Welcome back to This Week In Discs! Keep moving, there’s nothing to see here this week.
As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Nothing new to buy this week! Watch Die Hard, Love Actually or some other holiday classic with loved ones instead.
Nothing new to rent this week!
The Words
Pitch: Sometimes, it’s what we don’t say (or watch) that defines us…
Why Avoid? A young, struggling writer (Bradley Cooper) finally finds success with his latest manuscript, but there’s one problem. He didn’t write it. He’s soon confronted by the real author (Jeremy Irons) who lost the pages decades before and who now forces him to face his conscience.
The core of the story here is intriguing and the cast is fantastic, but we’re shown at the very beginning that this central tale is itself a story being told by a bestselling writer (Dennis Quaid) reading selections from his newest book to an adoring crowd. Even with the obvious implication at the end that additional layer creates a distance between viewers and the main story and eliminates any emotional weight. That combined with the film’s meandering style and empty final minutes makes for a movie that fails to earn the time it takes to watch. [Extras: Theatrical and extended versions, behind the scenes, featurettes]
Skip it and watch Shattered Glass instead.
Also out this week, but I haven’t seen the movie/TV show, review material was unavailable, and I have no blind opinion:
[A bunch of] Krav Maga
Mass Effect: Paragon Lost
Tommy Wiseau’s The Room (Blu-ray)
The Well-Digger’s Daughter