What are the most notable Blu-ray releases from around the world for this week? Here's the cream of the crop, in my opinion, starting with one of my top ten films of 2011.

Margin Call (U.S., Region A)
Superior ensemble drama, imagining greedy maneuvering by investment bankers on the eve of the 2008 financial crisis. What price integrity, eh?

Zachary Quinto is our stand-in, a smart young man who watches a boss he respects (Stanley Tucci) get laid-off and escorted out of the building. On his way out, though, he passes along a flash drive, containing an incomplete analysis of possible impending doom. The kid finishes the analysis and passes a dire warning to his superior, Kevin Spacey. That leads to an all-night session among the firm's bigwigs as they scheme their way to golden parachutes.

It's hardly a night of soul-searching -- more like "screw the stupid common man who trusted us and grab all their gold on your way out" -- yet the performances avoid the trap of easy caricature, lending a human face to greed and avarice. The script by J.C. Chandor, who also directed, is not terribly interested in the mechanics of financial manipulations; far more fascinating are the decisions made by very intelligent people when presented with the opportunity to make an insane amount of money.

The top-notch cast, which includes Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, Penn Badgley, Demi Moore, and Jeremy Irons, delivers incisive performances, and Chandor's direction bubbles with uneasy tension as the dawn inevitably approaches -- and along with it, the film suggests, the sunset of idealism, hope, and integrity.

Blackthorn (U.S., Region A)
The film imagines that Butch Cassidy (Sam Shepherd) survived into old age under an assumed name. With Eduardo Noriega and Stephen Rea. It's received mixed notices, but our reviewer Shelagh M. Rowan-Legg described it as "a minimalist, slow-burn film, beautifully photographed and scored," so it sounds well worth checking out.

Colombiana (U.S. Region A)
Silly bit of fluff about an assassin (Zoe Saldana) and her quest for revenge. It's an agreeable B-movie (really, more like C+).

Midnight in Paris (U.S., Region A)
Woody Allen's lovely valentine to the past and to Paris is a two-edged sword, both celebrating and criticizing the obsessive pursuit of nostalgia. Owen Wilson stars, with a bevy of supporting players recreating historical personalities.

Sleepwalker (Hong Kong, Region A)
Oxide Pang's 3D thriller comes to 2D Blu-ray. Angelica Lee stars as a woman "who has been haunted by the same terrifying dream for years" and comes to fear that she may have murdered her ex-husband while sleepwalking. With Charlie Young, Huo Siyan, Li Zonghan, and Kent Chang.

Straw Dogs (2011) (U.S., Region A)
My (minority) opinion is that writer/director Rod Lurie "had something he wanted to say and manhandled a new version of Sam Peckinpah's scabrous original until it lined up with his sights. In the process, he created a beast that feeds upon the corpses of its inspiration and then stands alone. That's not to say that the new film is necessarily better, but it's definitely different, and worthy of serious consideration as its own entity."

Warrior (U.S., Region A)
Joel Edgerton stars as a high school teacher who returns to MMA fighting to compete for a big-money prize. To do so, he must defeat his estranged brother (Tom Hardy), who is coached by his estranged father (Nick Nolte). Gavin O'Connor directs a performance-centric film with terse, effective fight scenes.

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