NEW ON BLU (Dec. 18, 2012): 'Total Recall,' 'Trouble with the Curve,' 'Pitch Perfect'

You're a busy person. You don't have time to check the newspaper ads for the latest blu-ray releases. Well, you're in luck, since Popculturology is doing the heavy lifting for you with New on Blu. Check out this column every week for a breakdown of the latest blu-ray releases. To help you impulse buy any of these blu-rays, all you have to do is click on the photo of a case, and you'll be taken to Amazon.

This week's featured blu-rays: Total Recall, Trouble with the Curve, Pitch Perfect.

Total Recall
Directed by: Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 30 percent

While Arnold Schwarzenegger's version of Total Recall still stands as a campy classic, I highly doubt anyone will remember Colin Farrell's remake in a few years. Directed by Len Wiseman, who's best known for the Underworld series, Total Recall is a visually gorgeous movie ... but it lacks any kind of character development or plot work to back up those visuals. When I saw Total Recall, I couldn't help but feel there was a better version out there, and that the movie had fallen victim to poor script rewrites and scrapped plot points. Rumor has it the impoverished part of Wiseman's future world was originally China instead of Australia (as it is in the movie), which would not only explain how an elevator from Great Britain through the Earth's core would work but would also justify the Asian aesthetic of the slums Farrell's character lives in. Kate Beckinsale (working with Wiseman, her husband, once again) pretty much steals the movie as the villain, while Jessica Biel is a nonfactor. Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston is in this, but don't expect anything close to Walter White.

Trouble with the Curve
Directed by: Robert Lorenz
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, Matthew Lillard, John Goodman
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 52 percent

I hate to critique Clint Eastwood, a living legend, but I have to with Trouble with the Curve. Gran Torino may stand as the last great Eastwood movie, as the actor became a caricature of himself in Trouble with the Curve, turning to the usual Eastwood growls and snarls. The script doesn't deliver material worthy of having Eastwood read its words, resorting to low-hanging old-age jokes. Amy Adams is great in Trouble with the Curve (but, then again, when isn't Amy Adams great?), and Justin Timberlake even manages to hold his own against Eastwood and Adams, two Oscar-caliber actors. Trouble with the Curve could have been something much more significant if it wasn't for the script's tendencies to borrow from the romantic comedy book of cliches.

Pitch Perfect
Directed by: Jason Moore
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 79 percent

I think a lot of critics dismissed Pitch Perfect as fluff when it first started circulating its early trailers, but based on the movie's Rotten Tomatoes rating, people seem to have come around to it. The movie's kind of like Glee, but with better actors. Seriously, look at the cast. Anna Kendrick is one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood right now, usually appearing alongside actors like George Clooney. Rebel Wilson delivered a breakout performance in last year's Bridesmaids. And Anna Camp, after playing small roles in True Blood and The Help, is signing off of The Mindy Project due to the number of TV pilots that want to turn her into a star.