This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007
Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Classics, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases
This Tuesday brings the release of some great titles, new and old. As expected, the studios are rolling out some Halloween-inspired classics, filled with zombies, vampires and serial killers; though sadly, only Blu-ray supporters seem to be taking advantage of the upcoming holiday.
HD DVD studios chose instead to use this week to re-release a bunch of titles that were previously only available in those obnoxious HD DVD/DVD Combo discs. You know, the $40 releases that were appealing to neither the HD owners nor the standard-definition owners? Those of you who rightly refused to make such a silly purchase can now have some great HD titles for a lower price, thanks to Warner Home Video coming to its senses. Any of the following films with an asterisk (*) in the title are the re-released versions.
Check out this Tuesday’s HD DVD and Blu-ray releases after the jump.
To see this week’s standard-definition DVD releases, click here.
To see this week’s TV-On-DVD releases, click here.
Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007
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DVD REVIEW: God Grew Tired Of Us
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Documentary, DVD Reviews
Every once in a while you are fortunate enough to watch a movie that really shakes you to your core. Afterwards, you feel compelled to grab any and everyone you see to tell them about it. I had that experience just last week—and since then, my friends have had to bear the brunt of my enthusiasm.
Earlier this year, I caught a Nightline piece about the film, God Grew Tired of Us. This documentary about the ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ was having it’s Los Angeles premiere. But the road to completion required a lot of celebrity assistance along the way. Actor Dermot Mulroney sought Brad Pitt‘s help when his director friend (Christopher Quinn) was running low on funds. Pitt provided financial assistance and took on an executive producer role. Nicole Kidman also contributed as narrator after being asked by actress Catherine Keener.
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Box Office Breakdown: Geeks Fight Off Statham, Jet Li
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Drama, Foreign, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases
No, you are correct. Superbad is one of the few movies that has managed to stay at #1 for more than one week this summer. The movie that only cost $20 million to make now shares the Two-Timers title with Spider-Man 3 and Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End. (And I’m guessing those movies cost a bit more to produce).
Not only did the high-schoolers hold back the action-packed War (starring Jason Statham and Jet Li), but so did the aging Bourne Ultimatum and British goof Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean’s Holiday).
Unfortunately, the Top 5 was so testosterone-laden that it didn’t leave any room for the film adaptation of The Nanny Diaries. I’m wondering if more women were eager to see that hunky Statham than be reminded of their bratty kids waiting at home…
1. Superbad, Sony, $18,044,369
2. The Bourne Ultimatum, Universal, $12,472,215
3. Rush Hour 3, New Line, $11,706,643
4. Mr. Bean’s Holiday, Universal, $9,889,780
5. War, Lionsgate, $9,820,089
6. The Nanny Diaries, Weinstein Co., $7,480,927
7. The Simpsons Movie, Fox, $4,317,689
8. Stardust, Paramount, $3,872,560
9. Hairspray, New Line, $3,265,384
10. The Invasion, Warner Bros, $3,093,428
Couples With The Worst On-Screen Chemistry
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Lucasfilm Ltd., Casting, Lists
Chemistry, schmemistry. If you know people are going to be watching your movie anyway—does it really matter? Whaddya say, George Lucas?
Film advertising company Pearl & Dean polled 3,000 British moviegoers to see which couples they felt had the worst on-screen chemistry. Based on the results, it’s hard to say whether or not those opinions had any affect on the eventual box office receipts. While I completely agree that Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen fizzled as secret-lovers, I don’t know that the movie’s storyline (or final numbers) could have improved with a different twosome.
Take a look at the poll results and see what you think. Which couples would you add to this list? Three pairings that come to my mind: Julia Roberts/ Nick Nolte (I Love Trouble), Julia Roberts/ Brad Pitt (The Mexican) and Julia Roberts/ John Cusack (America’s Sweethearts).
- Natalie Portman & Hayden Christensen - Stars Wars: Episode II
- Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck - Gigli
- Keira Knightley & Orlando Bloom - Pirates of the Caribbean
- Madonna & Adriano Giannini - Swept Away
- Catherine Zeta-Jones & Sean Connery - Entrapment
- Andie MacDowell & Hugh Grant - Four Weddings and a Funeral
- Kate Beckinsale & Ben Affleck - Pearl Harbor
- Nicole Kidman & Tom Cruise - Eyes Wide Shut
- Jake Gyllenhaal & Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain
- Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio - Titanic
Box Office Breakdown: It’s Super To Be Bad
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: 20th Century Fox, Disney, New Line, Paramount, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Music, Musicals, Romance, Science Fiction, Sequels, Comedy, Thrillers, Books, Lists, New Releases
The Judd Apatow train is bound to hit a roadblock at some point—but for the time being, it’s full steam ahead. Superbad opened impressively with over $30 million this weekend making it the third Apatow-related project in a row to accomplish this feat (the others being Talledega Nights and Knocked Up). This is, of course, not taking into consideration the uber-sleeper hit The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
Meanwhile, there was nothing super about Nicole Kidman’s latest outing. The Invasion, the latest version The Body Snatchers, scared up a dismal $5.9 million (and that’s despite Daniel Craig’s hunky presence). But I predict a much stronger outing for these two later this year with The Golden Compass.
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