It's a busy week for DVD and Blu-ray releases as studios rush to get their product in stores before Christmas:
"Pitch Perfect" - This comedy about college show choirs has some of the same charms as the first season of "Glee," not to mention a talented cast, led by Anna Kendrick and Skylar Astin, and some clever musical arrangements. It clicked with audiences, too, earning about four times its budget domestically.
The disc includes two commentary tracks, one with director Jason Moore, producer / co-star Elizabeth Banks and producer Max Handelman and a second with producer Paul Brooks. There also are deleted and extended scenes, alternative scenes, improv one-liners from the set, a music video for "Starships" and multiple featurettes. Blu-ray buyers get additional alternative scenes and improv one-liners. (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, $29.98 DVD, $34.98 Blu-ray/DVD combo)
"Total Recall" - This remake of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring sci-fi epic failed to excite audiences this summer. Maybe viewers will like it better with 20 minutes of additional footage, including new storylines and an alternate ending. Colin Farrell takes the Schwarzenegger role as a factory worker in the future who is forced to question what is real and what is fantasy about his life after visiting a corporation that can implant new memories. Kate Beckinsale (wife of the film's director Len Wiseman), Jessica Biel and Bryan Cranston co-star.
The DVD comes with a gag reel and a couple featurettes. In addition to the director's cut with commentary by Wiseman, the Blu-ray includes additional featurettes and a playable game demo of "God of War: Ascension." (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $30.99 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray, $40.99 Blu-ray/DVD combo)
"Trouble with the Curve" - Clint Eastwood takes his first starring role in a movie he didn't direct in nearly 20 years to play an aging baseball scout who is joined by his daughter (Amy Adams) on a trip to check out a young phenom. Justin Timberlake plays a young scout pursuing the same player.
Featurettes focus on Eastwood's relationship with Robert Lorenz, who makes his directing debut after producing Eastwood's films for the last decade, and the relationship between Adams' and Timberlake's characters. (Warner Home Video, $28.98 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray)
"Premium Rush" - Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a bicycle messenger in New York who is entrusted with the delivery of a mysterious package, and Michael Shannon is the cop determined to stop him at all costs. The disc includes the featurettes "The Starting Line - Meet the Cast" and "Behind the Wheels - Featurette on the Action, Stunts and Chases." (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $30.99 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray)
"Resident Evil: Retribution 3D" - Milla Jovovich still is killing the undead. Now in 3D.
The DVD includes two commentary tracks, outtakes and the featurette "Drop (Un)Dead: The Creatures of Retribution." Blu-ray buyers also get deleted and extended scenes, an interactive database and six additional featurettes. 3D Blu-ray buyers get everything above and their deleted/extended scenes are in 3D as well. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $30.99 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray, $45.99 3D Blu-ray)
"The Words" - Bradley Cooper plays an aspiring author who finds a manuscript inside an old briefcase. When he passes the work off as his own, the real author (Jeremy Irons) comes forward. Zoe Saldana, Dennis Quaid, Ben Barnes and Olivia Wilde co-star.
The disc includes both the theatrical release and an extended version of the film. The DVD comes with two featurettes and the Blu-ray adds two more. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $30.99 DVD, $35.99 Blu-ray)
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days" - The third "Wimpy Kid" movie has Greg (Zachary Gordon) pretending to have a job at a country club so he can appease his father (Steve Zahn) and be closer to the girl of his dreams (Peyton List). (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, $29.98 DVD)
"Arbitrage" - Richard Gere has generated some Oscar buzz for his portrayal of a hedge-fund manager who is scrambling to preserve his facade of success before his fraudulent behavior is discovered. Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth and Brit Marling co-star.
Writer / director Nicholas Jarecki recorded a commentary track for the movie and also provides optional commentary on the deleted scenes. Also included are two featurettes, "Who Is Robert Miller?" and "A Glimpse into Arbitrage." (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, $19.98 DVD, $24.99 Blu-ray)
"Killer Joe" - Matthew McConaughey stars as the title character, a detective who moonlights as a hitman in this gritty crime tale. He's hired by a guy (Emile Hirsch) who wants his mother killed for the insurance money, but since he doesn't have the cash to pay in advance, Joe kidnaps his sister (Juno Temple) as a retainer. Gina Gershon and Thomas Haden Church co-star.
The unrated cut includes a commentary track with director William Friedkin. Other extras include a Q&A with the cast from the SXSW Film Festival and the featurette "Southern Fried Hospitality: From Stage to Screen." (Lionsgate Home Entertainment, $19.98 DVD, $24.99 Blu-ray)
"Sleepwalk with Me" - Standup comedian Mike Birbiglia wrote, directed and starred in this film, which won the audience award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. He plays a comedian whose career and relationship anxieties trigger increasingly odd sleepwalking incidents. The cast includes Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, Cristin Milioti, James Rebhorn, Marc Maron, Wyatt Cenac and Kristen Schaal.
Birbiglia is joined by "This American Life" host Ira Glass for the commentary track, and the disc also includes a Q&A at the Writers Guild Foundation and outtakes. (MPI Home Video, $24.98 DVD, $29.98 Blu-ray)
"10 Years" - Channing Tatum starred in three movies in 2012 that earned more than $100 million. This isn't one of them. Here, he's part of an ensemble cast (Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Chris Pratt, Ari Grayor, Justin Long, Kate Mara) that comes together for its 10-year high school reunion. (Anchor Bay Entertainment, $26.98 DVD, $29.99 Blu-ray)
"Liberal Arts" - Josh Radnor ("How I Met Your Mother") wrote, directed and starred in this film about a 35-year-old who returns to his college alma mater for his mentor's retirement dinner and strikes up a relationship with a 19-year-old student (Elizabeth Olsen). Richard Jenkins, Allison Janney, Zac Efron and Elizabeth Reaser co-star. (MPI Home Video, $24.98 DVD, $29.98 Blu-ray)
"Red Hook Summer" - Spike Lee directed this drama about a kid from Atlanta forced to spend the summer with his grandfather in Brooklyn's Red Hook housing project. (Image Entertainment, $27.97 DVD, $29.97 Blu-ray)
"The Good Doctor" - Orlando Bloom plays the title character, a young physician who develops an unhealthy obsession with one of his patients (Riley Keough). (Magnolia Home Entertainment, $26.98 DVD, $29.98 Blu-ray)