December 1st, 2020
The worst year for the movie theatrical industry in a century will end with a series of releases that might define the business for the next decade. Only three of the major studios are daring to release films in theaters during what is shaping up to be the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sony Pictures is going the traditional route with Monster Hunter getting an exclusive theatrical release on Christmas Day. Universal’s deals with AMC and Cinemark to allow shortened theatrical windows in return for sharing PVOD revenue have prompted it and its specialty division Focus Features to release four films this holiday season. But all eyes (or many of them, anyway) will be on Warner Bros.’ release of Wonder Woman 1984 simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.
When the studio announced this release strategy back on November 18 there was speculation that, if it worked out well, they might do the same thing with some of their other upcoming films. Today they threw caution to the wind and announced that all of the studio’s 2021 films will be released in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time (in territories where HBO Max is available). While we’re still digesting the news, here are three quick takes on the rationale for Warner Bros. to make this bold leap.
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July 18th, 2016
This week, the home market is led by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, at least in terms of box office dollars. It is far from the best in terms of reviews. That’s not to say there are no high quality releases this week. In fact, there are five Pick of the Week contenders, six if you include Belladonna Of Sadness, which came out last week, but the screener arrived late, so the review didn’t get published till the weekend. In the end, I went with To Have and Have Not on Blu-ray as Pick of the Week. However, Orphan Black: Season Four earns the seldom awarded Puck of the Week, as the best Canadian release.
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May 13th, 2016
It's a relatively good week for limited releases with several that are earning excellent reviews. Of these, The Lobster is the one I think will do the best at the box office. Kill Zone 2, Love & Friendship, and some others are also earning excellent reviews, but are playing in VOD.
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July 28th, 2014
I is not a bad week on the home market, as we do have a $100 million hit coming out on DVD and Blu-ray. Unfortunately, this $100 million hit is Noah, which is a good movie, but not a Pick of the Week contender. Worse still, it is a very shallow week and on the first page of Amazon.com's new releases list, there are releases that on a normal week would be filler. There are a trio of Pick of the Week contenders: Finding Vivian Maier - Buy from Amazon; It Felt Like Love - Buy from Amazon; and Marty - Blu-ray Buy from Amazon. All three are worth picking up, but in the end I went with Marty as Pick of the Week.
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July 27th, 2014
The first Ong-Bak film looked like it would propel Tony Jaa to super stardom. That hasn't worked out just yet, but there were two other films made in the franchise, which is being released this week. It is just the previous Blu-rays being released in a box set, but I only reviewed one of these films previously, so I jumped at the chance to see the other two. Are they worth picking up if you don't have them already?
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July 27th, 2014
The Protector 2 is the latest martial arts movie starring Tony Jaa. Tony Jaa was thought to be the next big thing when it comes to martial arts movies, but that hasn't panned out, at least not here. The reviews might be taking a toll on his career as only Ong Bak has earned overall positive reviews. Can The Protector 2 win over this critic? Or is the martial arts at least worth checking out, if the movie itself isn't?
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