March 20th, 2016
The fifth and final volume of the Perry Mason Movie Collection comes out this week. The original TV show is still widely considered a classic of the genre and was so beloved that nearly two decades after the original show ended, CBS began airing a series of TV movies. Over the next decade, 30 such films were made. Did the high quality last till the end of the franchise? Or did it run out of steam?
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April 8th, 2013
Lincoln was an Oscar contender right from the very beginning. Steven Spielberg directing a movie about Abraham Lincoln starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Of course it was an Oscar contender. Lincoln earned twelve Oscar nominations and earned two wins. Did the film deserve these awards? Or did it coast on reputation alone?
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January 1st, 2013
December ended on a positive note with 2012 topping 2011 with a week to spare. Hopefully this will translate into strong box office numbers going forward. There are several January releases that actually look very interesting, but you always have to ask, if the films are as good as they look, why are they opening in January? The biggest hit on this list will likely not be a January release, but a limited release from December that is expanding wide in January. Zero Dark Thirty opened in limited release the Wednesday before Christmas and right away it got off to an incredible start. If it can turn some of its Awards Season nominations into wins, which seems very likely at this point, it should be the biggest hit of January. If it can earn some major Oscars, then it might crack $100 million. Unfortunately, no other film on this release list is likely to come close to the $100 million mark. Last January was unseasonably strong with three films opening with $20 million or more and four films finishing with $50 million or more. It is possible that none of the new releases will reach those relatively weak standards.
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October 10th, 2012
A few weeks ago, there a number of films were released on Blu-ray as part of the Filmmakers Signature Series, including Hoffa on Blu-ray. I received The French Connection, Wall Street, and The War of the Roses, the first of which I previously reviewed. Are any of the three worth picking up?
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