Week 5 (Street Date 12/29/2009)

VideoRetailer.com Users: We really need your feedback...
Please CLICK HERE to take a quick survey so we can continue to provide these tools to you.

9

Studio: Universal MPAA Rating: PG13 Genre: Animated Fantasy Pre Order Date: 11/9/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 31.4 Number Of Screens: 2060 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 9/9/09 Director: Shane Acker Cast: Voices of: Elijah Wood , Jennifer Connelly , Christopher Plummer , John C. Reilly , Crispin Glover , Martin Landau Videoretailer.com Review: Coming soon

Capitalism: A Love Story

Studio: Anchor Bay MPAA Rating: R Genre: Documentary Pre Order Date: 11/23/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 12.0 Number Of Screens: 995 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 9/25/09 Director: Michael Moore Cast: Michael Moore documentary on the effect corporate dominance has over the American people Videoretailer.com Review: Michael Moore documentary that explores the root causes of the global economic meltdown and takes a serious look with a comical spin at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as the biggest robbery in the history of this country--the massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions. Whether you like Moore’s brand of humorous and infuriating investigations of America’s corrupt and greedy powers that be, or dislike his biased and sensationalized soap-box muckraking, you’ve got to give him credit for consistently putting together entertaining, thought-provoking and timely documentaries that transcend into demographics that would typically never touch a doc. Critics and consumer quite liked this, most giving high marks, and at a time when the American public is losing its patience with the TARP bailouts to the institutions that significantly damaged the global economy, right or wrong, this documentary’s release is timely, and this is bound to find good to very good demand for quite a few weeks. Compare with how “Sicko” did for you…this should be no different. IMDB User Rating = 6.9 (out of 10).

District 9

Studio: Sony MPAA Rating: R Genre: Sci-Fi Pre Order Date: 11/23/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 115.0 Number Of Screens: 3180 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 8/14/09 Director: Neill BlomKamp Cast: Sharlto Copely, Jason Cope Videoretailer.com Review: It's been 28 years since prawn-like aliens made first contact when their massive starship broke down over South Africa and now hovers quietly over the government-constructed alien ghetto refugee camps where the ‘Prawns’ live in tentative peace with the humans outside of District 9 and the human gangs trading inside of it. A private company called MNU is assigned the task of controlling the aliens, but MNU is more interested in understanding how the aliens weaponry works; but the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative ‘Wikus’ is exposed to alien DNA, and begins to mutate, he becomes a very wanted man, and is forced to retreat to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his thug pursuers and find help from some unlikely allies. One of the best reviewed and higher-rated films of 2009, this intelligent, entertaining sometimes funny, sometimes quite violent R-rated sci-fi / action film did pretty well at the B/O as it found a lot of pre-premier buzz that carried through its theatrical run…this was a highly anticipated and much discussed release that will find excellent initial interest, and will likely have some legs past the holidays. Currently #86 on the IMDB “Top 250 of All Time”, this also scored an 80 over at Metacritic.com, only beaten by “Up”, “Still Walking” and “Star Trek”. IMDB User Rating = 8.4 (out of 10).

Facing Ali

Studio: Lions Gate MPAA Rating: R Genre: Documentary Pre Order Date: 12/1/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: Ltd  Number Of Screens: Fests Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 2009 Fests Director: Pete McCormack Cast: Documentary where 10 of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute Videoretailer.com Review: Documentary that interviews various former opponents of Muhammad Ali, and speak about their experiences with the man, such as Joe Frazier, who speaks of the bitterness that still remains of his rivalry with Ali; George Chuvalo, a Canadian fighter who recalls that while Ali defeated him, he went dancing with his wife afterward while the winner went to the hospital; George Foreman, whose memories include a powerful punch that Ali chose not to land; Leon Spinks, whose 1978 upset victory over Ali thrust him into a level of fame he was not prepared to handle; Ernie Terrell, who discusses the technique and strategy behind Ali's approach; and many more. While there’s not much to be found critique-wise on this film that enjoyed a very brief and limited festival run, this sports doc will appeal to fans of the sport / Ali, and won’t find much interest outside of that niche…this may be very well done, but masterpiece or not, the appeal will be about the same. Most won’t need more than 1-3. IMDB User Rating = 8.8 (out of 10…only 29 votes).

Glee - Season 1, Vol.1 (4dsc)

Studio: Fox MPAA Rating: NR Genre: Comedy Pre Order Date: 12/1/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: TV09 Number Of Screens: Fox Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 2009 Fox Director: Cast: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele Videoretailer.com Review: Season 1, Volume 1 of 1 and counting, this Fox series on McKinley High School's Glee Club, a club that used to be at the top of the show choir world, but years and a series of scandals later have turned it into a haven for misfits and social outcasts. ‘Will Schuester’ (Matthew Morrison) has offered to take on the Herculean task of restoring the Glee Club to its former glory. Amidst a gaggle of nerdy and awkward members, Will has a couple of ace talents up his sleeve and endeavors to prove everyone wrong and inspire his ragtag group to make the nationals. Quality Fox comedy found great reviews and ratings right out of the gate and has performed pretty solidly throughout its first season, picking up a sizable fanbase. This should have good demand for your TV-to-DVD renting market.

