This week, the new release Blu-Ray and DVD titles fight for attention with the record breaking storm that is Hurricane Sandy. I don’t have power in my home yet, but I made sure to find a place with internet to make sure I could get this column out to you ASAP. If it winds up going up a little later than normal, my apologies for that. Anyway, this is a good way to take my mind off of the wasteland that is Brooklyn for me. Fighting it out for top honors today are two of my very favorite films of the year. One is in my top 20, but one is in my top 5, so that one seems like the favorite here. For my PICK OF THE WEEK, I chose to highlight an amazing little flight that just didn’t hit with audiences this summer like I thought that it would have. Which movie am I talking about? Well, it’s:

Ruby Sparks

One of only 5 films this year so far to get a perfect 4 star review out of me (found here), this is a beautiful movie about love and writing, only sometimes in that order. Zoe Kazan wrote and stars in the flick as the character created by Paul Dano’s writer that comes right off the page and into his heart. She deserves Oscar consideration for both Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay, and while both are unlikely, I’m hoping that they’re both in play still somewhat. Filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Farris did tremendous work and I just loved every minute of it. I’ll refer you back to the aforementioned review for more praise, but now that it’s available to own, it gets my highest recommendation!

-My second choice this week is a great flick that in almost any other week would have been my choice. It’s the sci-fi romance Safety Not Guaranteed, which had charm to spare and far more intelligence than I was expecting. Aubrey Plaza is terrific and Mark Duplass is great as well. You can see me rave more about it here, but definitely pick it up and enjoy, as it’s one of the better films of the year that you may not have seen.

-The rest of the titles out today aren’t nearly as good, quality-wise, and include the interesting comedy Bindlestiffs, the disappointing political satire The Campaign, the documentary First Position, and the crime drama Polisse. None of them are especially appealing in my eyes, but the first flick of the bunch is the one to go with if you’re set on getting one. That’s my 2 cents at least when it comes to this grouping. The others are just clearly better…

-My Vintage pick, in honor of this week’s release of Flight, is another aerial themed movie. It’s Iron Eagle, a ridiculous and shockingly fun 80′s action flick. It literally centers around a teenager who’s Air Force pilot father is shot down in the Middle East, leading to the teen to team with a Reservist and fly over to save him. It’s as unrealistic as it gets, but it’s got a great soundtrack and is more fun than it has any right to be. It spawned a number of inferior sequels, but but first is the only one worthwhile. Give it a shot if you’re in the mood for something silly yet enjoyable. The Robert Zemeckis flick on Friday is a horse of a different color, but a good film nonetheless. My review should be up soon (or now, depending on when I get this up), but it’s definitely worth seeing.

-What will you be watching this week on Blu-Ray/DVD? 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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