TEN MEMORABLE NON-COMEDIC PERFORMANCES BY COMEDIANS Jon Stewart? Really? Pretty spotty list (“Southland Tales?”), but credit is owed for at least grabbing one film pre-1980 film, Jackie Gleason’s truly memorable turn in “The Hustler.” My votes go to (in no
In this week’s episode of the HomeVideodrome podcast, Hunter reviews “Hugo“, “Bridesmaids“, and “Horrible Bosses“, and we also dwell on Werner Herzog’s awesome voice, because hey, there weren’t too many releases one could give a damn about this week. So
BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS: The box office slump hit pretty hard over the holiday weekend. While retail sales everywhere else skyrocketed to record numbers, Hollywood took a 12% hit when compared to this time last year. It’s going to be difficult
It seems only right that Blu-ray disks fit so snugly in most Christmas stockings. This holiday season is the perfect time to give family and friends a new Blu-ray title or two. The Blu-ray format is finally catching on with
‘MODERN WARFARE 3′ MAKES $775 MILLION IN 5 DAYS, BLOWS AWAY ALL RECORDS Is this why Hollywood makes movies that recreate the experience of what it’s like to watch someone else play a video game? DEMI MOORE TURNS TO MADONNA
Kyle Smith Wonders if ‘J. Edgar’ Is the Disappointment of the Year Kyle and I may share a similar political philosophy but we rarely agree on films. I sense we might agree on this one: …but as “J.Edgar” sits at
Big Media Earnings Set To ‘Decelerate Sharply’ In 2013 As TV Becomes A Zero-Sum Game 1. Digital platforms (like streaming) are hurting broadcast and cable networks: As costs rise, TV producers can’t expect to keep generating more cash from licensing
Starz Looks For A Premium Streaming Service To Replace Netflix If memory serves, Netflix offered Starz $300 million. Who is big enough in the streaming world to afford a better deal? Hulu, I guess. According to the story, though, Starz
Remember that line in Tombstone? Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) said, “You called down the thunder. Well now you got it!” It may be of some benefit for the Tehran regime to Netflix that Western action/drama because the world, as they
UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY LINE OF THE DAY MTV: The world is still reeling from the news that Kim Kardashian has decided to end her 72-day-long marriage to Kris Humphries. The entertainment media got taken in a big way with this marriage
BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS IMDB: Blame the unseasonably snowy weather in the East. Blame the World Series. Blame Halloween parties. Blame the economy. Box office analysts were doing a little of each to explain the lousy weekend that saw blah openings
WOW: WARNER BROS. STOPS GIVING NEW TITLES TO BLOCKBUSTER Studios are getting desperate: According to The Financial Times, Warner Bros has stopped supplying discs of its latest releases to Blockbuster after the rental chain refused to agree to a 28-day
WHOA: SPIELBERG RIPS ‘CRYSTAL SKULL’ Is it just me or did Empire bury the lead here: And Crystal Skull? “I’m very happy with the movie. I always have been… I sympathise with people who didn’t like the MacGuffin because I
We have often discussed the incredible peril Network Neutrality poses when placed in the hands of government — it’s the incredible economic and First Amendment damage that can (and will) be done by the federal Leviathan once it gets its
You don’t need a critic or video store geek to tell you to watch ‘The Shining’ this time of year. It’s practically required viewing for horror buffs. The same holds true for ‘Halloween,’ The Exorcist’ and ‘Psycho.’ If you haven’t
If you’re any fan of Alexander Dumas’ novel ‘The Three Musketeers,’ save yourself the aneurism and pass on its latest screen incarnation. (Warning: There will be spoilers) The new ‘Musketeers’ opens with a prologue where the famous Three – Athos
CONFIRMED: ‘DARK KNIGHT RISES’ PROLOGUE TO PLAY BEFORE IMAX ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’ Truly a piece of genius marketing. Expect more of this. I’m well aware I’m calling this idea a success before the results are in, but it’s a no-brainer. LINDSAY
DIXIE CHICKS’ VH1 STORYTELLERS AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 29 What are Dixie Chicks again? All I seem to remember are three mouthy narcissists who were so desperate for attention they posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly and then had a
JAVIER BARDEM IS BOND 23’S VILLAIN This is good news. Bardem is a larger-than-life presence on the screen and Bond could use some larger-than-lifeness — especially if all that larger-than-lifeness is filmed on a tripod. GENE HACKMAN TO COME OUT
Netflix Stock Hits 52-Week Low After It Cancels DVD-Streaming Split That’s because Qwikster’s not the problem; it’s just a symptom of Netflix’s ongoing stupidity. Allowing people to opt out of the by-mail service and keep the streaming is the problem.
