After last week's jam-packed release schedule led by "G.I. Joe," we're given an opportunity to breath today with only two new theatrical titles coming to market, along with an assortment of action-filled catalog offerings making their way to Blu-ray. This is your DVD Report for Tuesday, November 9.
Disney's Pixar was flying high after the critically and commercially acclaimed "Wall-E," so naturally they looked to the skies for their next animated outing, "Up." The film focuses on Carl Fredricksen, an elderly shut-in who aims to pay homage to his late wife by relocating to the top of a South American paradise the couple had always dreamed of visiting. Equipping his home with hundreds of helium balloons, the house lifts off its foundation and floats away, inadvertently taking with it a young wilderness scout who grows attached to the grumpy septuagenarian at the start of a grand adventure. Read more...
You readers get a treat this morning. Two Daily TwitPics for the price of one. Sure, it's all free to begin with. So instead of being a jerk about it, why don't you just appreciate the fact that today there is two where there would usually be one.
"Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich apparently put the shout out on Twitter for fans to send in pictures of their Pixar-themed tattoos, with the best one getting a studio-branded baseball cap. The two images you'll see after the jump -- from "Toy Story" and "Up" -- belong to the one winner, who offered to get the Pixar character of Unkrich's choice inked onto himself if he won. Now the director is taking suggestions for who that should be. My vote is for Luxo Jr. Tell Unkrich what you think on his Twitter feed, @leeunkrich. Read more...
Disney/Pixar tattoos lead a full menu from the Twitter-Wood feed today. If you want to see some dedicated "Toy Story" and "Up" fandom, you need look no further than director Lee Unkrich's tweets, which nudged out Ice-T's posterity shot with "Crank: High Voltage" star Jason Statham for Twitter Pic of the Day.
Photos popped up all over the feed, in fact, with John Stamos making an astute observation about one of his "E.R." costars and Paris Hilton enforcing fashion upon her dog. Check it out below, along with chatter between McLovin and his "Kick-Ass" co-star Chloe Moretz. I'm @brianwarmoth, and it's all in the Twitter-Wood report for September 2, 2009. Read more...
Tags brett ratner, chloe moretz, christopher mintz-plasse, dana brunetti, ice-t, jason statham, john stamos, lee unkrich, nicky hilton, paris hilton, toy story, up
As part of their Power of Film feature, IMDb has put together a list of the top 15 highest fan rated flicks released since 2000. The list is impressive and a bit shocking: four of the films are foreign, three are animated, and four are fanperson dream films.
Coming in at number one is, unsurprisingly, “The Dark Knight.” A fan favorite that arguably spurred the Academy’s decision to open Best Picture up to 10 nominees after it was snubbed a nomination. “The Dark Knight” redefined the comic book film genre. Similarly, “Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is number two, and one of only two films listed that won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Read more...
Tags Amelie, City of God, district 9, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind, Fellowship of the Ring, lord of the rings, Memento, Requiem for a Dream, Spirited Away, the dark knight, the departed, The Lives of Others, The Pianist, The Return of the King, The Two Towers, up, wall-e
The Venice Film Festival may have lost all of its credibility now that the words “'My Bloody Valentine 3-D' is competing at Venice” can be uttered truthfully. When it was first announced a few weeks ago that the fest would feature a new 3-D award starting this year, I thought that perhaps world cinema was getting on board with the format. Apparently it’s not quite so -- at least not yet -- as today we learn that all nine films competing for the prize are from the U.S.
And yes, my joke about Venice trying to woo the Jonas Brothers to the fest may indeed be true. “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Experience” is among the crop competing for the Persol 3-D Award, which also includes “Up,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Battle for Terra,” “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs,” “Coraline,” the seemingly too-old “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D,” and yes, “My Bloody Valentine 3-D.” Rounding out the nine is Joe Dante’s “The Hole,” which also makes its world premiere at the film festival. Read more...
Think you’re too good for 3-D? Well think again, because the film format is apparently now cool for highbrow cineastes too. The Venice Film Festival has announced a new award for best Stereoscopic 3D film, the first of which will be handed out this September. Appropriately sponsored by a sunglass brand, the prize will go to “the most creative feature film among those in Steroscopic 3-D produced between September 2008 and August 2009.”
Earlier this year, 3-D got a classy boost from the Cannes Film Festival when the 3-D version of Pixar’s “Up” opened the event. The French film fest has already been comparatively more commercial than other European film fests. Venice, the world’s oldest film festival, brings a little more prestige to the format with this recognition. Or so it may seem. Read more...
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($201.2 million)
2. "The Proposal" ($18.5 million)
3. "The Hangover" ($17.2 million)
4. "Up" ($13 million)
5. "My Sister's Keeper" ($12 million)
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is now the proud holder of a five-day box office record of $201.2 million, but Optimus Prime still comes in behind Batman. Poor reviews aren't keeping audiences away from the latest Michael Bay spectacle, which has continued to exceed expectations and break records every day that it's in theaters. Read more...
1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($36.7 million)
2. "The Proposal" ($6.1 million)
3. "The Hangover" ($5.3 million)
4. "My Sister's Keeper" ($5.1 million)
5. "Up" ($3.9 million)
Some weekends, it's easy to predict what's going to come out on top! "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" topped our poll, and it destroyed the charts to take number one with $36.7 million. That would be enough to qualify it as a summer hit, but since it's debut was actually on Wednesday, that's just a drop of the bucket. Read more...
It’s the bold news that all of Hollywood is still buzzing about, as well as weighing its implications: 10 movies will be nominated for Best Picture at the next Oscars, double the usual amount. But when I caught up with Zack Snyder this week, he had yet to hear the news.
“10?” marveled the “Watchmen” and “300” director, who had been tied up all day doing interviews for those films’ upcoming Blu-Ray releases. “No way!”
Yes way. And, since we had the unique opportunity to break the news to one of Hollywood’s top filmmakers, we were also able to get his unfiltered thoughts as he processed the Academy’s bold decision – and what it meant for his profession. Read more...
1. "The Proposal" ($34.1 million)
2. "The Hangover" ($26.8 million)
4. "Up" ($21.3 million)
3. "Year One" ($20 million)
5. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" ($11.3 million)
As the weekend progresses, audiences continue to fall hard for "The Proposal," which stayed strong at #1 by bringing in $34.1 million, finally knocking "The Hangover" down from its two week reign at the top. After weeks of explosions and CG, people were clearly in the mood for a little love... and perhaps all the pre-release publicity that focused on the nude scene between "Proposal" stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds helped a little. Read more...
