Another comedy from the makers of “Wild Hogs”, a non-CGI animated movie, a violent ninja action movie, and four limited release movies… combine that with one of my favorite family movies of the year moving to the $4.00 Woodland… and some pretty good new offers out on DVD this week, and its time to eat turkey and watch movies!!

New this Week at Theaters (Wednesday): “Old Dogs”, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, “Ninja Assassin”, “A Serious Man” (limited), “Boondock Saints 2″ (limited), “The Damned United” (limited-Friday), “Paris” (limited-Friday)

Limited Release in Grand Rapids market: 
“A Serious Man” (Celebration North),
“Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” (Celebration RiverTown and Celebration Lansing),
Friday 11/27 – “The Damned United” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon) through 12/3,
Friday 11/27 – “Paris” (The Harbor Theater in Muskegon) through 12/3,
“Big Fan” (UICA in Grand Rapids) through 12/3,
“Precious” (Celebration South) expands 12/18

Moving to Woodland Mall this week ($4.00 shows): “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”,  “Surrogates”, ”Up”

Best Bets (in decending order):

 The new movies in our market with the best reviews are the Coen Brothers drama “A Serious Man” (limited release – see above) and the stop-motion animated family movie “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”.  

“The Damned United” and “Paris” both open in limited release on Friday (see above) and have decent reviews but not wide ranging audiences.  

“Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day” (limited, see above) and “Old Dogs” have gottten mostly negative… the first being the sequel to the 1999 shoot ‘em up action drama that gained cult status when the movie made more in DVD sales than at the box office… and the later from the makers of “Wild Hogs”.

“The Road” starring Viggo Mortensen was scheduled to open this week… but my sources say its opening in the Grand Rapids market may now be pushed back to next Friday 12/4.

LAST WEEKEND’S BOX OFFICE REPORT

Next Week at Theaters: “Armored”, “Brothers” (limited), “Everybody’s Fine”, ?? “The Road” ??, “Transylmania” (limited), “The Horse Boy” (UICA in Grand Rapids), “American Sailors” (GRFF Winner) (12/4 only at 7:30pm Celebration Carousel Muskegon)

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New this Week on DVD: “Angels & Demons”, “Four Christmases”, “Funny People”, “Janky Promoters”, “The Maiden Heist”, “Santa Buddies”, “Shorts”

Best Bets: I liked “Angels & Demons” more than “The DaVinci Code”, but I may be one of the few, I will admit months later that I gave the movie a higher rating than it probably deserved (perhaps a 7.5 would be more accurate).  A solid new entry to the Christmas movie family:  “Four Christmases” I enjoyed it – its really good, but not great, its certainly worthy of a holiday rental… but not quite classic status.  The Adam Sandler/Judd Apatow dramedy “Funny People” did well this summer… but I haven’t seen it, so you’re on your own with that plus the family friendly movies “Shorts” and “Santa Buddies”.

Next Week on DVD: “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”, “Paper Heart”, “Terminator Salvation”

MY REVIEWS OF OTHER MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS OR AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY: 

Playing at West Michigan movie theaters:
“500 Days of Summer” (9.5 / 10)
“District 9″ (9.0 / 10)
“Precious” (9.0/ 10)
“The Hurt Locker” (8.9/ 10)
“Big Fan” (8.5/ 10)
“Paranormal Activity” (8.5 / 10)
“The Hangover” (8.0 / 10)
“Where The Wild Things Are” (7.9 / 10)
“The Men Who Stare At Goats” (8.0 / 10)
“A Christmas Carol” (8.0 / 10)
“Whip It” (7.9 / 10)
“The Blind Side” (7.5 / 10)
“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (7.5 / 10)
“Couples Retreat” (7.5 / 10)
“Weather Girl” (7.5 / 10)
“Law Abiding Citizen” (7.5 / 10)
“This Is It” (7.0 / 10)
“Twilight Saga: New Moon” (6.9 / 10)
“Extract” (6.5 /10)
“Surrogates” (6.5 / 10)
“Love Happens” (7.0* review deferred to my wife)
“All About Steve” (5.5 / 10)

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Available to rent or buy:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5 / 10)
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Changeling”  (9.5 / 10)
“WALL-E” (9.0)
“Pride and Glory” (9.0 / 10)
“The Wrestler” (8.9 / 10)
“Righteous Kill” (8.9 / 10)
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”  (8.9 / 10)
“Star Trek” (8.5 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“The Answer Man” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“Defiance” (8.0 / 10)
“I Love You, Man” (8.0/ 10)
“The Proposal” (8.0 /10)
“State of Play” (8.0 / 10)
“The Visitor” (8.0 / 10)
“The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3″ (8.0/ 10)
“Australia”  (7.9 / 10)
“Frozen River” (7.9 / 10)
“Revolutionary Road” (7.9 / 10)
“New in Town” (7.9 / 10)
“Felon” (7.9 / 10)
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (7.5 / 10)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5 / 10)
“Taken” (7.5 / 10)
“G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra” (7.5 / 10)
“The Air I Breathe” 
“Hancock” 
“Fanboys” (8.5 for me, adjusted to 7.5 for most)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Bank Job” 
“He’s Just Not That Into You” (7.5 / 10)
“The Ugly Truth” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Role Models” (7.5 / 10)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” (7.5 / 10 )
“Marley & Me” (7.5 / 10)
“Bride Wars” (7.5 / 10)
“The Women” (7.5 / 10)
“Rachel Getting Married” (7.0)
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (7.0 / 10)
“Get Smart” (7.0 / 10)
“The Happening” 
“Bedtime Stories” (7.0 / 10)
“Twilight”  (7.0 / 10)
“Knowing” (7.0 / 10)
“Watchmen” (7.0 / 10)
“Funny Games” 
“Nights in Rodanthe” (7.0 / 10)
“Hotel for Dogs” (7.0 / 10)
“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (6.9 / 10)
“Appaloosa” (6.9 / 10)
“Surveillance” (6.9 / 10)
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” 
“The Invasion” 
“What Just Happened” (6.5 / 10)
“Hamlet 2″ 
“Lakeview Terrace” (6.5 / 10)
“Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”
“Imagine That” (6.5 / 10)
“Hellboy II: Golden Army” (6.5 / 10)
“Tropic Thunder” (6.5 /10)
“Good Luck Chuck”
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5 / 10)
“Ghosts of Girlfriends Past” (6.0 / 10)
“Journey to the Center of the Earth” 
“Star Wars: The Clone Wars” (6.0 / 10)
“Body of Lies” (6.0)
“Monsters Vs. Aliens” (6.0 / 10)
“Zach and Miri Make a Porno” (6.0 / 10)
“Noise” (6.0 / 10)
“The Chaos Experiment” (6.0 / 10)**
“Fragments” (5.5 / 10)
“Confessions of A Shopaholic” (5.5 / 10)
“My Life in Ruins” (5.5 / 10)
“Quarantine” (5.5 / 10)
“Charlie Wilson’s War” 
“Mad Money” 
“Year One” (4.0 / 10)
“Dance Flick” (2.0 / 10)

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