Fred Claus

• A case for keeping Eli Stone alive. — TV Squad
• For the Star Wars fanatic in your life: a Darth Vader toaster. Yeah, I said it. — Cinematical
• Whoa, Jenny Lewis did a song for the Bolt soundtrack! — Stereogum
• Josh Schwartz vs. a bunch of questions about Chuck. — Give Me My Remote
• A gentle reminder that it's really, really not worth it to rent or buy Fred Claus. — Popwatch
• Why is there such a gap between popularity and quality on TV? — Clique Clack TV
• Oh, Joel McHale. You always make me so happy. The Soup takes on Twilight. — MTV Movies Blog
• Hahaha: Funny clip of John Legend on A Colbert Christmas. — CitizenSugar

Photo copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to my picks below, you can now pick up Fred Claus starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.

Hancock
Will Smith's Summer blockbuster has a clever premise at the heart of it: If we genuinely look at what life might be like for a modern-day superhero — especially one with rage issues — what challenges might this guy face? Smith manages to balance the humor of this role along with the badass superhero elements and the result is an all-around entertaining performance. I also think Jason Bateman who plays Smith's PR guy is a real highlight of the movie and reason enough to add it to your queue.

Special features include an unrated version of the movie with footage not seen in theaters, a stunts featurette, and behind-the-scenes footage.

Two more television gems up next, so read more

The Golden Compass opened this past weekend to the tune of $26 million, easily taking the top spot at the box office, but still disappointing New Line studio heads who'd expected more like $30-40 million. This is especially frustrating given the $180 million it took to make the film.

Enchanted followed behind The Golden Compass in its third week in theaters, bringing in $10.7 million while This Christmas came in at No. 3. Fred Claus inched its way from sixth place to fourth this weekend, as audiences perhaps sought out more holiday-themed fare. Beowulf rounded out the top five with $4.4 million.

This upcoming weekend I predict the top films will be I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks, though it should also please many folks that Juno finally opens in more cinemas this weekend.

Photo courtesy of New Line

Vince Vaughn took his Fred Claus for a sleigh ride overseas to London last night. Guy Ritchie, Rocco and Lourdes came out to catch the new film, but Madonna sat this one out. Vince doesn't have any kids of his own, but he's been getting lots of experience with them thanks to his nieces and nephew. Beyond giving him an appreciation for Supernanny, they help get him into the Christmas spirit. He told InTouch:

• On Christmases in the Vaughn household::
  "They were all good. The only thing is that when you were younger, you'd get toys, but then you'd get to a certain age and all you'd get were clothes. I'd be like, 'This isn't fun, I don't want socks!' Then I'd feel the next gift and it would be jeans. I was painfully skinny then, so clothes were just a reminder of how awkward I was. But now that I have a nephew and nieces, the fun is back in it."
• On what his nieces and nephew think of his new movie:
  "My nephew saw the Fred Claus poster and goes 'Uncle Vince! That's you and Santa Claus!' He was upset, thinking, 'How come he hasn't introduced me? Doesn't he know I'd like to meet Santa?'"

Aww — we love hearing more about the sweeter side of Vince. Even though he plays his usual wisecracking self in the film, we bet he used his experience as an uncle to win over lots of parents and kids.

Lots more pics on the London red carpet so just read more

Beowulf killed more than just a couple monsters over its opening weekend, easily coming in at No. 1 at the box office with just over $28 million. The movie enjoyed the widest release for a 3-D digital film ever, and was the first 3-D movie that wasn't for children. The success of the film spells good things for the future of digital 3-D filmmaking.

In second place taking home half as much was animated family film Bee Movie, and American Gangster held steady at No. 3. Following up in fourth place was holiday comedy Fred Claus, while Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium opened at No. 5, bringing in $10 million.

This upcoming holiday weekend should prove successful for studios releasing new titles, like Disney's Enchanted, the Bob Dylan flick I'm Not There, heartwarming family drama August Rush and Stephen King's The Mist. Also, this weekend expect to kick into the holiday season when This Christmas opens this Wednesday.

Image courtesy of Paramount

In round two of American Gangster vs. Bee Movie at the box office, the bees buzzed their way to the top. Bee Movie brought in an estimated $26 million in its second weekend, flip-flopping last week's results by edging out American Gangster's $24.3 million.

None of the weekend's new releases came close to challenging those two. Fred Claus brought in about $19.2 million to finish in third place, while Lions for Lambs was a very distant fourth with just $6.7 million. I suppose a lot of people must have agreed with those of you who said you don't necessarily enjoy contemporary political movies. Interestingly, the audience for Lions for Lambs skewed old, with two-thirds of its viewers over age 35.

