A murder mystery set in a fictional Rust Belt town tops the DVD releases for the week of Jan. 25.
"American Rust": Showtime series adapted from the 2009 novel by Philipp Meyer stars Jeff Daniels as the police chief of an economically depressed community in western Pennsylvania who becomes conflicted after his lover's son is accused of murder.
"Comparison with 'Mare of Easttown' feels unavoidable, if for no other reason than that show is set in the eastern end of the same state, in a similarly if not so extremely distressed small town, with a generous complement of bad and broken marriages, troublesome children, drug problems, a sad and exhausted citizenry and a cop more or less at the center of it," writes Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd in his review. "But 'Mare' could also be funny (Jean Smart hiding ice cream in a bag of frozen vegetables, for example), where 'American Rust' almost never aims to be."
With a story dominated by two families, "there aren't any antiheroes in 'American Rust,'" Lloyd writes. "Just people making bad choices, who might or might not make better ones. (The door is not closed on hope.)"
ALSO NEW ON DVD JAN. 25
"Birds Like Us": Animated family film about a group of birds who must spread their wings after suddenly finding themselves far from home. With voices by Alicia Vikander, Jeremy Irons, Jim Broadbent, Khalid Abdalla and Sheridan Smith.
"Moffie": Set in 1981 South Africa, this brutal coming-of-age story follows a gay teenager during his compulsory military service in the South African National Defense Force amid apartheid, and the border war with Angola.
"Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up!": This movie finds the cat and mouse rivals in the Wild West, teaming up to help a cowgirl and her brother save their homestead from a greedy land-grabber, with an assist from Jerry's three nephews and a prairie dog posse.
OUT ON DIGITAL HD JAN. 25
"Golden Voices": Israeli feature about the married couple who were the Soviet Union's go-to film dubbers, voicing all the Western movies that penetrated the Iron Curtain, and their move to Israel after the fall of the Soviet Union, where they must find new work.
"The Great Postal Heist": Documentary film about toxic culture and the push to downsize that chronicles the effort of a 30-year post office clerk to stand up for his colleagues.
"Salt in My Soul": Based on the bestselling posthumously published memoir, this documentary follows the journey of a young woman diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 3.
"Two Deaths of Henry Baker": Modern-day Western about an outlaw and a family feud for possession of a bag of gold coins.
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