Last Updated on August 5, 2021
Finally! The work week is over and you’ll have some free time to relax, crack a cold one, pop that corn and nuke some ‘chos all in the noble pursuit of cinematic entertainment! Every Friday we’d like to hear what everyone will be watching over the weekend, whether it be on TV, DVD and Blu-ray or in theaters.
javascript:toggleWYSIWYG(‘editBody’);
So let us know what’s on your movie agenda this weekend! Here’s what I’m thinking about watching…
IN THEATERS…
I’m so flippin’ ready to go back to Middle Earth and this weekend is all about THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. Seriously, nobody else has the stones to go toe-to-hairy-toe with the first part of a new trilogy and I don’t blame them, this is going to destroy the box office for the next few weeks.
Reviews have been pretty solid so far but not overwhelmingly amazing, both our own Chris Bumbray and Eric Walkuski found it enjoyable enough and you can get their takes on THE HOBBIT here and here respectively, but the main point of contention seems to be around the new format that director Peter Jackson has been championing.
So now the real question at this point is whether or not to check out THE HOBBIT in 3D at 48 frames-per-second the way he intended or just to experience it in good ol’ 2D 24fps. I’m the curious type though, willing to put some trust in Jackson and fully intend to see it in 48fps when it’s convenient, the only problem is the closest theater screening it in that format is a 6 hour roundtrip for me. I will make the sojourn at some point in the near future so I can make my own judgment call on whether or not to support this increased frame rate but for now I’ll just have to be content with seeing it at a standard speed.
It’s worth mentioning that many of the IMAX theaters that are showing THE HOBBIT in 3D at 48fps will also have a 9-minute preview of STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS while the rest of us seeing it in a normal theater will at least get a new full-lengthed theatrical trailer. Two birds, one stone! Although I now find it obligatory to post the following music video featuring Leonard Nimoy professing his love of hobbits:
No emotion my ass!
Check out all of the THEATRICAL RELEASES right here
ON TELEVISION…
Well sh*t DEXTER! It almost looked like a happy ending was on the horizon … almost.
While I’m unquestionably in full Hobbit mode this weekend this is one season finale I will not be missing on Sunday. Now with just one episode left in the seventh season everything is coming to a boiling point. The creators of the show had been pretty adamant that the eighth season would be the last for Dexter Morgan which means this weekend’s episode will determine how the rest of the show plays out. But this past season has been the best in a long time with ratings to back it up and there are already rumblings of a potential ninth season … maybe DEXTER will continue to do what its titular character has been doing all of these years and survive.
PORTLANDIA is an interesting little sketch comedy show that has already been quietly making me laugh for two seasons over on IFC and the third season kicks off later tonight. The comedy duo of SNL cast member Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein (along with an assortmant of comedic cameos) have hit on something special with this quirk filled satire and I find it endlessly hilarious the ways they manage to depict the hipster hive that is Portland, Oregon. If you haven’t caught this subversive slice of satire yet this sketch featuring Steve Buscemi is a perfect place to start.
Martin Short just has a direct line to my sense of humor, I can’t explain why but he always has. So while I haven’t seen a lot of him in recent years besides a manic stint on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER the man was shortest 1/3 of THE THREE AMIGOS and that has endeared him to me for eternity. This weekend he’s hosting SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and while I have absolutely no idea what he’s promoting I do know that Paul McCartney will be there as well to rock my face off. Oh, and just in case you missed Paul jamming with the living members of Nirvana the other day you may want to check this out.
ON DVD & BLU-RAY…
It’s that time of the year for Christmas miracles but we got more than I bargained for with FAMILY GUY creator Seth MacFarlane‘s feature debut TED The fight scene between Mark Wahlberg and a teddy bear was worth the price of admission alone but this flick is a wealth of crass laughs, referential humor (FLASH GORDON!) and cheap shots at pop culture (sorry Brandon Routh). Be sure to check out our TED Blu-ray review right over here for all of the specs.I’ll definitely be picking up this bad boy, thunder buddies for life!
Also out this week is the Jason Bourne-less THE BOURNE LEGACY and while Matt Damon sat this round out maybe Jeremy Renner will be just enough of a badass to fill his buttkicking boots. I purposefully waited on checking this one out until it hit disc because I had heard mixed things but it looked like it was a solid action-thriller that also brings Edward Norton and Rachel Weisz along for the ride so it’s at least worth a rental.
Do I need to own the 1995 Disney fat camp classic HEAVYWEIGHTS on Blu-ray? Yes. Yes I do. This endlessly quotable flick from my childhood hit hi-def shelves this week from out of no where and Ben Stiller‘s villainous proto-DODGEBALL tyrannical character of fitness guru Tony Perkis is a classic. Just get a load of this f*ckin’ guy! It also appears that this Blu-ray is chock-full of special features including 94 minutes (Yes you read that correctly; 94 minutes!) of deleted and extended scenes. Now where do I sign up for fat camp?!
Check out all of the DVD/BLU-RAY RELEASE DATES/COVERS right here
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU WILL BE WATCHING THIS WEEKEND BELOW!
Follow the JOBLO MOVIE NETWORK
Follow us on YOUTUBE
Follow ARROW IN THE HEAD
Follow AITH on YOUTUBE