New on DVD/at Theaters this week

New on DVD (Tuesday): “Battlestar Galactica: Caprica”, “Frost/Nixon”, “Into the Blue 2: The Reef”, “The Last Word”, “Notorius”, “The Wrestler”

BEST BETs: 
Oscar nominated performances should put “Frost/Nixon” and “The Wrestler” at the top of your rental lists, although “The Wrestler” may not be appropriate for younger audiences with its violence and adult themes.  Also for consideration, the well reviewed bio pic “Notorious” about the rapper Notorious B.I.G.  

New at Theaters: “earth” (Wednesday), “Fighting”, “Obsessed”, “The Soloist”, “The Informers” (limited release)

 BEST BETs: 
“earth” is the DisneyNature documentary opening Wednesday on Earth Day that looks to be an early favorite for an Oscar nomination, after months and months of delays (from November 21st) and seeing the trailer about two dozen times now, “The Soloist” with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx will finally open, it could also be in the early running for Oscar consideration.

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Next Week at Theaters: “Battle for Terra”, “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

Next Week on DVD: “Bride Wars”, “Hotel for Dogs”, “JCVD”, “Legally Blondes”, “Nothing But the Truth”, “The Uninvited”, “What Doesn’t Kill You”

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

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What a Valentine’s gift for movie theaters: a huge $168.12 million weekend… the biggest so far this year… $27 million more than last year’s Valentine’s weekend… and a 28% increase from last weekend.

And it wasn’t even close… with the remake “Friday the 13th” taking in more ($42 million) than the second and third place movies combined, the slasher movie also becomes the biggest opening of the year, passing “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”’s $31 million opening in January. 

Last week’s number one “He’s Just Not That Into You” slipped to second and new movies “Confessions of A Shopaholic” and “The International” opened in fourth and seventh place.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “Friday the 13th” (2009) – $42.25 million (1st week)

2. “He’s Just Not That Into You” – $19.61 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 29% from last week)

3. “Taken” – $19.25 million
(3rd week, was #2 last week, lost 6% from last week)

4. “Confessions of A Shopaholic” – $15.41 million (1st week)

5. “Coraline” – $15.32 million
(2nd week, was #3 last week, lost 9% from last week)

6. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $11.70 million
(5th week, was #5 last week, gained 7% more than last week)

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In a wise marketing release, the ensemble romantic comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You” grabs the number one spot one week before Valentine’s Day. 
The four new movies and holdovers “Taken” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” helped make it a strong $131.54 million weekend at the box office… the 3rd biggest of the year so far and it was up nearly 28% from last weekend.

 TOP MOVIES AT WEEKEND BOX OFFICE (estimated results):
1. “He’s Just Not That Into You” – $27.47 million (1st week)

2. “Taken” – $24.63 million
(2nd week, was #1 last week, lost 18% from last week)

3. “Coraline” – $16.34 million (1st week)

4. “The Pink Panther 2″ - $12.00 million (1st week)

5. “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” - $11.00 million
(4th week, was #2 last week, lost 21% from last week)

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“The Wrestler” is led by Mickey Rourke’s gritty and powerful performance of a wrestler 20 years past his prime.

Randy “The Ram” Robinson is a broken hero with an auditorium full of baggage, and Director Darren Aronofsky takes us along in this very narrow focused movie of a couple weeks in the life of a wrestler and his stripper friend who are both on the verge of retirement from the jobs that have defined their lives.

A warning to parents: this is a rated “R” movie for a reason, you can probably figure out why, but if not, see the rating ino below.
The glitz and glamour are years in his past as Randy “The Ram” Robinson is now battling limited gate receipts at sparsely attended events, old age, and getting locked out of his home at the trailer park.

Aronofsky keeps the camera and mic focused on Rourke for most of the movie… as we get an up close look and listen into what he’s feeling and doing – every cough, sniffle, grunt, almost every breath is captured in the movie.

The entire success of this movie is carried by the broad shoulders of Randy “The Ram”… he’s a physically and emotionally beaten character that has struggles, is heartbroken, and desperate… and he does it, with a almost flawless performance. 

I’m not ready to say this is the best acting or movie of the year, but its certainly very good… and obviously deserving of the nominations being thrown at it.

The attention to detail builds this Randy “The Ram” character… (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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