Footloose

In addition to the following releases, Jack and Jill is also now available on DVD.

Footloose

In this remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic, young city boy Ren (Kenny Wormald) moves to a small town in the South where unchaperoned dancing is forbidden. It's not long before he's romancing the preacher's daughter (Julianne Hough) and causing trouble in the community. While it shouldn't shock you that Footloose isn't necessarily a cinematic masterpiece, and the story seems a little dated, it's still a fun and entertaining watch. Fans of the original in particular will enjoy all of the throwbacks and nods to the first film. The DVD and Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes, commentary, three making-of featurettes, and a few extra music videos.

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Like Crazy

A favorite from a number of 2011 film festivals, Like Crazy is about a British girl (Felicity Jones) who finds love with an American classmate (Anton Yelchin) while studying abroad in the US. After she overstays her visa, she is banned from the country, and the couple is forced to figure out if their relationship is worth all of the stress. If you've ever had to deal with the difficulties of a long distance relationship, Like Crazy is sure to tug at your heartstrings. Both the DVD and Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes and commentary.

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One more new release when you read more

Animated cats earned box office glory this weekend, as the Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots came in first with a $34 million haul in its first week of release for the biggest Halloween weekend opening ever. It beat last weekend's box office winner, Paranormal Activity 3, which came in second with $18.5 million. Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried's futuristic thriller In Time, which was also new this weekend, came in third with $12 million. Footloose hung on to its fourth place spot with 5.4 million. Finally, new release The Rum Diary, starring Johnny Depp, just barely squeaked into the top five with a disappointing total of $5 million.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

You know Halloween is right around the corner when a horror movie dominates the box office, which is exactly what Paranormal Activity 3 did in its debut weekend. The scary flick took in an impressive $54 million, earning the record for highest Fall opening ever and best opening for a horror movie ever. Reel Steel was left in the dust, settling for a distant second with $11.3 million, while Footloose slipped to third with $10.9 million. Newcomer The Three Musketeers took fourth place with $8.8 million, and The Ides of March stayed in the top five by taking in $4.9 million.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

It took fancy footwork to win the box office this weekend, but it was boxing and not dancing that got the victory. Real Steel got to the top of the box office for the second week in a row with $16.3 million. It just barely edged ahead of dance reboot Footloose, which earned $16.1 million in its first weekend out. Fellow new release and remake The Thing came in third with $8.7 million. Political drama The Ides of March stayed in the game at the No. 4 spot with $7.5 million, followed by Dolphin Tale with $6.3 million. Unfortunately, the Steve Martin/Jack Black/Owen Wilson comedy The Big Year didn't crack the top five; it came in ninth with a meager $3.3 million dollars.

Photo courtesy of DreamWorks

It probably won't shock you to hear that Footloose is not a cinematic masterpiece, but you might be pleasantly surprised to hear that it's pretty enjoyable. The movie, a remake of the 1984 film starring Kevin Bacon, tells the story of high schooler Ren (Kenny Wormald), who moves from Boston to the sleepy country town of Bomont, Georgia. Even though he finds that the town has outlawed dancing, Ren can't keep his feet from busting a move — or his eyes off the reverend's daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough).

Footloose is basically the definition of guilty pleasure, which means it's as enticing to some as it is repellent to others. I had plenty of problems with the movie, but for each criticism, I managed to find a justification — and ultimately, I had a great time. Check out my reasons for why Footloose is so bad it's actually good.

• The concept of banning dancing is completely outdated. There's a curfew and what seems like a general kibosh on having fun because of an incident that happened several years before, in which a car accident claimed the lives of a few of Bomont's teens. Since dancing was involved, the Reverend Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid) puts forward a motion to ban any kind of dancing in public, which is obviously a super big buzzkill to the town's dance-happy kids. It somehow seems reasonable in 1984, but in 2011? Say it with me: "Really?!"
• But . . . The remake is loyal to the original movie, using the same storyline, character names, even some exact scenes. Its devotion to the '80s flick and refusal to modernize it too much makes me appreciate it a bit more, because even though it's a remake, it still knows better than to mess too much with a classic.

See why else Footloose earned its way into my heart despite its problems, just keep reading