George Clooney to play assassin in A Very Private Gentleman

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: FOCUS, Action, Adaptation, Drama, Casting, Upcoming Releases

George Clooney is preparing to play the role of an assassin in his next film, A Very Private Gentleman. Clooney has signed to appear in this film, the latest from Anton Corbjin, director of Control. A Very Private Gentleman, based on a novel by Martin Booth, will see the Clooney’s character move to rural Italy, where he works as an artist painting miniature butterflies. He soon makes friends, including one of the local prostitutes, and gives confession regularly at the local church, and eventually realizes someone is following him. The film is being written by Rowan Joffe, who also wrote 28 Weeks Later, and is set to begin production this fall. There are no other casting announcements at this time.

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This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 9, 2007

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases

The war between Blu-ray and HD DVD rages on, but this week the battle looks particularly one-sided.

HD DVD has only one exclusive release this Tuesday (and not even a very good one), which can’t counter-balance the nine exclusive Blu-ray titles.  Now, one could see this as merely a slow week for the format’s proponents—Universal has the one title, and Paramount has zilch—or maybe Fox, Sony and MGM have simply realized that the holidays are fast approaching, and that … well, this is a war! Whatever the case, HD DVD loyalists will find little to drool over this week. As for the Blu-ray fans, they’ll find three day-and-date releases plus a high-def 28 Days Later to supplement its impressive new-release sequel.

Have a look at this week’s HD releases after the jump.

Check out this week’s standard-definition releases,
or take a look at the TV-on-DVD titles.

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 9, 2007

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This Week on DVD: October 9, 2007

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, IFC Films, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Independent, Science Fiction, Comedy, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases

• 28 Weeks Later:  starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne
• Evan Almighty:  starring Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman
• Poltergeist (25th Anniversary Edition):  starring Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams
• Reign Over Me:  starring Don Cheadle, Adam Sandler
• Rise: Blood Hunter:  starring Lucy Liu, Robert Forster
• Surf’s Up:  starring Shia LeBeouf, Jeff Bridges
• Twilight Zone: The Movie:  starring Dan Aykroyd, John Lithgow
• You Kill Me:  starring Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni

Click here to see the TV-On-DVD options for this week.
Click here to see the new titles released on HD DVD and Blu-Ray.

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FilmCrunch 061: 28 Weeks Later, The Fountain, MPAA Dislikes Smoking

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Drama, Horror, Period, Science Fiction, Sequels, Thrillers, DVD Reviews, Full Episodes, Theatrical Reviews, Videocasts

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Veronica Santiago and Neil Estep review the theatrical release of 28 Weeks Later, as well as The Fountain on DVD in this episode of FilmCrunch. In addition, we discuss the MPAA’s decision to take scenes that involve smoking into effect when making their decision on a film’s rating.

Now we want to hear from you - hit the forums and let us know what you think, what you want us to watch next, and any other recommendations you have for the show.

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Box Office Breakdown:  Knocked Up Delivers A Winner

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, MGM, Lionsgate, Picturehouse, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Romance, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Viewers in dire need of some raunch helped make Knocked Up a strong 2nd this weekend.

Katherine Heigl’s stomach bumped past several family-friendly sequels of late and brought a fresh dose of adults-only fun into the box office.  Although it didn’t surpass the strong swashbucklers in Pirates, Knocked has already grossed enough money to cover its entire production budget.  Something few other movies on this list could probably say.  With strong word of mouth, director Judd Apatow (40 Year Old Virgin) may soon be adding another summer sleeper to his bedpost.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Knocked Up Delivers A Winner

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Box Office Breakdown:  Sparrow vs. Spidey

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, Disney, Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Yo, ho…whoa.

As predicted, Captain Jack Sparrow’s resurrection raked in serious booty helping the Pirates franchise score another box office record.  The Memorial Day Weekend crown was snatched away from last year’s holder, X-Men: The Last Stand.

But one thing POTC: At World’s End did not do was take back the title for any three-day weekend.  It’s $139.8 million dollar domestic take fell a bit short from the $151 million raised by Peter Parker et al.

Other notables this week?  The impressive showing by Waitress.  The small movie, starring Keri Russell, has been receiving great reviews and viewers must be taking notice.  Ranking 5th in a busy holiday weekend is definitely something to be proud of.  And what about those Wild Hogs?  After exiting the Top Ten weeks ago, it made one final surge.  Apparently motorcycles, leather and holiday weekends go hand-in-hand.

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Sparrow vs. Spidey

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Box Office Breakdown:  Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: DreamWorks, FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign, Horror, Satire, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

I believe somewhere out there Justin Timberlake is crediting himself for this…

Two weeks ago, Spider-Man 3 broke box office records for a debut weekend.  Now Shrek the Third gets the honor for ticket sales of an animated feature (beating the animated record established by Shrek 2).  The $121 million take is the third largest opening for any movie…right behind Spidey 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

Of course in just seven days, I’m sure Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End will enter the picture to reclaim the title for its franchise.  Or at the very least, make the most money for a movie with a monkey in it..

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Shrek Seeing A Lot of Green

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Box Office Breakdown:  Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: FOCUS, Disney, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Drama, Family, Foreign Language, Horror, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases

Compared to it’s record-breaking debut ($150 million), Spider-Man 3‘s recent weekend take ($58 million) may seem like a dramatic fall.  But when your worst is still six times higher than your closest competitor’s best, who cares??

The biggest surprise this week?  Not the ho-hum performances of 28 Weeks Later or Georgia Rule.  After weeks and weeks in the Top 10, Blades of Glory and Are We Done Yet? have finally left the building!

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  Rabid Zombies Barely Get A Bite

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