New on DVD: “Bedtime Stories”, “The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)”, “Donkey Punch”, “Doubt”, “Not Easily Broken”, “The Tale of Despereaux”, “Yes Man”

BEST BETs: This is one of those weeks where for many moviegoers, the options on DVD are better than the theater. 

So lets start with the DVDs led by ”Doubt” that received 5 Oscar nominations including Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actress… there’s the well-reviewed Jim Carrey comedy “Yes Man”… and the fun family comedy “Bedtime Stories” and the animated adventure “The Tale of Despereaux”.  “The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)” should be at the bottom of your rental list this week, because its okay, but not that great.

“Observe and Report” is the second Mall Cop Comedy this year after “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, but this one is rated “R” and not family friendly… “Hannah Montana The Movie” will be big for tweens and teens who are growing up as Miley Crus fans… “Dragonball Evolution” is a movie adaptation that may be a few years too late of the cartoons and card games that were popular several years ago.

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Next Week at Theaters: “17 Again”, “Crank: High Voltage”, “State of Play”

Next Week on DVD: “The Reader”, “The Spirit”, “Dark Matter”

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

Playing at West Michigan movie theaters:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (9.5 / 10)
“The Wrestler” (8.9 / 10)
“Defiance” (8.0 / 10)
“I Love You, Man” (8.0/ 10)
“Revolutionary Road” (7.9 / 10)
“New in Town” (7.9 / 10)
“Taken” (7.5 / 10)
“Fanboys” (8.5 for me, adjusted to 7.5 for most)
“He’s Just Not That Into You” (7.5 / 10)
“Bride Wars” (7.5 / 10)
“Four Christmases”  (7.5 / 10)
“Paul Blart: Mall Cop” (7.0 / 10)
“Knowing” (7.0 / 10)
“Watchmen” (7.0 / 10)
“Hotel for Dogs” (7.0 / 10)
“The Day the Earth Stood Still” (6.5 / 10)
“Monsters Vs. Aliens” (6.0 / 10)
“Confessions of A Shopaholic” (5.5 / 10)

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Available to rent or buy:
“Slumdog Millionaire” (9.5/ 10)
“The Dark Knight” (9.5 / 10)
“Changeling”  (9.5 / 10)
“WALL-E” (9.0)
“Pride and Glory” (9.0 / 10)
“Righteous Kill” (8.9 / 10)
“Eagle Eye” (8.5 / 10)
“Burn After Reading” (8.5 / 10)
“Wanted” (8.0 / 10)
“The Visitor” (8.0 / 10)
“Australia”  (7.9 / 10)
“Frozen River” (7.9 / 10)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5 / 10)
“Traitor” (7.5 / 10)
“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”
“Marley & Me” (7.5 / 10)
“Get Smart” (7.0 / 10)
“Bedtime Stories” (7.0 / 10)
“Twilight”  (7.0 / 10)
“Appaloosa” (6.9 / 10)
“Lakeview Terrace” (6.5 / 10)
“Hellboy II: Golden Army” (6.5 / 10)
“Noise” (6.0 / 10)

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“The Spirit” followed up its poor opening weekend by dropping to 13th (losing 49% of its audience) during a weekend with no wide releases (that’s a red flag movie go-ers !!!).

There were 27% fewer people ($130 million) at the movies over the New Year’s weekend compared to the big Christmas weekend ($179 million).

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated): 
1. “Marley & Me” – $24.05 million
(2nd week at #1, lost 34% of audience from last week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $20.32 million
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 26% of audience from last week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $18.40 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 32% of audience from last week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $14.04 million
(2nd week, was #4 last week, lost 33% of audience from last week)

5. “Yes Man” – $13.85 million  
(3rd week, was #5 last week, lost 17% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $10.00 million 
(3rd week, was #6 last week, lost 24% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $7.02 million 
(3rd week, was #7 last week, lost 21% of audience from last week)

8. ”Doubt″ – $5.03 million
(4th week, was #10 last week, lost 6% from last week)

9. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $4.85 million
(4th week, was #8 last week, lost 37% of audience from last week)

10. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.77 million (limited release: just 612 theaters)
(8th week, was #13 last week, 11% more audience than last week)

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11. “Twilight”  – $4.53 million
(7th week, was #12 last week, lost 5% from last week)

13. “The Spirit” – $3.27 million
(2nd week, was #9 last week, lost 49% from last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.82 million (limited release: just 84 theaters)
(4th week, was #15 last week, 21% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

The life story of a dog “Marley & Me” and the life story of a man who ages backwards “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” take first and third place, while Adam Sandler’s family movie was second and Tom Cruise’s nazi-era drama was fourth.

TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 
1. “Marley & Me” – $37.00 million  (1st week)

2. “Bedtime Stories” – $28.07 million  (1st week)

3. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” - $27.00 million  (1st week)

4. “Valkyrie” – $21.53 million  (1st week)

5. “Yes Man” – $16.45 million  
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

6. “Seven Pounds” – $13.40 million 
(2nd week, was #2 last week, lost 10% of audience from last week)

7. “The Tale of Desperaux” – $9.37 million 
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 7% of audience from last week)

8. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” – $7.90 million
(3rd week, was #4 last week, lost 20% of audience from last week)

9. “The Spirit” – $6.51 million (1st week)

10. ”Doubt″ – $5.68 million
(3rd week, was #15 last week, gained 733% more audience than last week, added 1,228 theaters)

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11.  “Four Christmases”  – $5.05 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, lost 35% from last week)

