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Verizon Adds over 200,000 Internet Subscribers and 194,000 Video Subscribers[teaser]Verizon is up at a time where most other companies are way down. [/teaser] It's not a good time for the cable industries. Families are examining their budgets and cutting costs where they can. One of the biggest places to cut costs is in cable service, which has providers losing hundreds of thousands of subscribers a year. Verizon is an exception to the rule, gaining 194,000 FiOS video subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2011. The number goes up above 200,000 when factoring in the 6,100 subscribers that choose to go with an internet-only option. In all, Verizon's FiOS network grew by more than 900,000 subscribers in 2011. The count now totals 16.5 million homes. Source: Home Media MagazinePosted Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
'Young Adult' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]The latest comedy from 'Juno' director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody is planned for Blu-ray in April. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Paramount is working on 'Young Adult' for a high-definition bow on April 24. The film starring Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy/Musical (Theron) and three Critics' Choice nominations for Best Actress (Theron) Best Screenplay (Diablo Cody), and Best Supporting Actor (Patton Oswalt). The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, and supplements have yet to be revealed. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray set is still undetermined at this time. You can find the latest specs for 'Young Adult' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 24.Posted Wed Jan 25, 2012 at 06:00 AM PST by: -
Aaron's Sundance 2012 Journal: Day 3[teaser]After having such hectic schedules the first two days I decided that for Day 3 I'd take it easy...well, at least in the morning. [/teaser] Instead of being up bright and early to head out the door around 7:00 I slept in a little and skipped the first movie I had planned for today, which was 'The End of Love.' It's just too hard to do continuous four- and five-movie days. I know what you're saying to yourself: "This guy is complaining about watching movies all day?" Well, watching movies is only half of the equation. The other half is packing into crowded buses, walking through a foot and a half of muddy slush water, and standing in hour-long lines just to get into the next movie. There's much more to a festival than meets the eye. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast, but even the most hardened movie watcher like me has their limits, and I was simply beat. The weather had calmed down and Snowpocalypse passed on by, but not before it dumped about a foot and a half of snow in Park City, making getting around ten times more difficult. Every bus you step off of you have to be extra careful not to step in the deceptively deep slush pool or you might find yourself shin deep in freezing cold mud water. Yeah, it's not a fun thing to have happen. The last thing you want is to be squishing around from theater to theater in soggy socks. My first movie was at noon. It was a high school rom-com entitled 'The First Time' and it's one of the best movies I've seen up here so far. After you can get past the initial 'Gilmore Girls' fast-talking, hip dialogue, there's some real substance here. Witty, smart teenagers, which is always a welcome respite from the norm. From there I headed on back to the Festival Headquarters in order to finally get some writing done. That's the other con to seeing movies back-to-back-to-back-to-back: you never have time to write. I was able to crank out three reviews in a new lounge I found sponsored by Southwest. It's the perfect place to write, because it's quiet and it has outlets for your computer cables. If you want to know the top survival technique of any writer when it comes to covering a film festival, know where the outlets are. Your laptop battery will inevitably fail, or you're like me and have laptops whose batteries are doing nothing more than adding weight to the computer. Outlets are essential. They're as important as knowing where the nearest bathrooms are. Go to any film festival and head on over to wherever the press office is, and guaranteed you'll find journalists wandering rooms, hallways, and lobbies looking for outlets and getting frustrated when they can't find them. I contemplated skipping the next movie I had planned, which was 'Red Lights.' I hadn't heard anything good about it, and specifically that the ending really stank. At a festival, news spreads quickly about which movies are gaining ground and which ones simply fizzle out. 'Red Lights' was getting a reputation of having a decent first two acts and then completely going off the rails in the third. At the last minute I decided to try to see if I could still get in. I did, about a minute late, and had to sit almost in the front row. The rumors were right. The supernatural thriller starring Cillian Murphy and Robert De Niro starts off rather well – if not a little generically as far as supernatural thrillers go – and then completely comes off the hinges when it's time to end the movie. Oh boy is it bad. Really bad. So bad that they should consider rewriting and reshooting a completely different ending. After 'Red Lights' I had it all planned out. I was going to catch Stephen Frear's new movie 'Lay the Favorite.' I was going to perfectly line up with the last movie of the night 'Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap.' Only, it wasn't until I was in line for 'Lay the Favorite' that I found out the movie didn't start at 7:00pm like I thought it did. No, it started at 7:30pm, which cut out 30 minutes of travel time I desperately needed to make it to the distant Redstone Theaters for 'Something From Nothing.' Reluctantly I had to step out of line and head on out to the Redstone Theaters. I had to make the choice because I was covering 'Something From Nothing' for Film.com, whereas 'Lay the Favorite' would've just been something to see for fun. I was bummed, but I'll try and fit it in later in the week. I got out to Redstone but still had about an hour to kill. I walked by a bistro which was empty save a few patrons. They had the NFC Championship game on TV. I was watching from outside, when a nice waiter walked up to the glass and motioned me to come in. "Come in, we don't charge for you to watch," he said. So I sat at the bar and watched the 49ers lose in overtime, and then took off back to the theater for my last movie of the day. 