Jennifer's Body

Studio: Fox MPAA Rating: R Genre: Horror Pre Order Date: TBA Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 16.1 Number Of Screens: 2738 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 9/18/2009 Director: Karyn Kusama Cast: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Adam Brody Videoretailer.com Review: When a bunch of Satan worshippers from an indie goth-rock band manage to get a demon to possess ‘Jennifer’ (Megan Fox), a small-town high school cheerleader hottie, the demon-babe seduces a number of hormone-raging boys from her school and then feeds on them…her best friend ‘Needy’, a pretty lass behind bookworm looks, is horrified at her buddy’s transformation and takes it upon herself to put an end to her rampage, and to the goth-rock band who started it all in the first place. A strange sophomore film choice for the writer and director team that brought us “Juno”, this part horror film, part dark comedy isn’t very scary, nor is it hysterically funny, but it’s kind of a wishy-washy touch of both. Depending on who you talk to, some will say this is a very intelligent cult hit waiting to happen, while others will tell you that it’s no better than a 2nd rate “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” spin-off. Critics and consumers were mixed all the way down the line, but this release is so soon after its pre-theatrical marketing boom, that all of those folks who skipped the theatrical to wait for the video release will be jazzed to see the copies grace your new release section. This should have very good initial demand (more than the meager $16M would suggest), and may even have longevity if it really does become a bit of a culty hit. I’m thinking to compare with “Drag Me To Hell”, but tone your order down by a third or more with this. IMDB User Rating = 5.9 (out of 10).

Marine 2, The

Studio: Fox MPAA Rating: R Genre: Action Pre Order Date: 12/1/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: DTV Number Of Screens: Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: Director: Roel Reine Cast: Lara Cox, Ted DiBiase Jr., Josiah D. Lee Videoretailer.com Review: Ted Dibiase stars as Marine recon sniper ‘Joe Linwood’, who while on a vacation on a tropical island with his wife, is forced to use his military training to save the day when guerillas take control of a secluded five-star resort asking for a substantial ransom, and the guerilla leaders begin murdering hostages as to convince the powers that be that they’re serious. Direct to video Sequel to the original film starring John Cena has absolutely nothing to do with the first film, other than the fact that the main character is a marine. Title recognition will be your best friend with this…”The Marine” did okay for an over-the-top action movie, and while Dibiase currently isn’t as big a movie star as Cena, he’s very well known in the WWE wrestling circuit

Moon

Studio: Sony MPAA Rating: R Genre: Sci-Fi Pre Order Date: 11/23/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 5.0 Number Of Screens: 251 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 6/12/09 Director: Duncan Jones Cast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey Videoretailer.com Review: With only three weeks left in his three year contract on the moon, mining a gas that will reverse the Earth’s energy problem, ‘Sam Bell’ (Sam Rockwell) has been alone with computer and assistant ‘GERTY’ (voice of Kevin Spacey) the entire time, and he’s getting anxious to finally return to Earth to see his wife and 3-year-old daughter again. Unfortunately, the long period of time alone, and a long-standing communication malfunction that disallows direct communication with Earth has made Sam a little stir crazy, and when a near fatal accident leaves Sam with cause to believe he’s not alone, the begins to become paranoid that his company ‘LUNAR’ has other plans for him than sending him safely home…and he embarks on a mission to get home on his own – all the while questioning his own sanity and beliefs. Slowly but evenly paced existential space-drama is very well-performed by Rockwell, and works out to be an excellent, if slow, film that found very good reviews from the critics and consumer who praised it for being a nice contrast to the big-budget FX-filled extravaganzas that fill the theaters every summer; those who disliked nominated this for the most boring movie ever. Despite the alright starpower, there is little title awareness for this indie flick, but you may find some word-of-mouth interest pick up some traction before long…it will be niche however to fans of indie, dramas for thinkers, and fans of old-school non-action Sci-Fi. Despite a different genre, perhaps compare with 9/08’s “Noise”? IMDB User Rating = 8.1 (out of 10).

Perfect Getaway, A

Studio: Universal MPAA Rating: R & UN Genre: Thriller Pre Order Date: 11/9/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 15.4  Number Of Screens: 2159 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 8/7/09 Director: David Twohy Cast: Steve Zahn, Timothy Olymphant, Milla Jovovich Videoretailer.com Review: For their honeymoon, newlyweds ‘Cliff’ and ‘Cydney’ (Steve Zahn, Milla Jovovich) head to the tropical islands of Hawaii, and while journeying through the paradisiacal countryside the couple encounters two disgruntled hitchhikers ‘Kale’ and ‘Cleo’ and two wild but well-meaning spirits ‘Nick’ and ‘Gina’ (Timothy Olymphant, Kiele Sanchez), who help guide them through the lush jungles. The dream vacation however quickly gives way to terror when Cliff and Cydney learn of a grisly murder that occurred nearby and realize that they're being followed by two sets of chance acquaintances that suspiciously fit the description of the killers. What appeared from its pre-theatrical marketing campaign to be a run-of-the-mill “Turistas” wannabe, this is actually a very well-crafted thriller that has a pretty long build-up, but one that serves a satisfying suspenseful payoff, and a pretty good twist ending. This didn’t do very well at the box-office, but this probably is one of those ‘wait for the DVD’ titles…the performance for us will likely exceed typical $15M expectations. Maybe compare with 7/08’s “The Ruins”, but bump this up a bit. IMDB User Rating = 6.5 (out of 10).

	United States Of Tara - Season 1 (2dsc)
	Studio: Paramount MPAA Rating: NR Genre: Comedy Pre Order Date: 11/16/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: Cable09 Number Of Screens: Showtime Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 2009 Showtime Director: Cast: Toni Collette, John Corbett, Brie Larson Videoretailer.com Review: Coming soon

	Weather Girl
	Studio: Screen Media MPAA Rating: R Genre: Comedy Pre Order Date: 11/30/2009 Video Release Date: 12/29/2009 Box Office Sales / Broadcast Details: 20K Number Of Screens: 2 Theatrical / Broadcast Release Date: 7/10/2009 Director: Blayne Weaver Cast: Tricia O'Kelley, Patrick Adams, Ryan Devlin, Mark Harmon Videoretailer.com Review: Coming soon