Coach Potato – Movies out on DVD this week

Tuesday is the traditional day for movie studios and distributors to line retail and rental outlets with the newest DVD and Bluray releases for you to pick up on your way home. It’s a rather peculiar day but it’s been going on for years now so there’s not much chance of it changing. This week sees the release of a disappointing summer blockbuster, a remake of a classic horror movie, a documentary featuring some Irish sporting icons and a whole host of American TV.

Darren’s Movie News 07/05/09

I tell you, if I had the time I would definitely do the Movie News Round Up every day. It builds up so quickly and some days are more hectic than others. Today, we have new movie news, pictures from upcoming shoots, a little gossip and a few trailers. In sad news, Dom DeLuise passed away. A Mel Brooks favourite in Silent Movie, Blazing Saddles and History of the World:Part 1, he died on Monday aged 75. It was reported a few weeks ago that Farrah Fawcett was hospitalised and was in critical condition. More recently, it seems she has been putting her affairs in order. Sad times for her, her husband Ryan O’Neill and their troubled son, Redmond O’Neill. James McAvoy, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney and Anna Friel will star in The Details, a black comedy about a couple who discover an infestation of raccoons in their back yard. … There’s more

Darren’s Movie News 05/05/09

So, we’re into May now. Where is this year going? Blockbuster season is kicking off. Wolverine was average, Star Trek is sublime. So, what’s next? Terminator, Harry Potter, Transformers 2, Public Enemies, Bruno, GI Joe, Inglourious Basterds…it’ll be a mixed bag this Summer. In movie news: The nominations for the MTV Movie Awards (a million times more entertaining than the Oscars) have been announced. Check out the MTV website for more info. Curiously, Ben Stiller’s production company are working with Matt Lucas and David Walliams to make a Little Britain movie. Christina Aguilera is set to make her big screen debut in Burlesque, a contemporary musical along the same lines of Moulin Rouge. Roger Friedman is attacking Harry Knowles of Aint It Cool News for revealing too many details about Wolverine’s plot in his review. Is he just trying to gain some attention on his own new site or does … There’s more

Wolverine – So What Was All That Fuss About?

A poor cliché ridden storyline with plot holes galore, awful casting in the bit parts (such as Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and Lynn Collins as Kayla), underuse of the strongest cast members (i.e. Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds) and Crystal-Skulls-bad CG in parts made Wolverine a passable, average comic book movie. It wasn’t bad enough to sit alongside Catwoman, but it basically ignored the bar that was raised last year by The Dark Knight, Iron Man and even The Incredible Hulk. It will eventually find a place in my DVD press beside the first three X-Men films, but not until it goes on sale in the three for two offer in HMV.

Movie News 22/04/09

Well hello fellow movie buffs, as Star Trek, Wolverine, Terminator Salvation, Transformers, Harry Potter and Angels & Demons all edge closer to our screens, it’s worth remembering that there are other things going on in the world of film: Arnold Schwarzenegger has been talking about his cameo in the new Terminator movie. It seems he agreed to do it as long as the technology was right and he didn’t have to perform. He’s a busy man these days. Anyway, I’m interested to see John Connor’s reaction when he sets eyes on Arnie’s T-800 or the first time in many years. Wolverine’s Hugh Jackman has been immortalised in stone. Well his hands have at least: he has left his his hand and foot prints into cement outside the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Oh, and there is a new Wolverine trailer now available. I don’ see much different in this … There’s more

Movie News 15/04/09

How to bleed a franchise dry…the X-Men franchise has seen three movies go on release to accumulate somewhere in the region of $1,050,000,000 and this will only increase with next month’s Wolverine. The origin story of Magneto is also in the works and now it seems studio execs are trying to light a fire underneath X-Men:The First Class, the story of Charles Xavier’s first set of mutant students. I’m sure this will spark its own franchise spin. Overkill much? Richard Jenkins (the father from Six Feet Under) and Julia Roberts will star in Eat, Pray, Love, centering on a married woman who embarks on a journey of self-discovery after realizing that she’s not living the life she wants. The lovely Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Heroes and the voice of Gossip Girl) has been cast in Disney’s You Again, as a girl who is shocked to find out her brother … There’s more

Piracy or publicity? I’m not sure.

An unfinished version of the new X-Men movie, Origins: Wolverine, was leaked just a few days ago and has already made its way to the computers of more than a million BitTorrent users. The leaking of an illegal copy of the film is being looked into by the FBI, which could result in criminal proceedings. In an attempt to keep the damage to a minimum, Fox has been sending out takedown notices to various torrent sites. Strangely enough, a journalist for Fox News was dismissed earlier this week for posting a review of X-Men Origins based on a viewing of the illegal download. Roger Friedman joked that he might watch other films using the same method. The network condemned Mr Friedman’s action as “reprehensible” before firing his ass. The leaked workprint was a rough cut which did not contain CGI special effects and frequently showed green screens and wires attached … There’s more

Movie News 07/04/09

Jennifer Garner and Butter. No, not as exciting as you might think, but mildly interesting all the same – she’s starring in a political satire which follows a young orphan adopted by a couple in the American Midwest who discovers she has a hidden talent. She’s a genius at carving sculptures from butter and must compete with the wife of her town’s former carving champion in the annual competition. According to the writer, Jason Micallef, he “wanted to do a political satire and…was looking for some venue that people take very seriously but is also ridiculous – like politics – but at the same time is really visual.” JJ Abrahms’ new comedy (he produces, while Roger Michell directs) has an impressive cast list. Morning Glory has Jeff Goldblum as the boss of an aspiring news producer, Rachel McAdams, who must save a failing morning TV show by keeping in check … There’s more