'Something From Nothing' is a must see movie if you have even the slightest interest in rap. It's a master's thesis in the way rap works, how it evolved, and the way lyricists put pen to paper and come out with something magical. It was directed by Ice-T, who was there. He sat directly behind me as a matter of fact. His question and answer session after the movie was the best I've ever been to at Sundance. In detail he described his passion for the movie and even did some freestyling for everyone. It was fantastic. I could've listened to him talk all night. I tried to sneak a couple incognito pictures of Ice-T and his wife Coco and the best I got was the picture above. After that the night was done. Ice-T's laid back Q&A was the perfect way to end what turned out to be my own version of a laid back day at Sundance. On Day 4 I'm planning on seeing five movies but I doubt I'll get to them all. Up first, in the morning, is Josh Radnor's 'Liberal Arts,' followed by the relationship comedy 'Save the Date.' I plan on taking in 'Nobody Walks' but I may cut out and take some time off to write. After that it's off to Katie Aselton's 'Black Rock,' and then a nightcap with the Chilean film 'Young and Wild.'Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 02:20 PM PST by: -
Top 5/Bottom 5: Joseph Gordon-Levittby Aaron Peck Joseph Gordon-Levitt kind of followed the same path as another child actor turn effortlessly-cool movie star, Neil Patrick Harris. In his early years Gordon-Levitt was known as the cute, rambunctious alien boy Tommy Solomon from '3rd Rock from the Sun.' I used to watch a lot of '3rd Rock from the Sun' and although I liked him then, I never thought he'd become such a great actor in such a short period of time. Many times child actors fade into obscurity, but not Gordon-Levitt. Over the past few years he's made himself into one of Hollywood's hottest commodities. Starring in huge blockbusters and indies alike. He's even started his own production company called hitRECord.org, which is an openly collaborative film project which brings artists from all around the world to work on movies together. It's an extremely interesting premise, and one that will be talked about at length during this upcoming Sundance Film Festival. [teaser]Even though the past few years have been a sort of cinematic awakening for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, he's been a part of a few stinkers too – just like anyone. Since '50/50' hits Blu-ray today, we thought we'd take this opportunity to look at the best and worst of Gordon-Levitt's still young acting career.[/teaser] The Best '50/50' This was certainly one of the best acting performances of 2011. A cancer movie can be a difficult task. You have to walk a thin line between overly dramatic and under developed. The last thing you want to do is offend people who have had cancer by creating an unrealistic depiction of the trial that they went through. Gordon-Levitt walks that line with grace. His portrayal of Adam, a man who just recently found out he has a rare form of spinal cancer, is believable and heartwarming. He also showed that he's definitely ready to take on any leading dramatic role out there. '(500) Days of Summer' I've got to say that this is my favorite of all the movies I've ever seen at Sundance, and quite possibly one of my favorite movies ever. Gordon-Levitt plays hopeless romantic Tom, whose passion in life is finding The One. He thinks he's found that person in Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel). Here's a film that is playful, experimental, and simply one of the best romantic comedies out there. One of my favorite Gordon-Levitt scenes is in this movie. There's a moment where we're presented with two viewing options: reality and fantasy. In the fantasy Tom imagines what it's going to be like with Summer when he greets her at her party, and reality is just that. Juxtaposing the two scenes together was a directorial feat of brilliance, but watching Gordon-Levitt act by himself side-by-side shows the extent of his range. On one half of the screen he's happy and care-free, on the other side he's dejected and heartbroken. Honestly, one of the most original and well-acted sequences I've ever seen in a romantic comedy. 'Brick' 'Brick' is such an audacious and odd undertaking that it must be lauded simply for its fearlessness. Not too many movies come around that make you feel like you haven't seen this somewhere before. Watching 'Brick' really is a unique experience. You really just have to experience 'Brick' to know exactly what it's all about. For those of you that still have yet to see this dark noir comedy you need to rectify that this instant. Speaking of which, we desperately need a Blu-ray release for this already! 