12. “Twilight”  – $4.52 million
(6th week, was #6 last week, lost 13% from last week)

13. “Slumdog Millionaire” - $4.45 million (limited release: added 25 theaters)
(7th week, was #8 last week, 45% more audience than last week)

15. ”Gran Torino″ – $2.44 million (limited release: added 65 theaters)
(3rd week, was #18 last week, 421% more audience than last week)

Box Office numbers courtesy Box Office Mojo

If you can’t get to the theaters during this week, there’s always next week, so with no new movies in wide release, we can all try to catch up…

New on DVD: “Burn After Reading” (Sunday), “Savage Grace”, “Pulse 3″, “Beethoven’s Big Break”

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD: There’s only one movie to recommend here, UNLESS your rental audience includes kids, then “Burn After Reading” - one of my favorite comedies of the year – is NOT for you, otherwise, I highly recommend this quirky Comedy/Drama from the Coen Brothers with a great cast of characters.

There are nearly a dozen movies out new in theaters this week, including 3 with possible Academy Award chances for Best Picture, so be sure to read the releases for both Thursday (12/25) and Friday (12/26)…

New at Theaters Thursday 12/25: “Frost/Nixon” (wide), “Bedtime Stories”, “The Spirit”, “Marley & Me”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, “The Reader” (limited), “Doubt” (wide)

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New at Theaters Friday 12/26: “Slumdog Millionaire” (expanded), “Valkyrie”, “Last Chance Harvey” (limited), “Revolutionary Road” (limited), “Waltz with Bashir” (limited)

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS: “Frost/Nixon”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and “Slumdog Millionaire” are the 3 movies with Oscar buzz… so far, I’ve only seen one, but that will soon change, not to mention “Benjamin Button” was part of my Fall/Holiday Preview, and now its finally here!! 

“Doubt” and “The Reader” are dramas with Golden Globe nominated performances.

If you see “Marley & Me”, be sure sure to take some tissues with you – this movie may be labeled a romantic comedy – but its not a gut buster, its a tear jerker!

For the romance, there’s “Last Chance Harvey” (Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson) and “Revolutionary Road” (Leonardo DiCpario and Kate Winslett) but both are in limited release and may not be playing at any theater remotely near you.

For the kids/family: Adam Sandler’s new “Bedtime Stories” looks like a lot of fun… we’ll see.

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MY REVIEWS OF MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS: 
“Four Christmases”  (7.5)
“Twilight”  (7.0)
“Australia”  (7.9)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5)
“Role Models”  (7.5)
“Slumdog Millionaire”  (9.5)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”  (7.5)
“Changeling”  (9.5)
“What Just Happened”  (6.5)

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Next Week at Theaters: “Defiance” (limited), “Good” (LA/NY)

Next Week on DVD: “The Duchess” (Saturday), “Eagle Eye” (Saturday), “Ghost Town” (Saturday), “An American Carol”, “Surfer, Dude”, “Towelhead”

Its a blockbuster week for movies both on DVD (The Dark Knight) and in theaters (The Day the Earth Stood Still)…

In Theaters (Friday): “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, “Nothing Like the Holidays”, “Delgo”, “Milk” (Grand Rapids expanded release), “Doubt” (limited)

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW IN THEATERS: Keanu Reeves in a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, a family holiday comedy Nothing Like the Holidays, a family animated adventure Delgo and starting in limited release – the relgious drama Doubt with award contenders Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams.  I have yet to see any of these… I’ll blog after I do, for now your best bets are either Golden Globe nominated Milk or the blockbuster remake The Day the Earth Stood Still… or see one of the movies already playing (see my reviews below)… or ….

On DVD (Tuesday): “The Dark Knight”, “Dr. Suess’ Horton Hears a Who!”, “Man on Wire”, “Make It Happen”

MY TAKE ON WHAT’S NEW ON DVD: The summer’s biggest blockbuster and arguably the best superhero movie of the year, The Dark Knight hits stores on DVD this week.  If you’re looking for a good movie to rent and you haven’t seen it – The Dark Knight – is the one to see with a award worthy performance by Heath Ledger as the Joker and a stunning and solid entry into the superhero genre, just make sure you’ve seen Batman Begins (2005) first!!!  Also, if there’s a superhero movie fan on your Christmas list – either The Dark Knight or Iron Man are the movies to give this Christmas.   Remember way back in March – the family movie that was winning at the box office week after week was Horton Hears A Who… and now its finally out on DVD… I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve heard its worth the rental.   Also, there’s a well reviewed documentary Man on Wire… if you like documentaries.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent or Buy The Dark Knight after seeing Batman Begins (2005)… or see something already playing that I’ve reviewed below.

MY REVIEWS OF MOVIES CURRENTLY PLAYING IN THEATERS: 
“Four Christmases”  (7.5)
“Twilight”  (7.0)
“Australia”  (7.9)
“Quantum of Solace”  (7.5)
“Role Models”  (7.5)
“Slumdog Millionaire”  (9.5)
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”  (7.5)
“Changeling”  (9.5)
“What Just Happened”  (6.5)
“Nights in Rodanthe”  (7.0)
“Righteous Kill”  (8.9)

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Next Week at Theaters: “Seven Pounds”, “The Tale of Despereaux”, “Yes Man”, “Gran Torino” (expanded), “Doubt” (expanded)

Next Week on DVD: “The House Bunny”, “Mamma Mia!”, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, “Traitor” (12/19), “American Teen” (12/21)