It takes two to make ‘The Soloist’ perform
The Soloist
DreamWorks, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. deliver strong performances in “The Soloist,” the adapted-from-real-life tale about the friendship between homeless, Juilliard-trained musician Nathaniel Ayers and Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, who tried to help him get his life back in order. Working from Lopez’s book about Ayers, whose battles with schizophrenia left him playing violin for pocket change, screenwriter Susannah Grant and director Joe Wright render the story with artistry, but not much subtlety; still, the film is undeniably moving. The DVD and Blu-ray include a Wright commentary and an assortment of closer looks at the making of the movie and Ayers.
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The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
Peace Arch, $29.99; Blu-ray, $34.99
In writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber’s adaptation of Michael Chabon’s debut novel “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” Jon Foster plays a gangster’s son who has a series of romantic misadventures with a circle of friends and lovers, played by Mena Suvari, Sienna Miller and Peter Sarsgaard. Thurber retains Chabon’s twisty plot and rich sense of place, but the characters come off shrill and whiny. The DVD and Blu-ray add a featurette and deleted scenes.
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Obsessed
Sony, $28.96; Blu-ray, $39.95
Those who long for the sleazy, misogynistic thrillers of the “Fatal Attraction”/”The Hand That Rocks the Cradle” era will find plenty of what they crave in “Obsessed.” Idris Elba plays a happily married young executive who runs into trouble when his new temp (Ali Larter) first flirts with him, then drops hints to his wife (Beyonce Knowles) that there’s some hanky-panky going on. Movies like this work best when questions of moral complicity are left more open, but everything in “Obsessed” is cut-and-dried. The femme fatale’s crazy, and our heroes are just innocent victims of her mania. The result is a movie with some kitsch appeal, but zero sting. The DVD and Blu-ray add a trio of dull featurettes.
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Race to Witch Mountain
Walt Disney, $29.99/$39.99; Blu-ray, $44.99
Alexander Key’s 1968 novel “Escape to Witch Mountain” follows a pair of super-powered orphans as they discover the truth about their past. The book became a popular 1975 live-action Disney film (which spawned two sequels); it’s revisited once more in “Race to Witch Mountain,” which falls halfway between a remake and a sequel. This time, the two orphans’ perilous road trip is aided by a Las Vegas cab driver played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The DVD and Blu-ray come with deleted scenes, bloopers and a handy guide to all the movie’s sly inside jokes. The special features are functional and good-spirited -- just like the movie.
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All titles available Tuesday.
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