New on DVD & Blu-Ray: 'Ender's Game', 'The Best Man Holiday', 'All is Lost'

Ender's Game - Based on the popular book by Orson Scott Card, the film follows Ender Wiggin, a kid who is recruited to battle school in order to train and prepare himself mentally for the next alien invasion attack on earth. But Ender isn't a soldier, as the battle school only recruits young boys to train by watching them as children to see if they're worthy of being recruited. The film stars Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield, and Viola Davis. 

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The Jungle Book (Diamond Edition) - The beloved Disney classic is getting its first Blu-ray release as we celebrate such classic songs like "Bare Necessities" and "That's What Friends Are For" that made the movie so memorable. Now Mowgli and Baloo can be seen in even better quality you can enjoy with the family over and over again. 

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The Best Man Holiday - Taye Diggs, Nia Long, and the rest of The Best Man gang are back in this fun sequel. When they get together for a reunion over Christmas, they remember how easy it is for old rivalries and romances to be brought into the present. The film stars Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Monica Calhoun, Melissa De Sousa, Regina Hall, and Terrence Howard. 

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Austenland - Jane Austen's novels have been a staple in the literary world for a long time. To the point where many women would like their own versions of Mr. Darcy and be Lizzy Bennett for a day. Well, Jane (not Austen) is so obsessed with Austen's novels that any man she goes out with never quite meets her standards. And as her experiences get worse, she clings to Austen's world even more. So, to kick her habit and experience some time with a Mr. Darcy of her own, Jane travels to England to Austenland, where the world of Jane Austen comes to life. The film stars Keri Russell and Jane Seymour. 

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All is Lost - There's nothing scarier than being stranded and alone in the middle of the ocean after having a cargo storage container ram into your boat. This film is a story about survival as even Robert Redford's character doesn't have a name, just a man at sea. The movie's subtle and evokes emotions from the audience because of everything that Redford has to fight through in order to survive. 

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The Counselor - Director Ridley Scott and author Cormac McCarthy bring to life a story of a lawyer who gets in over his head when he buys into a drug cartel and it all goes to hell. He's forced to deal with the consequences once events start getting out of his control and learns a major lesson in the choices one makes and the aftermath. The film has an all-star cast in Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem, and Peneleope Cruz. 

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Diana - Since the death of Princess Diana in 1997, her story has been told and told again. This time around, Naomi Watts plays the beloved princess. The new take on this story being the focus on only the last two years of Diana's life and her relationship with heart surgeon Hasnat Khan. The film also stars Cas Anvar, Naveen Andrews, and Charles Edwards. 

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The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box - When Mariah's parents vanish and his brother is kidnapped, he sets out on an adventure to find the Midas box. A box tasked by his parents and a secret organization to protect from anyone looking to find it and use it for evil purposes. Mariah is given the responsibility of spying at a hotel where the box is hidden underground and tries to stop its destruction. The film stars Sam Neill, Michael Sheen, and Lena Heady.

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Chicago (Diamond Edition) - The Diamond Edition of the Best Picture Academy Award Winning film is now available. Watch the special edition and re-watch Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart battle it out in a stunning silver screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. The film stars Renee Zellweger, Catherin Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Lucy Liu, and Taye Diggs. 

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Wadjda - A young Saudi Arabian girl signs up for Koran recitation class so that she can win the competition and gain the funds needed to finally get the green bicycle she's been wanting. Through her eyes, we see her culture. We watch as she befriends a neighborhood boy, watches the relationship between her mother and father deteriorate, and get through her days at school. The film stars Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah, Abdullrahman Al Gohani. 

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The Armstrong Lie - Alex Gibney started out making a documentary about the return of Lance Armstrong to professional cycling, but had to seriously rethink his project when Armstrong admitted that he'd take performance enhancing drugs and was then stripped of all his tour de France titles. The film explores the cyclists history from before he began his professional career to the present day. 

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G.B.F - Two closeted gay friends are taken on a Mean Girls-esque adventure when one of them is outed and then targeted by the three most popular girls in school to be their G.B.F. (gay best friend), and the new must-have accessory. The film is funny, witty, and quotable and stars Michael J. Willett, Paul Iocono, Sasha Pieterse, Evanna Lynch, Andrea Bowen, Molly Tarlov, and Joanna 'JoJo' Levesque.

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Life of a King - In order to help troubled teens living in inner-cities in Washington, DC, ex-felon Eugene Brown, establishes a chess club for them to participate in. The film stars Cuba Gooding, Jr., Thurston Hill, Dennis Haysbert, and Lisa Gay Hamilton. 