'Inception' Sure this movie is all about Leonardo Dicaprio and Christopher Nolan, but Joseph Gordon-Levitt punches in with an outstanding supporting role. With his bean-pole build you wouldn't think that he could pull off an action film like this, but he easily does. Remember the "effortlessly cool" statement in the first paragraph. He exudes it in bucket loads with this film. 'The Lookout' It was 2007 when 'The Lookout' came out and I still think that it was one of the more underrated films of that year. Crime thrillers don't usually get the due they deserve, even when they're good (unless they're directed by the Coen Brothers). That year was all about 'No Country for Old Men' and 'There Will Be Blood.' Even though it was never destined to win an Academy Award, 'The Lookout' is a superb noir thriller that stands up against many of the best movies of that year. The Worst 'G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra' Do I even have to have give you a reason for hating this movie? It's a steaming pile of Stephen Sommers. The CGI in this movie is enough to give someone a migraine. It's non-stop and not the least bit subtle. The whole Eiffel Tower scene still gives me nightmares. I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that there's a sequel coming out later this year. 'Havoc' This movie is most well-known for being the movie where Anne Hathway gets really naked and really dirty. No, that doesn't help the movie rise up into "good" or even "watchable" territory. It's one of those movies that you look up online for the two minute clips that you really want to see wink, wink, then you never think of it again. 'Killshot' Yet another dismal adaption of an Elmore Leonard book. Honestly, I don't know why his material gets screwed up so much. The silver lining here is that Gordon-Levitt actually isn't that bad as the psychopath sidekick to Mickey Rourke's hitman. Sadly, that doesn't really save the movie from its inability to catch the spirit or grittiness of Leonard's writing. 'Latter Days' It was hailed by the gay community as a game-changer simply because it dealt with hot-button issues. That never stopped the movie from being a bore populated with stereotypical characters, flimsy emotion, and a been-there-done-that feel. 'Miracle at St. Anna' Here's Spike Lee at his worst. He's such a well-known and respected filmmaker that it seems he gets a free pass whenever he puts out a movie, but this one was different. A two hour and forty minute war epic that plods around like someone forgot to trim down the story in the editing room. In Gordon-Levitt's defense, his bottom five deal with movies where he didn't play main roles, whereas in his top films he's either the star or a very crucial side character. He's been in some bad movies, but those weren't entirely his fault. Even then, he's fairly good when stuck with bad material. Another movie worth mentioning is 'Hesher.' While not a perfect film, Gordon-Levitt branches out and completes a transformation that is 180 degrees away from his role in '(500) Days of Summer.' He's one of the hottest actors out there at the moment, for good reason. What do you think about the list? Are there any movie that you'd add into the top or bottom five that we missed out on? And just for fun, where would you place his time on '3rd Rock from the Sun'?Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 01:30 PM PST by: -
'Puss in Boots' Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D Detailed[teaser]The swashbuckling spinoff coming to Blu-ray 3D in February has now been fully detailed! [/teaser] As previously reported, DreamWorks is preparing 'Puss in Boots' and 'Puss in Boots - 3D' for a a release on February 24. 'Puss in Boots' continues the legacy of Shrek,' the #1 animated franchise of all time, with the uproarious and irresitable origin story of the notorious fighter, lover and outlaw Puss in Boots. Filled with hilarious action and adventure, the true tail—er, tale—of how Puss became a hero long before he met Shrek delighted audiences of all ages with its non-stop laughs, daring deeds and original story. Boasting an all-star cast of voice talent including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris, 'Puss in Boots' is a must-own family film with serious cat-itude! The Blu-rays will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack, and supplements include: Purr-fect Pairings: The Voices Behind The Legends featurette, deleted scenes, Three Diablos animated short, and The Cat's Meow (six-part interactive feature). Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $40.99 and $49.99 for the Blu-ray 3D. You can find the latest specs for 'Puss in Boots' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 24.Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM PST by: -
'Frozen Planet' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]The BBC follow-up to 'Planet Earth,' 'Life,' and 'Human Planet' is bound for Blu-ray in April. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, BBC/Warner will be releasing 'Frozen Planet on the high-definition format on April 17. From BBC Earth and Alastair Fothergill, Executive Producer of 'Planet Earth' and 'The Blue Planet: Seas of Life,' 'Frozen Planet' is the epic tale of two disappearing wildernesses. The Arctic and Antarctic remain the greatest wildernesses on Earth. The scale and beauty of the scenery and the sheer power of the elements – the weather, the rough ocean and the ice – is unmatched anywhere else on our planet. Many of the most spectacular landscapes, charismatic animals and their behavior have never been recorded before. Filmed with the same breathtaking camera techniques as 'Planet Earth' and 'Life,' 'Frozen Planet' tells the compelling story of animals such as the wandering albatross, the adelie penguin and the polar bear, and paints a portrait that will take your breath away, at a moment when, melting fast, the frozen regions of our planet may soon be changed forever. The 3-disc set will include all seven episodes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack and supplements include Science at the Ends of the Earth documentary, On Thin Ice featurette, and six Freeze Frame Video Diaries. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $54.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Frozen Planet' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under April 17.Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 10:00 AM PST by: -
