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What to Rent: New DVDs This Week

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:30:00 PST

DVD queue in need of some refreshment? Today's video releases should do the trick. There's a must-see indie from the Summer, an action adventure tale, and a holiday-themed classic to get you in the spirit!

The Kids Are All Right

This Summer's indie dramedy is one of my favorite movies of the year. The outstanding ensemble cast is led by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple whose two children decide they want to meet their biological father (Mark Ruffalo). When the two kids (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) want to integrate their dad into the family, all the relationships are thrown into upheaval. The only thing that's better than the acting in this movie is the dialogue, which is alternately laugh-out-loud and painfully honest. The DVD extras include a commentary track with director Lisa Cholodenko and three featurettes.

96%

The Last Airbender

M Night. Shyamalan put his typical thrillers on the back burner for a big screen adaptation of the popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender. The fantasy film takes us to a world divided by the elements: Earth, Water, Air, and Fire. A brother and sister (Nicola Peltz and Twilight's Jackson Rathbone) set out to try to make peace between the nations with the help of a young prodigy named Aang (Noah Ringer), who has the power to manipulate the elements to his advantage. Though the actors are wooden and the plot drags, the movie boasts some dazzling special effects. DVD extras include Discovering The Last Airbender (nine-part documentary in HD), deleted scenes, outtakes, and featurettes.

See one more new release when you

read more. Disney's A Christmas Carol Jim Carrey takes on Ebenezer Scrooge in the latest animated spin on the Charles Dickens classic. The film stays true to the novel, which means portraying some of the darker elements that are omitted from other film versions of the story. I was really impressed with the special effects, even though some of the emotion is lost in the animation. Bonus features include featurettes and deleted scenes. 53%

Box Office: The Princess and The Frog Leaps to the Top

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:50:00 PST

Disney's princesses can still bring it: In its opening weekend, The Princess and the Frog topped the box office with $25 million. The animated film knocked out last week's champ, the underdog drama The Blind Side, which came in second and drew in $15.4 million.

Matt Damon's Invictus debuted in the third spot with $9 million, while New Moon dropped to the fourth spot with $8 million. Rounding out the top five is seasonal flick A Christmas Carol, with $6.8 million.

What Is the Best Animated Movie of 2009?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 07:30:00 PST

This year seemed to have particularly strong animated films. They were visually mesmerizing (Coraline), provided a few tearful moments (Up), and most catered to our adult sense of humor, too (Fantastic Mr. Fox). No wonder several are being considered for an Oscar! Tell me, which did you enjoy most?

Don't forget to vote on all of my Best of 2009 polls!

Box Office: The Blind Side Tackles New Moon

BuzzSugar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:30:00 PST

Looks like New Moon should have kept an eye on its blind side! The surprise hit has been nipping at the Twilight sequel's heels since they were both released two weeks ago, but this is the first weekend that the football drama actually took the top spot at the box office. The Blind Side earned $20.4 million, while New Moon pulled in $15.7 million.

In its first weekend out, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire's sibling thriller Brothers nabbed the third spot with $9.7 million, while A Christmas Carol continues to bring in audiences with $7.5 million. Rounding out the top five is Robin Williams's comedy Old Dogs, with a $6.9 million haul.

Jason Reitman's Up in the Air also had an impressive showing, taking in $1.2 million. The film was only open in 15 theaters, proving that all the hype is already paying off for the George Clooney dramedy.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Box Office: New Moon Still Shines at No. 1

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:30:00 PST

Give thanks for movies! This weekend broke sales records, making it the highest-grossing Thanksgiving holiday ever with $278 million over the five days. In the top spot? New Moon reigned supreme once again, raking in $42.5 million. (That's a significant decline from last week's jaw-dropping $140 million, but a strong showing nonetheless.) Nipping at its heels was the Sandra Bullock feel-good film, The Blind Side which drew in even bigger numbers than its debut last week and took in $40.1 million.

Following far behind in third was 2012 with $18 million, box office newcomer Old Dogs in fourth place with $16.8 million, and A Christmas Carol in fifth with $16 million.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Box Office: New Moon Overshadows the Competition

BuzzSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:45:30 PST

New Moon madness translated to big bucks for the Twilight sequel: After it set new records for midnight ticket sales and single-day ticket sales, it was obvious it would rule the weekend box office at number one. And how: the movie pulled in $140.7 million, clocking it at the third biggest opening weekend ever, behind The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3.

What trailed New Moon? I was pleasantly surprised to see heartwarming drama The Blind Side in second, earning a respectable $34.5 million and beating last week's box office ruler, 2012, which was No. 3 with $26.5 million. At No. 4 was animated adventure Planet 51 with $12.6 million, followed by A Christmas Carol with $12.2 million.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment

2012 Ends the World at Number One

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:30:00 PST

The apocalypse makes for top of the box office: doomsday drama 2012 was the number one movie this weekend, pulling in $65 million in its first outing at theaters. If that sounds like an insane amount of money to you, you're right - it's the seventh highest-grossing November opening ever.

Last week's number one, Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol was pushed into the second spot with $22.3 million, followed by The Men Who Stare at Goats with $6.2 million.

The little move that could, Precious, came in fourth with $6 million, which is more than a 200 percent increase. It's not too surprising, since the much-buzzed-about movie opened up in more cities nationwide, but still a feat considering it has yet to reach wide release. Finally, the Michael Jackson doc This Is It fell to No. 5, earning $5.1 million.

Photos courtesy of Sony Pictures

Buzz In: Which Animated Movie Is Most Oscar-Worthy?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:30:37 PST

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a press release today, announcing that 20 films have been submitted for Best Animated Film consideration at this year's Oscars. This means there could be five movies competing at the awards show in March. (In the history of the category, there have typically been only three.) So who is up for the honor?

Some are obvious choices. Up, for example, comes as no surprise thanks to its huge accolades. I also think Coraline stands a chance, as well as Fantastic Mr. Fox (look for my review on Friday!). But Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel seems like a long shot - even though it hasn't hit theaters yet, so I'm just making an early prediction. (Sorry, Alvin.)

With 10 movies in the Best Picture category, I wouldn't be surprised if some of these films end up with more than one nomination. Check out the full list of animated film contenders, and tell me which you think is most deserving of an Oscar when you

Box Office: Audiences Get in the Spirit With A Christmas Carol

BuzzSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:30:00 PST

Disney received an early present this year: The revamped version of the classic tale A Christmas Carol took the top spot at the box office in its opening weekend with $31 million. While that figure is on the low end of studio estimates for the film, insiders hope that it will continue to gain more movie-goers as we near the holidays. Following behind at No. 2 was last weekend's box office champ, Michael Jackson's This Is It, with $14 million.

Rounding out the rest of the top five were two more new releases - The Men Who Stare at Goats came in third with $13.3 million, and Milla Jovovich's The Fourth Kind took fourth place with $12.5 million. Fan favorite Paranormal Activity slipped to No. 5 with $8.6 million.

The small success story of the weekend was Precious, which raked in $1.8 million despite only opening in 18 theaters. Expect to see it climb up the box office chart next week as it expands into more cities.

Watch, Pass or Rent Movie Reviews: Precious, A Christmas Carol, The Box and The Men Who Stare at Goats!

BuzzSugar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:00:24 PST

We have an exciting new weekend video feature - our PopSugar Rush Watch, Pass or Rent Movie Reviews! This week we're giving you the bottom line on Precious, The Box, A Christmas Carol and The Men Who Stare at Goats. Check it out now and let us know what you think in the comments!