Possibly the best news this weekend comes for No Country for Old Men. The Coen brothers' Western opened in just 28 theaters around the country, but it still brought in $1.2 million and finished at No. 14 for the weekend. It expands to more theaters this Friday and will be in wide release after Thanksgiving.

Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

The recipe for the perfect holiday movie requires a pinch of star power, a dash of humor, and a heaping handful of good old-fashioned family feuds. There are a slew of films that have mastered this combination, namely National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, and, more recently, Elf. Not only have these films perfected the holiday formula, they have since become modern-day classics. What Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete without at least one viewing of the aforementioned movies? And while Fred Claus seems to have all of the ingredients to add it to the list of Christmas classics, it falls short. Or should I say it's a little bland?

One thing Fred Claus certainly is not lacking is that pinch of star power. Vince Vaughn plays Fred, the brother to Paul Giamatti's Nick Claus (AKA Santa). The film focuses on the relationship between these brothers spanning the course of many centuries. At the very beginning we see the brothers quarreling as little boys do. The difference is that the boys aren't fighting over who gets what toy, they're fighting over who Nick gives the toy to. You see, Nick is a do-gooder from birth and as such is the prize possession of the boys' mother, played by Kathy Bates. From there the boys grow older and Nick becomes sainted and as a result he and his family become eternal. Fast forward to present day and the two boys are estranged, Nick lives in the North Pole (naturally) and Fred resides in Chicago. And though they may be separated by location, they're both in predicaments that require the other. To find out why read more

One of our favorite funny guys, Vince Vaughn, was on "Live with Regis and Kelly" on Thursday and Friday promoting his new movie, Fred Claus.

Though Vince doesn't have any children, he talked about tips he has taken from "Supernanny" to deal with his nieces and nephew. Vince is no sideline uncle!

Most of his movies aren't kid friendly so we're excited to finally see one that he can take his nieces and nephew to without earmuffs!

Vince Vaughn looked typically semi-disheveled bringing his new movie Fred Claus to his hometown of Chicago over the weekend. Though the movie must take place in the North Pole (heh, naturally), much of it was filmed in Vince's home city and at last night's screening he talked about bringing a new cast there to film. Here's more:

"The city's great. The people are great. Everyone I bring here loves working here....I love the fact that Giamatti wore the fat suit and that was fine. I'm a native of Illinois, so I knew I would eat a lot while I was here. I was more authentic than he was when it came to the weight. He had to wear that suit to look convincingly fat. I just needed some deep-dish pizza and some steaks to get into character."

Mmmmm, pizza. These days it looks like Vince has slimmed down since he was at Claus weight and is maybe, just maybe getting back a little bit of that appeal? Fred Claus may not have me running for the ticket counter (especially since the previews just have me annoyed that he's reusing the "let's make some bad decisions" line from Wedding Crashers), but I'll always have a soft spot for scruffy Vince.

To see more of Vince in Chicago just read more

Christmas came early in LA this weekend for the premiere of Fred Claus. Vince Vaughn, Elizabeth Banks and a blonde Robert Downey Jr. put on their Christmas colors to walk the snow covered red carpet. Ludacris brought his daughter to the family friendly film while Hollywood hotties Bradley Cooper and Scott Speedman came solo. We're excited to see Vince on the big screen just in time for the holidays, and he recently spoke about some of his Christmas memories. Here's more:

Do you remember when your belief in Santa was first shaken?
I remember the day I had neighbors that let me know – I was 6 years old – that there was no Santa Claus. They go, 'You know there's not a Santa Claus, right?' – and, of course, covering in front of them I was like, 'Well, yeah. Of course there's not a Santa Claus, guys.' Then I went to my sisters, and they said, 'Okay, now you know the painful truth, there is not a Santa Claus.' I was the youngest. They said, 'Don't tell mom and dad, because then we may not get gifts anymore. You got to keep pretending that you think there is Santa Claus, or you are not going to get any gifts.' I was like 16 going, 'Dad, when is Santa coming down the chimney?' My dad was like, 'Look it's getting weird, you are getting older, you know there's not a Santa, right?' "

Apparently Vince was a successful actor at a young age if his dad really thought he believed in Santa until he was 16. Lots and lots more pics including Andy Garcia, Seth Green, Jon Favreau, Kevin Sorbo, Justin Long and more so read more