“Blockbuster plagued by red ink, Redbox - Dallas Morning News” plus 4 more |
- Blockbuster plagued by red ink, Redbox - Dallas Morning News
- Small fire damages U.D. movie theater - Delaware County Daily Times
- Movie buff - East Side Boxing
- Movie review: 'The Time Traveler's Wife' - Union-News & Sunday Republican
- Movie Review: Korean director annihilates weak vampirism genre - Daily Texan Online
| Blockbuster plagued by red ink, Redbox - Dallas Morning News Posted: 13 Aug 2009 09:02 PM PDT On a day when it reported more losses, partly because of competition from Redbox vending kiosks, Blockbuster Inc. watched the battle escalate between filmmakers and the fast-growing competitor. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. on Thursday became the third major studio to try to keep Redbox from stocking new releases in its vending machines at the same time that the DVDs are available for sale and rent in stores and by mail. Dallas-based Blockbuster lowered its outlook for the year, though it narrowed its second-quarter loss by cutting costs, including rents on its stores. It also is planning to go back to friendlier credit markets to extend debt maturities and reduce the high cost of capital that it negotiated in May so it can resume its growth plans. Those plans include Blockbuster's own kiosks – 2,500 of them this year and 7,500 next year. Stocking those kiosks with new releases would be too expensive, Blockbuster chief executive Jim Keyes said. "We're siding with the studios that together represent 60 percent of the industry." Blockbuster is still the biggest movie rental company, but Netflix Inc.'s by-mail business and Redbox are becoming more aggressive competitors, just as liquidity demands are keeping Blockbuster from fighting back as hard. Redbox is the biggest operator of DVD rental kiosks, with more than 17,000 in stores such as Wal-Mart, Walgreens and 7-Eleven, and plans to end the year with 22,000. Movies rent for a $1 plus tax for each day the customer keeps the disc, up to 25 days, when the customer receives ownership. Redbox is making studios nervous about the future of their revenue. Studio DVD sales to retailers and rental outlets are forecast to fall by about $850 million to $12.9 million this year, according to Adams Research. Fingers are pointing at Redbox, which buys its DVDs from wholesalers and then disposes of its used discs two weeks later to resellers. As the kiosk company has grown, its used-DVD supply has swelled to the point that studios see it cutting into their own DVD sales. Redbox said it stands behind its commitment to provide new releases to its customers. The company, which was acquired by Coinstar Inc. in February, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against 20th Century Fox after the studio tried to keep Redbox from renting its new releases until at least 30 days after public release. Redbox sued General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures last year after that studio told distributors not to sell movies to Redbox unless it agreed to a 45-day delayed release. "We filed lawsuits reluctantly, but we're trying to protect the consumer's interests," spokesman Chris Goodrich said. On Tuesday, Redbox signed a multiyear distribution agreement with Lionsgate, expanding the number of DVDs from that studio that it can stock in its kiosks. It agreed to destroy the used discs. Last month, Redbox reached a similar deal with Sony Pictures. Warner Bros. and the others want vending machines to have the same window as on- demand movies from cable and satellite companies – 28 to 45 days after retail release. Blockbuster said Thursday that it lost $36.9 million, or 21 cents a share, in the quarter ended July 5, compared with a net loss of $41.9 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Blockbuster lost 19 cents per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 12 cents per share. Total revenue fell 22 percent to $1.02 billion from $1.3 billion a year ago, and same-store sales fell 17.8 percent. The company said it now expects full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to range between $270 million and $290 million, down $35 million from its previous guidance. Blockbuster shares fell 26 percent in late trading.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Small fire damages U.D. movie theater - Delaware County Daily Times Posted: 14 Aug 2009 01:41 AM PDT UPPER DARBY — Moviegoers had already left the building when the smell of smoke permeated the 69th Street Movie Theater on 69th Street shortly before midnight Wednesday.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 13 Aug 2009 11:32 PM PDT Movie buff celtic bhoy - email celtic bhoy - email celtic bhoy - email Declan bonnie coyney aidan thurles paddymickey Goatsnake Ben Declan daveydmx - email moorser moorser |
| Movie review: 'The Time Traveler's Wife' - Union-News & Sunday Republican Posted: 14 Aug 2009 02:02 AM PDT by The Republican Entertainment DeskThe Time Traveler's Wife" 2 stars Rated: PG-13 for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality Running time: 107 minutes By CHRISTY LEMIRE So let's try to get this straight, here. In "The Time Traveler's Wife," Eric Bana plays a guy named Henry who jumps around the past, present and future, only he can't control where or when he goes. Supposedly, he also can't control how he gets back where he came from, except for when he tries certain tricks to place himself in a state of mind to time travel. Even then there's no way to guarantee which version of Henry will show up: the same one who left or a younger or older version of himself. Still, he manages to hold down a job at a Chicago library and maintain an