Righteous Kill

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 selections below you can also take home Battlestar Galactica: Season Four and Righteous Kill.

Pineapple Express
You guys, Pineapple Express is not just a stoner movie, OK? James Franco was nominated for a Golden Globe for his work! This is award-worthy stuff! I kid, I kid. But it is funny to me that Franco is up for a serious award for playing a pot dealer who has lines like, "Pandora can't go back into the box — he only comes out."

This movie was a lot of fun to see in the theaters and as a DVD it will probably get the most play in dorm rooms, frat houses, and 20-something apartments across the nation. Seth Rogen and James Franco are a match made in stoner heaven, but be warned: The movie is actually pretty graphically violent (just a heads-up if that's a buzzkill for you).

Special features include an extended version of the film, commentary with the filmmakers and cast, and of course, the gag reel.

Three more up next so read more

Lakeview Terrace, a thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson, came in at No. 1 at the box office over the weekend and performed relatively well with an estimated $15.6 million. Second place went to the Coen brothers' comedy Burn After Reading which continues to also do well at the box office, earning an estimated $36.4 million over its first ten days.

Around the No. 3 spot on this weekend's box office report things start to look a little gloomy, starting with the Dane Cook-Kate Hudson comedy My Best Friend's Girl. The movie only earned about $8.3 million, perhaps a result of some harsh reviews (or maybe it was just the poster, as Cook whined, that drove audiences away).

The animated family film, Igor, came in fourth place followed by Righteous Kill in fifth. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys and The Women rounded out the sixth and seventh place respectively, and a movie I enjoyed, Ghost Town, opened at No. 8.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

The Coen Bros. helped give the box office a needed Autumn boost with their comedy Burn After Reading, which debuted at No. 1 with an estimated $19.4 million. It was a lucrative weekend overall, actually, with many of the week's new releases doing better than expected despite a "crowded marketplace for adult-skewing films."

In second place came Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys earning $18 million, followed by the Al Pacino-Robert De Niro reunion, Righteous Kill. And despite unflattering reviews, even The Women did alright over the weekend, coming in at No. 4 with an estimated $10 million followed by The House Bunny in fifth place.

Alan Ball's Towelhead also opened and "nabbed the best per- location average of the weekend." Finally, for those of you keeping track, The Dark Knight is up another $4 million, putting its total domestic gross so far at an estimated $517 million.

Photo courtesy of Focus Features

You know, it's nice to see Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro up on the big screen together. It's sort of sweet to see the two enjoy some banter back and forth, two grumpy older men who happen to be film legends. But is it worth sitting through the mediocre, thrill-less thriller that is Righteous Kill? I'm not so sure.

Much of the movie feels incredibly familiar, and my guess is it wouldn't have gotten any attention if it weren't for the promise of "DeNiro and Pacino reuniting on the big screen!!" The script — and, frankly, the performances — are lacking so much, these two huge legendary names in the credits can't save it. For more of my thoughts on this, read more

• If you missed Amy Poehler's impression of Project Runway's Christian on SNL I highly recommend kicking your weekend off with this clip.
• ER has been around since 1994 and might be back for yet another season — and they're even courting older stars to return. The '90s are hot right now as the big news out of the CW is that they're looking at a spin-off of Beverly Hills 90210. Any characters from that hit show you'd like to see again?
• Check out the trailers for two cool action thriller trailers out right now: The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton and Righteous Kill starring super acting duo Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Norton also made news this week with talk about developing an Obama documentary.
• There was a lot of scary movie remake news this week that struck me as mostly odd, involving more Michael Bay projects and tomatoes that kill.
• What do you think of the new Breeders song? And did you hear? You'll be able to get the new REM album on Facebook!
• Some things don't need a part two — I'm looking at you, Lost Boys 2. However, somethings should be recast (just for fun!). What actors do you think could fill the big shoes of the characters in Jerry Maguire?
• Whether or not you thought letting Idol contestants sing the Beatles was blasphemous, America loved it, and next week the top 11 will be singing more from that songbook. Let's hope Kristy Lee Cook leaves the fiddles out this time.

Photo of Christian courtesy of Bravo

Awesomely, a teaser trailer has arrived for the highly anticipated crime thriller Righteous Kill, which has brought together Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino for the first time since they starred together in Heat (1995). Both men look grizzled and tired, which works quite well for the weathered old cops they're portraying. The two are veteran NYC policemen trying to hunt down a serial killer who targets recently acquitted criminals. Though it's just a teaser trailer, it's still totally exciting to see these two powerhouses onscreen together. Righteous Kill is scheduled to open September 12. To check out the teaser, read more

• The interview with author/screenwriter Shauna Cross over on FilmSchoolRejects reveals that Cross' book Derby Girl will be made into a movie that Drew Barrymore will direct and that will — reportedly! — star Ellen Page.
• If you haven't had enough Magnetic Fields for one day, You Ain't No Picasso has some great covers of the group's songs. I particularly like the Shins' take on "Strange Powers."
• This Popwatch Duel has Geoff Stults and Rebecca Field going head-to-head with their lists of the top five best movie love scenes.
• Finally, says Vulture, someone has mashed up Daniel Day-Lewis' milkshake line from There Will Be Blood with Kelis' song "Milkshake."
• With American Idol looming, TV Filter wonders: Which show with "American" in the title is actually the most American?
• Cinematical is excited to find some movie stills from Righteous Kill, the project that is bringing together Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro and 50 Cent.
• The TV Addict has a chat with Elizabeth Mitchell of Lost.
• geeksugar has the scoop on unlimited online Netflix viewing and the new iTunes movie rental service.

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• Billboard warns us that we won't be able to escape the Barry Manilow this fall and winter, especially as he gets ready to release his jazzy holiday album.
• Variety has news about the Al Pacino-Robert DeNiro project Righteous Kill adding four more cast members, including John Leguizamo and Dan Futterman.
• Three of NBC's new fall pilots are now available for rent at Blockbuster, says the Futon Critic.
• Kelly Clarkson will, in fact, be resuming her tour, starting with a show at New York's Beacon Theater on October 14, the AP reports. Meanwhile, this year's "American Idol" tour isn't drawing crowds the way it was expected to, USA Today reports.
• ComingSoon reports that Ashley Judd will star in the drama Helen as a mother suffering from depression.
• "General Hospital" star Annie Wersching is joining the cast of "24," Zap2it reports.
• According to Billboard, Aerosmith will be returning to the recording studio in November.
• It's a "Roseanne" reunion for Sara Gilbert and her TV husband Johnny Galecki now that Gilbert has joined Galecki's CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory," states Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, Jerry O'Connell's real-life wife, Rebecca Romijn, will guest-star on his new show, "Carpoolers," says the Futon Critic.
• Yet more Scarlett Johansson casting news, according to ComingSoon, this time she's in a diamond heist movie titled Brilliance.
• Atlas Shrugged, starring Angelina Jolie, finally has a director: Vadim Perelman, reports Variety.

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Back in May we learned the exciting news that Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino will star together in a movie for the first time since they both appeared in Heat. Back then, they were only in two scenes together but now they'll be together for the entirety of the film, which is titled Righteous Kill. This news struck me as a little strange because the movie is an indie crime thriller with a budget of $60 million, considered measly by big-time Hollywood standards (especially when dealing with in-demand actors like DeNiro and Pacino).

Now for an update: Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is in final talks to join the two big guns in Righteous Kill. According to Billboard, "The acting veterans play detectives tracking a serial killer, while Jackson would play a drug dealer who helps them with their investigation." Well, now that 50 Cent has landed a part, I'm curious to see what Christina Aguilera ends up with.

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