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Box Office: 'Thor: The Dark World' Hammers Its Way to #1

1. Thor: The Dark World- $86.1M
There's a reason why other studios don't put other films opposite of Marvel Studios' superhero projects, and its because of opening weekends like this. Thor: The Dark World somewhat surprisingly crushed the box office to the tune of $86.1M, the fourth highest of the year behind Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and Fast & Furious 6. It's also a significant jump over the $65M the first film made a couple of years ago. This was set up somewhat by last week's foreign haul of $109M, and worldwide the film has already tallied $327M. So that $170M production budget? A thing of the past. That bump all of Marvel's films seem to be getting after The Avengers? Still very much intact.
2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa- $11.3M/$78.7M
3. Free Birds- $11.18M/$30.1M
4. Last Vegas- $11.11M/$33.5M
5. Ender's Game- $10.2M/$44M
6. Gravity- $8.4M/$231.1M
7. 12 Years A Slave- $6.6M/$17.3M
8. Captain Phillips- $5.8M/$90.9M
9. About Time- $5.1M/$6.6M
10. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2- $2.8M/$109.9M

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Ender Gets an Army in First Clip from 'Ender's Game'

As with any adaptation of a beloved classic, longtime fans are going to have concerns about what may get changed for the big screen. The concern with Ender's Game, which I expressed yesterday on the Next Issue Podcast, is that the bulk of the footage we've seen has focused solely on the technical aspects and the alien invasion piece of the storyline. Those who have read Orson Scott Card's novel know there is a much headier element of the story, and fortunately the first official clip gives us our best taste of it yet.

Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin, a kid plucked from his life on Earth and enrolled in Battle School where he and others like him will train to defend humanity from an inevitable alien threat. But Ender isn't like the other students; he's exceptionally bright and gifted, specializing in battle tactics and strategy, skills that make him wildly unpopular with his peers. Harrison Ford is Commander Graff, who has no problem manipulating events to make life as rough as possible for Ender in order to make him a more hardened battlefield leader. In this clip we see Graff offering to give Ender his own unit, Dragon Army, since it's obvious he can't function under the command of another. There's some clever, dry wit here that hopefully carries over to the rest of the film, and the scene gives a solid impression of the dynamic between Graff and Ender.

Directed by Gavin Hood and starring Ben Kingsley, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, and Moises Arias, Ender's Game opens in IMAX on November 1st. Enjoy the new poster, as well.


Ender's Game "Ender's Army" Clip by FanReviews

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New Posters for 'Oldboy', 'Sweetwater', and 'Ender's Game'

Josh Brolin brings the hammer down in the latest poster for Spike Lee's Oldboy. Opening on November 27th, the film is a remake of Park Chan-Wook's surreal and hyper-violent classic about a man imprisoned in a hotel for twenty years, only to be released and set on a course for revenge. It's just the first of Chan-Wook's revered "Vengeance Trilogy" getting a fresh coat of paint as remakes of Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance are in the works.

Scathing reviews and a poorly-received trailer haven't stopped the January Jones-led western Sweetwater from finally gaining distribution. Saddling into town on October 11th, Jones play a widow in 1886 New Mexico packin' heat as she seeks revenge for the murder of her husband by a rancher. Jones has a solid cast of Ed Harris, Jason Isaacs, and Stephen Root working alongside her, but the response out of Sundance was pretty brutal. Honestly I'm a little bit intrigued, though, if only because it will be a nice change of pace to see a twist on the usual western formula.

They've been phoning it in on most of these Ender's Game one-sheets, producing fairly generic Photoshopped images and tweaking them for different regions. Here's the latest boring poster for the adaptation of Orson Scott Card's sci-fi classic, which seemed to have a great deal of hype a few months ago. Now it seems to be getting lumped in with all of the failed YA films, and perhaps that was inevitable considering the cast and premise. Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin, a young boy recruited into Battle School where he and others his age are trained to become humanity's greatest military leaders in order to fight off an alien threat. Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Moises Arias, and Abigail Breslin, Ender's Game opens November 1st.

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The Final Trailer for 'Ender's Game' Starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford

After teasing us with one of those annoying previews yesterday, Summit Entertainment has released the final trailer for Ender's Game, Gavin Hood's adaptation of the sci-fi classic novel by the controversial Orson Scott Card. Hugo star Asa Butterfield ventures into the future as Ender Wiggin, the brightest recruit at Battle School, where children are trained to fight a war against bug-like alien invaders known as the Formics. Moreso than the previous trailers, this one delivers on the scope of the film and the intense action, while also selling the performances by grizzled veterans Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley. What it doesn't do is suggest at the darker emotional beats contained within the story, which are likely to be what audiences take with them when all is said and done.

