Free matinees include family friendly films

Here’s a good way to take the kids to the movies this summer and save some money…. the lineup is set for free summer matinees at The Regent Theatre in Downtown Allegan.   Each week, the Regent will feature a different PG or G rated film.   

The matinees are Monday through Friday at 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm.   Admission to the movie is free for all ages.

Free Summer Matinee Lineup (I’ve seen 4 of the 12 movies offered):
June 1 – 5: “Journey to the Center of the Earth”

June 8 -12: “Kung Fu Panda”

June 15 – 19: ”Speed Racer”

June 22 – 26: ”Madagascar 2″

June 29 – July 3: ”Kit Kittredge: American Girl”

July 6 -10: ”Tale of Despereaux”

July 13 -17: “Hotel for Dogs”

July 20 – 24: ”Inkheart”

July 27 – 31 : ”Igor”

August 3 -7: “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”

August 10 -14: ”City of Ember”

August 17 – 21: “Horton Hears a Who”

The Regent is located at 211 Trowbridge Street in Allegan.  For more info: (more…)

The new options at theaters (3 movies with Academy Award nominations) are clearly better than the options of movies coming out on DVD this week!   “The Dark Knight” is back in IMAX this Friday!!
You’ve also been warned: “Repo! The Genetic Opera” is considered by many to be the worst movie of the year – so don’t rent it!  

New this week at Theaters (Friday): “Revolutionary Road” (wide release), ”The Wrestler” (wide release), “Inkheart”, “Possession”, “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”, “The Dark Knight” (IMAX re-issue)

New this week on DVD (Tuesday): “City of Ember”, “The Express”, “Henry Poole is Here”, “Igor”, “Max Payne”, “Repo! The Genetic Opera”, “Saw V”, “Amusement”

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

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“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” number one again at weekend box office

New movies last Friday: “Body of Lies”, “City of Ember”, “Quarantine”, “The Duchess” (wider release)

“Quarantine” was 2nd – more than making up its entire $12 million budget in one weekend… which is good because it was disappointing to a lot of viewers, so its numbers ARE GOING TO DROP NEXT WEEKEND… 
“Body of Lies” (15 to see this Fall/Holiday Season) should have opened stronger given the cast of Crowe and DiCaprio, but the subject matter may have kept some away…
“The Express” was 6th – perhaps because the general public didn’t realize it was about more than just college football… 
“City of Ember” made about what I thought it would when I first saw the trailer, but I thought last week’s success of another family movie (”Chihuahua”) would have helped it to higher than 11th place…. 
“The Duchess” move into wide release moved it up from #20 to #9.

TOP 10 WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (actual results):

1. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” - $17.50 million
(2nd week, 2nd week at #1, lost 40% of its audience from last week)

2. “Quarantine” - $14.21 million (1st week)

3. “Body of Lies” - $12.88 million (1st week)

4. “Eagle Eye” - $10.91 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 38% of its audience from last week) (more…)

Wow… its Thursday.. this week is flying… so I’ll have to make this quick…

In Theaters (Friday): “Body of Lies”, “City of Ember”, “Quarantine”, “The Duchess” (wider release)

MY TAKE: Look for “Body of Lies” to take over the #1 spot at the box office and “City of Ember” to grab the family $$$… “The Duchess” will now been seen by more audiences as it opens in more theaters nationwide… and “Quarantine” might not do well, it probably would have played better closer to Halloween.

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On DVD (Tuesday): “The Happening”, “Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead”, “Paranoid Park”, “Sleeping Beauty” (Platinum Edition DVD/Blue Ray Platinum), “The Visitor”, “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”

MY TAKE: I know I’m one of a few people who liked “The Happening” but if you stayed away from it because of the reviews or the bad box office… now’s your chance to agree with me (I think its M. Night Shyamalan’s 4th best movie)… or tell me I’m wrong.

“The Visitor” got good reviews for its acting…. and although its now a rental, I’m still waiting a bit to see Adam Sandler’s “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan”… or you could go with an underated Disney Classic “Sleeping Beauty” out in new re-released formats.

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Next Week at Theaters: “W.”, “Sex Drive”, ”Max Payne”, “The Secret Life of Bees”

Next Week on DVD: “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days”, “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, “Mongol”, ”War, Inc.”