apartment, makeshift as it is. The only constant seems to be that when he shows up at his destination, he's always naked. (Somehow, Henry has found time between all his travels to hit the gym.) Hunky as he is, he'd be a frustrating guy to fall in love with, or even date. Women like stability, you know. But Rachel McAdams' character, Clare, must be made of stronger stuff than the rest of us, because not only does she tolerate Henry's pesky inconsistency, she believes he's her destiny, and that he has been since the first time she saw him as a precocious 6-year-old girl (played by Brooklynn Proulx). The core of "The Time Traveler's Wife" is their struggle to stay together. Director Robert Schwentke's film, based on the Audrey Niffenegger best-seller, breezes through their relationship, including the fact that Clare and Henry's meet-cute is more like a meet-creepy. He's a thirtysomething man who shows up wearing no clothes in the meadow behind her parents' house, asks to borrow her picnic blanket and just starts talking to her. This doesn't freak her out at all - where is the stranger-danger lesson, people? - presumably because she knows, even at this tender age, that she is cosmically meant to be with him. Maybe it's more plausible on the written page - or maybe you just have to be a hopeless romantic, and willing to shut off the part of your brain that craves logic, to enjoy this. But strangely, in the script from Bruce Joel Rubin (an Oscar winner for "Ghost," a supernatural love story that actually made sense) the time-travel gimmick supersedes any sort of substance, depth or character development. Bana and McAdams try their best to win us over to this complicated conceit with enormously earnest performances. McAdams shows some of the same dramatic capabilities that helped make her a star in "The Notebook." As for Bana, this is a rare and welcome opportunity to seem him play the romantic lead, for which his dark good looks and strong presence would seem to make him a natural. And the ever-reliable character actor Stephen Tobolowsky grounds things somewhat as the geneticist who tries to help Henry and Clare forge some sort of normal life. Still, we're left wondering afterward, how do these people feel about this extraordinary situation in which they've found themselves? In theory, indeterminate time traveling would wreak havoc with even the most mundane daily activities: grocery shopping, sitting at a red light, parent-teacher conferences. Speaking of which, Henry and Clare eventually have a daughter to whom they pass on the time-travel gene, but it doesn't seem to bother the kid, either. Really? You're 5 years old, playing hopscotch with your buddies during recess, and poof! You disappear. Wouldn't that be slightly disturbing? "The Time Traveler's Wife" doesn't seem interested in crawling inside her head, either. It's too busy trying to tug at our hearts.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Movie Review: Korean director annihilates weak vampirism genre - Daily Texan Online Posted: 14 Aug 2009 02:17 AM PDT You can barely throw a rock without hitting something that relates to vampires these days. Unfortunately, our culture is still in the clutches of "Twilight," making you choose whether you're part of "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob." Every Sunday, "True Blood" shows more nudity than it does neck bites and the CW even has "The Vampire Diaries" this fall. Thank God for Chan-wook Park, director of the fascinating and bizarre "Thirst." Best known for directing the masterful "Oldboy," Chan-wook has created a vampire tale that's fun, unsettling and undeniably sexy. Sang-hyun (Kang-ho Song) is a Catholic priest who subjects himself to a medical experiment to cure a terrible disease for the greater good. After succumbing to the disease, doctors transfuse blood so Sang-heyon can hang on a little longer. The blood he receives happens to have the vampirism gene in it, instantly curing him. Sang-hyun is now seen by many as a saintly miracle worker who might help their ailments. After recovering, he visits a childhood friend who is sick in the hospital. Sang-hyun takes notice of his friend's wife, Tae-joo (Ok-vin Kim). She's clearly unhappy in her marriage and begins to flirt with her. Then things get messy. Chan-wook is not afraid to show how toxic some relationships can become, and the one between Sang-hyun and Tae-joo is one of the most destructive in recent memory. Their sexual tension definitely raises your pulse but once they become involved, it becomes clear just how bad they are for each other. Sang-hyun tries to stay moral and true by not killing anyone, instead opting to siphon the blood of comatose patients or stealing from the blood bank, but it's pretty impossible to stop the monster that's taking him over. Like in his previous films, Chan-wook is able to mix silly, weird comedy with twisted, dark drama, making for a film that never loses your interest. That being said, the film is definitely a bit too long and could have easily lost a couple of lesser moments to create an even stronger final product. "Thirst," which won the Grand Jury prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, is one of the best surprises of the summer with its jarring violence and compelling story. Chan-wook has made a vampire film worthy of following in the footsteps of last year's classic "Let the Right One In." Unfortunately, all of the vam-power goes back to the Hot Topic tweeners when "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" premieres. Be the first to comment on this article!  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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