This week, we quite frankly are headed back to a dry season here at the column. There won’t be too many films being released on Blu-Ray and DVD (the studios are encouraging you to go see their summer blockbusters), so the pickings will be a bit slimmer than normal. In fact, the titles most would actually select this week as the top picks are ones I’ve yet to see, so I’m working with even less than most here. I’ll do my best regardless though, and in a few weeks when things pick up again, we’ll be that much more appreciative. In the meantime, movies did come out today, so let’s sift through them. For my PICK OF THE WEEK I was more or less reduced to going with a default choice. That being said, it’s hardly a bad flick, and in fact one that I liked more the second time around. Curious what it is? Well, the movie in question is:

Silent House

The first time I saw this horror movie, I was impressed with its unique filmmaking choice of presenting the film as one long take but let down by its ending. The second time though, I ignored the directorial choices and just watched it for entertainment and had a better time with it, so I feel comfortable giving it a recommendation this week. Elizabeth Olsen is a great horror movie heroine, the tension is nicely ratcheted up, and especially in a week like this, an interesting yet flawed film (and a remake at that, for what it’s worth) like this looks all the better for it. This fright flick is worth checking out, but just keep your expectations slightly in check here…

-Also out today are a pair of well regarded flicks that I wished I’d seen in time to properly talk about. They’re the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi and the romantic drama The Deep Blue Sea. The former has some of the best reviews of any independent release this year, and I know my friend and colleague Robert Hamer was mixed on the latter despite its acclaim, so both are on my list of films to see. In the meantime, give these a shot if you’re so inclined. I can’t vouch for them, but they’re seemingly solid picks.

-The rest of this week’s releases include the unoriginal suspense flick Brake, the Israeli drama Footnote (which was nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar last year), as well as the suspense dramas The Girl from the Naked Eye and Meeting Evil, in addition to the sci-fi horror flick The Corridor, which my industry colleague Scott Weinberg has recommended. I’m not sure if any of these have any appeal to you, but if they do, go grab them and enjoy!

-My Vintage pick, in honor of this week’s release of Ruby Sparks (it actually comes out tomorrow and you can read my rave Early Review of it here), is a film of a similar ilk that I quite enjoy. It’s Stranger Than Fiction, and along with being Will Ferrell’s finest hour to date, it’s also just a real well crafted dramedy that has a lot to offer audiences. Both movies feature writers block and the conjuring of a character with a will of their own, but they’re definitely unique and have their own selling points. As much as I like this Marc Forster film (and think that Zach Helm’s script is an underrated gem), it really doesn’t hold a candle to the film from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, let alone the script by Zoe Kazan. I’m a fan of both though, and I think a perfect week could involve viewings of both, so make that happen!

-What will you be watching on Blu-Ray/DVD this week? Discuss in the comments!

About Joey Magidson

When he’s not obsessing over new Oscar predictions on a weekly basis, Joey is seeing between 200 and 300 movies a year. He views the best in order to properly analyze the awards race/season each year, but he also watches the worst for reasons he mostly sums up as "so you all don't have to". In his spare time, you can usually find him complaining about the Jets or the Mets. Still, he lives and dies by film. Joey's a voting member of the Internet Film Critics Association as well. Today the IFCA, tomorrow the world!

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