On Gear Live: Samsung S95C: The OLED TV You Can’t Afford (to Ignore!)

Hilary Duff  Gamely trying to keep herself from disappearing off the radar completely, former tween icon is currently shooting a new movie. Greta is currently being filmed on location in New Jersey and features Duff as a waitress who falls for a cook (played by Evan Ross). Their romance is fraught with obstacles put in place by her grandparents (Ellen Burstyn and Michael Murphy play the roles) who have an aversion of the cook’s criminal past. The dramatic tale of interracial love is a far different story from Duff’s previous movie acting credits, which include Cheaper by the Dozen and Agent Cody Banks.

Read More | Yahoo News

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The Heartbreak Kid

Jackie ChanShould we excuse an actor for making a film he didn’t even like—especially when it takes in millions of our theater dollars? 

, who co-starred with in the series, is now admitting his indifference toward all three installments.

Although he never really understood the humor, the Hong Kong star participated in the original 1998 version in hopes of establishing crossover appeal.  Money and ‘fan satisfaction’ were simply the motivators for the next two.  Granted, he wouldn’t be the first person to admit he made a sequel for the paycheck—but he may be one of the few to admit he wasn’t a fan of his own work (especially when his movie is still in the theaters).  And while the fight scenes might have been too watered down for Chan’s taste, American audiences liked them enough to help each film gross over $137 million or more.

So what do you think about this?  Do you believe Chan should leave his preferences/opinions behind if he’s going to make a film in the US?  Is it right for him to bash a series he was partially responsible in making?  Or do you agree with his perspective on the Rush Hour series overall?

Read More | USA Today

Evil Dead 2 posterThis Tuesday brings the release of some great titles, new and old.  As expected, the studios are rolling out some Halloween-inspired classics, filled with zombies, vampires and serial killers; though sadly, only Blu-ray supporters seem to be taking advantage of the upcoming holiday.

HD DVD studios chose instead to use this week to re-release a bunch of titles that were previously only available in those obnoxious HD DVD/DVD Combo discs.  You know, the $40 releases that were appealing to neither the HD owners nor the standard-definition owners?  Those of you who rightly refused to make such a silly purchase can now have some great HD titles for a lower price, thanks to Warner Home Video coming to its senses.  Any of the following films with an asterisk (*) in the title are the re-released versions.

Check out this Tuesday’s HD DVD and Blu-ray releases after the jump.

To see this week’s standard-definition DVD releases, click here.
To see this week’s TV-On-DVD releases, click here.

 

Click to continue reading This Week on HD DVD and Blu-ray: October 2, 2007


The Game Plan

The execs at Disney must be loving themselves this week.  Not only are are they attached to one of hottest concert tours of the year, they have just taken a surprise win at the box office.  Although many had predicted good things for the terrorism thriller, The Kingdom, a simple father/daughter bonding film moved theatergoers this weekend.

At $22.9 million, The Game Plan took in almost $6 million more than the / vehicle. The movie about a football player who meets the daughter he never knew he had (how exactly is that a Disney storyline?) gave “The Rock” his second best opening (behind 2002’s The Scorpion King).

Meanwhile, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe made its first entry into the Top 10.  After several weeks in limited release, the musical—which uses 33 Beatles songs to tell its story—will expand into more theaters come October 12th. 

Click to continue reading Box Office Breakdown:  The Game Plan Scores the Win


Fantastic Four

Here are a few of the titles you can find on the rental shelves this Tuesday:

  • 1408:  starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson
  • Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Collector’s Edition):  starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder
  • Caligula (Three-Disc Imperial Edition):  starring Malcolm McDowell, Helen Mirren
  • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer:  starring Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis
  • The Jungle Book (Platinum Edition): starring Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot
  • Misery (Special Edition):  starring Kathy Bates, James Caan
  • Species (Collector’s Edition):  starring Natasha Henstridge, Michael Madsen

Click here to see the TV-On-DVD options for this week.
Click here to see the new titles released on HD DVD and Blu-Ray.


Sex & the City Sex & the City left HBO when the series was still highly popular, at the top of its game. When any successful show leaves the air, it causes questions…and confusion for fans who are left wanting more. It wasn’t until after the Sex was all over that the rumors surfaced and the interviews began. Reportedly, the series ended because of star squabbling - namely, Kim Cattrall. The actress who was loved on the small screen as Samantha Jones allegedly wanted to receive the same amount of pay as the show’s star, Sarah Jessica Parker (a.k.a. Carrie Bradshaw). And that’s when everything fell apart. The series ended amid much hype, HBO tributes, and tons of press. But even then, there were whispers that there might be more Sex to come.

Until that, too, fell apart. Again, it was reported that the Sex & the City movie’s progress was stymied by Kim Cattrall, who refused to do the project. And millions of women were disappointed. Three years after the final farewell, the Sexy movie is back on – with, yes, all four leading ladies as part of the cast. But has time softened the hard feelings that plagued the series? According to on-set reports, no.

Click to continue reading Behind the scenes of Sex and the City

Read More | MSNBC

TransformersI believe this is what you call putting the cart before the horse..

Although no director, producer or star have yet been confirmed for the project, a target date has already been set for a Transformers sequel.  While and are expected to return, participation is currently up in the air.  An ongoing dispute between Spielberg’s and its parent company, , could unfortunately put a wrench in everyone’s plans.  But it’s hoped production can at least begin before a possible Actors Guild strike next year.

If all things go as planned, expect to see the film on June 26th…2009.

Read More | Variety

Hotel Chevalier balconyA 13-minute prequel to Wes Anderson’s new film, The Darjeeling Limited, has just become available as a free download on iTunes. The short film, entitled Hotel Chevalier, has been released over the internet in what seems to be a cross-promotional move by Anderson, who screened the short on the festival circuit but will not include it with the theatrical release. It appears to be a precursor to the situation which Jason Schwartzman’s character finds himself in at the beginning of Darjeeling. Knowing Wes Anderson, however, the two could have little to no relation at all.

The short involves Schwartzman and Natalie Portman as two former lovers in an uncomfortable first encounter after an apparent falling-out. As an added bonus, the two share a steamy moment in which Portman removes all of her clothes and mounts Schwartzman on a hotel bed; sadly, to the chagrin of many a fanboy, the sly camera work leaves much to the imagination. But Hotel Chevalier is classic Anderson—humorous, charming and unabashedly awkward. Look for The Darjeeling Limited in limited release this weekend—if you can bear to watch a post-trauma Owen Wilson, that is.

Read More | Cinematical

Death Proof posterQuentin Tarantino’s Death Proof opened in the UK last week, its producers, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, hopefully anticipating the result of their decision to split the film from its counterpart, Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror. But without the nostalgia of a bygone B-movie tradition and the novelty of a rare double-feature bridged together with wonderfully cheesy trailers in a faux-intermission, the film didn’t manage to captivate British audiences; if it did, they certainly weren’t compelled to go to the theater in great numbers. The film debuted in a pathetic sixth place at the box-office (£407,525 or $821,623) behind only one other opener: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which came in third.

As you may recall, Grindhouse walked away from the US box-office with a measly $24.9 million despite critical praise, something The Weinsteins chalked up to the uniqueness of the movie coupled with a long run-time and poor marketing. The decision to split the film into two separate entities for overseas distribution and DVD release was an attempt to recoup the losses incurred by that poor US performance. The marketing for the UK release of Death Proof hinged on Tarantino’s name and credibility, since he’d had successful openings in the past (Reservoir Dogs actually had better attendance there than in the US).

Click to continue reading Death Proof Fails to Stand Alone in the UK

Read More | Guardian Unlimited

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