Directed by Gavin Hood and co-starring Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Moises Arias, and Viola Davis, Ender's Game opens on November 1st.


ENDER'S GAME - Trailer 2 by dmagianet

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Final Poster and Trailer Tease for 'Ender's Game'

With Summit Entertainment making the final push to hype Gavin Hood's adaptation of Ender's Game, the last thing they probably want is for the headlines to be dominated by controversy surrounding author Orson Scott Card's homophobic comments. At Comic-Con producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman attempted to get ahead of it by essentially throwing Card under the bus and dismissing his statements, and now they're hoping good will for the new trailer will remind people that the novel is truly a beloved sci-fi classic.

Tomorrow sees the release of the final trailer for the film, but today we have the new poster and a preview of the upcoming footage. We haven't had one of these trailer teases in awhile, and frankly they weren't really missed. Asa Butterfield stars as Ender Wiggin, the most promising recruit at Battle School, where young kids are trained to be great military commanders in order to defeat an alien invasion. Wisely, the aim seems to be the sell the impressive visuals and the cast of screen legends including Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley.

So look out for the full trailer tomorrow, and check out the tease below....

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Trailer drops for 'Ender's Game,' starring Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield

I keep forgetting the Ender's Game movie is happening, maybe because I think the book is insanely jingoistic and kind of racist? Umm, just saying. But this trailer, honestly, isn't making me excited, either. It's all Inception horns and Star Trek visuals and there doesn't seem to be very original here, not really, even though the novel is one of sci-fi's greatest classics. Perhaps I'm just hating? Perhaps.

Well, here's a short rundown of Ender's Game for you: Originally a book by Orson Scott Card published in 1985, the book takes place in a future where our world is threatened by Buggers, an alien species. Earth's only hope is child soldiers, specifically genius Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), who gets taken to Battle School and is challenged by teachers like Col. Graff (Harrison Ford) and Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), and befriended by Petra Arkanian (Hailee Steinfield). And then there's a war and some aliens and some other stuff.

Anyone else think the trailer for the film, which will hit theaters on Nov. 1, 2013, gives a pivotal action sequence away? Hmm. Click through to find out!

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Sneak peek at the new 'Ender's Game' trailer; plus first look at Ben Kingsley as Mazer Rackham

Since Ben Kingsley is currently making Tony Stark's life miserable as the global terrorist Mandarin in Iron Man 3, it makes sense that the producers behind Ender's Game want to highlight him as much as possible. Yesterday, the film's Facebook page revealed that the first full-length trailer would debut during a Google + Hangout with director Gavin Hood and star Asa Butterfield, and to get fans ready for it they've released some sneak peek footage which ends on Kingsley as the tattooed Mazer Rackham.

The first look at Kingsley in the film emerged a couple of days ago, and now this trailer tease also gives us a look at Harrison Ford as Colonel Graff, the leader of the Battle School designed to train special children to be the greatest military commanders in the universe. Humanity is on the verge of extinction due to a costly war with the bug-like alien Formics, and they need these kids to be the next Mazer Rackham, a legendary field general who single-handedly stopped the previous invasion. Ender Wiggin is regarded as the best and brightest recruit, and is put through the physical and emotional wringer to make sure he lives up to his potential.

Also starring Hailee Steinfeld, Moises Arias (The Kings of Summer), Viola Davis, and Abigail Breslin, Ender's Game hits theaters on November 1st. 

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Abigail Breslin joins the cast of 'Ender's Game'

Admit it. If you were one of those who endured New Year's Eve, you thought it was weird watching the heavily made up Abigail Breslin racing around town flashing her bra at people. She was and probably always will be Little Miss Sunshine to us, even as she makes the awkward transition into more mature roles. Her next big move? Stepping into a long-awaited adaptation of a revered science fiction novel.

Breslin will join Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Brendan Meyer, Hailee Steinfeld, and the recently confirmed Harrison Ford in Ender's Game, based on the series of novels by Orson Scott Card. She'll play Valentine Wiggin, Ender's older sister and one of his fiercest protectors during his training at Battle School. Ford, who was first rumored for a role last month, will play Colonel Hyrum Graff, Ender's manipulative trainer at the school. Production is set to begin in just a couple of months.

