Nim's Island

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 the the titles below, you can get to know the presidential candidates a little better with election-edition A&E Biography docs on Obama and McCain.

The Counterfeiters
Winner of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, The Counterfeiters tells the dramatic true story of Jewish forger Salomon Sorowitsch, who is sent to a concentration camp and becomes part of an assembly of counterfeiters whose work is aiding the Nazis and undermining the Allies' economies. The film centers on Sorowitsch's unthinkable choice between continuing to help the Nazis or face death. You can watch a preview of the movie here.

As is often the case with foreign cinema, the movie had a limited release and I missed it when it came out, so I'm excited to get this one in the mail.

Special features include commentary with director Stefan Ruzowitzky, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and interviews with real-life counterfeiter Adolf Burger and actor Karl Markovics.

One more (and more family friendly) title, so read more

Forbidden Kingdom gave kung fu fans the match up of their dreams, pairing up martial arts screen giants Jackie Chan and Jet Li for the first time. Together the two stars proved to be a formidable force at the box office, earning the top spot over the weekend with an estimated $20.9 million. Forgetting Sarah Marshall came in second place, earning $17 million.

Variety reports that while this opening represents a vast improvement over recent Apatow films like Drillbit Taylor and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, it still wasn't a return to the box office glory of his mega-hits like Superbad, Knocked-Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Prom Night continued to do well, coming in at No. 3 followed by the weekend opener starring Al Pacino, 88 Minutes which only took in $6.8 million. Nim's Island rounded out the top five followed by 21, Street Kings, and Horton Hears a Who. In the ninth spot was the Ben Stein documentary about intelligent design, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Maybe it's that time of the year, or perhaps there was a strong nationwide desire to see a scary movie, but whatever the reason, horror flick Prom Night was crowned queen at the box office this weekend. Variety reports that the movie's $22.7 million marks the best opening for a horror picture so far this year, possibly due to the teen-friendly PG-13 rating.

Though Street Kings is loaded with bloodshed and big names like Forest Whitaker and Keanu Reeves, it was still no match for the teen screamfest, earning second place with an estimated $12 million. 21, on the other hand, is still performing well, taking the third spot with $11 million. It was followed by Nim's Island, Leatherheads, and Horton Hears a Who.

Little family comedy Smart People starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Ellen Page, and Dennis Quaid came in No. 7 earning about $4.2 million. The overall box office is still experiencing a slump compared to last year. I wonder if Forgetting Sarah Marshall will get more folks to the theaters next weekend?

And if you're curious about Prom Night, head over to movies.ivillage.com for the trailer and video clips.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

• I'm devastated by the news about Jeffrey Dean Morgan's split from Mary-Louise Parker, though JDM has some good news to console him: he's been cast alongside Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst in All Good Things, according to Hollywood Reporter.
• Variety reports that Robert DeNiro, Drew Barrymore, Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell will star together in the family comedy Everybody's Fine.
• Before there's even a High School Musical 3, they're working on a fourth one! Though ComingSoon reports that No. 4 will be another TV movie, not released theatrically.
• If you want to be all nerdy-like (I sure did), the Wall Street Journal has posted a downloadable version of the Project Runway lawsuit.
• Yet another time I wish I were in Seattle: the Bumbershoot Festival lineup looks fantastic, with Beck, Stone Temple Pilots, Neko Case and M. Ward among the confirmed acts listed in today's Billboard article.
• Meet the new Cupid: Bobby Cannivale has been cast in the lead in the Rob Thomas remake, Zap2it reports.
• According to Variety, Nim's Island — not Leatherheads — was the No. 2 movie at the box office over the weekend, coming in behind 21.
• The Tom Cruise WWII thriller Valkyrie has been pushed back even more, this time from an October 2008 release date to February 13, 2009, writes Hollywood Reporter.
• NME reports that Blondie is set to go on tour this summer.

Source

• After being knocked from her pedestal by Agyness Deyn, Kate Moss has regained her style crown by being named the year's best dressed woman by Glamour UK. — UK PopSugar
• 21 took the top spot at the weekend box office for the second week in a row, followed by Leatherheads and Nim's Island. — BuzzSugar
• Now that her adoption of David Banda is nearly complete, Madonna is said to be contemplating adopting a daughter from India. — The Sun
• Dane Cook's neighbors in LA apparently hate living next to him because he doesn't clean up after his dog. — Page Six
• ICYMI, legendary actor Charlton Heston passed away on Saturday.

Bauer-Griffin Online

For the second weekend in a row, Jim Sturgess and gang were No. 1 at the box office — though the overall March slump continued. 21 was down a bit from the weekend before but held on to the top spot with a weekend take of $15 million.

As for the No. 2 spot, Variety is calling it a "virtual tie" between George Clooney's Leatherheads (with an estimated $13.5 million) and the Jodie Foster-Abigail Breslin family flick Nim's Island, which brought in $13.3 million.

Horton Hears a Who came in fourth place followed by the big horror film opening of the weekend, The Ruins, which took in $7.8 million. The Rolling Stones documentary by Martin Scorsese, Shine a Light, opened in limited release and brought in $1.5 million.

What did you see at the theaters this weekend? Did you give George and Renee a chance despite so-so reviews?

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

I have a confession to make: Despite the involvement of Gerard Butler and Jodie Foster in this kids' adventure movie, I've been avoiding watching the trailer because I thought it might make me cringe so much my face would get stuck that way. Now, having watched the adorable trailer for Nim's Island — which also stars the ever-charming Abigail Breslin — I feel a little ashamed. And I kind of can't wait to see this movie.

Foster plays Alexandra, a reclusive yet wildly successful children's book novelist whose main character, Alex Rover, is the hero to Nim (Breslin), a girl living on her magical Nim's Island with her scientist father. When he goes missing, Nim desperately needs Alexandra's (and Alex Rover's) help in conquering the mysterious island's challenges. Gerard Butler looks nice as usual, and Jodie Foster is refreshingly funny in this preview. Nim's Island opens April 4.

To watch the trailer, read more