Gran Torino

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 selections below you can also add Nobel Son, The Shield: Season Seven, and Crossing Over.

Gran Torino
If you didn't catch what might be Clint Eastwood's last big screen appearance (and his most recent directorial venture) in Gran Torino, you're in for a DVD treat. I really enjoyed the screen legend's crotchety performance, and the film tells an interesting and heart-wrenching story.

Eastwood plays a cranky, rather bigoted old Korean War veteran who isn't happy about the Hmong immigrant population that surrounds him. Over time, however, he bonds with his young neighbors, learning about the gang violence these kids face on the street and how limited their opportunities are, and he becomes protective of them.

Special features include featurettes titled "Manning the Wheel: The meaning of manhood as reflected by the American car culture," and "Gran Torino: More Than a Car."

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One more up next, so read more

Liam Neeson's thriller Taken scored the top spot at the box office this weekend, which according to Variety, proves that "male-driven pics can open successfully on Super Bowl weekend." Last year Miley Cyrus brought her magic to the big screen over Super Bowl weekend and broke records.

Meanwhile, Paul Blart: Mall Cop continues to do well and dropped to the No. 2 spot after two weeks in first place. People love this movie! Elizabeth Banks's horror flick, The Uninvited, came in No. 3 followed by Hotel for Dogs and Gran Torino.

Finally, New in Town, the romantic comedy starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. had a disappointing (though not unexpected) debut at No. 8, only earning an estimated $6.8 million.

Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

I think it's pretty awesome that while Hollywood is busy congratulating itself on fantastic performances these past two weekends with the Golden Globes and SAG awards, America is meanwhile off to the theaters to see Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I love this country! You can't put us in a box.

Once again the goofy comedy was No. 1 at the box office, followed by newcomer Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. In third place came the Clint Eastwood drama, Gran Torino, which has also been an audience favorite for several weeks.

Hotel for Dogs came in fourth place and the "slumdog" everyone loves to root for, Slumdog Millionaire, rounded out the top five.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

Over a weekend that produced way higher box office returns than expected, the Kevin James comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop was the big winner, debuting to the tune of $33.8 million. This is just counting the Friday-Sunday box office, and studios will rake in even more on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Across the board, the box office for this holiday weekend is up 31% over last year (and again, this is just Friday-Sunday). The 3-D horror flick My Bloody Valentine opened in third place with $21.9 million, just barely pushing out another newcomer, Notorious, which earned $21.5 million. As Lionsgate points out, "3-D runs turned in revenues four times greater than conventional runs, thanks to higher ticket prices."

Ahead of both of those with $22.2 million, however, is the little Clint Eastwood film that could: Gran Torino. And rounding out the top five in fifth place is the new family film, Hotel for Dogs with $17.7 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

• After a false start over Christmas, Tom Brady apparently proposed to Gisele Bundchen in LA over the weekend and she accepted. Congratulations to the happy couple! — People
• Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino debuted at the top spot in the box office this weekend earning $29 million for his "best nationwide opening of all time." Bride Wars came in second place with $21 million. — BuzzSugar
• Amy Winehouse's husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, has filed for divorce against the singer on the grounds of her adultery. He was upset after seeing pictures of her with another man in St. Lucia. — PopSugarUK
• Michael C. Hall married girlfriend Jennifer Carpenter, who plays his sister on Dexter, on New Year's Eve in California. The couple stepped out publicly for the first time at the Golden Globes yesterday. — AP
• Patrick Swayze was hospitalized for pneumonia on Friday and checked himself in for observation. His chemotherapy treatment for pancreatic cancer can cause weakness in his immune system. — Us Weekly
• Prince Harry issued an apology on Saturday after a home video he filmed three years ago was released that features him making racist comments against people of Arab descent. — BBC
• Charlotte Church gave birth to her second child with boyfriend Gavin Henson on Sunday. The newborn is a boy, whose name hasn't been released yet. — Charlotte's Blog

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Recently, Clint Eastwood's movies (whether he's behind the camera or in front of it) are often critical hits but that doesn't necessarily translate into immediate box office success — until now!

Eastwood's latest movie, Gran Torino, debuted this weekend in the top spot, earning a whopping $29 million! It seems fitting that a movie that is rumored to be Eastwood's swan song is also his "best nationwide opening of all time, both as an actor and director." If you're gonna go out, go out on top!

In second place came Bride Wars which defied expectations with $21.5 million after a brutal week of being panned by critics. The horror flick The Unborn followed behind the brides in the third spot. Marley and Me and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button rounded out the top five respectively.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The Day the Earth Stood Still may not have been a critical hit but it is now officially a box office success, earning $31 million over the weekend and topping Four Christmases, which slid into second place. Twilight, Bolt, and Australia followed in third, fourth, and fifth places respectively.

Meanwhile, Variety is reporting that smaller, independent films "delivered one of the best weekends ever for the specialty box office." Movies like Doubt, The Reader and Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino all enjoyed strong debuts, while movies like Milk and Frost/Nixon continue to draw good sized audiences in theaters.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

Clint Eastwood directs himself in his next movie on deck after Changeling, and he has hinted that it will likely be his last performance. The first thing I noticed was how grizzly his voice stays through the entire preview. And my first reaction was that it is dangerously close to him parodying himself. Then there's a whole lot of racial tension and a startling image of this cranky man pointing a large gun at teenagers (dangerous teenagers, but still).

But let me rewind. According to IMDB, the plot of Gran Torino is as follows: "Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possesion: his 1972 Gran Torino."

Gran Torino opens Jan. 16. To watch the preview for yourself, read more