Gavin Hood(Tsotsi, X-men Origins: Wolverine) is both writing and directing, and frankly he's proven to be a mixed bag. I liked that Rendition drew attention to one of the great injustices frequently committed by our military, it just should've been in a more convincing story. Tsotsi justifiably took home the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2005, and Wolverine....let's just say the canucklehead has never faced an enemy as vicious as it's horrible script. [Variety]

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Ben Kingsley rejoins his Hugo co-star in Ender's Game

Although Hugo may be underperforming at the box office, there's been little question that Ben Kingsley gives yet another poignant turn, this time as pioneering filmmaker, George Melies. Maybe he sees his co-star, Asa Butterfield as some sort of lucky charm, because the two are set to work together again on yet another project that's going to have everyone's attention. THR reports that Kingsley is set to join Gavin Hood's adaptation of Orson Scott Card's epic science fiction novel, Ender's Game.

The story takes place in a future society in which children are bred to become great strategists and soldiers, in order to fight the constant threat by an insectoid race known as the Formics(or "Buggers"). Butterfield is set to play Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a promising young recruit who receives special war training at Battle School.  Hailee Steinfeld is set to play Petra, Ender's most loyal friend, while Harrison Ford has been circling a role as Colonel Hyram Graff.

THR notes Kingley's role as "a legendary war hero presumed to be long dead". That sounds like Mazer Rackham, a hero from the previous Bugger conflict who becomes something of a mentor to Ender. He's described as being a half-Maori New Zealander, which should be easy to pull off for the chameleon actor. Production is set to launch in February for a March 15th 2013 release.

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Hailee Steinfeld eyes a role in Ender's Game

It was rough going for Hailee Steinfeld in the wake of her instant success with True Grit. The scene stealer didn't really do anything through all of 2011 but mull future projects, and in the meantime she lost a lot of her heat. Eventually studios just started picking up films specifically for her, such as the teen thriller, Forgotten. Plus she'll star in the umpteenth version of Romeo and Juliet, which will co-star Ed Westwick(J. Edgar) and last I heard had Asa Butterfield(Hugo) circling a role. But it may not be the only opportunity she has to work with Butterfield, as Variety reports she's entered talks to join him in the adaptation of Ender's Game.

Based on Orson Scott Card's long-running, award winning series of sci-fi novels, Ender's Game tell the story of a future in which earth is at war with an insectoid race they call "Buggers". To help battle the threat, children are bred by the government to be tactical geniuses and hardened soldiers.  Steinfeld would play Petra Arkanian, Ender's only loyal ally and friend.

Summit Entertainment clearly has eyes on this to be their next huge franchise, and adding Steinfeld is a sure fire win for them as well as her. Earlier this week we learned that they are also looking at Harrison Ford for the role of Colonel Hyrum Graff. Directed by Gavin Hood, Ender's Game is set to open on March 15th 2013.

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Hugo's Asa Butterfield offered the lead role in Ender's Game

More than 25 years after Orson Scott Card released his seminal sci-fi novel, Ender's Game, the long gestating film adaptation is finally rounding into shape. In the works for nearly a decade, the project floundered under the guidance of Wolfgang Peterson. Multiple scripts, and Card's rigid view of how the film should go proved to be road blocks for awhile, but with the addition of Gavin Hood(Tsotsi) earlier this year to both write and direct, things appear to moving full steam ahead. So much so that it appears Hood has made his choice for the critical role of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin.

Deadline notes that an offer has been made to fast rising talent, Asa Butterfield, the star of Martin Scorsese's 3D adventure film, Hugo. After a small part in 2007's momentary hit, Son of Rambow, Butterfield has since shown his ability to work with some pretty heavy material as star of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. He'll need to bring his A-game if he's going to please fans who have helped keep Ender's Game so popular for the last two decades. Card's novel has led to multiple sequels, a video game, and a highly acclaimed series of Marvel comics.

Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman(Star Trek) are producing, and the plan is clearly to turn this into another huge franchise that can compete with the similar(at least on the surface) The Hunger Games. Ender's Game is set in a future Earth where an intergalactic war with an invading alien force rages. Child soldiers are recruited and trained to become military commanders in the fight. The first novel in the series follows Ender's training in Battle School through the use of simulations and anti-gravity scenarios. Children being drafted to fight and kill must be in style now. How soon before somebody starts plotting to remake Battle Royale again?

Ender's Game has been set for a March 15th 2013 release.

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