This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Buena Vista, DreamWorks, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Action, Adaptation, Animation, Documentary, Drama, Family, Horror, Independent, Music, Political, Romance, Sequels, Thrillers, Home Entertainment, Lists, New Releases, Upcoming Releases,

As the autumn season pulls the coats from our closets, warms our chocolate beverages, and turns our leaves from a verdant green to a rusty orange, the movie studios give us another reason to spend a comfy evening at home: summer blockbusters on DVD. And what better way to view these visual—if not always plausible—delights than in high definition?

The coveted two-disc special edition of Transformers releases this week on HD DVD, much to the chagrin of Blu-ray loyalists; without a major exclusive release, they’ll simply have to make do with some mediocre thrillers.

But aside from the inferior cinematic fare, the first and second volumes of Showtime’s Masters of Horror series is out just in time for Halloween. The anthology show gives modern horror directors a full hour to play without the restrictions of an MPAA rating or television censorship. Although it failed to garner much critical acclaim, the show ended up being quite successful and achieved what some could perceive to be cult status.

Check out the full list of high-def releases after the jump.

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 16, 2007

Box Office Breakdown:  Oscar Winners Fail to Prevail

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Mystery, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

DISTURBIA [di-stur’-bee-uh), noun:
A rare state that occurs when three previous Oscar winners (e.g. Berry, Swank, Tarantino) struggle to remain in the Top Ten.  This anomaly often coincides with the meteoric rise of a 20-year-old star (e.g. Lebeouf).

1. Disturbia, Paramount, $22,224,982
2. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $13,826,386
3. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $12,467,155
4. Perfect Stranger, Sony, $11,206,163
5. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $8,952,686
6. Pathfinder, Fox, $5,001,214
7. Wild Hogs, Disney, $4,676,734
8. The Reaping, Warner Bros., $4,567,478
9. 300, Warner Bros., $4,454,355
10. Grindhouse, Weinstein Co., $4,331,372

Box Office Breakdown:  Metal Blades Take Down Machine Gun Leg

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Disney, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros, Weinstein Company, Action, Animation, Drama, Family, Horror, Period, Sequels, Comedy, Sports, Thrillers, Box Office, Lists, New Releases,

Not even the combined directing muscle of Team Tarantino/Rodriguez could take away the gold medal from Team Ferrell/Heder.  Despite the publicity onslaught, Grindhouse didn’t even score a silver.  Heck, it didn’t even make the medal platform.  But I guess it could have been worse.  Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank not only placed fifth—but she too was beat out by a family friendly Ice Cube.  I think it’s now safe to say that the plagues have officially commenced..

1. Blades of Glory, Paramount, $22,522,330
2. Meet the Robinsons, Disney, $16,715,437
3. Are We Done Yet?, Sony, $14,262,724
4. Grindhouse, Weinstein Co., $11,596,613
5. The Reaping, Warner Bros., $10,025,203
6. 300, Warner Bros., $8,368,382
7. Wild Hogs, Disney, $6,644,971
8. Shooter, Paramount, $5,856,494
9. TMNT, Warner Bros., $4,825,445
10. Firehouse Dog, Fox, $3,838,916

The Reaping Has Trouble Reaping Acclaim

Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Warner Bros, Action, Drama, Religious, Thrillers, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews,

Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank decided to show her acting chops in the dark, spiritually-toned thriller The Reaping. And, according to critics, it’s highly unlikely she’ll get the Oscar nod for this newest flick of hers. As Katherine Winter, Hilary struts her stuff as an ex-minister-turned-professor debunking miracles. This occupation actually exists, though generally it’s not considered film fodder. A river of blood in a Louisiana town leads Katherine through her cynic’s journey of disproving the event, finding the “rational” reason behind it all. Fans will get to see Swank parade around in the river while they watch cool special effects make all 10 biblical plagues sweep Louisiana lands. In the end, will Katherine find her belief system again, and battle these religious happenings with her now-strong faith? The bigger question is, will fans even stick around the theatre long enough to find out? Early reviews are, in a word, bad. And, apparently, so is Swank’s newest movie.

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