October 1st, 2017
September destroyed the previous September monthly record for total box office take, with $800 million or so (we won’t know the exact figure until after the weekend), which tops 2016’s record of $616 million. Granted, this is almost entirely due to It’s record breaking run, and the rest of the month was merely average. Kingsman: The Golden Circle was the only other film to come close to $100 million. October doesn’t look any better, as far as depth is concerned. Blade Runner 2049 is widely expected to be the biggest hit of the month, but it is the only film expected to reach $100 million domestically. Boo 2 should be the second biggest hit of the month, while there are only a couple of other films that have a shot at $50 million. Part of the problem is the level of competition, as there are 16 films opening during the four October weekends. (Needless to say, some of the predictions below will be a little short, as there’s not much to say about a film that will barely open in the top ten and disappear two weeks later.) That’s way too many and most will be buried by the competition. Last October was a flop, as no film earned more than $100 million at the box office. There were a few films that came close, including the original Boo! movie. As long as Blade Runner 2049 matches expectations, 2017 should win the year-over-year comparison by a small margin. If we get one surprise hit, then 2017 has a real shot at closing the gap with 2016 by a significant margin. I choose to be cautiously optimistic.
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February 5th, 2017
I put in a request for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine The Complete Series, but Sabrina Down Under arrived instead. This TV movie is the second such movie from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the first being Sabrina Goes to Rome. Will it please fans of the show? Does it have a grander scale than the average episode?
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March 18th, 2013
Strange Frame is a low-budget animated film with an LGBT twist to it. When I got the chance to review it, it sounded so weird I couldn't pass up the opportunity. Will it appeal to its target demographic? Will it have more mainstream appeal? Or is it just too weird for anyone?
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December 6th, 2012
While Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, there are still plenty of shopping days from now till Christmas. Like every year, we have a Holiday Gift Guide, starting with Part I, which focused on first run releases and franchise box sets. Part II focuses on TV on DVD releases. Like years past, we will be focusing on TV on DVD releases for shows making their debut on the home market, or for full season sets. That's not to say those are the only shows worth buying as gifts, but if you know someone who loved Futurama, then you don't need me to tell you Volume 7 would make a good gift or not. The number of really good TV series that made their debut this year is bigger than last year, including some that were so good they dominated Awards Season. The best of these was...
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