New this Week: 'Due Date,' 'Megamind' and 'The Goonies (BD)'
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
Due Date - Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx For Colored Girls - Thandie Newton, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whoopi Goldberg Megamind - Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey
Movie of the Week
Due Date
The Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx The Plot: An expectant dad and his unlikely travel companion race cross-country in hopes of making it home for the birth of his first child. The Buzz: Like many wines and cheeses before him, writer/director Todd Phillips has aged well. With Road Trip, his directorial debut, he made a film just funny enough to facilitate the production of his 2nd film, the far superior, Old School. From there Phillips helmed Starsky and Hutch, which was respected well enough, for what it was, before taking a major misstep with School for Scoundrels. Phillips bounced back big-time from his first flop, with 2009's The Hangover, which brought in $277 million at the box office -- a mere $260 million more than School for Scoundrels. Coming off the major success of The Hangover, coupled with the magnetic star power of Robert Downey Jr., I expect Due Date to do very well at the box office. I also anticipate it to be highly hilarious -- Due Date's trailers suggest a film chock-full of laughs, and this is what we've come to expect from director Todd Phillips.
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New Blu-ray and DVDs released this week:
The Bridge on the River Kwai (BD) - Alec Guinness, William Holden The Goonies (BD) - Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman The Sound of Music (BD) - Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer Toy Story 3 (DVD + BD) - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen Centurion - Michael Fassbender, Dominic West Winnebago Man - documentary
Blu-ray/DVD of the Week
The Goonies (BD)
The Stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Corey Feldman The Plot: A group of kids embark on a wild adventure after finding a pirate treasure map. The Buzz: In the late 1990's, back when my VCR was still plugged in and part of my life, before The Goonies was released on DVD, I once came very close to a Goonie overdose. My VHS copy of the film was a mere tattered reel-to-reel; it was my "go to guy," my "old faithful," when I needed something to pop in late at night. I'd first seen the film in 1985, when I was nine years old -- my mom took me to see it at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City, IA -- and the associated nostalgia certainly fueled my fierce love of this film. I watched that tape ragged and to the point of desensitization. The film's 2001 DVD release happily restored the film to its prior glory, but this only encouraged my habit, and it was here that I knew I needed to step away from Goonie-land, as my appreciation for this beloved film was fading fast. Here in 2010, I'm happy to report that I've not seen The Goonies since 2002, and though there is a chance I may fall back into my addiction, I know that there's no avoiding The Goonies on Blu-ray, I'm seriously excited to check it out. It'll be just like old times.
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