The Time Traveler's Wife

Need a good movie to watch while Winter is still nipping outside? I've got a few good new DVD releases to recommend today, including an Oscar nominee and other highly-anticipated movies. In addition to the flicks below, you can also find The Stepfather, Dare, and Serious Moonlight available today as well.

Couples Retreat

Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Davis star in this ensemble about a group of friends who find that their relaxing vacation is actually a relationship boot camp. Couples Retreat is not quite as funny as I was expecting, but it makes a pretty good rental — especially with its gorgeous tropical setting.

Extras on the DVD release include an alternate ending, a gag reel, commentary with the director and Vince Vaughn, and three featurettes.

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A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers's latest film, A Serious Man, is a dark comedy featuring Michael Stuhlbarg's standout performance as a down-on-his-luck college professor with a wicked sense of humor. It struck me as a bit of a head-scratcher, but it's definitely a thought-provoking, well-made film. And as of last week, it's an Oscar nominated one in the best picture category.

If you're bringing this DVD home, you'll find the featurettes on the making of the movie, and interviews with the brothers Coen.

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I wonder if adapting Audrey Niffenegger's novel The Time Traveler's Wife would have worked better as a TV series in the first place, rather than trying to cram a lifetime of time traveling and intense romance into one movie. But now that the movie has opened in theaters, how will there be a television series about Henry and Clare?

It's a question ABC is apparently ready to tackle. It appears that the network is teaming up with Friends creator Marta Kauffman for a weekly series based on the novel, and it's apparently something that ABC and Kauffman have been trying to develop "for years." Here's more:

ABC executives believe the complex plot of the original novel will work well in series form, since Kauffman will be able to explore the romantic relationship at the core of the story over the course of several seasons.

Individual episodes will likely feature self-contained storylines as well.

I felt that the film adaptation was a bit of a letdown; I can't imagine how a TV series will be much better at this point. But at the same time, I'm intrigued to find out how they'll try to do it. Do you think this story lends itself better to a television series? Or are they just sucking out all the magic of this story by continuing to mess with it?

Source

Movie audiences favored the aliens and the action this past weekend as the Peter Jackson-produced extra-terrestrial film District 9 took the top spot with an estimated $37 million. In second place with $22.5 million was last weekend's big earner, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The Rachel McAdams-Eric Bana romance The Time Traveler's Wife opened at No. 3 with $19.2 million, which is apparently "one of the best showings ever for a romantic drama in any part of the year." Julie and Julia and G-Force took the fourth and fifth spots respectively.

Elsewhere at the box office, Jeremy Piven's comedy The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard took in an estimated $5.3 million its opening weekend, putting it at No. 6, while the teen comedy Bandslam didn't quite make the top 10, grossing an estimated $2.3 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Rachel McAdams signed autographs outside of The Daily Show's studio in NYC yesterday. She's out promoting The Time Traveler's Wife after Wednesday's big premiere with Brad Pitt, where Rachel opened up about wanting to be a mother and heartache but refused to answer questions about her rumored split with Josh Lucas. Buzz wasn't loving the movie, which opens today — check out her interview with Jon Stewart below. But if you haven't read the book, be warned there are spoilers.

To see more photos plus the video of Rachel's interview — again, spoiler alert — just read more

What makes the book The Time Traveler's Wife so magical is how well it marries two genres: romance and sci-fi. But the big-screen adaptation leans more toward old-fashioned Hollywood love story, with the attendant schmaltz and a touch of slapstick.

Fans of the cherished book — myself included — had many hopes and fears about the film. Although the movie didn't make me swoon, it is satisfying to see the story on screen, and the movie is very sweet in parts. Still, what should be an epic tale and a first-rate tearjerker sadly let me down.

Brad Pitt was in producer mode last night as he joined Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams at the NYC premiere of The Time Traveler's Wife, and their good times continued after the screening with an afterparty at the Rouge Tomate. Brad also recently celebrated the upcoming release of his own Inglourious Basterds, but Monday night's outing didn't seem to slow him down as he chatted and drank champagne with Rachel. This morning, an interview he recorded last week in New Orleans aired on The Today Show. He chatted with Ann Curry about his work with Make It Right, as well as a little bit about true love and running for mayor — check out the video below.

To see more from the afterparty, as well as Brad's interview, just read more