QWIKSTER DUMPED, DVD RENTALS TO STAY AT NETFLIX Netflix’s market value has dropped 60% since these debacles began, which just so happens to be the exact same percentage as their recent price increase (today’s announcement helped some). This is a
CINEMARK THEATER CHAIN REFUSES TO SHOW ‘TOWER HEIST’ AS A RESULT OF EARLY VOD PLAN As I mentioned yesterday, Universal is closing the window on VOD even further, offering Brett Ratner’s upcoming “Tower Heist” just three weeks after its theatrical
DISNEY AND PIXAR TO RE-RELEASE FOUR FILMS IN 3D IN 2012 & 2013 Well, why not? With “The Lion King” 3D making a fortune 17 years after its initial release, this makes perfect sense. I do think, though, that “The
BIG HOLLYWOOD CONTRIBUTOR MIKE MANDEVILLE LOOKING FOR KICKSTARTER LOVE Welcome to “Shysters” The Movie: A laugh out loud, zany comedy! With a bit of faith. Make a difference! Play a role in this hilarious Faith-based film by helping us to
BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS 1. Dolphin Tale: $14.3M – Family films rule. Shallow nihilism and conformity posing as “edginess” do not. Yet Hollywood keeps right on making them. Yes, someone somewhere is currently squandering millions of dollars on “Margot At the
If Nikki Finke hadn’t invented it and wasn’t so fond of litigation, I would’ve thrown a big TOLDJA! in the headline. Years ago I was writing about this inevitability and being laughed at. And at the end of this snippet,
MGM’S ‘RED DAWN’ REMAKE LIKELY TO HIT THEATRES BY FALL OF 2012 Another year? My heart goes out to the remake producers and filmmakers in a big way. I’ve spoken to them, they’ve written for us and while they’ve handled
Obama told the Congressional Black Caucus to stop complaining and get to work for him. If any other President had spoken to them that way, we might be reading words like “boss” and “plantation” in the news today. That doesn’t
This is good news for Netflix, which needed some, and bad news for cable television and outlets like HBO. Streaming is the future and Dreamworks knows it: Netflix Inc has won a deal to pipe Dreamworks Animation movies starting in
“DARK SHADOWS” SET PHOTOS We all spend a lot of time complaining about sequels and remakes and remakes of sequels posing as prequel-reboots, but sometimes Hollywood jumping in the wayback machine is an inspired idea. “Dark Shadows” is a gothic
Facebook has taken the wraps off upcoming features at the social media platform, including the ability to include audio content from Spotify, and video content from Netflix.
—BLOFELD IS NEW BOND 23 VILLAIN?– This sounds like a move in the right direction. Because for the first time in 40 years the James Bond franchise is in real trouble, at least when it comes to me — and
There’s actually a bigger story here methinks. Cable television is starting to lose customers as people move towards Netflix Streaming and sites like Hulu that for a low monthly subscription fee offer greater flexibility at a much, much lower price.
HERE COMES DISH: NETFLIX FLUBS ENTICE COMPETITION Here we go: At a press conference scheduled for Friday, Dish Network is expected to announce its entry into the streaming-video market via a Blockbuster-branded service that could emerge as a rival to
OUCH: STREAMING TITLES NETFLIX MIGHT LOSE — ‘QWIKSTER’ ALREADY A JOKE Wait. “Apocalypto” is on streaming? … … … … … … … Sorry, had to add that to my queue. Hollywood board rooms everywhere have to be freaking out
***UPDATE: This post was updated to correct a factual error. BOX OFFICE ANALYSIS 1. Lion King 3-D $29.3M: A 17 year-old cartoon not only landed in first place but more than doubled the take of second place. You can blame
NETFLIX SHARES SLIDE AS CUSTOMERS DROP STREAMING GIANT Again, I don’t think the price increase itself isn’t worth the service you’re buying, but it was so dramatic and handled so poorly, they should’ve expected this kind of backlash. If Netflix
No streaming for you! Netflix has started to restrict its users from streaming more than one movie at a time as part of its price hike. The change could have a major effect on how families use Netflix. No longer
– Newsweek continues its victory lap around the toilet bowl. – Female Mexican journalists killed because of their gender. – You can’t call Ed Schultz’s ideology “extreme liberalism.” It’s an insult to classical liberalism. A “raging socialist on steroids” is
BUMMER: STARZ ENDING STREAMING DEAL WITH NETFLIX As of Feb. 2012, Netflix will no longer stream Starz, which means a lot of newer movies won’t be available. Bad timing with the new Netflix price increase starting today. Starz content was