with career humiliations, financial woes and marital strife, yet the brothers seem to sympathize with their hero, and their affection is infectious. The film arrives on DVD and Blu-ray with a trio of featurettes that help explain the autobiographical roots.

Couples Retreat

Universal, $29.98; Blu-ray, $36.98

Bro-comedy specialists Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau reteam for “Couples Retreat,” playing old friends who accompany Jason Bateman, Faizon Love and their respective spouses to a vacation resort that doubles as marriage counseling. Vaughn and Favreau wrote the script with Dana Fox and hired their buddy Peter Billingsley to direct, but they all could’ve used someone with a more controlling hand; for every scene that’s funny and smart about the stresses of marriage, “Couples Retreat” throws in a scene that just repeats the joke, louder and more crudely. Still, the movie’s a good winter rental, if only for the tropical setting and the amiable company. The DVD and Blu-ray are just fine too, thanks to a detail-oriented Vaughn-Billingsley commentary, deleted scenes, a trio of featurettes and a gag reel.

Serious Moonlight

Magnolia, $26.98; Blu-ray, $29.98

The late actress-filmmaker Adrienne Shelly left behind a screenplay called “Serious Moonlight,” about a woman who duct-tapes her cheating husband to a chair to persuade him to love her again. Actress Cheryl Hines (who worked with Shelley on her final movie, “Waitress”) tackles Shelley’s script with the help of Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton, but Hines has a tough time in her directorial debut finessing a tone that ranges from black comedy to sincere heartbreak. Though the cast provides Hines with the right tools, Shelley’s script needed another draft or two to develop into more than just a cute idea. The DVD and Blu-ray add a commentary track and a behind-the-scenes featurette.

The Stepfather

Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $38.96

The 1987 thriller “The Stepfather” is a sharp little B-movie, satirizing suburban nuclear family conformity by making the head-of-household a perfectionist psychopath. The 2009 remake, which stars Dylan Walsh as the titular serial killer, loses most of the social commentary, becoming instead a run-of-the-mill beware-the-outsider shocker. Potential viewers are advised to watch the original instead (or better yet, any season of Showtime’s “Dexter”). “The Stepfather” DVD and Blu-ray contain a gag reel, a commentary track and a pair of featurettes.

The Time Traveler’s Wife

New Line, $28.98; Blu-ray, $35.99

Audrey Niffenegger’s bestseller “The Time Traveler’s Wife” gets a just-fair once-over in director Robert Schwentke’s movie adaptation, which stars Rachel McAdams as a woman who has a lifelong love affair with a time traveler played by Eric Bana. On the page, the premise is touching, tragic and clever; on the screen, all the mysterious disappearances and narrative jumps look a little silly. But Niffenegger’s emotionally affecting story mostly survives the transition. The DVD and Blu-ray are light on special features, adding only a pair of behind-the-scenes looks.

And...

Free Style

20th Century Fox, $22.98

Gary Unmarried

The Complete First Season

ABC, $39.99

Hurricane Season

Weinstein, $19.97

I Hate Valentine’s Day

MPI, $19.98; Blu-ray, $29.98

J.A.G.

The Final Season

Paramount, $55.98

The Life & Times of Tim

The Complete First Season

HBO, $29.98

All titles available Tuesday.