Not a lot going on this week aside from a limited number of titles in the ‘Avoid’ category (hurray for quality!), so I’m going to take a moment to address a comment from last week. Basically there was a question of my recommending titles I hadn’t seen followed by a sly accusation of me taking payoffs from the labels. Now, my initial response was to politely explain the thought process behind my recommendations and remind readers that I don’t get paid by labels, vendors, or reps to cover their product. I also pointed out that the titles I haven’t actually seen are marked clearly by the preface “Haven’t seen this one yet…” followed by my reasoning for recommending it as one to rent or avoid. But in the grand scheme of things I should probably have just ignored it. This is the internet after all and everything you read online should be taken with a grain of virtual salt. For all you know I’m a chimpanzee who types this column with my ballsack in between games of whoflungpoo with the panda next door. At worst this column is simply a list of newly released DVDs, and at best some of you have come to trust my suggestions. It’s opinionated information, hopefully with a few laughs, and nothing more. If you made it this far thanks for reading. Now be sure to buy the titles below via the Amazon links so I can afford to buy another 3-D Blu-ray player for [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows and cowboys and Samurai and ballet dancers and princesses with bad perm jobs and Vincent Cassel. If you thought Thanksgiving brought the buffet of eclectic tastes, wait until you get a load of these leftovers. Even with only one film opening wide this weekend, there’s a lot to talk about with the familiar and a few highly anticipated limited releases, so let’s get this microwaved plate of deliciousness on the table, shall we?

If nothing else, The Next Three Days deserves credit for finding suspense in a story with no bad guys or antagonists for the audience to root against. It’s an uncommon feat in a Hollywood thriller, and along with last week’s Unstoppable may just be part of a mini revolution. Even better, for at least two-thirds of the running time the movie manages to be a tense, engaging, and unpredictable thriller. The strong build-up loses a bit of its edge though in the final third with the introduction of a brand new, out of the blue character who shall henceforth be known as Super Psychic Cop.

By the end of 2010, fans will see Olivia Wilde on House, in theaters for The Next Three Days and Tron: Legacy, and will hear more about her role in Cowboys and Aliens. She’s going to be everywhere, and that’s not even counting television appearances, magazine photo shoots, and co-starring roles in dreams. Now, she’ll appear alongside Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds for The Change Up – a film that sees uptight Bateman switch bodies with slacker Reynolds for the record-breaking 2,000th body changing movie. The best possible outcome? A twist ending where Batemen finds himself permanently stuck inside Jodie Foster’s body.

Casting announcements shoot across the net almost every day, but not every announcement, rumor, or speculation deserves its own post. Of course we’d be remiss in our duties as the web’s premier source of movie news, reviews, and snark if we didn’t cover them in some fashion… so welcome to the Casting Net!

According to those snoops at Variety, Russell Crowe has signed onto a new project with writer/director Paul Haggis called The Next Three Days.