Pass Labs Launches a Preamp and a Pair of Mono Amplifiers[teaser]The preamp is the new flagship of the line, while the mono amps are designed to replace older generation models. [/teaser] Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and the rest of the usual suspects have gone a bit quiet in the wake of CES, leaving room for high-end and luxury manufacturers to present their wares. Among them is Pass Labs, which has three new products for perusing. The XP-30 is the latest in the company's celebrated XP line of preamplifiers. It's a modular amplifier that comes in three separate pieces - a power supply, a control chassis and a gain chassis. The XP-30 offers 99 volume steps, six inputs, four outputs and will be available in August for $16,500. The Xs-150 and Xs-300 are a pair of mono power amplifiers which offer 150 and 300 watts of power respectively. They've been in development for three years and have been loaded with redundantly parallel rectifiers, separate chassis for the power supplies and larger transformers that are, at the same time, quieter transformers. The Xs-150 will be hitting at $65,000 a pair while the 300 comes in at $85,000 a pair. Source: eCousticsPosted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 09:00 AM PST by: -
'Beneath the Darkness' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]The thriller directed by Martin Guigui emerges from the shadows in February. [/teaser] In a recent press announcement, Image Entertainment will release 'Beneath the Darkness' on Blu-ray on February 28. The rural bliss of small town life has been celebrated as part of the American dream, but sometimes a small town is the perfect place to hide one’s secrets, one’s mistakes, one’s sins. And once discovered, it doesn’t take long for the American dream to become the American nightmare. The small-town shocker stars Golden Globe™ nominee Dennis Quaid in a rare villainous turn and coming off a recent national theatrical release, this gripping psychological thriller entwines cold-blooded murder, sinister secrets and modern hauntings on Maple Street. In the film Quaid plays Ely, the well-respected mortician of rustic Smithville Texas, where he was once a heralded high school football star. Among the kids, however, he is legendary for a more sinister reason -- rumors that his house is haunted. The truth is, this pillar of the community is actually a flesh-and-blood monster who buries his victims alive; a sociopath who befriends adults and police while openly flaunting his murderous intentions to the youths. Beware Ely’s charming smile – it may be the last thing you see, looking up from your freshly dug grave... The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include behind-the-scenes featurette and original theatrical trailer. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.97. You can find the latest specs for 'Beneath the Darkness' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 28.Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 08:00 AM PST by: -
Hitachi is Done Making TVs, Shifting Focus to Projectors and Components[teaser]The long term goal for Hitachi is to move out of consumer electronics and into infrastructure systems like power and rail. [/teaser] It's been a few years since Hitachi has made their own TVs for sale in the U.S. but the company has been keeping things going in Japan, at least up until now. Over last weekend Hitachi announced that they'll be quitting the TV game. Hitachi will still be selling TVs under the Hitachi name in Japan, but they'll be outsourcing the manufacturing to a third party. They haven't yet said who that will be. The sole TV manufacturing plant won't be shutting down though. It will instead begin focusing on projectors and home theater components as well as television repairs. Source: TWICEPosted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 07:00 AM PST by: -
'The Rebound' Blu-ray Announced and Detailed[teaser]The 2009 romantic comedy starring Academy Award-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones and Justin Bartha ('The Hangover') arrives on Blu-ray in February. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, 20th Century Fox says 'The Rebound' is coming to Blu-ray on February 7. Upon discovering her husband’s infidelity, Sandy (Zeta-Jones) and her two kids move from the suburbs to pursue a new life in the big city. There she meets Aram (Bartha), a local coffee shop employee whose wife only married him as a means to getting her green card. The two strike up a friendship which eventually evolves into something more. But it isn’t long before they’re faced with the big question - “Is this real or just a rebound?” Arriving just in time for Valentine’s Day and featuring electrifying chemistry between Zeta-Jones and Bartha, The Rebound also features fantastic supporting performances from Lynn Whitfield ('The Women,' 'Madea’s Family Reunion'), John Schneider (“The Dukes of Hazzard,” 'Lake Placid 2') and music legend Art Garfunkel. The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements include cast and crew interviews. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.99. You can find the latest specs for 'The Rebound' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under February 7.Posted Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 06:00 AM PST by:
